#i just randomly remembered a friend I used to have when I was like 15

[f1uckinghell]

.

[kiefbowl]

this is a random thought I had in the shower actually well over a month ago, but I've been gnawing at it in my brain...and perhaps this is going to sound pathetic and a bit esoteric.

So, it suddenly dawned on me very randomly while I was showering that I have been paying for netflix for my own account since I was a freshman in college. Back in the dvd days, I remember having Firefly sent to me disk by disk my fall semester. This is 2009. It was an important part of college because I let my friends use it on their console and we'd all go to their dorm and watch streaming, and I passed out my log in to a ton of friends. I basically provided free Netflix to more or less 10 or so people over the course of four years for not even $7 a month I think.

What hit me though was that means, this year - that will be 15 years. That's what stopped me in my shower to stare off in the abyss for like 10 minutes and what's been on my mind for the past several weeks. I've been paying netflix for 15 years, which is the longest I've ever done anything. There is no other company I've so consistently paid for like this either, not for that many of years not even close. Quite possibly my longest relationship outside of my family and 2-3 other people. Netflix, the ever constant, of all forsaken things.

And what really bothers me about it is that, uhm, not to be an American consumer but like...I don't feel appreciated by netflix. For the past few years, I've barely used it, except for a few titles I've wanted to watch. I haven't passed out my log in since I changed it not long after college to keep an ex using it for free. I've remained loyal, despite the fact that I don't feel like some sort of loyal consumerist. I don't give a fuck about brands, I try to shop as little as possible, thrift what I can. And yet, what can I say? I actually am a loyal consumerist, to netflix that is.

What a shock to realize this, and what a shock to realize netflix does not acknowledge this, no email saying thanks, no surveys, no swag, no pizza party, no invite no perk no discount no nothing. Instead they raise prices, cut services, lose licenses, and cancel barely finished products. I'm 15 years loyal to this company for this?

And I think about the days of yore, but really not long ago. The preferred shopper's catalogues of department stores, the longtime shopper promotions of industry giants, the award systems for the loyal consumerists of chains and malls. The specialty Christmas items that are today vintage and worth money for their rarity. The thank yous, the special events. The mailers that say "Come to our store loyal customer and receive a free $20 coupon for that day!" And I'm not saying this is good, and of course it's all just marketing and advertisement, and I'm not saying this is the life I want to live...

But I am saying this would be easy for netflix to do, for someone like me. Someone who went from $7 to stream and receive DVDs, who got customers onboard when the model was new and the company was pioneering, to $20 to sit unused but for a month or two out of the year. It would be easy to pull the data. It would be easy to say which accounts have been opened the longest, to actually verify who has given 180 months worth of payments to them. It would be easy to give me a year's discount to say thank you. It would be easy for them to send an email to verify my address to send me merch. Do I want the merch? No, not really. But have they tried?

Have they even sent me an email saying "We appreciate your 15 years of support! We value you!" with little confetti animation? They didn't do it at 10 years. They didn't do it at 5 years. I don't recall ever receiving emails from netflix besides "Unfortunately, our payment model is changing."

As of today, I haven't pulled my account yet. I want to finish Bridgerton, even if this season is a snoozefest. But I think I will. I feel had and used, as pathetic as that sounds. Has Hulu done anything different? I can't remember when I signed up for them but it's been many years. No, but I frankly use it more, so I'm less angry. And with netflix...it's been fifteen years. They have really banked on us being passive in our payments, and accustomed to the freedom of endless choice, and it just feels gleeful that they never even once acknowledged I've been here this whole time. Actually, act like Sears and Bloomingdales 60 years ago, or we quit I think we should say. Ask me my address to send me a glass netflix mug or I'll fuck off, because who do you think you are to think so little of me, the only reason you exist for?

[danikamariewrites]

just finished fourth wing and desperate for some liam fics in my life😩

please may i request maybe some angst with a happy ending?

(p.s i literally devoured all your works in one night i’m obsessed with your writing<3)

Sunrise

Liam Mairi x reader

A/n: I decided to do more fluff than angst. I feel like I’ve written sm angst for Liam 😅 thank you sm I’m glad you like my fics🩷

Warnings: homesickness

Something you always did with your mom before coming to Basgiath was watch the sunrise on special occasions. Your birthdays, favorite holidays, or just because it was Wednesday. You were feeling a little homesick and your boyfriend noticed.

Liam had been trying for days to cheer you up. He was running out of ideas and nothing seemed to be working. So he turned to your friends. Liam begged them to wrack their brains for something that you might’ve mentioned from home.

And Violet, of course, remembered your sunrises. Liam knew that’s what he had to do. He was going to take you to a nice, scenic spot and you were going to watch the sunrise together. He hopes this would work. Liam would do anything to see you genuinely smile right now.

———

You slowly stirred as Liam gently shook you awake. “Baby, baby, wake up.” You jolted up, your hands flying to Liam’s shoulders in a bone crushing grip. “What! What’s happening?” You practically screamed. He covered your mouth with his hand as she shushed you.

“You’re gunna wake up the floor.” He laughed out. You lick his palm and he quickly takes his hand away, rubbing your saliva on his pants. Now you’re fully awake laughing at your goofy boyfriend. Looking at the small clock on your bedside table which read 5:15 am.

“Why did you wake me up?” Liam smiled up at you from his kneeling position on your floor. “I have a surprise for you, come on.” He scrambles up, opening your armoire and throwing your flight jacket at you. “Hurry. We don’t have a lot of time.” You shrugged, throwing the covers off your body.

Once your dressed, Liam leads you down to the flight field. Deigh sits in the middle of the field waiting. “Where’s Dalinda?” You give him a skeptical look. Liam takes your hand tugging you towards the dragon. He lets you on, which surprised you, dragons rarely let other people but their riders on them.

Liam climbs on behind you. He holds onto your waist, pulling you flush to his chest, leaving a kiss on your cheek. “Let’s go Deigh!” The dragon takes off, soaring across the forest to a clearing you’d never seen before.

Deigh landed just on the edge of the clearing. The river ran past in slow rushes. Wildflowers were randomly scattered among the grass. You spotted a blanket near the river bank and gave Liam another look. “Ok lover boy, what are you up to?”

Liam wraps his arm around you walking you to the little spot he set up. The sky is starting to get lighter with first of the suns rays you can’t see yet. “I know you’ve been homesick. Your friends told me that you used to watch the sun rise with your mom so…I thought we could watch it together.” His tone turned nervous at the end.

He scratched the back of his neck waiting for your response. Now that he was thinking about it, he wasn’t sure if this would help or make your mood worse. All you could do was stare at the horizon. You slowly turned to Liam, throwing your arms around his torso.

“Thank you.” You whispered into his chest. Liam hugged you back tighter. “Of course, baby.” When you let go of him, Liam sits you on his lap on the blanket, holding you close.

The two of you sat there in a comfortable silence just enjoying each other’s company. As the sun rose you rested your head on Liam’s shoulder. “I love you,” he whispered into your hair, pressing his lips into the back of your head. “I love you too Li.”

[tryingtodotheright-thing]

Hello, Sunset - 1

AN: So, the inspiration randomly came to me. I've never written with an unnamed character before and I haven't written fanfic since 2017. Bear with me and I appreciate all feedback. Not sure how long this is going to be but it will be multi-part.

Pairing: Seungcheol x fem!reader

Genre: exes to lovers, idol verse, angst

Word Count: 1733

Warnings: reader has anxiety and depression, swearing

NEXT

Summer was coming to an end. This week was the season’s last gift; it was unusually warm, endless blue skies that you saw in paintings and sunsets that seemed to last all evening. Y/N had chosen to make the most of it, knowing this was her last moment to enjoy a little break in nature before life got busy again. She was always regretful when it got to the end of summer, wishing she’d spent more time outdoors, made the most of the good weather and just lived life a bit more fervently as she once used to. She didn’t quite know how to relax anymore. Even now, as she walked along the streets of London, she couldn’t quite slow down to a leisurely pace to admire the eclectic collection of shops that graced this particular street, hidden behind the famous streets of St James’s. Y/N called it being a Londoner, that you walked with purpose, always in a race to get to your next destination. Who had time to admire their surroundings when you had places to be? You definitely didn’t want to look like a tourist. 

Y/N had arrived early, one for the books since there were train strikes this weekend and she’d had to get a taxi to Wimbledon so she could take the District Line. She now had 30 minutes to waste before she could head to the restaurant, knowing that her perpetually late best friend wouldn’t arrive till at least 15 minutes after the reservation time. The sun was burning this afternoon and she knew that continuing to walk around without finding a spot of shade would just make things worse. She was parched and she’d forgotten to grab the bottle of water she’d prepared in her rush to check her doors were locked as the taxi waited for her. There was no choice but to fork up a fiver for a very expensive bottle of water in order to survive the heat. Making a swift decision, she turned around to head back to the main road. Walking briskly to escape the glares of the blazing star at its peak, she swiftly walked into Itsu. The air-conditioning inside the store gave her instant relief and she basked in it as she selected a bottle of water. After paying at the self-checkout till, she immediately opened the bottle to take a big gulp of the cold drink. Her thirst satisfied, Y/N walked out of the store and back into the heat of the summer. 

