#gotta get the higher notes for the new year

[cowboybarzy]

can we get a barzy smut (ur wearing his cowboy hat, doing it on the kitchen counter)

save a horse, ride a cowboy – mb

wc: 1.9k

cw: SMUT (18+)!!!, dirty talk, cowboys 🤠

note: I knoooooow I’m supposed to be working on other things but at least I’m writing again!!! hopefully more coming soon!!! love you guys & thanks for the support 🫶🏼 reblogs & comments appreciated

“Alright, cowboy. I’m ready. Let’s go.” After over an hour of getting ready you finally stepped out of the bathroom ready for your night out. Mat and your friends were going out tonight to a bull riding event that came to New York only once a year. Your recent obsession with cowboys had you giddy for the night all day long. You had broken in your new cowboy boots for weeks specially for tonight. Your boyfriend had the same idea with his cowboy hat. Which looked absolutely sexy on top of his mess of hair. You’d been fantasizing for a while about riding him with his hat on. But that would wait for after the show.

You found Mat sitting on the couch on his phone with his black cowboy hat on his head. “Finally,” he said, putting his phone away, looking up at you. You could see his breath hitch as his eyes dragged over your body, slowly, up and down, then up again to meet your eyes. They narrowed slightly as he pulled his lower lip between his teeth.

You grinned and spun around in a circle, giving him the full view of the outfit. The white oversized linen blouse that was held together in the front by only two strings, with a red lace bra underneath, the tight black miniskirt with an oversized western belt and the star of the show, your cherry red cowboy boots. “Good?”

“Fuck,” was all he muttered, before lifting his hand to rake his hand through his hair, which knocked the cowboy hat of his head he forgot he was wearing. He was frozen in place so you took to few steps it took to get to him, leaning over a little too closely to give a little peak and picked the hat up, setting it on your intentional wavy mess of hair.

“Now I’m ready.” You stroked his cheek and winked at him before walking to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Mat immediately jumped up and followed you to the kitchen where he came up to you from behind to pull you into his body by your hips. His lips latched onto your neck, pressing soft wet kisses along it while his big hand slipped underneath your open blouse over your stomach keeping you in place against him.

“We gotta go,” you hummed leaning more into his touch. You really did have to go, but the warmth that spread throughout your body was terribly good at letting you forget that fact.

“I don’t care,” Mat mumbled back, still working your neck and jawline while sliding his hands over your body.

“We’re gonna miss the opening show,” you tried again, but there wasn’t much care behind your words either.

“I’d much rather bend you over the counter and fuck you all night long.” A little gasp escaped you at his words. “And you know what they say, you wear the hat you ride the cowboy.”

You couldn’t argue with that logic and let him spin you around and kiss you breathlessly. The hat was knocked of your head when he pressed you into the fridge kissing you so aggressively that you had to grip his own linen blouse you forced him to wear – a black tshirt just wouldn’t do – strong enough you were scared you were going to rip holes into it.

You didn’t kiss for much longer, both of you already worked up enough, before Mat gripped your hips roughly to flip you and bend you over the kitchen island. You landed on your elbows, palms flat on the marble while Mat kicked your legs apart. He groaned slapping your ass that was already peaking out from under your skirt. He shoved the tiny bit of frantic even higher so it bunched around your waist, only to reveal the matching red lace thong. The growl that came out of him could have brought you over the edge alone. Mat’s calloused hands griped your delicate skin then pressed his erection into you.

“This ass drives me crazy, every fucking day.” He slapped your skin again. “And then this skirt, god.”

Your moan was interrupted by a chuckle. “I’m aware. We never make it out the door without you fucking me against the closest surface any time I wear it.”

One of his hands got ahold of your waves and pulled your upper body up to him. With a touch voice he spoke into your ear sending shiver down your spine, “Is that what you want? For me to fuck you on the counter? Making us late yet again? We’re starting to gain a reputation.”

His grip on your hair was rough but the pleasure trumped the pain. “Yes,” you whispered hoarsely.

“Good girl.” And with that she shoved you back down, pressing you flat against the cold counter. He works his pants, freeing his hard cock desperate to slide right into you. And he doesn’t waste any time pushing your pantries to the side, lining up and running the tip over your folds. You both gasp at contact. “This pussy if soaked for me. You like the hat that much, eh?”

You wiggled your ass in response, widening your stance and pushing back into him to urge him on. He slipped himself through your folds again before slamming into you to the hilt. “Oh god,” you moaned, your finger digging into the marble.

Mat gave you a few more seconds to adjust before gripping your hips and thrusting back into you, hard. “So fucking right.” He switched between hard and fast thrusts then slower and more precise ones, grinding into you making sure to hit every angle. His hands were on you. Your back, pushing you down. Your hair, giving him something to hold onto while slamming into you repeatedly.

You were a whimpering moaning mess underneath him. “That what you wanted? To be fucked by a cowboy?” His words were choppy and breathless as he slammed into you then rolled his hips sliding impossibly deeper.

“Fuck, yes,” you breathed. That got your ass slapped and your hair pulled hard giving you enough momentum to force yourself up onto your hands. Mat’s lips connected with your shoulder, biting down enough to leave marks before soothing the burn with soft kisses.

“You are delicious,” he murmured and suddenly the moment turned soft. Your arm wrapped around his neck pulling him into you for a kiss. Your tongue slipped into his mouth and you both moaned when Mat started slowing moving his hips again.

But then he separated, only enough to spin you around and lift you up onto the counter, capturing your lips immediately after. You kissed, not caring about smearing your red lipstick. He was addicting and even though you absolutely hated being late to events, for this you’d give up everything. But when your body started to scream for his cock filling you again, you slipped your hand between your bodies wrapping your hand around the root of his hard length that juts out above the waistband of his underwear. Around every hot, hard inch covered in your juices. Your finger glides over the tip, smearing the drops of cum beading there.

Finally, you slid closer to the edge of the counter and Mat filled you easily, breaking the kiss to let his head fall back with a groan. Your legs shook in their place around his waist. You felt every inch, every ridge, every vain as he slowly moved inside of you. The please was building and building, turning your brain into mush losing control over your body. But Mat got you, pinning you to him, savoring every moan and sigh.

“Maty. Maty.” You buried your face in the crock of his neck and let him work you, pumping into you slow but deep.

“You’re so good to me,” he whispered, his lips tracing your damp skin. “So good.”

His jaw flexed as he started to pick up his pace again, both of you already close to finding your release. So you lied back on the counter, let your legs fall open, and started to play with yourself while Mat took you in. That expression of passion and love on his face in full blinding force. But then you bit your lip and pinched your clit as his expression turned downright wicked. He pulled out and then slammed in hard. Again. And again. Steady, even, powerful strokes that shook your entire body.

Mat fucked you senseless on the top of the kitchen counter. The cowboy hat, which had gotten you so worked up all afternoon since he refused to wait until tonight to wear it, scattered on the floor. He looked like some sort of avenging god working you into a frenzy. Flushed cheeks, disheveled hair flopped over his forehead, veins bulging on his forearms while his abs flexed with every thrust. You could come just from savoring the view you got by lying with spread legs beneath his hard, heavy body. His hands held you open wide, and his eyes stay locked on yours.

You finally fell apart underneath his touch. Your body tremored, wave after wave as your orgasm dragged on for an eternity. Mat draped himself on top of you, pressing him lips to yours, swallowing every moan you gave him.

You held him close, hugging him to you even closer. Your shudders subsided and you were finally able to focus on him, noticing his lips switch – a tell he was also close. “Come on, cowboy. Come in me.”

Your voice was hoarse against his ear. You reveled in the fact that he shivered in response before his thrust got more and more sloppy, before he finally erupted. Mat groaned loudly, pushing deeper into you, spilling every drop of him cum inside of you. You felt everything. Every pulse. Every kiss. Every touch. You could even feel his heartbeat on your chest and his harsh breath against your neck.

You spent a couple of minutes catching your breath, stroking his hair, waiting for that orgasm cloud over your brain to pass. When you finally did muster up the courage to look over to the oven clock, you pushed Mat away from you. “Fuck! We’re really gonna be late now.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Mat’s hand caught your wrist, spinning you back towards him. “Let’s clean up.”

He grabbed a paper towel, wetting it in the sink, before dropping to his knees. His green eyes were still oozing sex as he slowly wiped his cum from your thigh. “Hurry,” you whined. “I wanna see the cowboys.”

He smirked before reaching back to grab his hat off the floor flopping it on his head. “You’ve got a perfectly good cowboy sitting right here. On his knees ready to worship you, might I add.”

As much as you loved the feel of your pussy clenching at the thought, you had plenty of time to do that later. Mat worshipping you could wait. The cowboys couldn’t. And that’s what you told him, before pulling him off the floor, doing the cleaning up yourself to actually get the job done. After a quick trip to the bathroom for some perfume renewal, you finally dragged your cowboy out the door.

[beautifulfuckup99]

Oc and JK fighting so he is giving her the silent treatment till she breaks off crying thinking he will break up with her 🥲

Him proving her wrong later😍smuttyyyyyy

Awe... Okay, okay!

Title: Gotta Trust Us.

Warning(s): Pouty!Jungkook, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort S!x

Author's Note: Enjoy!

*******************************************

"How could you not tell me?" Jungkook whispers as he sits on the couch. You felt exhausted. This fight had been going all night since you got back from the damn company dinner. From the walk to the parking lot, to the ride home, to right now that you two stepped into the loft apartment. You knew you should've skipped the damn dinner...

"Because..." You shift a bit, not having a clear-cut reason why you kept Jungkook in the dark...

"Because why? How could you do this to me, Y/N? I had to find out about you leaving from all your co-workers? I was the only dummy there who was clueless!" He states.

"I never said I was leaving!" You defend fast.

"Really? Your boss sure thinks so." He states. "Those emails sure say so. That damn letter your boss handed you at dinner tonight confirming you got an interview for the Thailand branch sure as hell shows you're leaving." Jungkook says as he stands up now.

"Nothing is set in stone! I... I was just considering it. Why would I tell you something I hadn't even decided on yet?!" You try, getting fed up with this already. It's like you two were going in circles...

"Because I'm your boyfriend! For four years we've been a team. You and me. You can't just make these damn decisions without me!" He says.

"Bullshit, Jungkook! This is my career! This is my cooperate ladder I'm trying to climb and it has fuck all to do with you!" You say without thinking. Jungkook stares at you and you freeze up, seeing the hurt clear in his eyes.

"I-I just meant-" He cuts you off.

"No. It's you're life. Why should I have a say..." He mutters before heading to the bedroom and coming back with a blanket and pillow.

"You're... Kicking me out of the room now?" You ask in shock.

"No. I'd never do that." He mutters before setting up the couch for himself. You roll your eyes.

"Baby, stop this. Think of your back." You try as he lays down on his side so his back is to you. You open your mouth but groan softly instead.

"You know what? Fine. Goodnight, Jungkook." You huff and walk off towards the room.

This would be over in a day...

You just had to sleep it off.

**********ONE WEEK LATER**********

"Hey, baby. I made dinner." You try the second your boyfriend walks into the apartment. He doesn't even glance your way, walking past the kitchen and to the gym. You sigh at his attitude, annoyed by it already.

"Damn. That whole apartment turned cold." Your best friend says with a shiver to prove her point. You look over at the laptop you had open to Skype so you could talk to her about this entire situation.

"I fucked up. I really fucked up, Tess..." You sigh as you sit back down. You should've told Jungkook your news before it happened, but... It all happened so fast...

"How's work been?" She asks and you roll your eyes.

"Just as good as home life?" She tries and jokes and when you give her a look, she instantly stops. "Sorry, Y/N..." She says gently.

"My boss is pushing me to go to Thailand for that damn interview. I-It's a higher position, you know? With more money, an actual office of my own, better vacation time. I just... I don't wanna leave until I have Jungkook on board, and he hasn't talked to me in a week!" You rant on as your friend just nods along, listening casually.

"I just... I don't want this relationship to end..." You whisper, feeling your heart ache with fear.

"Whoa, whoa! Who said that?" Tess asks in shock, and you look down. "Come on, don't act like that. You two are practically married! You've been going strong for so long! It's just a bump in the road." She assures fast, but you shake your head.

"This feels different. I... He's really mad at me. God, this place feels like my childhood home." You scoff bitterly as you try and blink away some tears. You never wanted the relationship your parents had. You always thought Jungkook would show you the right way to love. And he has. But this? This little 'bump in the road'? You've seen it before with your parents. And you knew how it ended.

"You're spiraling. Y/N, you guys are not like your parents." Tess tries as your bottom lip quivers slightly.

Tess watches with a deep frown before sitting up more. "Why don't you get out of there for a bit. Hm? Come visit me. Distance might help." She tries and you wave a hand at the thought.

"That's running away. I don't do that. I... I can't do that." You state. You couldn't be like your father, running off the second things got tough. You had warned Jungkook when you first got together; you love hard. You stay, you fight, you're loyal. But here he was, shutting you out.

"Think about it, Y/N. You don't have to deal with a grown man's tantrum." She says before you two end the call. You breathe deeply and shake it off.

**********LATER THAT NIGHT**********

You lay in bed, prepping yourself to lay down when you first hear it. A clash of thunder rumbles the loft, startling you in the process.

You gasp loudly and feel every fiber in your being freeze up. "Fuck." You breathe out and shake your head as you try and settle yourself. You look towards the bedroom, waiting to see Jungkook come rushing in like he always did during a thunderstorm. He knew your fear of them. He knew to always drop whatever he was doing to rush in and hold you. But... You hear nothing but the heavy rain.

No footsteps rushing to the bedroom door. No call from him asking if you were okay. Nothing. You feel your heart drop to your stomach. He really was mad.

Was it actually over?

*********************************************

The next day you stand in front of your suitcase on the bed. Were you really doing this? Were you really leaving? You sigh deeply and decide to just get it over with.

You'd be staying with Tess for a bit while you prepped for your interview in Thailand. As you're zipping up your suitcase, you hear the front door open and curse softly to yourself. You thought you'd have more time before Jungkook came home. He should've been distracted at the dog park with Bam all day.

"Whatever." You try and whisper to yourself. He wouldn't care...

Bam comes running in like he usually does after being away all day. He was always so ready to greet you. You pat his head, a frown on your face. You'd miss him.

As you're walking to the hallway, you freeze in your steps when your eyes meet Jungkook since he was in the middle of walking to the gym.

He notices the suitcase in your hand, and you watch his eyebrows raise. "What... What's this?" He asks and you want to laugh. Now he talks?!

"I'm leaving." You whisper and he blinks a bit in shock.

"Y/N. Y-You... You can't be serious..." He tries.

