#i'm not gonna tag this lest it gets into the main tag

[vaxxman]

the vaxxmanerrrrr

meem

[cushfuddled]

Thank you so much for speaking up about Sherlock & Co because I very nearly got tricked by the "sooooooo canon!!" buzz. I guess it's been long enough for tumblr to get amnesia about TJLC. As Holmes-inspired stuff goes, back to my toxic yaoi House/Wilson rewatch I guess. That might be bait but what a tasty bucket of chum.

Thanks for the ask! Hope you don't mind a rant haha! This got me all fired up because AUGH, the memories!

I think the thing that frustrates me most is that from my brief stint in the Sherlock & Co tag, it looks like we're STILL at the point as a fandom (and a culture, I guess) where it's socially acceptable to claim it's MORE progressive for Sherlock and John to NOT be gay.

I was on the Sherlock BBC train by the winter of 2010, and I watched this argument evolve in real time from the don't-ask-don't-tell "being gay is fine but don't shove it in my face" fish into the faux-progressive "our culture is so oversexualized that modeling healthy, intimate male friendships is more important than canon gay rep" land mammal abomination. The fact that both these arguments land queer fans and creators in the same gilded cage kinda gives the game away: Queer relationships are fine...so long as they stay out of sight and out of mind. A gay side character can be forgiven, but the main characters must remain staunchly platonic lest the Gay Sex Stuff poison an otherwise pure, healthy, and culturally aspirational friendship.

Even queerplatonic relationships are seen as deviant. Other erroneous character details are sprinkled around for flavor, but any clarification on ace or aro relationships are treated as unnecessary at best and burdensome at worst—like a detour which would weigh down the story. It's the "ew gay cooties" fire poker approach in a utilitarian hat: If people can't label the queer content regressive in some way, then it's framed as extraneous to the narrative. Suddenly the plot becomes a perfect crystal, compounded and polished until all but the most vital story beats remain. Of course silly relationship details wouldn't penetrate this barrier of Pure Plot.

Except that's a total fabrication. These stories always make time for extraneous gags and flings and miscellaneous side quests. They nurture long-form friendships and rivalries under short-form plots. And creators are happy to play jump rope with the canon material right up until queerness enters the chat. They play it off like their hands are tied re: canonicity and relevance when really they just...don't want to make their characters queer. Which is perfectly fucking fine. I just wish more fans and creators were able to go "eh, I like these two as best friends and nothing else, so that's what I wrote" rather than make value judgements on people who WOULD prefer a canon queer relationship.

I haven't seen any kind of hand-wringing bullshit from the Sherlock and Co. creators as of yet, which gives me hope they'll just be honest about their preferences when the time comes (rather than try and spin their adaptation as something revolutionary in its platonic approach).

Like you said...It's also hard to watch a new round of fans rally their hopes around a Sherlock Holmes adaptation. My gut has absolutely led me astray before, but as far as I'm concerned, the Sherlock and Co. vibes are a world away from canon Jonklock. It's a great podcast and I'm sure it'll continue to accumulate fans. But it's not gonna be Gay. And I would loveeee to see people take that at face value I guess.

[chibi-celesti]

Was ki ra chs Chronicle=Key en grandee sos inferiare yor

(I will sing you a sweet lullaby forever, my dearest)

Twst Boys x GN! Reader, feat. NRC Staff.

Warnings: Angst, reference to Epic Mickey 1, more AT references

Synopsis: Confronting and halting the Blot Phantom was easy. Saying Good-bye is the hardest.

(You part ways with your friends to halt the Blot from tearing apart Twisted Wonderland)

A/N: I swear I'm not a fan of angst! This was a brain child idea at 3 in the morning, and that's it! It's based solely on this scene from Ar Tonelico 1 where one of the heroines, Misha(or Misya) fulfills her role as a seal to the main antagonist Mir. The title is named after the song of the same name.

~EXEC_CHRONICLE=KEY./~

It was exhausting, the hell you all went through. The past overblots seemed like child's play compared to this monster-no demon-of a Phantom. This beast was hellbent on ending the world; to make it repent for the sorrows of mankind's greed.

You feared that you and everyone else weren't gonna last long. The demon almost killed Crowley, but somehow he persevered and survived throughout the fight. For being the first person to hold back the beast long enough for them to arrive was no easy feat.

Through hard work, tag teaming with the unlikely-est pair of allies, and no casualties to boot, everyone managed to best the beast and send it back down into the depths of White Rose Castle.

“That…was easy…” You heard one of your friends pant.

“You could say…that again.”

A thump sound of someone collapsing caught your group's attention. Crowley had lost his strength to stand and looked scaryingly pale. Everyone had shouted his name, seeing if he was in stable condition. A few students and staff ran to assist him.

“I am fine, Everyone. But we still need to do something about that dreaded Phantom. If we do not stop it now, our world will never know peace again.”

You swallowed back the lump in your throat. You had an idea as to how to stop it. But you worry what the others might think.

The headmage knows the truth. So did the rest of the staff. They all knew if things got worse, you would be the sacrificial lamb on the altar for this.

The ground begins to rumble again, not giving you enough time to confess.

Suppressing the tears that threatened to come down your face, you called to the Headmage to get his attention. He looks to you, knowing it is time. Crowley nods to you, and weakly gestures for you to head towards the broken castle’s altar.

The rumbling continued on as you made your way to the altar. The flow of magic embracing you as you faced all of the friends, acquaintances, and of course your beloved, one last time.

“Everyone, thank you. For everything.”

Most looked a bit confused, while others felt something was amiss. Your beloved, however, felt his heart beginning to crack into pieces. He knew exactly what you were about to do.

“Please don't hate me for this. I was born to fulfill this role. And while it was for a short time, I truly loved every moment of freedom I had with you all.”

“Don't forget me… okay?” You felt the tears fall against your better judgement. Feeling the magic in the air wrap around you, you began to perform your lullaby for the Blot.

~Wee ki ra chs Chronicle Key, en grandee sos dius yor.

Wee ki ra araus tes soare an giue mea iem~

The song reverberated out the desolate ruins of the Underworld, in and through the vast Coral Sea and spread everywhere in Twisted Wonderland. Your voice echoing as a piece of Salvation to many, and a tragic farewell to the friends you loved.

“Hey, guys. The shaking stopped.”

“Looks like the Blot won't be bothering us ever again…right?”

The Headmage confirmed their words.

“...” Your beloved stood there, taking in what everyone noticed your actions have done, while also blocking them out. He calls out to you, hoping you would answer.

A hand placed on his shoulders told him what he wanted to deny. “Forgive us, but they cannot stop singing. Lest we want that foul beast to return.” Trein told him, wishing he could do more to reassure his students.

“So, they can't come back with us?!”