As she walked back towards the restaurant, Y/N tried to slow her steps, observing those around her. It was the summer bank holiday weekend, so it was the last hooray for many of the working population in the UK. There was a mix of tourists and locals: parents with their little ones for a family day out, young couples walking with their fingers intertwined  and rowdy teenagers in denial of schools restarting the next week. Time passed so quickly. She could remember being a teenager like it was yesterday but here she was in her last year of 20s, so different from her younger self when she was at the cusp of adulthood. So much had happened, so much had changed and yet sometimes she still felt a little like the insecure young woman who didn’t quite know where she fit in the vast world. Whoever said that with age comes wisdom was telling the biggest lie on earth. 

Lost in her thoughts, Y/N had arrived at the Japanese restaurant she was set to have her lunch at. The hostess greeted her and took her down the stairs and to the private room reserved. She looked around as she took her handbag off her shoulder and settled into her seat. The room was big enough to seat six people but it would be just Y/N and her friend, Rachel. She’d been at the restaurant exactly two years ago. That time, she’d been seated in the general restaurant then when Rachel had taken her out to celebrate Y/N’s new job. Y/N was no longer working at that company. In fact, Y/N had left the corporate world 15 months ago after suddenly landing in the spotlight. Speaking of said spotlight, the hostess had returned with chilled still water. She poured some water for Y/N before placing the bottle on a coaster. She hesitated to leave after Y/N thanked, struggling to decide whether to verbalise her thoughts or not. Taking a deep breath, she brought forward a framed picture. 

“Sorry to ask but would you mind please signing this picture? We’d love to display this in the restaurant.”

Y/N smiled and reached for the pen and frame, quickly writing out a message and a signature that still seemed unfamiliar to her. Returning the items back to the hostess, Y/N reassured the hostess it was no problem and posed for a photo too. Picture taken, the hostess thanked her again profusely before closing the door behind her, leaving Y/N to silence. 

Y/N sat back down in her chair and took her phone to check whether she had any messages from Rachel. Sure enough, there were three unread messages from Rachel. Yan Ya, called by all but her parents and grandparents as Rachel, was running late to no one’s surprise. Rachel was beautiful and graceful as her parents had hoped when they named her but her trouble with punctuality was a running joke between everyone who knew and loved her. 

After texting Rachel back to reassure her that she’d only just arrived, Y/N scrolled through the other notifications on her phone, mostly notifications from her public Instagram account that she swiped to ignore. She came across a message from her manager that she had received about an hour ago, asking Y/N to call her. Y/N was immediately nervous about what Sian would have to say. The urgency and the cryptic instruction with no context also didn’t help. Biting the bullet, Y/N pressed the call button at the top of the screen. Sian picked up on the second ring and immediately said, “Are you alone?”

The nerves that filled her stomach had now tripled and she could almost hear the padams of her heart go faster. 

“Yes, I’m in a private room at Ginza. What’s wrong?”

“Have you seen Twitter today? You’re trending right now.” Y/N could trace the panic hidden in Sian’s voice. “Dispatch posted a picture of you with him.”

Suddenly, Y/N could barely hear Sian as she continued talking. Her breaths were louder and she felt her anxiety soar as her throat dried up. 

“I can’t tell when it was taken but it’s so obviously the two of you. HYBE has put out a statement already denying a relationship and saying it was just two friends meeting for a meal. But Dispatch has made another post saying they have more pictures to prove that you’re in a relationship.”

Y/N took the glass of water the hostess had kindly poured for her earlier and took a sip, her hand clutching the cold glass and trying to focus on the condensation that surrounded the glass and counting in her head as she took a deep breath.

“Y/N, we need to put out a statement before HYBE to steer the narrative and protect you. You need to cancel whatever plans you have and head to my office. I’m ordering a car to pick you up from Ginza. It should be there in 5 minutes.”

Receiving no reply, Sian called out, “Y/N, are you there? Y/N?”

“Hmmm?”

Hearing the rushed breath and the breaking voice, Sian immediately softened her voice. “Honey, we can get this under control. It won’t be bad like last time. Okay? Trust in me and the company to protect you.”

“I don’t want things to get worse!” 

“It won’t, I promise. I’ve got you, okay? Take a deep breath for me, hun. That’s it. It’ll all be fine. We just need a plan, okay?”

Y/N meekly responded, nodding to no one as she tried to hold the tears back. The door behind her opened without a warning. Y/N flipped to find Rachel behind her with a bouquet of pink peonies. Rachel’s smile and cheery greeting grew to a stop as she noticed the crushed expression on Y/N’s face and the frazzled greetings from Sian as she tried to catch her attention again. Rushing into the room, Rachel wrapped one arm around Y/N and took Y/N’s phone from her tight clasp. 

“Sian, it’s Rachel. I'm with Y/N. What’s going on?”

“Oh, thank God! Rachel, there isn’t much time to explain. There’s a car outside Ginza waiting; it’ll take you to my office. I’ll explain everything once you get here. Look after Y/N and make sure no one sees her or definitely no pictures in the state she’s in. I’ll call the restaurant right now to settle the bill.”

Rachel, understanding the urgency of the situation, ended the call with Sian and quickly gathered their belongings. Making sure she’d taken everything, she turned to Y/N, who was still in shock. 

Rachel brushed Y/N’s hair away from her face and grasped her face to look at Rachel. 

“Hey, whatever it is, we’ll get through it together. Where’s my strong, independent and resilient Y/N?” 

“I don’t feel like any of those words right now.”

“No no no! We don’t do low confidence in this friendship when I know how amazing my friend is.” Y/N let out a shaken breath that was a mixture of laughter and tears.

Rachel quickly dabbed away the tears that fell and said, “Keep calm and carry on, as Mr Parry would say right?” 

This time, Y/N smiled hearing the favourite saying of her old biology teacher. Feeling better, she rubbed her hands on her skirt and stood up. 

“Right. Okay, let’s go.”

“That’s my girl!” Rachel cheered and looped her arm through Y/N’s. Pausing before the door, she turned to her left to look at her shorter friend and said, “And fuck anybody that tried to mess with you, especially one S.Coups!” 

With that said, Rachel opened the door and led the way out of the restaurant. 

[wutheringskies]

Re-reading MDZS: CH 11 - 16

I'm rereading MDZS with my friend @zenenini out loud (with voice acting, it's so fun!) and here are some of our observations:

1. Wei Wuxian is such a gaslighting girlboss. The narrative is written interestingly, where firstly, we see the actions and the dialogues and only afterwards are we exposed to Wei Wuxian's thoughts - such as him sneaking out from behind "Lan Wangji's area of protection" to get whipped by Jiang Cheng in a way that he'll only crash into Lil Apple and prove that he's not possessed this body.

2. Lan Wangji's Wangji is stronger than Jiang Cheng's Zidian. The line went like, "the former waned, the latter waxed." And Wangji produces ripples of energy like a wave, and brightens up the night sky to look like it's daytime.

3. Even if Wei Wuxian is the ultimate evil overlord patriarch, the public cannot deny his talents, his looks and his charming personality. I found it extremely funny that they didn't comment on the increduility of the charming, 4th ranked Yiling Laozu possessing the body of a cutsleeve because Jiang Cheng, who was ranked 5th, was there and they didn't want to anger him by complimenting wei wuxian.

4. Sizhui is such a wangxian child - like he's got the manners of Lan Wangji and the wits of Wei Wuxian. Sizhui is a REAL mediator, not Lan Xichen.

5. Lan Wangji probably thought Wei Wuxian played Wangxian or came under his "protection" willingly because he'd have remembered the past.

6. Wei Wuxian calculated everything perfectly down to the last detail of how to get away from Jiang Cheng etc, but did NOT expect Lan Wangji's personality change and has stated twice he believes him to be possessed instead.

7. On the matter of Jiang Cheng, like I said - Wei Wuxian previously never compared Jiang Cheng to anybody, even encouraging his natural talents. He knew Jiang Cheng hated comparison the most, yet throughout the narrative in present time, he compares Jiang Cheng with Lan Wangji relentlessly.

8. Wei Wuxian has not experienced a single positive emotion upon seeing Jiang Cheng well, etc, only disbelief that his hatred was still strong. Jiang Cheng has only felt disgust towards Mo Xuanyu being gay, and anger, hatred and a desire to torture Wei Wuxian.

9. Wei Wuxian is such a Lan, like I'm always shocked by just how much Lan stuff he explains - the origins behind the name Cloud Recesses, the discipline wall, the manner of the disciples, etc.

