#but this is def helpful if i want to revisit them or make a new one

[akkivee]

KR!!!!!!!!!!!!! NELKE!!!!!!!!!!! WHOMST TF EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LET ME IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LET ME IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bloody-fate]

tagged by @thechurchofsplatterdaysaints and tagging @phantom-kitten, @berserker-gene, @hellonursevenus, @soft-lunar-rose, @booger-sinclaire, and anyone else who would like to play!

Do you make your bed?

No, life's too short to worry about that or anyone who judges you for not!

Fave number?

probably 77 or 25, this last road trip for work made me realize I'm either an amateuer numerologist or maybe mildly OCD because I'd rather keep the stereo, cruise control, and AC at a number that "feels right" than something more practical

What’s your job?

Coast-to-Coast Construction Goon! In a lot of ways, it's my favorite job I've had so far, but being on the road for weeks can be excruciating. Every job is something new in a new place, so it's hard to get bored, but there's way worse things than being bored such as missing your cat.

Go back to school?

At this point, I don't know what I'd go back for. Def don't have the time or the money but cosmetology school may be cool. I got 3/4s of a journalism degree before seeing the going rate for a magazine editor being a $500 a month stipend and realizing I made that working stoned overnights at IHOP in a week, but! you don't need to go to school to learn something, you just need to go to get a degree and I definitely want to always be learning and growing and expanding my horizons. I believe that you start getting old when you stop being curious about the world.

Can you parallel park?

Oh yeah, spending the better part of your 20s delivering pizzas in Chicago will teach you lots of tricks.

Job you had that would surprise people?

Personal nurse, I guess? Did it through the state for a friend for a year while they were recovering from cancer. I guess it would be surprising only bc it's one of the few non-food or customer service gigs I've had.

Aliens real?

Statistically they have to be, but I don't think they built the pyramids or anything like that because we don't give them any good reasons to stick around and hang out. I believe everything in the world is magic and science is the process by which that magic becomes mundane and that aliens, cryptids, and other paranormal stuff is just stuff we don't have the tools to figure out yet.

Can you drive stick?

I get it in theory but never tried outside of Ridge Racer.

Guilty pleasure?

You're supposed to live life guilt free and seek pleasure in all things, hope this helps!

Tattoos?

Got a lot of em, one of my oldest friends from back home learned how to tattoo on me and is now a bigshot international tattoo playboy. Money was really tight for a few years and now my guy and I are too busy to coordinate an appointment, but I used to go at least once every month. Still got some pieces and spots I wanna cover. Last one I got was a beholder above my left hand!

Fave color?

Purple for so many reasons! It's my mom's favorite too and I love the smell of lavender, love seeing it in flowers and other natural things, love Prince and grape flavored anything!

Fave type of music?

Any and all, but punk has always had my heart and soul. Been going to punk shows since I was a wee babby and worked at multiple record stores, so I'm insufferable. The guitarist from Melt-Banana is probably one of the greatest living musical geniuses. Finally gave The Cramps a fair listen and I really dig them. Also this account believes Utada Hikaru is a living legend! Revisited Godspeed You, Black Emperor recently and I think they're one of the most important bands to ever live. Lately been digging Teengenerate, The Osees, Slowdive, Show Me The Body, and the new albums from JPEGMAFIA and Clairo! Send me your fall playlist and I'll send you mine!!

Do you like puzzles?

Not like putting pieces together picture puzzles, but I get a kick out of riddles and word puzzles. Had a coworker at the pizza place who knew a bunch off the top of his head and I got pretty good at figuring them out. Also sometimes my job feels like a less lethal version of a Silent Hill or Resident Evil puzzle so there's that.

Phobias?

Heights, flying, I have a reoccurring dream of driving up a really steep and narrow bridge that just ends before I can see over the top of the curve and I go over the edge, so I get real nervous and quiet when driving over them in real life in case the dream is prophetic.

Favorite childhood sport?

Skateboarding? not really a sport, but I have asthma what do you want from me? my friends in high school also had this game called Dodge the Bat we'd play whenever we were walking around the neighborhood where you'd take a metal bat and yell "DODGE THE BAT!" before throwing it at a group of our friends and everyone would just scatter. Even less of a sport.

Talk to yourself?

Constantly, though masking in public has helped a constant self-mumbler like myself look way saner lately.

Movies you adore?

So many! The Shape of Water is probably my all time fave and Guillermo Del Toro probably my favorite director. I have a list on my phone of Lucca Certified Horror Bangers. Most recent addition is Profondo Rosso (Deep Red for all you non-guidos out there) after watching it on @thechurchofsplatterdaysaints 's rec and being totally blown away! Must consume more Argento.

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee for the fuel, tea for the taste! Love an iced matcha from Dunkin, current favorite tea is Constant Comment but it changes all the time. I always make a lemon lift + constant comment iced tea in the morning in the once in a blue moon instance work is having me stay at a hotel that has both tea bags and a working ice machine.

1st thing you wanted to be when grew up?

Video game QA tester but really only because I thought it was the only job where you could get paid to play video games, but my years in the work force have shown me you can get paid to play video games at any job if you're sneaky enough.

[sepublic]

Clouds on the Horizon!

            …I know we called Alador a rat man, but THIS is ridiculous! Seriously, how’d he even do that, I’m confused?

         LUMITY KISS LUMITY KISS THE WAY THE ANIMATION UPGRADED!!! The animation was so SMOOTH the animators knew it had to count. The way Luz’s vines were so FLOWER filled like from Reaching Out, responding to what Luz wanted as she mentioned at that episode when showing how to grow flowers… The Lumity and Raeda parallels! The twins! EMIRA AND EDRIC NNNOOOO!!!!! I can’t believe they got put away for the final battle this literally hurts so much, and what about Bump and the other students? Not my Blight twins…

         ODALIA THAT BITCH! Doesn’t Odalia realize SHE’s gonna die too… Or does she really think Belos will exempt her and Alador’s sigils?! I was half-expecting a twist where it’s revealed that Odalia didn’t have a sigil this entire time, making her all the more deplorable, especially in light of her husband having one… Glad we got to see a look at Oracle magic, or rather some confirmation in its ability to summon ghosts to fight with!

         The way Odalia left… It kinda feels like it’s alluding to her finding a new partner, but I’m not sure if we’ll even get to see her again? IS IT GONNA BE TIBBLES?!?! That’d be an embarrassing for her as an ending revisit to all of the cast members… Also, apparently someone’s keeping an eye on the rebels?! Is there a turncloak, is it Eberwolf?! Or Darius… No… NO! Maybe it’s just the Oracle Head using some sophisticated magic… Maybe teaming up with the Potion head to make a scrying potion? Oh fuck…

         LILITH! I love seeing Lilith voluntarily step up to take the fall for her sister this time, what a WONDERFUL culmination to her arc! And King, wanting to help but he’s still the youngest of all and if he bleeds, that could be a revealing liability… This episode seems to confirm the implication that Belos is manipulating even the Collector as well, so will the Collector preemptively betray him in retaliation? He doesn’t seem to realize King can hear him but maybe he does… Either way, that connection is def coming into play! And the Collector pointing out to Belos how much HE’S changed, and he’s still having freakouts… How the human world has likely changed!

         Okay! So they’re not ignoring Hunter’s identity crisis as a grimwalker, or Luz’s guilt for helping Philip! Glad to see that confirmation and I loved seeing them team up together… Also I TOTALLY saw that switcheroo as soon as ‘Luz’ did the golden warp TO PROTECT WILLOW!!! Speaking of which, Willow new design! And Gus, too, flaunting that trophy he took from Adrian! My boi I love him… And just his and Hunter’s teamup, him using that same darkness spell from Bria against Kikimora! I saw it coming, Luz was bamboozling Kikimora as a means to get to the castle! Poor Kiki, she got DEMOTED instead of promoted… YIKES. Imagine if after all this, as a cruel joke, Belos DOES keep his promise and let Kikimora live out of a sick and twisted sense of humor.

         Odalia that BITCH. I’m glad to see Amity get PISSED at her mom so openly, and I’m glad to see Alador go against her! With him destroying the factory, that’s him destroying any more Abomatons in the future… Hopefully we can see him override the Abomatons against Belos this finale, that will DEFINITELY help because Belos has made the mistake of positioning them in fairly critical places, like his own throne room during a private conversation with Hunter!

         I hope this finale we get to see the remaining Coven Heads, at least voices, names, and a brief show of powers. A part of me is hoping we’ll see the remaining four side with Belos in Season 3 so we can learn about them, but I’m not holding my breath… Dammit Disney. And RAINE! Raine wanting to protect Eda, that last banter… Luz asking them to look after her, Raine never needing to be told that but. I REALLY don’t like where this is going. I’m getting kinda scared and concerned for another cliffhanger where Eda is sacrificed… But hey, at least we got Katya hanging out with Luz and King for once, and a look at her beetle palisman! Yes! I’m imagining the off-screen interaction as they flew to Blight Manor.

         Oh god I’m so scared. Things are closing up… I love Luz promising a slice-of-life date and mentioning the trope. And the palisman egg! That’s SO kind of Luz to let her palisman choose that for itself… But will we not see until after the final battle? Will the egg hatch until the final crucial moment? Ngl at first I thought it was a reference to Azura’s blue staff which it could ALSO be that… Just god, I feel like there’s so much we’ve had to drop; This subplot of Odalia’s new partner, the remaining Coven Heads, the beach episode, confirmation that Steve and Mattholomule being half-brothers would be explored. The concealment stone was a nice touch…

        BUT WHO’S KEEPING EYES IS IT EBERWOLF AAKDHFKDAHDKFKGKSK or maybe. Maybe! Maybe the Oracle Head is just POSSESSING someone and there isn’t an actual traitor per se! I wish I hope… THIS CAN’T BE IT! I NEED MORE DANA!!!

[joneswuzhere]

hello join me in thinking about some books and authors that are, or might be, part of s5′s intertextuality

5.10 in particular offered specific shout outs, and also u know i’m always wondering what might be ahead so i have some ideas on that:

- first, as mentioned in a previous ask post, i know i wasn’t alone in keeping an eye out for 5.10 parallels to the lost weekend (1945) the film that gave episode 1.10 its name and several themes - or to the 1944 book by charles r jackson which the film is based on

- s5 has not been shy about revisiting earlier seasons, especially s1. altho i feel that 1.10′s parallels to the lost weekend centered characters other than jughead (mostly betty), a 1.10-5.10 connection involving jughead and themes from jackson’s story (addiction, writers block, self reflection) seemed v possible if not inevitable

- but like,, , for a hot minute after the ep, i was really stumped on understanding how anything from the book or film could apply, even tho the pieces were almost all there

- jackson’s protagonist don birnam goes thru and comes out the other side of a harrowing days-long drinking binge that could be compared to jughead’s one-night hallucinogenic writing retreat

- but jughead is struggling primarily with traumatic memories, not addiction and self control like birnam. and tho drinking activates birnam’s creativity, it paralyzes his writing as he gets lost in fantasies; he’s never published anything. jughead’s drug trip recreates circumstances that already helped him write one successful book. even the rat that startles him mid-high doesn’t line up with birnam’s withdrawal vision of a dying mouse, symbolic of his horror at his own self-destruction thru alcohol

- and maybe the most visible discordance: in the film there’s a romantic motif around a typewriter. first it’s an object of shame; birnam’s failure to write, tied up with his drinking, makes him flee his relationship. he tries to pawn the typewriter for booze money and finally a gun when shooting himself feels easier than getting sober. but with the help of relentless encouragement from girlfriend helen, he quits drinking, commits to her, and focuses on typing out the story he’s dreamt of writing. rd goes so far to avoid setting any comparable scenario that jughead has brought a wholeass printer into the bunker so there can still be a physical manuscript to cover in blood by the end, even without his own typewriter. the subtle detail of his laptop bg image is a little less noticeable than his avoidance of betty’s gift

- tabitha might be closer to a parallel than jughead is, but she’s still no helen. both refuse to take advantage of the inebriated men in their care, but birnam takes advantage of helen, financially and emotionally. jughead refused a loan from the tate family and now has resolved to deal with his shit before he considers a relationship with tabitha. instead of helen’s relentless and unwelcomed attempts to get birnam sober, tabitha reluctantly agrees to help jughead trip safely bondage escape notwithstanding. she even helps him get the drugs.

- whatever potentials exist for parallels to jackson’s story, they were not explored for this episode. ok so why tf am i even talking about this? what was there instead?

-  i have arrived at the point

- s5 has been revisiting s1, not directly but with a twist. and jughead’s agent samm pansky is back. u may recall, pansky is named for sam lansky

- jughead’s trip-thru-trauma is a story device tapped straight from lansky’s book ‘broken people’

- lansky is like if a millenial john rechy wrote extremely LA-flavored meta but just about himself no jk very like a modern successor to charles r jackson. both play with the boundary between memoir and fiction. lansky is gay; jackson wrote his lost weekend counterpart as closeted and remained closeted himself until only a few years before his death. both write with emotional clarity and self-scrutiny on the experiences of addiction, sobriety, and the surrounding issues of shame and self worth

- i feel like a fool bc after this ep i had been thinking about de quincey and his early writings on addiction (c.1800s), but i failed to carry the thought in the other direction, to contemporary writers in the genre, to make this connection sooner

- lansky’s second book, broken people, follows narrator ‘sam’, mid-20s, super depressed, hastled by his agent to write a decent follow-up to his first book, but too busy struggling with his self-worth and baggage from several past relationships. desperate, he takes up an offer to visit a new age shaman who promises to fix everything wrong with him in a matter of days. not to over simplify it but he literally spends a weekend doing psychedelics and hallucinating about his exes. jughead took note

- unless u want me to hurl myself into yet another dissertation about queer jughead, i think his parallel to sam - who, unlike jughead, has considerable financial privilege and whose anxieties center on body dysmorphia, hiv scares, and his own self-centeredness - pretty much ends there

- But,, the gist of the book could not be more harmonius with a major theme shared by the 2 films that inform the actual hallucination part of jughead’s bunker scene: mentally reframing past relationships to get closure + confronting trauma head-on in order to move forward

- so that’s neat. what other book and author stuff was in 5.10?

- stephen king and raymond carver get name dropped. i’m passingly familiar with them both but u bet i just skimmed their wiki bios in case anything relevant jumped out

- like jughead, carver was a student (later a lecturer) at the iowa writers workshop. also the son of an alcoholic and one himself

- i recall carver’s ‘what we talk about when we talk about love’ is what jughead was reading in 2.14 ‘the hills have eyes’ after he finds out about the first time betty kissed archie (at that time he does not respond as would any of carver’s characters)

- this collection of carver stories deals especially with infidelity, failings of communication, and the complexities and destructiveness of love. to unashamedly quote the resource that is course hero, ‘carver renders love as an experience that is inherently violent bc it produces psychic and emotional wounds.’ very fun to wonder about the significance of this collection within the s2 episode and in jughead’s thoughts. and maybe now in the context of the s5 state of relationships. or, at least, the state of jughead’s writing as seen by his agent

- anyway pansky doesn’t want carver, he wants stephen king

- i have too much to say about gerald’s game in 5.10, that’s getting its own post someday soon

- lol wait king’s wife is named tabitha uhhh king’s wiki reminded me of his childhood experience that possibly inspired his short story ‘the body’ (+1986 movie ‘stand by me’) when he ‘apparently witnessed one of his friends being struck and killed by a train tho he has no memory of the event’

- no mention of that in this rd episode but memories of a train could be interesting to consider with the imagery that intrudes on jughead’s hallucination. i still feel like it was a truck but the lights and sounds he experiences may be a train

- ok now we’re in the speculation part of today’s segment

- if jughead’s traumatic memory involves trains, then it’s possible this plot will take influence from la bête humaine <- this 1938 movie is based on the 1890 novel by french writer émile zola. this story deals with alcoholism and possessive jealousy in relationships, sometimes leading to murder. huh, kind of like carver. zola def comes down on the nature side of the nature-vs-nuture bad seed question (tho i should say he approaches this with great or maybe just v french compassion). also i can’t tell if this is me reaching but, something about la bête humaine reminds me of king’s ‘secret window’ which we’ve observed to be at least a style influence on jughead post time jump

- but wow a late-19th century french writer would be a random thing to drop into this season, right? then again zola also wrote about miners, which we’ve learned are an important part of this town’s history + whatever hiram is up to this time.  and most notably, zola wrote ‘j’accuse...!’ an open letter in defense of a soldier falsely accused and unlawfully jailed for treason: alfred dreyfus. archie’s recent army trouble comes to mind.

