#it just feels like a really nice touch the way it's emphasised here.

[theflyindutchwoman]

I get it, all right? You're invested in a certain answer because it makes for a better documentary. But we are not Jake and Sava, okay? I mean, they -- they are criminals whose lives were based on deceit. O-Of course that duplicity infected their relationship. But… we are in a very different place. Mm-hmm. And what place is that? If you don't know, then you haven't been paying attention. I mean… Okay. So, a place of honesty, respect, love. Yeah. I mean, those are -- those are good words. Yeah.

| ANATOMY OF A SCENE - CHENFORD EDITION 5.18 - Double Trouble

Separating Tim and Lucy for the documentary, before reuniting them at the end, in her home, was a really great move. And so symbolic as well, since they're talking about their doppelgängers and their own relationship in the very same place where it truly started… so close to where they actually first kissed… for the undercover mission that sparked the interest for this documentary. It's a perfect little nod. And as much as I missed their usual banter, it was such a gripping way of showing us how much they ground each other.

Lucy, who used to be so enthusiastic in the previous editions, was suddenly nervous when she found out that not only she was going to be the subject of the documentary but also Tim wouldn't be there with her… Once the cameras were rolling, she looked like her usual self, if a bit more subdued. As for Tim, he was back to being his grumpy and intimidating self in her absence. There was no Lucy to counterbalance him or to smooth over the rough edges. But the moment they are back together, in her apartment, they clearly have found their balance again. She is glowing and relaxed… And when he gets seriously offended by all the insinuations and ready to throw the crew out, all it takes is her touch to calm him down. And I'm just living for all these moments that can disclose their closeness… And protectiveness. Over each other and their relationship. It really underlines how they ground each other : Tim's presence boosts her confidence and Lucy's calms him. It is all in the little moments : how Lucy is trying not to laugh every time Tim refuses to acknowledge his uncanny resemblance to Jake (physically), how she is looking at him fondly when he is defending them and their relationship, how they keep glancing at each other, for comfort and to make sure they are on the same page.

And while the director of the documentary kept implying that Sava & Jake's relationship was a foreshadowing to what could happen to them, it also served to emphasise the differences. In the end, Sava and Jake's relationship was built on lies and deceit. On the other hand, Tim and Lucy have built their relationship on stronger foundations. It's not perfect and it surely has its own fair share of cracks. But it's based on mutual respect and love and they know what they have is precious… and this scene highlights how solid they already are, despite everything. It was interesting to have Tim defend their relationship here after all the implications of lies and secrets as well : this happens right after he found out about her five-player trade to get him into Metro - which was even referenced in the episode. Something quite important in light of the upcoming arc with UC and Isabel's return that explained why he is so sensitive towards secrets and lies (besides the obvious reason, of course). Even his remark 'You're invested in a certain answer because it makes for a better documentary' feels very meta-ish.

His little smile when he says that they're in a very different place… Lucy's face when the director asks her what place is that, almost offended that he has to ask… Tim getting seriously worked up before her touch calms him and grounds him… Such a nice callback to all the times they've done this for the other. Like during that same undercover mission they are talking about, when he grabbed her hand in the private jet. And I love how confident and self-assured she is in their relationship. It is so beautiful to see, for someone who used to be so scared of commitment. Who was afraid of taking that leap in the first place. And the way she glances at his lips when she says they're in a really beautiful place… How he unceremoniously stops the interview, with Lucy chuckling… His little sigh when they're removing their mics… the boy couldn't be more relieved to be done with this. And Lucy leading him away… So protective. And so domestic. And all these little moments serve to showcase the complicity, the trust and shorthand that Sava and Jake never had.

[kindnessisweakness2]

9

Since Jax convinced her to come back to the party, Emily had to admit she was having a good time. Her and Jax sat at the bar surrounded by his brothers all telling stories in their drunken stupour. Jax's hand never left her as she sat on the stool next to him, moving between her thigh, hip or around her shoulders. She had to admit that it was nice. His warmth radiating through her. "Hey Jax." Emily watched as the young blonde barely clothed woman draped herself over him. She kicked herself mentally when she felt it. The stomach punch. She barely knew him. And as much as she would've liked to pull the ditzy blonde by her bottle bleached hair and smash her face into the bar top for touching him, she had no right to. Turning back to the rest of the boys she tried to ignore them both. Making eye contact with Opie, she was greatful for the smile he threw her way. "So you've obviously got some amazing ink lass! What about your piercings?" Chibs asked and Emily was grateful for the distraction. "Oh well I have a few! I have all the ones you can see on my ears." Turning her head from side to side Emily pointed to the colourful additions. "I have the hoop in my nose, did have a septum but I don't wear it anymore. I did also have snakebites in my lips but took them out." Poking out her tounge she showed them the pink pill tounge bar she had in. "Best thing about this tongue bar? It vibrates!" She grinned and threw a wink at happy. "Other than that I just have my belly and my nipples." Halfsack leaned on the bar, staring at Emily. "I think I'm in love." Opie shoved him, rolling his eyes. "Ignore the perv." Emily laughed, they really were amazing people. If you were accepted into the fold they made sure you felt welcome. "So are you some weird chick that likes the pain?" Happy questioned her and Emily couldn't help but laugh. "Nah I'm a little bitch when it comes to needles. Tattoos I'm fine with but piercings? I have to build myself up to get them." Feeling an arm being thrown around her shoulder and smelling the familiar perfume, Emily knew Cara was back. "Yeah! You should've seen her for her nipples! First one took it like a champ. 2nd one? She screamed blue bloody murder. Shouting about her soul leaving her body and that she was scared her titty was gonna fall off!" Emily could feel her cheeks tinge pink at Cara's words. Turning to face her friend who's lips were obviously swollen and the messy sex hair gave clear answer as to what she'd been up to, Emily grinned as she heard the men around her laugh. "Okay! It hurt like a motherfucker! And it was damn cold in that room topless. Asshole didn't even put the heating on!" Cara rolled her eyes at Emily, leaning forward to grab a drink. "Their sexy as fuck tho. The difference after - mind blowing." Cara widened her eyes nodded her head to emphasise her point. Emily rolled her eyes gently shoving Cara. "Juice level Mind blowing?" Cara shook her head grinning wide as she leaned over the bar top. "I have so many details to give you later Em! You wouldn't believe." Emily laughed at her sex drunk friend. She had a feeling juice would be making a regular appearance while Cara was here.