You faintly hear shouts of disbelief, but they were drops of water compared to the sound of your lullaby.

“Pup is doing this for all our sakes.”

Your beloved walked ahead, hoping to speak with you again. To see if you could hear him. He tells you he cannot stay, but that he will try to visit you. Not everyday, but he will. He promises to tell you about the world you're protecting. The lives and futures saved by what you, he and everyone fought to protect.

With that said, leaning onto Vargas for support, Crowley ordered everyone to leave White Rose Castle.

It was time to go home. Without you.

~Why does power dwell in those who do not wish for strife?

And why does power torture the sweet, innocent ones?~

-Misha

[randomthefox]

All the talk about Carpet the Roadkill last month, and I just remembered this now: Enzo, the mob boss guy Bayonetta let's tag along at points, would be a really powerful man if he were in anything BUT a game series about a kick ass witch who fights angels with nothing but dance moves, the guns in her stilletos and hands, and whatever weapon she manages to get manufactured along the way. Carpet feels like Enzo if he wasn't the comic relief character in a world where many superpowered beings can take on a whole slew of terrorizing robots and gods, and we're supposed to think that's good.

There's a reason why Enzo is the way he is in Bayonetta, and it's because he's barely able to defend himself because he's just an old guy on a meek throne held together with duct tape and glue. What's Clutch - I mean, CARPET the ROADKILL - gonna do to a bunch of beings who can literally reach the Sound Barrier simply by running? Point a gun that they can easily snatch/bypass to their face?

Lol yeah exactly. The whole joke of Enzo is that he's a wise guy mafia don who is the pinnacle of normal human underworld society in the setting of Bayonetta. He would be the untouchable antagonist of a Grand Theft Auto game who the main characters "defeat" by merely ensuring that he simply no longer has reason to want them rubbed out anymore. But compared to the cosmic conflict between Witches and Angels, he's a bumbling worthless goofball who gets constantly bullied and taken advantage of because he's unto an amoeba.

Honestly? That would be the PERFECT role for a character like Clutch to take in the world of Sonic. To the normal every day rigamarole of the Sonic world, Clutch is a fearsome street level oppressor. But compared to the feuding demi gods Sonic and Eggman? He's a bug who must exhaust every last resource he has at his disposal to avoid being effortlessly stomped on by accident. That would actually do a very good job of adding perspective to the setting. When interacting with BACON CEREAL BOY (tm)

Clutch can be a bone chilling figure who could ruin the life of his entire family with a gesture of his claw on a passing whim. But when he gets a report that ROUGE THE BAT, AMY ROSE, and CREAM THE RABBIT are participating in his Chao Race and furthermore there are indications of SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG snooping around as well, Clutch should be going "oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!!!!" and suddenly every priority should shift to hiding any hint of illicit dealings and burying their heads in the sand as deep as they can go and hope these cosmic world defining entities pass him over without too much notice lest they smite him in the blink of an eye.

I think that would actually make his character very endearing. He doesn't even have to ever even interact with the main characters at that point. I could see a character like that becoming a fan favorite from his first appearance if that was how he's portrayed.

But Evan Stanley hates Sonic. So instead we get this garbage.

And all I'm left thinking is "why the fuck is ROUGE THE BAT left weary and on the back foot with this fucking nobody whom she could instantly fucking decapitate with a single kick if she felt so inclined? Why is this comic such a steaming pile of rancid dog shit?"

[lilietsblog]

hi, i noticed you reblogged my post highlighting my tags talking about how i don't appreciate likes, specifically saying something to the affect of "artists do appreciate likes" and i'd like to clear something up, I Am An Artist, My Posts Don't Often Get Reblogged and so i'm Not Getting New Eyes On My Posts and i'm Getting Discouraged‚ like why should i post art if nobody's gonna see it?

i don't really care for likes, all a like is to me is a "hey i saw your post! not gonna say anything about it, just saw it!" and its so easy to do with double tap to like, if i could turn them off on my posts i would, i promise you that. you literally highlighted my tags and said the opposite about People Like Me, basically about Me, which is just an absurd thing to do

also, did you see what blog of mine you were reblogging from? my sideblog for reblogging things to, because my main is for my art, other things "wouldn't match that wallpaper" so i put them on a dedicated blog so i can add tags and interact more without just liking posts, because i've been on the other side of getting like 11k likes or whatever and 5k reblogs‚ meaning i got hardly any feedback and people are now seeing it through the top posts of #long furby or whatever (not to mention that 5k reblogs started with a staff member reblogging it to the radar? so like, reblogs can really do some work)

i know its a bad idea to interact with discourse, especially when its something i could just block you for, i mean i'd really rather not talk to a like truther, but i'd like to tell you these things so you get a perspective of where i was coming from with those tags‚ and so you reconsider your argument against them

i hope you have a nice day‚ feel free to not answer this ask if it doesn't match your wallpaper, please stop telling artists what they should think

here's an idea for you too, turn off double tap to like, try to only interact with posts Intentionally, treat a day like you only have 100 likes or something, make a like matter, show us artists we're wrong

First, I'm not on mobile, "double tap for like" is not a thing in the browser. And I do interact with posts intentionally - if I don't like the post I don't put "like" on it, I just like the overwhelming majority of what's on my dash and I'm always happy to see (almost) any art that people on here actually made. I like it! Quite intentionally! It all matters to me! Like if I don't have the headspace to consider the post I don't - don’t scroll further I get off tumblr and go do something else

I didn't actually see what blog of yours I was reblogging from, no, I don't normally look at those things /sideglare into the "dont reblog from terfs" discourse/

And no, likes don't just mean "I saw your post". Yes, it's easy to put them, but people still choose to. They mean "I saw your post and I am glad I did and I want to see more of these". Literally tumblr has actual algorithms that determine things based on likes - whether to show something in a tag, the "based on your likes" recommendation thing.

Also..

>I Am An Artist, My Posts Don't Often Get Reblogged and so i'm Not Getting New Eyes On My Posts and i'm Getting Discouraged‚ like why should i post art if nobody's gonna see it?

so...

>all a like is to me is a "hey i saw your post!

people. seeing your posts. which is what you're saying you want. ???

Anyway, the real reason I'm wading into this discourse is that arguments like yours ARE MAKING PEOPLE STOP LIKING ART. Engaging with it at all in any way. Instead of going "ooh I should go through this blog and like this person's art, make their day, ooh look this picture is cool enough I want to reblog it!" people just go "artists are touchy, better not go on this dude's blog at all lest I accidentally like something"

like... not just yours. You're not the only person losing out on potential reblogs here. Everyone is. This campaign is driving art appreciators away, period.