- since the introduction of old man dreyfuss (plausibly Just a nod to close encounters actor richard dreyfuss, but also when is anything in this show Just one thing) i’ve been wondering if these little things could add up to a season-long reference to zola’s writings. but i had doubts and didn’t want to speak on it too soon bc, u know, it’s weird but is it weird enough for riverdale??

- however,,,

- (come on, u knew where i was going with this)

- a24′s film zola just came out. absolutely no relation to the french writer, it’s not based on a book but an insane and explicit twitter thread by aziah ‘zola’ wells about stripping and? human trafficking?? this feels ripe for rd even outside the potentials here for the lonely highway/missing girls plot.

- that would add up to a combination of homage that feels natural to this show

- anyway pls understand i’m just having fun speculating, most of this is based on nothing more concrete than the torturous mental tendril ras has hooked into my skull pls let go ras pls let go

[demifiendrsa]

NEO: The World Ends with You details details Susukichi, Tsugumi, Fuya, Kanon, Motoi, Threads system, shops, more

■ The Reapers’ Game

The Reapers’ Game unfolds in the UG (Underground), a different dimension which bears a striking resemblance to the real world. The Players of the Game form teams and aim to complete missions set out by the Game Master, Shiba. The nature of these missions ranges from solving puzzles to defeating enemies known as Noise, and teams may even find themselves fighting their peers for control of the ‘Buya in citywide turf wars!

The Game lasts for seven days. It is said that the team who racks up the most points over the course of the week will have their wish granted—whatever it may be. The unlucky team who ends up in last, on the other hand, is forced to face erasure.

In the Reapers’ Game, it’s all for one and one for all. Will Rindo and the Wicked Twisters be able to band together and topple the other teams in this struggle for survival?

■ Team Battles

Turf Wars: Scramble Slams

One kind of mission assigned in the Reapers’ Game is the Scramble Slam, a citywide turf war that has teams vying for control of various areas around town. Erase all the orange Turf Noise or take down the rival team members in an area to claim that location as your own.

In Scramble Slams, the fun lies in not only gaining control of an area, but also in defeating swarms of enemies to earn even more Scramble Points and exchange them for even better rewards. Chain together battles with regular Noise to max out your point-earning potential!

■ Characters: Ruinbringers

Known as the “strongest team,” everything else about them is shrouded in mystery: The Ruinbringers!

Susukichi (voiced by Max Udell [ENG], Natsuki Hanae [JPN])

“You kids must be the newbies! Oooh, fresh outta the box, ain’t ya?”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game, and a member of the Ruinbringers. While his impressive physique gives off an intimidating air, Susukichi is actually a bit of a chatterbox, rambling in his surprisingly high voice. Like the discs in beloved Reversi, he views the world in black and white.

Tsugumi (voiced by Ciara Riley Wilson [ENG], Yuka Ozaki in [JPN])

“I can’t lose… I must fight.”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game. Although she is a member of the Ruinbringers, she barely interacts with others and does not talk to anyone. Contrary to her waify appearance, she possesses powerful psychic abilities and a perfect record against other Players. The stuffed animal she carries resembles the mascot of Gatto Nero, a new brand that’s all the rage in Shibuya—but her plush pal apparently predates the establishment of said brand.

■ Characters: Deep Rivers Society

A group of river enthusiasts whose game-plan is to survive by being cautious and steady-going: the Deep Rivers Society!

Fuya (voiced by Adam Gold [ENG], Yoshiki Nakajima [JPN])

“You can row, row, row all you want…but you won’t go gently down this stream!”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game who got sucked into the action while taking a stroll in search of Shibuya’s most exquisite culverts. Despite being the de facto leader of the Deep Rivers Society, he is quite cowardly and not one to normally take charge. However, his aversion to conflict is the reason he’s managed to avoid dropping out of the game so far, so his “flight-over-fight” approach has served him surprisingly well. He holds a store-bought map of the city in which he’s hand-marked his favorite culverts.

■ Characters: Variabeauties

The super-stylish team with a passion for fashion and a skilled negotiator at the helm: the Variabeauties!

Kanon (voiced by Xanthe Huynh [ENG], Sumire Uesaka [JPN])

“That may work on the other girls, but I’m a little sharper.”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game and the leader of the Variabeauties. Both kind and captivating, Kanon gives “Rindy” and his teammates a crash course in the rules of the Game. Her beauty also belies a cunning side that reveals itself when the situation warrants. What she lacks in impressive psychic powers, she more than makes up for in wisdom, which has helped her survive the Game thus far.

■ Characters: Purehearts

The social media-savvy team taking the game by storm and using their positive thinking as a weapon: the Purehearts!

Motoi (voiced by Nick Thurston [ENG], Wataru Komada [JPN])

“I’m prepared to help out, of course! The more people working together, the better the resultat.”

A Player in the Reapers’ Game and the leader of the Purehearts. His winning smile and poetic platitudes give off good vibes only, even though his superficiality and frequent use of “fancy” words can rub some people the wrong way. Nevertheless, his magnetic personality has proven quite attractive, amassing him a large number of followers.

■ System: Threads

Rindo and his teammates can increase their HP (Health Points), ATK (Attack) and DEF (Defence) by wearing threads. There are five categories of fashion items you can equip: headwear, tops, bottoms, footwear, and accessories.

In addition, threads have abilities that are useful in battle. If the character equipping an item has enough Style, its ability will be activated and its effect unleashed. Spruce up your fashion sense and unlock the true power of the threads!

—There are no restrictions when it comes to equipping threads, so you can make whichever character you like wear any fashion item. However, some abilities will only activate when the corresponding item is equipped by a specific character.

■ Shops

The city of Shibuya is dotted with a wide variety of shops. There are over 40 establishments to visit, with some selling threads and pins, some providing delicious food and drink, and some offering collectibles like CDs and books.

Each shop attendant is unique, and they reveal a little more of their personality with each visit. Stop by a shop often enough and you might even earn yourself some VIP perks!

—Look for SHOP icons to find places where you can shop and eat! You can also enjoy shopping at stores which exist in the real world such as Taiseido and Tower Records.

—Pay with the contactless payment system “ShibuPay.” Sell the pins you gain during battle to top up your balance.

■ Shops and Brands

The style of clothes and accessories in fashion shops changes with each brand. The number of products will increase as you progress through the story and meet various conditions, so be sure to pop into your favorite shops every now and then. A few of the game’s boutiques are featured below.

—There are over 270 types of fashion items. Assemble ensembles around your favorite brands!

Top o’ Topo

Cute and girly clothes that are popular with younger crowds. Has its main store in Harajuku and another branch in Shibuya.

Joli becot

A sexy yet stylish brand for women that also features some cool pieces for men. Sometimes called “JB” for short.

Tigre Punks

Long-standing punk fashion brand beloved throughout Shibuya. Their edgy designs are tough in many ways.

■ Restaurants

Another great thing about Shibuya is its wide selection of restaurants! Choose from a variety of dining options like guilty fast food pleasures, succulent meat dishes, healthy veggie soups, and parfaits packed with cream and fruit. Eating improves your basic stats and is essential for Rindo and his teammates’ growth. If you want to survive the Reapers’ Game, watch what you eat!

—There are over 90 types of food. Savor all the fine dishes Shibuya has to offer!

—Rindo and his teammates’ reactions during food scenes in the restaurants are also a treat. Their moods are different when they eat something they like versus when they eat something they don’t.

■ System: Remind

Fret’s unique psych: Remind!

Fret’s unique psych, Remind, jogs people’s memories and helps them to remember things they have forgotten.

A minigame will start when Remind is activated. Tilt the left and right sticks in the correct positions to reassemble the scattered memory. Put all the pieces in the right place to complete the reminder!

—Use Remind on a Reaper who has forgotten the mission he was supposed to give out.

■ Locations

Rindo and his teammates travel to all corners of the Shibuya area over the course of the Reapers’ Game. Revisit familiar spots from the previous game such as Tipsy Tose Hall, and discover new locations like Shibuya Stream and the iconic Takeshita Street.

■ Pins

Classical Cacophany

A pin that enables the use of “dart bombs,” which shoots arrows that explode after a short time. By shooting a certain number of arrows quickly, a large explosion will occur immediately.

ShoGun: Void

The “entanglement,” which generates a chain in a straight line that damages and restrains the enemies it touches, plays nice with other psychs.

The Great Volancic Escape

Set a timed explosive at your feet with the “Time Bomb” psych. Figure out when to detonate the bomb and follow up with an attack.

NEO: The World Ends with You will launch for PlayStation 4 and Switch on July 27, 2021 worldwide, followed by PC via the Epic Games Store in Summer 2021.

[i-love-you-all]

To Die Now... (pt.1)

Previous Part | Next Part

The first part I wanted to revisit was my hc about his parents and his childhood. There may be a part 2 to his childhood memories, but I’m unsure at this point. Side note, if there are parts of his life you’d like me to focus on/expand on my personal hc’s feel free to send an ask/dm. I won’t use everything that comes in since I have a rough plan ready, but I’ll def try at least :))

~1.2k Words. Mentions of ableism and abandonment.

There were days where he couldn’t help but think about his life, his past, his… arms. Breach was sitting at his mother’s dining table, fork in his hand and platefuls of food in front of him. His mother was humming an old song she remembered from before the First Light. It was one he remembered listening to when he was just a baby.

Baby… He wondered about what that must’ve been like. Horrifying enough that his father left them, that was for sure. Those thoughts were chased away when his mother offered him a glass of mulled wine to go along with their meal tonight.

“Hej, mama,” Breach started, looking at her with what must’ve been concern all over his face because he saw her eyebrows soften a little as she started to reach across the table for his hand.

“What is it?”

“The day I was born… Do you remember? I was wondering about how you felt when you learned that I… And how he…” The question tripped and stumbled on the way out as he saw her mouth curve downwards into a slight frown.

“Is this… about your father?”

“Yes.”

“We learned about your missing limbs during a later stage prenatal scan. We knew you were missing a limb, though we didn’t know it was both arms. You have to understand that we didn’t have the same imaging tools as we do now.”

The day his mother first thought that something was off about her pregnancy was when the doctor called her to arrange an appointment to ‘discuss’ the results of the prenatal scan instead of just letting her know over the phone. The deviation from the normal is what got her nerves on edge.

She remembered his arm on her shoulders as he put the phone on speaker mode, and they listened as the doctor talked to the two of them. Nothing much, just that they should make another appointment as soon as they could.

She knew that wasn’t a good sign. And when the two of them were sat in a room, not an examination room but one of the ones where news was delivered, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She was about to get bad news, and she couldn’t do anything but just wait. The news she did get though, at the time, almost felt worse than knowing that something fatal had happened to her child.

A congenital birth defect was not exactly an unknown risk, but in her case, in her child’s case, it was… strange. She had never in her life been a smoker, even when she was younger, and in the months where they had been trying, she had never touched alcohol once. Neither of them did because this child was going to be their pride and joy. Everything they did was perfect. Even the doctor said so.

They were shocked to learn the truth. How could they not be?

They tried to look past it. There may have been nothing to do other than to accept it, but their talks were filled with hope. They made plans and altered their dreams. Their families had mixed opinions, but most supported them. This was going to be a challenge they faced together.

They were supposed to face it together.

The dream very quickly faded into reality. Even if he didn’t say a word, she could tell that there was hesitation when he held their baby. She coddled their baby and talked to him because despite the hardships she knew were coming, she still knew that this was her child, and it was impossible not to love – not to want to care for him. For her husband, hesitation was just a seed. Over time, it was one that grew into anguish, and then to disdain. It ended as apathy though. It wasn’t like her baby knew that he was missing arms, so why did he have to see that instead of the healthy child in front of them?

He called her naïve and overly optimistic. He asked why this happened to them – what did she do to him?

“Don’t you see that he’ll never—”

That word. Never. He was always going on about what their child would never be and not what he had already achieved. Everything else was perfect – just like how she thought it’d be. He was a pleasant child, eager to learn, obedient, sweet, and clever. Not like he stuck around long enough to see what her boy could do anyways.

“I can’t look at you without blame.”

There was pity from friends and family, but it was of no help to her. There were moments of weakness, where the doubt in her heart grew to her very actions and she no longer knew if what she was doing was ok. In the darkest moments though, when she was the most anxious, with all her stress boiling over like a pot that’s been left on the heat for too long, it was always best to ground herself to where she was. There were days where her boy sometimes gave her a strange look and didn’t protest against the long hugs, and it was that level of understanding where she finally saw that it was going to be ok. She was on her own now, well, not on her own. It was her and her child. The two of them against the world.

He really didn’t know what he expected, Breach thought to himself. In a way, what was he going to think? It made sense. They were young and this was probably just a challenge they weren’t ready for. He often blamed his father, but he also never realized just how hard his parents were trying to have a child.

Maybe he had looked too pensive. His mother quickly walked to his side and gave his shoulders a gentle squeeze, resting her chin on his head.

“We don’t have to talk about him again, mama,” Breach said. He used to ask a lot of questions about his father when he was younger. Not necessarily because he thought that his father still cared about him, but because he wanted to know if there was a chance that he could. Looking back on it now, he was sure that every one of those questions must’ve broken his mother’s heart just a little bit, making her think that maybe she wasn’t enough when she was all he had, and ever wanted.

“You’re free to ask questions.”

“I have no more right now. I guess I just never figured out why he waited around for so long if he was just going to leave. I would rather not remember him at all. And it’s not like I was ever going to grow my arms back…”

His mother brushed his hair down in a soothing petting motion. “He lost out in the end. He doesn’t get to look at you and feel proud.”

To die now would be to break his mother’s heart, her hopes, and her dreams. She poured everything into him to make sure that he’d live to be happy and safe – that’s all she wanted from the day he was born to today, to every one of his days going forward. He couldn’t die now. He still needed to make her smile.

[chorusnihili]

what is wd gasters past

"A rather broad and invasive question, I'd say, but I suppose I can give you the rundown."

"I was born on the surface while tensions were already high, enough that my parents, assuming that I had them, were gone before I had a chance to remember them. I was mostly raised by a mismatch village of monsters; well-cared for, not the only one that didn't have a specific home."

"I didn't miss living on the surface and never wished to return there, quite frankly. The only thing that made it worth living there is that in my final few years there, I did have something close to an adoptive parent. Who, unfortunately, chose death over leaving their home."

"A lot of monsters like to paint the underground as this hellish, soul-sucking fate worth than death. Personally I never found it that bad. I suppose I never was the type to feel wanderlust or anything of the sort. I was happy merely knowing we were safe and humanity likely had no interest in pursuing us."

"So I dedicated most of my life to making the Underground as good a place as possible. Anything that could make life more bearable. Try to cheer up those affected the worst by the change. During this time, a lot of monsters took up psychology; you can find a lot of studies on stress, despair, and trauma written during this time; techniques for coping and helping loved ones, many of which still hold up to this day."

"Unfortunately given the fact that communication has always been a hassle to me, it ultimately wasn't a field of study that suited me well, although I've been told I'm a good listener."

"So my attention broke from such studies to poking around the world about me. Much of the underground was new and needed to be explored and understood, and, what can I say, I was young and ready to believe that magic could do anything. Except, maybe, restore my eyesight. Heh."

"The migration through the underground was relatively linear. The forests of Home, the snowy landscapes of Snowdin, the rainy marsh of Waterfall, the deep caves of Hotland, and finally, the empty caves of New Home. But New Home was the end. The final stop. Assuming a vaguely dome-shaped barrier forming to the shape of the mountain, we had found it on all sides; the entrance at Home, the exit at New Home, the presumably small entries in Waterfall that human trash falls through, the tunnels in Hotland that the lava flows through. We reached the end; there was nowhere else to go."

"Monsters began to fan out, build permanent civilizations. Asgore and Toriel chose to build their castle and kingdom right on the cusp of the barrier; why, I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps it was meaningful, to them. A sign of having conquered the humans, something to put them at ease. I never asked, it never seemed appropriate."