Glancing to her side, Emily watched a frustrated Jax still arguing with the blonde girl. He hadnt moved from his seat next to her and somehow that managed to wind the blonde up even more. Emily tried to give them privacy talking with the other guys and Cara but the girl was growing louder and louder. "You haven't saw me in weeks. It's like your not interested in me at all since that new bitch came around." The girl flung her arm in Emily's direction, fully starting to have a tantrum. Emily prayed silently to a god she didn't believe in that this wouldn't be another fight. Jax was none of her business. Turning her head to look around the busy party, Emily tried to tune out the argument. Cara and the guys were now deep in convosation. Crow eaters lined the walls chatting to one another, others hung over men as they sat and drank their beers. They definately had a weird family dynamic but for the most part it was nice. Everyone was taken care of, all one big dysfucntional family. It wasn't long before Emily made eye contact with Gemma as she leaned against one of the walls, Clay sat on a chair infront of her. Gemmas arms draped over his shoulders lovingly staking her claim. There was something in Gemmas eyes that didn't sit well with Emily but she couldn't quite pin point exactly why.

The sound of a loud smack made Emily's head turn fast. Her eyes widened in shock as they landed on a pissed Jax, now with a clear red hand mark on his face. Anger filled her chest and was probably clear to see on her face. Emily stood up stepping between Jax and the angry woman, as she saw her hand pull back to go for a second hit. " Okay. You had your one hit your not getting another." Emily stared down the woman infront of her. "Oh so your new bitch protecting you now?" The blonde spat over Emily's shoulder towards Jax. "Enough. You've said your piece, you've had your smack. Leave." The girl scoffed in Emily's face, making anger boil in her stomach. "You think I'm taking orders from his new whore?" Emily could feel the redness creep up her neck for the second time that night. "Look, you and half of charming know what kind of man he is. You fooled yourself thinking you could be the one to change him. Don't worry sweetie, we've all done it. Falling in love with the bad boy, convinced he'll love you and change his ways. But he hasn't. And he won't. Like I said, you've had your tantrum, you've had your 1 slap. Take the L and walk out gracefully." Emily stepped forward so she was toe to toe with the girl. "Because if you don't I'm going to drag you out of here by your cheap ass extensions. You see, I'm not the kind of girl to sit by and ignore when someone's clearly being harassed. No means no. Regardless of gender. And I heard him say no and ask you to leave multiple times." Emily grinned wide, her anger still high. " So what you choosing sweetie? You walking yourself out or am i gonna have to give you a hand?" The girl was clearly thinking over her options as she rolled her eyes and stayed silent. Emily didn't move a muscle, maintaining eye contact to show this bitch she wasn't backing down. "whatever. He ain't all that any way." The girl scoffed again, looking Emily up and down. "Yeah you keep telling yourself that, sweetie. Just remember it wasn't him stood openly begging you for a scrap of attention. Take yourself home, get some self respect and learn that when someone says no it means fucking no!" Emily shouted back at the scorned blonde as she stomped her way out of the clubhouse. Silence fell in across the room, everyone eyeing her, but Emily didn't give a shit.

Turning around to a shocked and silent Jax, Emily placed her hand on his red cheek, checking for any damage. "Her nails caught you abit but there's not much blood. You'll be fine Teller." Smiling at him, she slipped back into her seat as the music and chatter of the clubhouse started back up again. Emily felt better once everyone's eyes were off her, her stomach not twisting in anger anymore. Part of her really enjoyed how easy she slipped back into convosation with the guys, finding comfort in the laughs and banter. Jax's hand finding it's place on her thigh again causing the already familiar sparks to shoot up her spine.

What Emily didn't see though was the look Gemma and Clay shared as they watched the interaction unfold, and how easily Jax melted into her after. Something about that moment made Gemma realise Emily was going to become a permanent fixture around their family, even if Jax and Emily didn't yet.

[hatkuu]

*pounds desk* your turn. fem kylar headcanons pls

erm where are your MANNERS???? but here. im gonna keep these hcs fairly broad (and also indulge in my LOVE for women)!!!

f! kylar's fixation on you is a lot more romantic than her male counterpart - partly influenced by her LOVE for all things shoujo - she makes an effort to write slews of poetry about you, steals things that you personally value; like jewellry or special trinkets (as well as lots of clothing and lewd things...) solely because she craves to recreate a loving connection with you. she wants to be as meaningful to you as those silly little trinkets are. she'll hold them above her face at night - just staring - wondering what makes them so, so special to you.

she likes to dress cute - opts to wear skirts paired with sheer stockings rather than pants, with a baggy oversized sweater that her boobs still jut out of - her style definitely changes depending on how she's feeling. at low jealousy, it's noticable that she makes an effort to look presentable for you. she sprays on hefty amounts of cloying perfume, wears little pink clips in her hair, and actually hangs up her school shirt rather than leaving it crumpled on the floor. but at high jealousy, her efforts towards maintaining her cute appearance are thrown out the window. her hair is knotted, cut at jagged angles and perpetually put on the backburner until she feels like fixing it. (which is not any time soon unless you plan on talking to her again) her clothes are dirty, noticably crumpled and unwashed, and she just looks really tired. the makeup she wears is smudged, mascara runs down her cheeks if she even makes eye contact with you. she's a mess in the most heart-aching way possible.

as mentioned above, i think once you start dating kylar she'd wear some subtle makeup - just to see if you notice it. maybe a light dusting of blush on her cheeks, some eyeliner smeared on her waterline to make her eyes pop, just little things that emphasise her features because you've already told her you think she's pretty even without it.

one really cute thing that i think would stay prevelant in kylar in f! or m! would be that they would quietly ask you to cut their hair... it's really hard for them to reach the back themselves... BUT!! specifically with f! kylar, you'd both look at pinterest boards together, picking out what hairstyles would best suit her face shape!! she'd love it so much too, only because you're pressing your chest up against her back and you're so warm that she's struggling not to faint. (m! kylar is skrunkly and just asks you to cut it enough so that it doesn't touch the back of his neck)

her wedding plans are much more cohesive - rather than being a series of uncoordinated scribbles in a sketchbook - she has a whole journal dedicated to the venue (the forest), eight separate collages of different wedding themes, ideas of what you'll wear, ideas of what she'll wear—

overall, she's a lovesick fool. (literally just kylar with E cup tits and a MEAN set of birthing hips to match) (still petite and scrawny though... maybe if you coaxed her into taking care of herself a nice pair of love handles will form :) hnnngg)