Oh, and maintaining a sideblog is not something you can expect from other people as a mandatory obligation. It's not tumblr tax to be obligated to have a sideblog. Nor to blog anything at all. "Hey, if you don't post anything people are going to think you're a bot" =/= "hey, if you don't post anything you're evil and don't belong here".

---

P.S. If I did do that? If I did limit myself to 100 likes per day for ONLY STUFF THAT REALLY MATTERS?

You would have no way of knowing that, would you? Even if the likes I gave your art were from my Precious 100 Likes Supply, you would still be upset by them?

[dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice]

L’histoire secrète de la mer /// Chapter 2

Damn another chapter in a day. I'm gonna start posting this on AO3 for anyone who prefers that platform. In the meantime, enjoy! x

Summary: Magic was real, but it came at a price. So when two girls end up in the one place they never thought they could reach, strange things began to happen. Good or bad? That's up to them to find out.

Tags: Fili x oc/reader - Kili x oc (for this POV fic visit my navigation) - Thorin's company × ocs/reader (platonic) - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Bagginshield

Word Count: 1947

Warnings: Swearing

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

PLEASE START FROM THE BEGINNING IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY OK LOVE U

Want some background music? Check out my Soundtrack Playlist!

Soon available on Wattpad and AO3

< Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 >

PART 1: Chapter 2 -

Deep, quiet, and alone;

The Song Thrush has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts. Its distinctive song, which has repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referred to in poetry.

Kate let out a groan as my hand tapped her repeatedly on the shoulder. She waved her arm about, eyes still shut tight until the onslaught stopped. Marching over to the window, I ripped the curtains open, the blinding light of the morning sun hitting her directly in the face.

“Girlie get the fuck up.” I pushed.

Letting out more groans of complaint, Kate’s face scrunched up as she rolled over away to face the wall, only to be met with a wad of paper that I aimed at the back of her head.

“Kate.” I said, exasperated.

Now somewhat awake, she rolled back over and leant up on her elbow to face me.

“What-?” She croaked in confusion.

I glared at her with wide eyes, before looking pointedly at the piece of paper I had aimed at her.

Looking down at her assaulter, she picked up a leaflet, the front a picture of a waterfall, with the title ‘Magic of Ullswater’ printed in a bold white font. She looked back at me with groggy eyes and messy hair as I sat perched on my bed.

“Ah,” She guiltily scrunched her face in realisation, “was this today?”

“Yes!” I exclaimed, pointing at the glaring number on my phone. “And it’s already seven!”

“Don’t worry, I’m up” She rolled out of bed and swung open the wardrobe doors, grabbing what she needed before heading to the bathrooms to freshen up and get ready. Within twenty minutes she was back in the room, and by some miracle managing to get ready in half the time. On an average day she would take at least an hour.

After a quick breakfast in the canteen, we went back up to ensure everything needed was packed and ready for today’s hike. After all, going to see the waterfall was one of the main reasons we had gone. You mention rocks to me, and forests to Kate, we are there.

We laced up our walking boots and headed outside, up the path until we reached the edge of the road where the shuttle bus dropped us off days earlier. The weather had changed for the better, the temperature hiked up to a comfortable twenty two degrees accompanied by a blue sunny sky. Perfect for today’s plans, where only summer clothes were required.

I wore my cargo trousers, along with a grey cropped vest top and a thin zip up hoodie tied around my waist.

Kate on the other hand was wearing her cream vest top tucked into her baggy olive green trousers, and a thick brown belt looped through, with a loose fitting chunky white cardigan left unbuttoned over the top.

Unfortunately Dr Martens and platform crocs weren’t the most suitable shoes for hiking, lest you want your ankles broken, so were replaced with hiking boots, and obviously waterproofs were packed away in our rucksacks just in case. As lovely as it was, you can never trust English weather.

Eventually, the local bus slowed to a stop. Sifting through my pockets I pulled out and counted up what loose change I had, handing it over. After stating our destination and receiving our tickets, we headed to the back of the relatively empty bus, which was surprising considering it was the middle of summer. We both placed down our rucksacks and sat on either side of the aisle, propping up our feet on the other seats. With a groan and a jolt, the bus’s engine sprang back to life, and begun its journey down the road, over the vast rolling hills.

“Hey.” I said, waiting for Kate to turn away from the window, “Did you remember to bring the passes?”

She leant back in mock offense. “Of course.” she retorted. “Must you deem me that unreliable??”

I snorted at her reaction. “Well you forgot what day it was earlier, so I had to double check.”

She deadpanned at me, reaching into her bag to procure two sheets of paper, shoving them up at me so I could see the print. “I double checked at least ten times, after all this saves us the twenty quid entry.”

I sat back with a quiet sigh of relief, whilst Kate safely tucked the papers back away. Looking back, she asked me which part of the trail I wanted to visit first.

My eyes darted around as they narrowed in thought.

“The waterfall.” I declared. “You’ve been before, is it close to the entrance?”

“Somewhat.” She answered as she picked at her lip. “Within a fifteen-ish minute walk of the car park.”

“As long as you actually remember where to go.” I taunted, before laughing at her frown. “Cuz I wanna see some stratification.” I said eagerly, tapping on the diagram in the book on my lap.

“Well as long as you don’t start licking the rocks as soon as we get there, otherwise you’ll scare the children off.” She tormented, ducking down with a giggle as the book was launched at her head.

Soon enough, we arrived, and after Kate proved to me that she actually knew the route, we followed the continuous thundering noise of rushing water until we reached the 65 foot waterfall, now towering ahead of us. I jogged ahead, eager to reach the moss covered bridge that curved over the deep ravine that the water had carved into the rock. At halfway I stopped to lean over the fence, facing down into the narrow abyss of water below, tilting enough to the point where my legs began to lift from the floor.

“Oi!” Kate cried, jogging to catch up. “You can’t swim, so if you fall, don’t think I’m going in after you.”

“Are you a lifeguard or not?” I pointed out incredulously, leaning further over in a taunting manner. “It’s literally you’re job to go after me.”

“Well it’s not like I’m being paid right now to do so.” She answered as she caught up to me. “Pay me my hourly rate and then I’ll think about going after you.”

I scoffed in disbelief at her audacity before my attention returned to admire the waterfall before me.

It wasn’t long before a high pitched trill from above caught Kate’s attention. Raising her head, she stared at the dense foliage above her, before spotting whatever it was and wandering outside my peripheral vision. The sound of a Polaroid shutter went off behind me several times, before going silent again. Within a minute, I felt a finger poke my shoulder, and I turned to see Kate pointing further down the path.

My eyes followed said footpath and from a distance, I managed to make out a clearing bathed in the scattered beams of the midday sun.

“How about we have lunch down there?” She suggested.

