#errr add-on in this case

[chanzilla123]

I hope you don’t mind my addition, but something interesting about Yuma’s birthday (May 22nd) is that it actually takes place on the International Day for Biological Diversity.

Considering how his original identity’s goal was to bring happiness to everyone and how Chapter 5/the epilogue plays out, this date is really fitting for Yuma’s birthday.

Yuma and Yakou are also both Gemini. I think it’s also an extremely fitting astrological sign for Yuma for two reasons. The first reason is that it fits with his dual personality (his past self vs. his current self). The other reason is that Gemini is represented by Castor and Pollux/Polydeuces, twin half-brothers in classical mythology. While Castor was the son of Tyndareus and mortal, Pollux was the son of Zeus and immortal. Doesn’t the mortal and immortal aspect sound vaguely familiar to Yuma’s connection with a certain someone?

To keep with the theme I've got rolling since my latest post, I'll share a silly little fun fact!

Yakou's birthday is on May 21st! It's a national day for a lot of pretty sweet n cute things!

Wait a minute... did I read that right? Let's enhance!

After some light research, it turns out that on May 21st, 2011, it was predicted to be the end of the world. While it isn't as widely remembered as the other prediction of Doomsday on December 21st, 2012 (where my Miracle Musical enjoyers at?), this date still listed as the national day for the world's end. And as we're all aware, this is an overarching theme for chapter 4. As stated in the opening of the chapter:

"Eventually, after a restful slumber... The end of the world arrives. The end of the world I believed in."

Yuma's birthday is immediately after Yakou's, May 22nd. The end of one world and the beginning of another, perhaps? I have zero idea if this choice of a birthday of all things was intentional, but it makes for some good trivia!

[luciferlightbringer]

Talk to Me

Chapter 4

Lucifer x Fem Fallen Angel Reader Word Count: 5.1k CW: Angst, trauma, trust building, slow burn, enemies to lovers(ish?), lies, curiosity Guess who is finally gonna talk to each otherrrr?

|Chapter 3|Chapter 4|Chapter 5 (Updated through Chapter 5)

As happy as you were to be back at the nice new hotel, with nice new rooms, and nice new… friends(?), that didn’t mean that there was still a lot that you were trying to get used to. A lot that still felt overwhelming.

You had gone to sleep that night feeling ready to take on getting to know the others in the hotel, even briefly said hi to a couple of them, Angel, Husk, Cherri, and Niffty. But the next morning you woke up in a panicked cold sweat, and the tightened feeling in your chest about being around sinners.

You stayed into your room for a couple days, only sneaking out to get food.

You spent much of that time moving between freaking out and trying to figure out what to do to help other sinners. You just wish you had someone to talk it out with.

As if to a sort of answer to your prayers, Charlie knocked on your door. You slowly opened the door before giving her a panicked hug. She held you close and stroked your hair.

“Charlie, I’m so sorry I have not left my room… I’ve been meaning… trying to… but… I’m still so overwhelmed… I know that no one here will cause me harm… but I can’t help but think…”

Charlie shushed you as she held you, “Hey, it’s ok. I’m not upset, don’t worry. I know that I am wanting to encourage you but also not push you too far… I’ve made that mistake before… what do you feel like you need from me?” You thought, you’d never been asked that before. You think you would usually be the one asking Emily that in the past.

“Well… talking helps…”

Charlie smiled and moved further into the room with you, closing the door, sat on your bed and patted next to her “Tell me what is on your mind.”

You went to go sit by her and sighed, “I… I don’t know… I guess the first thing is… other sinners scare me… I don’t know what to do.”

Charlie thought, “Well… other sinners can be scary, but they can also be nice too. You never know what it is that made someone come to hell. I’ve always had the thought that sinners might not always be bad people.”

You gave Charlie a confused look.

Charlie thought again, “Ok uhh… let’s take Angel Dust for example. He’s a porn star. Why do you think he became a porn star?”

You shrugged, “Because he was a pornstar on Earth?”

Charlie shook her head, “Not the case actually. What would you say if you knew he grew up on Earth in the Mafia, with no way to escape, and spent most of his energy protecting his little sister?”

“That’s… huh…well being in the Mafia is bad… but if he was trapped in it… and he was protecting his sister… then that’s good…”

“He also is protective of others here at the hotel,” Charlie added, “He is almost like an older brother to Niffty.”

You thought for a minute about this, “But… how did he end up here… as a porn star?”

Charlie shrugged, “Lots of people end up here and get pulled into the… errr rough culture of Hell. Somehow he found his way to Valentino, the Overlord of the Porn Industry, and they made a contract.”

“And the cycle continues all over again,” you realize.

“Exactly,” Charlie added.

“And he is back repeating the same mistakes, because that’s what he needed to do to survive on earth,” you perk up more.

“Yes,” Charlie adds with more excitement.

“And… if he is becoming more good at the hotel… or doing more good things… it’s because…”

“Because he has a community to help him learn that there is more outside of that place of survival. That he can have support that isn’t abusive. Support that is kind and helps him find what he wants without being evil.” Charlie added.

You felt like your brain exploded. People weren’t just bad to be bad, some people were bad because of the community around them. Your heart broke.

“Some people on earth…” you start to choke on some tears, looking at Charlie “Some people on earth… had no chance of being good in their lifetime, did they? Not because they didn’t want to, but because they did not know how? Because they were not in a life where they were able to be around good people? They were trying to be the best they could in a bad environment?”

Charlie nodded, “Exactly.”

Tears streamed down your face, his realization made you so sad and so angry. So it was not just that people chose to be good or bad? Was there a gray area in the middle?

Charlie rubbed your back as you cried. She was… surprised by your response. She would hoped it would click, but something about this made you so upset. Questioning things? She was intrigued at the thought that this was not something that was understood by all sinners, but she guessed that everyone was different in their understanding. Everyone on earth experienced such vastly different things, it was hard to consider any sort of “standard” to the human experience.

Your tears soon settled, and you continued to look onto the floor, “I want to understand more… I want to.. to hear people’s experiences more… see more of this in action. But how would I do that?”

Charlie thought, “You could… just offer people a space to talk! Like… just saying you will be there to listen? Maybe talk them through some ideas if they want that?”

You thought and nodded, “Ya… that might work, but how would I get people to want to talk to me?”

Charlie stood up and started to pace around the room as she thought, “Well… I could encourage it as part of the hotel curriculum. Maybe they can get out of other activities occasional if they talk with you. Ultimately, them talking to you would need to be for their benefit though. Not just for you learning… Hmm…” Charlie continued to pace.

“Well… I think I would have to promise not to share anything outside of that conversation with anyone,” you added.

“Right! Hmm… we might want to be careful with that though,” Charlie said, “I don’t want anyone to abuse that. Like say if someone told you about something where they want to harm someone else or the hotel? I think you wouldn’t be able to keep that secret.”

“Oh ya, good point,” that though made you a little nervous, but you had to be prepared for anything, “I would just have to tell people the rules at the beginning.”

“That sounds good.”

“Ok… I can work with that… I think I with want to brainstorm for a little while more before starting anything.”

“Totally!” Charlie perked, “It sounds like an amazing idea that we can run the idea past the others. But for this to work, it would help if you started to come out and interact with them some more, what do you say?” Charlie held out a hand.

You looked at her hand and smiled, you knew she was right. You took her hand and followed her downstairs.

You took the rest of the evening and the next few days getting to know Vaggie, Angel Dust, Husk, Niffty, Cherri, and Alastor more. Though Alastor didn’t share much about himself other than the general vibe that he was powerful and scary. But overall the others did not make you feel bad about needing some time to get used to Hell, many of them had died a long time ago but they all remembered it being hard, even though they all varied in how much they accepted their placement in Hell.

Several days later, Charlie brought up the idea of your “Talk Time” with the other members of the hotel, and they were given time to talk through their worries or concerns.

“How do you know you ain’t gonna move to conversation to what you want? How do you know you ain’t gonna judge us?” Angel asked.

“Hmm… everything in that room is about you and your story. I want to learn more and support you guys. And if you ever do feel that way, you can tell me. I’m not forcing anyone to be there, I’m there if you want to talk some someone,” you responded, “Anything you tell me, I’m gonna do everything I can to meet it with curiously, not judgement. I’m not gonna be perfect, but I wanna try.”

“How do you know you are actually going to keep our secrets? What stops you from just blabbing them to all of Hell?” Husk asked.

You thought about that, and you looked at Charlie and Vaggie. You knew there was a certain type of silence spell that was sometimes used in Heaven, mostly for people on themselves so that they would not accidental spill secrets. It’s a spell that Adam should have used when it came to the exterminations, but his pride got in the way and he didn’t. You were curious if either of them had magic like that.

“Do either of you have magic that can cause a sort of silencing spell? One that could force me to not be able to talk about certain things?”

Charlie and Vaggie looked at each other and thought. Alastor in the corner of the room gripped his cane, thinking of the magic threads that kept his own secrets locked away.

Vaggie thought of the same angelic seal that you had, she found it cruel though, but she understood the reason here. Part of her was curious about how you had thought of that so quickly, but now was not the time to dive into that.

“I do”, she said “It binds you to keeping secrets within specified parameters, like if it were to be like “You are are bound to keep the secrets of Charolette Morningstar, so long as keeping the secret would not cause harm to others.”” Or something.”

You nodded, that sounded right, “Can we try it so everyone can see?”

Vaggie nodded and began the spell, saying it the same thing she had said before, then she prompted Charlie to tell you a small secret. Charlie came up and in your ear whispered “I accidentally used Vaggie’s toothbrush one time before we were officially dating and I’ve never told her and I feel really bad about it.” You wanted to laugh because it was such an innocent secret, but your face remained neutral.

You turned to the group and attempted to say the secret but all that happened was your lips sealed shut and a red X marked over your mouth, silencing you for a moment before disappearing. You tried it again, and the red X appeared. You looked out to the group.

“Any further questions or concerns?” You ask the group.

“Will that happen for anything we tell you?” Niffty added.

Vaggie answered, “I can set it just so it happens involving information said when you are in her room, this will also incentivize you all to only talk to her about heavy stuff during times you meet with her, so that you aren’t just randomly coming up to her. Got it?”

The rest of the group nodded.

“How long will we have to talk to ya for?” Angel asked.

You shrugged, “As long as you like I guess, but I might have to cap it at some point. We will workshop it and see how it goes. I’m gonna start offering it a couple days a week and then I’ll increase time as I feel ready for it.”

That seemed to be the end of the questions for now. There was always room for more questions.

You started your open office hours the next day, your door was open and you were just hanging out in your room. No one came in for most of the day, but closer to the end of the day, Angel came walking in.

“Hey,” Angel said in the doorway.

“Hey! You wanna come chat?” You ask.

“Not really, but yes… but Husk said it might be a good idea, let’s get Vaggie going with that silence spell though,” Angel added. You called for Vaggie, she set the spell, and then you and Angel were alone to talk.

Angel sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking. He sighed, “I talk ‘bout my shit all the time but I don’t know where ta even start ‘ere” he buries his face in his hands.

You thought a moment, “How about today? Is there something that is bothering you today? You said Husk told you to come up here.”

Angel sighed, “Alright, buckle in toots.” Angel started by telling you about his boss, Valentino, being an absolute monster to him. You asked some questions and Angel went back into the details of how he ended up on the end of Val’s chain. How he had arrived to Hell much like you did, scared and alone, although he figured some of his family was down here, but he didn’t want much to do with them. There was no hotel then, and all he knew was finding someone in power to protect him.

He got a job in Val’s company since he knew sex and acting were things he could do, and he quickly gained the favor of Val. But Val didn’t just like him, he was obsessed with him, Angel had to live with him and be on call basically 24/7 for shoots and for Val personally. Protection didn’t matter if it wasn’t protecting him from the biggest threat in his life, which had become Val himself. But he was trapped, he learned about the hotel and got set up over here. The hotel was the only remotely safe place he had now and he was thankful for that. He then went quiet.

“I understan-“ you started to say.

“No! No you don’t! No one does. Don’t hit me with that crap, I get it all the time,” Angel snarked as he crossed his arms.

You wanted to snap at him but you took a breath, remembering this isn’t about you, that’s probably his pain.

“You’re right,” you said. He looked up at you with surprise and confusion, “You’re totally right, I’m sorry, I don’t… I guess I mean… I see your pain, I hear your suffering… I see you Angel. You just wanna be safe.”

He stared at you a moment and nodded “Ya.”

“And you want to have people around you that will want to protect you?”

He nodded again, his arms going more slack, “Ya.”

“And if you took part in the battle with Heaven, I’m gonna guess you have found that here, and you wanna protect them, too. Right?”

He nods, fighting the tears that welled in his eyes, “Heh… I’m glad you got that silence spell, wouldn’t want everyone to know how mushy I am.”

You shrugged “I think many of them would appreciate it, but that is up to you.”

Angel smiled “So uhh… let me know when ya office is open again. Kay? This… didn’t completely suck.”

You smiled, and walked him to the door. Once he left you closed the door and sighed, that was a lot, but it was good. You didn’t have long before there was a knock on your door.

You opened the door to see a short young man with short slicked back blond hair, a sharp smile, and button up and a suit vest, there were red dots on his checks like Charlie, did she have a brother?

“Hiya! Haha, I apologize for the intrusion, I hope I didn’t startle you. I was in the neighbor and came to say hi to Charlie and she said you were taking times for people to come and just chat with you so I thought I would came say hi!”

“Oh! Well wonderful, and… you are?” You asked.

“I’m sorry, weird are my manners, I’m Lucifer!” he said sticking out a hand.

You were suddenly full of fear and took a step back, “Lucifer…” You felt yourself trip and start to fall backwards. You anticipate hitting the floor but you stop just short as Lucifer catches you, a worried look on his face. Time feels like it slows for a second as he holds you up and you look at each other. He quickly sets you down and takes a step back.

“I’m so sorry… I really didn’t mean to scare you… I promise I just wanted to come say hi. Connect the face to the name. (Y/fn), right? Charlie mentioned you. And I wanted to give you this!” He pulls out a simple rubber duck.