(also side note i think f! kylar, when hysterical, is a lot sweeter than m! kylar. feels a lot more guilt about threatening you with her knife (i mean instead of groveling at your feet for forgiveness like m! kylar she'll start sobbing and will leave you alone because despite her wanting you to herself she's a lot more emotionally intelligent.)

also guys i think kylar has reading glasses but they refuse to wear them because they don't want to get bullied even more :(

[does-this-look-inanimate-to-you]

seeing little shop of horrors at my old high school

tonight, my mom and i visited my former high school to see their production of my favourite musical, little shop of horrors. it was my third time seeing the show, and my second seeing it at this school. my first time was all the way back in my freshman year, so it’s safe to say it’s been a while. since then i’ve begun to consider myself a critical viewer of any little shop media, so here are my thoughts on tonight’s show.

characters and dynamics

seymour was great! the actor knows my sister and she hates him for being her year’s golden child, but performance-wise he’s pretty good! personally i thought his acting was better than his singing—while he had a good voice, it seemed like it belonged to a character with a more confident personality. i also thought he was a little too well-built to be seymour—he should either be a scrawny fella or a gangly beanpole. then again, that’s probably just the limitations of casting students from one school. a thousand kids is not a lot, oddly enough.

audrey was also lovely. i do think she was played a bit too much for laughs, and she was a little too ditzy for the perception i have if her, but i think that happens in a lot of adaptations.

i really liked mushnik. he played the part very well, and i got a strong sense he knew what he was doing.

my sister also knows the actor who played orin—i think they’re friends, i don’t know. he was absolutely incredible. the kid is usually a really nice fella, but he was terrifying as orin. mad props to him. he was also a blast to watch as bernstein mrs. luce and skip snip.

this was my first time i’ve seen a show that gave audrey ii a feminine vocie, and the actress did a great job. i do wish they could have cast a girl with a deeper voice, but there probably weren’t many of those.

much like the last time the school did the show, there were six doo-wop girls. crystal absolutely stole the show when she sang, she had an amazing voice.

this production had a bigger ensemble than i’ve ever seen in little shop. usually i see maybe five people at most, but there’s were fifteen kids in the ensemble. made skid row feel more populated, but i like how smaller ensembles emphasise each background character more.

seymour and audrey were very cute as always. there was a moment where seymour got a little close to her toward the beginning and i thought he came off a bit creepy, but other than that it was pretty great. i think my favourite moment was when they danced around the broom in “closed for renovation”.

i noticed audrey flinching away from mushnik a lot of the time, a touch i really appreciated. mushnik is seymour’s abuser, no wonder audrey would be triggered by him.

orin’s treatment of audrey made me want to march onto that stage and sock him in the nose. (that’s a good thing! means he’s a good actor)

seymour seemed scared of mushnik at times. yeah, that tracks.

tech kid stuff

i could tell the budget for this show was higher this time. the plant was far better quality, and instead of the puppet in “ya never know” being operated by seymour it seemed to be remote-controlled.

however, the last puppet they used for the plant looked like it was a struggle to make speak. i wouldn’t be surprised if it was too heavy for the teenage puppeteer.

the exterior set was great. there were newspapers and posters plastered around, many advertising alien movies. we love foreshadowing.

the “mushnik’s flower shop” sign had a piece of wood added to it in act ii that said “and son” which covered the ‘s. okay detail!

the shop itself was pretty cool. it could open and close kinda like a clamshell on its side, and the walls were covered with tarps until “closed for renovation” to reveal “fresh” paint.

* orin’s office looked like it was inside of a storage crate or a garage. i liked that choice a lot actually—made him seem more seedy.

* the props weren’t anything too special, but i want to point out that orin’s gas mask looked a lot like the one christian borle uses off-broadway. i imagine that was the version the director based this production on?

* oh, orin also had a motorbike-moped looking thing. very silly, i doubt it was actually functional. i vaugely remember the other production having a motorcycle too (i helped with tech stuff back then, hence this section title) but i might be thinking of the other show i saw.

* the costumes all started mostly monochrome black and white, but by the start of act ii everyone was wearing much more colour. for instance, audrey had on a white shirt, a pink belt, and a very cute zebra-print skirt. i like to think the transition of her wearing mostly black to mostly white was intentional, showing her distance from orin (because he was dead) made her lighter and happier.

* meanwhile act ii seymour had a green collared shirt, a red tie, a khaki blazer, and his trademark khaki pants. (he took the blazer and tie off in favour of the leather jacket, which he almost immediately discarded). i liked how it kept the geeky vibes, but i’m too much of a sucker for his classic sweater vest to say i like the other one more.

* at one point in “the meek shall inherit” skip snip’s trench coat accidentally came open, revealing mrs. luce’s costume underneath. don’t know if it was intentional, but it looked that way.

* the lighting was as good as one would expect. they seemed to use pink to represent audrey and green to represent seymour, and while i don’t think i agree with that choice i can respect it.

* at one point they used bright white lights to mimic lightning, but while it looked cool it was also very blinding. i hope nobody there was sensitive to flashing lights.

act i

gonna be brutally honest: the wino in “downtown” could not hit his notes for shit. i’m sure he was cast for having a deep voice, but he didn’t sound very good.

someone in the ensemble gave audrey a flower in “downtown”, and while i’m not entirely sure why, she held it and looked at it during her solo. maybe she was thinking about seymour and how she wished she could be with him? maybe that’s a stretch.

near the end of “downtown”, seymour and audrey both walked backwards to centrestage at the same time, eventually colliding and then fleeing. it was cute, funny, and kinda sad.

i’ve watched the movie at least sixty times, so i was able to notice when they got lines and lyrics wrong. they played it off well, though, and that’s all that matters.

there was a moment where seymour tried to do that friendly punch in the shoulder to audrey but then immediately regretted it and pulled away. relatable king.

instead of the usual approach of having audrey sing “somewhere that’s green” on the stoop, she sang it while wandering around the stage somewhat aimlessly. i honestly didn’t love that choice.

the scene where audrey suggested seymour get some new clothes was very cute. it’s usually one of my favourite scenes, and that was no different this time. while i’m used to the more tender atmosphere of that part of the movie, i also like when they’re almost yelling from excitement before both getting dejected when they come back down to earth.

a benefit of having more than three doo-wops is the fact that when they all try to beat the shit out of orin it’s twice as funny. it’s like sending out your full team of pokémon against a single mightyena.

the stage violence was laughably fake, but i don’t exactly want people to have their actual teeth pulled out.