10. Lan Wangji: Let him cry. When he is done, drag him inside. (fuck)

Lan Xichen: you should treat your guests with more courtesy

Lan Wangji: anyway you are going to meet Jin Guangyao again lol bye

Lan Wangji: drag him inside

Wei Wuxian: ???

11. The fact Lan Wangji can read behind Wei Wuxian's intentions - he knows WiFi will annoy his brother, so he silenced him.

12. I also wonder just what was going inside Lan Xichen's head. How are you so aloof bro, let me know what are your thoughts? Btw, loved how we got told about the Jin Discussion Conference rn.

13. There was a paragraph comparing the statuses of illegitimate sons of Jin Guangsham, I found that interesting.

14. Wei Wuxian thinks both Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng are against him, yet it's better to be locked up than be whipped!

15. Wei Wuxian ALWAYS notes the scent of sandalwood when Lan Wangji is involved and what does he say again, the smell "had a way of tugging at one's heartstrings???" like bro... it's just you. But what's insane is that, he's moving towards the incense (probably in an attempt to smell like Lan Wangji!) What Zene and I said about this was "bro, you're probably are just a zither under Lan Wangji's hands cause why does everything tug at you"

16. Reading Wei Wuxian's narrative is like: although it wasn't sentimental: IT WAS SENTIMENTAL. HE MISSED IT.

17. Wei Wuxian thinking of how Lan Wangji probably practices his zither in this room, etc, and then randomly throwing in the knowledge that btw, he used to dig graves, find holes etc is so him.

18. Wei Wuxian had the greatest idea of stealing a jade token, and he was even aware of how the security would be like - like, this guy, apparently has the worst memory ever. and he remembered where the cold springs were exactly. WHY? Because of that ONE moment. 19. Wei Wuxian already recognized Lan Wangji from behind - he commented that the person was a bathing beauty.

20. The fact Wei Wuxian was looking at Lan Wangji in a 'im attracted' sort of way, but rationalised it by saying that he was only looking at the scars, or the seal, and that of course, he can't be actually attracted to a man! Like, ugh, bro. You have a storm coming. 21. Lan Wangji: are you sure that this is what you want? WWX: blushing like a slut LWJ: then stay like this for the whole night Me: SKDJKSJDKSJDKSJDKSJDKSDJKSDJKSDJSKDJKJ 22. The fact that Wei Wuxian couldn't sleep, and THAT is why he went to Lan Wangji's room, and then rationalized it by saying that he was gonna get the jade token - and then he threw himself onto Lan Wangji. Also, the fact that he's so chill about escaping, like i bet he's thinking, let's just have as much fun as we can, i'll leave anyway ~~ 23. Lil Apple is Wei Wuxian's comfort person, therapist, mother, and best friend. 24. Wei Wuxian sad thoughts about how Lan Wangji probably thought about him like everyone else did - a tyrant, etc. And him mocking the Lan Sect's 'righteousness.' 25. Wei Wuxian had thoughts about the sear. LIKE DON"T BE A COWARD SPEAK THEM OUT. Also, Wei Wuxian had thoughts about Lan Wangji dressed down, in simple, night robes. >< 26. Wei Wuxian trying to think over their relationship and describing it as moments that got lost in the bigger span of time. 27. 15 year old Wei Wuxian was IT. like, idk, he was just IT. Also, Jiang Cheng just exists to mock, berate, warn, make fun of, etc. And Nie Huaisang was already so keen, like he noticed that LQR was targeting WWX more than the others, and didn't dismiss his ideas. 28. LQR: as a disciple of the YMJ sect, you shouldn't be too proud at knowing these things Also LQR: look at my self taught, prodigy born, second heir, best disciple Lan Wangji, who knows everything! And of course, as the second heir, he is expected but that's not the point. The point is HE IS BETTER THAN YOU AND YOU ARE A MENACE TO SOCIETY. WWX: ah, yeah, fuck this imma out 29. LQR forewarned us about WWX's future TT 30. LWJ didn't express as much outrage over Wei Wuxian's demonic theories as LQR did, but he was intrigued. 31. Dude, Zene and I were thinking of just how many regrets LWJ fostered for 13 years. WWX: Lan-er-gongzi, do me a favour and look at me! WWX: Won't you look at me? WWX: Lan Zhan, look at me! WWX: Do you... hate me that much? WWX: I really wanted to apologize! 32. VERY IMPORTANT DETAIL: In a way, both Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng got punished with the discipline whip for saving Wei Wuxian, and the discipline scar remains as a reminder to 'never make the same mistake again.' But Lan Wangji makes this 'mistake' every day. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, despite getting his whip mark from the 'unrighteous people' never protected Wei Wuxian again. 33. The detail that people in the Jiang Sect have so much servitude towards Jiang Cheng, and are so in-tune with the regular ploy of 'catch the demonic cultivator to torture him.' 34. Wei Wuxian fucking gaslighted the HECK out of Lan Wangji! He's so dauntless, like, nothing scares him bro, i understand why people wanted to off him. LIKE HE's SO ON THE PAGE. 35. Wei Wuxian: Lan Wangji is very pretty. VeRY PRETTY. Wei Wuxian: who cares if he hates me, does he think he is that pretty?

Also WWX: YEAH FUCK HE IS THAT PRETTY 36. Wei Wuxian: why should i learn the lan clan rules? i don't intend to marry in the lan clan! (also wwx, using about 3-4 lan rules at lwj to rile him up) 37. Lan Wangji: You, go outside, we have fought before. (clown music) Wei Wuxian: Against the rules HAHAHAHAHAHA LWJ: WHAT SORT OF PERSON ARE YOU? WWX: A MAN. 38. WWX tried to befriend LWJ for a month or so, he failed, and he decided to make him experience his firsts - the first time he shouted and cursed was at WWX LOLOL. 39. NHS being like don't worry bro keep up the free entertainment and you can get as many porn books as you like!

[naviaknell777]

Hello again!

I loved how you wrote my request of raph x reader.

May i request rottmnt little sister!reader & all of her 4 brothers headcanons? (Reader is about 11)

Type of request: funny/comedy, wholesome, platonic.

Plot: so this happen if reader was the only one sibling attending school.

Reader come home with a basket full of different types of chocolate (probably 15 piece?), at first the siblings thought that reader would give them chocolate because it was meant for them or she would give chocolate to somebody, turned out they were "given " to her... By " boys ".

That when their brother instincts kick in, their little, innocent - probably naive - sister is getting chocolate... From multiple boys... On Valentine's day... That cannot be good for their hearts.

I’m so glad you liked the last one! Thanks for sending in your requests, they’re fun to write! Remember everyone that my requests are open!

“Valentine’s Day”

Rise!Turtles x Sister!Reader

Code: Y/N = your name, [f/f] = favorite flavor

———————

- So, one day when Leo, Mikey, Donnie, and Raph were walking around at night when they came across a mystic cloaking broach

- They collectively decided that their little sister, Y/N should use it to go to school

- They just wanted a better life for their only sister (aww, they’re very loving brothers!)

- Eventually, Y/N started to go to school, wearing her cloaking broach to look human. It was definately a new experience for her, but her brothers helped her with the huge adjustment!

- She was placed in the fifth grade (as she is 11 years old)

- The school year was going pretty well for her (she even made a friend!)

- However, one very specific day in February came rolling around, and Y/N had school that day

- It was Valentines Day!

- Y/N didn’t really get Valentine’s Day, or didn’t really understand it, because she randomly got a bunch of chocolates from a few people in her class

- At the end of the day, she came home with her lunch box full of chocolates she didn’t eat yet

- So at around 3:30, she made it back home, took off her cloaking broach, and opened her lunchbox, and inside was a ton of chocolates!

- She dumped all of it on the kitchen counter, with Leo and Mikey nearby, and they heard her dump the chocolates on the counter.

- “Aw, did little sis get us all chocolates?” Leo asked, smiling and jumping towards the counter with stars in his eyes

- Raph and Donnie soon entered the room and then plus Mikey also made their way to the counter, asking about the chocolate

- “You can have some, but they’re my chocolates too!” Y/N said

- She opened one of the heart shaped boxes and stuffed a piece of chocolate with [f/f] inside

- “Where’d ya get them?” Mikey asked, taking some chocolate

- “Some of the kids in my class gave ‘em to me!” Y/N responded

- “Aw, well that was nice of them!” Raph said, eating some strawberry flavor filled chocolate.

- Donnie looked at the boxes, and after a moment, he was able to remeber that today was Valentine’s Day

- He looked worried for a second (he hoped though that his theory was wrong, that no boy in her class gave her these chocolates)

- Meanwhile his brothers and sister ate the chocolates happily

- “Say, who gave you these chocolates, my dear sister? Some of your girl friends?” Donnie asked

- Y/N looked at him for a moment and swallowed her chocolate “yeah, my best friend gave me a small one that I ate during lunch” she started

- “But Landon gave me this one” she held up a small square box with plain chocolates.