"Although many monsters seemed disappointed that there was nowhere else to go, I found a sense of satisfaction from it. We had discovered everything; there was nothing else that might creep out from the shadows. We had an understanding of the world we now lived in, a map from top to bottom, left to right. And now, all we had to do was reshape it into the world we wanted it to be."

"Much of my early life was uneventful. I spent a lot of time in theoretical research, interested in the topics of how and why magic worked, but specifically, the interaction of two magical forces. Why some attacks seemed to be so devastating and others seemed to do no damage at all.  A spent a fair amount of years analyzing magic, categorizing it, writing formulae for the so called Stats, for LOVE, EXP, HP, ATK, DEF, INV, et cetera, et cetera.  Frankly, the field is incomplete; close enough for most situations, I think, but not perfect.  I found it wasteful to continue efforts on it.  I believe that the main goal of science is to improve life; if the science cannot be applied to do so, then I do not see the point in continuing it.”

“My studies were broad and varied.  Sometimes I’d dip into the health sciences, sometimes I’d dip into architecture.  I’d do odd favors for people, look into anything that caught my interest, sometimes even take up tasks for the King himself; ones of minor interest that he didn’t want to bother the Royal Scientist with.”

“But, the focal point of my studies always came back to energy.  What could we do with it?  How can we harness it?  All monsters are made up of energy, of magic, it’s inherent to our souls, the way we express ourselves, even our body is made of magic, turns into magical dust due to a complicated chemical reaction when HP is depleted.”

“This, of course, lead to my most famous accomplishment.  The idea of using magic to power things had been around forever, before recorded history.  But there was always a mage or monster involved, directly or indirectly powering the thing in question.  I sought to cut out the intentional casting of a spell to induce power.  After all, this entire Underground was full of ambient magic; from previous spells, simply from Monsters existing; recycled, reused, breathed in and out, baked into food and released again:  Why couldn’t the world itself power things?” 

“It turned out to be more complicated than expected; failure after failure taught me that it simply wasn’t feasible to use magic without a soul casting it.  But, we found another way--and to be fair, it wasn’t exactly an idea so much as exploratory research, but research with very promising results.  Promising enough to earn me another scar on my face, heh.  Had one of the other scientists not pulled me out of the way, I might have been destroyed by the CORE before the CORE was even a thing.”

“Nonetheless I was far from discouraged.  I was actually very ecstatic.  Enough so that Asgore had a very hard time calming me down and getting me to explain what had happened and why I had a new crack down my face.”

“I started work on the CORE immediately.  Sketching out blueprints and gathering people to start building the skeletal structure of the building while I put together the intricacies of the mechanism that would create and convert pure energy that could be harnessed and used for whatever purposes we desired.  It took a very long time, but it’s no doubt one of my greatest creations.  Asgore asked me to take up the position of Royal Scientist not long after.  I accepted, of course, I wouldn’t think of declining, but it was a very strange thing to me.”

“It wasn’t long after that when the human child arrived.  I remember hearing about it, one of the other scientists telling me that Asriel had chosen to keep the child.  Keep the child, I had thought, like a pet, like a person would choose to keep a dog or a cat.  I thought it frankly ridiculous, but having the human child around brought a new era of hope to the kingdom and, I, ... couldn’t resist being pulled along.  I personally thought that the idea of peace between humans and monsters was ridiculous, but it was such a pleasant idea and the people were so happy...”

“Of course, it didn’t last.  In a single night, both the human child and Asriel had passed away.  The duo had broken through the barrier, only to seal their own deaths.  It was a travesty.  A whirlwind of horrors, one after another.  The devastation, the despair--it was unlike anything I had ever experienced, even when humanity had first sealed us underground.  At least then, we had the relief of peace.  Now, we had nothing.”

“The King declared war on humanity.”

“It was a dark time.”

“The peaceful life I had was replaced by one of fear and anxiety.  I knew what humans were capable of.  I lived through it, I wore the mark of their hostility on my skull--and Asgore wanted to willingly throw us back into that over revenge?  We wouldn’t survive.  There was no way we’d survive.  But if there was any chance of giving us any sort of fighting chance, I was going to find it.” 

“My research turned from finding ways to make the underground better to combat.  Once again, energy proved to be my friend.  I revisited old research about LOVE and EXP and ATK and DEF--and wrote up a hypothesis about another state.  ITK.  Intent to Kill.  Unlike LOVE and EXP, which are slowly, solely increasing values, ITK rapidly fluctuates and acts as a modifier on attack.  Even a soul with a LOVE of 1 can do an extreme amount of damage if they, in a particular moment, are filled with the desire to kill the one they are striking.”

“Monsters aren’t made for war.  In general, monsters aren’t made for hurting each other.   It’s one of the many reasons we were slaughtered so mercilessly.  So I created a ... weapon.  That could circumvent that weakness.  The ITK Blasters, as I called them, could take even the smallest ITK and multiply it to do horrific damage.”

“I did other research on the topic as well.  How to convert HP into a temporary boost of ATK.  With these two advancements...even a monster as relatively weak as I am could be incredibly strong.”

“I wanted to perfect the techniques before I tried teaching them to anyone.  But, such things never came to pass.  Asgore lost his will to continue seeking war.  He knew that he had only declared war in a fit of rage and to give his people hope.  So rather than continue killing, he wanted to find a different way to bring everyone hope.  He wanted to find a way to break the barrier without anymore bloodshed.  He asked me to research the human souls.”

“...”

“I wanted no parts of it.  We got into a ... rather nasty fight.  I said a lot of things I regret.  I called him a coward for bending to the will of his people instead of doing what was right.  I told him that any attempt to breach the barrier would result in the complete extinction of our species.  I told him that it was his job as king to protect us, not lead us to our death.”

“I was angry and afraid, and I took it out on the wrong monster.”

“It’s about at this point that you really cannot understand my history without a basic understanding of how time flows.  I’ll spare you the lecture of multiple timelines and parallel realities, but at the very least, you must understand that the flow of time is... well, it is inherently linear, but, consider it like a... I want to say a Turing Machine.  Or perhaps, a VHS Tape.  The same segments can be replayed again and again, can be overwritten, can change from iteration to iteration.”

“So the fact that Asgore died in this timeline...and is still alive in the current timeline...it may at first seem contradictory, but it is not, I assure you.”

“Asgore’s death hit the Underground hard.  Undyne took over as Queen, but the knowledge that the last remaining member of the Royal Family was gone still loomed over everyone’s heads.  Undyne was more determined than Asgore ever was to free the monsters and I felt like there was nothing I could do.”

“So...There was little I did.  I was overwhelmed with grief and hatred.  I kept at the research.  I honed the abilities, again and again and again.  I drove myself to exhaustion, I isolated myself.  I barely slept and ate.  I neglected my duties and while the others understood I was grieving, it eventually got to the point that Queen Undyne delivered the ultimatum that I had to either get my act together or surrender my position as Royal Scientist.  I resigned without any argument.”

“Much of the time is a blur.  Most of my studies and research done with poor practices and hardly documented.  The research that lead to me creating Sans falls into this. I wished to know if...  

“Of course, two monsters can create another soul.  This much is obvious, monsters reproduce on a regular basis, enough that in the modern day, there’s an ongoing population crisis for monsters that need certain environments.  But I wanted to know if ... a monster, could theoretically, singularly donate a portion of their soul and create another living monster out of it.”

“This is probably a piece of research that very much fits the criteria of not stopping to think whether or not I should try to do so.”

“It required extracting part of my soul.  Which, to do so without killing the monster, requires a massive power source...luckily, or unluckily, I had the entire CORE at my disposal.  So I constructed a machine that could, indeed, extract part of my soul.  What resulted was the most painful experience of my life and left me comatose for six months.  It’s also the cause of the circular scars in my palms.”

“I hadn’t intended to extract two pieces of my soul, but, it happened, whether through oversight or simply as a matter of how the procedure was carried out.  I used the smaller piece to create Sans; intending to keep the larger piece for further study.  I destroyed everything used in the experiment afterwards.  I felt it was something that no monster should have the power to do.”

“That’s not to say I regret creating them.  I don’t, and nothing will ever change that opinion, even knowing some of the terrible things they’ve done in other timelines.  But I do regret the methods that lead to their creation.”

“I don’t know why Sans is so weak.  And I resisted the urge to try to figure it out.  There’s a fine line between a healthy interest in your child’s health and treating them as a science experiment, and I ... wanted to stay as far away as possible from that line.  He’s fine the way he is.  He doesn’t need to be fixed.”

“That didn’t stop me from using the second piece of my soul to create Papyrus to look after him, though.  Or teaching him magic to the best of my ability, even teaching him how to use the Gaster Blasters.”

“Having them...helped.  A lot.  I won’t say whether I was very good at it, but I enjoyed being a father very much.  The grief was still heavy, but I was able to start returning to a somewhat normal life, and even start following what was going on in the Underground again.  I learned of Doctor Alphys’s research on the human souls, and though I personally disagreed with it... decided to look into it in Asgore’s honor.”

“My immediate thought was that her ideas about Determination could mesh well with my previous research about soul extraction, albeit with a few modifications--although I had destroyed the equipment I used for the process, I remembered it well enough.  So I got to work on a theoretical DT Extractor; but the further I got with it, the more horrified I became.”

“I simply couldn’t tolerate the idea of it.  Humans or not, already dead or not--the mere idea of extracting the literal lifeforce out of a soul...  No.  It was not a process I would condone.”

“I had just finalized my decision to destroy the blueprints when I fell.”

“It was... a laughably simple mistake, really.  The CORE is designed to rearrange itself to prevent the wear from the heat from causing too much damage in any one area.  The doors pneumatically seal themselves to prevent egress during this time but...  I was simply too distracted by the blueprints and I opened the door, and walked through anyways.”

“There were no further safeguards.  There was nothing I could do to save myself.  It was over before I had a chance.”

“...”

“I don’t regularly talk about my time in the void.  Not because doing so bothers me, but because it’s simply... indescribable.  When I awoke, I couldn’t breathe.  I couldn’t move.  I couldn’t speak.  There was no me, but my consciousness existed.  I could see and hear thousands of timelines at once, as if I was standing in an arena, with each and every seat filled with a television playing a different movie.  A jumbling mess of information.”

“I have no idea how long I was there for.  It was like learning to exist all over again.  Step by step.  Learning how to move closer to visions of interest.  Learning how to seep into those visions.  Learning how to block out the immense noise.  Learning how to speak without a body.  Learning how to see the void.  Learning how to construct a body out of it.  Learning how to hunt down my timeline.”

“In many ways, it was a rebirth, and with each and every step, I lost more of myself.  I lost myself to the aching hole of my soul being missing.  I lost my conscience, I lost my heart.  I dedicated everything to the endless goal of stitching myself back together again.”

“I learned so much about the reality I live in.  How malleable it and time is.  I evolved into something grotesque, something that shouldn’t be alive.  I gained power that no monster or human should have.  Things, and even souls, could be changed at my whim.  And yet the one thing I truly wanted seemed to be impossible.”

“I did a lot of terrible things while I was stuck like that.  Some were intentional, some less so.  Many were reset thanks to Flowey, others will never be fixed.”

“I have Sans to thank for finally helping me to achieve the goal, even if not fully.  He built a machine that gathered enough of my soul that... I’m able to manifest my original form and can think clearly once again.”

“Even so...  It didn’t change the fact that my soul is still shattered, somehow held together by the tug-of-war between Determination and Void, and that my fall into the Void reset the timeline into a state where I never existed.”

“And that leads us to now.  The Gaster you currently speak to exists in a timeline that has made it to the surface, though I’m not particularly fond of being up there and generally hide in my lab in the CORE.”

“Well, I certainly hope you didn’t expect even a rundown of over a thousand years to be short.”

“...Or, were you posing the question to someone other than myself...?”

[dyketectivecomics]

ALRIGHT, Suicide Squad (2021) Initial Thoughts!

(under a cut and Obvious Spoiler Warning! turn Back if You Dont Want To Be Spoiled)

okay overall i absolutely loved the movie! i can def see myself regularly revisiting this one & i'm excited to watch it again! original plan was to stream it w/ my dad but I ended up streaming at a friends house instead and that helped paint the experience a tad differently bc we're both annoying so we were commentating the entire time fjdakl;

The plot is VERY solid and very strong/tightly threaded. Something that I enjoyed w/ BoP ofc was that non-linear narrative, so coming back to something that kept the timeline very clear w/ only a couple sidetracks to catch up w/ other characters or to bring the audience back up to speed was *chefs kiss*. I was half expecting the initial beach sequence to be a Tone-setter for the audience & for a smash-cut the mission proper/as a "here's what a Mission Gone Wrong Looks Like" and was pleasantly surprised when it was very much Part Of the Current Mission!!! they really rolled out strong and then kept that momentum going!

Getting right away into spoiler territory now (again, srsly, you've had your chance to turn back lmao) I was a LITTLE surprised to see Boomerang as one of the casualties right at the start fdjlka; could be bc i do still have the '87 run on the brain, and Boomer feels like one of the Main Stays to me now?

God tho, having 90% of Who you Think are going to be part of the team get taken out so quick and brutally? Varying the deaths from recklessness to attempted desertion & the consequences spelled out so quickly just!!!! We'd been told over and over how Gunn wanted to pay homage to war films and it def shows! Both in that scene, and esp while the Squad is attacking Jotunheim (there were several moments that even my friend mac made some comments, pointing out lighting/camera decisions that just *chefs kiss* it rlly shows Vision)

There's so much I want to gush abt and my hearts rlly full for! The fight sequences! The soundtrack and score and SOUND DESIGN ESP!!! fading songs in & out and making most of them diegetic!!!! Or hell, the transitions being so fun & placed within the environments/scenes themselves!!! all these things that feel like homage to the Medium of Comics, while also being enhanced by the medium film!

To transition over to the plot itself again & esp to focus in on the characters:

Everyone had rlly solid arcs!!! They took that time to let some key players bond! Cleo & Robert's surrogate dad n daughter thing and Cleo & Nanaue's friendship esp being endearing to me ahh! contrast that against Chris vs Robert's rivalry set-up and confrontation pay-off!!! I loved that they did include a Twist of Peacemaker working a submission for Waller in the midst of the Main Objective bc while I don't 100% love that they've stuck w/ Waller seeing the Squad as Expendable (bc that damn well wasn't the OG squad but c'est la vie), Waller having a contingency/secret objective absolutely tracks with her character.

while we're on slight negatives, I did feel very disappointed by Polka-Dot Man not having... closure. I was kind of hoping that he would be our Floyd/Werner stand-in, as a character who gets to move past his suicide wish... And I suppose for a brief moment, he had but... It was still a little sad to see the moment undercut (but I can appreciate that others will like the Joke in that Gallows Humor sense). Just made me personally a lil sad to see *shrug*

To circle back around to '87 Squad comparisons, I really loved seeing more of the support team and even seeing some of those familiar names (Flo!!! Briscoe!!!), and the fact that they got to help at key points just!!! I can't remember the 2016 film as much (its been ages since I thought abt it and I don't remember ever rewatching it after the initial time tbh), but i vaguely remember Waller Disposing of her support team there and... idk, it felt cathartic to see more of them here and for them to feel like a weird coworking unit & even to see them go against her and give the Squad their help when they Knew it was the Right thing to do like!!!!

Again, I dont remember much of the first film, except that it felt like a passable popcorn movie. But this? This felt like something more. More cohesion btwn the characters, more synergy with what the director & cast wanted to bring and what WB was finally willing to let them do, more of what fans like me want to see from superhero movies.

Something that takes care to look at the source, give those gentle nods and acknowledgements, and still come out w/ something that feels Fresh and New. DC movies feel like they've been on a bit of an upswing, and I rlly do hope they keep that going.

[notbecauseofvictories]

Can I ask what field your new job is in? I know you wanted to move away from law; I want to move away from the career path I've spent all the years since graduating university bolting myself to, and I just wondered how you did it/ if you did it, and what kind of sideways movements made sense for you?

For privacy reasons, I won’t talk explicitly about my new job, though you’re correct it’s not an attorney position. (I still love law but I’m not barred in Illinois and I haven’t been practicing long enough to waive in, which makes finding attorney jobs very difficult until I can retake the bar.)

I will say that if you want to move away from a particular career path, there are a couple questions I’ve found helpful to ask myself:

1.) What do I want to do when I grow up?