“mushnik and son” was fun to watch because they went about it in a way i hadn’t seen before. after setmour accepted mushnik’s offer, they threw a ball back and forth (or tried to, seymour had a purposefully bad throwing arm) and then he tried to ride around on mushnik’s back like a kid getting a pony ride from his dad. it made the “giddy up daddy” line make more sense for sure. more sense than them doing the tango.

they censored a few lines, which was weird because i don’t remember that last time. for instance, instead of “a little nookie gonna clean up those zits” twoey said “a little kiss is gonna clean up those zits”. odd.

seymour didn’t really seem to feed orin’s body to the plant. he carried in a pretty small bucket and tossed a few dubious looking sacks inside its maw (not that kind of sack). also an empty shoe. weird.

act 2

mushnik was kinda just standing there during “call back in the morning”. i thought that was a really weird choice. he later says he’s been gone all afternoon at the police, but he left as soon as audrey said “it’s six o-clock”. he wasn’t doing anything, so why have him in the scene?

seymour totally missed the trash can when he tried to throw out the leather jacket. whoops.

i hate it when audrey’s trauma is played for laughs. when she told seymour the gutter was “a night club” (which i’m pretty sure was changed btw; at the very least in the movie she says night spot) the audience burst out laughing. pissed me off.

as briefly mentioned before, throughout the show audrey would often flinch away from physical contact. it felt like a big moment when she allowed seymour to cup her cheek in his hand.

“suddenly seymour” was my favourite, as always. very simple and genuine, both actors did a great job.

when it was time for the doo-wop girls to join in on “suddenly seymour” they all popped up from seemingly out of nowhere all over the stage, even from the front door of the shop.

seymour and audrey hugged at the end of “suddenly seymour” and i was ready to be outraged at the censorship, but they did kiss after a second. it felt weird to cheer on a couple of high schoolers kissing, but i’d say it’s fine since they’re playing characters.

“don’t you mister daddy me!” will never not be funny.

instead of having seymour standing by and watching mushnik get eaten, he was instead huddled up next to a table all scrunched up. i liked that choice for him, it made more sense than just 🧍

i feel like audrey slapped seymour too hard when she was trying to stop him rambling incoherently. it’s meant to be a tap, not a smack.

audrey’s scream when audrey ii got her was bone-chilling. my over-exhausted brain just thought that would be a good time to kill someone in or near a school auditorium during that scene, maybe someone who knows the show and the cues. i should either write a book or go to bed. probably the latter.

audrey’s death always hits me hard, her being my favourite character and all (though seymour is a very close second). i regret to inform you that i did not cry, but my heart definitely broke.

seymour carried audrey’s body into the plant, which he does in most versions but for whatever reason in the school’s last production of little shop she had him walk her to the plant and watch as she jumped in. our seymour was a scrawny freshman so i get why, but it still didn’t make any sense.

similar to his reaction to mushnik’s death, i really liked seymour’s physicality when audrey died. he was draped across a table, looking utterly hopeless and honestly lost. to quote the man himself, audrey ii “ate the only thing [he] ever loved”. (side note: when i heard that line for the first time six years ago i thought he said “you ain’t the only thing i ever loved”. the former makes way more sense.)

as seems to be tradition, our main characters were in flower costumes for don’t feed the plants. iconic behaviour.

the plant was massive by the end, with its whole root system… uh, uprooted. terrifying.

a bunch of vines came down from the ceiling during “don’t feed the plants”. absolutely adored that touch.

i really enjoyed this production! it felt like a nice full-circle moment—i saw the show for the first time in my freshman year at that school, and my only sister is now in her senior year. here’s hoping they do more shows i like while i still live in my hometown so i can go see them. help me pray for heathers y’all.

thanks for making it to the end! as thanks, here’s a picture of the rambley raccoon plushie i brought with me with my program

[theflashdriver]

Out of Body, Out of Mind: Chapter 3 (A Silvaze Fanfic)

The longer Blaze spent in this body, the more peculiar it seemed. With each passing minute it was as if there was something else to learn, something else to get used to. She supposed the form's usual owner probably went day by day without so much as noticing all she was now.

The two of them had retreated indoors to the royal library, where the cat trapped in a hedgehog's body was presently sitting atop a large green couch and pouring over royal scriptures. The Sol Emeralds and Jewelled Sceptre were set before her, currently at rest on the ground. Based on all she'd read, it seemed unlikely that Silver's body would even be able to channel the Sol Emeralds.

Wandering the carpeted floors, casting her psychic grasp from bookshelf to bookshelf as he once did, had come with a learning curve in itself. It was no wonder that Silver gesticulated so much; outside of cloaking this furry hedgehog form and flying that typically followed it, every psychic act seemed to require a gesture. He'd recommended verbalising at first, which in itself explained why the hedgehog rarely held a thought behind his lips, but already the guardian was managing to control her surroundings non-verbally.

The pile of books in front of the cat was proof enough of that; parsing the pages, shouting at them to shift, had eventually just became so obnoxious that she'd willed herself to improve. Now before her floated a centuries old logbook defining historic experimentation on the emeralds; she could read it without risking tarnishing the parchment with her touch. With that comfort however came another realisation. One she that, even though there was still not guarantee of returning to her body soon, she was already formulating how to-

A sudden pressure on her lap stole Blaze from her thoughts and sent the sheet into the air. With a loud thought of grab and a thrust of her hand the material froze once more in the air, fluttering back within viewing range. A sigh slipped the hedgehog's throat as she looked down to find a set of feet, newly garbed in pink trainers she'd occasionally worn in training, across her lap.

"What are you doing?" She looked to find the feline had joined her on the couch, a history book of his own in hand.

"You do this when I'm sat reading," He simply responded, "So I thought, since we've swapped-

"It's fine," She adjusted her page, "But remember, you're putting your own body at risk."

"I'm feeling a lot more comfortable now," He grinned, "As long as I'm with you, now that I know what I'm doing in here, I'll be okay," Before quiet could manifest he filled it, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm... still unsettled," She confessed, tugging at the plume of chest fur just beneath her neck.

"Really?" He seemed surprised, "I thought, since you've always been uncomfortable with your powers, being in my body would be a nice change?"

"I've been too focused on your body to consider that..." Blaze squinted at the new paper as if to emphasise her point, the old cursive writing was harsh, "I think you need glasses."

Silver blinked, "For reading you mean, not for seeing far?"

"It might just be how your vision compares to mine in general, but yes, for reading," She hummed, "Have you noticed the difference?"

"Not really," He admitted glancing into his book, "I guess I'm the opposite, I've been too focused on your powers."