I nodded in agreement, and we both made our way over. After decided what was the sunniest spot, we laid out the blanket and sat down, putting out the food we were able to fit in our bags.

“That bird.” I tried to say, my voice half muffled by my hand that was hiding my mouthful of sandwich as I spoke. “What was it?”

“A song thrush,” Kate replied, swallowing her own sandwich. “According to some article I read a while back they’re quite common round these parts”.

“I didn’t know you birdwatched?” I pondered.

“I did quite a bit when was younger. To be fair though, I only recognised it because of The Hobbit.” She admitted.

My eyes widened in realisation, and we both pointed at each other with a grin. “Of course!” I laughed, before turning back to my sandwich. “When the thrush knocks!”

“Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks and the setting sun with the last light of Durin’s Day will shine upon the keyhole.” Kate recited without a stutter.

I lowered my sandwich and turned back towards her slowly, side-eyeing her with a face of suspicion. She side-eyed back.

“Your short term memory should’ve taken that in and flung it out the other side.” I disputed.

She frowned.

“And you didn’t even mess up the words once.”

Side-eyeing me once more, I watched as she slowly brought her phone up to her face. I glared in even further suspicion as she began to furiously type away at the keyboard. Within seconds I had enough.

“Ok what the fuck are you typing over there.” I demanded, discarding my sandwich, and speeding across the blanket to stare over her shoulder and began to read aloud. “Kay is anti-mental disorde— ??? I’M NOT DISSING YOUR ADHD???? NO. DON’T SEND THAT TO THE GROUPCHAT. KATE. SWEAR DOWN I WILL— NO! TAKE YOUR FINGER AND PRESS DELETE RIGHT NOW. NO NO NO. ROXIE WILL EAT ME ALIVE. DELETE THAT SHIT. NO. COME BACK.”

Kate cackled as she leapt up and ran the length of the clearing, watching as I scrambled up in a frenzy after her. To my horror, she held it up in front of her to read aloud any replies from the chat, interrupted every so often by my aggravated screams of frustration.

I chased her around the grass, until we both collapsed back on the blanket, too exhausted to carry the conflict further. I pointed my finger at her accusingly.

“You better delete it.” I managed between heaves. She held out her hand expectantly.

“That’ll be ten pounds.” She requested with a grin on her face.

“Oh, piss off.” I groaned exasperatedly, shoving her shoulder as she laughed.

Squabble over, I rolled over to pick up and return to the geography book I was reading on the bus. Kate did the same, but with The Hobbit, something she always brought along with her religiously.

Later, we packed up the picnic and explored the forest for a few hours, wandering off the path a few times to look for rocks or plants. A chilly breeze blew past and I made the mental note to check the time soon, but it seemed Kate had already beaten me to it.

“Hey Kay,” I heard her call, and I replied with a loud “YEA?”

From the bushes behind me, she said “we should think about heading back, if we wanna make it to the canteen for tea.”

I agreed, standing up from where I was crouched over a small stream, trying to find a type of mineral deposit I was reading about in my book earlier. Slinging our bags back over our shoulders, we both began to make our way back down the path, dodging the jagged roots and rocks. A short while passed before we reached the clearing we had eaten in earlier, the opening in the trees showed that the sky had begun to change colour, causing us to quicken our paces slightly to ensure we wouldn’t get caught out in the wilderness at night.

It wasn’t long before we were back at the waterfall, and we began our crossing of the bridge before I slowed down again like last time. Kate slowed too, and we both stopped in the middle to spend a moment, taking once last look at the towering waterfall, now bathed in the orange light of the evening’s golden hour.

A familiar chirp rang out through the trees, and Kate spun around, scouring the branches above her looking for the Song Thrush she had spotted earlier, whilst I turned back around to take pictures of the waterfall.

I began walking backwards over the bridge slowly, turning back to Kate as she carried on staring up at the foliage. I went to call for her, but only managed to open my mouth and let out a single sound.

Before it all went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[thekrazykeke]

I posted 745 times in 2022

73 posts created (10%)

672 posts reblogged (90%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@tallulahchanel

@sweetoothgirl

@spicyvampire

@tchallasbabymama

@bakarilennox

I tagged 137 of my posts in 2022

#out of context - 79 posts

#thekrazykeke - 14 posts

#college craze - 8 posts

#ask - 7 posts

#reference - 7 posts

#college craze oc - 5 posts

#college craze fandom - 5 posts

#anonymous - 5 posts

#original character - 5 posts

#misc fics - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 72 characters

#did that paragraph say she had an animal on her whole ass titty?????????

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Because I got some writing done, I decided to do a two-for-one special regarding my MC’s for @the-kingshound demo release

On the left is Gwenvaël; he/him, 6′5″, stoic, reserved and in control. I’m thinking he’s gonna be my main Arthur romancer, slow burn style.

On the right is Gwenhael; she/her, 4′11″, emotional, open, but fierce. Because I adore height romances, I’m thinking she’ll be with Yniol or this will be an Arthur/Gwyar poly romance. 

27 notes - Posted February 5, 2022

#4

I know I’m not active all the time on here, and what I’m about to suggest could imply me leaving the BP fandom and Tumblr community for good (I ain’t never leaving 💀). However with BP: Wakanda Forever coming to theaters in like 9 days, and me getting hella into sims 4 again, I was thinking of writing a Black Panther story but in the sims 4 game? We could make it a BP community event too? Since it’s a large country with lots of culture. Also if y’all don’t play sims 4, then sims 3? Featuring casual gameplay screenshots of rocking T’Challa’s world, being besties with Nakia, or storytelling from anyone interested? @tallulahchanel @muse-of-mbaku @bakarilennox @supremethunda (It’s forreal an open invite, anyone can join)

27 notes - Posted November 2, 2022

#3

Got home and I was so exhausted, I just showered and fell into bed pretty much immediately. However, I’m up for now and I decided to actually get to making these character Picrews like I said (in reality I said moodboard but I’m tired--). 

1.) Ri’en The Mistaken Divine

I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in I'll never meet the ground Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us We're far from the shallow now

My Elementalist. Sweet as sugar and protective of Shian, Ri’en casually adopted the homunculus, (or were they surprise kidnapped?) and escaped the facility with Ae-ri. Compassionate, humble, stoic and cautious, she fully plans to disappear from the world at first opportunity. It’s nice to be alive once again, but she’s done her part for humanity. 

Honestly, I think I ship her with Frieda. 

2.) Sirius The Eldritch Elder

Oh, my love What have I done? There's nowhere left for us to run And now I'm standing in the sunlight And I can't bear the sight of you

My Blood wielder. Stoic and proud, merciless and bold, but apathetic, he’s taken Shian with him from the facility, uncertain of his feelings regarding the fact that his heart resides in the homunculus. Literally lost control of his Abyssal form, chomped Amaryllis’ arm, and killed everyone except Ae-ri (the massive loss of control has this boy shook). Regardless of anything, it’s imperative that the child is protected, lest he expire again. 