- “Gabriel gave me this one, I like that it’s my favorite color” she held up a slightly bigger box with flavored chocolates.

- “And Noah gave me this one, I like that it has Pokémon on it!” She held up the biggest heart-shaped box of chocolates she received, with mixed chocolates inside.

- “But the rest I found in my cubby so I don’t know who gave ‘em to me” Y/N smiled, eating more chocolate.

- Meanwhile her brothers…

- They all spat out their chocolate *immediately*

- “Who?!” Raph asked, taking her by the shoulders.

- “Who are those guys?!” Leo shouted, wiping some chocolate that he spit out off his face.

- Meanwhile Mikey was just screaming his head off

- And Donnie just leaned against the counter, shaking his head

- “Do… do you know if any of these boys like you, Y/N?” Raph asked, letting off a bit of an angry and anxiety stench

- The other three brothers also were staring at her, impatiently waiting her response

- Y/N just laughed, responding, “of course they do! We’re all friends!”

—————

Thanks for reading!

All Rights Reserved ©️NaviaKnell777 2023

[forgottenfourr]

i saw you in a dream - university smau

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chapter five - dreams✏️

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warning: mentions of insanity, insomnia, and partial (very very small mention) of derealization!!

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a/n: from now on soul from p1h and mingyu from svt will also be smaller characters in the story so don’t be confused when they show up randomly in the next chapter!! they are just going to be a fun comedic relief characters :) i will put a short character reintroduction before the next update

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you have struggled with sleeping your entire life. never being able to fall asleep and then when you eventually pass out from pure exhaustion, the sleep was restless. you lost count of the doctors your parents took you to as a kid. each one coming to the same conclusion. there was nothing wrong with you perse. at least, nothing medically wrong. all of them told your parents that you'll grow out of it one day. that there was nothing they could do on their part besides run more tests that would evidently draw no conclusion and would just be a waste of time for both you and the doctors.

so you had to learn to live with it. you held onto hope that one day you would just magically grow out of it. but as the years drew on and you continued to sleep a most 10-15 hours a week, you just grew used to it. it was irritating most of the time. the constant drowsiness and dark circles under your eyes that never seem to go away.

due to your lack of sleep, you’ve never really had dreams before. at least, none that you could remember.

but recently that has changed. it seems now that every time you are able to sleep, even if it is just for a few minutes, you are drifted away into another dream.

but something is different about these dreams. when you wake up, you remember everything that happened in them. most importantly, you remember the boy that’s there in every dream. the boy you can’t seem to recognize. the boy you sworn you’ve never seen before. and you would surly remember him. he’s beautiful. his hair a white blonde and his brown eyes that look as if the entire universe is in them. and for someone you don’t know, you have grown quite fond of him. you don’t understand how he’s always there, his bright and warming smile welcoming you back to wherever this world is with him. but you aren’t complaining about it.

the dreams are long. or well they feel long at least. in the real world you could only be sleeping for 30 minutes but in the dream world you have already been there for days. you like the dream world. you find yourself anxiously waiting for the next time you fall asleep so you can go back there. so you can see mystery boy again.

neither of you ever bothered to ask for each others name. in fact, you guys don’t talk much. it’s more of a mutual understanding that you both are there together and are happy in each others presence. neither feeling the need to break the peaceful silence you have created. you cherish all of the times you guys have spent together. from the time you guys went cliff jumping to when he taught you how to play the guitar. you’re scared that you won’t be able to go back one day. that for some reason the next time you fall asleep there will just be black. even if you don’t understand why these dreams are happening or who he is, you yearn for them. even if it’s all fake. if it is just something your subconscious mind came up with.

of course, you haven’t told your friends about your dreams. sure, jisung might understand. or at least try to. but the others will just think you’re going crazy. which honestly, might be true.

you too have thought about the possibility of these dreams being some sort of sign of insanity or something else of the sort. it would make sense. you’ve been spreading yourself too thin for the past few months. never knowing when to say no and always wanting others around you to feel appreciated and happy. minho is constantly berating you for being a people pleaser, but you don’t know how to stop. and lately, people have taken notice of your kindness and the way you would drop everything instantly to help someone. between work, university, and your social life, you feel your grasp of yourself slowly slipping away from you.

the only thing that keeps you from losing your grip completely are the dreams. they make you feel happy and safe like before. maybe you were relying too much on the dreams but what does it matter? if you're going to have them you might as well enjoy them. enjoy him.

---------------

you got to the studio before chan this time. still reminiscing on the fantasy you were living just moments before.

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[foressfaction]

Toby and Clockwork

some headcanon takes on this relationship platonically and romantically

Mentions of Abuse and Self inflicted harm

Details of their stories

I'm just going to get straight into it and say right now that they have known eachother since they were still in school. If it's true that Toby had begun homeschooling when he just turned 16 that would put him right at the end of freshman year (his birthday being in April)

This being said, they would've seen each other around for a good..3 years maybe? Attending the same school since primary. Natalie found interest in him first, finding out that he also took a liking to drawing and doodling. It had never occurred to her what kind of kid he was or his social status until maybe 8th grade. (they'd both be 15 with some months apart)

Natalie never wanted to approach him since she had always struggled with making friends and interacting in general but always found his existence almost aspiring. It wasn't until later down the road that Toby would begin to also begin taking notice of her and her interests when she'd be getting picked on aloud for it occasionally.

Both of them were extremely awkward, too nervous to ever make the first interaction and actually get close to maybe becoming friends. This of course disregarding everything going on at home for the two, as personal business was usually kept to themselves unless brought out some other way.

They two never actually interacted until they began to share classes and eventually school work. Natalie definitely let him copy off her homework and he'd usually bring her cool drawings or nick nacks from the woods near his house. Eventually bumping into each other in the same woods a few times. (turns out they live in the same area) both were lower class families so it wasn't a surprise that they lived so close, it was maybe a 10 minute walk to each other's house, even faster on bike. Natalie had a bike actually, and she used it all the time just to drive by his house on it to see if he'd be looking out of the window like she'd catch him doing it from time to time. It wasn't long till she was introduced to Lyra and his mother. Natalie never did get suspicious about the lack of mention for his father. And he never questioned her about her own parents either. I just know they definitely went down to the local library and would just randomly pull out books that have a silly name or cover image just to sit and make fun of scenes or the idea of it. (i feel they would absolutely eat up the world record books and your mom joke comics)

It was like when they were together time had stopped and nothing mattered anymore.

Sadly though of course we know what happens, as they grew older they fell apart due to Toby becoming homeschooled and Natalie having to move to a new house due to the poor condition of her older one. He stopped seeing her ride down his street, seeing her in the woods, she wasn't able to contact him due to not having access to his landline phone and (since this was back in the 90s which is my personal take,) communication was extremely hard for them. Toby began to assume that she just didn't care for him anymore and that she moved on. He hadn't known she was moving as she was just too sad to tell him, and hoped that he would find out some other way, which ended up backfiring back onto her as now he had no idea what had happened, and now assumes that she hates him.

After his sister passed, memories of Natakie began to fade one by one until eventually he didn't even remember her name. He had developed memory problems, only worsening with each day. She doesn't exist to him at this current moment.

During this time was when he was the most vulnerable, the most in need of a friend.

Natalie wasn't doing all too well either, her situation at home and the constant neglect and anger she was facing only made her spiral down a dark oath. Almost identically tied with Toby’s. It was the same force, the same drive and motive speaking to them. By now we know the story, murder the parents and run away.

It really wasn't till years later (specifically 2 years) they finally ran into each other again, but the memories are gone, nothing but malice and sorrow filled their hearts.

I like to think they first met again with a good fight. Toby ended up ‘winning’ this said fight only to the surprise of Nat that he cannot feel physical pain. This interested her to the point of just calling the duel off and began to ask a ton of questions. Toby found her curiosity almost amusing and led both himself and her down a rabbit hole of the forest and why he's here (what he remembers at least) and she occasionally spits out a bit of her own story (also from what she remembers)

The questions were related to her eye, why weapon choice, favorite color. Cheesy shit. He mostly asked the cheesy shit….

It was obvious the two lacked communication skills.

And we just start over from there.. If anything was destined to be together, it was these two. (platonically or romantic, take that as you please. )

Now as for my actual headcanons for their shipped relationship? Based on the canon art I've seen of them, they seem nothing more than just a regular couple, honestly. Millennial humor, matching couple shirts,probably crack horrible jokes they don't even remember reading or learning about. We can't forget that this was an actual healthy relationship. Yeah they're both psychotic and murderers but I see them more as anti heroes. Even though they did unspeakable things, Nat just does it out of spite and anger, not actually meaning to ruin anything, having bad borderline spirals and manic episodes while on Toby’s end, he's completely forced to do it until his body cannot stand anymore. They see humanity in each other and are the light and entertainment they both crave.