"Deathly." You state. "I-I can't be stuck in a house with a man who... Who wants nothing to do with me. You don't love me anymore, and I... I'm jumping ship before we both drown. I'm tired of going to bed alone." You say as you try to move past him.

"Jumping ship? What? Y/N, stop. I... Of cruse I love you!" He says as he grabs your arm as you shrug him off.

"No! You don't! You've been... Ignoring me all week! I... You wanna break up, I know you do." You say, eyes willing up as Jungkook stares at you in disbelief.

“Y/N. Don’t… Don’t leave me.” Jungkook tries as you stare at him, eyes hard. You couldn’t be here right now.

“You’ve been ignoring me just fine this whole week. Me being gone shouldn’t change much.” You mutter as you yank your hand away and walk off.

***********************************************

"Cheer up, Y/N. Things could be worse." Tess tries as you two lay side by side in her guest bedroom. You can only manage a soft 'mm' noise in response. You didn't trust your voice right now. And your eyes were distracted thanks to the window by your bed, watching the rain pour down. Damn this two-day storm...

You hadn't broken down yet, which you assumed was thanks to your brain not fully grasping the fact that you'd have to move on in life without your 'golden retriever in black cat makeup' boyfriend by your side. You're pulled out of your thoughts by a frantic knock on the front door.

"Who is-" Tess quickly cuts you off.

"I'll get it!" She smiles widely and rushes off. You sit up in confusion as your friend dashes out of the room. What the hell?

You hear the door open and Jungkook's voice carries through the modest apartment. "She's here?" He asks to confirm, and you roll your eyes. Of course, Tess would give you up.

You get up from the bed to try and shut the bedroom door, but Jungkook is faster. His hands press firm on the door, stopping it from closing. You two meet eyes for a moment, and it softens you for a second. A second that Jungkook takes advantage of by pushing on the door.

He's soaked. Drenched to the bone and his bottom lip is trembling slightly. No doubt he's cold. And yet he stands in front of you, shoulders squared.

"Y/N, come home." He tries, tone shaky towards the end.

"No. Did you run here? Why are you wet?" You ask, wrapping your arms around yourself as you eye him up and down.

"Traffic." He says and you pause. Did he get out of his car and run here in the pouring rain?! No! That's ridiculous...

"Jungkook, it's late. I want-" He cuts you off as he makes quick work of his jacket.

"What are you doing?" You sigh softly as you can't help but stare at his toned arms as he winces while taking off the wet black t-shirt that clung to his body.

"Jungkook!" You try hissing to stay strong, but that's when you notice a white bandage wrapped around his left side waist, a little under his chest.

"W-What..." He grabs your hand to pull you closer. You're too confused and concerned to stop him. He pulls your hand to the bandage.

"Take it off." He whispers. You look up at him and then slowly peel the bandage off. You gasp softly as you see the brand-new tattoo on his skin. As you read the words, it dawns on you. This wasn't just any tattoo. This was from your first date.

You and Jungkook had been set up on a blind date, and when you got to the bar and grill, you two sat in the booth not really knowing how to keep the conversation flowing. You were both so shy. At a certain point, Jungkook started writing on a napkin. You two went through all the napkins on the table and actually had to ask sheepishly for more at a certain point.

He'd gotten your last napkin conversation tattooed on him...

'This place is about to close...' He had written and passed it to you. It had made you blush when the realization dawned on you. You'd been here for hours...

'Guess so. Is this you saying goodbye?' You had written back...

'Nope. How long do you think we can keep this date going?' He wrote.

'Jeon Jungkook. Are you hinting at a night cap?' You wrote. You can remember this soft chuckle he'd let out as his tongue messed with his lip ring for a bit while he decided on how to respond.

'What if this date just never ended? How long could we keep it going?' He wrote.

'A week.' You wrote back and stared at him head on. He had frowned a bit at your pessimistic answer, but still responded.

'I think we could go for years...'

'Smooth. You're dangerous with words.'

'I'm also right.'

'Confident. And if you're wrong?'

'Is this turning into a bet? You know I'm competitive...'

'Bring it.'

You had sealed it with your kiss mark which had also been tattooed on him. You stare at the tattoo. "T-Th... That's permanent." You try quietly, in awe.

"Good. You're on me forever." He says as he puts your hand on his chest. You look into his eyes. "I was so stupid. I was childish. I just... It hurt me. You saying I had nothing to do with your job... It's true, but... Y/N, I see us as a team. I-I should've been told about this job opportunity." He says and you sigh softly, shoulders slouching.

"I'm sorry. I was just... I wanted to think it through before I bothered you with it-" He cuts you off.

"It's never a bother." He says gently. "I love you, Y/N. And I'll love you here, and I'll love you in Thailand, and I'd love you on the moon and back, because... I meant what I said that night. We can go for years. And-" You cut him off, grabbing his chin to pull his head down to meet your lips, kissing him deeply.

He kisses you passionately, hands gripping your waist as the kiss turns hungry extremely fast...

It makes you moan. Finally being able to get this kind of attention...

Your hands go to his wet hair as he backs you up against the bedroom door, your hands careful as they move down his body to get to his belt.

"Wait. I wanna... Apologize." Jungkook pants before kneeling in front of you. You blush hard, but let him yank your sweatpants down, eager for more.

With your pants tossed somewhere in the room and your right leg over his shoulder, Jungkook gets to work. He looks up at you as he tenderly brushes his lips against your pantie covered pussy. You hum as your eyes shut, hand resting on top of his head as he pulls your underwear to the side and kisses your clit.

His skin was so cold from the rain, but it felt so good to feel his lip ring against your clit...

He opens his mouth and starts tongue flicking your clit slowly, just to feel it twitch against his tongue. He loved that feeling and it never took long for you to give that to him...

You feel his tongue begin to move all around your clit and it takes you a moment to realize what he's doing...

'I'

'A'

'M'

I A M... I AM?

'S'

'O'

'R'

S O R?

'R'

'Y'

You groan as your eyes roll back, grinding against his tongue as he repeated spells out 'I AM SORRY' against your clit over and over again, not letting up even when you start practically humping his face...

"I-I'm gonna... Oh god!" You cry out softly as you fall apart as Jungkook holds you up against the door to help you ride out your orgasm...

As you shiver while coming down from your high, you feel Jungkook kiss up your body. "Good girl..." He pants.

He picks you up and you gasp at the suddenness...

"Slide down on my cock, baby. It's missed you..." He whispers against your lips as you moan in agreement, raising your hips as much as you can to nudge his tip.

"S-Stay quiet. Tess-" Jungkook cuts you off.

"She can cover her ears. Don't fucking keep quiet. I wanna hear you say my name..." He whispers as he slides into you fully, which makes you melt.

He kisses along your neck hungrily as he starts fucking you against the bedroom door, making you give in to his request.

"Jung... Jungkook..." You whine softly, move closer to pant and gasp in his ear to drive him wild. He groans and bites down on your pulse point, making you cry out, nails digging into his arms and legs tightening around his waist.

"Deeper!" You manage to grunt out through clenched teeth as he wraps a hand in your hair to yank your hair like you like.

He carries you right to the bed and throws you on it, making you giggle as you try to catch your breath.

"Ass up." He whispers and you smile at him.

"Make me..." You whisper. It makes him chuckle as he rubs his face, amused.

"Feeling playful? Hm, baby?" He whispers before he grabs you and puts you right in that position. It makes you giggle bashfully. He moves behind you and you feel him lean over you fully, nuzzling into your ear.

"You forgive me, baby? Hm?" He whispers as he teases your entrance, making you shiver in anticipation.

"Say it, baby..." He whispers and you turn your head to catch his eye.

"Fuck, yes..." You whisper, catching his lips in a deep kiss that's cut short when he thrusts right back into you. You bite down on the sheets as he focuses on fucking you faster and deeper like you'd begged for.

It doesn't take much to build you up again, especially sing his fingers were working over your clit firmly as he pounded you.

"I-I... Yes!" You cry out as he kisses along your face while deep inside of you.

"That's it, baby. You can do it. Cum again..." He whispers in your ear and makes you look at him as your eyes struggle to stay open.

"I love you. I love you..." You whine, so settled in this moment as he works you up. You orgasm hits you hard and Jungkook moans as you squeeze his cock while cumming.

You pull off of his cock fast and turn to suck it clean of your juices, looking up at him as his thick member fills your mouth.

"Oh, baby. Fuck yes..." He pants, head going back and eyes shutting in pleasure as he holds your hair lazily. "Y/N. I-I'm gonna cum. Oh baby, you're fucking perfect..." He praises as you go faster, never using your hands because you knew he got more excited when you worked him with your throat...

"S-Stay... Stay like that, baby. God, I love you..." He groans as he starts to use your mouth as you moan loudly around him so he can feel the vibrations. "Fuck!" He moans as he cums in your mouth, holding your head still so you take every drop.

You moan as you suck hard, wanting every drop. He pulls out and grabs your chin. "Let me see you swallow." He pants, looking at you with dark eyes full of need. You smile as you open your mouth to show him the cum on your tongue before you swallow. He groans.

"Fuck. You were so right, I was wrong. I'm always in the wrong. Don't ever leave me..." He whispers as you blush hard at swat at his chest playfully.

"Dummy..." You mutter before leaning up and kissing him.

"Let me hold you. I can never make up for leaving you to face that thunderstorm alone yesterday... But I can be here now. And for the rest of our lives." Jungkook whispers. You hum.

"Smooth. You're dangerous with your words..." You whisper and he smiles softly, resting his forehead against yours.

"I'm also right." He says and you look at him, the fear clear in your eyes.

"And if you're wrong?" You ask gently. He takes a moment to really look at you, hands holding your face.

"You've gotta trust... That I'd never let you slip away." He says back and you carefully wrap your arms around him, head on his chest as you shut your eyes and breathe deeply.

You'd hold him to that...

****************************************

Hope you liked! Also, I'm thinking about starting up a new series. Tell me what you guys think...

[pyjamaart]

Breaking Bot (read more for some rambling about mega man fully charged)

Mega Man Fully Charged has been on my mind again lately, which made me realize that there's literally a robot named Chemistryman who worked as a chemistry teacher. Not using him as a Walter White stand-in would be a criminal offense.

I'll have to admit I started getting back into Fully Charged again after seeing some asshole on twitter complain about the character design for the hundredth time. I just can't stand that kind of negativity. I swear to god, Fully Charged is like the Sonic Boom of the Mega Man franchise. Personally, I really enjoy the FC designs. I've probably said this before, but I feel like the redesigns give some of the more forgettable robot masters way more character. Like, do I care for Classic Drillman from Mega Man 4? I mean, yeah, I do, but I wouldn't care as much if it wasn't for his Fully Charged incarnation.

I also really enjoy most of the original robot masters. I already talked plenty about Blastowoman and why I love her so much, but I want to talk about the others this time.

Take for example Chemistryman. Comparisons to Walter White out of the way, I feel like his character was a really fun idea. God knows I had teachers who put me to sleep back in the day. For me, it wasn't chemistry though, it was my economics teacher. I always compared her to a story teller at a Christmas market who would read children stories out of her big fairy tale book. Only that in reality, it was stuff like the minimization/maximization principle. Most of my notes for that class were incomprehensible chicken scratch, because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. In the end, I slept through like half her classes, lol. But I gotta say that I still always got a B or higher in the end. Somehow. I thank god every day that I never have to step foot in a school again.

I really wish Chemistryman got a little more time to shine though. Two episodes is just way too little. I would gladly take three more episodes with him over those gross Gutsman episodes. I know I love talking about wasted potential with this show, but I wish there was an episode that focused on Chemistryman outside of the school setting. I get that his whole character is "boring, bitter teacher", but I'd really like to see what he gets up to when he's not trying to force children to listen to his chemistry lectures. Like having Aki try to talk him into going into retirement for good. And then he tries to find hobbies for him so that he doesn't bore himself to death. I can see him getting into building model ships or something like that, lol.

Now that I'm already writing up a storm again, I might as well talk about some other headcanons I have about the FC bots. Since Woodman was in sleep mode for 30 years after the war ended (I don't know where I got that number from. I rewatched his debut episode, but the exact number doesn't appear anywhere. Oh well, let's just pretend this is canon, even if it isn't.) we got kind of a Shadow the Hedgehog type situation on our hands. All of his friends and family got to live their lives in this new, peaceful world of harmony between robots and humans, while Woodman spent 30 years powered down in a bush or something. Completely forgotten about. Like, why didn't they go look for him after the war ended? I don't think Aki and Suna wandered that far into the forest for their school assignment. If you really think about Woodmans back story for a moment, you realize how fucked up it actually is. 

Now my explanation for this goes into heavy heavy headcanon territory. When Suna calls the principal about Woodman, he warns her that Woodman is dangerous and to get away from him immediately. Now why would he say that? The principal also calls him "ruthless" in that same explanation. What I think happened back then was that Woodman actually planned to assassinate the human armies leader. (Possibly Sgt. Night?) The leader of the robots caught wind of his plan and put him into sleep mode himself, since he and Dr. Light were on the brink of finding a way to end the war peacefully. In my mind, this leader is the FC version of Swordman. Don't ask me why, he was just the first guy I thought of. And then it just stuck.

I know this makes Woodmans back story even more fucked up, but I just love putting my favorite blorbos through hardship. Don't even ask me about my headcanons for Drillman. They'd actually put me in prison.

Now all this culminates after Woodman is reactivated by Suna and Aki. Finding himself alienated from all his former friends and comrades (Maybe the other Mega Man 2 robot masters?), what was he supposed to do? He couldn't spend the rest of his life isolated (and homeless) in the forest, could he? And this is where season 2 could have delivered. But I'm done whining about that. If Capcom doesn't deliver, I gotta write my own season 2. Simple as that.

Anyway, getting back to Chemistryman, since he's pretty old, I imagine that he was already working as a teacher when Woodman was still around. Maybe he even was his teacher at some point.

And since I love having my favorite characters interact, I also thought of a scenario where Drillman wanders into the forest out of frustration over his miserable life, only to meet Woodman by coincidence. In the end, Woodman helps him work through his daddy issues and his body dysmorphia, while Drillman helps Woodman reintegrate and manage this (for him) completely new world of peace. Another great headcanon of mine is that Chemistryman is actually Acidmans father. Just because I think it would be funny. And as Fully Charged has confirmed: robots in that universe do indeed have parents. (Flashback to the time I drew Dr. Light beating the shit out of Drillman's father)

Speaking of Drillman.... For being one of my favorite Mega Man characters of all time, I haven't drawn him nearly enough. That will probably be my next project.

This might also be a great time to tell you that I've never watched Breaking Bad before, lol. Everything I know about it comes from RTGame's Stardew Valley playthrough and the RTVS Half Life parody.