I ship him with Meidh. 

See the full post

42 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

#2

People on my posts tryna argue with me. //They deleted the comments because I’m spreading the truth

Legit reblogging and complaining in the comments, and thinking I’ll be quiet.💀 I can do this all day but I won’t since I have work in a couple hours. It still entertains me that they keep reiterating the same thing. Fanfics are literally created for this sole reason: if you disagree with what canon is, you can change it. I know some of y’all clearly enjoy complaining because the creators aren’t doing exactly what you the fans are wanting them to do but you know what that’s called?? 

Entitlement. 

This is a story that they write for themselves and we as fans get to enjoy it for free. It is not a group project. It’s a visual novel, some plot points are going to remain the same no matter how much you cry and ponder sending anon hate over. It is not an IF game where your choices actually can change the story, that is the difference. 

Here you go @trashy-corvian since you made a statement about free games. This list consists of IFs and VNs. Remember, don’t send anon hate; that’s 2013 funsies <333

Magician’s Voyage @magiciansvoyage

Honor Amongst Thieves @leoneliterary

Fell Star @fell-star-if

Sinner and Saints @sinnersandsaints-linwrites

College Tennis: Origins Story @allieebobo

College Craze @prettyinkgames/https://www.patreon.com/prettyink

When The Night Comes @https://lunarisgames.itch.io/wtnc

Cute Demon Crashers @https://sugarscript.itch.io/cute-demon-crashers

Our Life: Beginning and Always @gb-patch

When Twilight Strikes @evertidings

but wait, there’s more 😊😊😊: ya just have to look for them.

53 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Spoilers for Andromeda Six episode 6 under the cut. Don’t read if you ain’t finished and can’t handle an opinion.

Truth be told, I think I annoyed myself going in the a6 tag, expecting something different. I was tricked yet again. Some people would be happy Nerissa stayed dead???????? Her being alive erases us from the narrative? 

...Wut?

Did y’all forget that big ass post the creators made awhile ago saying that this is not a romance game? It’s mainly geared towards sci-fi and action/adventure, maybe with a dash slice of life and found family trope sprinkled throughout. That’s the whole reason the Traveler exists, that is the point of the story. The players getting to smooch the cute characters occasionally and get close is fan service and the story reads fine without any of that in there, regardless. 

So what the real problem is? 

I think y’all want Nerissa to be dead so y’all characters can be king/queen/ruler of the galaxy which is everybody’s dream, of course. There’s no guarantee that won’t happen anyway??? The FAQ suggested like 10 episodes, who knows, she could actually kick the bucket and die, Wanderlust could give us choices that lead to her being hurt, etc. and our Travelers still end up ruling anyway. 

If y’all don’t see foreshadowing with how the tyrant king became ruler after his family died, to the situation with the Traveler and Nerissa being put in similar situations, I don’t know what to tell you. 

103 notes - Posted May 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[aelaer]

Thanks for answering that last ask, lol. I half-expected you were going to ignore it tbh. I was hesitating when I wanted to send the ask, bcs, well, duh. It's controversial af lol. Just wanted to let ya know that you're not the only one with that view. (Great minds alike, am I right?) So please don't stop. Really.

This is gonna be a bit of a rant, and if you feel the need not to answer this ask, due to the fear of causing controversy in your blog, I 100% understand. Dunno if tumblr will cut off my ask so i'm hoping this is sent in its full-form.

I honestly agree that Tony gets maybe a *bit* too much spotlight (especially after the CACW shit and fans picking team tony/steve), and I hate that Stephen is just used as a plot device. I don't get why exaggerating a char's innocence is a good thing. Especially if they put other characters *too* antagonised and spiteful. It's petty. And putting another character in it (refer this as Stephen) as a plot device to make the main char more angelic is just.... idk. I'm only using rather insensitive words bcs I'm on anon ngl hahahahah.

Which is why, when I found your ao3 profile, I felt like you saved my life. Cus like. Idk. It's rare to find fics alike. Not really good with words so yeah.

Also thanks sm for tagging your fics properly, lest I wouldn't have found your works.

Ik some authors who share the same idea with the matter, but either they wanted to reach a wider fanbase by venturing into ships and fulfilling people's cravings (that require an ooc stephen, wince), or they simply don't have the writing capabilities to match their intentions -- like you do -- yet, I'm not so sure.

So basically yeah. Binge read your works this week. You're doing super great. Please keep going or else I would've probably never been here in the first place.

Fucking love your works. Don't hate on me for this if you happen to find it irrational ;-; Though if you do, I'm honestly interested with what you think. Sorry for sending a long ass ask.

Hey it's all chill, my anon friend. I really try not to hate on folks, even when I don't agree with everything they say or do. The world needs more empathy after all. And you've done nothing wrong in this ask here.

I personally don't ignore asks. It may take a month or two to get to some as it has in the past during busy or bad seasons, but I get to them. (I also don't get a ton so they're easy to answer haha.) The only ones not answered are short fic prompts that have taken me over 2 years to get to, which I'd like to finish eventually... some day.

I expanded on the topic about other characters in the last ask so I won't get into it again here, but I will say that unfortunately Stephen is not a terribly popular character compared to many other MCU characters like Tony, Bucky, and Loki. It makes finding fic starring him very challenging. He's also a difficult character to write well, though I applaud folks for trying, truly. It's great when people challenge themselves and don't let the fear of failure or judgement keep them from trying.

Anyone who hasn't written Stephen because they're not sure how to write him, or have written him but aren't confident with their writing of him, I recommend rewatching his origin film in particular as that's often forgotten for what we saw in IW and Endgame. There's also some good video essays about the character on YouTube. Some fanfic of him is good, while others are very bad, so it's a hit or miss there. One shot character pieces that are not concentrating on a ship tend to be more reliable, in my experience, for a better character analysis because the goal of the piece as a one shot is more a character study, and without the romance you aren't looking at the character as part of a unit. You need to know the character before you study how he works as a romantic partner, IMO.

I'm hoping his film helps his popularity, but I do have some fears that it will be drowned out a bit by Wanda. We'll have to see what happens on AO3 in particular, which is where my primary fandom interest lies in this case. I really, really want to see fic that isn't just reader inserts. Totally legit fanfic, but romance is already not my cup of tea and, if they aren't just smut pieces, those tend to be caretaker-Stephen fics which are a dime a dozen with his fics with Tony and Peter. So yeah, hopefully there will be more variety in the coming weeks. Of the action/adventure/drama type. A girl can dream.