You were just looking him up and down, trying to make sense of the image in front of you, and then the rubber duck. This soft and small person was the terrifying Lucifer? Why did he have a rubber duck?

“Yes that’s me. Wait. You are Lucifer?” You asked.

Lucifer nodded, “The one and only!”

You blinked and thought more, “But… you’re not scary? Do you make yourself not look scary?”

Lucifer looked at himself and chuckled “No this is how I normally look, I actually have to try to make myself look scary.”

“So you can be scary?”

Lucifer shrugged, “Yes, but I don’t like to. I’m guessing they still draw me as big and muscular with horns and fire and all of that on Earth?”

You thought back to the few depictions you had seen of Lucifer around Heaven, each one a more terrifying depiction from the last, and you made a face. “You could say that, lots of goat and snake like monsters.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes, “Eh. Of course. I can look like elements of that, but half the time I swear they are just drawing Satan and slapping my name on him. He’s like a big goat man, Sin or Wrath. He runs the Wrath ring downstairs.” He set down the rubber duck on the table next to the door. “Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for joining Charlie’s hotel. We weren’t sure we were going to get more after the extermination news. How did you find us?”

Damn you needed a good excuse, what was the one you had told Charlie the other day? You started to stand back up as you responded. “I uhh… heard something about it from the group of sinners that… beat me up. Not in a positive way but I thought I would check it out. I’m glad I did, Charlie has been so kind to me.”

Lucifer frowned, “I’m sorry to hear about your attack but I’m glad that you have found comfort with my daughter. She has such a gentle heart.” He smiled as he thought about his daughter.

You watched his eyes shine as he talked about her. Seriously, who was this guy? This gentle and kind person was the most hated being in all of creation? This was the man whose name was akin to a cursed word in the heavens. The longer you were here, the less sense things were making, and the more angry it made you.

Lucifer looked at you and noticed the grimace on your face, “Uhh… everything ok?”

You snapped back to the present and realized how twisted in frustration your face was. “Uhh… ya! I just… still have some pain I’m dealing with. Nothing to worry about.”

Lucifer looked at the light wrap on your arm and opposing leg, no longer full casts but a little wrap, “May I take a look?”

You hesitated, and he sensed it. “I wouldn’t hurt you. Some angels just have healing powers, I just want to see if your bones settled the right way.”

You paused, and then offered your arm “No cuts please.”

Lucifer nodded, “No cuts.” He walked forward and took your forearm in both hands and closed his eyes, focusing in on your bones. He could sense that this one was healing correctly, but he let out some power and finished up the healing process.

You were so nervous to be this close to him, but something about his soft touch was so disarming. He was warm and gentle. The light startled you, but then a wave of relief came over your arm. His hands slipped away and you tried moving it. It was good as new! You beamed a smile looking at it.

Lucifer smiled seeing you ease up a little around him. “Want me to do your leg next?” You looked at him and nodded.

You sat on the bed, and he knelt down to take your lower leg in his hands, closing his eyes again. This time you looked more over his features as he turned into your injury, your curiosity over him was just eating at you. And even more so… they did he almost feel familiar?

“Hmm,” he hummed. “Were you walking on this injury?”

“Uhh… ya, why?” You responded. “Why? Is something wrong?”

He looked up at you, “The bones are not healing correctly in line, that is probably what is causing more pain here.”

“That’s not good… is there a way to fix it?”

“There is… but I would have to separate the bones again to be able to heal them back in the right place. You wouldn’t feel pain but it’s not pleasant. It will feel better after that though,” he said looking into your eyes.

You grabbed at your shoulder, remembering the break of your wing. You swallowed hard, could you trust the devil?

You nodded.

He nodded, set his hands in place, and prepared you, his magic beginning to glow again. Before you knew it, there was a quick pop and then a cooling sensation of healing again. You both exhaled and then smiled at each other.

You stood up and tested your leg, you could put your weight on it without pain again! You spun around and smiled.

Lucifer smiled again, warmth filling his heart as we felt like he was actually able to do something nice for you. Filling some sense of an unpaid debt of some kind.

“I’m glad you are feeling better, anything else? I noticed you grabbed your shoulder, I could-“

“No!” You stopped your dance and held your shoulder away. Lucifer pulled back with a look of worry on his face.

“I mean… I’m sorry, it’s nothing. An old injury from… my old life. Nothing something that is actually there. Just something I think of,” you looked over the worry and pain on his face. “Shit… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to yell…”

“No it’s ok, haha, I get it, old pains from a past life and all…” Lucifer thought off, thinking of the fall.

You looked over his face again, there was something so deep about his pain, it intrigued you. It was funny how little you had known about pain as a concept just a month ago, but now, your hunger for learning about it was unmatched. You couldn’t understand what made people actually good until you realized that also made them bad, and pain and suffering seems to be a big factor. Looking at the harbinger of pain and suffering himself, it made you so curious as to what started it all.

“Hey,” you said, Lucifer looked up at you. “My… my talk times are available for everyone at the hotel, so… that includes you. If you ever want to talk about things that have happened to you… my door is open. Just… maybe not today. My last appointment was uhh… a lot. With-“ you tried to say Angel’s name but your mouth sealed shut and a red X appeared over your mouth.

Lucifer was startled by the angelic red X that he remembers seeing on the elders sometimes in the past. After a moment the X disappeared

“Sorry, silence spell. I forgot I can’t even say the name of who I last talked to. Vaggie helped me set it up,” you rubbed your mouth, that feeling was not pleasant.

“Oh interesting, so you have parameters set to not share what people let you during the talk time?” Lucifer asked. You nodded. He thought and then smiled.

“Alright, I’ll come talk to you. I’ll see you in a few days then.” He gave you a wink and then wished you goodbye before teleporting downstairs to grab his hat and coat, and saying goodbye to the others before teleporting back home.

You sighed and flopped on your bed after Lucifer left. You had met the King of Hell and lived to tell the tale. He was so unlike anything you expected. You were still a little wary of him, but the way you didn’t sense a single bit of malice or trickery about him. Just… kindness and…sadness… lots of sadness… He felt so much like Charlie, but also… not.

You thought again to the look in his eyes, the gentle way he talked about healed you, especially your leg, he could have just snapped it and healed it, but he took the time to talk you through it. You actually thought to keep that in might when talking to people, you could probably approach conversations like that.

But beyond that, he, like his daughter, respected when you said no to him looking at your shoulder. He wasn’t just searching to make you “perfect” he wanted you to have a say in things. That felt so unusual, that was something you had very little of in Heaven.

Then there was the biggest part that bothered you. Why did he feel familiar? Vaggie you could understand, she could have been a face in the crowd of Heaven that you just didn’t pick up on and she slipped your memory in the years since she was kicked from the service of Heaven. But how could Lucifer feel familiar? He fell before you were created. Had you met at another point still?

You remembered the day you came into being, your eyes opening and Sera welcoming you, explaining your role, and being introduced to Emily.

Emily… your heart hurt to think of her, your closest… friend. Tears welled up in your eyes. How you missed her. You wished she was ok. You wondering if she thought of you. If she still suffered. Or if she had just forgotten you at this point and moved on.

You shook your head, no, Emily was not like that, she wouldn’t forget you after almost 10,000 years of friendship.

You sighed and rolled onto your side, your eyes caught sight of the rubber duck Lucifer had left. You smiled. What a curious thing, and what a curious man. You floated the duck over to you and looked at it as you laid there. You realized you never thanked him for the gift. How rude of you. You would have to remedy that next time you talked with him. You smiled at the thought as you drifted to sleep.

—————————————————————-------------------------------

Lucifer returned home and flopped on his bed again, a swirl of emotions mixed up in his stomach. On the one hand he was grateful for another pleasant visit to the hotel, and a chance to meet and interact with you. On the other… there were some things he just couldn’t wrap his head around.

On the more positive end, he was glad the you seemed like a kind sinner, which also confused him, because kind and sinner should not mix, but he also didn’t even know what the threshold was for people ending up here anyway. He knew from getting to know the other sinners at that hotel that some people just had a rough exterior, but you didn’t even seem to have that. Your biggest thing seemed to be that you were very afraid of him.

He had hoped that by the end of your conversation he had put you a little more at ease. He thought that maybe you had grown up in a cult or something, that would explain many of the behaviors. Growing up with an idea of a deity that should be feared above all else or else the “monstrous devil” would steal their soul.

Pfft. As if. He had better things to do than deal in the trading of mortal souls.

Anyways, ya that was probably the case. He was just glad that you were feeling better about your limbs and you offering some of your time to talk with him. He almost found it amusing to think about talking to a mortal about his problems. As if they could even comprehend it. But it would be nice to talk to some things outside of Charlie and his rubber ducks, although the ducks were great listeners.

The things that bothered him about his visit were… interesting. The more simple part was your reaction to him looking at your shoulder. He understood the idea of an old injury but… that reaction didn’t pan out with an old one, but a new one. A traumatizing one. You hadn’t been here for long, so what could have happened to have caused such a reaction? One that you didn’t want touched or healed if it was as fresh as your other injuries? Or was it even fresher? Had a rogue exorcist gotten to you? There was no way of telling. Maybe once he had built up more trust with her, he would have more of a chance to get that question answered.

Then there was the bigger reason for his discomfort, why did you feel familiar to him, and why did you feel off to him? He had only recently started interacting with sinners and you were new to Hell, so that couldn’t be it. Maybe he had seen you in the past when he had taken a trip to Earth before with… ugh, maybe? That also seemed like a stretch. Maybe you just reminded him from someone, that was probably it. Someone from a long time ago maybe?

Curse this depression brain fog, it made trying to remember anything impossible. What was your name again? (Y/fn)? That didn’t ring any bells, so you must have just reminded him of someone, it was gonna drive him crazy.

Oh well, for now that would just have to remain a mystery for another day.

______________________________________________________________

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[agentnico]

Top 10 BEST Movies of 2023

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all partied hard and are now surviving a dreadful hangover by sitting with your family or friends and enjoying a well deserved marathon of Lord of the Rings. 2023 - what a year! In the movie biz alone there were those little minor events known as the strikes of the actors and writers. Just when we thought COVID was over and stopped affecting releases, these strikes were like “errr no, actually..!”. To be fair, the way the streaming services were underpaying their actors and the studios enforcing AI so much into the media, it was good that these artists stood up for themselves and showed it to the man so to speak! Anyway, we’re not here to talk Hollywood politics, but to celebrate all the quality filmmaking that was exhibited this past year. I’d say in all honesty this year felt weaker compared to 2022. To be fair last year gave us Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick and of course the legendary RRR, so the bar was high for 2023. That being said, I still enjoyed some solid films, so let’s rank my Top 10 favourite movies of 2023, but first some honourable mentions…

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Evil Dead Rise - one heck of a gore fest, and the best opening title card of the year hands down!

Past Lives - a simple yet brutally honest love story.

The Boy and the Heron - Wanna hear Robert Pattinson sound like not Robert Pattinson?!

Guy Richie’s The Covenant - The least Guy Ritchie film Guy Ritchie directed.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl are a match made in heaven.

Barbie - I’m Just Ken…need I say more??

Wonka - Timmy makes for a good Willy.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - A solid Marvel entry - a rarity these days.

Tetris - Gosh those tetrominos really get ya!

Right, with that, let’s get into the actual fun stuff - The Top 10 Best Movies of 2023!…

10) MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING - PART ONE - Tom Cruise - what a guy! I mean yes he’s a Scientologist, has a constant death wish by breaking his ankles on film sets and also guilty of jumping on Oprah’s sofa like a monkey, but my my is he a charmer! You guys know the drill with these Mission Impossible movies - Tom Cruise throws his body around like a potato fearing not for his life nor broken limbs, but you have to respect the man for wanting to give the audience their tickets’ worth of entertainment, and Dead Reckoning not disappoint! There’s never a dull moment, the action is constantly inventive and exciting, and honestly with how consistent the quality of these films are, I say keep ‘em coming, Cruise-man!

9) DREAM SCENARIO - Anyone who knows me knows how much I love me some Nicolas Cage! The guy’s an acting legend, and he’s had it rough a decade ago when he got stuck paying off hi tax money and starring in crappy B-movies, but recently he’s been on a hot streak of great original content, and Dream Scenario adds to that. I love this idea of a random dude suddenly appearing in people’s dreams for absolutely no reason. It’s so rare to have a new original conception in a film in our day and age, and the execution here is great. As a bonus, the movie features possibly the best fart joke in the history of the cinema.

8) FALLEN LEAVES - This features the deadest karaoke ever - the Finns sure know how to party!! Also bonus points for featuring an out-of-left-field reference to Jim Jarmusch’s zombie flick The Dead Don’t Die, which by no means is a great film, but the fact that the director of Fallen Leaves knows about such obscure pieces of cinema only reiterates the fact that he gets cinema. Which in this case is a straightforward romantic love story, but one that I instantly connected with. Reminded me of Compartment No. 6.

7) OPPENHEIMER - On one had this is probably the most “well-made” movie of 2023 cinematically speaking. Christopher Nolan does not hold back in using his typical non-linear way of storytelling, with the film weaving narratives and different time periods seamlessly as it explores the profound depths of a man who’s actions altered the world’s trajectory forever, for better or worse. It’s an incredible historical piece of cinema, and the movie gets extra points for the whole ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, but the reason this film is not higher on the list is due to the fact that I believe it is overrated. Cause every single person raved about how bloody amazing this thing was, I became tired of the positivity. Yeah, I know, I’m being a Scrooge but what you gonna do about it?? Oppenheimer is stuck at No. 5!

6) ROBOT DREAMS - I’m sorry to go vulgar on this occasion, but my-my was I shipping this dog and it’s robot to absolutely fudge each others brains out!! Yet the movie happens to do the funny thing of being the biggest cockblock ever….. and that’s the best thing it could have done. Simplistic cartoon-network style animation made beautiful by an earnest story, accompanied by the delightful sounds of Earth, Wind & Fire.

5) KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - When a movie forces you to stay in the cinema for over 3 hours, it better be one epic film, as your man here was straining his bladder to health threatening levels. However this is a Martin Scorsese picture, as such this is event cinema! And this one may be up there with one of his best. Killers of the Flower Moon is a major saga of greed, murder, corruption and despair, told through the eyes of a filmmaker who somehow is still managing to mature more as a director even though he’s already over 80 years of age.

4) THE HOLDOVERS - The Holdovers is very much a vibes movie. It has that old-timey retro feel to it from how it is shot to make it look like it’s from the 70s (reminiscent of John Hughes films and Dead Poets Society). You also have the constant snow falling and the Christmas music just really delivers that cozy winter feel. It’s a wholesome Christmas movie through and through. Paul Giamatti gives a career-best performance and the writing is absolutely stellar, as such The Holdovers is destined to become a holiday classic.

3) BEAU IS AFRAID - A 3-hour long anxiety attack that A24 spent $30 million to produce. For a movie studio to spill out such a massive amount of cash on a completely original IP that is divisively out-there and wild is such a unique thing to happen in Hollywood in this day and age, that like the film or not this act needs to be applauded. It just so happens that Beau Is Afraid is batshit bonkers and truly an act of madness, yet one that I will forever cherish. I bet David Lynch had the biggest hard-on when he watched this movie - you betcha!

2) PERFECT DAYS - Essentially plays out like a live-action remake of WALL-E from the director of Paris, Texas. Honestly this is such a sweet and delightful film about a toilet cleaner doing his thang, and somehow inspired me to want to clean toilets myself. A beautiful piece of independent cinema that appreciates the little things, and truly embraces the ideology of stopping to smell the roses.

1) SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is, put simply, brilliant! It’s everything that made Into the Spider-Verse great dialled up to 1000%, and the result is honestly fantastic. Look, I watch a lot of movies. And yeah, movies are great and I love them deeply. But in watching so many films I have in a way lost that magic of being in awe every time I go to the cinema. Cliches and repetitiveness in films stick out like sore thumbs. However with Across the Spider-Verse I felt like a kid again, purely stunned in amazement at every single frame, engaged with the characters and story-line, not knowing where it will go next. Like I cannot reiterate how much fun I had watching this movie! The animation is phenomenal, the narrative so rich, a pulse-throbbing music score (I even have Pemberton’s score on vinyl now just cause I love it so much!) superb character development and so many fun and unexpected twists and turns. Across the Spider-Verse is THE movie of 2023 for me and I believe this is the first time ever an animation took a top spot on my list. Here’s hoping Part 3 of the Spider-Verse saga will play out like The Return of the King!

There you have it - my favourite films of 2023. Naturally I don’t expect my list to be the same as yours, so don’t go throwing a tantrum if I missed out a movie you loved. Or do throw a tantrum, see if I care. But also don’t, cause like we’re all friends here, right? Right??!

[avernusfuries-a]

Would Karlach make a good mom? She seems fun and very compassionate to those she holds dear. (Bonus points to describing any ship kids)

Okay so, the thing about Karlach and the way people tend to bring up the dryad thing when she does Kids? Errr, what about a really mean goat? Is largely because she doesn't have room to factor children into her life. That's not to say that if she was given the all clear, she would go out of her way to have one because that would not be the case at all.

When she takes Tav/Durge/Whatever origin character on that date and she asks after it what they would do if they have fifty more years left together? If they mention that they want a life with kids, she does that happy little preen and "little us', huh?" And I know full well that while there is no room for them currently, she absolutely would love children. It wouldn't matter if they were biological or not, but she grew up in a home that was full of love. She doesn't talk about her parents much, but when she does it's with a fondness that could only come from a genuinely happy home. I strongly believe that if all the Gortash/Avernus stuff hadn't happened, she absolutely would've settled and had children once her wanderlust had been sated in her young, wild and free years.

Karlach has the makings of a very good mother, because I do honestly believe that she yearns for the same thing she had with her own parents. She comments that the house (home, actually, I can't stress that enough why am I using house lmaaaao) was always full of laughter and silliness. She would absolutely strive to replicate that in her own home.

She is patient with children, goofy enough to keep them laughing, compassionate enough to not only teach them right from wrong but true, honest empathy.

tldr; Karlach would eventually crave a happy, healthy, loud and boisterous household had she not been sold to Zariel, and I think a part of her, post-avernus, would make her nervous about having children of her own with her engine.

Also to add, she is a fantastic stepmother to @spiderwarden's daughter in modern verses, and in a plot we have where Karlach actually gets her engine fixed, actually is a good mother to the son Minthara and my OC's ( @menzoberras, shameless plug) son, too. :>

[your-divine-ribs]

Forbidden Part 3

Words: 2.1k

Y/N is about to find out exactly how much trouble she’s in… no warnings for this part (yet)

Forbidden Masterlist Main Masterlist

You swim up through the layers of sleep slowly, groggily, wincing at the bright light filtering through a gap in the curtains. It's strangely bright for saying how early it is...

Hold on... what time is it?

You open one eye, grimacing as the full effect of your hangover hits you like a sledgehammer square on in the face. You certainly didn't need this today of all days.

Then you catch sight of the digital display on your alarm clock and your heart practically stutters to a stop. In your inebriated state you'd passed out without setting it to wake you up in plenty of time to make it to your morning lecture on time.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" You curse with growing intensity, jumping up out of bed and stubbing your toe hard on the leg of your desk as you hurriedly rush to the shower.

You're a whirlwind of energy getting ready, somehow still managing to look presentable albeit a little flustered as you arrive breathless and flushed at the lecture theatre, pausing to listen at the door as you curl your fingers around the handle. Van's in full flow, you can hear the deep tone of his voice as he addresses the class, but then you are fifteen minutes late... at least. He's going to be livid. But maybe the fact that you've submitted your essay early will go some way to placating him.

You take a deep breath before you pull open the door and slip inside.

"Miss Y/L/N... kind of you to grace us with your presence finally."

His tone is condescending and there's a few hushed whispers and giggles from your class mates but apart from that the room is silent as fifty pairs of eyes turn to look at you. You smile awkwardly, your bottom lip catching between your teeth as you look at Van from across the room, trying to weigh up exactly how much trouble you're in.

"I'm really sorry... I just... I was errr... I stayed up late... working on your essay."

You add the last few words proudly, hoping your efforts have pleased him and he'll go easy on you.

Unfortunately for you, this doesn't seem to be the case. His eyes are blazing harshly even though a hint of a smirk plays at the corners of his mouth. As usual he looks disarmingly gorgeous in that casually understated way of his. He's wearing a checked shirt and his signature skinny black jeans. His hair falls forward on to his face and you watch as he sweeps it back with a hand.

"Your... essay?"

He says the word slowly, questioningly, which instantly makes you nervous. Maybe you didn't actually submit it. You were sure you'd pressed 'send', but then after the amount of alcohol you'd consumed last night anything is possible.

"Yeah," you say uneasily, edging towards the back of the lecture room where you've spotted an empty seat. "You did get it didn't you?"

"Oh yeah I got it alright. It made for very interesting reading actually. I'll be needing you to expand on some points you made though. We can do that after you've enlightened me on why you seem to think it's acceptable to disrupt my lectures by showing up late every single time. Come to my office straight after class, okay?"

He holds your gaze whilst you slide into the vacant seat, a look on his face that sets you on edge. You've never been summoned to his office before and you start to internally panic. Maybe your bad attitude and persistent tardiness have earned you a formal disciplinary this time. Nerves jangle in your gut and linger there throughout the whole lecture, making it impossible for you to concentrate.

"Five minutes Y/N... my office. I'll be waiting."

That's Van's parting words as he brings the lecture to a close, fixing you with a stern look before he pushes through the door, leaving you feeling anxious and jumpy.

"Good luck Y/N, I think you're gonna need it! McCann looks well pissed off with you."

A gleefully teasing voice sounds from your right as you start to pack your textbooks away into your bag.

You turn to see Erica standing there. She's a model student, consistently gaining the highest grades on every piece of work, always on time and ready to contribute insightful thoughts in class discussions. In fact she's everything that you're not, and her blatant smugness causes your already frayed nerves to increase.

"Mind your own business Erica," you snap at her.

"Your days are numbered, I'm telling you!" She sniggers spitefully.

Five minutes later you find yourself standing outside Professor McCann's office, shifting your weight from one foot to the other, your hand raised up and poised, ready to knock and alert him to your presence. Your heart's racing and you take a few deep breaths to try and calm yourself down. If you're about to be given a formal warning or even worse have your studies terminated, you want to try and fight your corner calmly and objectively. Show Van that you can change and that he should give you another chance.

And you're going to do this on your academic merits this time. Absolutely no flirting or immoral seduction tactics. None. None at all.

Your knock rings out loudly in the empty corridor and there's a slight delay before a deep voice emanates from behind the door, urging you to 'come in'.

You creak open the door to see Van sat behind his desk, arms folded in front of him on the desktop. It's not a welcoming pose and your heart sinks. Maybe Erica was right. You close the door behind you and step forwards tentatively as Van gestures to the seat opposite him across the desk.

"Sit down Y/N."

As you take a seat he leans back, reclining in his chair, his eyes flicking down to take all of you in. True to form you're not dressed conservatively. You're proud of your figure and a firm believer in the saying 'if you've got it, flaunt it.' Today that means a tight-fitting tank top and a tiny pleated skirt that's bordering on indecent. When you're sat opposite Van like you are now you can only imagine the view that he'd get if you uncrossed and crossed your legs. You do it anyway, taking your time, satisfied to see his gaze lingering a little too long where it shouldn't.

"Am I in trouble Sir?"

You make sure to add a little emphasis to the last word, recalling his instruction from the day before. A show of his authority which did more to encourage you than caution you, a hint of dominance that set your pulse racing.

What the fuck are you doing Y/N?

Your mind chastises you, but you ignore it. All good intentions go out of the window when you're face to face with Van. You just can't help yourself.

Whether or not your brazen display has had the desired effect remains to be seen as Van's eyes travel back up to meet yours, his expression unreadable.

You start to worry that you're taking things too far and any further sleazy manoeuvres on your part might worsen your situation so you straighten your posture, smoothing your skirt down, your knees firmly pressed together. Chastely.

"Well... that remains to be seen. I think we need to discuss this essay of yours.”

There it is again. A flavour of something in his words that you can't quite fathom. Maybe your imagined prowess in forming a notable piece of work isn't as strong as you think. You shift in your seat, uncomfortable.

"Was there something wrong with it?"

A loud laugh erupts from him suddenly and his misplaced humour in this situation surprises you. This is worse than you thought. You're not only failing due to your bad attitude but you're incompetent too. Any little confidence you had starts to seep quickly away.

"I worked really hard on it as well," you mumble, casting your eyes downwards to your hands which are clasped in your lap.

"I'm sure you did. But I think it's time you stopped playing these games with me... I mean it. If you push me too far I will have to teach you how to behave..."

What?

His stern tone causes you to look up and your breath catches in your throat at the intensity in his glare. It's not anger though. There's a barely contained kind of hunger there that sends a spike of heat through you. He leans forward, planting his hands on the desk. The very same desk you've fantasised about him doing all sorts of things to you on.

"What do you mean?"

Your voice comes out small, uneasy despite the fact that your lower body is now pulsing with desire. The air in the small office is so thick with tension that it's palpable.

"Don't act all innocent," he says, and you watch as he prises open the MacBook on his desk, jabbing at the keys. "Like I said before, I can't just ignore this kind of behaviour."

As he speaks he starts to slide the open laptop around so that the screen faces you. You can see an open document but the type is too small to read from your current position so you lean forward in your seat, narrowing your eyes.

FUCK...

That's when the realisation of your mistake hits you. You never submitted your essay. You sent Van the wrong document.

Your cheeks flush the deepest shade of crimson and your heart starts stuttering in pure shock and mortification.

You're so flustered that you don't even realise that Van's risen up out of his seat and walked around the desk to come and stand behind you until you feel his breath warm on your neck as he leans right over you, hands on the back of your chair.

"This is... there's been a mistake... this isn't... this isn't my essay..." you say, your voice a whisper, squirming in your seat from a combination of your embarrassment and his sudden proximity.

"No shit!" He chuckles softly. He's so close you can feel his hair tickling your neck. "I don't think I'm ever gonna be able to look at this desk in the same way after reading all that."

You giggle nervously. Your palms feel damp with perspiration and you wipe them against the sides of your skirt, wondering what happens next. He's so near that if you turned your head just slightly he'd be close enough to kiss...

"What are you going to do?"

You realise you're holding your breath, waiting for his answer. Your heart's beating so hard you feel faint.

"Hmm... I don't know. What do you think I should do? You've been a very bad girl."

His words set off a throb between your legs and you press your thighs together. You've no doubt that he knows exactly what he's doing to you. His breathing sounds deep and heavy in your ear.

You consider whether he's testing you but the notion's only fleeting. You're too turned on to think about this rationally and consider consequences. You want him so badly and all you can think about is how it's going to feel when he puts his hands on you.

This is your chance.

"Maybe you do need to teach me a lesson," you say quietly, your cheeks aflame.

"Is that so?" He breathes, and this time his lips actually brush your neck, sending a shiver through you.

"Yes Sir..."

He doesn't hesitate. "On your feet Y/N."

You do as he instructs, rising up slowly, still facing away from Van. He drags the chair away, stepping closer, and you feel his fingers curl around your hips a second before his body meets yours.

His head's bent low so he can whisper in your ear as he gently propels you forward until you come to a stop, the desk pressing into you mid-thigh.

"Do you realise how much I've dreamt about this? Every lecture... it's been like torture. I've been trying so hard to be so professional, but every time I see you all I can think about is fucking you. And now I know you feel the same way..."

His confession stuns you but you don't say anything, you just wait, anticipating his next move, tension rippling through you as he carries on, one of his hands gliding down your hips until it comes to a stop at the hem of your skirt.

"And it's wrong... I know it's wrong... but I can't help it. Fuck... the things I wanna do to you... you have no idea..."

Your legs feel weak, your head in a spin. You want him. You want him more than you've ever wanted anyone.