Sorry for all the yapping. But if I don't talk about robots at least once a day, I might die. This is a serious condition.

[cephalonserotonin]

Devstream 180 Notes

This is a long one, folks.

brought to you by creative lead Rebb Executive Producer Dick Wolf

New dojo contest to kick off a transition to cross-save dojo world… see forum post

Pride Campaign 2024

is active now until the end of June! a new glyph, display, and wings in lovely rainbows!

Jade Shadows update coming June 18!

features a new cinematic quest: Jade Shadows. It picks up after The New War (so it's got TNW as a prerequisite) where the storyline of the Stalker left off. Rebb and the crew request that folks not spoil the quest for others after playing it. Use spoiler tags if possible! Quest runtime ~ 25 min There's a teaser for the story quest, featuring the Stalker hanging upside down like a bat:

New Warframe: Jade!

Pablo describes her as a support frame. Her passive is two aura mod slots which is kind of crazy ngl

Her kit briefly summarized:

1: throws a little mote with an AOE effect of healing for allies and increasing damage taken to enemies

2: cycle through various squad buffs. The UI art for these is really gorgeous

3: a debuff: enemies in her sight are slowed and lose armor. You also revive any dead allies in your vision.

4: floating and a zappy exalted weapon. It's kind of like Hildryn's four but basically better in every way because you can actually set off large amounts of damage and fly higher and faster. The exalted weapon has synergy with her 1 and 2.

As Pablo mentioned, Jade's abilities provide a lot of combo potential, good for any "min maxers" in the audience.

Jade's three signature weapons: the Cantare throwing knives, the Harmony scythe, and the Evensong bow (a variant on the Dread).

The Ascension game mode: "what if Warframe but up?"

Non-endless There's a giant elevator you have to feed with energy. The team's video crashed so Rebb gave what I'd call an excited 12 year old's description of the game mode instead which I loved:

There's this giant elevator that needs energy to go up. So you have to keep feeding it ionic charges so you rise out of the depths. And as you're feeding, the Corpus are there! *excitable machine gun noises* And then you're like, oh god! And then you have to, like, jump around-- but if you fall out of the elevator, you better hope you're good at parkour, and that you can read the level to get back up! and back up! and back up! And then: you have to make it to the top. But that's not all. Once you get to the top of the elevator, you gotta escape. You gotta make a run for it before the Corpus hold you back! Aahhh! Aah! Ah! …and that's Ascension. :)

Once we finally watch the video preview of the game mode later I think it looks fun. The level looks really neat; I love the graphics of the inside of the elevator. There's a new Jade Light eximus enemy here but I can't really tell any details about it quite yet.

ORDIS IN LARUNDA RELAY!

He's hosting the clan operation Belly of the Beast (featuring above Ascension game mode). In his shop is the Asteria ephemera, which evolves with community participation. Also some arcanes… and a beautiful skin for the Hate.

"If you're a hater, this is for you." Hilariously the arcanes are capped at 42 each because apparently in Gargoyle's Cry certain players went crazy burning themselves out to stock up on arcanes, and the team is trying to prevent that (and players blaming them for their own bad choices, as always). Two full sets each is more than enough, frankly.

Status Rework!

Blast now does a secondary detonation, or if hitting 10 blast procs, creates an AOE explosion. This is exactly what I have been wanting for ages so I, personally, am thrilled.

Magnetic now scales with overguard and shields the same way, and also does a secondary punch of damage (and an electric proc!) once the shield is broken.

Cold should freeze enemies more often now… and came with a free Frost rework! Now Frost's abilities give proper cold procs, thus freezing enemies, which is now standardized across his abilities. His 1 has been buffed and his 3 snowglobe has been modified (to allow shooting from in to out but not out to in). He has a new passive: his armor scales with the number of cold procs enemies have (like the defensive version of Ember).

There's a lot of testing going on right now on the interaction between ragdolling and freezing enemies.

There's a change to damage vulnerability mechanics which I didn't quite follow; seems to be mostly a simplification of the system.

Armor damage attenuation scaling, as mentioned in the last devstream, now has a cap, meaning corrosive procs should be more effective.

Yareli Deluxe

...looks like eldritch coral?

Next round of TennoGen

…finally comes with a Lavos skin, which is plague doctor themed.

Some augments (Protea's is probably OP), decrees (list shown below is incomplete), and arcanes

UI improvements!

In the upgrade screen: duplicate mod config button, indicator for substats, increased mod polarity

Augment list viewer in the abilities screen

Community customization table where you can copy others' fashions. Great news for gamers too unoriginal to make their own fashions, I guess. Coming at first for just Excalibur, Mag, Volt, and Jade.

Quick Access (fast travel wheel) for more areas like the dormizone.

UI autoscaling with resolution (to prevent tiny UI bars for people with huge resolutions), also coming with ability to scale the UI back down.

"Donut numbers" for damage view that do not cover the enemy you are shooting (old way can still be switched back to, called "cloud.")

Awakening quest has a lil fashion preview now!

Loadout hot swaps conveniently directly from the starchart!

QOL!

Cap on adversaries (liches and sisters) at 150. For the sake of database health. The programmer in me is mildly concerned that there was no limit before this.

Semi auto becoming full auto (see last devstream for more detailed description).

Automatic selection of last relic during endless relic cracks.

Streamlining necramech acquisition.

Unifying melee finishers and mercy kills (both with mechanics and appearance).

The return of Heirloom skins: starting with community art this time

First major change (from last year's disastrous heirloom launch) is the heirloom collections will now be released one warframe at a time.

Ember Heirloom is also a purchased fanartist concept!

Two paths to acquire it: a temporary paid path (for money, comes with some plat) and a plat path that will be available until next heirloom launch (and you can purchase the cosmetics individually!)

This is much better than last year's Heirloom launch, which, as aforementioned, caused a lot of community strife.

molten booty

And finally, the TennoCon 2024 schedule:

[writingwithciara]

The Munson Factor ~Eddie Munson & Steve Harrington~

summary: when the girl he’s loved for years goes missing, steve enlists the help of her best friend to find her. But were they really only friends or was there something more that always stood in the way of steve’s happiness?

word count:

pairings: eddie munson x reader, steve harrington x reader

notes: angst, heartbreak (a little), steve giving love but not receiving in the way he wants, 1 or 2 (possibly more) swears. this was a little sad for me to write because I’m so used to writing fics where steve gets the girl. But I genuinely love eddie so he’s gonna be getting some love on this blog now too

masterlist

“How many times are you going to rent this movie, y/n?” Steve questioned his friend as he handed over Family Video’s copy of Halloween.

“As long as you guys let me rent it.” She sent back a smile and shoved the tape in her backpack. “So, we still up for movie night?”

“Are we going to be watching Halloween for the billionth time?” he rolled his eyes and went back to shelving the new releases.

“’Course not. You’re in charge of the movies tonight and I am in charge of getting the best snacks, as per Dustin’s request, since you really messed it up last week.”

“Hey, in my defense, that little twerp told me to buy that candy.”

“Yeah but he didn’t tell you to get expired candy, did he?” she joked and looked at the posters around the store. “So, what movies are we going to watch?”

“I’ll decide by the end of my shift.” Steve set up a new cutout and stood back to admire his work. “You sticking around ‘til then?”

“I’m gonna head over to the arcade. Dustin is teaching me his tips for Pac-Man.”

“Alright, sounds great. I’ll meet you back here at 6pm.”

“Aye aye captain.” y/n saluted him and headed next door to the arcade. When she walked in, Dustin cheered.

“Finally, the queen has arrived.”

“Oh, you flatter me, Henderson.” She set her backpack down on the floor and watched as he started the game. His tips and tricks on how to get the high score really helped her when she took her turn. Her score was only slightly higher than Dustin’s, but he didn’t let it bother him. Instead, he patted her on the back and smiled.

“Congratulations, young padawan.” He bowed as if she was a student of his.

“You do know that I’m older than you, right?”

“Yes, but ‘tis I who taught you all that you know. The student has become the master.”

“Whatever you say, kid.” She ruffled his hair and stood up.

“Hey, do you know what movies Steve is bringing to movie night?”

“Not a clue. But he said he would have his mind made up by 6 tonight.”

“It better be good. Steve almost never has good choices.”

“Let’s see what kind of influences I can have on him.” y/n grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “Follow me, Henderson.”

The two of them walked rather quickly over to the video store and when they entered, Steve rolled his eyes.

“I saw that, and might I say, that was rude of you.”

“It is what it is.” Steve shrugged and looked over at y/n. “What brings you back here?”

“Oh, I see how it is. Your favorite person ever walks in here and you’re rude to him, but the second you see a pretty girl, you’re the nicest person ever.” It was Dustin’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Shut up, Henderson.” Steve hit his arm and put his attention back on y/n. “So?”

“I wanted to suggest some ideas for movie night.”

“I am not getting another scary movie, especially after last time. Dustin wouldn’t stop waking me up that night with his nightmares.”

“I wasn’t going to suggest a scary movie. In fact, I was actually going to suggest Raiders of the Lost Ark & The Outsiders.”

“Those are pretty good suggestions.” Steve smiled and grabbed them off the shelves. “And even though I know your main intention was to suggest a horror movie & only said these 2 because they’re right here, I’ll check these out for tonight.”

“Awesome. Can’t wait.” y/n smiled and turned to Dustin while Steve went back to the counter. “See how it’s done?”

“Wow. You’ve gotta teach me how to do that.”

“Sorry, kid. But unless you suddenly become a pretty girl, you’ll never be able to manipulate men like Steve into doing what you want.” y/n winked and began looking at more movies to pass the time.

“Man, you are so whipped for y/n.” Dustin chuckled and looked up at Steve, who was staring across the room at said girl.

“What? No I’m not!” he tried to defend himself but the more he thought about it, the redder his cheeks became. “Shut up, Henderson.”

“Okay, that’s the second time in 10 minutes that you’ve told me to shut up and, frankly, I’m not a fan of it.”

“I’ll stop telling you to shut up when you stop saying ridiculous things.” Steve went back to rewinding the tape in the VCR.

“Why do you keep denying your feelings every time I bring them up? We all know how you feel about her so why don’t you just confirm it for us?”

“What am I supposed to say? That I’m in love with the girl who’s been like a sister to me for 12 years? That every time I close my eyes, I see her face? How about that every time I hear her name, I think back to the first time I heard her voice? Or maybe that whenever she’s around me, I do anything she asks me to because she has this power over me? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Actually, yes it is. Now, here’s what I’m gonna do for you, my friend.” Dustin put a hand on Steve’s shoulder, earning another eye roll from him. “I’m gonna back out of our plans tonight by making up some lame excuse. That way you can spend 4 glorious hours alone with y/n & maybe you’ll tell her everything you just told me. Okay?”

“You’re insane, Henderson.”

Later that night, as y/n arrived at Steve’s house for movie night, she was informed that Dustin would not be coming. That left her alone with Steve, as the other kids also had plans already.

“I have the 2 movies you suggested earlier and um, I also have Sleepaway Camp because I know you really wanted to watch something with a scary vibe to it.”

“You really didn’t have to do that, Steve.” y/n sat down and waited for him to put the first tape in. He joined her on his couch and grabbed the bowl of popcorn. Y/n grabbed a handful and focused on the screen. He had chosen Raiders of the Lost Ark for the first movie of the night. “So, why did Henderson have to cancel?”

“Not quite sure, actually. He just called 2 minutes before you got here and told me he wouldn’t be attending tonight due to a prior commitment.” Steve shrugged and looked at the screen, knowing that he just lied to his friend. He didn’t like the feeling, but he was happy to finally be alone with her.

After the first movie, they both agreed that The Outsiders would be a better film to watch. About halfway through the feature, Steve turned to face y/n. She turned her head and smiled.

“What’s with the face, Harrington?”

“Can we talk?”

“Of course we can. What about?”

“Well, for starters, I do know the real reason Dustin had to cancel.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Earlier today, at the video store, while you were looking at the movies, he and I had a talk. He offered to ‘cancel’ so I could be alone with you for a few hours, since we never get that opportunity anymore.”

“So, why did you want to get alone time with me?” y/n suddenly felt awkward and began to play with the strings on her hoodie. Well, it wasn’t technically her hoodie, but that didn’t bother her.

“I’ve kinda been keeping this secret from you for quite some time & our groups mantra is that friends don’t lie so I really need to tell you.”

“Steve, you’re scaring me now.” She shifted in her seat, so her full attention was on the boy in front of her. “What’s going on?”

“I love you. And not just because you’re my best friend. But because you’re the best person I know. You’re so sweet and caring and whenever I’m around you, I fall under your spell and will do anything you ask me to. It’s kind of cheesy, but whenever I hear your name, I think back to the first time I ever heard your voice and whenever I close my eyes, I see your face. You’re the most beautiful human being, both inside and out. And I’m honestly so in love with you.” Steve chanced looking at her but when they made eye contact, he wanted to take it all back.

When their eyes met, y/n quickly looked down and stood up. “I’m sorry, Steve. I-I just remembered my mom wanted me to keep an eye on my siblings tonight. I gotta go.”

Before he could offer her a ride home to make sure she was safe, she was already out the door. Steve threw his head back and groaned, making a mental note to blame Dustin for the sudden confidence.

Y/n was on her way to Dustin’s house when the sky got darker. She stopped in her tracks and was ready to defend herself from whatever decided to come out of the shadows and attack her.

The next few days were hard on Steve. He hadn’t seen or spoken to y/n since he poured his heart out to her, only for her to basically reject him. When he mentioned it to Dustin 2 days later, the kid got lost in thought.

“I don’t see why she would reject you like that. I could’ve sworn she felt the same as you did.”

“Yeah, well she doesn’t. And I’m not surprised. I haven’t exactly been the best guy in the world lately. Or even a hero really.”

“Steve, you helped save the world three times. You’ve kept all of us safe multiple times and you always put yourself first when it comes to danger. And it’s all to protect us. That literally screams hero. IF she can’t see that, then it’s her loss.”

Dustin was currently waiting for Eddie to arrive to the D&D game. He was starting to get worried when it came to him being 30 minutes late. Eddie was never late. So when he finally arrived, Dustin made sure to give him a lecture.

“Eddie, what the hell? I was so worried about you. I haven’t heard from my best friend for 4 days and then I didn’t hear from you. I was scared something happened to you and I don’t feel like losing 2 friends in a week.”

“Sorry, man. My girlfriend has been missing for a few days and I went by her house to check on her. Her parents said they haven’t seen her in a few days either.”

“Your girlfriend? Since when do you have a girlfriend?”

“For a few months.” Eddie chuckled. “Her name’s y/n. You’ll love her,” he sighed. “if we ever find her.”

“Wait, y/n? As in y/n l/n?”