I'm thrilled you like my writing. And also my tagging, some of the tagging is very hard to complete with some of the one shots xD but seriously, you're sweet. And you're good. Don't sweat it ❤️

[scripttorture]

I'm writing a human character in sci-fi setting who has been betrayed by his friend and is then kidnapped and phycologically tortured by the friend to the point after he escapes he has severe PTSD. I'm struggling to write it though as I'm not sure what kind of mental torture he could be put through without going over the top. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I’m going to start off with a possibly obvious point: kidnapping is traumatic. If the main thing you want from this sub-plot is to give a character PTSD you don’t need to go any further then that. Not everyone who is kidnapped will develop PTSD but it’s a realistic outcome.

 So…. Phycology is the study of algae, I’m assuming that’s not what’s meant here. But if it is then please correct me and I will happily spend some time reading up on algae to help you out. (That is not sarcasm, teach me about algae.) :)

 I am guessing that this is a misspelling of ‘psychologically’ and this is someone new to the blog who hasn’t heard The Talk about ‘psychological torture’ yet.

 So going forward: Anon it’s OK to make mistakes. I’m here because I understand how hard it is to find good quality information on torture. And because I understand how much misinformation is popularised in both fictional and allegedly-factual media.

 I strongly advise that you don’t use the phrase ‘psychological torture’ in your writing.

 Torture isn’t psychological. There’s nothing clever or psychological about hitting someone’s feet with a stick.

 And the phrase ‘psychological torture’ has been used for years by torture apologists. They use it as a way to dismiss survivors and belittle their experience. They do that by declaring that some types of torture are ‘just’ psychological; using this term to suggest particular tortures don’t cause physical harm and that survivors are faking their responses.

 This is bullshit. Don’t buy into it. Don’t support it.

 Torture is physical abuse and physical harm. The lasting psychological symptoms and effects are due to underlying changes in the structure of the brain which happen in response to extreme pain and stress.

 O’Mara, the neuroscientist who wrote about torture, likened it to brain damage. He also went so far as to argue that it’s deliberately inflicted organ failure. And you know what, I’m not a neuroscientist, so I’m not gonna argue with that assessment.

 I don’t know what you’re picturing when you say ‘psychological torture’. You haven’t given me a time frame for how long this character is held or information on the kind of culture this fictional world has. Which makes it hard for me to suggest specific things.

 What I can do is give you an idea of what torture looks like now and what sort of effects you’d expect in survivors. You can then consider whether torture is right for your story.

 Most torture nowadays is ‘clean’. Now different researchers use different terms for this (I use Rejali’s term) but what it essentially means is: a form of physical abuse that is extremely unlikely to leave obvious physical marks on the victim’s body.

 Lest you get the idea that is represents ‘advancement’ most of the clean torture techniques currently used are hundreds of years old. Some of them are thousands of years old.

 There’s been quite a bit of debate in the field about why clean torture is currently so common and why so many organisations have abandoned scarring torture. You can read more about that over here. Or if you feel you have a wealth of time on your hands you can try tackling all 800 pages of Rejali’s Torture and Democracy (highly recommended, also very large).

 The theory Rejali puts forward is that the shift is about evidence. Obvious physical injuries make it easier to build up cases against torturers.

 And a lack of obvious physical injuries can be used to discredit survivors.

 These are the sort of torture techniques that get labelled ‘psychological’ as a way to dismiss them: the ones that are being used around the world today.

 If you’re wondering what sort of thing I’m talking about things like sleep deprivation, beatings (yes this can be done without leaving obvious marks), near-drowning, forcing someone to exercise until they collapse, Tasers.

 I have a post here on typical torture practices in different countries in the modern era.

 While the physical effects of clean tortures are hard to definitively prove we’re still taking about incredibly dangerous things.

 Tasers, used according to the instructions, leave no mark on the skin. They can also cause heart attacks, seizures (in vulnerable individuals) and often cause death by falling injuries. Forced exercise, beatings and stress positions all cause kidney failure. In the case of stress positions that’s after the swelling in extremities that gets to the point of popping the skin open in massive ulcers.

 Sleep deprivation causes a whole slew of interestingly awful physical and psychological effects before (according to studies in mice) leading to death from multiple organ failure as the microbes in the gut take over the entire body.

 What I’m trying to say here is that if you’re looking for something dignified, without the vomit and pus and shit, then torture probably doesn’t fit the bill.

 And clean tortures can still cause physically disabling injuries.

 Drowning and choking tortures (such as water boarding) can cause brain damage. Incorrectly applied restraints can lead to a limb needing to be amputated.

 On top of all this are the long term psychological effects which I have a post on here. Memory problems are discussed in more detail here.

 PTSD is a possible symptom but it’s not guaranteed. The truth is that while we know the possible symptoms different individual survivors develop different symptoms and we don’t know why.

 If you’ve thought about it and you want to use PTSD because it adds something to your story then by all means do so. But don’t feel that it is your only option.

 Survivors do recover. They are not ‘broken’ and unable to live or enjoy life. They’re mentally ill and often disabled and recovery is a process of learning to live with their conditions.

 Wrapping this up: think about what you’re writing.

 I am not saying that you shouldn’t write torture. I am not saying that you should. I’m asking that you, and every other writer who comes here, consider what you’re committing to.

 If you don’t want a character to be dealing with multiple complex mental health problems for the rest of every story you use them in, it’s probably not a good fit.

 If you want something that doesn’t have even a chance of causing lasting physical damage, torture is probably not a good fit.

 Picture where the story is going. If you think the narrative could be the same without torture then you’re probably not capturing the scale of the impact torture has.

 I have a post on common inaccurate tropes here. I have a post on researching torture here. I have a list of sources over here. I also have a lot of asks tagged as sci fi.

 Consider why you want to write torture in this story. What is it adding to your narrative? What is it doing?

 If the main thing you want is this character to have PTSD afterwards that is possible with kidnapping alone. Physical attacks make PTSD more likely but they’re not necessary for its development.

 Kidnap and imprisonment is betrayal enough. It is reason enough for all the big, powerful emotions you want to put into this relationship. Ask yourself if torture really does add any more to that.

 I hope that helps. :)

Available on Wordpress.

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[theladylovingcrow]

New Places, Friendly Faces Part 2 (Sanny)

Author (As known on Various sites): Lady Lover- Rockfic, Luluthechoosingcrow - AO3, theladylovingcrow - Deviantart and Wattpad, @sammy_bluebells - Instagram, @imacrowcawcaw - main Tumblr, @theladylovingcrow - writing/art Tumblr, @insannywestan - Sanny shipping Tumblr

Fandom: Greta Van Fleet

Pairing: Sam Kiszka/Danny Wagner (Sanny), lil bit of Danny/Ronnie but he's quickly swept away with Sam

Length: about 2.7k

Warnings/Tags: Alternate Universe, Diner AU, No band AU, fluff, some angst, awkwardness, first dates, hand holding, flirting, Sanny

Summary: Danny was nervous; he had been building up the courage for weeks to arrange a date, and now.... He wasn't quite sure what to think of the situation he found himself in. The night certainly wasn't going as he had expected it to - and his emotions had never ridden a roller coaster this fast. Hell, the beautiful angel holding his hand wasn't even the one he had arranged to meet 2 hours ago.