This is really happening...

[heartlurch]

hai heart !! its me again , anon :3 have you got any so called au ideas of mystery n8 nene ?? nene’s name involves the number “8” , so of course people are theorising that she’ll become the 8th mystery. if so, the mystery of what ? 🤍

Hi again :0

I'm certainly aware of how Nene's name alludes to the number 8, since other characters have numbers correlating to their seat #. A maddening detail honestly... I will admit, it's not the sort of thing I can think of as an 'AU' so much as... 'There's this thing being foreshadowed that I have to brace myself for.' I've more or less just stared at this detail and felt helpless and confused lol. What is sensei trying to tell me!? <- I'm too busy thinking this and crying...

Beyond that, I can't really think of an 8th mystery the same as I would the others, too strugglesome. I mean, if we try and imagine it like 'we tack on No. 8 with the others' it would mean that a new seat could be created that doesn't previously exist. How... do you do that... But like, we don't know how the previous mysteries were made... Were there always 7?? If not, how do you add more, who decides(or decided) that? Would a rumor have to be made to make way for this mystery Nene-? Or could she manifest before having a rumor-?? Is being appointed just a matter of someone saying so, or is there more to it? (More prerequisites?) We don't even know what Sakura does when she appoints someone, and Tsukasa seems to exist outside of the system's typical conventions so I can't base too much on what he does with Mitsuba...

Each mystery seems to have jurisdiction over some, element, aspect of the world. But these concepts are as broad as 'time', 'life/death' and 'records'... While I like the story of JSHK and analyzing it is lots of fun, I feel like I cannot really simulate Iro-sensei's thought process— not enough to conceive of what an '8th Mystery' would dictate...

So... that's me being pedantic about a bunch of things. BUT... What I can tell you, that I've thought of on my own: I don't actually think Nene will 'become a mystery' in the manner we've seen... I think being "8" actually means she's something new, errr... rule-breaking? That's the vibe I get from her... I think Nene's existence is a bit of an anomaly. There are various things about her yet to be explained.

(MY SMALL ADDENDUM TO THIS is the fact that No. 7 already seems to operate differently than 1-6, so we already don't know enough about THAT guy... arghh.)

Why is Nene a kannagi? Aoi's family history explains her position, but somehow I doubt this is the case for Nene as well? So... where is her blessed nature coming from? And it's eerie, you know... how she meets Hanako just in time to be there to commence yorishiro, as the broadcast club orchestrates rumors. Why is that? What were they going to do if Hanako never got his hands on a kannagi...? Their goals are quite exact, with little room for error, aren't they... hm.

Nene has technically, from the twins' chronological perception, been interacting with them multiple times throughout their life. So her fate has been tied to the Yugi 'since the beginning' of this story... The cherry on top is the fact that her lifespan is inextricable from the existence of the mysterys' yorishiro. For whatever reason, if you get rid of all the mysteries, Nene will die. All I can infer from this is Nene's very existence is tied to that of the mysteries, so — I don't think she will become a part of the system, as much as she is already deeply involved in it? ...?? Perhaps she is already... No. 8? In SOME manner? You feel me??

My wife's even pointed out, it's troublesome Nene is already an isolated weird girl who gets whispered about in the halls... what 'rumors' exist of her already, we don't know. I wonder how blurred this line between human/kaii/mystery can be. There's no way to know, but... something to chew over. (The recent ASHK chapter showing an ominous dream that calls to question Nene's authenticity was designed to make me insane btw.)

Last thing I will say, prolly will seem out of nowhere but, my gut tells me Nene's existence... is tied to the well god, and Tsukasa. If the god inside Tsukasa / is the same god the mysteries are deriving power from / then Nene's lifespan is directly correlated to that god's power being unleashed (as the yorishiro/mysteries are simply a means of divying out these powers, controlling things like time, life, death, wishes, etc.)

It's my delusion but I'm holding out that all this information will kiss passionately someday. And-!!!!!!!!! Then I'll explode.

[jetixlag]

Welcome to my disasterpiece of a blog

Hi Tumblr, i am a refugee from Twitter who had no choice to escape cuz of the amount of trolling Daddy Elon has caused, so yeah unless Twitter gets back in two feet this is gonna be my new home

About Myself

I am a guy from Argentina, very gay and may or may not be having Gender Dysphoria so probably trans in a couple years lol, I am 100% SFW so no weird stuff, i do swear like a sailor tho lmao

I make art or something

My style is very inconsistent across the board and some of the examples are from last year, but don't worry they are all mine. For most of my drawings i used Medibang paint but now i switched to Ibis Paint cuz Medibang now sucks pure ASS

Music that i like and shit

I like to have an open palate, so i don't exactly have a type of music i like, however lately i'm listening to a lot to Dance, Electronic and Nu-metal music. here's one from an artist called Renard (aka LapFoxTrax/Halley Labs/Heckscaper) i recently found out about them and i have been obsessed (also they made a ton of songs i recognize from years ago so yeah lmao)

(psstt, if you want to listen to more of their music, check out this link)

VIDYA!!!111!!11!11🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮

I love old games, specially early to mid 2000s games. Like i said, i like to have an open palate so i have many amounts of time poured into other games, mostly games that have addicting mechanics, tons of customization or cute animals lmao. But when i'm not playing any of those i'm scouring thru Abandonware websites to download old games for free. Right now i'm playing a lot of Super Animal Royale and i have recently reached level 100, after countless hours of playing on console and PC. Here's a pic of my current character

You are required to view her and appreciate and love and care about her

U2 (as like the website, not the band)

To be honest, YouTube basically swapped Television and streaming services for me, since both of them are getting worse over time, although this is true for YouTube, at least i get to watch nostalgic videos i watched when i was younger. I like Vinesauce a lot, i watch both Vinny and Joel and listen to Red Vox a lot, when i'm not watching Vinesauce i'm probably watching some video essay about something i don't care about to kill time, Richard Overtime, Vsauce (Vsauce, Vinesauce, is that a coincidence?), RebelTaxi, etc

RARITIESSS!!!11!!

RARE VOXGASM VERSION OF HAZY

Before the release of "What Could Go Wrong", Red Vox released There She Goes, Back To School and Hazy as singles, but in the YouTube release, these songs had a little gasm MP3 file snucked into the songs, they are all normal except for that little sound, these videos used to be unlisted but nowadays are unavailable cuz YouTube made all unlisted videos private, but thanks to the people from Voxcord, links of all three songs i had saved and the Wayback Machine, we were able to recover all three songs (i'm only posting one for Tumblr, can DM me for more although i will probably upload these rarities to YouTube or Archive.org)

Some drafts of Why Can't This Be Easy by also Red Vox, i barely have knowledge of these but as i heard, these were shown on stream, and there were three different demos, i could only find two however there's a SoundCloud that has a version that is different from these two, i have no idea if this demo is real since it's unofficial but just in case i'll leave the link here

This is a cool website i found while browsing the Interwebz, it's a gif of the cat from Sapari doing a little dance to a link of random electronic music, and it even changes it's little dance moves when you click on it too!, truly odd but top tier websiting

I have nothing to add ERRR BOOKS

I have many books and mangas in my collection and a lot of 'em are pending, however my collection makes no sense cuz i have 1984 next to Beastars volume 2. or Chainsaw Man next to a Warrior Cats book, but i like it that way, represents very well the way i don't make any sense. Every year i take a trip to a book fair that is kinda far away but it's gigantic, kilometers and kilometers of pure book stands filled with interesting (you guessed it) books

I have a cool meowth plushie

I like pistachio ice cream :3

I have literally nothing else to add, might end it right here

So yeah, that's it for my introduction, hope you guys enjoy the stuff i make and that i can make new friends or at least meet cool people on the way on this website

Au Revoir!

[simantopia]

*Hears Crispin's question and shakes her head. Talks in a slight timid way.* Ah - no Sir. I am not here to interview you - *Pauses and feels a bit more anxious. Thinks: Calm down Luna - just tell him why you are here. Uses her hand to fidget with her pink hair. Tries to speak in a calm but honest way.* I came here to visit your art gallery and browse the sculptures... (Luna) 🐰

❝ Chill. I'm not going to spit on you, ❞ perhaps an impolite acknowledgement of her current timidness. Crispin can never hold back his tongue, even when it came to potential admirers.

His very, almost sickly, scrawny figure steps aside. ❝ Excellent ! It is always exciting to receive new visitors. I'm Crispin Black && I'll be your guide today in case you have any questions or desire to make a purchase. ❞

After a pause, he adds, ❝ && well, you see . . . some of the pieces are considerably dangerous. Although some have warnings underneath them, I wish to avoid all potential lawsuits — errr . . . or you getting injured because you didn't know any better. ❞

[manonamora-if]

hia. errr... its kinda a weird ask... i read your guide thingy (im trying to be more supportive but i have hard time enggagin) and you said to not behave like a bot. im mainly a lurker (not comfortabel sharing stuff about me online) but i don't want my fav author think im a bot when i like thier stuff. what do i do?

Hi Anon,

I (and your favourite author) appreciate your efforts. <3

Lemme make you a small tutorial to not look like a bot when you are liking their stuff.

HOW NOT TO LOOK LIKE A BOT

What is a bot?

A bot is an autonomous program that interact with systems and users on the internet.

On Tumblr, they may follow or like account (or send users some weird spam links). They often will not have a personalised account (avatar, colour, posts and reblogs, etc...) or will be very obvious spammer (risqué/famous people avatar, weird letter/number name combo or obvious p*rn words, spammy posts/links). The second one usually don't follow accounts.

Aside from the spammers... I don't understand why the other ones exist.

The annoying thing about bots following you is that you can't be sure if this is an actual lurker person who just want to enjoy the ride or an actual bot. For someone following a bit the stats and guessing the potential engagement for posts/announcements, they are really a bane.

You could block and report them, but I can't be bothered (unless it's too obvious) because there are a lot of them. I know some people who block any account that is not a little personalised (see below).

For example, this is what I have in my Follower list for @crimsonroseandwhitelily (I blurred the name, in case the accounts are real people). I think 2 or 3 of those are actually account, but I am not sure.

[ID text: In the Tumblr dark mode, the image shows a screenshot of a blog followers list. All names are blurred, personalised avatars and some blog description are blurred too. /end ID]

What can I do not to look like a Bot?

[ID text: Screenshot of the top of the Edit Appearance Page, showing a basic, newly created account. The account is named "not-a-bot-temporary" and has one of Tumblr's basic lozenge avatar and grey dotted background. /endID]

This is my totally not a bot account made for the purpose of this post (will delete it later). It is very plain and has nothing. Aside from the name, it could pass as a bot (i just need to mass-like stuff and sent people weird links :P).

So what can you do?

1. Change your avatar.

Below are the basic Avatars.

[ID text: a screenshot of Tumblr's basic avatars. /endID]

The easiest way not to look like a bot is to change it to any kind of image. It can be literally ANYTHING you want: something you like, something you hate, your fav celebrity/author/artist/..., a planet, a flower, a meme, the letter R...

Here, I made a few of them on Canva:

[ID text: an image with 10 spaced-out squares. The background is Tumblr blue. The squares represent the following: the letter r in a white background, a lineart of a flower on a green background, a picture of a nebula (?), a drawn plate with 3 sushi (salmon, egg, shrimp) on a yellow background, a picture of Terry Pratchett holding an owl with spread-out wings, a vector picture of a forest, a rainbow on a light blue background, a picture of dew on a green leaf, a lineart of a lion on an orange background, a picture of a pizza. /endID]

Use that, take your own picture, do whatever. But change the basic avatar.

How to do that?

In the Edit Appearance page of your blog, click on the Edit Appearance, then the Avatar picture and Choose photo. Upload the one you want.

[ID text: same screenshot as the second image, but the avatar is the letter r on a white background. /endID]

Not-a-bot me chose the letter R.

2. Chand the background picture.

Same thing as before. Add whatever you want. Don't want to show yourself to the internet, no worries: it can just be a picture of a colour.

How to do that?

In the Edit Appearance page of your blog, click on the Edit Appearance, then the little pen under the Save button and Choose photo. Upload the one you want.

[ID text: same screenshot as the previous image, but the background is green. /endID]

Not-a-bot me chose the colour green.

3. Change your tag line/description.

When the description is empty, it shows as Untitled in the follower list (or in the user's language). You can change it to whatever you want. It can be a quote you like, your nickname/pronouns, what you enjoy doing on tumblr or key smashing...

A few options if you can't think of one:

I am not a bot, just a lurker.

Lurking is my passion.

Fancy seeing you lurking here.

GREEN.

What am I doing here?

How to do that?

In the Edit Appearance page of your blog, click on the Edit Appearance, then the empty line under your blog name. Click Save to save what you added.

[ID text: same screenshot as the previous image, but the text now shows "Def Not a Bot" as the title and "I promise I am not a bot" as description. /endID]

Not a bot me added a tag line and changed the visible title when you click on the avatar.

And you are done!

If you want to go further:

Add a post to your blog

Reblog posts of stuff you like

Change your Blog Theme (Edit Theme button in the Edit Appearance Page)

I hope this helps! Enjoy your lurking!

[bbiemochi]

I love the ask box name for starters omj,,, also may I request a diluc x blind reader (oneshot, headcanons, whatever you can do for this <3)? As someone who seriously needs glasses to see straight and who has been previously blind I’d love to see this, take your time and tyvm in advance

ps may you tag me because it shows as a notification that way ty

𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 | diluc ragnvindr x reader

[an]: yes yes hi~! tysm for requesting! <33 ndjsjdsjs omg i had to take a breather while writing this—i think i added too much fluff i love this man sm JSSJSJSJS

summary: despite being blind without the help of your glasses, diluc was always there to lend a hand for you from your lovable sight <33

genre: fluff!

pairing: diluc ragnvindr x blind!reader

***

this man would so watch over you all the time.

although he is very busy, he’d make sure you’re not in trouble again from looking for your spectacles around, it would be quite hard for you indeed without nothing to see.

if you did lose your glasses, he would of course hand it over to you before he would kiss the crown of your head, calling you an ‘idiot’ for not being careful enough around your area.

however, if you break your glasses—

he would buy you a new one ofc. maybe something even better with the help of your permission obviously. you needed to take eye exams after all.

if he wasn’t around, he would ask someone he knows (even kaeya) to look after you just in case your glasses falls off your face again. it wasn’t unusual for him to do that, it’s just that kaeya would tease him for being lovable towards you. guessed that love made him blind.

mondstadt was quite busy today.

including today is the windblume festival, your good friend venti told you to collect some windwheel asters for the festival decorations with the acting grand master’s permission. and so you did since you had nothing else to do but get ready for the festival.

passing by to floral whispers after running out of locations to pick some windwheel asters, you shyly excused the young lady; donna. “uhmm, excuse me…” you called in a soft tone. donna kindly greeted you. “oh! hello, miss y/n!”