“Yeah, why?”

“That’s the best friend I was talking about. I haven’t seen her since movie night on Friday. I had to cancel and left her alone with Steve.” Dustin looked at Eddie with wide eyes. “That’s why she rejected him. Because she’s seeing you, not because she doesn’t like him. That makes total sense.”

“Hold up. Can you back up a bit? So Steve is the last person to see her?”

“As far as I know, yes. But he hasn’t seen her since she left his place that night. Nobody has heard from her since.”

“We have to find her, Henderson. I can’t lose her.” Eddie looked at the kid with hope in his eyes.

“Lucky for you, my friends and I have experienced something similar to this before. I know exactly what to do.”

Steve was sitting on the hood of his car in Dustin’s driveway when he got out of Eddie’s van. He walked up to Steve and Eddie followed behind him.

“You’ve known y/n the longest. What do you know about her?” Dustin asked Steve, who was focused more on Eddie than the kid.

“Not much more than you, I assume.”

“Does she have a favorite spot to go when she’s sad? Somewhere that she loves to be?”

“The arcade or the video store are her two most frequented spots in town. Other than that, I know she tends to go hang out at lover’s lake whenever her parents make her upset.” Steve nodded his head towards Eddie. “What’s he doing here?”

“We’ll have time for that later. Right now, we need to focus on finding y/n.” Dustin ushered his friends into his bedroom and sat on the edge of his bed with Eddie while Steve paced.

“Let’s check the video store first. The arcade is right next door. Plus, Robin is working and I gotta return Sleepaway Camp so we can kill two birds with one stone I guess.” Steve looked at the boys. “Or you two can check lover’s lake and I can check the arcade and video store. I assume you’ll end up going in his van anyway, Dustin.”

“Yeah, sounds like a solid plan. What happens if we find her?” Eddie questioned. Dustin grabbed his walkie talkies and handed each of them one.

“If anyone finds her, this is how we’ll communicate. Got it?”

“Yes, captain.” Eddie responded and Steve just nodded. “Let’s go then. We might not have a lot of time.”

The 3 boys rushed out of the house and got into the vehicles, with Steve driving towards the video store and Eddie taking off towards lover’s lake. When Steve arrived at the video store, Robin looked at him with a puzzled look.

“You don’t work today. Plus you look like shit. What’s up?”

“Friday night, I told y/n how I felt about her and she, uh, got up and left my place. Haven’t heard from her since. Has she been by?”

“No. Haven’t seen her since Friday afternoon.”

“Nobody has.” Steve sighed and leaned against the counter. “Dustin and Eddie are out searching at lover’s lake.”

“Eddie Munson is involved in your search? That’s odd.”

“Right? I thought the same thing when he got out of his van earlier at Dustin’s.”

“Maybe he’s concerned about Dustin. I mean, he does spend a lot of time with him, and he must know about the sibling-like bond that he and y/n share.”

“Yeah maybe. Or he’s the reason she basically rejected me.”

“Steve, let’s just focus on finding y/n first. I’ll keep an eye out here in case anyone has seen her. You go check the arcade.”

Steve ran out and headed to the arcade next door. His eyes scanned the crowded room, but he didn’t see y/n. He spotted the manager and headed over.

“Hey, Steve. What brings you by?”

“I’m on a mission. Have you seen y/n lately?”

“Not since Friday. Why? She okay?”

“No. She left my house Friday night, and nobody’s seen her since. Will you keep an eye out here just in case she comes by? I’ll check back in a few hours if we don’t find her.”

“Of course. Good luck. I hope you find her.”

Steve left another building without any results and slowly climbed into his car. He rested his head against the steering wheel and was about to give up when the walkie started buzzing.

“Steve, we found her.” Dustin’s voice rang through the speaker. “Well, sorta. You gotta come down here. Bring Robin. We may need her.”

“Copy that. On my way.” He clicked the button off and walked back into Family Video. “Robin, they found her. Dustin told me to bring you because we may need you.”

“Alright. Let me just close up. Been kind of a slow day.” She hopped over the counter and made sure everyone was out before locking up and following Steve to his car. “Think she’s okay?”

“Oh god, I hope so.” He sighed and headed towards lover’s lake. When he got there, Dustin ran out to meet them. “Alright, Henderson. What’s going on?”

“We don’t know. It’s like she’s in a sort of trance. I can’t pull her out so I was hoping that you or Robin could do it.”

“Where’s Eddie?” Robin asked as the three of them walked around the boathouse

“He’s with her right now. We’ve tried everything we could think of.” the trio approached Eddie, who was currently pacing back and forth.

“Have you guys tried breaking this ‘spell’ with a kiss?” Steve asked. Both Dustin and Eddie turned their heads quickly then looked at each other.

“It crossed my mind for sure, but what if it doesn’t work? What if it’s not the right way to break it and we never get her back?” Eddie sat on the ground and pulled his knees towards his chest. “I can’t keep losing people, especially not her, okay? We need to come up with a way to break this and get her back.”

“We will, Eddie. I promise.” Dustin tried his best to reassure his friend that everything would be okay.

“But what if we don’t? Man, I may never get to tell her that I love her...and I really, really love her.”

“Take it from me, dude. Telling her exactly how you feel may not be the best thing to do. It’s only going to scare her off.” Steve sighed and looked at y/n’s tranced body. Her eyes were wide open and everything about her was normal. The only problem was that she was unresponsive.

“You got a problem with me, Harrington? If so, just come out and say it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why are you trying to tell me what to say to my own girlfriend, man?”

“Girlfriend? What?”

“Y/n has been my girlfriend for 5 months and the last time anyone was with her, was Friday when she was with you. Why didn’t you make sure she was safe? Why didn’t you let her….why didn’t you let her stay the night?”

“I may have said some things that scared her off. But in my defense, she was not exactly shutting me down whenever I flirted with her. She’s my best friend and she didn’t even mention you two were together. Are you sure you were even that serious?”

“Steve, stop. We’re not here to pick fights, okay? What we need to focus on is figuring out how to break her out of this trance-like state that she’s in. We don’t even know how long she’s been stuck like this, alright? So that last thing we need is you two dumbasses fighting over who loves her more or who deserves to be with her.” Robin pushed herself off the tree she was leaning against and walked in front of y/n.

“Maybe you should try the kiss. It could possibly break her but we won’t know unless we try.” Dustin sighed.

“Were you talking to me or him?”

“Me, obviously. I am her boyfriend.”

“But what if you’re not her true love?”

“Steve, just shut up about it. You kiss her first and if she doesn’t wake up, then we know it wasn’t meant to be and then Eddie can do it.”

Steve looked at Eddie silently, waiting for permission. Eddie just sighed and nodded slowly, looking away when Steve kissed y/n. When she didn’t make any moves, Steve sat down and sighed heavily.

“So it’s not me then. God, I wish it was.”

“Hey, we don’t know that exactly. Sometimes it takes a minute or two.” Eddie looked at the guy in front of him and patted his shoulder. After a few minutes of no response, it was Eddie’s turn. He gently cupped his girlfriends face and kissed her softly. When her hands found their way around his neck, Dustin cheered behind them.

“I honestly can’t believe that worked.” Robin rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. She walked over to Steve and gave him a pat on the back. “You tried your best, man. It’s not like she rejected you because she didn’t like you. She’s just really into Eddie.”

“I know. And I’m glad she found someone who makes her happy. She deserves it. But I just wish I could’ve had a chance at least. Maybe one date or something.”

“You’re going to find someone who makes you feel the way y/n does. You just gotta give it some time, and before you know it, you’ll be over her and everyone will live happily ever after.” Robin glanced over at the couple and sighed contently when she noticed the smile adorning y/n’s face.

“I can’t believe you came looking for me.” she grinned up at Eddie who had an equally wide smile on his face.

“Of course I did, sweetheart.” Eddie kissed her head and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. “I love you.”

“What?”

“I said I love you. And I know that it’s a little late for me to tell you, knowing how you like to live your life in the fast lane, but it’s true. I’ve never loved anyone in my life, so I really wasn’t sure what it was supposed to feel like. But now I know that it’s late night talks and shared laughs over something as ridiculous as a phallically shaped leaf or vegetable. It’s being able to call someone your home and being able to feel warm in their embrace. It feels like no time has passed when you’re with the one you love, when in reality, hours have passed by. Being with you feels like all of that and honestly, I’m glad I know how it feels to love someone this much.”

“Eddie, I love you too.” y/n pulled him in for a kiss and when they pulled apart, she looked at Steve. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He responded softly. Eddie let her walk to him while he joined Robin and Dustin on the sidelines.

“Listen, about what you said on Friday…”

“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I get why you reacted the way you did.”

“Listen, Steve. I do love you, truly I do. But it’s just not in the same way you love me. I know this is going to hurt for you to hear, but you’ve always been like a brother to me and I never ever want that to change.”

“I think I might actually be okay with being just friends.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You seem to be really happy with Eddie and that’s good. He’s a pretty decent guy and I’m really glad you found someone who treats you right.” Steve smiled.

“Thank you, Harrington.” Eddie walked over to him and held out his hand. They shook, making Eddie smile. “Also, thank you for all your help with finding y/n. I owe you one, man.”

“All I ask is that you keep making y/n happy. Keep treating her right and we won’t have a problem.” Steve offered Eddie a smile and y/n beamed when she saw her two favorite guys getting along.

“I promise you that nothing bad will come from this relationship. Scouts honor.”

“Hey, maybe now that you guys are friends, Steve could play D&D with us sometime.” Dustin suggested, causing the four adults to quickly respond…

“No!”

-----

@taglist: @worldlxvlys

[shyphonics]

Salad Days - Chapter 1: I Against I Against I Against I

Rodrick Heffley x Reader

Baby-Punk AU ✨ (part 2 here!)

No use of y/n, no physical description of reader, fem pronouns

Put yourself in the shoes of a snarky, hyper-competent punk bartender with a tragic backstory (but it's totally not a big deal! Who needs therapy?? lol lmao 🤪)

Some loser from the ‘burbs comes into your bar, and against your better judgement, you decide to show him the ropes of the scene. Even though his band name totally sucks.

Rodrick is kind of a sad, insecure boy in this. He's on bad terms with everyone back home, and absolutely refuses to fully acknowledge it. He refuses to acknowledge any of his emotions. And his quickly growing crush on his new bartender friend…

Also it's 2005 because I say so. Flip phones and email babey B)

Lightly angsty. Lightly based on my own experiences bullshitting my way into the bar scene. Lightly based on my hyperfixation on punk history lol.

Songs for this chapter:

(I haven't written anything in YEARS so I'm sorry if this is bad lol. part 2 and 3 are almost finished oops so let me know if you like it)

/////

In a quest for the test to fulfill an achievement

Everybody's only going to pursue themselves

When the fact of the matter is they just don't care

To extend a helping hand to anyone else

“What the fuck are you doing?”

The kid turns around. He looks like a wet rat. His facial expression says he knows he’s in trouble. He's tall and kinda goofy-looking. His dark hair is messy, and his eyes are overlined in black.

“Uh, hi. I'm Rodrick. I'm in a band, I uh, I wanna play a show?” He squeaks out, waving a barely legible flier in the air.

“Have you been in touch with Mike?”

“Mike?”

“You gotta get in touch with Mike.” you cross your arms and lean against the doorframe, one foot kicked over the other.

He stares at you, guilty and confused. Your expression is throwing him off. Raised eyebrow, pursed lips. It’s the face of a disappointed mom, but you’re… young. And pretty?

“Do you want the email, or what?”

You break his thoughts.

“Yes! Email. Mike.”

You retreat to the office, rifling through papers until you retrieve a business card.

“Mike Morello. By the way, you might wanna change that band name.”

He looks at his flier, “Why? What's wrong with it?”

You look at him for a while, raising your eyebrows higher and higher, as high as you can, until he’s frustrated. His lanky figure is bouncing all over the hallway. Like a dog who needs to go outside. A big, dumb dog. You look at him in true disbelief. You can’t believe he doesn’t know. He has to know.

“What? What?! Stop looking at me like that!” His eyes are wide and frantic, begging you to say something.

“It sucks!” you laugh.

“It does not suck!”

“Dude, it totally sucks. It's gross. What kind of music do you even play?”

“Fucking rock n roll, baby!” He’s pissed off. It’s hilarious.

“Uh huh. And what are your influences?”

“Influences?”

“Influences. Motives. Backstory.” You clutch your hand into a self-important fist.

“What's with all the questions?” He nearly screeches.

“I'm preparing you for Mike. He's a cynical old fart who's mentally still in late 70s San Francisco. You need to impress him, get a good story going. He's not gonna put some suburban garage band up there.”

He frowns. That's exactly what they are…

“I-” he starts.

“That's exactly what you are, yeah. I know.” You smile, “I can smell suburbs, dude. You'll figure it out.”

“Can I have your email? Or y'know, your phone number or something?” he looks nervous, “Just for, like, advice.”

You cock an eyebrow, think for a minute, then grab a sticky note. It’s surprising after how riled up you got him, but boys are weird.

“Number’s too risky. What if you're a weirdo or something? Here’s my email.” you finish scribbling down the address and extend your hand.

“Cool. I’ll use it.” He nods, taking it from you very delicately. Weirdly careful not to touch your hand. Again, boys are weird.

“…cool. See you around. Maybe. Diaper boy.” you smirk.

Before he can retort, you shut yourself in the office. He stands there for a while, trying to think of something to say back, but nothing comes to him.

~

I am a patient boy

I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait

My time’s water down a drain

Everybody's moving

Everybody's moving

Everybody's moving, moving, moving, moving

“I think she’s saying we need, like, punk cred. It’s a punk bar, after all.” Rodrick leans back on their crappy couch. It was free on the side of the road when they were moving in.

“Pshh, we are so punk!” Chris chimes in. “Ward has a shaved head!”

He points at Ward's head. Ward crosses his arms and nods approvingly.

“She knew I was from the suburbs just by looking at me.” He puts his head in his hands.

“So what are you gonna say to the guy?” Ben asks.

“I dunno, I kinda wanna email the girl first and ask for advice.” Rodrick mumbles.

“Oh, sure. Advice.” Ben rolls his eyes.

“Yes! Just advice!”

“Is she hot?” Ward giggles.

Silence falls upon the room.

“Whatever! What are our influences? Punk influences!”

“Dude, you're, like, totally wearing a Dead Kennedys shirt!” Chris pipes up.

“Okay, yeah, I like Dead Kennedys.” Rodricks sighs, relieved. He knows ‘Police Truck’. Who doesn’t? It was in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for fuck’s sake!

“Okay! Uhh, shit, what else did she say… motive!”

“Dude, what?” Ben's eyes go wide, “Like murder?”