Author's Notes: Here's the next part, it picks up right where the last left off! I'm hoping that I can update on a weekly basis - every Monday - but I'm not sure if I'll be able to punch out the next part quick enough, since I'm having a hectic week back home with all of my family. But I'll try!

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"Hey, I've got your pie. Mind if I sit and eat mine with you?"

Danny was startled into full consciousness again by that slightly raspy, warm voice he had been imagining calling his name. He looked up, wide eyed and probably gaping like a love struck fool at the super smart supermodel himself standing over his booth, a plate of pie in each hand.

He must have taken Danny's silence, or maybe the awed stare, as assent, because Sam sat down opposite him and set one of the plates of pie in front of Danny.

He cautiously picked up his fork and speared a bite of pastry, keeping a wary eye on Sam while doing so. Daydreaming about holding someone's hand and actually having them sit - uninvited, he might add - across from you were two very different things. Who knew what Sam was actually like, or what Danny would let slip out of his mouth if he got too comfortable?

Sam was already digging into his slice, gathering up a big forkful of flaky crusts and filling to shove into his mouth. Danny was honestly a little worried: he ate like he hadn't seen food in days, and he kind of looked it, too.

"Mmph, man, Stephen makes the best damn pie I've ever had. Just don't tell my grandma I said that," Sam confided in him with a wink, making Danny turn red. God, when had he *ever* been this flustered around someone? He wasn't making a very good impression sitting there mute and acting stupid, he was sure.

"Uhh, Sam... why did you come sit with me?"

Sam looked up at him, his brow quirked.

"How do you know my name? Are you one of Jake's friends?"

'Shit!'

"No, I heard it earlier from-" he was about to say Beiber, but luckily stopped himself, "From one of your brothers, the one with the straight hair. Which one is Jake?"

"Oh, that's him, and Josh is on his left, talking to Kyle. Micah and Jeremy are the ones having a fight with the butter knives by the way, they're the twins' best friends. Huh, I really thought you knew them, you look like the kind of guy that hangs out with us."

Danny wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. He figured it would be best to stay silent and let Sam continue talking, lest he embarrass himself somehow.

"What are you- God, I seriously can't get enough of this pie. What are you doing here all by yourself? Trying to get away from your chores or something?" Sam asked, mouth full.

"What? No," Danny said, brow furrowing a bit. He was a good boy, he always did his chores - the least he could do to help his mom out, really.

"Hmm, maybe you're running away? No, I got it! You're actually a health inspector disguised as a regular customer, and you're gonna crack down on the roaches in the kitchen!"

Danny shook his head, reluctantly enjoying the little guessing game Sam had decided to start playing - he wouldn't want the real reason to come out. Or would he? Would that give him a shot with Sam?

'Get real, he's too pretty for you. And he's probably straight, and thinks you're straight, too.'

"Sam! You KNOW there are no roaches here, stop trying to scare away my customers!"

Ronnie came up, smacking him on the back of the head with her hand and smiling at Danny, as if to say 'Don't mind him.'

Danny smiled shyly back at her, commenting on how good the pie was. In truth, he hadn't even taken the single bite he'd put on his fork yet, but it was somehow less awkward to talk to her than to look at Sam.

She said she was glad he was enjoying it and went back to the kitchen to fetch him more coffee. He watched her go, wanting to ask her to stay but knowing that would be incredibly weird; Sam just made him so nervous, he would have felt better with Ronnie's calm demeanor and sweet smile there to help him breath.

"Oh! You're here for Ronnie!" Sam whispered, looking enlightened and possibly a little crestfallen (but Danny was pretty sure that was just wishful thinking).

"No, no, I'm not. She's just nice that's, all. I'm not after her, man," Danny said.

Even though he did find Ronnie very attractive - and he could admit he had a desire to spend more time with her - he wasn't staying solely because of her, and he certainly didn't want Sam to get upset with the thought that Danny was trying to hit it with his sister.

"Dude, it's alright, I'm not gonna kick your ass or anything. Unless you hurt her..." Sam trailed off, looking suddenly so menacing that Danny was actually a bit afraid.

"I- I'm really not."

It looks like Danny's mouth had chosen trying his luck with Sam over Ronnie and, honestly, he wasn't upset by that. Sam was absolutely gorgeous and incredibly interesting: bold, humorous, intelligent, pretty, everything that Danny ever wanted. If only Danny was in his ballpark.

"Oh, c'mon! You're just sitting here by yourself, obviously waiting for someone. And Ronnie's been smiling at you so much, always coming over to your table. Her shift's over in half an hour, where are you taking her?"

'Fuck! He's really not getting it!'

"Ronnie is beautiful, but I'm not here for her. I'm- I *was* on a date, but I'm pretty sure she stood me up, and now I'm only still here because you are."

Danny's face was bright red and probably kind of sweaty, he could tell by his reflection in the spoon on the table. He couldn't bear to look Sam in the face, instead choosing to focus on his slice of pie oozing cinnamon-apple filling onto the plate.

Ronnie came back and filled up his cup, setting down a few more pods of creamer next to it. Maybe she sensed the tension, because she didn't say anything to him, and Danny didn't offer any more than a small smile this time. Now that he had made up his mind about which sibling to go for, he felt a tad awkward around her - but, then again, Sam was making him feel pretty funny, too.

Sam had been silent since his admittance, and it was making Danny nervous as fuck. He opened a creamer and dumped it into his mug, stirring it and taking a testing sip, then finally trying a bite of the pie.

'God, Sam was right - this pie was *good*.'

And fuck, did he not want this to be the last time he could have pie with Sam. As much as the guy was making Danny feel like he was about to give a public speech - and Danny could not stress enough how nervous he was - he was desperate to not let this be the end of their short lived interaction.

'It's been, what? 15 minutes since he came in, 5 since he sat down, and 2 since I started ignoring him - pathetic. If I want any chance at getting a date, this isn't the way to do it.'

Danny had made up his mind: he was going to look up, make it very clear that he meant what he had said, and ask Sam if he was interested in going to a different diner with him, when Sam spoke up.

"I'm sorry that your date stood you up, but I'm glad you're still here. I was honestly gonna leave the guys and go home, but then I saw you in the window and I decided to come in; so, I guess, you could say I'm still here because of you, too."