“oh hi, donna!” you greeted back. “is miss flora here today?”

“oh, sadly she isn’t available right now at the moment…” donna replied in a disappointing voice. “but in the meantime, i’m here to give a hand for a while in the shop,” she adds with a sweet smile. you smiled back, “ah, that’s good to hear thank you, donna.”

“of course. now, what may i help you with?”

adjusting your glasses, you fixed up your posture and continued to chat with donna, “oh errr, do you guys still have any windwheel asters in your shop?” you questioned the young lady, trying your best to carry the bundles of windwheel asters inside your basket. “i need them for the festival decorations…and for my friend.” donna happily nods her head, “yes, indeed we still have windwheel asters. how many would you like to have?”

“just 5 more pieces please and that’ll be enough.”

“understood. wait here, i’ll gather some for you,” she answered and began to collect the windwheel asters for you in their shop. while waiting for donna to grab some of the mentioned flowers, you heard a group of children running by from the side of the adventurer’s guild receptionist; katheryn. and they also seemed like they were running towards your direction, all bright and sunny. the reason is visible, it is the windblume festival after all.

not really paying attention to the children, you continued on waiting…until, one of them bumped into your way—and not just a normal bump, a bump that really made you almost fall back. but it was your glasses that fell…and that was a bad sign. since, you can’t see without your glasses in your face.

“oh, sorry for bumping into you!” one of the children (who assumed they were the one that hit you) shouted in an apologetic way, and thus they continued to run off to have fun. until one of the children had to stop them from running off. “hey! you just jumped into miss y/n! you should apologize with full respect!” they shouted. the kid brushed the back of his neck, nervously. although for you, this wasn’t fun. you can’t see clearly without your glasses after all. “it’s quite alright, kids! don’t worry but…oh no oh no! where are my glasses!? i can’t see without them!” you muttered to yourself in panic, crouching down to the ground to look for your glasses. this was very bad, in every item you touched it was either a rock or something else that your mind seemed similar to the shape of your glasses. if it wasn’t from a previous accident, you would’ve been needing glasses right now to see straight…

as your hands continued to scatter around the area in search of your glasses, you heard one of the children whisper; “hey guys look! it’s master diluc!” before you felt a hand land on top of your palms, a cold thin feeling inserting on top of the shell of your ear as your sight began to become visible again. diluc ragnvindr, was holding your cheeks with his usual expression on his face. your face exploded in red when you realized how close the two of you are. “ah…hi diluc.”

“you guys, what do you say when you accidentally bumped into someone?” diluc turns over to the children’s direction, not paying attention to any of your pleading of him to stop. the kids shyly bowed their heads, “we’re sorry, miss y/n! we’ll be careful next time!” diluc nodded his head. “very good. be careful around your area next time. off you guys go now, have fun.”

“thank you, master diluc! we will! c’mon guys!” and off the children went. helping you stand up, diluc flicked your forehead, causing a small shriek from you. “and for you, pay attention in your surroundings. i told you this billions of times, darling,” he says before you felt a kiss land on your forehead.

the now loud chatter of mondstadt suddenly became quiet when you felt all eyes on you two.

the children who you were expecting to be gone earlier were staring at the two of you with wide eyes, quinn and beatrice doing the same along with donna who’s hand was still holding onto the windwheel asters. also add margaret, flora who was heading back and some favonius knights who were just walking by. they were surprised that the cold owner of the greatest tavern of all mondstadt could show affection…in public. you felt more heat rise up to your cheeks. to finish this off, diluc whispers: “meet me at the tavern later. i know it’ll be full at that hour but meet me there after you hanged those windwheel asters,” and then he walked away towards angel’s share.

your face was still pumping red, the children ran straight to you after diluc disappeared, asking if you and diluc were dating or could possibly be married. you tried your best to avoid their questions and quickly grabbed the windwheel asters from the still shocked donna and payed for them before running away to find venti.

afterwards you were gone, flora looked over to donna, “told you master diluc already has someone~”

“i uh….hmph!”

***

the tavern was loud indeed.

drunkards from side to side, bards taking over the stage of angel’s share and the calm and sealing lights of the tavern was warm yet had a nice aura for a loud night at the festival. rosaria and kaeya both greeted you with a warm aura as well, along with diluc with a kind wave. this day was the best, it was like the day where everyone in mondstadt could have an exciting celebration to the winds. after helping noelle & amber out to hang the asters, you of course headed straight to the tavern along with a flower crown hanging on your head (made by klee herself).

taking a seat down next to rosaria, you already knew that the calvary knight was starting to get drunk. “y’know? i’m sort of confused on what you find interesting about diluc, y/n. i mean, isn’t he boring?” he says a bit too loud. diluc sends a cold glare to kaeya as rosaria almost laughs at his statement, “too straightforward, kaeya. you’re a dumbass.”

“just saying. diluc, do you know how to kiss someone? just asking of course, i mean, including with someone with glasses. doesn’t that like…hurt your face or something?” you chuckled awkwardly. “i mean…i don’t think it hurts him that much…i-i mean! well, uhhh i don’t know for sure if it does but—

“are you asking me to demonstrate to you how we kiss?” diluc cuts you off and it just sends you as a burning bunch. kaeya laughs. “of course not, dear bro! i was just asking. hey rosaria, you gotta try drinking this—this is just a masterpiece of a drink.”

“hmm, do tell…” rosaria replies until something fell from her seat. the two immediately looked down to see what it was, and before you could help along, you felt diluc’s hand take your glasses off, and then a blurred sight crashed upon your vision. yet, you can tell that it’s his lips your sealed with. it didn’t take long until the two of you pulled away and diluc gently returned your glasses back to your face, rosaria and kaeya both stood back up at their seats, holding onto mora. “ugh, just a single drop of mora. thought it was something important,” rosaria scoffs.

“waste of time that—that was the one that caught our attention from drinking—huh? hey y/n, you good? you’re as stiff as a mannequin,” kaeya questions, looking at your red and frozen figure. diluc could only chuckle at your state right now. he knew you could get flustered, but not this flushed. a lovable sight indeed.

bonus:

“donna you seemed to be in a bad mood,” paimon’s sentence made her more in a bad mood. the young lady scoffs, ignoring her comment. then after, she sighs. “i guess master diluc wasn’t the one for me after all…miss y/n is so lucky, i wish i was her…”

“again, paimon wants to know what’s master diluc’s gotta do with this!”

***

a/n: first request! hope you liked it ;w;

requests: opened! ^w^

[morganas-destiny]

One thing I love most about the "You're not Merlin" scene from 'A servant of two masters' is the fact that it's basically a callback to Merlin and Morgana in 1x01. A royal getting completely naked behind the changing screen, talking to who they think is their servant but is actually their sibling's servant (or soon-to-be servant in Merlin's case and past servant in Gwen's case). And it just makes me think, you know, like what if Morgana had like Arthur walked out, naked, to look at Gwen, only to find Merlin standing there? The logical answer would likely be a lot of screaming, quick hiding and yelling for guards, especially since she didn't know him yet. But the much funnier option would be if she reacted the same way as Arthur. Just having her brain short circuit for a moment and then going "You're not Gwen". And Merlin being like "No. No, I'm not" (I was just gonna leave it at that but I had some time to spare and wrote a little OneShot to go with it lol. Enjoy.)

Why me, was all Merlin could think. Well, that and I should have knocked. He had almost been able to sneak out of the chambers of the Lady Morgana unnoticed, after trying to imitate her maid's voice and hiding behind a dress and whatnot to avoid being caught. But of course, of course, she had decided that she wanted to speak to her maid, and friend, face to face. She had walked out from behind the changing screen and locked eyes with Merlin. And as if that hadn't been bad enough, she had still not been dressed. The king's ward just walked out on him, completely nude. Merlin silently said goodbye to his life because surely, she would scream for the guards to take him to the dungeons and soon after to the chopping block because being caught in the same room as the naked ward of the king would surely cost him head. However, that wasn't what happened. She gave a surprised yelp and grabbed behind the screen, pulling out the gown she had taken off beforehand and pressing it against her body to cover the most important parts. She stared at him wide-eyed and in his quiet panic, all Merlin could do was stare back. A few second ticked by, in which neither said anything. Then Morgana narrowed her eyes. "You're not Gwen.", she stated the obvious. Merlin blinked a few times. "Errr... no. No, I- I just-" His thoughts raced, trying to figure out how to properly explain what exactly was going on. That he never meant to spy on her or get into this situation. His eyes fell on the sleeping draught he had brought and hastily went to pick it up, almost dropping it in the process. "I just came to deliver this. I- I'm new, I came to live with Gaius and- well." He interrupted himself, because he started to trip over his own words and also because he knew; every new word only made it seem more and more like a weak excuse. He could only hope and pray now that the Lady Morgana believed him and would let him go with a warning. "Oh.", she just said though. Oh? Merlin didn't know what to do with that. He gulped, placing the little bottle back on the wooden surface and averted his eyes. His cheeks were flushing more intensely with each passing second. He could feel Morgana's gaze on him. "Do you know where she is? Gwen, I mean.", she asked. Merlin dared to look up again, then slowly shook his head. "Hm.", Morgana only hummed in response. Merlin felt close to a mental breakdown. He wished the girl would just do something. Anything. Shout at him, tell him to get out, for god's sake, at this point, he'd even willingly let the guards take him to the dungeons. Even if he would hate to do that to Gaius. Though losing his head was almost a welcome idea, compared to the terrible uncertainty of this moment. Finally, after what felt like ages, the Lady Morgana opened her mouth again. "I would like to get dressed now." Merlin wanted to cry in relief. He could go. He could go and hopefully forget this incredibly awkward, embarrassing interaction. But no, he'd rejoiced to soon. "Are you familiar with fastenings?" He blinked in surprise and confusion, not realising what she wanted from him. He thought about it. Well, growing up with only a mother meant he had helped with a dress here and there at times. Though he doubted that the simple dresses of his mother were anything in comparison to the expensive, extravagant gowns of a princess. In his helplessness and under the scrutinizing eyes of the Lady Morgana, he only shrugged. "A little." Morgana nodded, as if to say good enough. "Wait there." Merlin's eyes widened and with rising panic, he watched as Morgana disappeared behind the changing screen again. The rustling of fabric indicated that she was putting on her other dress. Nervous sweat dampened the little hairs of Merlin's hairline. This couldn't possinly be really happening. "Alright, you can come.", her voice exclaimed from behind the screen. Merlin's heart near dropped into his pants but he didn't really know what else to do than listen. So, he walked over on wobbly knees and peeked behind the screen.

Upon seeing his cautious gaze, Morgana tilted her head. "Come on. My maid's obviously not here but you are. And considering you're fully dressed, you have an unfair advantage which I can't really allow." Feisty. Unusual for a girl of her standing but Merlin wasn't going to object. He just nodded and lifted his trembling hands to brush away some of her hair, which was even softer to the touch than it looked, and began to fiddle with the fastening. It took him twice as long as necessary and something definitely looked a bit off but he figured it would have to do and stepped back. Morgana shook her hair so that the long locks could freely flow down her body again. "Thank you.", she simply said, but a small smile danced around her lips. "Hm-mhm.", was all Merlin was able to get out. "My lady?" Both of them turned their heads to the door, through which Gwen had just entered, appearing to be rather confused at Merlin's presence. "Gwen!", Morgana greeted cheerily. Then she noticed the way her maid eyed Merlin. "Gwen, this is..." She trailed off, realising that she had never actually learned the name of the stranger who had shown up in her chambers. "Merlin.", he helped out. "But, uh, we know each other." He motioned between himself and Gwen. "Really?" Gwen nodded, hardly able to surpress a giggle. "We met while he was in the stocks." Morgana seemed bewildered for a moment, thinking that she had apparently allowed a criminal to help her with her dress. Gwen, who sensed her mistress's change of mood, quickly went to add: "He's the one who stood up to Arthur." Instantly, the other girl's face lit up again. "Oh, you are?" Merlin rubbed his neck, flustered. "Well..." "He's too humble. I saw it myself. It was very brave.", Gwen grinned, coming closer to the other two. Morgana looked at him with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye. "My, my, so Camelot's very own newest hero helped me with my fastening. I'm honored." The pink in Merlin's cheeks turned bright red. "I-", he croaked out. "I should probably go. Gaius- Gaius is probably waiting for me." Morgana laughed quietly. "You may go." He resisted the urge to exhale in relief and promptly marched towards the door with large steps. "Bye, Merlin.", Morgana's voice sounded one more time behind him. Despite his better instincts, he turned around once more and of course, ran into the doorframe. The two girls stiffled their laughter. Merlin let out a short, nervous chuckle and slipped out into the hallway. As soon as he was out, he allowed himself to breathe again. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to get out of that situation alive but he was glad he did. He just hoped he wouldn't have to step under the Lady Morgana's eyes again soon. Of course he didn't know yet that with his luck, he would earn an official job in the castle as Prince Arthur's manservant just a few hours later.

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

'I got you' for CaitVi

Full disclosure: I've never played League of Legends, so this is entirely based off my thoughts of Arcane.

Reassurance Starters

.

Vi knows she needs to leave. She needs to get up and slip out, while no one’s paying attention to her. She doesn’t belong here. Not that she ever did. The fact is simply especially true now. War is coming, and she’s not on this side, is she?