I am a big proponent of the game plan. 

You can, of course, jump off a cliff with no parachute or idea of what waits for you at the bottom. That is a certain kind of game plan! And some people pull it off with great aplomb, I’m not knocking it. However, I am a risk-adverse, pragmatic scaredy cat, and I absolutely never start something unless I have at least a vague idea of the best- and worst-case results. So when I’m about to make a life change like “get out of terrible job, move back to Chicago” I start by figuring out—well, what the hell does that actually look like?

But before I think about what that looks like, I take a step back and ask myself a whole battery of questions:

What is my ideal, perfect-world job? What’s my title? What are the hours I work? Do I travel often, not at all, somewhere in between?

What do my dream responsibilities consist of? 

How much interaction am I comfortable with—would I be happy sitting behind a desk all day, or do I want to be out among the people?

How much authority would be happy with? Do I want to be in charge, or is following orders where I’m most comfortable?

What else do I want in my life, such that I’m willing to make career tradeoffs? (e.g., do I want a family I spend lots of time with, a hobby I can devote myself to outside of the 9-to-5, a charity or start-up that I see as my real passion?)

Where do I want that perfect-world job to be? Am I happy changing cities, moving frequently, to pursue the work I want to do, or does location come first and drive what jobs I’m willing to take?

[An additional question you encounter a lot as a lawyer is: “are you okay not necessarily believing in the organization you serve? do you care whether  you serve a particular mission, or are you really just here to draw a paycheck and not break laws?” but I recognize that’s a conundrum probably….unique to lawyers.]

After answering the questions above, you might realize that your exact, ideal dream job doesn’t exist—that’s fine! but a valuable first step is understanding what your priorities are, where you see yourself being happy, and what you think is important in your professional life.

2.)  What steps would I very likely need to take to get there?

Even if it does exist, chances are you won’t be able to leapfrog from your current position to your exact, ideal dream job. (FYI, my current position is not my dream job or even really a stepping stone to the dream job; I made compromises based on other criteria.) So the next step is the inevitable plunge back into reality—namely, okay, so how the hell do I get to where I’m going???

If you don’t already know (which is likely, given that this isn’t your field) then this step is a knowledge-gathering endeavor. You’re trying to figure out what the path looks like, so naturally, consult other people on the path you’re interested in. 

Personally, I highly encourage you utilize the absolute crap out of your network. 

By which I mean: stalk facebook, LinkedIn, your school’(s) alumni pages, your parent’(s) friends, your friends’ friends, the people who work at the same place you do (even if you’ve never met them), everyone you have a mutual connection with via social media, individuals who belong to a professional association you hope to join, academics/journalists/lawyers/etc. with non-private twitters who you’ve looked up to for a long time and whose career you want to emulate, etc. If they’re nearby, invite them to a 15-20 minute coffee break. If they’re interested in mentoring, do lunch, dinner. Follow up with the professors who inspired you and email people who make news about stuff you want to work on. If you’re interested in going back to school for a degree (the clearest way to communicate a professional shift, fyi) then email the school you’re interested in and let them fete you. You’re going to be so obnoxious!!!*

* Do not be obnoxious. If you’re looking for a polite way to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know personally but hope to make a professional connection with, see me after class.

And honestly, sometimes the answer is a degree, a certification, a particular internship or a personal connection. Sometimes the answer is redrafting your resume. Sometimes the answer is “well, you’d really want to work as X or Y before I consider you for Z.” Sometimes the advice is, “sorry, we only consider graduates from this school/that internship/etc. and you aren’t so.” 

You end up having to keep looking, and looking and looking. There are a lot of ways to get rejected from a job these days. There are similarly a lot of ways to get where you’re going, whether you know about them or not.

………I’d also urge you to keep in mind that all advice (all of it, even mine!) is personal. When people talk about their careers, career paths, and their strategies for attaining both, they are speaking from a deeply private place—as much as “how to know your romantic partner is The One.” It’s just a bit more prosaic in its outlook. 

3.)What skills do I currently have, or can reasonable acquire in my current role, that will take me from A to X/Y/Z/or ultimately B?

Even if you could snap your fingers and go from point A (where you are) to point B (where you ideally, perfectly, want to be) chances are the you that currently, professionally exists wouldn’t be prepared for it. So as you think about transition to a stepping-stone job, or a new field, think seriously about what the hell you bring to the table and how you’ll convince that interviewer that actually, you’re perfect for the job. 

It does take some creative thinking and a little bit of conniving corporate wordplay (which is fair game, as the corporations invented it first.) For example:

Have you worked as a McDonalds’ drive-thru window representative and shift manager for the past 5 years? well, congratulations, you are, right now, an expert in customer service and human capital resource management. 

Are you currently a lowly typist-slash-clerk? well, mazel, because actually your specialty is in database management and particularly data cleansing, you could probably pass yourself off as an analyst if you knew a little R, python, or other programming languages.

Do you deal with disgruntled customers all day? Well done, because literally every industry will hire you, they all have angry people who call the hotline/helpline/tipline/etc. and are constantly on the lookout for humans who will not shout YOU ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE back at said disgruntled customers.

Have you been in a different industry, but are looking to transition to a similar role in a new industry? Well done, you, talk about your leadership, curiosity, and self-starter attitude. Managers love a self-starter, probably because they like to entertain visions of not having to do work.

If you feel you could attain the necessary skills in your current role, sometimes  it’s just matter of talking to your current boss (depending on the boss!) Saying, “hey, I’m really interested in Z, could you put me on Z? is there any Z to be had?” is a good first step. Even just to tell the interviewer for a position with a lot of Z duties that you went to your boss saying “I want to do Z, Z is def a priority for me.”

4(ish): Keep reevaluating, based on the new information you acquire.

Going through Step #1 now, answering those questions about myself and my ideal work/workplace/job, is a completely different experience than it was in early 2018. As a recent law school graduate, all I thought about was finding the best learning experience—a year and 6 months later, having been run through the wringer of one helluva a learning experience, I can tell you that there is other stuff to think about. It’s not that my answers have changed, I would still be happy traveling, working long hours, with diverse clients. But there’s other stuff I couldn’t even conceive of then, that I realized (the hard way) was very important to me.

So don’t be afraid to revisit your answers, to keep thinking, reevaluating, considering where you are and where you want to end up.

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

👀

send me a 👀 and i’ll post a snippet of art/writing that i never got around to finishing this year (r.i.p)

okay so here’s the tea on all the things that didn’t get finished in 2019!

2019 was the year of abandoning short stories lol oops! Here’s the hit list: :’(

1. Growing Season

This is such a hard hit because who doesn’t want to read a story about a woman replacing her boyfriend with a cactus, narrated BY the cactus?? I’d love to revisit this story because a) it’s told in my fave POV (first person directed to “you”) and b) “you” is an apathetic college dropout who goes for the hard dRAG after a bad breakup with her boyfriend, and c) because a cactus NARRATES it.

I’m at a little over 800 words in this story (it def gives me Sea Life by Eliza Robertson vibes).

2. Phantom Limbs in D Minor

Biggest hit! I’ve been working on this story since March, made good progress in the beginning, and slowly began drifting from it. I’ve chipped away at it sporadically over the last few months, and I’ve made it my goal to finish it over break! I don’t see myself hitting this goal, but I do hope to actually finish this story because I feel like it contains some of the best prose I’ve written and I love the vibe! I’m at over 2k words with a scene of about 1k floating around. I’ve actually toyed with making this story a novel because the scope seems quite large, but I definitely want to finish the short story before I think about that more! We follow chaotic Linda as she stress renovates her childhood home (a past! commune!) after her mother’s death. Linda is so precious to me, and I’d love to give her a story! If New York by Ex:Re was a person, it would be Linda lol. 

3. Anatomy of a Swinging Door

I’m making a statement, and my statement is that this is my designated cult story which means it must happen in the future. This was originally my “test out first person retrospective” story, though I think the point of view isn’t working super well here, but we’ll see! I conveniently wrote a logline for this story when I was trying to narrow down the scope, so here you go: A young woman visits her childhood home on the one-year anniversary of her brother’s disappearance and meets the new (and strange) family who lives there. 

(cult!)

So the second round of tragedies goes toward novels, AKA Houses With Teeth (which I can share excerpts from!). 

4. Houses With Teeth

I really struggled with this book this year, because it came to be in a time where my writing was getting an overhaul (though I didn’t realize it at the time)! I’ve learned a lot about intention in writing over the last year, something the Fostered series has lacked (oops). This led to me being very unsure about where I wanted to go with this book in particular--the same route as all the others (weird contemporary with dystopian elements that haven’t fully gone away yet) orrrr plan out something a bit more literary! I’ve fought with myself over this since April, and still don’t know where I’m going, but I’m missing my chaotic diva narrator Reeve and would love to get back into her head! 

This book has gone through about 3 openings, and I haven’t fully landed on any yet. I’m rethinking how I want to start this book, but taking my time with Moth Work to work me up to the timeline in HWT (which takes place about 8 months after the end of Rewired). I think I’ve shared most of this!

Some excerpts of first person retrospective Reeve (AKA Rachel trying to be Emma Cline looool):

Though the church was only a fifteen minute walk from the apartment, I packed a picnic basket of cha siu bao and a bottle of red wine and wore heels so they would know I wasn’t Christian. The basket wasn’t mine and neither were the bao—these were both things I’d taken from Liu. This wasn’t the first time I’d stolen from her. I’d once taken her fifty-dollar jar of saffron from the pantry because I’d heard it was the most expensive spice and wanted to feel rich. I took her jade Buddha necklace because she’d left it in the back and I wanted to feel cultured in her city, I wanted to become her history. The saffron jar was replaced. She didn’t comment when I wore the necklace at my next shift. This was why Liu and I worked well together. She pitied me so would never fire me, even when I skipped shifts and cussed at the customers. I felt entitled to her things because she was kind to me. I felt entitled to her kindness. 

lol I haven’t read this in months and it made me laugh #valid:

I crossed the street before the streetlight changed because this is how I lived in New York City. The world was unfair and lightless and I was an atheist who believed in God, walking in five inch heels on a busted road in the ghetto so I could get enough holy water to drown the ghost out of my apartment. 

When all else fails, add a dash of mother:

The air that summer was always the same: dense and wet, even on the good days. It clung to my arms and threatened to erode the skin there, even when it wasn’t sunny. I remembered my mother’s insistence of sunscreen when I was a child; before the pool, in the pool, out of the pool, when we weren’t even at the pool. Her hands were always cold and the sunscreen was always liquid—Izzy was never good at temperature or putting things in the right places. She’d put the instant coffee in the fridge and the cream on the counter. She’d cook the eggs too long and the ice too little. My father would criticize her as a joke and she’d threaten a divorce. This was the only thing I knew was true about my mother. Sunscreen was expensive, so I never bought it. 

Reeve bringing out the drag:

“Grab me a pack of cigarettes?” I shifted the picnic basket so it rested in the crook of my elbow.

“ID?”

“You don’t need my ID.”

“I ID every customer. You’re nothing special, baby.”

The man’s mustache wilted in the tungsten light of the variety store, spindly like loose threads. My father had grown a mustache like that once, and it took only two nights before my mother cut it off in his sleep. Izzy was brash like that, and I wanted that too; to find a pair of scissors in one of the aisles and chip at that flaccid mustache. There was nothing special about this man, either. All men in New York City tried to look like that; facial hair like coiled up leeches, a gut they pretended wasn’t a gut, but the fault of an unflattering polo from their wives. I imagined the snip of the kitchen scissors on my father’s upper lip, the same snip I heard the next day when he clipped the evergreens lining the walkup. There was something coarse about how similar it all was—pruning trees, grooming facial hair. I had turned twenty that spring—it would’ve taken only a minute for him to pass me a pack, but this was too easy. I wasn’t biological in New York City; I shouldn’t have been. 

5. Fostered But It’s Magic

So this was never meant to be a full project, though I had hoped to write a bit of it just for fun and never got around to it! FBIM (obvi working title lol) is exactly what it sounds like: the Fostered series but with a magical twist! I don’t write very much genre fiction, nor have I ever written fantasy, but a few months ago, felt drawn to the idea of putting Fostered in a magical world (my comp titles are SHREK 4 meets HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE). 

I don’t have any of this written, but I do have a few notes which I can share! 

I didn’t realize I’d made a tag yourself writing these notes but (I’m Lonan):

Reeve is a magical con artist who runs her own business selling bootleg magic. 

Lonan is absent and part bird

Harrison *believes* he is #magic free but has been recently getting hot flashes during nightmares.

Foster has an in-home herbalism business where he helps mostly the elderly and children. He has a cart that he wheels monthly into town. Kind of a failing business.

The gist is that Harrison (who we’d be following) can’t sleep due to hot flashes and nightmares of his ex (@ Lonan) and is referred to a small business run by a clairvoyant who promises to make all psychological problems disappear—relationship issues, sleep issues, life issues. This clairvoyant is actually Reeve who is telikinetic of some sorts, and doesn’t actually provide magic, but manipulates (usually weak) brains, AKA tricks people into paying her large sums of money when she gives them no magical help in return. We ALSO have a “past” plotline, and this is the very loose logline I’d written down (tho if I ever write any of this, is subject to change):

After being tormented by nightmares of his ex lover resulting in violent hot flashes and an inability to keep up employment, Harrison seeks a magical intervention. When the clairvoyant he hopes will cure his strange ailment turns out to be a con woman—and his old friend—he is thrown back into the past and forced to rekindle relationships he thought he’d left behind.  

Some dialogue I wrote down ft. clairvoyant Reeve being Reeve:

H: Why are you doing this? 

R (reapplying lip colour): Is my lipstick distracting you? The colour is dazzling.

H: It’s bullshit. 

R (abruptly stops drawing on lip colour): The lipstick? 

H: Your work.

My fave interaction tho has to be this bit I’d noted down with pure Foster comforting Harrison after a nightmare:

Foster *reading on couch when Harrison wakes up in #panique*: What happened? Harrison? Do you need some eucalyptus? 