“No, dumbass, like why did we start the band?” Ward tosses a crushed beer can at him.

“To get girls? To, uhhh…” Chris trails off.

“To rock and roll! To tell everyone to fuck off and prove them all wrong!” Rodrick yells.

The rest of the guys give a resounding yeah! and raise their beers.

Rodrick opens his laptop, making a big show of stretching his hands. He’s gonna write a masterpiece. Löded Diper is gonna take over this town.

He starts typing furiously, ignoring all the little red squiggles appearing among his words. It doesn't take him long to slow down, though, and he gives up and passes the laptop to Ben. Rodrick’s mind is cloudy. He’s thinking about that girl at the bar. You’d been so… mean. But not? Did you like him? He doesn’t get it.

Heather Hills had made it incredibly clear she did not like him. In fact, she hates him.

He remembers the last day of senior year. He’d handed her a Löded Diper CD, masterfully engineered by the man himself in GarageBand, and asked her to sign his yearbook.

Are you being serious right now? You still owe me for my ice sculpture, pleb!

Oh, uh, right, he’d replied, how much is that again?

Four. Thousand. Dollars. And you’ll never make that much in your life, freak.

He grimaces as the memory infects his brain. Four thousand seemed like a lot for just some ice. He remembers fantasizing, though, about getting signed and nailing down a solid deal. Reimbursing Heather for the sculpture and so much more. Maybe she’d marry him. Hot rockstar with a hot, blonde trophy wife. That had been the dream. Until…

Well. Don’t focus on the past. The past sucks. The future is now.

“Rodrick!” Ben’s hand shakes his shoulder.

“Sorry. Um. I don’t know. I think it’s pretty good!”

Between the bones he had put down, and some additions from the guys, they have what they think is a pretty kickass email.

Rodrick’s mind is still elsewhere, though. The thoughts of Heather had kind of messed with him, and now he’s just thinking about home. He hadn't left on great terms. He really wishes everything could be better. The only support system he has is the band, but they don't talk about that kind of stuff. Not more than once in a blue moon.

He’s where he wants to be and everything. He's living his dream. But something still feels wrong. He feels a little empty.

Your emotions make you a monster

Your emotions make you a monster

Your emotions make you a monster

Your emotions make you a monster

[chronological-barnacle]

Vakama is baby, but he's done it before

ok so these posts by @crystaltoa and @goattypegirl have been orbiting each other in my brain for the last 36ish hours and finally coalesced into something hopefully coherent

if we run with the idea of the Vahi as a big "TIMELINE RESET" button which ensures both its own creation and un-creation, suppose it could also ensure the creation and un-creation of its own creator as an additional safeguard? suppose that, at the moment of its use, the Vahi reaches backward in its own timeline to trigger the birth/manufacturing of a Matoran imbued with the necessary metatemporal intelligence and potential for Toa-hood just in time for them to fully master the art of maskmaking before crafting the Mask of Time -- and simultaneously, resetting the new timeline to a point just before its maker would have been made. you can't have a metatemporal intelligence just operating freely, after all -- who knows what else a being of that nature might make when left to its own devices?

so: of course Vakama is only like 500-1000 years old when the Great Cataclysm strikes -- that was all the time he needed to master his craft before it was Vahi-o'clock. that's how it goes every time.

but this still leaves some issues unaddressed

canon shows no signs of the Vahi having capabilities like this. BUT we've only ever seen it wielded by Toa, who were not terribly good at it. if it takes higher levels of focus and control to unlock the timeline-resetting capabilities, perhaps it was meant for a bearer with more skill and power, experienced in the use of Legendary Kanohi...perhaps, in the event of a universe-threatening catastrophe, the Vahi was meant for Artakha to use?

but if that's the case, why would Vakama have respawned in Metru Nui instead of Artakha? maybe Metru Nui has better Maskmaking 101, maybe that's where the Great Disks usually manifest whenever the timeline resets, maybe he has showed up on Artakha's island some of the other times.....maybe he lands in whatever region the Disks have ended up by then.

so if it's not necessarily set in stone where in the MU Vakama might appear, master maskmaking, become a Toa, collect & combine the Great Disks, and forge the Vahi, then we'd need a way to ensure that the mask gets to Artakha as soon as possible upon completion no matter where it shows up. and THAT is where Voporak comes into play

inevitably, once a fresh timeline is stable, someone[s] will eventually be like "imagine if there was a Mask of Time, would that be fucked up or what" and imbue somebody else with the power to sense temporal anomalies (there'd probably also need to be a new Voporak after every reset - the Vahi would undo the previous one since someone with time-sensing abilities would likely sense that the timeline has been altered, and you can't risk that knowledge getting out if you want affairs to stay stable. gotta keep things tidy, no loose ends! so who knows how many different beings have been Voporak before our current timeline? there's no reason to assume it was a highborn Steltian every time). for an optimally stable time loop, Voporak would set out directly from Artakha, swipe the Vahi, and hightail it home

so now we can identify where the current timeline started to go askew: the Brotherhood sent our Voporak to Odina instead of Artakha, which leaves us with a Vahi-retriever loyal to TSO. at this point it still would've been possible to course-correct and undo the Cataclysm entirely, but then Vakama wielded the Vahi himself, which -- despite needing to be a Toa in order to successfully forge the mask -- he technically wasn't meant to do

(on another note, this all could inform Teridax's motivations for wanting the Vahi. perhaps he thought he could alter the timeline further in his favor somehow, in addition to speeding up the brainwashing of the Matoran)

as goattypegirl's writing on the subject already states, whatever Vakama achieved with the Mask of Time did successfully prevent the Cataclysm from destroying the GSR or wiping out all life inside, and the fact that Mata Nui's mission was a success and that Spherus Magna was restored in what should have been a doomed timeline -- essentially a time loop that never got closed -- is frankly a miracle

and the remaining Great Beings are definitely in for a shock when they learn that not only does the Vahi still physically exist, but so do Vakama and Voporak

[dreamersparacosm]

congratulations on 3.5k angelina!! can you do a blurb on this quote? ❝ being wrapped in your arms is a truly special feeling. ❞ i can’t wait to read it :))

sfw!

note ; literally we must thank ally for the idea for this prompt (everyone say thank you @elvisabutler) bc now i can’t stop imagining spending the holidays with austin’s family bye

warnings ; none this is tooth aching fluff

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

The melancholy Christmas song from one of your Spotify playlists fills the living room, the fire crackling with hues of red and orange. Austin’s arms wrap around your body, the fuzzy blanket tickling your skin as he entangles his legs around yours too. It should be a slightly uncomfortable position— but Austin claims the holidays are to be loved, or something cheesy like that— yet you’re finding yourself snuggling further into him.

You weren’t normally one to relish in the Christmas spirit. You used to prefer Halloween more than other holidays. However, you couldn't say no to Austin's puppy-dog eyes when he extended an invitation for you to spend the holidays with his sister and father. There had been a change in his family's dynamic ever since his mother passed away, and so he felt compelled to step up, support his sister Ashley, and console his father. In what used to be his loneliest season of all, became his favorite time of year; all because he got to make new memories with you.

Austin hums along to the tune of the sickly sweet holiday music, and under other circumstances, it would annoy you, but it doesn’t. “Thank you for coming,” He whispers in your ear. The words have more than one meaning.

“You gotta stop saying that,” You giggle, pulling the blanket higher up to your chest, watching as the flames in the fireplace engulf the wood. “I wasn’t going to let you celebrate Christmas without me.”

“Oh, yeah?” He looks down at you, a gleam of adoration behind his eyes as he visualizes what it would be like to spend every holiday with you. Share a home. Maybe some kids.

“I mean, are we not a package deal now?” Your fingers play with the hem of his shirt. You mean it playfully, but he takes the words literally.

“We are,” he muses. “I like that. I like this.”

“What do ‘ya mean?” You scrunch your eyebrows, although it‘s clear what he means.

“This right here,” he motions to your intertwined limbs. “Being in your arms is the most special feeling. I’m so lucky, [Y/N]. So, so lucky.”

He’s overcome with so many emotions, enough that they brew up inside him like a fresh pot of coffee that’s overflowing. And he needs that now, needs to be able to tell you how lucky he is, because ever since his mom died, he’s scared of losing someone ever again. So, you grin up at him, eyes twinkling from the light of the fire, “I’m so lucky too.”

Something shifts in his body, in his brain. Feels his heart mend, and his chest feels as though it’s swelling with all the pent-up love he has for you. He just wants to scream it from the rooftops, put it on a cake or something. Nothing will ever be enough. Or maybe his next words are enough. What are the holidays for if not for being honest?

He smiles back at you and whispers, just loud enough for the two of you to hear, “Let’s get married.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

thank you for joining my 3.5k celly! requests are now closed.

[101ocs]

Firefly

OC: Leslie Sawyer [💛]

Note: @twsted-idiot NEW OC 💥💥 i’ll get to posting his actual significance in present day but first. the past. :3 this takes place WAAAY back then so. they’re just babies!! 😮‍💨 [leslie’s bio is uploaded on pinned post!]

████████████████████

The gentle spring breeze played with his hair as he soared up toward the vast blue sky, his face adorned with a smile so pure and innocent that it could never be replicated. But that was Leslie for you. There was never a moment where that beautiful smile grew dull in the eyes of the world.

“Higher!” his little voice exclaimed as the tire swing came flying down. “I wanna go higher!”

In response to his request, Leslie felt the sensation of big hands cradling his waist to cease the swing’s movement. He giggled and jolted his head back to look at his brother, seeing a warm smile identical to his resting on his lips. “Higher? Well, you gotta hold on tight then!”

Grasping the rope tied up to the thickest branch they could find, palms were beginning to smell of dry fiber from his firm grip. That didn’t deter him from his goal of touching the moon. His brother held the swing high above his head for a moment or two to increase Leslie’s anticipation before releasing him, lengthening his height from the ground. Again, his wispy hair danced as though it starred in a ballet and his laughter rang like a church bell throughout their land. He closed his eyes and let the wind take him over without a hint of worry in his mind.

“You’re gonna touch it! You’re gonna touch the moon!” his brother cheered, pointing upward to calculate where his feet needed to be to hit the desired target.

“I am?”

“You already did! Didn’t you see?”

“I was closing my eyes!”

His momentum decreased gradually to the point that his brother felt confident enough to open his arms and call for him. “I’ll catch you, Les! C’mon!”

Releasing the rope and launching himself forward, Leslie landed precisely in his brother’s warm embrace. He swung him around a few times and let little legs go airborne, evoking more laughter to erupt from his chest. Then, once he was done, he rubbed his rough knuckles into Leslie’s head and gave him a noogie. He whined in response.

“Oww! Johnny, that hurts!”

“Oh, grow up.”

In response to his brother’s teasing, Leslie gifted him with a playful shove and ran off to the hills. He knew better than to stay behind and let his older brother land another hit on him. Tagbacks were the worst when it came to Johnny because instead of shoving him back equally or giving him a sucker punch, he’d headlock him and ‘playfully’ wrestle. (That’s what he always told their mama. In reality, he was pretty close to cutting Leslie’s air supply off.)

Mud sprayed up their backs as they ran through the field leading up to the house, practically signing their certificates of being scolded and forced to bathe thoroughly that night. That didn’t matter at the moment. What mattered was that Leslie got to that porch before he was able to grab a hold of him. Tragically enough, the younger brother lost his footing and toppled over, putting him at Johnny’s mercy. The rich scent of earth hit him in the back of the throat as he groaned and lifted his freckled face from the ground. Blood leaked from his nostrils.

Catching up to him with heaving breaths, Johnny’s cruel laughter reverberated in his head. “Annnnd that’s what you get for tryna snitch on me!” When he didn’t get an immediate response, he took a few steps closer. “C’mon, lil’ boy. Dust yerself off.”

Sometimes it was hard for Johnny to remember that they had a nine year age gap, which made little Leslie six. So when he saw those gigantic tears in the corners of his eyes, Johnny instinctively grabbed him to help him up.

“No!” Leslie resisted his grip. “I’m fine! I don’t wanna go in! I wanna hang with you…”

Johnny’s russet eyes lingered on his bloodied face with a fond expression — Not quite a smile but something close to it. “Wipe them tears then. I don’t like seein’ them.”

It took a while for him to recalibrate. Wiping the tears from his eyes while more appeared, he turned away from his brother to get some unnecessary privacy. Johnny respected it. Instead of waiting for him to be done, he began catching fireflies in his palms. Leslie really liked fireflies. He thought that maybe when he was done crying, he could surprise him with a palm full of them — That was the closest he’d get to comforting him. Johnny wasn’t particularly good with being gentle anyhow.

Tugging on his arm, the little boy regained his brother’s attention. His round face was a light shade of pink from crying so hard but other than that, he was back to normal. Tough for a six year old. Johnny helped him get the rest of the blood from his face by licking his thumb and rubbing it off.

“What’s in your hand?” Leslie curiously asked.

Smirking, Johnny opened his palm and released all the fireflies. They scattered into the air as flashing green lanterns, some still crawling on Johnny’s calloused fingertips. Leslie bubbled in excitement, jumping up and down and trying to grab one. Due to his height, it didn’t work out in his favor.

“How’d you catch ‘em, Johnny? I can’t get none!”

“Just be patient and they’ll come to you. Jumpin’ around like that just scares ‘em.”

They spent a while trying to catch as many as they could. Leslie managed to catch five which was a big achievement in his book. Johnny, on the other hand, caught at least thirty. After examining their pretty lights and silly wings, they would release them back into the air and watch them fly off. There was a time here and there Leslie begged to keep one as a pet, but Johnny put an end to that dream quickly.

“They’ll die soon, y’know?”

Leslie’s eyes darted toward his brother’s face in search of what emotion lay behind his words, but was met with a stare devoid of life. It was unusual for his brother to be lost in thought like that. Usually he would’ve played off his words by saying something silly or scoffing and changing the subject, but he didn’t. And although there wasn’t much proof to go off of, Leslie knew something had changed in his brother. It was like standing next to a stranger.

“…Johnny?”

That seemed to break him out of the trance. Stroking Leslie’s curls back and smiling innocently enough, he came back to earth. “It’s ‘bout time you hit the hay, lil’ boy. C’mon, let’s go in.”

[babyharleezy]

Maybe a prompt where Jack and the reader were high school sweethearts but broke up when he moved away to chase his dream and started getting more famous. And then somehow, by some twist of fate, they found their way back to each other?

Hometown Love Chapter 1

(jack harlow x reader)

bloo's notes: okay so i wrote this fic with the song "breakup in a small town" by sam hunt in the back of my mind. i also really liked this prompt and i had so many ideas so i decided to make it a series. this is my first series so please be easy on me lol. i would love to get feedback from yall too. anyway...enjoy babes!!