Vi pinches the bridge of her nose and closes her eyes. Memories flicker through her mind. When she had nothing better to do, Vi spent the long hours of her incarceration replaying through the events that led to her being there over and over again. Freedom hadn’t give her a reprieve from the habit, just added to the long reel that steadily trods across her thoughts. How have things ended up so wrong?

The image of Powd—Jinx—outlined by the moon, raising a shark rocket launcher comes unbidden. Caitlyn’s yell splitting Vi’s eardrums as they both realize where she’s aiming. The sinking weight in Vi’s gut as she watches the rocket streak across the sky. War was never unavoidable, not really. It just never occurred to Vi that her little sister, her Powder, would be the one to finally light the match that set the blaze alight.

Caitlyn will be fine at least, both now and during the chaos to come. This nice, fancy mansion in Piltover will shield her from the worst of it. They’ve already rushed her off for medical attention. Clean, fresh bandages, medicine, all the good stuff. It’s a nice thought, the idea that Caitlyn will be safe. Reassuring, in a way that’s going to be increasingly hard to come by.

Vi’s foot increases its tapping against the polished floor of the hallway without her telling it to. She opens her eyes and gazes down at her grubby reflection. She doesn’t belong here, she reminds herself. They were courteous enough not to throw her out, probably cause she brought their precious princess back home safe to them, but their goodwill is going to run dry if it hasn’t already. All it’ll take is them remembering she’s here, where she’s from, and who her sister is.

Going back to prison is not something Vi is willing to do. For her own sake, she should get up and go before the thought of sending her there enters their minds.

She remains sitting.

They won’t come and tell her, a scornful voice in her head reprimands, that Caitlyn is really alright. She isn’t important enough. She’s nothing. No one. Just an informant on a case, and doesn’t that idea make her skin crawl.

You worked with an enforcer, you traitor, the voice chides. Go now, before the rumors really start to spread and everyone back home won’t think twice about lumping you in with them.

Vi shifts positions, so she’s leaning against the nicely painted wall (and probably smudging it with dirt, but she’s not about to check to confirm that). It’s quiet here, in this mansion. Sure, she hates it, hates everything it represents. The wealth gathered on the backs of her people and used to weigh them down. But, it’s also nice. Peaceful.

In prison, true quiet, peaceful quiet, was hard to come by. Quiet meant something was going to go down. Quiet meant not drawing attention lest the guards decide to add to your beating counter. When she goes home, Vi knows, there will be no quiet. Piltover and the Enforcers will come, and they will not have mercy. She’ll have to find Jinx first and…she’s not sure. Vi’s mind screams ‘…and PROTECT her’, but it also whispers, ‘is that something I can still do?’

This is the calm before the storm, there’s no denying that, but just having this precious moment to not have to do anything is something Vi loathes the idea of giving up.

If Vi were to be truly honest with herself, she’d admit she longs to go home, truly home. To the Last Drop, Vander’s Last Drop, where she can flop down on a beat-up old sofa and relax, knowing she’s safe. She’s missed that feeling, safety. Vaguely even remembers what it was like.

“Excuse me, errr, miss?”

Violet exhales. Looks like she has no choice now. They decided to end the moment for her. Pity. She would have liked to see Caitlyn at least one last time. She shakes the thought, and looks at the attending servant who clearly believes she’s a wild animal liable to bite his arm off.

“Don’t worry,” she growls at him. “I was just leaving.” Vi shoves herself up. She turns to walk to the back door Caitlyn guided her in through. She never forgets an escape route.

“No, no, my apologies!” The servant hastily stops her. “The madam would like to see you.”

“Sure.” Vi rolls her eyes. “Tell her ‘you’re welcome for bringing her daughter back’ for me, will ya? No big deal. We can skip whatever pleasantries they have for that.”

The servant persists. “You misunderstand, Mrs. Kiramman is…I…in the Councilor’s absence, young Miss Caitlyn is the head of the household. It is she who wishes to see you, and I’m afraid she was very insistent.”

There’s a light, fluttery feeling that she doesn’t quite know what to do with in Vi’s chest at those words. She does the sensible thing, and quashes it down. Yet, she still follows when the servant starts to lead her through the mansion’s maze of long halls and elegant chambers.

For a moment, the world completely stops when they reach Caitlyn’s room and Vi sees Caitlyn and Caitlyn sees her. It feels good. The way Caitlyn’s eyes light up at the sight of her, Vi, even dirty, and bruised, and stinking up the perfumed fragrance that permeates the very air here as she is. The way Caitlyn’s lips quirk into that cute, little smile. The way that, the tiniest flicker of the feeling she used to get back when Vi still had the Last Drop, and Vander, and Mylo, and Claggor, and Powder surfaces for a brief heartbeat.

“I...um…” Vi hears herself start, but she hasn’t thought of what she wants to say yet. Her brain scrambles, but comes up with nothing. Her heart hammers. She needs something, anything, to keep the flicker from winking back out of existence. “I…”

And then Caitlyn’s hugging her and Vi knows its a lost cause to try and figure out to say. Because it’s not the embrace of someone who’s keeping you at arm’s length. It’s the desperate, aching, hoping embrace of someone who’s just suffered loss and is feeling lost and suddenly you’re the only family left and maybe that will be enough, even if you know it won’t be.

Slowly, tentatively, Vi raises her own arms and wraps them around Caitlyn in return. A part of her wants to run, to flee, and never come back, because vulnerability is weakness and, like this, she’s too exposed.

Vi stays put.

“I’ve got you,” Caitlyn whispers in her ear after an eternal moment.

And, after a small hesitation, Vi replies, “I got you, too, cupcake.”

[mysmorgasbordoffantabulosa]

So I understand... Tae is in a bed with the same bedding as Jennies, with a cat similiar to her cat and after so many "coincidences" (ex: similar pic in NY of sunset) this is still another coincidence, nothing else, even after so many rumors. Not even a: I mean... They could be a thing. Then Taekook wear similiar rings because they work for the same brands and a wedding is happening?

"So I understand..."

No you don't, but why let that stop you, eh!...

"Tae is in a bed with the same bedding as Jennies, with a cat similiar to her cat..."

Please refer to my previous response... but I add two addendums to these...

Most of what I found about the cat and bedding came from Blinks

Also, some question the authenticity of the photo, and claim it's photoshopped. If it is, then it's actually one of the better ones.

Note to self: must recognise the possibility (however small) that the photo is real, so as to appease certain people.

"... and after so many "coincidences" (ex: similar pic in NY of sunset) this is still another coincidence, nothing else, even after so many rumors."

Errr what rumors?

Several Blinks have already debunked the sunset locations (as well as dates and other NYC rumours), as being the same but hey why let the truth get in the way of what you want.

Also, you know, Tae and Jennie are allowed to take pictures of places they've been to, without it being connected to each other.

"Not even a: I mean... They could be a thing."

I mean, they could be a thing yes, but I don't see anything in this or anything else the fabricator Haribo posted that says so, sorry.

"Then Taekook wear similar rings because they work for the same brands and a wedding is happening?"

Erm, not quite...

Firstly, I'm not aware of them wearing identical Louis Vuitton rings/jewellery, but have worn identical matching outfits designed by LV.

Also, when styled by the BigHit stylists, occasionally, they have worn identical clothing/jewellery on the same day in the last 3 years. They might on separate days wear identical clothings/jewellery also, as was the case recently with a Channel Pearl ring that JK wore, that Tae wore last year and during BE promos.

But here's the thing, when not necessarily styled by the stylist, they have been known to wear each other's clothes and matching jewellery. And unlike Tae and Jennie, we know they're identical in most cases because guest what, solo or Taekook fans gave it to them, and they choose to wear them.

[bourbonbees]

Kiss Me (I'm Irish)

Coming in at the eleventh errr twelth hour with a last minute Saint Patrick's Day case fic!

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday and celebrated safely!

Summary: Dean finds a lead on a case in Chicago where people are dying in pranks gone wrong. Sam thinks it's an elaborate ruse to get him to drink green beer and he is not here for it. Good thing Dean gets two votes, his and that of Castiel, the proverbial angel on his shoulder (that he's definitely not attracted to, or maybe he is?) When mysterious Gaelic translations are required, the gang's favorite Irish woman, Eileen joins the chase! Shenanigans ensue. Exit pursued by a leprechaun.

Read on ao3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37803082

or below the cut!

“All I’m sayin’, Sammy, is the dude drowned in a toilet, and no one was seen going in or out of the bathroom on the security footage. You can’t tell me that isn’t a little fishy?” Dean mutters as he packs his toiletry bag back into his duffle.

“Dean, death by swirly isn’t our kind of thing. Maybe the guy tripped and hit his head or something. You can stop pretending this isn’t an elaborate ruse to get me to agree to spend St Patrick’s Day with you, drinking green beer and puking into the Chicago river. It’s not happening Dean.” Sam grumbles pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes as he shuts his laptop and stuffs it into his bag.

“Besides, willingly polluting the river with green dye every year to attract tourists, come on man, it’s messed up!” He adds, setting the laptop bag on a chair.

“Two things Sammy,” Dean pauses, zipping his bag for dramatic effect. “One, that dye is actually made from algae and is safe for the fish. Do your research hippie! Two, the medical examiner found no signs of head injury! Guy just drops face first into the oval office and dies. There’s like what a couple of inches of water in there, how?” He shrugs, sitting on the edge of the hotel bed, the rickety springs giving a resounding squeak.

“Actually, you can drown in less than two inches of water,” Cas announces as he appears, standing in the middle of their room, as if it’s a totally normal thing to do. “Also, it only takes about 40 seconds for it to be fatal for an adult human.” He observes proudly.

“Hello Dean.” He preens, taking his place next to Dean and exchanging a shy smile with him.

“Great, you’re here too. Did Dean pray for you to show up just so he could have one extra vote to work this case? Because that’s low.” Sam heaves a sigh, resigning himself to the fact that he would not only be investigating drowning by toilet but possibly preventing a very festively drunk Dean from getting into a weird domestic dispute with Cas. In typical fashion, neither Cas nor Dean dignifies Sam with an answer.

“Cas, ask my know-it-all little brother if it’s normal to find a piece of gold stuffed down a guys throat? One with mysterious Gaelic writing?” Dean poses, holding up his phone to show Sam a picture of weathered gold coin with an inscription embossed on the front.

“Sam, I’m assuming you heard what Dean said and can be spared the monotony of me repeating said information.” Cas sighs, taking the phone from Dean and looking at the image, tilting his head to try to see it better.

“Yes Cas, and you got me, I suppose that is not normal.” Sam concedes, his interest piqued despite his best efforts to avoid letting Dean be right. “But if you get to bring Cas along, I’m calling Eileen. She can help us translate the Gaelic writing.” He amends, figuring if he has to deal with whatever shenanigans lie ahead, he might as well make this the world’s weirdest double date.

“Yes! Pack your bags Cas, we’re going to Chi-town! You’re gonna love it, green river, green beer, parades, lots to see.” Dean’s enthusiasm for coopted holidays is second only to his enthusiasm for indoctrinating Cas to their culture and customs. Honestly, it’s kind of sweet if Sam is honest with himself, but watching your big brother try to flirt with a celestial being the size of the Chrysler Building takes a toll on a man.

“I don’t need to pack a bag, I don’t own anything.” Cas, looks as if he’s actually disappointed that he doesn’t have to haul around his entire life in a duffle which only seems to endear Dean further as he gives him a sympathetic pat on the back.

“Figure of speech pal, but if you want. We could make you a toiletry bag. You know, toothbrush, deodorant, that kinda stuff.” Dean offers, keeping his hand on Cas’ back a moment longer before pulling it away when Sam raises an eyebrow at him.

“Are you saying I’m malodorous, perhaps I’ve become what you humans call, nose blind, to my vessel’s bodily secretions. Though I shouldn’t have any really, angels don’t sweat or cultivate oral bacteria.” Cas says worriedly, trying to discreetly sniff his armpit causing Dean to huff out a soft laugh.

“No, you don’t stink. You actually smell kinda nice.” Dean supplies, Sam shaking his head at the entire interaction.

“You both know you’re in love with each other, right?” Sam breaks before taking the opportunity to leg it out of the motel room and call Eileen. He nearly proposes to her on the spot when she quickly agrees to join them, signing excitedly, and sharing that she’s never really celebrated the holiday herself despite being Irish.

***

Cas and Dean are blissfully silent most of the drive, clearly humbled by the revelation that they are about as subtle as a sawed off shot gun when it comes to their true feelings. Sam takes this opportunity to challenge Cas to a round of Words with Friends knowing fully well that Cas keeps his phone at full volume and the notification sounds would drive Dean to the brink of homicidal rage.

“It’s your turn Cas! Don’t you love me anymore?” Sam snorts when he scores 500 points for using the word “vajazzle,” and his opponent freezes, tilting his head to the side as he considers the term.

“There’s no way vajazzle is a real word!” Cas complains, subtly kicking the back of Sam’s seat.

“Easy Cas, I just cleaned the seats. Also, vajazzle is unfortunately a word. It was big in the early 2000s, women would put gems on their, well exactly where you’d expect. I once took home a chick that had playboy bunny, very classy.” Dean shares with an oddly wistful expression.

“You didn’t.” Sam cringes, shaking his head half in disbelief and half in disappointment.

“I did.” Dean grins, Cas looking particularly smitey at the idea of Dean sleeping with a woman with a bejeweled downstairs.

“You’re unbelievable. And so is anyone who willingly glues jewels to their genitals.” Cas bristles, picking up his phone and resuming their game using the pointed word ‘gauche.’

Sam doesn’t bother to stifle his laughter, giving Cas a nod as if to say ‘well played.’

“Would you two care to share with the class what’s so funny?” Dean asks, glancing at Cas in the review mirror and earning an eye roll from the angel of the lord.

“Nope, it’s none of your business 67impala327, that’s what you get! It’s been your turn in our game for three weeks now. Just admit I’m smarter than you!” Sam intervenes, crossing his arms over his chest with a satisfied huff.