"I- really?"

'What?!' Danny couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Sam was here for him, because he had seen him in the window, had specifically come in because Danny looked... fuck, what could he have possibly looked other than hopeless and awkward? The grin quickly morphed into a frown.

"I don't need the pity. I appreciate that you're trying to keep me company, but I should probably just go home, I've been here long enough."

Danny got up and started putting his coat on, leaving behind his nearly uneaten pie and cup of Joe. All he knew was that he had to get out of this humiliating situation and never, ever, see this beautiful, amazing asshole ever again.

Sam sighed and caught his arm, wrapping a surprisingly strong hand around Danny's wrist. Danny froze where he was, stopped in his tracks with half a coat on for the second time this night by Sam.

"I don't feel pity for you. I can emphasize with being dumped or stood up-" Danny snorted because, really, who the fuck would pass on a date with Sam? "But I came over here because I thought you looked like an interesting person to talk to and you're honestly super hot."

He had no clue what to say to that so he didn't do anything, just stood there, unmoving, with his limp hand still in Sam's.

Suddenly, Sam breathed out harshly and stood up, too.

"Fuck, I'm sorry if I read this wrong, or gave you the wrong impression, or something. You clearly don't want me hanging onto you. Sorry, I'll go now," he said, hurriedly dropping Danny's wrist and starting to walk away.

"Sam!" Danny called, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Sam stopped but didn't turn. Beyond him, Danny could see that they had drawn the attention of Sam's brothers and friends, all of them turned to look at them having a little fight - and his traitorous brain immediately referred to it as a lover's spat - in the middle of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so defensive. I don't mind having you sit with me at all, so, please, come back and sit down with me."

They both slowly sat down again, Danny setting his coat to the side on the booth's leather bench. Sam balled up a napkin and Danny took a bite of pie, neither of them sure of what to say next, it seemed.

Finally, Danny figured he'd better elaborate a bit more. "'M sorry I accused you of pitying me, I just- I just don't know what else you could see other than some nerdy, lonely guy sitting in a booth by himself and watching your sister."

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't going after Ronnie," Sam immediately looked up and smiled at him, making Danny's heart flutter. He shrugged, conveying a non-verbal agreeance and admittance all at once.

"It's alright," Sam told him softly, causing Danny's breath to catch when he saw a slim hand tuck a strand of hair behind Sam's ear - possibly a sign if Sam's own nerves? "I honestly don't know why you've been putting up with me planting myself at your table and talking over you, so it's all good."

Danny wanted to protest, but Sam kept talking (perhaps there was some truth to what he had said). It seemed like, now that he had started, Sam wanted to get out all of whatever he had to say. Danny was perfectly okay with that.

"As I said, I saw you in the window when we were walking up and I just couldn't believe how attractive you were. Like, you're fucking gorgeous, and I just wanted to talk to you so bad and see what you were like. I may have intercepted Ronnie's pie delivery so I could have a reason to come up to you," Sam admitted.

Danny laughed, all of the air rushing out of him in a bout of relieved giggles. He took another bite of pie, making Sam beam back at him, showing he understood Danny's appreciation, of both the gesture and the food.

"Wow, I can't believe *you* find *me* attractive, but I'm not going to debate you on that. And I feel the same, man - like, have you seen yourself? As soon as you walked in, I was just completely in awe of you."

Sam was blushing now, too, and that made Danny's heart thump extra hard, a base drum pounding from his chest. He was grinning at Sam, and Sam was smiling back at him, both of them red and squirming in their seats but refusing to look away.

Danny saw Sam's hand reaching towards his on the table. His heart quickened and he held very still, as if trying not to frighten a scared animal by moving.

Sam's fingers found him, lightly running over the back of his hand and down to his knuckles. Danny let him explore for a time, then turned his hand over to *hold hands with Sam holy shit.*

A loud cheer of hoots and whistles sounded from across the diner. Danny looked up, startled, and Sam turned around in his seat, looking over at his table where all the other boys were apparently celebrating.

The curly haired twin - Josh, he was pretty sure (he hadn't paid overly much attention, focusing instead on Sam) - gave him a big grin and a thumbs up that could have been directed at him or Sam, he wasn't sure. Jake was the one whistling and howling, giving an almost predatory grin at Danny. Their other friends weren't as overt, but they certainly seemed happy that Sam had made up with the random guy in their sister's diner.

It made him a bit uncomfortable, but Danny was glad that Sam's siblings were okay with this - apparently they knew Sam was, in fact, into guys. Danny hoped that his family would be just as receptive, if he got that far with Sam.

'God, I hope I do.'

Sam was looking like he wasn't sure whether he should scold them or go over and high five Jake, but he didn't let go of Danny's hand. Danny found it endearing how happy he was, and how happy they all were, that Sam was over here with him - it made him feel good, like he was actually wanted and desired (in both platonic and romantic ways).

"They kinda convinced me to bring you the pie. Jake's been rooting for me to get a boyfriend for a while now, and he said you're perfect. I think I agree with him."

His blush, if somehow possible, got even darker. Sam was so hot, and such a nice person, it seemed - and he thought Danny was boyfriend material?! Danny's brain was having a riot on every single neurotransmitter simultaneously.

He had no clue how to eloquently respond to that in a way the conveyed his absolute joy, so he just stuck with a simple, "I agree too, I'd love to be your boyfriend."

Sam tightened his grip on Danny's hand, and Danny could feel how clammy his palms were. The knowledge that Sam was just as nervous, attracted, and happy as he was - it was blowing his mind.

Ronnie came over with his bill for the coffee and set it down right next to their linked fingers. She was beaming, looking back and forth between their hands and faces, clearly also in on the plot to get him and Danny together.

'*What the hell*, I don't even know any of these people.'

'Whatever, I don't care. SAM IS HOLDING MY HAND AND HE THINKS I'M HOT!'

"Rons, are you kicking us out?" Sam asked, gasping for dramatic affect, when he saw the bill.

'Shit, he's sassy, too.' Danny wasn't sure how he was going to handle such a personality-strong beauty, but fuck was he going to try.

"No, Sammy, you can take my car tonight and I'll ride home with Jakey and Josh." Ronnie replied, dropping a sey of keys onto the table. "But, if you have sex in there, *I am going to murder you*."

"No worries, I've got some standards. I mean, not that I don't want to or anything, but..." Sam trailed off, looking at Danny. He was going for provocative but it was mostly awkward; Danny bit his lip to stifle his laughter.

"Right... well, I'm officially off duty once I ring you up, so why don't you two get out of here and have some fun."

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@satans-helper

@okietrish

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@bigthighsandstupidguys

@karrotkate

@oblvions

@lantern-inthenight

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