And man Toby entertains the absolute shit out of Natalie. He would have her naming different types of plants and tree bark, would once more surprise her with his silly little finds like random ass reptiles and animal skulls. He actually gave her a crow skull that she keeps as a necklace. He always said it suited her style. Keep in mind this is all still as them being friends.

They never actually understood what love actually was, and what it meant for the normal everyday person, but they sure showed in. Her live language is physical touch and affection while his was overall the same just also gifts and names. He was a typical loser just trying to remain relevant and liked while she was also just trying to hold onto the little bit of sanity she had left, and he was a good reason to sometimes calm down.

Now of course they had their bad moments where she would let the anger take control and begin to act like a mean old boss at a minimum wage job. It didn't help that Toby was a snarky person and made remarks that only made her even more mad.

“You're literally doing it wrong and it's going to screw everything up!”

“oh please, that's your OCD talking.”

There were occasions where she would get physically violent and throw things at Toby. She actually bloodied his forehead after throwing one of her daggers right at him, being lucky it actually didn't take him out.

These manic episodes usually ended in her apologizing profusely. He never questioned her behavior because he was so used to being mistreated that he only found it to be normal, and always resorted to the question of if he deserved it. Yeah sometimes the mither fucker did deserve it but at the same time.

With Toby however he had just enough willpower to never truly hurt Nat but he would gesture to doing so occasionally when they're having an argument. He'd raise his weapons as if he were to strike or would ball up his fists. He never did lay a violent hand on Nat no matter how angry she would make him or how angry he already was. He's the type of person to completely shut the world out when upset, which was good on her end.

This was for when they were angry however when feeling emotional, like sad for example. He'd want the opposite. His behavior is like how people stereotype most women to be. He'll say he wants to be left alone but throw a fit if you actually did. When he's in this state it's actually dangerous to leave him alone without a distraction. His mind begins to wander and therefore results in a gory mess. He'd unintentionally self harm by chewing at his hands or scratching himself with sharp objects. There's been many times where Nat had to stop him from doing so, both being in tears. She has a past with self harm, which is why she did what she did to her own face, but to see someone she started to genuinely care about do it brought out a whole new side to her.

In short, they're both still internally just kids wanting to survive but on the outside they had to appear tough and ready for anything or else deemed useless and pathetic..

It wasn't until Toby began to question the relationship that it truly became romantic honestly. He knew some things but still did jot grasp the full concept of love. He would tease Nat constantly, flirting if you'd like to call it, and she'd return this behavior, catching him off guard and embarrassing him. This was probably the peak of their relationship.

“So what's it like constantly ticking?”

“i can ask you the same thing”

“shut the fuck up”

I feel they'd constantly play fight, aggressive love language??? Technically one would straight out insult the other but in a playful way while the other wouldn't seem offended but return the same energy. They would definitely do random shit.

It would be a normal busy day and Toby just points out a random squirrel, and if Nat looks at it, he just tackles her. He definitely gets stimmy to the point he would have the human equivalent to zoomies. He'd randomly start love bombing her and hugging her for long amounts of time. He also sometimes does this if he wants something…so it's hard to tell sometimes.

Nat doesn't like the bread crust but Toby would eat that just alone, so i feel like after peeling the crust off her fuckin sandwich she would just out the off in a whole new plate just for him. He eats that shit up every time too.

Nat: “you're so difficult just eat the peanut butter with jelly– that's what NORMAL people do”

Toby:“i hate jelly you know this :(“

Nat: “oh my god give me the damn sandwich.you only peanut butter eating bitch”

[saintwyfe]

࿐ ˚ . ✦ I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. jude bellingham

summary. visiting your childhood best friend for the first time after a while

cw. fluff, maybe just a little angst

word count. 1554

it was the first day back home from school in a while. 

you've been settling back into your childhood home, taking in the familiar surroundings while unpacking clothing, doing laundry, and spending time with your siblings—whom you haven't seen in what feels like an eternity.

and while studying in a different country was well worth the foreign experience, there were some things you missed about your hometown, specifically your childhood best friend, jude. every now and again, you’d begin to think about him,  pondering how he’s been since graduating high school. yeah, you two follow each other on social media, occasionally DMing each other every once in a while to ‘check up,’ and such, but it just doesn’t compare to the warm soul you’ve known since toddler days.

every time you come back home, your parents are quick to ask about you and jude, frequently asking things such as, “have you been talking to jude since you landed?” which of course segues into his football career and how you’ve ‘missed the opportunity to become a football wife,’ which never fails to earn a scoff from you.

whenever the question gets brought up again, it really makes you think: how is jude? it’s been a while since i’ve talked to him in person. it made you kind of sad to think about how he must be a completely different person now that he’s used to the money and all of the public figures that surround him. 

for some reason, you were determined to talk to him just once before flying back to school, just to genuinely see how he’s been doing over a cup of coffee. 

"hey, dad, you still talk to jude’s parents, right? where do they live now?" you inquired at random while biting into the chicken you had prepared for lunch. his eyebrows furrowed, and he seemed confused—which makes sense as it was a blindsided question, "ah, yeah, i do. are you trying to talk to them or something?" he replied.

"something like that," you muttered, looking down at your plate to fish out another bite. "i’ll text you their address," he said, picking up his phone. your heart started to pace, and you had to ponder the decision of whether or not to visit the boy you were once inseparable with.

-

it eventually became dark outside. you finished dinner with your family, catching up on random things that have happened since you’ve been gone. you were laying in bed, aimlessly scrolling through your phone, when he randomly popped up in your mind again. this time, you finally decided to take matters into your own hands, grabbing a coat from your closet and ordering an uber to take you to his house. 

throughout the car ride, you could hear your heartbeat in your ears out of nervousness, thinking about all of the possible reactions and what could go wrong. maybe it was the lack of traffic or the pacing thoughts, but the 15-minute drive flew before your eyes before the driver parked into the driveway of his home—which was beautiful and more updated compared to the neighborhood you two grew up in. you quickly thanked the driver before stepping out of the car, taking in the heavy air. you looked around at the decorations of the homes throughout the neighborhood, slowly pacing toward his front door, where your heart beat faster than ever.

you attempted to take deep breaths as you stood in front of his home before you knocked on the door. you were greeted by his mom, denise. you watched as her eyes widened and a smile spread on her face, engulfing you in a hug. it’s been a while since you’ve seen her, but you remember all the times she’s treated you like her own. it was a sincere moment, to say the least. she invited you in before engaging in small talk about uni, before a tall, familiar figure strut down the stairs. he had a shocked look on his face, big eyes, and a slightly agape mouth.

“jude, i was just about to call you down. come say hi to y/n.” she prompted, waving her arm to signal toward you two.

you chuckled while he quickly jogged over with a cheeky smile, pulling you in for a hug. you took in his scent as he wiggled into the hug. he smelt of a musky cologne, which smelt so mature and masculine, it made you weak in the knees. in terms of appearance, you could still recognize his smile and slightly concealed eyes whenever he appeared. he simply matured a little bit.

"jude, you’re squishing me," you mumbled, giggling under your breath. "sorry, it’s a habit." he implied before pulling away. you let out a big exhale as you scanned over his figure, his biceps slightly catching you off guard, and a short silence took over. "it’s been a while, hasn’t it?" you affirmed as he nodded. "y/n, we should take a walk, yeah?" he asserted, heading to open the door. you didn’t really have a choice, so you scurried toward the cement outside as he followed.

you two strolled together down the sidewalk, taking in the snowy atmosphere, which made you both nostalgic for all of the snow fights and sledding adventures you'd always do together as kids.

eventually, the silence was broken by a low mutter beside you. “so, how’s school overseas?”

"ah, it’s been super fun. i’ve been meeting lots of interesting people. you should visit the area one day, it’s great." you jabber, observing the environment around you. "how’s dortmund?"

“work’s work, you know? but it’s been good. training’s been kicking my ass this winter” he replied. you watched as he looked down at his feet, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket.

“you’re not too cold, are you?” he inquired, shuffling to take off the puffer coat he had on. you shook your head, insisting that your coat was already enough, but of course, he’d already wrapped it around you. you chuckled at the gesture, knowing fully well that you’d take the jacket back with you.

"jude, honestly, i’ve missed you a lot recently," you paused. "it feels like it was just yesterday when we graduated together, and it sucks that we grew apart when we started doing our own thing," you stated, fixing your gaze at him.

“you have? i lowkey thought that you were occupied with school already, i’m not going to lie,” he chuckled, making eye contact with you. “but honestly, yeah, i agree with you.”

"i’m glad you came tonight, though. "i missed my best friend a lot too," he admitted, making you feel a lot better about your impulsiveness.

you two stopped at a bench positioned near the sidewalk, and you signaled for him to sit alongside you. 