*do u need some eucalyptus*

That’s basically all the writing related things I didn’t finish in 2019! I’d love to explore them all in 2020 though! Thanks for asking. :)

--Rachel

[elizabethmatthewsmacleodpaxton]

Holiday Gift Guide for the Movie Buff on Your List

It's the same that time of year. Time to buy gifts for your friends and family yet again as the world all over celebrates this corporate, financial, money-hungry, festive and generosity-filled holiday. Some of you may already have it all taken care of by now. Others may be last-minute shoppers such as myself and think that even now is just the start of the shopping season. No matter which you fall under, there's bound to be at the least a couple more on your list to check off. In this article, we'll give you some ideas for gifts for those movie buffs it's possible you have on your list. 1 . Movies Of course a movie buff loves movies. However , this gift selection isn't since obvious as some of you may think. In fact , it could be one of the hardest choices for a movie fan there is. There are all types with problems that may arise here. You could pick the wrong format, the wrong medium, the wrong edition. Or you could plain and simple merely pick the wrong movie. Or even more possible, buy them a movie they already own (afterall, they are movie buffs, it’s likely they have TONS of movies already making it even more likely to buy something they already have). Thus, that's why I recommend avoiding this selection unless that movie fanatic in your life has actively been hinting at a certain movie lately. In that case, go for it. Movies are definitely good for us movie buffs. But again, be careful in what you buy. Or at least save you the receipt and don't be offended when that person needs to return your gift. 2 . Netflix Now for those of you hoping get your movie buff some movies, but don't want to go through the headache of making sure you don't get the wrong issue, Netflix is your answer. Netflix allows that cinephile on your list access to all kinds of movies from the old to innovative, domestic to foreign, indie to blockbuster and so on. The great thing about this too, they get to choose which movies may be watch, while you just pay for the subscription. Netflix Gifts come in a variety of plans and a variety of lengths. You can get ones movie lover just the streaming package or you can choose a package which allows streaming, plus up to 1, two, or 3 DVDs out at a time. These can all be bought in lengths from 1 month to 1 season. For instance, a streaming package for 6 months will run you about $48. Or you can go with 2 Dvd out at a time for 1 year for about $180. No matter what the choice, it's sure to be a hit with the movie buff for you. It doesn't matter if they already have a subscription either as a Netflix Gift can simply be added to their already existing reoccuring and they'll get free months of their service. 3. Fandango Card Of course every movie buff spends ample amounts of your energy at the theater. So , along the lines of the Netflix thing, another option is a Fandango gift card (or a gift card account from a local theater). This gives your movie buff a gift that will keep on giving over the year as they revisit this theater. Each time getting to enjoy the big screen magic on your dime. The movie buff on your list will surely love a variety of like this over the months as they get to catch all the latest releases. 4. Movie Memorabilia Your typical movie ripped is obsessed with movies in probably a way you will never fully understand. As such, this means everything about movies they enjoy. Consequently, another good gift for that movie lover on your list is movie memorabilia. This ranges from movie paper prints, to shirts, to collector's items, to autographed items, to boxed sets, to film cells and art work. You can even buy scripts/screenplays/props from their favorite movies online. With many online outlets that sell this type of stuff, techniques are endless once you know some of your movie buff's favorite movies or actors, etc . 5. Movie-Related Books along with Magazines As I stated before, chances are the movie buff in your life loves everything movie-related. This goes for books and even magazines as well. Biographies on their favorite actors or movie-related books are good unconventional ideas for the movie fan in your life. There are plenty books out there designed for these types of people. From 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die to 1000 Films to Change Your Life to The 100 Best Movies to Rent You've Never Heard Of to even more specific catalogs like 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die. All would be a welcome treat for the movie buff inside your life. Likewise, the movie buff in your life most assuredly likes to keep up with all things movies and get insights into the industry people so love. As such, magazine subscriptions that cater to these types are also good choices. These include print and online designs. Though I will say you'll want to go beyond the more mainstream types of Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stones, etc . Instead, look into offers like 'Boxoffice Magazine', 'Hollywood Reporter', 'Premiere', 'Empire' (UK), 'MovieMaker' or 'Filmmaker Magazine'. Likewise, you could also get them a ongoing to online industry rags like Variety. com or ProductionWeekly. com. 6. Universal Remote As you probably fully understand, the movie buff in your life definitely has a love for electronics. This is especially true when it comes to their home entertainment setup. All of that supplies can get out of hand though when remote controls begin piling up. Introduce the Logitech Harmony. The cream of the head when it comes to universal remotes. This line of remotes from Logitech range from about $100 to over $300. Any flick buff would be happy to get their hands on such a remote control to accent their setup. 7. Roku Box This is a terrific accompanying gift for a Netflix subscription. The streaming player allows the movie lover to use any of those buffering services to stream movies directly to their TV instead of having to watch on their computer or laptop. This is great for any video clip buff who would much rather watch on their big screen TV rather than their little computer monitor. The Roku container allows for Netflix instant streaming on your TV. It also allows access to such services as Hulu Plus, Amazon With Demand and more. 8. Blu-Ray Player Chances are your movie buff already has one of these in their collection. However , for any that don't a Blu-ray player is a great gift for the movie buff in your life. Providing for a high-definition movie experiencing experience, the movie buff in your life will love the immersion of watching their favorite movies in pristine hi-def. 9. Popcorn Maker Everybody knows: popcorn goes with movies like jelly goes with peanut butter. And for some reason, kettle popcorn basically tastes better. So why not bring that theater goodness into the home of your favorite movie buff giving them your gift of snacks anytime they sit down to watch a movie at home. You can find many kettle popcorn makers at under $100. Any movie buff would find it cool to have their very own popcorn maker sitting in the corner of their room in your home for access whenever they want to spend the evening watching movies (and trust me, they do this very often). 10. "Gaming" Chair These provide the ultimate comfort when sitting in front of the TV for a movie. With built-in speaker solutions and ultimate comfort, there are tons of stylish gaming chairs out there. Any movie buff would love one of these cool recliner/pedestal chairs to kick back and enjoy their movie-viewing experience. Not only does it just flat-out look cool and are they comfy, but they also provide more immersion with the speakers in the headrest and subwoofers built into the chair that make you rumble along with explosions on the screen. 11. Surround Sound System Speaking of sound, if your movie buff doesn't already have one, some sort of surround sound system is always a welcome addition to their home entertainment experience. Providing an immersion of sound to go with their viewing experience, a surround sound system is an absolute must for any movie buff that is looking to make the most of your home entertainment experience. Of course, this can be a costly gift, but the movie buff in your life will definitely be grateful. 12. HDTV Considering we're mentioning essential components, a TV definitely falls in that range. Obviously your movie buff already comes with one, but they're never opposed to a new TV (or even just a secondary TV). Whether it be a smaller LCD TV to do their room or an upgrade to a top-of-the-line brand new 3D TV, TVs are always welcome. Your film buff would definitely love you for this. With the pushing of 3D TVs, these are a definite hot item too which often most movie buffs in your life would more than happily take. Again though, this is one of the more costly gifts, so be ready to pay thousands for something like that. 13. Movie Storage You probably know this already, but the movie buff in your lifetime probably has a very extensive collection of movies. A collection they love to proudly show off as well. Of course such a collection may become something of a beast that needs taming. Enter the realm of media storage. This actually comes in a few forms as well: physical and digital. First we'll touch on the traditional physical form. This simply means shelves and shelves. If the movie buff in your life doesn't already have the shelving for their collection, or is simply running using shelf space, then a new shelf, rack or tower would be a practical and welcome gift for your movie aficionado in helping to tame that ever-growing collection and bring some order to it. Of course you have the digital entry as well. This is the same concept as storing all of your music on your computer. Many companies make devices specifically for media storage space like this. There are even companies like Kaleidoscope and PrimeArray which create systems that serve as storage not to mention servers. This means all movies are saved on a digital storage device. The cherry on top though is these devices then provide a means to share all that data across a network and have access to your entire movie collection using one click of a button on your remote. Having instant access to any movie in your collection without having to get up and also change out discs, etc . These however can get extremely expensive. Some even more costly than the TVs themselves. Nevertheless techphile/cinephile in your life would love it. 14. AFI Membership Every film buff is familiar with the prestigious American Film Company. What better way to reward their passion for films than allowing your movie buff to become part of that will institute by buying them a membership to the AFI. This can range from $60-2, 500. Offering cool perks just like movie tickets, exclusive release schedules and magazine subscriptions, an AFI membership also grants members admission to help AFI events. On top of that, your movie buff would even be able to vote alongside industry professionals for various show awards and accolades dealt out by AFI each year. To top it off, they would even get a great AFI membership card to proudly show off to friends as a sign to their dedication to films. 15. Dvd Festival Pass I'm sure you've heard of them. Sundance. Cannes. Attending these more prestigious film festivals are being a life-long dream for the movie buff in your life probably. They'd probably give an arm or a leg to get to encounter going to the prestigious Sundance festival or Cannes or the Venice Film Festival. However , these events booklet well in advance and can be costly. Thus, they don't make good last-minute gift ideas. Though, I'm sure your movie buff would probably happily take a "rain check" on a gift if it means the promise of getting a pass to one of these galas later on. Likewise, many bigger cities offer their own film festivals throughout the year. If you live near one of these, your picture buff would definitely love the chance to get to attend one of those as well.

[ursoself-satisfying]

Brian May takes a lot of photos n its gr8

omgomg I just thought of something n not to be a whole ass ho here but it's cute as FUCK heres some hardcore current Brian may feels for u

So Brian's on Instagram a lot right?? Well just imagine his social media when ur together,,, hes always posting lil things u do cus ur relationship is so new n hes so enthralled w everything about u it's the honeymoon phase n he loves it n his feed for a while is almost all u,, every other post is something to do w u it's about u teaching him to do things or him teaching u things n taking each other places n him being excited about it all

Then its sweet things like little thoughts he has about u n pics of u in the morning or stereos he takes of u when ur out in the garden n the sun is hazy n soft on ur hair or it's a random picture of ur hand n just him saying something vague n a bit ridiculous the way he does,, it's not v often anything explicit or anything too private or lovey dovey no hes a respectable man n he likes to keep that to himself but every once in a while like on a birthday or holiday or anniversary is the like he posts a collection of photos of u most of which r silly n poorly framed but they're so genuine n candid n they're so full of love like it's just u at a cafe n theres nothing special about this date but he just thought u looked absolutely radiant n he insisted u let him take a photo of u n share ur beauty w the world

Whether ur an artist or not he also is ur number one hype man ok like anything u wanna do he 110% supports u n it can be overwhelming at times lol but it's all from love like if ur an artist hes constantly posting about ur latest work n sharing it w people n wanting u to get all the credit n attention he believes u deserve n hes just so proud!!!! Hes so happy ur successful n he wants to help u anyway he can!!!

Other things he posts would be like cheeky photos of gifts he gets u or things he surprises u w,, but mostly its things u do together places u go n see,, other times its u teaching him to knit n he takes a video of it or its him teaching u to chart stars n ur just so darn cute when ur focusing he cant help but wanna photograph u

Besides posting this stuff he also just loves to take pictures of u all the time, this is either just on his phone or whatever is close but he personally likes to use his stereo n this leads to all sorts of impromptu photo sessions of u in the garden or the kitchen n it's all v sweet n silly n domestic n u certainly dont mind being the center of attention or a muse but then sometimes it's a bit more private,, its pictures taken in the early morning when the suns just barely come up n ur still asleep n ur bare n shivering in the cold fresh air n he just loves how gentle n unassuming u look when ur asleep ur like a little angel on a cloud n he adores u n the soft rise n fall of ur chest n the little puffs of air that leave ur mouth when u snore lightly

Those r his fav pics, personally, the ones when ur so blissfully unaware of how gorgeous u r,, such unintentional ethereal beauty,, it just amazes him n leaves him breathless everytime n hes so in love n so soft for u n he keeps these pictures close to his heart his precious secret treasure he doesnt share w anyone

On the flip side theres also some saucy boudoir photos he takes when the two of u get hot n heavy n this collection is one he frequently revisits ;;)) its photos of u panting on top of him giving the camera a tired blissed out smile n then of u beneath him w ur lips in an 'o' shape n ur eyes rolling back n they're all a bit blurry,, then theres another of u posing for him w ur legs spread n showing off ur love for him n then u from behind w this mischievous look in ur eyes n then some w ur face buried in the sheets n drool pooling around ur cheeks,,

Theres some of him too from ur perspective,, him looking over u w his curls thrown back or him beneath u biting his lip n smiling shyly,, theres a few selfies w him thrusting into u from behind or some v soft post coital ones of u curled up on his chest n him sleeping soundly,, or some closer photos of his larger hand splayed out on ur ass or some fuzzy shots of u trying to get the hickies on ur neck,, theres some V nsfw ones as well w his face between ur legs or vice versa or hands cupping things or close ups of ur hips grining against his,,, he loves it all he loves every photo the two of u take together especially these n he saves them for the days hes away for work n misses u like no other

But wait!!! Then theres the VIDEOS cus ofc hes constantly taking soft videos of u either holding animals or gardening or cooking or just reading or sleeping or maybe playing music or he loves the one he has of u dancing uwu but theres also some of the two of u fucking def,,, he set up the camera one night so it could record the bed n u both agreed to this n were excited if not a bit nervous n u had to coax him down from feeling like he had to put on any show n just to focus on making love to u n he did just that n u def think something about the thought of being able to see this later or just the scandal of having a sex tape turned him on cus it was some of the best sex of ur life,, n he takes it w him when hes on tour n frequently watches it when hes alone lol sometimes not even to get off just to see u n hear u in this intimate n remember exactly how u sound, tho he knew he could never forget it

Speaking of when hes away on tour,, hes fond of receiving nudes but not so much sending (hes a bit insecure even tho u tell him all the time how gorgeous n sexy he is it's the age gap it gets to him) but every once in a while he sends a nice one of himself for u n u just adore it u treasure it n keep it close cus it's so rare n hes just such a GOD n u just love him sm,, but anyway not only do u send him plenty of teasing nudes when hes gone but sometimes when u kno hes going to be away for an especially long period of time u go get professional boudoir photos taken n u sneak them into his bag so he sees them when he lands n he just cannot even wait to use them hes already getting hard knowing what's sitting in his suitcase for him to unpack later,,, he also appreciates the effort u put into getting this photos done n that u take the time to make physical copies for the old man n his old fashioned ways (tho he cant say he wasnt jealous of the fact someone else got to take these photos even if he does love the surprise)

I think if he or when he figures out snapchat he would love it n it would be the primary way the two of u spoke during tours n such,, waking up to a good morning snap of him in bed n sending back an equally teasing one n that just keeps going thru the day n its quick n easy n it fulfills his need to see u

He still loves to look back thru his phone n look at all the pictures he has of u (in an organized folder u showed him how to make) not even the saucy ones mostly the soft ones the ones of u just living ur life in the most beautiful natural way it's the ones of u in ur pjs w a toothbrush in ur mouth or first thing in the morning w bags under ur eyes or midday of u on the couch half asleep w ur lunch sitting half eaten besides u n reruns on tv or u concentrating on something u love or u driving or sleeping or getting dressed or undressed just anything u do he loves (not in a creepy way rip) n that's the stuff he thinks about n looks at most frequently when hes away he still loves the NSFW stuff he rly rly does trust me but he loves u n all that u r on an everyday basis the most it's not just the sex or the sensual moments it's the love n the domesticity of it all

Anyway he loves to take photos of u n he loves seeing photos of u n receiving photos of u,, he doesn't like photos being taken of him as much but he does love when u take photos n he loves that u love to take photos n God just hes a sentimental old man who cherishes tangible memories n loves u n what more could u want ::""))

just, FUCK ,,Brian n taking photos of u ok that's all that's the post fuck fuck me up oof

DUDE I DIDNT EVEN RLY GET INTO THE IG PART OF IT like him trying to find a balance of posting about n then on top of that any drama that unfolds bc of that!!! Like u having to help him learn the intricacies of social media or people being awful bc ur so young n him just dealing w all that!!! Finding ways to ignore the bs n the rude comments n then ur own ig any drama that comes to u by way of him posting about u or just all that type of stuff!!!! That's a whole nother discussion!!!! But I adore it all the love the angst the soft feels!!!!! I just love him uwu

[unproduciblesmackdown]

let's see those Prime Numbers for the ask meme

2) favorite albums?

well i was Ready for kesha’s album Warrior to come out in iiii think it was the end of 2012 or early 2013?? i snuck out to that tour in dc that summer also. totally solid album and it was fun to have something so fun during a totally Not Fun period lol. i was also pretty into owl city at the exact same time lmao, that’s Blatantly for when you’re depressed lol...and i also eventually saw that guy on tour when a new album came out in 2015, and that was fun too, and was Enjoying Myself a factor in the tipping point of “ah jeez i gots 2 get outta here” that i had in the next month? maybe! and uhhh i listened a lot to the phoenix te amo album. that one wasnt tied to anything at all but i have heard it So much. super short and also rock solid and relistenable. and then here we are and the bmc obcr is a gift to the world b/c a) it exists and b) Cuz It All Slaps and c) it’s so fun to either sing or dance along, or cry along if it’s the agtikbi reprise and d) lgw... and e) all the eternal, well-mixed wroland vocals

3) favorite memes?

oh god lmao idk......real earlier 10s stuff was the I Say Hey he-man meme, and the “that really rustles my jimmies” meme which was real underrated......there’s been plenty of Memes where i’ve been like “this one is funny to me Every Time” but of course now looking back on it it’s like. what’s a meme??? Vine

(skipping 5 & 11 cuz that’s the Entirety of someone else’s ask and i don’t wanna just have to scrap theirs completely and i’ll get to it next!!)

11) favorite fanarts?

you know what, there’s continuously been a ton of amazing fanart where i’m like, i’m so glad i’m seeing this, & this is Artistic Fuel, and marge simpson anime has really been just this Standout Experience lmao like......idk for as Inspiring as it is, there’s only a couple things i’ve drawn that are Directly inspired, but i just flip for it all the time and like, it’s supremely expressive and like, comics that aren’t chronological but more like a Collage Of a Moment / Concept which i think is super cool and also i love when stuff reminds me that it doesn’t have to look ~super cleaned up~ to look great.

13) favorite people you know?

oh god this one really got out of control lol i started like, talking about everyone ever from this past decade. so for Convenience i’m interpreting this as “people *i* know, but they don’t know me” so that i can cheat and say will roland, voted person of the year 2019. by extension, essential supporting crew who helped us reach this point, like john simpkins or joe iconis. leave it at that!! it’s 5am and you know i’m not lying. who knew where going “wow, This guy” in late 2018 would have so much Value.