"There are some other things that are concerning," The cat lowered the sheet fully now, worry was mounting, "Do you feel like this way all of the time?"

He cocked his head, "Feel what?"

Blaze wasn't sure how best to broach this.

She concluded it was best to be blunt, "Sore. That your bones and muscles ache."

"Oh," He seemed to realise everything at once, he clearly hadn't mastered control of her ears, "I mean, a bit, yeah. Are you feeling it?"

"I didn't recognise it at first, I thought they were just injuries from the battle with Metal Sonic, but as today has gone on," She hoped her concern was coming across, rather than sounding frustrated with him, "I've always known about your scars Silver, but I didn't realise you still felt this... more chronic pain."

She could practically feel his regret, "It's mostly my back and my shoulders, right?"

"Primarily, but there's hints of it all over your body. In your joints especially," She reminded him. "Do you feel this pain all the time?"

"No," He'd responded too fast and plainly recognised it, "Well, um," His legs pulled away from her, "Most of the time. I've sort of just gotten used to it."

"You shouldn't have to get used to it," She pushed back, "I didn't know it was this persistent. We can get you help for this."

"Really?" He still wasn't used to the modern world.

"There are therapies and medicines that can help with more permanent pain Silver," She reminded him, "You don't need to just endure it."

"Oh, right, yeah," Silver hadn't taken well to doctors before, perhaps he had been avoiding this, "Is there some medicine I could go and get you now, to make this easier for you?"

"No, it's fine," She wouldn't let him feel guilt over this, she shouldn't have brought it up, "I'm just concerned for you; for your health in the long run."

The next drawn page made the hedgehog pause, it was one of the few entries she'd found that discussed issues associated with using the Sol emeralds for transportation. No prior monarch had truly used the emeralds as adeptly as she did, let alone traversed dimensions, but they had been used under dire circumstances to cross the many islands that made up her kingdom. On one-

"You've done something that has helped before, when I've been especially injured. Maybe that would help you now?" She again paused in her reading, finding he'd shuffled a little closer, "I could give you a massage; if you want?"

This recommendation was drawn almost exclusively from their prior lives. When they'd trained to fight all manner of monsters in Crisis City, they'd learned to look after their bodies from what few books they'd salvaged. Whenever the hedgehog had overexerted himself, when he'd inevitably pulled muscle after muscle and refused to rest them, the cat had pinned him and made sure he was tended to properly. After she'd done it a handful of times, he'd insisted on returning the favour.

"Like I said before, it's your body you're putting at risk," She reminded him, "I suppose, if it does help these feelings go away... yes, as long as you're comfortable, I'm comfortable."

He slipped off of the plush couch, giving her space to lie. Blaze followed his move and lay down on her stomach. Truth be told, between the quills and his spines, she hadn't figured out how to sit comfortably yet. At the very least this would give her an opportunity to rest.

In one swift manoeuvrer he straddled her back, the sensation of her own thighs squeezing near the hips that she was borrowing was a bizarre one indeed... the contact was much too warm. Her chin propped up on a pillow, Blaze reached out a hand and willed her reading to draw closer. She tried to focus on the writing in front of her, absorbing the findings related to transportation anomalies. Once a knight's soul had completely separated from his body during an especially difficult transportation. Sending him back to where he'd come from hadn't worked, but having him travel the same route without the prior interference had reunited-

"Oh wow," Her body's voice rang out.

"What?" She questioned, feeling his weight shift.

"Claws..." Had he really just drawn them for the first time!? "Don't worry, I'll be gentle!"

Trying to put his panicking words and the heavy contact to the back of her mind, Blaze shifted to the next page. An island had been evacuated to avoid a tsunami, a portal opened using the gems. The wave had arrived sooner than anticipated, there had been a stampede as people panicked but the last few had made it into the portal as the water was tossing around shrapnel from the town they were abandoning. In the text it was hypothesised that many people transporting at once was the cause of what followed- a few bodies without consciousness and some scattered reports of people being in the wrong body. The cure had been the same as for the prior soulless body- recreating the transportation event but doing it correctly.

The examples weren't one to one with what had occurred, most obvious was the fact the Sol Emeralds were not the Master Emerald, but the parallel was there. There was no evidence of a spell they could conduct here to cure this switching of souls, nor would going back to where they'd been be enough. They had to replicate the event as perfectly as possible for this to stand a chance of working. The Master Emerald would have to be intact, they'd need to be atop Angel Island, and Knuckles would have to conduct the ritual. Would where Angel Island was in the sky matter? Either way, it seemed wise to-

Blaze hissed a breath in at a sudden spasm of pain as Silver pressed down harder, "That's where it hurts the most..."

"I know, sorry, I'm trying to push all of the pain away," He informed her, "Let me know if this helps."

Pressure barged against her right shoulder, applying with it a deeper warmth than had Blaze had felt radiating from the rest of his form. He was plying with both hands, pushing not only at the shoulder blade but reaching around to rub above her clavicle. With ease he pulled her upper torso back, raising her chest as he pushed more warmth into the muscle.

"You're getting better at controlling my power," She hummed, trying to keep her body loose.

"I'm just not shutting it off as much, letting my mind drift a little rather than focusing on a happy place," He confirmed aloud, "If I stop completely though, I really think I'll just explode again..."

"You're doing well," Her back felt warm, her whole body felt softer, "I think this is helping."

"I know you always mention my fur is thick," His grasp was drifting toward the other shoulder, "But feeling it with your hands... it really is easy to get lost in it."

"You make a good pillow," Blaze tried to renew her researching effort, knowing they couldn't afford to relax, only to flinch as another muscle tweaked, "I'm sorry, it must not be comfortable being that pillow..."

"I didn't hide the pain from you," He insisted, his touch now gentler. "When I'm with you, when we're working together, I just get... distracted," Silver pawed on the spot she'd just felt, "It's there but... I don't really notice it as much," The pain was subsiding, "I don't know if I'm making sense."

"You aren't really," She admitted.

"It gets worse when I panic and," He found another sore spot as he searched for the right words, "Well, I panic less when I'm with you. I know we can get through anything together, so I guess it's worse when I'm alone..."

"My natural level of stress likely isn't meshing well with your body's condition," Blaze hummed.

She felt his weight shift on her back, rising to his knees to lighten the strain, "Then I'll do all I can to keep you calm and comfortable."

"If we weren't like this right now..." She pushed her first thought as to what to say aside, "This would almost be endearing."

"Endearing? What do you mean?" He paused.