-

you sighed before resting your head on his shoulder and swaying into a conversation that lasted all night about a variety of topics that had been on your mind for months, but you didn't have the courage to speak to anyone.

"no, you should’ve seen the look on her face. i never told her that i did it though, cause that would’ve caused so much commotion and i definitely would’ve gotten kicked out of my dorm." you rambled as he cackled at your story. His laughter came to a halt as he scanned over you, seemingly watching the sky as snow pellets fell. you didn’t realize he was staring, but you slightly flinched when he’d pulled a strand of hair behind your ear, prompting you to look over in his direction.

"you know, y/n, you’ve gotten a lot prettier ever since you lost the braces and the chunky glasses you used to wear," he teased you with a smug look on his face, causing you to send a stare back. "what?" he chuckled, "i was just kidding, you've always been pretty; i just didn't tell you because you'd run away as if I'd done something wrong."

your cheeks began to flush a tint of red, looking in the other direction as he kept his gaze on you. he scoffed before pulling your cheek, “y/n, no way you’re ignoring me right now.” you hissed at his sudden movement, turning toward the boy with a smirk on his face as he teased you. “you’re not getting a response from me jude, move along” you taunted. “if anything, you’ll have to earn a response.”

he shook his head before tickling your stomach, immediately making you coil and giggle. "yeah? i have to earn it?" he grinned, continuing to tickle you while you were trapped in his arms. "jude, stop, or i’m gonna beat your ass, literally" you stammered, struggling to produce a response between your giggles. he finally halted his teasing but kept his arms around you.

"it’s getting a little late, but i really missed this, jude," you whispered as your head occupied his shoulder. "yeah, we should probably head back in." he replied, nodding. "do you need a ride back home? we can probably do some carpool karaoke on the way" he suggested, prompting you to turn your head in agreeance.

"i’ll beat you to the car, bellingham," you spat, bolting off to his house. he of course won the race, but that's beside the point.

[rubykgrant]

rvb for the hyperfix ask!

📃 what is the plot of your hyperfixation? and is it a movie, game, show, etc? 📌 how did you find your hyperfixation? ✨ what draws you towards your hyperfixation? what is interesting about it? 🎥 do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation? 💕tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

First of all, thank you for indulging me in this, I very much appreciate the chance to info-dump with my nonsense, you are a wonderful person~

So... RVB. More than 2 decades ago, some guys figured out how they could play Halo, sort of use one character as the "camera", make the other characters bop their helmets up and down, then dub their voices into it and make that a show. There is the vague background-plot of the actual Halo lore happening, but the ACTUAL plot of RVB? The first few seasons are just 2 groups of guys, standing around, talking, arguing, and trying to kill each other. Red Team has been told to kill the Blues, and Blue Team has been told to kill the Reds. Why? Because. One guy dies, but comes back as a "ghost". This will become a pattern. There is a theme through the series about how some people are unable to let go of grief, and it eventually destroys them, the message of learning how to see enemies as real people, learning to accept flaws in yourself and others so they can become strengths. Over and over again, there are multiple groups of soldiers who have been told "you are the good guys, they are the bad guys, you need to kill them", and sometimes the most difficult thing is to finally accept the truth and try to live with yourself. There are highly advanced and unique AI, once all part of one system together, forced into being singular Fragments, tortured into forgetting what they were, but unable to stop missing what they don't have. Despite being data and treated like tools, they develop their own "humanity"... for better, and for worse. Through it all, the same group of Red and Blue goobers keep talking and arguing. They win against highly trained special agents with incredibly advanced equipment, vicious mercenaries with back-up from a corrupt military group, and a reality-breaking "god". These clowns even got their own circus music (the Warthog Polka)

Waaaaay back in the day, when I was like... 15? A friend of mine had a brother, who had a friend, who let him borrow some DVDs of Red VS Blue, and I watched it at the friend's house. I had never played Halo (still haven't), but I got a chuckle out of it. I occasionally watched it when another friend would pull it up on their computer, and for a while, that was it... in 2021, I randomly thought to myself "Oh yeah... Red VS Blue was a thing". I hadn't thought about it for a decade. So I decided to watch it up to the point I remembered, somewhere in season 5. Some of the jokes... did not age well, but it was a nice little stroll down memory lane. Then I realized they made MORE after that. This show, at that time, had 18 seasons. So I kept watching, and now it has FILLED UP MY BRAIN

There is this fun aspect of very casual, conversational dialogue in the middle of absolutely bonkers situations. The characters will be doing the most extreme, dangerous sci-fi nonsense, and they still just bicker and chit-chat like regular dudes. It will also randomly sneak up, and hit you with EMOTIONS. There are incredibly sweet and sad moments, and others that have no business being so IMPACTFUL and MEANINGFUL, but they are. The characters are all so stupid, yet full of potential and depth, everybody is just perfect fuel for imagination

I have a few favorite scenes! In the episode "Long Time No See", the characters Epsilon and Carolina are shown working together, gathering information on a shady organization. In the middle of this, they are threatened by a group of security soldiers, and we get see how Epsilon, as an AI with the memories of the other Fragments, can assist Carolina; time slows down as the AI work at bullet-speed, with Epsilon running calculations, making a plan for how Carolina can fight back and escape. The memories of the Fragments can interact with Epsilon, and give suggestions or feedback based on their skills. It is just so AWESOME to see how far the characters have come, the teamwork they share... and it is also a little bitter-sweet, because seeing the Fragments like this is how it could have (should have) been with Alpha. It also shows Carolina, who was once determined not to get close to anybody again (after losing so many people she cared about), has really bonded with Epsilon, and it helps her realize she misses the rest of the clowns. Another favorite scene has some background context; the intro to the series, the very first scene of the very first episode, is Grif and Simmons having a conversation- "Do you ever wonder why we're here?" "It's one of life's great mysteries". As the show goes on, that becomes a reoccurring conversation, sometimes as a joke, sometimes as something more relevant. In season 15, the main characters meet another group of Blues and Reds, who all resemble them in some way, but are also kind of "mirror opposites". The characters have the same armor color, but different voice actors... except for Simmons. His look-alike is Gene, and they have the same VA (Simmons insists they don't sound similar at ALL, Gene is totally annoying). When it is revealed this group is EVIL, there is a moment when we see one soldier in maroon armor pull a knife and attempt to stab another soldier in maroon armor. This is Simmons and Gene, but which is which? Grif arrives, and has that same problem. Both Gene/Simmons insist "I'm the real Simmons, shoot him"... so Grif asks- "Why are we here?". One maroon soldier says they're here to stop the bad guys. The other one says "We don't know why we're here. It's still one of life's great mysteries". HECK YEAH, THAT'S YOUR SIMMONS. There are like a thousand other moments I like that are pure comedy, but those are the big emotional moments

I've rambled about Grif and Simmons a stupid amount, I've also gone on long tangents for Church and Tex, so I'll talk about one of my other favorites, Tucker! In the beginning, he doesn't take any of this seriously (but who does). He's there to be an annoying, shameless flirt, and does so with ease. The thing is, even when he's acting obnoxious and immature, there are moments when you can tell he's actually capable of a LOT. He's smart, when he lets himself think without getting distracted, he's a strong fighter when he's not showing off, and he's genuinely got a good heart (when he's not complaining). As the show goes on, he becomes more important... whether he likes it or not. What do you do when all your big-talk about being the coolest dude ever turns out to be TRUE, but that also means you're responsible for keeping people alive? Tucker also easily fits into any combination of characters, whoever he is with, they get a fun dynamic going (even Sarge, the Red who claims to hate the Blues with an endless burning passion, will do some back-up beat-boxing for Tucker when he sings a taunting song at mutual enemies). He'll tease the others and be a little jerk, but is also incredibly protective of the people he cares about. Tucker once got attacked by a space alien that left a parasite baby in him, and years later, he carries around pictures of Junior in his wallet so he can show off how much he loves his son. Tucker is incredibly clever, and has a lot of emotional depth... he just wishes he didn't have to worry so much, all he wants is to stand around and talk to his best friend. Through all the bravado, the insecurities, and the bow-chicka-wow-wow jokes, Tucker is just very interesting AND entertaining~ (also, thanks to one off-hand comment another character made about his "metro-sexual good looks", all the fans kind of just agreed that under the helmet, Tucker is the prettiest)

Thanks for asking! (and sorry for rambling so much haha)

[thursdayinspace]

20 questions for 20 writers

tagged by @thatfragilecapricorn30 @randomfoggytiger and @baronessblixen thank you!! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 21

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 70.063 -- this is my new AO3, so that's why it's still so low, haha.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Only X-Files now.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? spectacular (glasses sex!), it's the day the world didn't end, from this morning forward (that makes me so happy), got you covered, wild side

5. Do you respond to comments? yes. if I ever don't, I'm sorry, it's not because i didn't love your comment, but i just don't get around to it right away sometimes. but i try to reply to every single one because i love them all.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? ohhh. i don't write super angsty endings . . . I guess mend into pieces bc it's season 2 and they know they're making a mistake, but we all know they'll figure it out eventually, so.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? they pretty much all end happily. i'm going to more or less randomly pick five ways to say i love you. because i loved writing that ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics? so, okay. there are two stories here i want to tell from an old fandom. one is funny. one is kind of great, really?

the funny one: i got a looooong comment on a fic, like several paragraphs long, going into great detail about why the fic sucked and why i sucked and why i had personally offended them by writing fic at all. they obvs meant to comment anonymously but forgot to log out. by the time i got to my computer, they had deleted their entire account. of course i had their name in the ao3 email. i laughed so hard at that.

the kind of amazing one: i got a very rude anon on tumblr, and i responded by saying i'd be happy to discuss their criticism, but i wasn't going to have a conversation with a hockey puck with sunglasses, and asked them to come off anon so we could talk. and they did! they showed up in my dms a short while later. we solved nothing and did not part as friends, but i actually have mad respect for that. wherever they are today, i hope they have taken some anger management classes and are doing well!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yeah, i certainly do. idk what kind? the porny kind? lol no i mean it's kind of lame but fun.