“Yeah but I got all good looks and people skills.” Dean shrugs unbothered by it all and not wanting to give Sam the satisfaction.

“Debatable.” Cas supplies, gaining a genuine gasp from Dean. “The people skills I mean, you’re not very effusive.” He amends, Dean’s cheeks turning rapidly pinker by the moment.

“And I’m taking a nap.” Sam chuckles, balling his flannel up and using it a pillow against the window before closing his eyes. He is thankful when he opens his eyes again to see the Chicago skyline coming into focus.

***

“Okay so what are we looking at?” Eileen asks, standing behind Sam’s chair at small breakfast table in their motel room.

“I was sort of hoping you could help with that. I’m not really sure.” Sam shrugs, smiling when Eileen places a hand on his shoulder and gives it a reassuring squeeze before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.

“Get a room!” Dean calls out, tossing a gummy bear at Sam’s head. Cas quietly chides Dean taking the bag of candy away from him and placing it on side table.

“We do have a room. You’re in it! If you’ve got a problem with PDA, go back to your room and do whatever it is you two do or don’t do.” Sam supplies, tossing the gummy bear back at Dean and hitting him square in the middle of the forehead.

“Nice aim babe.” Eileen compliments, giving Sam a high five.

“Hey, thought you were on my side. You told me that I was your favorite Winchester.” Dean teases, mouthing to her ‘you’re my favorite, don’t tell him,’ behind Sam’s back.

“Everyone knows neither of your are my favorite. Cas is my favorite.” Eileen shrugs, signing ‘you’re the best’ to Cas and making him grin brightly.

“Okay, okay we’re getting off track. Eileen do you recognize this writing?” Sam asks, zooming in on the embossing on the coin.

“It looks familiar, but my Gaelic isn’t great. I think I’ve seen this symbol before. In Lillian’s journal. Hold on.” Eileen nods before digging through her bag and pulling out the journal, a pair of green lace underwear coming with it. “You saw nothing!” She blushes tucking them away, Sam sinking into his chair and forcing himself to look away.

“Looks like somebody’s gonna have the luck of the Irish on their side tonight. Good for you Sammy.” Dean laughs, Cas smacking him gently on the arm and muttering for him to go easy on them.

“Yeah not everyone is in a decades long dry spell because they won’t admit they’re pining for their best friend, jerk.” Sam quips with a satisfied smirk.

“Bitch.” Dean mutters flipping Sam off with narrowed eyes and a shake of his head.

“Perhaps, your luck could change.” Cas says sympathetically, causing Dean to sputter a bit. “I mean, maybe you’ll meet someone. I mean, I don’t sleep, I could leave our room.” He amends looking down at his lap anxiously.

“Cas, don’t. I-uh, we’ll talk later okay?” Dean smiles, looking over at Cas and giving him gentle nudge with his elbow.

“Anyway, as I was saying, Lillian kept a pretty in-depth record of all things Celtic and creepy. She might have something in here.” Eileen interrupts, happy to change the subject. She flips through the weathered journal while Sam looks on fondly, smiling a bit stupidly at the way she has to squint a bit to read the smaller writing. Sam is definitely gone for her and he doesn't even bother to hide it.

“Here! I found it! That symbol represents the leath bhrogan. They’re a class of faerie folk,” Eileen starts again excitedly.

“Ah great, not the friggin fairies again. I swear if I have to get my ass kicked by Tinker Bell again, I’m out.” Dean mutters, shaking his head at the memory of scrubbing fairy guts out of the motel microwave. Dean learned the hard way that day there’re just somethings even bleach can’t help.

“Don’t forget you unintentionally committed a hate crime as well!” Sam laughs, taking a couple beers out of the fridge and handing one to Eileen then Dean and Cas.

“It was one time. To be fair, I didn’t know the guy was just a guy. I didn’t have a problem with him being a little person. Wrong place, wrong time. Besides it’s not like you were any help Mr. No Soul McGee.” Dean defends sipping his beer, Cas imitating him and drinking at the same time.

“Technically it’s Cas’ fault I didn’t have a soul.” Sam points out, tipping his beer at the angel on the sofa.

“You try ripping a man from harrow hell and tell me how that works out for you.” Cas shakes his head.

“Okay if you boys are done, I was speaking!” Eileen sighs, Sam quickly signing ‘sorry’ and nodding supportively for her to go on.

“The leath bhrogan are a very old line of fae, they’re known for their skills as cobblers. They live in tree trunks and small caves. They have mystified Irish hunters for centuries because they are all male, well that’s sexist,” She pauses here, scrunching up her nose at the next line, “and it’s unsure how they reproduce. You know what that’s fine, I don’t to know.” She mutters, flipping the page. “They are tricksters by nature and typically harmless unless someone is in pursuit of their gold,” Eileen stops there, shaking her head in disbelief.

“No, no, I can’t. Please don’t say it.” Sam groans, holding a hand up to sign ‘no.’

“They’re also known as luchorpan. Or leprechaun.” Eileen finishes quickly, closing the journal and taking a long swig of her beer.

“So, this dude died face down in a toilet because he was after some leprechaun’s lucky charms? I mean, we’ve seen weirder.” Dean shrugs, apparently happy to accept the fact that leprechauns do exist without question.

“It had to be leprechauns. Why can’t it ever just be salt and burn? Freaking leprechauns. They’re real and now we gotta hunt one. Happy St Patrick’s Day. I guess.” Sam mutters mirroring Eileen and finishing most of his beer in one go.

***

“We’ve got another vic. Died outside an Irish pub about a mile away from the first vic.” Sam announces over breakfast, scrolling through various local news websites on his phone while pretending not to hear the sounds of Dean open mouth chewing his pancakes. “Are you even tasting those?” He finally breaks, Dean rolling his eyes at his brother while he slathers more syrup onto the remaining pancakes.

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day Sammy. Man’s gotta eat.” Dean mumbles around a mouthful, Cas watching him with an impossibly fond expression.

“What?” Eileen asks, trying to catch up on what was happening around her, glancing up from her phone at Sam.

“Dean chews really loud. It’s annoying.” Sam explains, signing along with what he is saying.

“See sometimes there’s perks of not being able to hear. I would have no idea, also, I have it on good authority that you snore. Not that I’d know.” Eileen laughs, poking Sam’s side.

“I do not.” Sam defends, before pointing at his brother. “He snores. Not me.” He adds, picking up his mug of coffee and taking a sip.

“You both snore. I would know, I’m the one that doesn' t sleep at all. Also, you pass an alarming amount of gas in your sleep Samuel. You should probably see a doctor.” Cas supplies, making sure to sign ‘so many farts,’ pointedly at Eileen and then pinching his nose to indicate they smell terrible.

“Yes, unfortunately. I can smell. Good thing I love you anyway.” Eileen chuckles, leaning up to give Sam a chaste peck on the lips, Dean making a soft gagging noise in response. “You have coffee breath.” She teases, wrinkling her nose up.

“So do you.” Sam laughs, poking the tip of Eileen's nose with his index finger then signing 'you're so cute.'

“So, the second vic, you gonna get to the point?” Dean says with a snap of his fingers bring both Sam and Eileen back into the awareness that they are very much not alone in the table.

“What Dean means to say is, can you tell us more Sam, please?” Cas amends, shaking his head at Dean and then pushing the side of bacon that he ordered knowing it was really for Dean, toward him, the plate making a slight squeaking sound. Cas makes a habit of doing this, ordering food under the guise of "fitting in" but really just to see Dean's smile when he offers him his portion.

“Awesome.” Dean grins, happily munching on the bacon. “Yes, please go on Sam.” He tries, continuing to eat the bacon and gesturing for Sam to continue.

“So, get this, the second vic was found on the street outside a pub. Cause of death was anaphylaxis. Turns out Gina had a peanut allergy and someone covered the underside of her car door handles in what looks like chunky peanut butter.” Sam concludes, handing his phone to Eileen so she could read the report.

“Ha! Classic, the old peanut butter under the door handles. Works every time.” Dean laughs, finishing his last piece of bacon.

“Dean, she died.” Cas face palms, taking a halfhearted sip of his coffee to throw off any suspicion the waitress might have that he wasn’t eating or drinking.

“Oh yeah, that.” Dean nods, taking Cas’ coffee and drinking it. “Did you put sugar in this?” He sputters, putting the mug back down.

“Yes, because it was mine.” Cas frowns, sliding the cup back in front of him and taking an actual sip for show.

“So, is this leprechaun trying to kill people on purpose or is he just terrible at pranks?” Eileen asks, handing Sam his phone back.

“Jury is out. But either way the little creep is a killer and he's still out there. Looks like we might have a lead on where to find the guy though.” Sam adds, opening a news alert. “Locals spotted, a wild animal in the park last night. They got a blurry photo but it looks like it walks on two legs and you can kind of see a hat. So either that’s our leprechaun or it’s a rabid raccoon that’s been dumpster diving behind a Party City.” He shrugs showing them all the photo.

***

“So how do we kill this thing anyway?” Dean mutters as he makes his way through a hedge looking for any signs the leprechaun has passed through.

“Four leaf clover, I don’t know.” Sam mutters exasperatedly, kicking at a small hole in the base of a tree and startling a rat out of it. When it crosses his path he definitely does not let out an undignified screech. “Gross.” He recoils, Eileen laughing at his plight as the rat runs past her and off into the tall grass.

“Iron, leprechauns are fae. Iron kills them.” Eileen chuckles, pulling out a small dagger she has concealed in a sheath in her right boot.

“Sweet! I need one of those.” Dean says as he tries grabbing for the dagger, Eileen pulling it away from him quickly.

“No, this one is mine. It was Lillian’s.” She explains, tucking it back into her boot.

“Dude she’s way too cool for you.” Dean laughs, patting Sam on the back.

“She really is.” Cas adds, coming over with a handful of gold coins. “Found the leprechaun’s gold by the way.” He says casually, looking at them more closely. “It is, ironically, under that gay pride flag mural over there, at the end of the rainbow.” He gives a deep chuckle at that.

“Cas! How can you be so incredibly smart and also so stupid at the same time? You took the gold, all the vics had a piece of gold. That thing is going to come for you now!” Dean mutters, taking half the coins from Cas and tucking them in his pocket.

"Why did you do that?" Cas huffs, trying to take the coins back from Dean rather unsuccessfully.

“Well at least now he’s going to have to catch both of us.” Dean smirks, giving Cas a wink that makes him chuckle nervously and for a brief moment turn his insides into goo.

***

“So, all of these people died when they were isolated, we just need to find a way to make sure you two are always in a crowd. At least until we’re ready to trap the little green bastard.” Sam says later that evening as they all sit crammed into a diner booth for dinner.

“You mean something like this?” Eileen asks, showing a flyer on her phone for a St. Patrick’s Day party a nearby bar. “No cover charge if you wear green.” She adds, Sam shaking his head no. “Come on, it’ll be fun! Do it for me, please! It is my day after all.” She shrugs, unashamed to pull both the girlfriend card and the Irish card, pointing to an Irish flag pin on the lapel of her jacket for emphasis.

“Fine. Only because I don’t want my brother to die and I guess you are kind of cute.” Sam caves easily. He knows he's one hundred percent whipped, but at the same time he 100% doesn't care because in Sam's opinion Eileen is well worth it.

“Only kind of? Wow, maybe the luck of the Irish won’t be on your side tonight.” Eileen replies with a small chuckle, gently elbowing Sam in the side.

“Let me see that, oh this is perfect Cas! We can have a green beer, maybe dance a little.” Dean perks up, not waiting for permission to grab Eileen's phone. He shows Cas the flyer and then hands the phone back with a muttered apology to Eileen.

“Dance? Who are you? Isn’t this another of your favorite holidays to be festively slutty?” Sam challenges with a raised brow.

“Maybe I’ve changed.” Dean shrugs.

‘He likes you. You should kiss him tonight.’ Eileen signs to Cas, leaving him staring back at her like a deer in the headlights. Sam laughs quietly, knowing enough sign to get the gist of what was said.

‘Maybe I will.’ Cas signs in reply once he regains his composure, waiting until Dean looks away to spare him a longing glance. ‘I will.’ He adds.

*** “So while you two love birds were getting cleaned up, Cas and I went to the CVS on the corner and picked up some things to help us blend in tonight.” Dean announces as he dumps the bag onto the motel bed, a mass of tangled shamrock necklaces and assorted accessories spilling out onto the comforter.

“Not bad eh?” He says proudly as he puts a hat that looks like a mug of green beer on Cas’ head.

“I look ridiculous.” Cas adds, tugging at the “Irish for a day,” shirt he’s currently wearing.

“That’s the point Cas! Have a little fun. I think you look festive. And handsome!” Eileen says supportively, pulling on a green and black flannel shirt and cuffing the sleeves before grabbing a light up shamrock bracelet. “See now you’re not alone.” She adds as she picks up a pair of gold coin shaped glasses and slips them on.

“You’re not going to make me wear any of this are you?” Sam practically pleads, but loses quickly when Eileen motions for him to bend over and puts a shamrock lei around his neck.

“Don’t complain, you just got lei’d” Eileen says before Sam can get a word in, picking up a headband with two Irish flags on springs on it and placing it in Sam’s hair. “And for you.” She tells Dean, pinning a “kiss me I’m Irish” button onto the pocket of his flannel and pointing it out to Cas.

“I don’t understand. Dean, you’re not Irish. I know, I’ve traced the Winchesters back hundreds of years, you have zero Irish ancestry.” Cas frowns before reading the button again.

“You don’t have to be Irish to wear one of these. It’s just for fun. An excuse to get kissed.” Dean explains, wishing the floor would open up and drag him right back to hell.

“Oh.” Cas follows, taking a moment to process what Dean means. “Would you like me to kiss you Dean?” He offers, stepping closer to his best friend and glancing subtly at his lips.

“I mean, yeah, maybe. For good luck or something since we might get pranked to death by a leprechaun tonight.” Dean finally admits, eyes firmly locked on his boots, his cheeks turning bright red.