"y/n, i'm gonna be leaving soon" jack said to you with a solemn tone in his voice. "what do you mean you're leaving soon? i thought you wouldn't leave until next year, when i graduate?" you asked your boyfriend in shock. "that's what i thought too, the label wants me to do a tour. i asked them if they could hold it off for a year but they didn't budge" he continued. the mood in your shared apartment shifted drastically. you two sat in silence. memories running through both of your minds. y/n and jack. high school sweethearts. the perfect homegrown couple. you snapped out of your thoughts. "jack you know i can't go with you right now. i'm so close to being done with school and then i can be a nurse" you told him. he wanted you to be happy with or without him. he knew it was time to let go. "i leave in two weeks. i guess this is it huh" jack didn't wanna accept it. he needed you. he needed you more than ever. but he knew he needed to go on this tour to better his career. "i guess this is it jack" you sniffled out. you two shared one last hug and one last kiss. he told you he would come back and get all of his stuff before he left and that the apartment would be all yours. you hated how that sounded. you didn't want it to be all yours. you wanted it to be "ours".

current day:

after working three 12 hour shifts you were finally free. well you were free for the next four days until you had to go back to work. you made your way home from the hospital and you couldn't wait to sit down on your couch as curl up into a blanket. the minute you walked into the door you didn't waste anytime getting out of your scrubs and getting into something more comfortable before you made your way to the couch. you decided to catch up on some youtube videos. scrolling down on the recommendation page your eyes landed on a once familiar face. it was an interview of jack. although it had been years since you two have broken up, every now and then you would see what he's up to and couldn't help to feel proud of him. you watched the interview and stopped at the part where he confessed to still keeping up with his exes. he continued by saying something along the lines of "i gotta make sure they're not doing better than me". you laughed at that part. part of you wondered if he still kept up with you on your socials. that thought was quickly pushed away when your phone began ringing. you looked down to see it was the hospital calling. you let out a groan as you answered the phone and put on your professional voice.

"hello, this is y/n" you answered. "hi y/n, i was just calling to let you know that you have been offered a new position at a new hospital in atlanta. you would be the head nurse and that would consist of a higher salary. you would also be starting two weeks from now. please let me know if you are interested." your boss informed you. "oh wow, that sounds amazing. i would love to go to atlanta. thank you so much for this opportunity" you told your boss, you were in shock. you and your boss said your goodbyes and you put your phone down. your eyes made their way to the laptop sitting on your lap and you were met with jack's face once again. you sighed, you would be in the same city as him once again.

the rest of the night you decided to look online for new apartments in atlanta. you decided you would make a road trip there in the morning to do some more apartment hunting. you packed a bag and booked a hotel. you had a long few days ahead of you.

next

[colourful-void]

I have finished Virtue's Last Reward!

what was that.

-

alright thoughts, here we go!

Im glad the time paradox thing was addressed, to my understanding it's like. the two branches diverge no matter what, but instead of living through the Good Branch, we're here on the Bad Branch. it's not going to cease to exist if Phi and Sigma and kyle??? can change the past, we're just fucked.

I'm with Tenmyouji! Junpei is never wrong I agree with him always. That is not the Akane Kurashiki i once knew. She is long gone. (spike chunsoft please bring her back)

This ending is so much more of a downer than the last one. I'm a little bummed out actually. Like I know Akane's telling me its up to me to save the world and everything but like. It's a narrative video game fuck the world man I want my little guys to be happy. 999 was weird as shit and has like. a higher active body body count (3 characters in game die no matter what as opposed to vlr's 0, but 7 billion if u count. the earth.), but despite all that? the ending feels hopeful. and then really weird because alice being there was such a jarring shift but like ignoring alice?? very good.

Actually, Akane talking to Kyle felt more like she was talking to me, Void, more than any other interaction in this entire game. "You want to know what happens between Dec24 and new years eve? then you have to go back. you have to do it." It's like a threat. What the hell akane. I do want to know. you're going to make me play another game but ur fucking right i do wanna know.

I'm glad that Tenmyouji and Quark will stay together. I love you Quark. I love you tenmyouji.

Seriously Phi explains jackshit.

Game thoughts as a whole! Uhh a little mixed? mixed! there's more I like than I dislike, but my thoughts are kind of. muddled a bit

A lot of things were frustrating (mainly puzzles) but a lot of things were really exciting (mainly story).

some puzzles were really exciting and fun (the whole archives, the lounge, the final cube puzzle, the pec door puzzles, the rec room) and some were really annoying (darts, most of the pantry, anything with a lot of math and cross referencing really). ((some of this is because im bad at puzzles!!)

Most of the story was really fun (All of Quark and Tenmyouji really, Luna's backstory, Dio's backstory i still hate him but its good, K's initial backstory just from his ending, going through the different endings and combinbing knowlege from em,) Some of it was really annoying (Sigma being gross to the girls, the weird radical 6 based contradictions, a significant portion of the ending though i dont feel fair making a full judgement on it because half of it still makes no sense to me and im not sure how much of this is sequel bait, the general sudden downer shift of it all)

menuing and q-o-l wise: i did get used to the sprites and menuing, though part of that comes from a shift to displaying it on my tv (the display darkens and softens it out a bit so its nicer,) and getting a controller (item tabbing!!!) though i never really ended up using the ingame notes past the first room. instead i took paper ntoes and my journal is a mess for it. i do have a very important complaint to raise re game display:

THE FUCKING MAP SECTIONS TAKE WAY TOO LONG!!!! unless you're already fastforwarding, it's really slow and there's no way to skip it! I know where the lounge is by now this is my 7th run but no i've gotta watch the little dot move all the way from the b floor warehouse and it's just really annoying. why was there not an option to just skip it. goddamn.

In review: im not sure what to think about vlr yet? It's definitely left me much more conflicted than 999, and I probably like 999 more overall. The twists in vlr were really fun and unexpected (favourites are the inital betrayal from alice turning into an ally, seeing k's mask come off, tenmyouji's picture of akane, the first time more stuff was added to the flowchart like that, seeing the moon and everything.) and there were a lot more of them, but i think the ones in 999 hit me harder, while there were fewer. (Learning akane was who died, learning ace's identity, when the dialouge switches to first person).

But i;ll be fair, I was probably always going to be biased towards 999? it's aesthetics are more my taste and while this sounds weird it's... a lot more down to earth than vlr? Vlr is really high concept and i feel like if I spend some time with it or look at stuff AROUND it i'll grow into it. but it's a lot more than i usually. swallow at once. im a weak man okay my brain can't handle it.

Vlr's ending much like it's beginning is gonna be one of those things i thing where at first im like 'fuck this' and then over time im going to really love it. I'm already liking it a lot more than I did like. 15 hours ago.

Will I play Zero Time Dilemma?

Well im curious where the story goes, but I'm also wondering like. Yes? Play it? or is like a 'play the first two and pretend zero time dilemma never happened' situation. my only interaction with the fandom of zero escape is whatever you all send me, and a meme of akane my brother once found.

Here's the part where I was gonna say that video games are expensive and I'd see based on ppl's reccomendations and pricing and how much I'd need to save whether and when i'd get it but like. i forgot steam summer sale is on and it's like. 9 dollars right now so I'll probably get it anyway.

still curious though, other people's opinions, please weigh in! do you think I'm being too harsh to vlr? is there something I haven't considered? do you need to play ZTD to really give VLR a fair shot? what are your favourite parts of vlr? did i completely fail to read something important in the game and its fucking my perception. should i go back and play those two endings that fuck over quark i avoided?

let me know!!

[horizon-forbidden-sheesh]

Writing Process: Timelines & Trackers

Okayyy, so I've written about the drafting process in detail. But along the way, logistics problems tend to pop up that can't be solved in words alone.

Mostly, it has to do with knowing exactly where someone is or what someone is doing at the same time as another character I'm writing. For instance, when does Alva get back to the Base? How long is she there before Aloy shows up?

I didn't always take detailed notes on this during my first play-through. And after I abandoned my Scrivener file, (more about this here ⚙️) I decided to refine my timeline.

I already had a great foundation based on my first play-through and my New Game+ speed run. So, I started fresh, with a new game file and good old fashioned pen & paper. I'm still working through this as I write. (Just finished the Scorcher side quest!!)

*This is in a Master-size (A4) Leuchtturm notebook, in which I'm working back-to-front. I prefer purple pen and grid paper always.

Yes. I know. I am a psycho. As I mentioned in the Preamble, gaming timelines are a special interest. 💁🏼‍♀️ Plus, I build client-friendly Gantt charts for design projects IN MY SLEEP. So, taking my timeline from paper into Spreadsheet status felt like a v natural next step.

💡I started with a weekly at-a-glance, mostly because I needed to coordinate when various characters arrived back at Base:

Why yes, I am tracking Zo & Aloy's periods. Because there is no single, magical herb you can take to stop pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, I dig this trope! It's important to discuss family planning, and our genre is ✨fantasy✨ after all. But I can only suspend my disbelief so far, and there are other ways to get around this, which a Matriarchal society would probably be clued in on.

💡 This quickly evolved to a daily at-a-glance once Kotallo made it to the Base:

This spreadsheet helped me IMMENSELY as I was writing chapters 13, 14, 16, 17, & 19! Basically any time Aloy & Kotallo are not in the same location. Knowing what Kotallo is doing at the Base while Aloy is off mid-adventure has been super important to make sure their Focus calls work and feel natural.

Likewise, knowing exactly what day Erend returns, and how long they have before Aloy gets back all helps with continuity and flow.

Other Things I'm Tracking:

💡Datapoints. The whole point of the GAIA Gang is that they're sorting through the data Aloy collected during the events of HZD. And since that was an absolute whirlwind year for Aloy, I'm thinking her files are a fucking shit show—and almost none of the people sorting through them even know how to read. 😵

So, I started by accumulating all the files by location. I am assuming they're probably geo-tagged—if not, they're at least assembled in order of pick-up, which would mean they're ordered by Aloy's general location at time-of-discovery anyway.

*I crossed them out as I moved them to the next spreadsheet tab...

From this hot mess, I figure that Zo, in her infinite wisdom, took one look at Aloy's files and went, "Oh hell no."

💡Here's the way I imagine Zo organized her playlists, much to Varl, Erend, & Kotallo's relief (Meanwhile, Alva re-filtered everything, and discovered entirely new metadata categories, obviously):

The most important detail here was time!! Most of these are like 1 minute long... but 1 minute in the game is like, 20 minutes IRL. So you've gotta figure the GAIA Gang is back at Base binge-watching an entire docu-series, while simultaneously learning how to read (and procrastinating with hours and hours of bodycam battle footage).

No wonder they're always busy when Aloy shows up!

💡 And yes, these are all tabs on a single spreadsheet:

💡 "Population" is literally just a mess of numbers & formulas as I try to figure out how we went from ~20 E-9 Cradle inhabitants to multiple tribes in the span of ~700 years.

I mean in 3041 we're prolly sitting at like... maybe ~15k in the U.S.?

*On second thought, that Oseram number is probably higher.

Anywayyyy, as fun as a blank page is, my brain really does work best on a grid. The process is totally intuitive, and I create the necessary docs as I go, the same as I would for any client or project. Sometimes, you need to explain things in a way so everyone is on the same page, and I find spreadsheets invaluable in that regard. (Y'all should see my wedding planning spreadsheet, lol.)

This whole process has helped me to find what works for me, and writing fanfic is truly preparing me to write my own original works. What I've discovered is that spreadsheets are part of my flowstate. They bring me a deep sense of peace and they help me to stay on track and oriented while I'm in the weeds.

🖤 Really, I want to come back to something I said in my second 'Process' post: Do what feels natural. Everyone is different. If being 'organized' steals your joy, don't do it. Stay messy! Whatever! Who cares? The most important part is that you find your flowstate.

I found this old Hindu saying while I was copywriting for a Chinese Medicine client, and it really stuck with me: "There are a hundred paths up the mountain, so it doesn't matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain telling everyone else that their path is wrong."

I'm just here documenting my own path up my mountain. And part of me thinks that it's all incredibly self-indulgent and cringe, but hey—when has blogging ever not been?

If you've read this far, I'm grateful. It's all a bit shouting-into-the-void out here, especially when you're this deep into a niche that moved on a while ago. But I've always loved a slowburn. (And if you do too, you might consider reading The Marshal.)

xo, Sheesh.

[cwc-emoji-pluck]

yooooooo dude may i please request 🥐 with a side of ☁️?

member: yoon jeonghan x gn!reader genre: i don't think this is angst but it's definitely not fluff so...angst ig word count: 2142 warnings: none :P emojis requested: 🥐: social media star and follower ☁️: fifteen years later, seventeen go to their high school class reunion author's note: hello, bestie <3 this was originally supposed to be about seungcheol but jeongrot is a thing so here we are. this request was literally perfect for me so thank u for being a genius <3 i got inspo for this literally immediately so :))) i hope you enjoy this and happy jeonghan day !!!!!!!! (p.s. this is not edited please don't judge me <3)

“Are you going to be coming later? I didn’t take months out of my schedule to plan this just for my best friend to skip it! I even made sure we are going to be on the same team for all the activities!” 

Y/N sighed, holding their phone to their ear using their shoulder. Their laptop was in front of them, a Google Calendar open to their schedule for the next two weeks: each square was filled with meetings and events. 

“I don’t know, Mina. I don’t have a lot of time on my schedule. You said it’s on Saturday? What time?”

“Four! It’s from four to ten! I thought you wrote this down?”

Y/N began typing the information their best friend was giving into a new event. “You know I never actually write things down.” 

“Whatever, Y/N. You gotta be there,” Mina sighed tiredly.

“I’m trying, Mina.” Just then, a ding came through from Mina’s end of the phone. 

“Oh! I just got an RSVP back!” 

“Whose?” Y/N asked. 

“Oh my God! You’ll never believe it, Y/N!” 

“Just tell me who it was, Mina.” 

“It was Hannie! You remember? Yoon Jeonghan?” 

That name was not the one Y/N was expecting to hear. A flash of memories went through their head, one specifically standing out, the sound of his voice distinct in the memory.

You’re always going to say that you miss high school, Y/N. College is way more stressful: you have to make your own schedules as well as keeping a job, supporting yourself and doing things on your own. You move away from home and get all this weight on your shoulders. Everything is thrown at you in the matter of months. All I ask of you, darling, is that you do your best now, to get a head start on the best future you could have.

The only thing Y/N thought was being thrown at them at this point in their life was being forced to see Yoon Jeonghan again. It wasn’t that the two didn’t get along - no, it was far from that. It was just that Y/N is, understandably in their words, slightly upset with the man. 