"If I wasn't feeling your pains. If our bodies weren't swapped like this," Blaze was about to state the obvious, perhaps being in his body was wearing off on her, "This would almost be a relaxing afternoon for us."

"Oh, huh," She felt him hesitate, "That doesn't make much of a difference to me I guess. As long as it's to help you, I'd happily do anything."

The new psychic closed her eyes, "Please don't say things like that with my voice..."

The rubbing fully stopped, "Like what?"

"Just..." She lowered her head and let the sheets land, "Focus on what you're doing and I'll do the same. I need to plan."

"Right, even ignoring our situation, our friends might need saving," His hands were back to rubbing down her back, "I'll make sure we're in the best state possible for that."

Blaze lowered her head and shut her eyes, giving in as the cat's grasp continued to slip lower. Depending on the situation their friends were in, they may only have one chance for success. Abusing time travel likely wasn't a possibility; arriving when their prior selves were already there could create complications. Regardless, they likely had to arrive as close to when they'd left as possible for the cure to work, but certainly couldn't manifest any sooner. That meant the Master Emerald would already be destroyed. Angel Island would start to fall.

"How long does it take Angel Island to fall into the ocean," She half shouted into the cushioning, "I'm trying to figure out how much time we have to turn this all around. I might need to grab our friends before it all comes crumbling down."

"It's slower than it should be, being a massive island flying through the sky, but it's still pretty fast... I think we can maybe avoid that if we do this right though," Silver began to think aloud, "I can use my power to catch all the Master Emerald shards before they scatter, then Knuckles should be able to fix it before it reaches the sea."

"I think the only way to return us to our bodies is for Knuckles to send up back here properly, uninterrupted. In as similar a position and circumstance as possible to when we left to recreate the effort as perfectly as possible," She explained, "When we go back to help them, we're still going to be in these bodies."

"Oh," He paused, "You're sure?"

"It's the only hint I've found," She confessed, "I'm not as proficient with your powers as you are Silver. There will be hundreds of fragments. That island is going down."

"Well, you helped me learn to control your power. It's only right that I do the same," The cat offered, "Besides, you're already doing so well with it, I'm sure you can do it!"

She managed to pull her head from the pillow, turning her head just enough to half see him still atop her back, "How long did it take you to learn to catch that many objects? Let alone so many tiny ones?"

"A long time," He confessed, "But I can teach you! Not to mention, you're in my body. A lot of it comes down to reflexes, and you should have got those from me. Outside of that, you've just got to aim and think grab."

"You really think it'll be that easy?" The hedgehog questioned.

"There's only one way to find out," He raised, "How's the pain, are you okay to stand?"

"Silver, you know how this feels," She couldn't help smiling at his concern, "I'm much more comfortable than I was before, I swear. Thank you."

He slipped off of her back to stand and she followed suit. The feline plainly had some idea what she was doing, heading for a desk at the nearby wall. He quickly pulled open the drawers and started to scramble through them.

"Are you looking for something?" Blaze asked.

"Just," He turned to look at her, a fang-filled mischievous grin on his face "These!"

Spinning on his heel, in one fluid motion the feline turned and tossed something straight at her. Blaze threw out a hand in reflex, she felt psychic energy surge to protect her. That release came with a moment of confidence... only to feel three objects bounce off of her chest and a fourth strike her shoulder. One pencil was frozen in the air, stuck in her psychic grasp; four more had slipped past her.

"Again! This time try and catch a couple!" He shouted, tossing another handful before she could halt him.

Blaze reached out with both hands, throwing them forward as if to catch. Cyan energy flared as she grasped beyond herself, like a set of hands swiping out into the air. This time two pencils were caught but five clattered into her.

"You can't think of catching or stopping individual objects," He instructed as he rummaged, "If you do that you're bound to miss some. Think of it as stopping a cluster all at once!"

"Are you certain this is the best way to learn?" Blaze asked, tempted to start cleaning up the pencil pile he'd already generated.

"We're a little short on time and resources," He confessed, turning to face her with hands full once more, "But I honed my control by throwing rocks into the air and catching them before they could hit me. It's the same sort of idea!"

This time there were rubbers and rulers among the tossed writing implements. She tried clapping her hands together, as if to swipe the objects into one place, but the end result wasn't as expected. Some of the objects battered together, but they just tumbled to the ground in that effort's wake- the remaining stationary bumped into her and flew past.

"Imagine a shape as you grab," He instructed, "Not just a pair of hands grasping, psychokinesis doesn't have to be so simple. Envision a glob of water or treacle, dense enough to stop the shards! If you do that then you'll catch it all, I know it!"

"Silver," Did he even hear what he was saying?

"You can do this Blaze," He was still beaming, "Make a shape to hold, make a container."

As the objects tumbled in Blaze's direction, she did as he instructed. Fingers outstretched and palms opened, the cat imagined a great glob of cyan light before herself. The energy matched her will; pens, sharpeners and rulers froze within that psychic grasp- only one managed to make it through! This was working?!

"Now you've got to imagine the shape as you see the objects flying; account for it when you cast the web," The feline now held two separate fistfuls of desk-goods, "You can't just imagine any shape, it needs to fit around them all."

He scattered the stationary into the air as he threw it, creating a rough arc of equipment all flying toward her. Blaze did as he'd suggested, envisioning the arc as her hands flashed. Unfortunately, the shape in her minds' eye did not quite fit that of reality. Some of the goods fell to the ground around her.

"You've been doing geometry this whole time?" Blaze was bewildered, fingers running through her chest fur as she thought deeper into that realisation, "In split seconds, measuring and anticipating the angles of approach and form of incoming projectiles?"

"What's geometry?" He asked, starting to scrounge the floor having found the drawers now empty.

"It's maths relating to shapes and their form," She explained, "Perhaps it's become more of a reflex for you..."

"Well, even if I don't quite get it, it sounds like you know what you're doing," The hedgehog was ready for another round, grinning maniacally with two fistfuls of pencils, "You'll have this learned in no time, we can do this!"

[coulsons-fullmetal-cellist]

Red Coat, Red Eye

(Dieter x horror loving female)

Words: 1, 147

Summary: I’m pretty sure everyone has done a Dieter at the Met Gala fic so here’s my version. As usual, it’s cute and wholesome. Also got a bit inspired by this awesome artwork!

Warnings: an unpleasant pregnancy so loads of vomiting but plenty of cute fluffy stuff

Check out masterlist here

The weather may have been starting to warm up, but you were huddled under a protective layer of blankets. The first trimester of pregnancy was not being kind to you. Instead of morning sickness, you were suffering from all-the-time sickness. Your way of coping was curling up in bed or on the couch, wrapping yourself in a blanket and not moving unless absolutely necessary.