10. Do you write crossovers? i wrote a stargate atlantis/firefly crossover centuries ago but that was it. or maybe start trek with sth else, i don't remember.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? i don't think so, no.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes! it's so much fun and i would do it again.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? mulder and scully!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i plan to finish all of them.

16. What are your writing strengths? it used to be dialogue but i don't think it is anymore. idk? i think i can create an atmosphere?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? i tend to repeat myself a lot and then skip over other things completely. i'm not good with transitions between scenes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i haven't done it, but if it would make sense for a fic, i might do it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? stargate atlantis. i was very late to the fanfic party.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? it's called 'ellipsis' and is still with the beta. but of the ones i've already posted, either from this morning forward or yesterday's future.

Randomfoggytiger added additional questions:

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life? i mean it's a hobby but it's definitely also a way of life. there isn't ever a time when i don't think about writing and everything all the time connects in some way to a thing i'm writing and i can't imagine what i'd do without writing.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript? completed manuscript! or notes? uhh . . . both?

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration? everything. random things. i can't think of one specific thing, it can be literally anything.

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing? both thoughts are equally awful lol

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective? yeah, i think so. not in any big way, but about smaller stuff, just the way i look at certain things? yes.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN? ao3!!! my tinkerbell brain loves the comment section, haha. also it's just so much nicer to read on ao3 and there's the download option, so also as a reader, def ao3.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it? 70.063 - no, i'm not satisfied with it. i used to write multi-chapters with more words. but it's a new account so yeah starting small again.

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably? jasper fforde's 'thursday next' series. it's where i stole my name from. literary detectives? oh man. it's the kind of story where you wish you'd had the idea first. go read it!!!!!

9. What's the highest compliment you could ever be given, and have you been given it? i am really really lucky to have been given so many amazing compliments and i appreciate every single one. i couldn't say what means the most to me . . . probably when it's personal to the commenter? when someone tells me sth i've written touched them in some way. bc that's what i want to achieve.

10. What defines your writing style? lol idek man pretentious purple prose? i think i live somewhere between overuse of metaphors and focus on the rhythm of a text. i love writing in english bc it flows so nicely. idk is trying to make it sound nice a style bc then that's at least what i'm going for.

who hasn't been tagged? no pressure tags for @backintimeforstuff @nachosncheezies @actual-changeling and everybody else who wants to!

[komawo]

thank you for the tag xoxo @revelations-mp3

1. Are you named after anyone? All my siblings and I are named after someone in the Bible. I don't remember the exact story for my name in the Bible though.

2. When was the last time you cried? If we're talking just water coming out of my eyes, not because of my emotions, likely last night when I was laying in my bed. My eyes just water randomly when I lay down (on my side). But if we're talking because I was happy or sad or frustrated, I think the last time was last month? I think I was just feeling a lot of feelings and teared up a bit.

3. Do you have kids? Nope

4. What sport do you play / have played? I played soccer from Kindergarten to my freshman year of high school. It was fun but I'm not that competitive so I didn't enjoy it towards the end. Otherwise I tried softball and basketball in the 5th grade as well. I didn't like playing either (I was definitively the most fit I've ever been that year though).

5. Do you use sarcasm? Yes all the timeee

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Probably hair and eyes!

7. What’s your eye color? Brown

8. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings for sure. I like psychological thrillers but I'm not a fan of gore at all. And there's usually a lot of gore in horror/scary movies.

9. Any talents? SINGING ig...

10. Do you have any pets? Yeah we have 3 cats and 1 dog at my place. There's always fur EVERYWHERE.

11. Where were you born? USA

12. What are your hobbies? Currently trying to read 3 books. My friends and I are trying to get into tennis. I like to play video games (ie Skyrim, Baldurs Gate 3, Mario Kart). Otherwise hiking is the other main hobby I try to do.

13. How tall are you? 5’5”

14. Favorite subject in school? English because it was the easiest for my brain to understand (science and math are not for me).

15. Dream job? Therapist! Tell me about your problems, let's chat about it while I have candles lit and maybe some incense burning. Sort of fortune teller office vibes, but for therapy.

I am tagging these lovelies: @pink-vacancy @helloissay @latenightjjk @futchatron @rosesnbooks @saintsallvatore

[do-androids-dream-ao3acc]

15 questions, 15 friends

I was tagged by @louwitcher, thank you! 💝

1. Are you named after anyone? 

Well. If anything, I may be named after an advertisement for pet food, I guess. The story my mother told me was that she read the name in a magazine at the ob gyn. But I don't remember if she still knew what exactly it was that drew her to my (awful) name.

2. When was the last time you cried? 

Maybe 2022?

3. Do you have kids? 

Yes, I have a teenage daughter.

4. What sports do you play/have you played? 

Not a sports fan... I played some handball in school but that's very, very long ago.

5. Do you use sarcasm? 

Is the sky blue?

6. What is the first thing you notice about people? 

Their humor. I found that people with a good humor just vibe with me.

7. What's your eye color? 

Green!

8. Scary movies or happy endings? 

I mean... can't a scary movie have a happy ending? But, yeah, happy endings please...

9. Any talents? 

I don't have any talents, I'm afraid. Lately, I'm trying to learn crocheting, but I do have two left hands in that regard 😂

10. Where were you born? 

Tief im Westen.

11. What are your hobbies? 

Board games, video games, listening to Metal, watching tv shows. From time to time, I do enjoy writing.

12. Do you have any pets? 

No, I don't like pets for myself.

13. How tall are you? 

I'm only 1,64 😭

14. Favorite subject in school? 

English :)

15. Dream job? 

Professor or something...

Soooo rules say to tag 15 friends but people, I don't have 15 friends 😂 I do have almost 400 followers, though, so I will just randomly say names and you just see if you want to play, alright? Here we go: @oftincturedwords, @books-and-sadness, @on-a-lucky-tide, @gleamingsilence, @jayofolympus, @definitely-not-iorveth, @between-thepages, @laurikarauchscat, @fortheloveofdeaddove, @justleaf, @suomi932654, @wonderwhump, @chibi0r0, @dravenxivuk, @deagle and whoever wants to!

[oh-contraire]

Coming back to fandom

Okay so it's been like 15 years since I've been properly excited about a fandom, so I didn't expect to be sitting here in my 40s, supposedly a serious adult with a real job and a real life (such as it is), having fallen even more deeply in love with Good Omens, a show based on a book that I've loved for over 20 years, a story that's always been there for me, this lovely little comfort read with a life-affirming message, and that has now eaten my entire brain and made it abundantly clear that I'll be stuck right here at least until season 3 comes out and gives me that beautiful everything-is-as-it-should-be cathartic resolution and I can finally rest and go back to real life (ha!)

I certainly didn't expect for this silly show about angels and demons to help me figure out this late in my life that I'm non-binary, to have all those parts of myself that I didn't quite understand suddenly start to make sense. I didn't expect to actually start to really own my queerness - which as a perpetually single person at my age, who's straight-enough-passing to not have to hang it all out there, while simultaneously being lucky enough to exist in a group of friends where queerness is basically the default and you'd almost have to come out as straight (old goths are the best) - is such a powerful experience, and is helping me figure out what the next part of my life will be and what the hell I'm doing around here.

The last time I was in a fandom, I was young (well, compared to now). I had parents who were still alive, who I was close to, and who I could share my excitement with. I've got beautiful memories of travelling from Australia to Europe with my mum in 2008, the last time we'd ever do that, of spending a couple of days of our precious holiday at Cardiff Bay watching the post-hub explosion scene in Torchwood Children of Earth being filmed, of her sneaking away and getting GDL's autograph for me on a random piece of paper, when I was too mortified to even consider it. I'll never watch Family of Blood or Utopia without remembering how I saw it for the first time with my dad, randomly flicking through channels and not really knowing what we were in for, and both of us experiencing that incredible, literally jaw dropping moment when Derek Jacobi was revealed as the Master, how I teasingly called him Father of Mine for years after that because it was such a wonderful shared moment for both of us (and because I was a totally cool and normal grown adult even then).