17) a fandom you wish more people were in/you had more people to talk to about?

oof hmm.......amnesia tdd didn’t really have a “fandom” even though it obviously got a lot of attention, it’dve been fun if it had though lol. it’s tricky to answer this one cuz i always prefer like, smaller fandoms and/or finding the Niche or some other way of just like, interacting with a small corner of things, so i’m never like wow god damn wish i’d been absolutely in the thick of it with this thing. i’ve been in Corners n Niches and it’s been fine by me, really

19) a fandom that you had the best time in?

HMM lol.........marble hornets sure was fun but like, a lot of that was just the content itself and not necessarily The Fan Experience, tho i sure got a lot out of it in a ton of ways. i mean tbh that’s true of each thing i’ve really Gotten Into majorly, i go hard af and then walk out the other side with these #connections or #experiences like whoa where’d these come from lol!! but really like, overall, i’m probably having the best time right now. the “fandom” is basically just our agenda lmao but like i said i’m always having the best time when it’s a pretty niche deal, And the sheer variety of Contents n Characters to draw from here is super nice, and the fact that it’s like, oh yeah and i’m finally recognizing this should’ve-been-obvious entire Passionne i’ve had since always, and that’s great too, and like, also just having the Variety Of Live / Current Unfoldings that go down.....like, everyone havin fun with the Joe Iconis Xmas Xtrav was entirely great. and just the Engagement level is basically the best, cuz like there’s the times where maybe i’ll get a zillion notes and that’s definitely fun in its own way but i always enjoy just the way smaller amount of ppl who are Particularly Enthusiastic, and like, there’s times where like, maybe i’m *technically* in this larger circle of ppl but like, totally more of like a Tangent or peripheral to that circle or whatever lol........this feels like a really solid balance of like, being sorta in this orbit of people in a chill way, but also definitely the direct interactions Existing, which is always important lol but hasn’t always been a constant throughout my Fandom Experiences at all

23) who were you at the beginning of this decade?

2009-2010 was a real distinct year lol i was in my second year of college in the middle of my teens, when i’d hardly really been getting to Explore My Interests Freely up to that point and still wasn’t, but all of a sudden it’s like goddamn i have to figure out my major???? and i’m like, obviously in the middle of only just now Really getting to figure out my identity in this deeper and more genuine way, thanks to being lucky enough to Live On Campus and be away from home like, 2/3 of the year, but i was just like, oh god i’m in Stress Hell now all the time cuz like. i’m trying to figure out my whole thing and what my ~Career~ should be and i just have no idea but am like, trying super hard all the time lol it was not successful and i was just really stressed about it all the time. i was def quieter back then.....pretty lonely at the time, i did not get into mh and gain the presence of any Online Friends until late 2010, and i hadn’t yet been sort of accepted by a small faction of theatre people via my roommate’s connections.....i wasn’t at all Out yet, and was def In Progress of figuring it all out.....i didn’t have nearly the Self-Esteem i have now lmao, it was Not a great time and in a lot of ways ‘09-’10 was the start of a downturn into Worse Than Usual Times, though in Other ways it was definitely an upturn lol like. the latter related to stuff that was important to me / who i am, the former tied to the situations i was in and the godawful morale that resulted

29) a time when the worst case scenario happened but you pulled through?

well by the end of 2012 i had my Wrath Parent deluxe mad at me big time, AND i was stuck at home all of thee time with that (not at all hours but. every day.) it was terrible!!! tf was going on in 2013, cuz that shit was definitely like, a gross blur of a lot of indistinct misery. and then, relatedly, when it was so shitty in 2015 that i was like fantastic, i am so officially sick of this i’m outta here. i revisited some Misery Posts from that period lately for someone stranger on twitter’s project or something, and boy i was having a bad time Summer Of ‘15 lol, things not getting better at home And a job that was so shitty that it was like..................bye. lol. and then i spent a year living out of a minivan. which was real lucky in ways b/c like. infinitely better than if i had not had that minivan. and when that broke down i was also then lucky enough to have this friend who was relatively nearby who’d also been willing to just like, set me up to Not have to ask the lgbt center where that trans-friendly forest zone a couple cities over was. nothing as dramatic as it could’ve been, fortunately

31) a time you were scared?

hmmm when leaving The Parents Home overnight, that was intimidating. bit of completely jumping into the unknown there, and also like, when you spend your lifetime assuming that Someone’s Arbitrary Wrath will be uponst you always, it’s hard to shake that sense of dread and doom, like ah jeez i am really potentially bringing hell on myself here........and like i mentioned with Start Of The Decade, there was just a ton of fear there all the time lol, trying to figure out virtually overnight The Whole Of Who I Am And What I Want when i’d only just even gotten to start......also i wanna say i maybe came out in 2011?? and i sort of also felt obligated to come out to my parents also (plus i think i was giving them like, one last chance to surprise me and be decent and kind of Grow Up themselves even tho i was the like, 16 y.o.) which yknow, kids you do not have to come out to anyone at all. someone was talking the other day abt how they didn’t think lgbtq “discourse” had evolved as much as you’d hope over the past decade, but idk about that, it's only a little bit of a wildly complex topic, and for starters Online Trans “Discourse” of a decade back was wayyyyyy in a vastly different place than it is now, leaps and strides really. so the way to ~really~ do it was presented kind of more rigidly i think. anyways i did it via email and was incredibly stressed to even open the reply a couple days later lol......which ended up being really weird and vague, and then there was a phone call where no one brought it up, and the only result was increased ire and resentment :( ........and then there was still like, cops encounters! near or not-as-bad-as-they-could’ve-been vehicular collisions! but tbh generally my reaction to the latter was underwhelming, except for one particular time when i was a passenger and also tense af for the rest of the ride. that’s it for Immediate fear really lol......oh wait one time i was at this decent sized Convention Panel Event and when i’m nervous i can Only talk more (it’s possible!!) and i snuck into line for the q&a and Right when i got to the mic (intimidating) they were like oop we’re low on time, lightning round!! :’] that was obviously more just a crapton of l’anxiete

37) a fashion that fell out of style that you wish would make a resurgence?

were Gladiator sandals this decade? the strappy deals that like, went up the ankles / calves? that was in fashion for a year or two and i’m into it. i like sandals and that kind of drama

41) something you learned a lot that not a lot of other people might know about?

i don’t know that i learned way a lot of anything that’s real in-depth knowledge and niche lore.........i have learned Nothing

43) an important relationship (of any kind) you had?

i had???? lmao well either way let’s say current relationships count and like, pretty much everyone in my Sphere i value a lot! i never like, have or have had a ~close~ ring of ppl around me lol like i thought it was lucky if i talked to someone Every Day (and not at all the Usual thing) and now it’s more likely that i talk to two people every day and maybe that sounds sarcastic but it’s not at all lol. i know my social stats aren’t impressive but i so appreciate what i get to enjoy and have. and other Connections might be way more like, we are friendly acquaintances, we talk on rare occasions, we haven’t talked at all in ages, we talk but only to trade cute pics of cats, Etc etc, but i seriously do appreciate all of everyone who’s cool who i get to interact with in any way and like, be in each other’s spheres and Not just like, absolutely on nobody’s radar. also obviously soph you are here in that list in case i wasn’t implying it good enough lol it is 5am and god knows deciphering what i say at any time can be its own challenge.....ur Epic Highs and Lows of bmc 3.0 is so good lmao

[1shimaru]

tagged by @latiaso​ !!!

Last Drink: classic milk tea w small boba

Last Phone Call: from the fax machine (i was helping make sure it worked)

Last Text: to a priest for a mass request

Last Song You Listened To: talk by khalid

Last Time You Cried: i don’t remember!! :DD

Have You Ever Dated Anyone: yes

Been Cheated On: nope!!

Kissed Someone And Regretted It: i don’t think so

Lost Someone Special: i don’t remember, so ig not!!

Been Drunk And Thrown Up: never been drunk!! i have thrown up recently, it really sucks!!

List Three Fav Colors: yellow!! blue, purple

In The Last Year Have You…

Made A New Friend: yep!!

Fallen Out Of Love: uhh no

Laughed Until You Cried: YEAH RECENTLY WITH A STRANGE MAGIC GIF

Met Someone Who Changed You: p..probably?? i think u get changed by every little thing so yeah

Found Out Who Your True Friends Are: i haven’t seen my friends in a year due to school, so no

Found Out Someone Was Talking About You: nobody talks abt me?? not in a bad way, i just think i’m a p chill person so there’s nothing to talk abt 

Kissed Someone On Your FB Friends List: i don’t have a FB ://

General:

How many people on your FB friends list do you know irl: don’t have one!! so none

Do you have any pets: nope ;;

Do you want to change your name: i think my names are good!!

What did you do for your last birthday: drink a cup of champagne. it was my 21st and it tasted terrible. my little cousin made me drink more so i’d make a face and she could record it. several times.

What time did you wake up today: 7:30am. i had work today so i had to be up early!!

What were you doing at midnight last night: R ..READING MANGA... specifically senryu shoujo!! i’d reccommend it!!

Name something you CANNOT wait for: warmer weather.... it’s getting so cold even tho it’s summer -_- and also for my friend to come back from spain!!

Last time you saw your mother: a couple hours ago when she was trying to fax smth

What is one thing you wish you could change about life: bro, financial stability :p

What are you listening to right now: the tea by danny gonzalez

Have you ever talked to a person with the name Tom: yeah, we have a father at the parish by that name. he does a lot of the masses

What’s getting on your nerves: my sister always gets on my nerves, ngl

Most visited website: tumblr...//

Nickname: aaron ^0^)/

Relationship status: single!!

Zodiac sign: capricorn

Pronouns: she/they

Fave tv shows: rottmnt, revisited anime, aaahh idk what else rn

Hair color: dark brown w bleached hair that turned orange

Long or short: short hair!! my hair is thick and heavy and feels Greasy Gross when it’s 2 long

Height: 5’3″

Do you have a crush on someone: a little/// but i like them more as friends

What do you like about yourself: oof god you def Know what i’m feeling, idfjgfkj so open...

Tattoos: none!

Righty or Lefty: right

First surgery: i’ve never had surgery!!

First piercing: i had gold studs when i was younger. then they closed and i got em pierced again, now i have gold stars

First best friend: earliest i remember is preschool.. i had 2 friends, a girl and a boy, i used to be pen pals w the girl but i stopped a long time ago

First sport you joined: soccer in 1st grade i think?? p sure we lost every game tho lmao

First pair of trainers: huh?? like sneakers?? how am i supposed to remember that??

Right Now:

Eating: nothing

Drinking: nothing

Listening to: i answered this one!! i’m listening to danny gonzalez songs

Want kids: NO. NEVER. several reasons why. physically? imagine the toll. financially? IMAGINE THE TOLL...

Career: website design?? something fun??? ;;

Which Is Better:

Lips or eyes: idk///

Shorter or taller: tall is sUPER cool

Romantic or spontaneous: romantic?? i think it’s thoughtful, but ig spontaneous can be too!!

Nice stomach or nice arms: ARMS ARMS ARMS ARMS ARMS WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOOOOYYYYY

Sensitive or loud: sensitive?? when others r loud it hurts my ears, but i’m always loud!! so what does that mean..

Hook up or relationship: relationship

Troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant.. u can think things thru n not get hurt, why would i wanna b in trouble >:0

Have You Ever:

Kissed a stranger: no

Drank hard liquor: NO

Lost glasses/contacts: ya

Sex on a first date: NO!!

Broke someone’s heart: i don’t think so!!

Had your own heart broken: no??

Been arrested: nope

Turned someone down: for a relationship? kind of

Cried when someone died: Yeah, this one hedgehog on yt died and i cried so hard...

Fallen for a friend: yea

Do You Believe In…

Yourself: YEP

Miracles: kinda!!

Love at first sight: kinda!!

Santa Claus: No

Kiss on the first date: aww cute, it can happen

Angels: a little!! i think a little magic is Nice

i can’t tag ppl bc it’s 3:30 am!!

[evanpeaters]

pegleg and lobster boy → 07.19

TIME FRAME: Friday 19th, July. LOCATIONS: World on Wheels, A&E, Los Angeles. DESCRIPTION: Evan and Madelaine decide to go to a disco roller rink, fully dressed up in 80′s gear, but things don’t go to plan.

@madelame-x

Madelaine: The redhead was sad she had to miss the wedding, she really wished she could’ve made it, but she had a commitment to the show and in the end, if someone had to miss it to go to the Convention, Lili was much closer to Saoirse, she’s gladly take the bullet to have her friends go and enjoy themselves while she stuck it out through all the panels. Madelaine loved conventions, she loved getting together with fans, filming content with them and just spending some time there before she either drove back home or retreated herself to the hotel room. Tonight though, it’d be a different kind of Friday night. God even knew how, but one way or the other, she’d flirted enough to get a date with Evan Peters. She’d gone back to LA for the night, figuring she’d wake up early on Sunday and drive to San Diego, so after getting ready in her best 80’s look, she was waiting for him while she munched on some cashew nuts and watched something random on the TV

Evan: Being a free, unemployed man had it’s ups and downs. For the most part, he was incredulously bored and rewatching seasons of shows that he’d never though he’d get to revisit in his life. While on the other hand, it kept him available for when random plans like going to a roller disco with Madelaine Petsch sprung up. He had no idea where he’d plucked the idea out of, only that he knew he needed to make it interesting to warrant the two hour drive for her the next morning. They’d found the perfect one in LA where the aesthetic was heavily based on the 80’s and of course, he was going to take full advantage of that - he was missing out on the 80’s season of AHS, so he’d damn well make up for it now by wearing short-shorts, an old windbreaker jacket and sports socks pulled up. Obviously that came with getting some odd looks as he strolled through the entrance of her housing complex, but he didn’t have it in him to feel any embarrassment. Pulling out his phone, Evan dropped her a text. ‘I’m here now. You better have matched my effort with your outfit, or I’m going to be sending you right back in’.

Madelaine: With her hair all done up to make it as fluffy as possible, a short neon pink short shorts and a crop top with heart shaped sunglasses, Madelaine picked up her tiny backpack and headed downstairs. She got the weirdest looks, but as soon as she laid eyes on Evan, she was pretty sure she wasn’t gonna be the only one turning heads around “All of a sudden, I feel like I’m in a movie” Madelaine said with a laugh as she reached out to greet him with a hug. “You ready for this? I’m putting a disclaimer out there, I’m incredibly clumsy so I’m sorry if I fall on you several times”

Evan: It was easy to spot Madelaine as she emerged, standing out from the others not only due to her outfit, but the way she carried herself. Embracing her back, Evan’s eyes gave her a once over and beamed in approval. “I couldn’t have even imagined you looking any more awesome” He stated in approval, wishing he’d also gone for the headband that he had dismissed as too much. “Is that a warning or a promise? Because I reckon I’ll be just as awful. I’ve never been able to master skateboarding no matter how hard I’ve tried, so I’ll be right down on my ass with you.” Keen to get moving, the actor led the female to the parking lot and clambered into his Landrover, immediately dialing the volume down as he had been blasting some Def Leppard on his way there - a far cry from the disco music they’d soon be surrounded by. The GPS was already programmed into finding the roller rink, and soon enough they were on their way. “You wanna be DJ? Cable’s right here..”

Madelaine: High top All Stars being rocked, she’d never felt more stupid but at the same time, more confident, which really gave her a good feeling about the night. “Thanks, I tried my best with whatever vintage shops had around LA but I’m proud of my look. You don’t look too shabby yourself” She said with a big smile. Walking side by side, Madelaine turned to Evan when he spoke back, laughing a little bit “Oh, well then, let’s just extend a blanket forgiveness for whoever injures the other, sounds good?” She teased. She scaled the step into the Land Rover and sat down, buckling up. “What is that… Give me that!” She pretended to be offended when he started blasting the music. Grabbing the cable, she opened up Spotify into the “All about the 80’s” playlist, Ah-Ha’s ‘Take on Me’ coming in full blast. She started dancing on her seat and chuckling “This is more like it!”