“Okay.” Cas smiles, taking the final few steps forward and meeting Dean’s lips in a short but sweet kiss, touching his own lips as he pulls back, as if even he cannot believe what just happened.

“Finally, can we get a move on now?” Sam groans, figuring he’s allowed to be a little bitchy about this since it’s been over a decade in the making. Though he has the sneaking suspicious that Cas and Dean as a couple will be far more unbearable than Cas and Dean as friends with weird sexual tension. He makes a mental note to ask Eileen if it’s too soon for them to move in together.

‘I knew you could do it.’ Eileen signs discreetly to Cas, sending him a supportive thumbs up. Meanwhile, Dean appears to have lost all ability to think, move, or speak, as he is standing stock still and touching his lips.

“Are you okay Dean?” Cas asks worriedly, gently squeezing his arm.

“I think you broke him.” Sam notes, grabbing baby’s keys. “You good to drive man, or are you too love drunk?” He teases as he hands Dean the keys.

“I’m good. I’m great even. Sorry, just that just happened. I know we’ll have to talk later. But maybe tonight stick close to me Cas. And I promise I won’t be trying to pick anyone up. It’s just you.” Dean finally speaks, grabbing his car keys from Sam.

“It’s always been just you for me.” Cas replies wistfully, following Dean out the door, Sam and Eileen close on their heels.

***

“Alright so the plan is we stay for about another hour until bar time then you two head out the back door to the alley. Eileen and I will be hiding just out of sight on each end of the alley and when the leprechaun comes, we’ll trap him. Got it?” Sam yells to Dean over the loud bagpipe filled music in the bar.

“Yeah, sure. Got it.” Dean nods, ordering a shot of whiskey and tossing it back with ease, setting the shot glass onto the bar with a clatter, and then ordering two green beers, one for himself and one for Cas. He orders one for Sam as well before making a quick exit through the dancefloor to get back to the angel.

“He’s drunk.” Eileen signs, watching as Dean tries to do an Irish jig, stealing the green beer Dean ordered for Sam and sipping it contently. “It’s almost insensitive, but to be honest, I have no idea how to step dance either.” She laughs, Sam wrapping an arm around her waist.

“I know I should be mad he’s getting drunk when we have a case to work, but he actually looks happy. Cas too. It’s kind of nice, all of us here together. No one’s dying,” Sam smiles looking around the crowd, eyes going wide when he loses sight of Cas and Dean. “Shit we lost them.” He adds.

“Okay, must be the leprechaun. We have to find them.” Eileen nods, already scanning the room. “There!” She points out, spotting Dean across the room at the more secluded back bar. He’s talking to a shorter gentleman and seems to be making a bet of sorts.

“I bet you twenty bucks you can’t balance two beers on your hands for one minute.” The man challenges, showing Dean the money.

“You’re on.” Dean accepts holding his hands out flat for the man to place the glasses of beer on them. “Can you believe this Cas? Cas?” He furrows his brow, looking around for the angel. “Wait a minute hey.” He scowls when the man starts to walk away.

What Dean didn’t notice, was the man cutting the power cord near his feet while he looked around for Cas. Sam however notices the sparks from the cord and sees Dean moments away from moving and splash beer onto the cords which would surely electrocute him.

“Dean! Don’t move. Leprechaun.” Sam warns, pointing to the small man as he ran away, Eileen tailing him out of the bar. “I’m going to cut the power.” He tells Dean, running toward the exposed circuit box on the wall and hoping to reach it in time.

“Fuck there’s so many switches, they’re not labeled!” He calls out, eventually giving in and flipping them all, plunging the bar into darkness and making all the patrons scream. Dean sighs in relief and dumps the beers before going to Sam.

“Cas is missing, we’ve gotta find him.” Dean shouts over the chaos that’s ensuing, leading Sam away from the center of the crowd before yelling Cas’ name. “Cas! Buddy! Where are you?” He calls out, struggling to see in the dark.

“Cas!” Sam tries, moving off to the side toward what appears to the be a hallway, though it’s impossible to tell in the pitch black. He yells again and then listens, hearing a faint “Sam,” coming from the end of the potential hallway. “Over here!” He calls to Dean.

The pair make their way to the end of the hall and find the men’s room. Pushing the door open to find Cas standing in the middle, trapped in a ring of holy fire.

“He knew I was an angel, he trapped me. Dean, are you okay?” Cas rushes out as soon as Sam and Dean put out the fire with water from the sink.

“I’m okay but we gotta go find Eileen. She followed the leprechaun.” Dean explains, grabbing Cas’ hand without a second thought and leading him through the darkness, Sam running ahead.

They make it out quickly, their panic quickly subsides when they spot Eileen across the street, covered in green glitter.

“Another fact to add to the leprechaun lore, they tend to explode into a cloud of glitter when you stab them.” Eileen says casually, trying to brush some of the glitter off her shoulder.

“You know that shit isn’t coming off for days! Thanks for taking one for the team Eileen.” Dean nods sincerely, smiling shyly when Eileen points to where he and Cas are still holding hands. “Yeah, yeah, don’t make a big deal about it.” He laughs.

“Happy Saint Patrick’s Day?” Sam sighs in relief, pulling Eileen into a firm hug, glitter be damned.

[takadanobaba]

Kurokawa Rei’s Birthday PriZoom 8/8/2021

YOOOOOO

Reminder that prizooms are also accessible to everyone and don’t require any Japanese residency confirmation!! If you’re interested in attending, please go and support kinpri!!!

Soundboard hell I love you so much

So this time I only went to the second showing for Rei’s birthday event! I also chose the chat-only room because that’s what I started out with and I loved it so I wanted that same experience again. They were showing sss part 4 with the Rei+Hijiri PrismChat as a bonus! Which was perfect because :

1) Ever since Jin’s birthday I’ve been missing the cheering screening experience (even if it’s not in a theater it counts!!! the community is what makes it!!!!!!)

2) I did mention being curious as to if anyone would try to hit YO to Platonic Sword in Jin’s post

3) I was interested in the Rei+Hijiri PrismChat!

RakutenTicket sends the link to the soundboard early and apparently they use the same link for every showing in the event so I got to listen in on the first course’s soundboard hell while waiting for the second course to start! I was wondering if people tried to YO along to the lives in every prizoom event, made me happy to hear that they do! Oddly enough, I find that cacophony soothing in a way? I’d love for them to put out a demo soundboard or something so you can just play around with it whenever

Also, not sure about the actual gender statistics of who attends prizooms, but it seems like most people choose the male voice option regardless? Probably because the male YO sound is funnier and being synced with everyone adds to it?

There weren’t any audio problems this time, but the video quality was noticeably worse. While attending I was thinking that I actually liked the audio problems since they unintentionally make prizooms more fun thanks to how it heightens the community experience (everyone spams 頑張ってー/ “ganbatte” together!!!). With bad video it’s just kind of sad haha. I mean I guess it’d be better to have no issues at all (...maybe....... it does increase the fun) but if lower resolution is the trade off for audio problems then I’d prefer audio problems..... 

In the little waiting period before part 4 actually started (takes a while for participants to trickle in since people are let into the rooms and verified manually), they play music which is nice!!! Especially since it helps for cheering practice. Daisuki Refrain was particularly memorable since it was so YO-able...... made me think about the contrast between Shin’s actual song and Platonic Sword (which has a reputation as the uncheerable song). Nice to see that even without mics or being able to properly cheer, the feelings remain consistent between (what I’ve heard about) theater showings and prizoom chat-only rooms!

Platonic Sword actually is really difficult to YO to but people tried their best anyways, the only agreed upon part to YO to is after every new pose in that one bit where Shine dies a bit and then stabs himself.

Part 4 is SUPER SERIOUS sometimes because of all the prism messenger plot so the soundboard is just DEAD SILENT during those parts because everyone’s just in terror. Really adds to the experience since people try to cheer as much as possible! The most used sounds for the Shine parts are just “ME TOO” whenever he talks about love (people simp for Shine!) and “出たー! / AAA THERE IT IS!!!” just whenever he appears/stabs someone/does that eye thing.

What surprised me the most though was how many people REALLY LIKE SANADA??? There’s just SO MUCH CHEERING whenever he appears???? It gave me whiplash every time. Sanada is actually my 3rd favorite character (after Jin and Joji because I have awful taste so I love them and their dynamic as a trio) and I really didn’t expect anyone else to like him because he’s just horrible?? I hate-love him. But apparently people genuinely love Sanada. Honestly the most terrifying memory coming out of a part 4 screening to me.

BRILLIANT OATH’S CHEERING WAS REALLY GOOD TOO!!! Mics aren’t allowed in the chat-only rooms so nobody can properly sing along for the audience part but that’s NOT A PROBLEM THANKS TO THE SOUNDBOARD!!! Everyone just spams YO along to every syllable and it’s just SO FUNNY. Like there’s this super emotional moment where a new deity is born to regrant the prism sparkle in a world that the gods abandoned.... through the sheer power of everyone yelling YO. Beautiful

A lot of the notable participants (like the Victoria cosplayer) from Jin’s showing were here too. It wasn’t as crazy as Jin’s but it was cool seeing all the cosplayers and everyone’s plushies! Also cool seeing that the person who made the cute custom Jin plushie made one for Rei too??

💖 💖 💖

Here’s a link to my recording of the bonus !

Luna actually already translated the bonus PrismChat between Rei and Hijiri (thank you Luna!!) before I got around to finishing up this post! If you’re reading this, then go and give her translation work the appreciation it deserves!! Also go read her new prism rush translation! 

(I actually haven’t gotten around to finishing reading it myself because between making prizoom posts and just being busy with life I wasn’t able to properly focus and give it my full attention ;;;>_> BUT AFTER THIS!!)

And errr try not to spread my recording around too much just in case if any staff decides that archiving content that will probably never be released officially or translated is a reason to start cracking down on making things less accessible for an overseas audience ^^;;;;;;

💖 💖 💖

ANYWAYS!!!! 

IT WAS REALLY FUN!!!! It was really nice being able to attend a prizoom again!!

For the feedback form, I put in a request to give Sanada a birthday so he can get the prizoom treatment because oh my god people go crazy for him. Unfortunately I do too. They really need to give him the Yamada treatment and market him more, I’m pretty sure Sanada’s more popular than Yamada too?  OooOo kinpri you want to put out more content and take my money ooooOoOoooOoooo

And lastly, reminder that anyone can attend prizooms!!! And if you’re interested then you really should!!!! I’ll be posting a guide for the ticket buying process later to help with that!!!

[zeta-in-de-walls]

Dream’s speedrunning

Hey guys, I don’t usually make posts like this but I’ve kinda been following this drama for a while and felt like discussing it. Heh, Idk. I’m no expert ofc. 

See, I’m a bit dismayed to find I do indeed believe Dream definitely is guilty of cheating in his minecraft speedrunning. I figured I’d explain my thoughts.

For those who are unaware, a couple months ago, Dream did some livestreams where he streamed Minecraft speedrunning in version 1.16. He did six sessions which were all hours long. Over that time he did hundreds of piglin trades to get ender pearls. 242 trades in fact!

 And that’s where the issue comes in, as ender pearl drops from piglins are rare - there’s 4.73% of an ender pearl trade. From this number of trades, you’d expect 242*4.73% = 11.4. That’s the average, obviously there’s bound to be a little deviation but the higher the sample size, the closer you’d expect it to be to the average. 

Dream got 42 ender pearl trades. That is many, many, many standard deviations from the mean. That number is incredibly suspicious and it is effectively impossible for it to be explained by ‘good luck.’ Now you may be thinking that the whole point of world record times is to find that instance where you get astronomically lucky, but this wasn’t just his world record pace run - this was from all the runs in the streams, including the bad ones. It gets worse when the mods also examined Dream’s blaze run luck and found it was also way above the norm. Both of these combined being incredibly fortunate is even more unlikely to happen naturally. And these are two of the most important factors in a minecraft speedrun. 

But wait. What about bias? When speedrunning, you’d stop trading after a successful trade - that would skew the result to be slightly higher, right? True! The speedrunning mods apparently tried to account for that, giving Dream some benefit of the doubt. And, just in case their calculations for Dream were way off they decided to try it on other speedrunners and see if they also get astronomically high luck, suggesting the problem is with their calculations and not with Dream. They examined other speedrunners and not one of them were anything close to Dream’s high odds! 

For comparison, they examined Illumina (and others but Illumina was the luckiest they found) and found he had a string of good luck, such that his odds of getting it legitimately were only 9%. Dream’s luck meanwhile? 0.000000000565% Errr... yeah. And these were using the exact same calculation method. Dream’s numbers are not natural. For that reason, Dream’s records are completely unverifiable as his game must have been tampered with in some way to have achieved such results. 

Now Dream made his response video and got someone else to write a paper on it. Apparently this person used a different formula that gave Dream much more benefit of doubt. And came to the conclusion that Dream’s odds were not 1/7.5 trillion, but 1/10 million. I believe that he also included runs Dream had done earlier in the year - a good month before the six streams where Dream is thought to have been cheating. The obvious answer is that Dream only changed the odds before those six streams, as his odds were normal before then. Remember, they don’t think Dream was always cheating, they think he started cheating with those six streams - that’s why the runs before then are not relevant and in fact damn Dream further in some respects as it makes it more obivous that his game has been tampered with recently - rather than that he’s always had a faulty version of the game with weird luck installed that just so happens to improve the odds of the two things most crucial to speedrunning. So if you add some extra irrelevant data to your sample to skew it, it looks less implausible. 

Now you may think 1/10 million odds can happen. But its just more likely that Dream tampered with the odds and modded the game - its apparently a very easy value to change. Even if you have no experience in mods, you literally change one value -the ‘weight’ of ender pearl drops from piglin trades. It would be equally easy to undo and share files showing no evidence of cheating of cheating to the mod team when requested. Prior to these runs, Dream had complained a lot about the RNG in 1.16 and how it ruined his speedrunning experience. Given how much it frustrated him, the motive for changing the odds to benefit him is there. Instead of owning up to it, he’s digging in his heels which is a shame as anyone would have immediately accepted him changing the odds to make the game more fun to play while streaming. But he’s denying it.