Dieter was working a bit more than usual so you wouldn’t have to work when feeling so under the weather. Currently he was in New York to film an ad as well as attend the Met Gala. He didn’t like being away from you and he really did not want to be taking a six-hour flight, but you insisted, and he would only be gone a few days.

You were going to facetime him today before he attended the Gala. Huddled up on the couch, hugging a box of Fruit Loops you put in the call. The screen came to life with a very clear picture of your husband’s nose. “Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, but you need to back up a little bit.” Finally, his face came into frame. “Hi Dieter! Wait, is that a lip ring?”

He touched his painted nails to the new piece of jewellery. “Don’t worry, it’s fake. I may get a fake nose ring put in but anyways, how is my beautiful wife?”

“Not too bad. I wasn’t violently sick this morning so yay!” you weren’t entirely convincing in your delivery.

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes,” your mouth was somewhat muffled by what you were popping into your mouth.

“Are those my Fruit Loops?”

You stopped your chewing, “It’s the only thing I can manage at the moment.” He sighed understandably so you changed the subject, “So how’s New York?”

“The same as last time. I went to that bagel shop you fell in love with and got a baker’s dozen worth which are already packed in my bag.”

“I love you and I want to have your baby.” You looked down at your barely visible bump, “Oh wait, already doing that.”

He laughed, “So do you want to see my Met Gala look?”

“Yeah!” you clapped your hands in eager anticipation. He stood back from the screen, and you could see that he was decked out in black and red.

“Oh, I like that coat.”

“It’s nice and cosy.”

“Do you get to keep that?”

“I hope so.”

“I hope so too.”

He flicked his long red coat back to reveal he was wearing shorts. “Do you like the shorts?” he ran his hands up his hips to emphasise the shorts.

“I do like the shorts.”

“Do you like the legs?” he strut his leg out in a sexy pose.

“I do like the legs.”

“Do you like my slutty little knee?” he bent his knee out in a sexy manner.

“I do.”

His voice lowered, “How about we..?”

You interrupted, “Dieter stop trying to seduce me when I’m eating.”

“It’s not as sexy over screen anyways. But look, I managed to do my tie on my own! Only one take!”

You gave him a little round of applause. “You look very handsome and I’m sure you’ll be the prettiest there.”

“I wish you were here.”

“Do you really want me to travel with you on the six-hour flight while trying not to do my best Regan impression?”

“Okay, scratch that, I wish I was there with you. Then I could be holding you in my arms and making you feel better.”

You were hit in the feels, “Oh, now I wish you were here!”

“I’ll be back in a few days.”

“I know. I think we’ll survive. Will you survive all the people asking about where I am?”

“Well, the plan is to just avoid questions altogether. If I time it right, all I’ll be able to do is show up, flash my slutty knee a bit and run off into the gala.”

“Good plan. Well you have a good night.”

“I’ll try. What have you got planned for tonight?”

“Oh, I’m going to spend a lovely evening with Mike.”

“Mike?”

“Flanagan!”

“You’d totally leave me for him, wouldn’t you?”

“No! Never! It depends.”

You both fell into laughter but that soon trickled into sigh of longing. He pressed his fingers to his lips and touched the screen. You did the same and you said your goodbyes.

*****

The rest of your evening was spent with haunted houses and Fruit Loops. At some point you reached for another handful of sugary cereal but came up with air; you’d eaten the entire box. Disappointed to be without a comfort snack, you went to bed. At some point in the night, your stomach rumbled in a bad way, so you blindly made your way towards the bathroom, but your pathway was blocked by a figure. The shock reached your stomach, and you emptied its contents, and a familiar sound came from the figure in front of you.

“Dieter?!” but you couldn’t ask any more questions and you still had your stomach to empty so you finally rushed to the bathroom and hugged the toilet.

You were too preoccupied to witness the comedy scene that Dieter performed around you. His t-shirt was covered in vomit, so he made his way into the shower to wash it off. But then that made the jeans he was wearing also wet, therefore clinging tighter to his legs. But his socks were also wet so he was slipping around the bathroom, thankfully not falling and causing serious injury. He managed to remove himself from his wet clothing and into something dryer and came back into the bathroom and by then you had completely emptied all contents.

“What are you doing here Dieter?”

“I missed you, so I got a red eye back.”

You sniffed and wiped your mouth, “You didn’t sit next to someone who pulled you into an assassination plot?”

“What?”

“Nothing” you sipped at the water Dieter brought you. “I’m sorry I threw up on you.”

He rubbed your back, “It’s not the first time I’ve been covered in vomit. And good thing I took my new coat off.”

“You got to keep the coat?”

“I think so,” he gave a look that said he probably forgot to ask first before taking the coat, but he shrugged and moved on, “I should’ve known better than to surprise my wife who watches way too many horror films.”

You leaned into his embrace, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too. Now let’s get you back into bed.”

You gladly returned back into the warm embrace of bed which became better with the addition of your lovely warm husband.

“I’m sorry I ate all your Fruit Loops.”

“All of them?” you mumbled an affirmative response.

“That was a big box. No wonder you were sick.”

Films referenced: The Exorcist (1973), Red Eye (2005), The House on Haunted Hill (2018)

Lovingly tagging @boliv-jenta @simpingcowboy @ellenmunn @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi @brilliantopposite187 @chaithetics @myloveistoolittle @cevans-is-classic

[nikofortuna]

JTTW Chapter 24 Thoughts

Chapter 24 for the @journeythroughjourneytothewest Reading Group!

Ah, the beginning of the Arc the movie Monkey King Reborn is based on! It will be very delightful to spot the similarities for myself!

But first we have to finish the previous trial. I really don’t like how the emphasise is kind of put on women as being tempters. Especially when the exemplary lady is explicitly stated to be sixteen, that is a child!

Still not a fan how they put so much ridicule on Zhu Bajie as well when they equally pressured him into the whole situation.

Hm Sun Wukong schooling his Shifu. We love the communal grandpa dispersing his knowledge.

And here are the two sillies! I’ll take it in immortal years they’re closer to being old tweens or young teens. That’s the feeling I get from them at least.

Ah, teaching the kids that uhm, actually just make friends with people if they’re nice, religion should not be of any importance there. There are some really good lessons to be taken away from this novel.

One could say they are… Home Alone.