Evan: Now they were both fully warned on how potentially bad each other were going to be at the rink, Evan felt suddenly more reassured. It would’ve been just his luck to suggest something that the other person kicked ass at, while he was left behind, wobbling around. An unapologetic smile was shot over to Madelaine as she protested to his music taste, and he would’ve inflicted more on her just for kicks if he didn’t also have a mutual appreciation for the song she had put on. Wiggling in his seat, Evan tried his best to match her enthusiasm, though driving in LA was admittedly a huge ball ache. Settling on singing along to the playlist instead, Evan only got more and more into it with each surprising new song that came on next. By the time that they were pulling up to a traffic light, 'Hungry Like The Wolf’ was on, and in the car next to them sat a very conventional looking family, the parents looking bewildered and kids bemused as Evan rolled down his window and treated them to the 80’s throwback show.

Madelaine: With her eyes deep into her phone, Madelaine tried to make up a perfect queue with all the fantastic tunes that would match up to their 80’s fantasy. Having spent much of her lifetime stuck in LA traffic, the redhead had lost that habit though ever since she started working in Vancouver for 10 months out of the year. She tried not to get impatient and roll around with the music, stealing random glances from her skating partner, his windbreaker and the genuine smile on his face as he sang along were pulling the most of her attention. Laughing when he rolled the window down, the actress leaned forward and joined the serenade to the family SUV on the other side before the light turned back to green and they had to pull away from their stopping point. The looks on the kids were slightly lost and amused, but the parents were horrified. “How scarred do you think we left those parents?” She joked at him.

Evan: An entertaining car journey partner was always appreciated, so Evan couldn’t have been more thankful for the redhead joining in on their serenade rather than simply rolling her eyes. With one eye on the traffic lights, Evan floored it as soon as they turned back to green, leaving the SUV in their perplexed wake. “I feel like we just took them on a journey back in time to a time their minds forgot because they spent half of it on an acid trip. They’ll have good sex tonight. We did them a favor”. Doing that thing again where his mind drew completely random conclusions and his mouth brought them to life, Evan saw nothing presumptuous at all with his statement, and spent the rest of the journey going back to their vehicle disco. Within another ten minutes, they were pulling into the parking lot, and the male was pleasantly surprised to find it almost full. He’d kind of assumed that roller discos were something time had forgotten, but the beauty of nostalgia and wanting to experience a time you hadn’t fully got to live in clearly kept some customers 'rolling’ in.

Madelaine: Madelaine was about to talk into the beginning of his statement, but she was surprised when he kept on going and drew a full conclusion to the end, making her chuckle and shrug her shoulders a little bit “Maybe they fell in love in an acid trip, maybe they’ll try to re-live it tonight, we may have turned their marriage back into what they felt when they got hitched… We did good, buddy” She said with a small nod and a smile, giving him a clap on the shoulder and a chuckle escaped her throat as she did. The remainder of the drive was spent humming to the music and occasionally rocking out to banging tunes, but when they made it there, Madelaine was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the people were looked out like them “Well this is a party if I’ve ever seen one… Come on, let’s go” She said with a bright smile, all but jumping out of the truck and walking inside with him. Stepping inside the place, she felt a loud booming of the music, turning to look at Evan with a bright smile.

Evan: At least he wasn’t alone in his thought process, it sounded like Madelaine got exactly where he was coming from, and Evan nodded along in agreement. The rink certainly didn’t disappoint as they stepped inside it, the vibe was infectious, and he immediately felt as if they’d made the right call. “Alriiiight.” He exclaimed, excitedly, making a beeline over to the skate rental and trading in his size 10’s. “Aren’t you glad this is the way you’ve chosen to start your weekend off?” And they hadn’t even really got started yet, but he could already tell the day was going to go smoothly.

Madelaine: She could feel her body start to swivel and her feet got a little dancey when they stepped into the place. When he beelined towards the skating place, Madelaine stepped in time behind him and looked around, captivated by the flashing lights and the amazing colors, she looked like a kid in Disney on her first time. Asking for her 6.5 skates, they got handed their pairs and went to sit down on a stool. Slipping the skates on, she couldn’t help but to let out a nervous laugh. She was gonna make such an asshole out of herself, but it was gonna be a fun night. “I absolutely am… As much as I love the con parties, this is… Certainly a better activity” She added. She could’ve gotten vlogging content for her YouTube channel, but this… This was much better.

Evan: didn’t know what it said about him that he was /this/ excited to get out onto the ‘dance floor’, both of them had smiles which threatened to make their jaw ache later, just like everybody else in the place, and the whole atmosphere was infectious. Lacing up his boots, Evan had his on quicker than Madelaine so took it upon himself to get on his knees and lace her second one up. Any time not spent seeing how disastrous they could be was time wasted. Then, he attempted to skate to the rink, the padded flooring making it more of an awkward waddle over there. “Shit, I’m not holding out a lot of hope right now if I’m this awkwardly footed on the non-slippery flooring”, he spoke over his shoulder to Madelaine, flashing her a comic expression before gliding out onto the dancefloor

Madelaine: Long nails and tight laces weren’t really two things that should happen together, nope. The moment the redhead tried to pick the laces from the skating boots to tighten them, she found herself struggling like an idiot, so when Evan knelt down to help her, she picked up her lips in a smile as a quick thank you. The faster she could get this done, the more time they’d spend roller skating… or figuring out how to stay on their feet, actually. Laughing at the way he waddled down the narrow carpet towards the rink, Madelaine tried to calm herself down. He was probably just as awkward as she was, so if anything, this would be more fun than traumatizing. “Hey, I don’t think I’m gonna be much better” She said with a laugh, mimicking his expression. The moment the wheels under her feet touched a slippery surface, she gasped and let out a quiet squeal “Oh God!” Her hands grasped at the railing. Everyone around them looked like either professionals or uncoordinated idiots like them.

Evan: Like with iceskating, it was definitely a wobbly start while you were trying to find your footing - it didn’t help that the last time he had rollerbladed had probably been +10 years ago, but he was a show off at heart, and even though he was just getting re-acquainted with the skates, the actor turned to face Madelaine, rather slowly managing to skate backwards instead. 'Born to Handjive’ from the Grease soundtrack was playing, so he worked his best 'mashed potato’ hand movements until a couple who clearly spent far too much time here sped past, twirling their way across the dancefloor, sending him into a complete wobble. “Show offs”. He mumbled, rolling his eyes over at Madelaine. “How ya doing there, red? Did you uh…is it a personal choice to be travelling at the speed of a baby sloth?”

Madelaine: She wasn’t gonna lie to herself, hell no, Madelaine was terrified. She’d been a dancer for most of her childhood years, where was all that dexterity and capability now, for fuck’s sake! The music was relaxing her, and slow but steadily, she was starting to stop moving herself by gripping the railing and pulling on it to push herself forward, and letting go of it to actually move and shuffle her legs. Laughing at Evan’s failed attempt to dance and his face contorting back to a scowl when he saw the clearly very experienced couple, she couldn’t help it but laugh “Oh my God, shut up, I hate you!” She said with a loud laugh, looking down at her feet, terrified to even move too far away from the railing “Uhm, excuse me, I don’t see you moving all that fast and far away, buddy”

Evan: Glancing around to check the coast was clear of that distracting as heck couple, Evan made his way back over to where Madelaine had managed to…pull herself? “I’m only going this slow so I can stick close to you. You know the drill, never leave a man behind”. Okay, so maybe that was a stretch from the truth. Maybe he hadn’t grown the ability to speed off and weave in and out of the others yet, but he sure as hell was picking it up with more ease than the actress. A smile that struggling not to be smug on his face, Evan held out his hand for Madelaine, hoping she would substitute the railing for his own balance. “Come on, we’re getting in the middle”.

Madelaine: This should’ve been easier, come on Madelaine, get yourself together, you’re looking like an idiot! The redhead tried to convince herself, to pull some of Cheryl’s fake confidence to herself and with a deep breath, she let go of the rails and put her hands up to her sides to balance herself “Alright, alright, I’m getting there… Leave no man behind, you’re full of crap” She said, rolling her eyes before smiling back at him. Looking at his hands, she reached out to grab them, the first impulse in her body when she could take a grip of something was to go strong for it, so she almost even leaned a little bit into her arms when she felt the support from him “To the middle? Oh God I-Oh shit” She cursed out as she started slipping around. She wasn’t falling but this certainly was faster than desirable “If you let go of my hands, I’m going to murder you”

Evan: It really was rapidly getting easier for Evan, so with every surge of newfound confidence, he wanted to push Madelaine a little further and he couldn’t help but pull her along with him the more and more he sped up. “I’m not gonna let go, I promise. Although…you might start wanting me to, soon. I mean look at this, I’m pretty much pro now” gesturing down at the very standard skating that was taking place, Evan knew full well that if anything else was required of him - if he had to turn suddenly, or even try a jump - he knew he’d go crashing down onto his ass, so this would do for now. “You’ve also progressed to fully grown sloth now, so I’m proud of you”.

Madelaine: The middle of the rink was less crowded, with all the people who wanted to go fast and move at a faster-than-glacier pace moving out to the edges, they were left almost alone in the middle of the floor and with less people around, Evan was starting to pick up a little speed and oh dear, Madelaine’s pale delicate hands were about to squeeze the life out of his broad ones. “Well then, Mr. Pro, go on and do a fun trick for everyone to baffle at your wonderful skills” She taunted him and laughed, trying to look at his feet. He was getting the hang of it, so she tried to copy him. One foot outwards, then back in, then the other one. Okay it wasn’t that hard. Rolling her eyes at the comparison, she groaned “Next time, we’re going to a ballet studio and I’m showing you how it’s done” She said with a laugh, needing to prove herself “Okay this is- I’m… This is actually- Okay” She spoke to herself as she started gaining more and more confidence, the grip on the blonde’s hands starting to loosen but definitely still there, mostly for moral support.

Evan: With less people around to crash into, Evan did feel like getting a little more experimental, though he was sure he’d come to regret it if he crashed and burned, not only infront of Madelaine, but everyone else in the rink. Plus, his white short-shorts threatened to rip if he tried anything too vigorous. “You told me not to let go of your hand yet, remember? So are you going to be doing this with me, or what?”. On his own, he probably would’ve just thrown his body down onto the floor, completed the worm and called it a day, but how hard could partner tricks be, really? “So bring some of that ballet grace here. Teach me how to pirouette, if you can. Which I reckon you can. You’re just in your own head right now because you’re worried about falling over and hurting yourself - but weren’t you like that on the first day of your ballet classes, too?”

Madelaine: When Evan proposed she’d do a trick with her, Madelaine’s big brown eyes widened and she shook her head “Oh no.. No no… No no no, don’t worry about me” She said with a laugh, licking her lips “I don’t think I could do any of that and ballet… In ballet you’re standing on your own feet, not on wheels! It’s like- For a pirouette, you just grab momentum and you have to go on pointe, lift your leg- And that’s just not gonna happen here” She said with a chuckle. “But here- lets see I… Mhm” She hesitated for a second before she pulled her hands back. Not too far, since she wanted to be right there if she needed to grab them again, but she straightened up her spine and looked up at him with a big smile, like a child coming back from school with a good grade “Look! Look I’m doing this” She almost yelled with pride, which turned a lot of heads who gave her some very weird looks, but she couldn’t care less.

Evan: In hindsight, maybe it was a good idea Evan couldn’t talk her into trying any tricks. He was just tapping into his inner motivational speaker when he didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about - pirouettes were hard enough to master on your own toes, never mind on wheels. Still, it seemed to have instilled some confidence in her as she let go of his hand and took a better stance. The looks she was getting for her outburst only made Evan want to her obnoxiously loud with her, which he did, whooping and clapping as the girl managed to skate alongside him unaided. “You’re a graceful motherfucking Dove right now. Dove Cameron, who? Here’s Dove Petsch, coming through!”

Madelaine: Back upright, strength in her core, her legs were strong but her knees were bent as she used them to push downwards and out, once each time, this was easy, no wonder Evan had picked it up so quickly. Laughing when he started cheering her on, the redhead rolled her eyes and scoffed “Oh my God, you’re such an ass” She said with a laugh, letting herself relax a little now that she’d gotten into the rhythm of things. “With normal skates, this would’ve been a lot easier, it’s this freaking shoe thing with the four wheels, it’s like stepping on a toy car and- Oh shit”. Madelaine squealed before launching herself forward after putting too much weight on one of the outside wheels and it gave out under her weight, twisting her ankle under her body and making her fall to the ground arms first. “Fuck- that hurt a lot” She said between laughs, turning herself around and laying on her back with her sore leg laying down “I told you this would happen” She couldn’t stop laughing, a hand coming over her eyes.

Evan: Evan felt like a proud father as he watched Madelaine fly the nest, her speed picking up as she put some distance between them…and then, she was crashing to the ground. “Oh…fuck” Evan let out, immediately skating to her side, a concerned look on his face as he practically skidded to his knees. Please don’t cry, please don’t cry, he inwardly begged, hoping she hadn’t hurt herself too much and would consequently hate him for bringing her there. Then, her body started rocking and Evan reached out to…cradle her? He guessed, he didn’t know, he was awful at this sort of stuff. Laughter replaced any tears, and without knowing what was going on, the actor let out a couple of nervous laughs himself. “Why are you laughing?! Oh god, is this a 'laugh so you don’t cry sorta situation right now? Are you actually hurt? Where does it hurt?”

Madelaine: She’d always been the kind of person who’d rather laugh at her own foolishness before everyone started laughing at her, and this was no different than any other case. Before Evan started laughing at her, at least he’d be laughing with her. Plus, the situation was incredibly comical, if nothing else. Watching him come towards her and cradle her, concern in his eyes as he tried to figure out why the hell was she laughing instead of bitching and moaning, Madelaine shook her head and smiled at him “I’m laughing because I just ate shit in tiny short shorts in front of everyone here, how could I not laugh” She said between laughs “I’m fine, I think I’m fine” She said, happily leaning on him for support and sitting upright “I’m okay, I’m- Oh, my ankle” She said as she pulled her leg back and her ankle twinged

Evan: Now that Madelaine was putting it into words, Evan could appreciate how ridiculous the whole scenario was, and actually let himself laugh along to it with her. Other people were skating past glancing their way, but the fact they were both laughing probably dismissed the idea of her needing help. Moving to get back to his feet, Evan stopped mid-action as the redhead winced in pain while attempting to move. “Shit.” he let out, his mind instantly jumping to conclusions that she’d broken it. “Can you stand on it at all? Here -” holding out a hand and supporting her under the elbow, Evan attempted to pull her up - a feat made a lot more difficult thanks to the rollerskates. In hindsight, maybe he should’ve taken them off first.

Madelaine: Keeping her foot off the ground, which was heavier even with the skate, the redhead tried not to wince too hard when she stood up and allowed her weight to rest on Evan “I.. Shit- I don’t think I can” She said with a small chuckle. Looking down at their feet, Madelaine looked up at him and narrowed her eyes a little bit “Two people and three legs on skates… Why do I have a feeling this is not gonna be a good idea”

Evan: Full time carer mode activated when Madelaine admitted she couldn’t put any pressure on her ankle, and he was definitely in agreement to it not being a good idea for him to attempt to skate along, dragging a one-legged female in his wake. “Yeah, you’re right, one second”. With one arm still around Madelaine, Evan fumbled with his laces until they were loose enough for him to pull his skates off, one by one, wobbling haphazardly the entire time. Once they were off, he ditched them in the middle of the rink and padded back to the entrance in his socks, rolling Madelaine along with him. In a way, their predicament had now come in handy so she wouldn’t have to hop along or get him to carry her - which wouldn’t be the case once they’d left the establishment, but the thought of giving her a piggy back around didn’t bother him in the slightest. Once they had left the dancefloor, Evan sat Madelaine down onto the nearest bench and got back to his knees, his eyes holding her own gaze as he spoke. “Alright so, I’m not gonna lie, this is probably gonna hurt…” trailing off, the actor attempted to get her skate off as gently as possible, which would’ve been a lot easier if they weren’t high-tops.