I never expected to fall straight back in love with Doctor Who after that, 15 years later, having lost both of my parents to awful illnesses, having tried to pretend that life, however fine it all was for the most part, hadn't had this constant undercurrent of existential dread, a horrible sense that from now on it would just be a series of losses, that all the things I loved would just fall away until there was nothing important left, that I could scramble for those little crumbs that felt like renewal or purpose but that ultimately felt hollow in the face of what seemed like an increasingly bleak and relentless world of serious things like work and mortgage payments and obligations and the whole thing of pretending to be a real adult doing Important Things.

I never expected just how healing, how utterly cathartic it would be to see 14 come back after all these years, older, tireder, after experiencing all that loss and grief, and to see them love so deeply, to see them find a new home, a new family, and to finally find a way to be actually, truly happy. I cried so much during that episode, and it felt like actual hope for the first time in years, like it helped to heal some part of myself that thought it would never be properly healed.

I'll never stop being in awe of how stories can do that. These silly little TV shows about angels and demons or time travel and the universe, which are really about humans and life and death and love and everything that's actually important, and which bring to the surface those deep truths that are hard to see among the minutiae of everyday life.

Stories are so powerful, and I'm so happy to feel excited about them again, and to have them weave their way back into the fabric of my life. So, thanks to RTD and @neil-gaiman for helping me find this feeling again, and thanks to fandom for continuing to exist while I figured out that this was one of the big parts that was missing from my life! <3

[curiousb]

15 questions for 15 mutuals

Thanks for tagging me, @vimpse and @simsdada!

1. are you named after anyone?

Yes-ish? My first name is a feminised form of my father’s name, and also my maternal grandmother's middle name. Sadly, she died long before I was born, when my mother was only three years old, so I’m quite glad that her name lives on with me. My royalist mother also had a thing about a minor English princess, so I have her name as my middle name.

2. when was the last time you cried?

I honestly don’t remember - probably a few months ago. There has to be something very, very wrong for me to cry. It’s something I avoid doing, as I don’t like to lose control of my emotions.

3. do you have kids?

No, as a conscious choice. I’m really not cut out to be a parent, but I’ve never actually wanted to become one anyway, so it’s all worked out fine!

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

I try not to, as I think it can be cruel, but it depends on the circumstances!

5. what sports do you play/have you played?

Although I didn’t know this until quite recently, I have dyspraxia. So, sport and I have never been on good terms! Yes, I was always that kid - the one who was chosen last for teams at school. I’ve also always despised exercise simply for the sake of it. But, seven years ago I randomly took up Shotokan Karate - my husband had taken it up a couple of years before, and it was the first physical activity that had ever looked like fun to me! This year, I was finally awarded my black belt (1st Dan). Thanks to my dyspraxia, and pesky osteoarthritis, it’s taken me nearly twice as long as anyone else to get to this point, but I absolutely love it - it’s the perfect blend of mental and physical challenge - and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s been fantastic for my balance, coordination, strength, agility, self-confidence and mental health. I’m now working towards being awarded 2nd Dan, in a couple of years hopefully. :)

6. what’s the first thing you notice about other people?

I found out only a few years ago, as an adult, that I’m autistic. But, I think the thing I’ve always picked up on when meeting someone new - even before I was consciously aware of this - is whether they are also possibly neurodivergent, and hence whether we have an immediate connection. I now realise that nearly all my friends have also been neurodivergent in some way (also autistic, ADHD, dyscalculia), and that the friendships naturally sprang from an instinctive understanding, thanks to similarities in our way of perceiving and processing the world.

7. scary movies or happy endings?

Can I say neither? I have a ridiculously overactive imagination, and although I absolutely do not believe in the supernatural, scary films play on my mind literally forever. And I’m simply unmoved by clichéd happy endings. I prefer films that make me think or imagine, and I’m quite partial to ambiguous endings, where I’m left to decide for myself what has actually happened, or what might happen next; ‘Inception’ is one of my favourite films. :)

I also love plain old sci-fi, with any kind of ending!

8. any special talents?

I’m a master at packing stuff into spaces in the most efficient way possible. Not very exciting perhaps, but useful.

I’m also very good at inductive reasoning. (Which is generally what Sherlock Holmes uses, not deduction.)

9. where were you born?

In the UK. Which is sadly just one big embarrassment these days.

10. what are your hobbies?

Ever since I first laid my hands on a computer, my first love has been video gaming. The Sims of course (1 and 2 - couldn’t get into 3 and haven’t bothered with 4), which I always come back to, but also various strategy games, such as the Civilization series. Also, choral/ensemble singing and genealogy. Oh, and my beloved karate of course!

11. do you have any pets?

No, I can barely look after myself, let alone be responsible for another lifeform too! In an ideal world, I’d have guinea pigs (which I had as a child and just adore, as they are the sweetest creatures imaginable), or perhaps rats.

12. how tall are you?

5′ 4.5″

13. fave subject in school?

Biology. I was born to be a scientist, and have always found the phenomenon of life to be endlessly fascinating.

14. dream job?

Once I would have said scientist - which I am now - but interesting though it can be, there’s also a lot of stress. I think that now, I’d rather be a self-employed professional genealogist. I’m considering trying to make the switch.

15. eye colour?

Grey-green. I didn’t used to like the colour, but I’ve grown to appreciate it more now, as it’s a little unusual.

I’m just going to tag a few random people, who I don’t think have played along yet, although my memory is shocking so forgive me if I’m wrong about that! As always, please also feel free to ignore: @tvickiesims, @roguebotanist, @clouseplayssims, @fwaysims, @eulaliasims, @plumbtales, @katatty, @moocha-muses, @esotheria-sims, @mypurpleriver, @balkopat, @sushigal007, @frauhupfner, @pforestsims, @beikonsims.

[paradoxcase]

Chapter 8 of Nona the Ninth and John 15:23

I wonder if this identifies you as a specific sort of person, or if radios are common? Hand-sized radios apparently exist, so it could just be a word they use to refer to something like a cell phone (which is a radio, after all), or if it's like our world where we only refer to a very specific subset of two-way radios as "radios" and using one of those probably makes people think you're a cop? Kind of impossible to tell with Nona as the viewpoint character

I love that we've got this story that's full of necromancy and animated corpses and giant space monsters and body sharing and body swapping and soul cannibalism and we still get this 1000% relatable experience with a dog, even if it is a dog with six legs. I guess it's the middle legs he sometimes keeps folded up?

So they have meetings with BOE, and Corona is there, but otherwise doesn't really see Nona, I guess probably because Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes don't consider her a friend anymore, but Corona was there when Nona first arrived

So, 15:23 is OW, so the message is now unexpectedly THE TOW instead of THE TOM like I would have guessed

So there were two separate events here - first John I guess discovered or unlocked or something general necromancy and his eyes turned gold, and that apparently affected his actual DNA in some way. Then he later achieved a form of Lyctorhood with Alecto and got her eyes instead. Only, I seem to remember that Ianthe didn't master preventing things from rotting until after she became a Lyctor. Maybe she just wasn't good at that beforehand, sort of like how Harrow just wasn't a master flesh magician? Or does that actually require Lyctor powers? And yeah, they obviously don't remember this if they didn't realize that Alecto's eyes were originally John's

The same Augustine who had Ianthe's bone arm gilded? Yeah, that sounds about right

Adam naming the animals vibes?

So she was a contract lawyer, yeah, that makes sense that she would put in a "break clause" for her House to leave the Empire if necessary

This is also something that I think is only a Lyctor power, and I don't think even Lyctors can feel dead bodies, can they? Or else Harrow would have known for sure whether or not Cytherea was under her bed. But John said he would have been able to feel Cytherea's body after he said it wasn't on the Mithraeum anymore. Come to think of it, I don't think we ever resolved why John thought he could do that but wasn't able to, because clearly Wake didn't go anywhere. Anyway, the thing with moving the bodies from the other side of the room is basic shit for regular necromancers, I think, but I think this, and possibly the keeping the bodies from rotting thing is advanced. So I'm not sure which specific powers/power level are associated with the gold eyes at this point

So Ulysses and Titania were already dead even before whatever happened to kill everyone, John never even knew them the first time they were alive. And he thought it would be cool to just randomly give them new names? And he named Ulysses after a dog? Look, I don't care how much you liked the dog, you don't name people after dogs, even if the dog was named after a person. They were his special bodies that he got attached to while doing his project, but he wasn't attached enough to their actual names to keep them?