As best friends, Y/N supported Jeonghan through everything, and now that he’s socially higher up than them, it hurts a bit; knowing that he basically forgot about them. Of course, Y/N could never be upset with their best friend. The two of them have been through way too much, Y/N just wishes that he tried a bit harder to keep them around. Or maybe Y/N was upset with themselves, that they didn’t try harder to keep Jeonghan around. 

The amount of messages that could have been sent or calls that could have been made over the past fifteen years, or even the amount of likes, and retweets depending on the app, that could have been shared between the two of you were forgotten as Jeonghan gained more followers and began leaving home more for his modeling. The idea of seeing him once again hit Y/N like a freight train.

y/n: are you sure yoon jeonghan is going to be there? 

Y/N was worried. They somehow managed to take the time off for the reunion, but it was a dreaded task, especially since Mina told them about the appearance Jeonghan would be making. Trying to mentally prepare themselves for seeing the man that forgot about his best friend was hard…how does someone prepare for that?

mina: yes, y/n. i’m sure he’s going to be there! and guess whattttt

y/n: what 

mina: he *didn’t* reserve a spot for a plus one

y/n: okay? what does this have to do with me? 

mina: you cannot tell me that one of the reasons why you were so heartbroken about hannie not talking to you was because you weren’t in love with the guy 

y/n: i wasn’t in love with the guy, he was just my best friend, Mina. i know it’s going to hurt when i see him again.

mina: yeah, yeah. just get your feelings sorted out and make sure not to make a scene at this event that your best friend (aka me, not hannie) has worked so hard on <3 

y/n: if all you’re worried about is whether or not i’m going to be there…chill. i’ll be there. just don’t expect me to agree to talk to jeonghan so suddenly. i’ll probably hang with joshua while you’re busy. 

mina: joshua hong? since when did you talk to him? 

y/n: i…talked to him enough to want to see him after fifteen years. 

mina: didn’t he have a thing for you? why do i have distinct memories of hannie trying to fight him?

y/n: nOTHING HAPPENED. 

y/n: the end. i’m going to bed now 

mina: y/n come back

mina: …y/n? mina: damn you, y/n.

Knowing that Mina was the one who put all of this together was the only thing that kept Y/N from staying home and opening their laptop once again. Though, that didn’t stop Y/N from having a plethora of excuses they wish they could use in order to stay home. 

First, the almost two hour drive to the venue from Y/N’s apartment. Of course, this would mean nothing to Mina as they were carpooling. Second, the lack of formal-enough but also casual-enough clothes to wear. Though, once again this would be no issue for Mina, as she always has something up her sleeve. Lastly, the biggest excuse of them all: Yoon Jeonghan. Was Y/N really ready to see their dreaded best friend after so long? No. Was he still deserving of the best friend title? According to Y/N, yes. According to Mina, no. 

That’s just something Mina has to get over. 

Mina, being the best friend she was, helped Y/N pick out the perfect outfit: something that proves that they had a good job and did not peak in high school, as well as making sure that same outfit wasn’t too eccentric for such an event. Being the perfect fashion designer she was, Mina did not fail to pick out the best outfit that not only looked amazing on Y/N, but also one that was perfect for all of the activities she and the rest of the reunion board had chosen for the event. 

“He’s gonna think you look great, Y/N.”

Y/N picked up the shirt that was laying on the bed closest to them and threw it across the room at Mina. It flew and missed Mina completely. “I am not dressing up for him! I don’t care what he thinks!” 

Mina laughed. “Okay well, hurry up and clean up because we have to get going.” 

“I didn’t even make the mess, you’re the one who took all my clothes off their hangers,” Y/N frowned. “It’s whatever I’ll just pick up when I get back.”

“I didn’t think you’d get so busy that we would rarely be able to meet, Y/N.” 

Y/N looked over to Joshua as he said this, a small smile on their face. “Trust me, I wasn’t expecting it either. And don’t tell Mina this but I’m happy she went through the work to set this up. I’m excited to see everyone again.” 

Joshua chuckled a bit. “Have you seen Seungcheol lately?” 

“I saw him a couple months ago at this cafe I go to a lot but I haven’t seen him since.” Y/N replied, tapping the transparent plastic cup they were holding. 

“I heard he’s been hanging out a lot with,” Joshua paused. “…Nevermind.” 

“Jeonghan? That wouldn’t surprise me. They were always close, weren’t they?”

“Heh, yeah. They were. I mean, before uh, he left.” 

Y/N looked over at their friend, “You know you can say his name. It’s not like he’s Voldemort or something.” 

“I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I mean, having someone you’re that in love with leave so sudden-”

“Why does everyone think I was in love with Jeonghan!”

“Probably because you were,” someone wrapped their arms around Y/N’s shoulders. “Even if you didn’t see it, everyone else did.” 

Joshua smiled. “Hey Cheol, we were just talking about you!” 

The man, Seungcheol, grinned and blushed a bit. “Hey, Shua. It’s nice to see you.” Seungcheol looked over at Y/N. “By the way, if you want to talk to him, he’s over there with Jimin and Taehyung. Says he was hoping to be able to talk to you tonight.”

*************

He looked exactly like he did in his Instagram post Mina had sent Y/N this morning. His natural hair covered by a yellow bucket hat, and the baggy jacket he was wearing hanging off his shoulders like he was in a photoshoot and not at a high school reunion. 

Y/N didn’t dare to step towards the man, scared of any type of confrontation that may have been about fifteen years too late. It was only when they heard Park Jimin call their name from where he stood next to Jeonghan and Taehyung that they dared to make eye contact with any of the three. 

Jimin motioned for Y/N to cross the room towards their three classmates, and Y/N had no choice other than to walk towards them (especially since Joshua and Seungcheol were watching this whole encounter from next to Y/N, daring to give them a little push on the back to get them to start walking). 

“Hi, Y/N! It’s so nice to see you!” Jimin gave Y/N an eye-smile while Taehyung waved. Jeonghan just stood there, not knowing what to say. 

“Hey!” Y/N was breathless. They weren’t sure whether it was because of the lack of space in the room for normal movement or the fear of being this close to Jeonghan. 

Y/N looked over to Jeonghan and shot him a quick smile, hoping that it was so fast he wouldn’t have even noticed it. 

Sadly he did. Jimin and Taehyung also must have noticed it, as they quickly made basic conversation before they awkwardly excused themselves to go find someone who they refused to name. 

That just left Y/N with Jeeonghan. 

Jeonghan coughed. “Um. Hey, Y/N.” 

“Hey.” 

The two stood there for a few seconds in awkward silence. 

“Look, I’m really sorry, Y/N,” Jeonghan set the cup he was holding down onto the snack table they stood next to. “I didn’t mean to basically ghost you. I just wasn’t expecting to get so busy so quickly and then…yeah.” 

“It’s whatever. I mean, I guess I’m kind of over it? Mina is definitely not but, yeah I just…don’t think it’s that big of a deal? I mean, it's been how long?”

Jeonghan nodded. “Well, I mean, we were best friends and I still lo- like your company just as much as I did then.” 

“Thank you for your apology, then. I never really stopped considering you my best friend, you know.” 

Jeonghan smiled. “Then I guess it’s time to finally go pull more pranks on Joshua and Seungcheol?” 

“If you break anything, Mina will be so pissed at you.”

It didn’t take long for Jeonghan to tell Y/N, as well as Joshua, Seungcheol and Mina that he got a contract closer to home. Of course, he was going to miss all the traveling, but he knew it would be good for Y/N and his friendship that he stayed. 

Otherwise, Jeonghan thought, how is he going to get Y/N to finally admit to their feelings for him? He clearly remembered overhearing the conversation Y/N and Seungcheol had the night of the reunion. 

“You did like him though, didn’t you?” Seungcheol questioned Y/N as he was filling up their cup. “I mean, everyone could tell back in high school that your friendship wasn’t just a friendship.” 

“I mean, yeah. I did like him back in high school but…it’s been years. He’s got more things to worry about now, like his career, rather than worrying about his best friend falling in love with him.” Y/N took a sip out of their freshly refilled cup. 

“I bet you anything, that if you walked up to him and told him you were still in love with him, he would drop everything for you. He regrets his decision to leave because of what it did to you guys.” 

“Seungcheol, I don’t know. I mean, today is the first time I’ve seen him since graduation…I don’t want to ruin anything else.” 

“So you admit to it? That you’re still in love with him?”

Y/N thought for a bit. “Of course. How could I not be?”

[honey-baby-blossom]

Nocturnal Animals - bruce wayne

part one | part two | part three

summary | Bruce and Dottie swim in the aftermath of their first meeting

warnings | hospitals, mentions of death, cops

word count | 2.5k

notes | this is the new and improved version, the only scene I kept is the first with dot and lainey, everything else is new and all the old stuff is out !!

The world felt blurry and white as Dottie started to wake up. Her entire body felt heavier than stone and numb to her calls for movement, but she willed her eyes open and turned her head slightly to look over at the person sitting in the chair next to her bed. Dark auburn hair tied into a bun messily but far from stylish. She had bags under her eyes and a small bit of drool peeking out of the corner of her mouth, but in her sleeping state, Dottie still recognized how absolutely pretty her younger sister was.

"Lainey?" she whispered, her voice hoarse and weak, but still there. She watched her sister's eyes flutter open quickly and stare back at her. For a moment, they just looked at each other, basking in the mutual consciousness. There was a note of fear in the younger girl's eyes that made Dottie's stomach churn, but it quickly turned to comforting relief. Suddenly, Elaine sprang into action. Dottie let her eyes fall closed for a brief moment, letting her mind wake up fully.

"Sure took you long enough, Dot," Elaine chuckled, her voice filled with exhaustion. Dottie ignored her and tried to sit up in the awkward hospital bed. Warm hands flew to her shoulders to keep her down firmly, Elaine's disapproving mutter filling the silence.

"How long was I out?" Dottie asked, frowning up at her sister in the bright lights of the room. Elaine turned one of the switches on the wall off, dimming the lights in the room by half, before sitting back down in the chair next to the bed.

"Two days. They called me when you were dropped off," she answered, tugging out her bun tiredly. Her hair was matted and desperate for a shower, she's been away from home this whole time, Dottie guessed. She frowned and tried her best to recall how she'd gotten here and how long ago it was. "I'm still trying to get in touch with the insurance company to see if being assaulted by a maniac pretending to be another maniac is covered, but no dice, yet."

Dottie let out a soft sigh and let her head tilt back against the soft pillow, eyes fluttering closed in exasperation. Elaine was always taking care of her despite being two years younger. Dottie remembered having to drive her to school every day and now that same kid was taking calls with insurance companies just so she wouldn't have to.

"I don't want you worrying about that, Lainey. Let me take care of it," Dottie mumbled, staring up at the ceiling. Her sister let out a scoff and patted her on the hand.

"Don't even start. I couldn't be prouder to be your little sister right now," Elaine laughed, smiling gently at the girl next to her. Dottie turned to look at her with a frown, lips pulled down in a confused pout. "You survived a Joker copycat and got saved by Batman. Just like Dad always said: you're the luckiest girl alive, Dot."

The older girl's eyes darted away quickly, her head shaking slightly.

"I'm not sure if being held hostage like that can be considered 'luck'. Dad only called me lucky to get me to come along on his poker nights. If I was actually lucky then he'd still be here," Dottie said softly, picking at the IV taped to the back of her hand. Elaine let out a nervous chuckle, readjusting in the seat.

"Classic Dottie. Bringing down the mood," she sighed, smoothing her sweatshirt down across her stomach.

"You gotta be known for something, right?" the older girl mumbled, hands searching around the bed for the remote control that would tilt the bed up higher. Elaine tossed it into her lap quickly, already anticipating her needs.

"Don't you have a million questions waiting to be answered?" she asked, tiredly. Dottie looked over at her while her torso was raised higher up on the bed.

"Yeah, how's Mickey?" Dottie asked quickly, trying to blink the tiredness out of her eyes. Elaine paused, tightening her lips into a straight line.

"He's good, staying over at a friend's house. I didn't have the heart to tell him. You know how worried he gets," she answered, letting her face soften at the mention of her nephew/foster son.

"You could have brought him with you. So, I could see him," Dottie said softly, her eyes giving away the motherly desperation she tried holding back.

"I considered it," Elaine nodded slowly, "But I think it would be best for him to only see you when you're at your best until we get everything sorted. The state can use anything to keep proving you're not fit."

Dottie felt her throat tighten slightly as she looked down at the messy stitching around her thin wrists and the dark bruises that bled up her arms. It would scare him to see her like this.

"Yeah. You're right," she admitted quietly, clearing her throat. Elaine took a deep breath and reached for her phone, tapping and swiping quickly until she found a picture of the young boy and held it out for her sister.

"He's starting to look more and more like you, though. His hair is getting curly like yours," she said, her voice gentle and soothing. Dottie blinked back tears and took the phone, holding the screen close to her face to examine every detail.

She was right, his hair was curly and dark. Not auburn like the rest of the family, just dark like Dottie's. His whole body looked so tiny and thin, even though he stood a head taller than the rest of his friends in the photo. He had his dad's dimples, though, and his eyebrows. But those eyes looked like they'd been plucked right from Dottie's head. Bright, brown eyes.

"Send me this one. Please," Dottie whispered shakily, handing back the phone. She swallowed in an attempt to force the lump down from her throat and blinked her tears away quickly. Elaine opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, her face pulled together in a concerned frown. The older girl shook her head and gave an unconvincing smile. "Only at my best, right?"

- ✦ - ✦ - ✦ - ✦ - ✦ -

Bruce’s hands were cold as he tightened the laces on the black combat boots, the knuckles still bruised from the night before. He tucked the ends of the laces underneath the straps and flexed his foot to see how it felt. Tight enough, but they’ll loosen by the end of the night. Bruce shook his head and leaned back down, pulling the strands loose again.

Footsteps echoed through the dark garage, the light clicks of fancy shoes on the concrete. Alfred appeared out of the shadows, his hands tucked formally behind his back.

“Leaving for the night, Master Bruce?” he asked, his chipper accent a light contrast to the worry and exhaustion in his voice. Bruce didn’t look up from his shoes and nodded slightly.

“Need to meet with Gordon. He sent me a message late last night,” he answered, wincing slightly at the squeeze around his foot. He rolled his ankle and leaned back. Too tight this time. Should have kept them like they were. He sighed and went to lean back down before Alfred beat him to the punch. “Alfred, don’t-“

“Nonsense,” he said, waving him off. He rested on his left knee as he elegantly pulled the laces apart then twisted them back together on the boot. Bruce hated how perfect and efficiently he tied them back together, knowing the young man’s feet better than he knew his own. He finished them and pulled the strap across before patting the side of Bruce’s foot and standing up again.