Madelaine: With one arm wrapped around Evan’s shoulders and the other one holding onto his bicep, Madelaine tried her best to keep her balance and roll her way from the middle of the rink to the small exit door, following him and trying her best to hop and scoot herself onto where they once sat to put these death traps on. “Yeah I- Oh ouch ouch ow ow ow!” She whimpered as Evan started to unlace the shoes and pull them off. She hated being the whiny girl, she was always so strong and fended for herself, so this was less than desirable. As he was managed to slip the injured feet’s skate off, the redhead bent down to try and take the other one off “I told you this was gonna end badly, I’m so sorry” She said, biting her lip and shaking her head as she kicked the other one off and sighed.

Evan: hated hearing Madelaine in pain, especially knowing he was the one that was sort of inflicting it on her by trying to get the boot off, but he couldn’t give up half way, and with the last little wiggle, he’d managed to free her foot. The sounds she was making definitely wasn’t promising, and normally he wouldn’t resort straight to this, but he knew she was a busy girl who couldn’t just let wait to let recovery happen without actually knowing what they were dealing with. “Don’t be sorry at all, if anyone should be sorry, it should be me. This was my idea, and you’re probably gonna hate me even more for suggesting this, but…I think we need to get you to the hospital. I can carry you out to my car? I know this isn’t exactly how you planned to spend your con weekend, and I feel so fucking bad”.

Madelaine: “Hey, no, don’t say that!” Madelaine said with a smile, shaking her head a little bit “I wanted to come here, and let’s face it, in the twenty minutes we spent in there I had the time of my life… Before my clumsy self kicked in” The redhead said, a shrug picking up her shoulders with a small smile to make him feel better. The rink people brought them their shoes over, seeing that Madelaine was struggling a little bit and Evan was helping, and she thanked them with a kind smile. “Really?” The girl asked her companion “Do you think it’s like… Hospital bad?” She asked, looking down at her feet. It was certainly swollen, but at least it wasn’t broken or anything, right? Hearing him offer to carry her to his car, Mads furrowed her brow “I haven’t had a good piggy back in ages… Turn around” She said, picking her Converse up by the high top and waiting until he turned around and lowered himself enough for her to jump on his back.

Evan: Evan’s concerned expression melted into a smile as Madelaine reassured him. He too had been enjoying himself thoroughly until the inevitable happened and one of them bit the dust. “Hey, if it wasn’t going to be you, it would’ve been me, so either way one of us was going to end up carried out of here, and I think you would’ve struggled a little more carrying my ass out. Also, it’s better to be safe than sorry, right? I’d rather them do x-rays on it now than to find out your ballet days are behind you in a few months when the bone fuses back together in some gnarly, unaligned way”. Scooping up his own shoes, Evan got into position for her to be able to hop on with ease, and made his way out of the building. “See ya later, 80th century. It’s been emotional”. He declared as they re-entered the parking lot, spinning back around so he could place her onto the passenger seat. “Alright, I know a hospital pretty close to here, and I’ll drive you to San Diego in the morning so don’t even…worry about that”.

Madelaine: He always had to make it odd, first with the couple who got married on an acid trip, now with her bones fusing into an anthropomorphic mess of a leg, and Madelaine couldn’t help it but laugh. Even if she was in slight pain and was getting carried out of a skating rink on the back of someone she’d only met today, she was smiling, and that meant a lot to her. “Well, I can’t have that! How’s the show gonna explain that? Oh, Cheryl got into a bad cheerleading accident and had to have her ankle and foot replaced by a stump, we’ve swapped her storyline, now she’s half pirate” She said with an eloquent voice, as if she were pitching the idea to show runners. Sliding herself onto the seat and buckling up, the concern in Evan’s voice made her heart melt “Hey, don’t worry about that… You’re doing more than enough now. I mean, sitting in a waiting room in those short shorts? They’re gonna wanna take -you- in for tests”

Evan: “I mean…a storyline like that would /definitely/ make me want to watch the show. You said she was a closeted bitch at first, so she’s changed slightly already, why not go the full stretch and have her be a pirate in the next season?” Sliding back into the seat that he was unaware he’d be sitting back in so soon, Evan buckled himself in and began the drive to the nearest hospital, chuckling softly at the thought of them sat side by side in the accident and emergency department dressed how they were. If anything, hopefully it would give the staff on shift a smile. “So what’s the story we’re going with? Are we gonna pretend you hurt it doing something a lot more badass than struggling to roller skate, or are we just going to hope and pray that they’ve had this kind of scenario before?”

Madelaine: “Of course the peg leg girl would attract the lobster claw boy” Madelaine said with an eyeroll and a laugh, her whole body semi-turned to face him as he drove her. He really didn’t have to, so she appreciated that he was taking the time to do this for her. Making sure she had everything she needed in her backpack, the redhead allowed herself to flump back down on the seat “I mean, with Riverdale you never know, maybe the next villain will be a crazy pirate and Cheryl will be his side kick” She joked. “Mhm…” His question took her a little off guard “I think they must’ve seen this before. Maybe not the disco rink, but the outfits? Definitely. Remember all the acid marriages, they need to re-live their golden years, and I’m sure there’s gotta be more than one fella who goes wild for these short shorts” She said, shimmying her butt on the seat for a second before groaning, she’d moved her ankle a bit and it stung again.

Evan: “Peg leg girl and lobster claw boy, now that sounds like a duo that I could…ship?” He stated, attempting to use the terminology that he’d seen fans use so many times. From the sounds of it, with their wacky plotlines, maybe Riverdale wasn’t so different from AHS afterall, only a lot less serious and a lot more camp. “I honestly think you should suggest that - a crazy pirate sounds like the perfect addition to your show.” Attempting to keep the conversation flowing to take Madelaine’s mind off the pain, Evan cast a glance over at the female as she shimmied and instantly regretted it. “Alright, you…stop being all bubbly until further notice, if you can. That’s doctors orders” He demanded, resuming more small talk until they’d reached the hospital, where he parked the car and got back into position for her to climb on his back again. Maybe it was a little extra, but it was a hell of a lot faster just to carry her than to make her hop alongside him, with a lot less movement on her part as well. Reaching the front desk of the accident department, the clerk saw to them pretty sharpishly once she realised Madelaine was on his back. “So uh, we have a case of terrible roller-skater here with possibly sprained or broken ankle…”

Madelaine: With a made up frown on her face, Madelaine tried to stay put on her ass while Evan drove them to the emergency room. Looking down at her feet, she couldn’t help it but laugh a little bit, throwing her head back to the head rest and closing her eyes for a split second, taking in a deep breath and letting it out with a grumpy sigh “I have to wear heels tomorrow for interviews!” She whined into the air before chuckling quietly. It could’ve been a lot worse. The pain, as annoying as it was, was completely bearable and she could put up with it until the end of the weekend. Watching him pull into the parking spaces, the redhead re-assumed her shimmying technique until the end of the seat and went up on her companion’s back, resting her head on his shoulders. The emergency area wasn’t too crowded, mostly people who were clearly not feeling well, but no actual emergencies they could be stopping. “Oh hi” She said with a bright smile, waving her hand to the nurse on the other side of the counter. “Oh, put her down on that chair, we’ll take care of it” The nurse said, pointing at a wheelchair with a male nurse holding it. Dismounting Evan’s back, Madelaine hopped onto the chair, handing her backpack and shoes over to the blonde boy “I’m sure I won’t be long. Just some X-Rays before I see the doctor, right?” She asked, looking back at the nurse. “Yeah, you can wait here, your girlfriend will be right back” He said as he started wheeling her away.

Evan: It was just Evan’s luck that he’d managed to hang out with some female company, and once again, they were whisked away by some hunky dude. Only this time, they weren’t dating, and afore mentioned hunky dude was simply her nurse. That was better than what he was used to. As they rolled away, Evan only just registered what the staff member had said, so had to raise his voice a little for his response to be heard. “Bold of you to assume I could land someone that hot!” he called out jokingly, sticking his hand into the bowl of candy that sat upon the desk, noticing the clerk giving him a judgemental look as he unwrapped the sweet and popped it into his mouth. “What’s up?” He spoke with no response. “...You come here often?”

Madelaine: It must’ve taken around half an hour to fourty five minutes before all the X-Rays were taken, but Madelaine really wasn’t rushed at all. Many nurses came over to ask her about the show, and she was happy to see the fans ranged from all ages and professions. If someone as serious as a doctor could watch something as camp-y as Riverdale, they were doing a good job. By the end of it, she was getting rolled back to Evan in the waiting room with a smile on her face and a bandage on her leg. “Hey, you” She said with a big smile “So, no big heels while standing up, you can wear them for interviews and photo ops, but try and get down to flats as soon as possible, and ice whenever you can, alright? The pain should be gone in 3 to 5 days, it’s just a hard twist, not even a sprain. You’ve got a very good friend here who made sure you didn’t step on it” The Doctor said while looking at Evan and then the girl “Thank you so much, Doctor- Oh wait, can I have your pen?” She said, looking down and then at Evan “Pass me my backpack?” She asked, quickly pulling out her wallet. Taking out one business card, she scribbled her signature and the names of the two daughters he’d mentioned were big fans of the show before handing it and the pen back “Make sure to have them come over to San Diego any time of the weekend if they want, I’ll walk outside to give them a hug… Or maybe this guy can give me a piggyback ride” She teased, looking at Evan and giving him a wink.

Evan: Drumming his fingers absentmindedly against the arms of the chair he was sat on, Evan didn’t even notice the looks the clerk kept giving him, his presence clearly irritating her. He was used to that. Blame it on his ADD, he barely even noticed anymore when he was being a little shit. Finally, there was movement out of the corner of his eye, and his 80’s clad friend was being wheeled back towards him. Getting up with a grin, Evan flashed her a thumbs up at the bandage. “Nice. I’m liking the SDCC accessory of choice”, he teased, knowing full well that a girl as fashion forward as Madelaine wouldn’t wear it and do her best to pretend nothing was wrong with her ankle tomorrow. He watched on as she refused to let herself leave without giving a little something back to the doctor who had taken care of her, and he had to smile, most people would’ve been in too much of a hurry to cater to their own needs to think about others. “Well, I don’t know about /that/, I’ve gotta be in Italy tomorrow…but tell you what, you need to rest, I figure we can’t do anything that requires you standing up anymore, so I’ll drive you to San Diego. Today, in your car. That way I don’t have to leave you straight away, and we can talk a little more? Or…carry on serenading random car loads of people?”

Madelaine: Rolling her eyes at Evan’s comment, Madelaine couldn’t help it but smile. He knew full and well that she wouldn’t wear the bandage, but she’d try to do the best with her ice packs and resting the leg, but Cheryl wasn’t gonna go down to her flats, and neither was she, so it’d just have to fix itself with time. Watching the whole medical staff wave goodbye and leave them, Madelaine reached up with her hands as if to ask Evan for a hand to hold and get up. She could hop towards the car, he’d carried her enough and as much as she joked about, he’d done more than she’d expected. “Yeah, I think I’m out of commission… I’m sorry I had to cut our night at the rink short, you looked like a natural” She said with a small smile “You wanna drive two hours to San Diego?” She asked, eyebrow cocked up. “I mean, yeah of course, I don’t have much to do tonight, but do you really wanna do that?” She wanted to invite him over to her house and they could talk there, he didn’t have to do all that for her.

Evan: Taking Madelaine’s hand, Evan helped her to her feet and propped an arm over his shoulder, both of them a little more lenient with how much movement she made now they knew it wasn’t broken. That had to be relieving for her, she had a heck of a lot to do that weekend and he would’ve felt endlessly guilty if she couldn’t dive into it as much as she wanted. Although, if he were honest with himself, he’d get a little kick out of seeing all of the professional shots of the Riverdale crew looking glamorous, with a wink to their few hours spent in LA together in the form of a bandage on her ankle. “It’s totally cool, if we had stayed any longer I probably would’ve grown /too/ good at it, and people would’ve been marvelling, it would’ve been embarrassing, you know?” Hopping back into his own car, Evan waited for them to settle on a destination before he bothered putting the key in the ignition. “I mean, it makes sense, you can’t really drive with a jacked up ankle, I don’t know how else your car would get to San Diego, and I can easily get a train or bus back, it’s chill. I’m making the decision for you”.

Madelaine: Hopping back towards the car, Madelaine gripped onto Evan’s waist tightly as she tried to steady herself and balance everything she had going on while they made it back. Getting on the truck was hard now that she wasn’t getting positioned from his back, but once she managed to get in there, she happily buckled in and let her foot rest on her healthy leg “You probably would’ve ended up getting like, scouted for a national 80’s roller derby team, and what would’ve been of your acting career? Someone with that much rollering skills can’t drop out of such a thing, you had to represent your country! Really, it’s for the best, I did you a favor in the end” She added with a small shrug, trying to keep a straight face for as long as she could before she cracked. Hearing him say that he’d happily drive her and taken a bus back to LA had the redhead shaking her head “What? No way, no, I refuse. We can go home, and open a bottle of wine and talk until the sun comes out if you want, but I’m not gonna let you do that. I’m… Very thankful, but I’ve got castmates who are driving from here, my stylist and make up team, an Uber, there’s plenty of ways I can get there. And you’ve got a flight to catch in the morning.”

Evan: Evan wasn’t sure what he expected Madelaine to be like, but honestly…this wasn’t it. He’d probably thought she’d take herself more seriously, so was pleasantly surprised to find out she can be just as goofy as himself - her next joke proved it. Shaking off the laugh that consumed them both for a moment, the male got the car started and buckled himself in. “Alright, if you’re sure. The option’s always there. But I like the sound of your idea, too....Your place or mine?”

[my-robot-heart]

Hi, Robot!

I saw that you said earlier today that you're not sure if you'd be up for writing Lizzington in the foreseeable future and I totally get why you feel that way (after all, I haven't logged in here or done anything creative in more months than I'd like to admit, and it's not like I would be like this if I had enough motivation/inspiration/strength to create something Lizzington and not think about the 8th season and absolutely gutted we and Red and Liz were by it... I do think I'm finally finding it, though) but I just saw the soft-ish dialogue prompts you reblogged recently (and you know what a soft spot I have for prompts... especially when they're so soft 🥺) and got an idea and wanted to send it to you in case you ever feel like writing something about Red and Liz again.

So, how about number 14 from that list going like that (I changed the prompt slightly to better fit the situation, hope you don't mind):

Lizzy: “No one’s ever sung you a lullaby before?”

Red: “Not ever. (a beat) But no one has sung me a lullaby in a very long while.”

Because I officially uncanon the last couple of seasons of TBL and declare that the only canon that exists, as far as Lizzington concerned, is the one where Liz and Red are happy together.

But also because I'm sure that, since Red has a relationship with sleep more difficult than his relationship with his dear Lizzy once was (they're past that chapter in their life, thankfully), Liz has quickly fallen into a habit of singing the lullabies Sam used to sing to her when she was a little girl (who also had a difficult relationship with sleep) to Red to help him fall asleep and/or soothe him after a nightmare.

Wish you all the sunny days and everything great there is in life,

Di / Spades

PS. I've really missed you, Robot. And I hope that the knowledge that I reread your Lizzington fics and ficlets a lot in those months I was inactive and they've given me a lot of warm, fuzzy feelings and happy minutes all over again will bring a smile to your face 😉🤗😘💐

Omg Di 🥺🙏🏻💛 Thank you so much for writing! I feel like one of the worst parts of the s8 finale was like, people just disappearing without a trace to distance ourselves from this (shit)show. I'm so glad to hear from you and to know you're finding warm fuzzy feelings from rereading my fics 🤍🤍🤍 That definitely always makes me smile to hear.

I freaking love that soft prompt list and I'll definitely keep this prompt in mind if I decide to write something Lizzington in the future! In fact I'd love to read it also lol, in case YOU decide you've waited long enough and just go for it yourself.

I don't know how to explain what my brain feels like rn but even though I blocked the show tags, watching s8 is burned in my mind now and sometimes it's like even when I try to remember old seasons and pretend to erase the new stuff, it still creeps in and makes me sad. That's why taking a break from writing it has felt right for me; I wondered for a bit if I'd want to write a fix-it for the finale but honestly revisiting any of it is super frustrating. (You get it lol)

Considering your headcanon about sleep, I always thought both of them had their fair share of night terrors and nighttime panic, and so I def agree with you that they'd find easy comfort in the fact that they no longer had to face the nights on their own.

We're finally finally moving into sunny spring here in Canada, so thank you so much for the wishes of sunshine - it hits differently after the long winter, and I truly appreciate it. Hoping you have sun ahead of you as well.

xo