“Makes me feel like a child when you do things like that,” Bruce grumbled. Alfred smiled slightly and reached over to ruffle Bruce’s messy hair.

“Thought you’d be used to it by now,” he said, tucking his hands back into his pockets. Bruce stood in his suit, the boots and his above average height making him tower above the older man. Alfred still smiled up at him warmly, his light eyes crinkling at the sides with age. Bruce’s frown deepened as he moved to the table to retrieve his gloves.

“I hated it then too. Only difference is now I could really stop you if I wanted,” he said, pulling the armored gloves over his chilled hands. Alfred let out a hearty chuckle and shook his head.

“I’d love to see you try, Master Bruce,” he laughed, turning back towards the door he came from. Bruce glared in his direction and picked up the closest thing he could find (a monogrammed pen) and threw it at the man. Without turning, Alfred caught it quickly and tucked it into his pocket with another chuckle.

Bruce smiled slightly, watching the door close behind him fully before sliding the cowl over his face.

- ✦ - ✦ - ✦ - ✦ - ✦ -

The air whistled in Jim Gordon’s ears as he hugged his coat tighter around his chest. He turned on the beam of light nearly an hour ago, but knowing Batman (if he could even say that), it would be nearly another until he arrived. Gotham winters were harsh and unyielding, a tradition that Jim was never fond of. Barbara once tried to convince him to pack the family up for a vacation in Florida for Christmas, but even she knew it would be chaos to try and pry Jim from his desk. But the idea always stuck with him. Little Barb building sandcastles around her brother while he and his wife drank daiquiris; it sounded like paradise. Instead, Jim stood here, on top of the GCPD, waiting for a vigilante dressed as a bat to meet him for conversation.

In a quick flutter of his cape and the thud of boots hitting metal, Jim was met by the Bat. The dark silhouette of the hulking figure relieving to the man as it meant he could finally step inside.

“Took you long enough,” Jim grumbled, shoving the door open and letting it swing wide enough for his partner. Batman stayed quiet, but Jim felt his amusement at watching him shiver and huff hot air into his hands.

“I’ll bring you some mittens next time,” he said as the door closed behind him. Jim shot him a quick glare and started down the stairs.

The GCPD was half empty this time at night, leaving it open for Jim and his masked partner to work on cases without half the uniformed officers staring and trying to mingle with the guy covered in armor. Plus, since everything over Halloween, Jim finally got his promotion: detective with an office after six years of just detective with a desk.

“Anything new on the copycat?” Batman asked, his voice low and monotone. Jim sighed and sat down at his desk, shoving a few stacks of paper out of the way.

“Bradley Wheeler. Used to work at Ace until he got fired about a month ago. We’re looking through his apartment tomorrow morning. Judge was slow to approve the warrant. Speaking of, did you get a chance to get everything you wanted from Riddler’s apartment? Or what’s left of it at least?” Gordon answered, tilting his head up to look at the masked man.

“I tried to. Most of it was damaged from the flood. Anything that could be salvaged I took for my files,” Batman said, looking over the board of ongoing cases on Jim’s wall. The older man chuckled softly, causing the Bat to peer at him over his shoulder.

“What files, man? You think you’ll need those later?” he asked, a smile playing behind his thick, dark mustache.

“If he pops up again, yes. Or someone like him,” Batman answered matter-of-factly. “Sometimes I like looking back for things I may have missed. Maybe the kids will ask about it one day.”

“You’ve got kids?” Jim raised his eyebrows quickly. Batman showed a small smile and shook his head.

“No. Thought you knew me better than that,” he said, the amusement still playing at his lips. Jim rolled his eyes and set down another stack of papers in front of him.

“Playing it fast and loose with the definition of ‘knowing’, I see,” Gordon joked, flipping through file tabs until he found the one he needed and slid it across the desk. Batman picked it up and flipped through the pages, making sure to scan the pages thoroughly for his video files.

“He wasn’t alone,” he said coolly, his expression hardening.

“Looks that way. Whatever he used as the poison though, he made that himself, so he can’t be too close to Joker.”

The Bat stared at the mugshot of the man, his jaw clenched. He wasn’t Joker- that was absolutely for sure. But he had that same look in his eye, a knowing confidence in himself. No matter how sure Batman was, that look of confidence still sent a shock down his spine.

“Why the diner?” he asked, flipping to the next page in the file.

“Not clear, yet. But it might have something to do with the girl,” Gordon answered, leaning across his desk to grab another file and hand it up to the vigilante. Batman tossed the first file aside and took the new one quickly.

Dorothy Michelle Murphy. Born November 1st, 1989. Parents: William Murphy, deceased & Suzanne Murphy, unknown whereabouts. Partner: Oliver Rivera, deceased. One son, Michael Rivera-Murphy, in custody of aunt, Elaine Gilbert (née Murphy).

The picture wasn’t a mugshot like he was used to seeing in files like these. It looked like a family photo with the rest of the members cropped out, but Batman could still see the masculine arm draped across her shoulders. How wide her smile looked, how bright her eyes were. Something in his stomach hardened as he flipped it shut.

“You think there’s a connection?” Batman asked, his voice steady and cold. Gordon always likened it to talking with a statue, all stone and concrete.

“Her husband was killed in the drama leading up to the Maroni bust. It’s not a huge link, but if she’s gotten in with that side of things, I wouldn’t call it all a coincidence.”

Batman nodded slowly, the knot in his stomach growing denser by the second.

“Let me look into her, see if there’s something there. You stay focused on Wheeler,” he commanded. Gordon scoffed lightly and reached back into the box of files.

“I’ll pretend you didn’t just…” He trailed off, sitting back up straight to find the room empty. “I’m getting damn tired of this.”

[philosophicalparadox]

I wanted to ask a question, usually you know a lot of information. If you don't know, you can ignore. Landsknechts did not have one leg covered and in one post I read that "it was so pike drills could be carried out with greater dexterity." How is this related? Can I have more details? Thank you in advance <3<3

To put it simply: because clothes get in the way of movement.

There are actually two parts to this answer - one a matter of comfort and the other a matter of practicality.

You have to remember that the types of textiles available in the 16th and 17th centuries, while more expansive than before, were still basically linen. This was especially true of fighting attire, because linen is tough and durable and actually quite sword-proof if you weave it right. It also takes up dyes better than cotton, which had its uses, but was not the most common crop at the time courtesy the fact only Spain was producing it in any measurable quantity because they could use New World species with higher yields right at home and abroad and were the first to discover them.

Point is, while linen is fairly flexible, it’s a lot stiffer than cotton. Think pure polyester fabric but a little bit softer, or like a course denim weave. It has very little elasticity, which makes it very sturdy stuff, but not always the most comfortable material to do intense, fast physical labor in, because it chaffes.

In fact, chaffing was a pretty big problem for military attire, to such a degree that all sorts of remedies and solutions were tried, with talc (powdered gypsum or marble) or straight up chalk being the most common. But it doesn’t take long to note that talc becomes almost useless once it’s wet, and whether doing drills or battle, you’re gonna sweat.

So, one way around that was just, not to put fabric around the joints. Problem with that is that joints are vulnerable in battle, and every man fighting you has been trained from the ages of six to eight to specifically target your joints with deadly accuracy.

But, 99% of the time you’re not going to be in battle, but you ARE going to be doing drills. Lots and lots and lots and lots of drills. Every day, up to five times a day and maybe once in the middle of the night. As a mercenary you live, breathe, eat and sleep war as your profession. It was not just a job, it was their LIFE. All the more so for Landsknecht, who had been doing war and killing as their primary profession for anywhere from thirty to forty years, being mostly retired knights.

Point is, when you start out as a Page, age ten, up through your Squire years as a tween, you’ve got no choice but to wear full attire when you train, because you’ve got to get used to it. The chaffing, the sweating, the awkward way fabric buckles around the knees when you crouch, the irritation of the neck seam soaked in salty, itchy sweat; you just gotta power through it and let your skin adapt.

But when you’ve been doing daily drills in those clothes for forty years, at some point you just go “you know, I’m not as agile as I used to be, and that’s more important right now” and just ditch the clothes that are in your way unless you really need them in favor of moving more comfortably and therefore more confidently. Yes, they’d been drilling for forty years, but they were not immune to aging and it was easy to feel like they were losing condition since there was a huge bias against age related deterioration, so if anything those forty, fifty, sometimes sixty year old men did more drills and more intense work than when they were twenty and just entering knighthood. They had to, or their bodies would cripple.

After all it wasn’t like they weren’t accustomed to the clothing being in their way, so if they needed it it wasn’t going to be a hurdle.

But, also, oddly, the clothing was not always seen as necessary. There are trade offs in battle; either you’re wearing very little and have greater dexterity, or you’re wearing a lot and can tank a hit.

Landsknecht had an advantage in this trade off - they were pikemen and lancemen. Pikes, in case you don’t know, are about twenty feet/five meters long - pleeeeenty long enough to keep your enemy safely away from your tender bits if you know what you are doing. Situated in front of these pikes in formation there were lances, which are about ten feet /three meters long, also plenty long enough, and sufficient to cover the distance between pikeman and spearhead in case anyone did come that close.

And they definitely knew their stuff. All knights were trained to a spear-like weapon, regardless of their preferred speciality, at some point in their training, because spears, pikes, estocs and halberds all are A) really really common, and often something that can be reached for if all else fails and B) extremely good at keeping a guy with a sword or bludgeon far enough away from you that he can’t kill you, while also giving you a literal edge. Plus spears specifically (which are four to six feet long) require the least amount of specified training.

Pikes are a little more unwieldy, as are lances, and require a lot of dexterity and stamina to use. So Landsknecht were never going to be able to wear heavy armor or clothing anyway, and, being specialists with sufficient confidence in their ability not to get in range of an opponent, having been doing this type of stuff for decades, some just decided to forego some of the stiff fabric in favor of being just that much more able to move quickly to or fro; after all, the better part of the dexterity needed to use a pike or lance was in the legs, since thrusting with those weapons uses the entire body.

Hope that answers your question!

[library-seraph]

Higher than the Stars playlist

This is subject to be updated as I find new songs (It probably needs more metal)

Liner notes below the cut like it's 2013

Cobra Tattoo- The Mountain Goats (Where the title comes from)

Higher than the stars I will set my throne God does not need Abraham, God can raise children from stones

Dream at night Girl with the cobra tattoo And try to hear The garbled transmissions coming through

Isis Unveiled- And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead

I have made you in my likeness and I have made you The keeper of my garden world As you honor me in kind, I'll be grateful but be warned for

I am a jealous God Give me daughters, send me sons, I'll make them all chosen ones

I'll send them out to die To meet the angels of death With no fears, no regrets

Wayward Daughter- Brown Bird

Cast not your stone at the wayward daughter Lay down the gavel and the robe If not for the lure of darker water No salvation we would know

For every saint, a wild marauder And a beast in wait for heroes tall

America- Sufjan Stevens

I have loved you, I have grieved I'm ashamed to admit I no longer believe I have loved you, I received I have traded my life for a picture of the scenery

I have loved you like a dream I have kissed your lips like a Judas in heat I have worshipped, I believed I have broke your bread for a splendor of machinery

Woman King- Iron and Wine

Hundred years, hundred more Someday we may see a Woman king, sword in hand Swing at some evil and bleed

Hundred years, hundred more Someday we may see a Woman king, bloodshot eye Thumb down and starting to weep

Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)- Arcade Fire

Alexander, our older brother Set out for a great adventure He tore our images out of his pictures He scratched our names out of all his letters

Our mother should've just named you Laika…

It's for your own good It's for the neighborhood…

Cry for Judas - The Mountain Goats

Feel the storm every night, hope it passes by Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die

Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth Draw a white chalk Baphomet Mistreat your altar boys long enough And this is what you get

Ancient Names (Part 1)- Lord Huron

Far out past the astral plane I cast you back from whence you came Cosmic cache and blackened brain And call you by your ancient names

I gotta get away from here I gotta get away from her

Sapokonikan - Joanna Newsom (Not on Spotify, fyi)

Interred with other daughters, in dirt in other potters' fields above them, parades mark the passing of days through parks where pale colonnades arch in marble and steel,

where all of the twenty-thousand attending your foot fall and the cause that they died for are lost in the idling bird calls, and the records they left are cryptic at best, lost in obsolescence. The text will not yield, nor x-ray reveal with any fluorescence where the hand of the master begins and ends.

The Garden of Earthly Delights- Apocalypse Orchestra

Brought to life, in the image of God In this holy place Settled among the creatures odd Eve, dear girl, avert thy gaze Claims to love them all Her world below Minding not their fall A mirthful show

Hey Ho- Tracy Grammar

TV's on, the favorite son Is watchin' how the West was won Daddy, please, a plastic gun Get brother one for twice the fun

Hey ho, so it goes The point of sale, the puppet show The merchant kings of war and woe Have turned their hands to labor Sound out the trumpet noise The cannons bark and jump for joy Someone's dread and darlin' boy Has fallen on his saber

Mama- My Chemical Romance

Mama, we're all full of lies Mama, we're meant for the flies And right now, they're building a coffin your size Mama, we're all full of lies

Well, mother, what the war did to my legs and to my tongue You should've raised a baby girl, I should've been a better son If you could coddle the infection, they can amputate at once You should've been, I could have been a better son

Rainbow Signs- mewithoutyou

Pale horse songs of a slow decline Side show words if our moms don't mind:

God gave Noah the rainbow sign No more water, is the H-Bomb next time?

With imperial crowns we were sent, Riding out conquest-bent Daylight is breaking Wielding the sanctified sword For the army of the Scarecrow Lord

Breath of Life- Florence+ the Machine

I was looking for a breath of life For little touch of heavenly light But all the choirs in my head sang, "No, oh no, oh!"

To get a dream of life again A little vision of the start and the end But all the choirs in my head sang, "No, oh no, oh!"

A Demon's Fate- Within Temptation

What have you done? Is this what you wanted? What have you become? Your soul's now forsaken You're walking alone From heaven into hell

Angels have faith I don't want to be a part of this sin I don't want to get lost in this world I'm not playing this game

The Black- Dynazty

Revelation, devastation Opened up eyes blinded from the start I was the child born in the dark of your heart

Instigator, manipulator You baptized my life through burning pain Now I can never feel again

Out of silence comes defiance Risen to deny all that you are I'm the man forged in the fires of your war

Vindicator, a liberator I have come to set you free through pain You will be forced to feel again

O Superman- Laurie Anderson

Hello? This is your mother, are you there? Are you coming home?

And I said: okay, who is this really? And the voice said: This is the hand, the hand that takes This is the hand, the hand that takes This is the hand, the hand that takes

'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice And when justice is gone, there's always force And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!