I wonder if the sight of the Daoist Abbey makes Sun Wukong melancholic with thoughts of his first Shifu.

Clear Breeze, I most certainly prefer the J. F. Jenner and movie’s translation and technically also the German translation of Pure Wind, and Bright Moon are notably nicer in the novel than the adaptation. They only get rude when they actually have been wronged. Just looking at their movie counterparts, these aren’t the same kids.

Plants you say? Now don’t mind if I look them up! Spoilers this turned out a bit of a difficult ordeal so take all of this with a grain of salt.

For accuracy, spinach yes and celery yes.

Mare’s tail… maybe? My search came up with Beta vulgaris aka Chard/Swiss Chard instead, though both plants fall under the term vulgaris in their scientific name and are plausible options as they are both native to Western Asia. Since it is a vegetable garden for people however I might be inclined to personally go with Chard, in part also because I have eaten that vegetable before and it is not only quite tasty but also nutritional.

Funfact in German Chard is called Mangold, definitely sounds like a plant an immortal would eat. But again that’s just personal bias, in reality it could still be either.

Back to the list, I have no clue where beet comes from in this line, but ginger yes.

Seaweed no. It seems to actually be moss of some kind and I looked up as to possibly why it’s in this garden. Indeed certain types of moss are used for medicinal or culinary purposes in some cultures. But don’t go out and just eat moss you find in your garden! A lot of mosses are toxic and no good for eating, so be careful!

Bamboo shoot yes and melon yes. Squash, more like gourd, but technically yes. Watercress no, my research came up with wild rice instead, but watercress is still native to Asia as well.

Now for this next line I would like to remark that there is some potential difference in the Chinese Original. Chive technically yes the Google Translate said just onion though, garlic yes, coriander yes, leek and scallion technically yes though if the characters for those two are put together the translator says they translate to chives instead.

The second paragraph I will not touch as that one is more complex.

The local Tudi really tends to be the living loremaster, in a way that makes a lot of sense in world too, something I can always appreciate.

Heh, Sun Wukong doing a little trickshot with the mallet. Not that it worked, but he tried.

Sha Wujing being the good little brother getting roped into shenanigans by his older brothers. The feeling of found family is strong with this one.

At the end I would like to shill the movie a bit as I really like that one and it does make for quite a good companion piece for this Arc. It also has one of the best Sha Wujing designs in my opinion.

[achubbydumpling]

Idk if you are taking any requests rn (fine if not) but do you have any musings on chubby!Bucky in lingerie?

I do take requests! I'm just really slow at writing them 😅 but I'm always happy to see a new ask in my inbox

fun fact: the first ask I answered on this blog was actually about Bucky in lingerie :D (read it here)

I still love the idea that Steve buys a matching set for Bucky, something indulgently expensive, he never reveals the exact price but Bucky can feel it in the fabric alone.

None of that stiff, scratchy stuff but nice, soft and thick lace. Satin that easily slips between his fingers and—once he's wearing it—clings to all of his curves.

(ohhh imagine that type of lingerie that has all those thin straps (kinda like this maybe), they cross all over Bucky's sides and then one or two right over his belly, those straps almost disappear in Bucky's rolls)

The slight discomfort of those thin straps digging into his belly makes Bucky aware of how exposed he feels. The cool air is threatening to give him goosebumps but then he turns to look in the mirror.

In an abstract way Bucky had known that the lingerie was meant to emphasise his curves, but seeing it on his body now. His hands smoothed over the fabric. Just the slightest bit strained over his belly and squeezing that spare tire he's been growing into thick love handles—a perfect handful.

As Bucky moves his hands he notices the way his chest looks in that top. The red fabric matches the blush that creeps down his chest. No longer flat or chiselled, but proper cleavage that spilled over the top of the low-cut bralette.

Of course, Bucky had noticed that change before, but he'd been distracted by the majority of fat going to his belly.

The chafing of his thighs drew Bucky's attention. All his jeans had worn thin at the inner thigh. The high cut of the panties made it even more obvious how wide Bucky's hips and thighs had grown.

Though nothing like Steve's wasp waist, Bucky had gotten noticeably curvier. When he turns to get a look at his backside he just catches the way his ass jiggles.

Fascinated, he reaches around to replicate that movement. Bucky's entire body reacts. Once firm biceps wobble as he moves. So does his belly, chest, his thighs. Bucky's entire body reacts to the touch.

'Now wonder Steve can't keep his hands off,' he smiles to himself.

Bucky had been unsure about this when Steve handed him the box. Italian words embossed in thick, white cardboard. Gilded letters that spoke to the quality of the item inside.

"I want you to wear this for me," Steve had told him.

One last look in the mirror—Bucky was more than ready to show off his gift.

[gorsemonster]

Scattering my thoughts across various social medias like the wind but honestly in a way I find myself not wholly wanting to get back into XIV fandom. A fresh-ish start with the people I enjoy having around I think would do me a lot of good.

The distance from the constant gnashing and wailing noises (even, I want to emphasise, behind heavy muting and a mile long block list) feels good. Having a bsky where it’s pretty much just artists doing stuff and transtwt refugees? Feels good! The digital version of touching grass.

In a way I think my break to go convention kinda made me go “oh yeah actually really taking a solid break is nice”. Everything happens So Much in a place where 90% of it doesn’t really matter.

So if you ARE following me from XIVtwt, you’re absolutely welcome here, in this place, but what you get from me is what you get

[goblinmatriarch]

Flufftober Day 8

The return of time-traveling Alexis! 

(Schitt’s Creek)

Patrick takes both of David’s hands in his own and says, “David,” in that calmly pleading way that means he is definitely about to get whatever he asked for. “It’s just grass. It’s the same grass we walk on all the time during the day, except it’s at night.”

David twists his mouth to one side in thought, but it’s all for show; they both know he is going to cave. He always does when Patrick says his name like that. 

He shakes their hands back and forth for a moment as he considers, then allows himself to say, “Fine,” his gaze still directed to the corner of the room because he can’t bear to look directly at Patrick when he is being this open and sappy. “But if even one bug touches me–”

“We’ll burn everything you’re wearing,” Patrick agrees soothingly. 

David gasps, appalled. “This is a cashmere sweater! No, obviously we would burn down the woods.”

Annoyingly, it actually is really nice. Patrick has learned from experience, and even David wouldn’t call the stroll from the car to the spot where they lay their blanket a ‘hike’. They lay down together on the blanket, cuddled up, and it all feels very wholesome and youthful, in a way David’s actual youth never was.

David gets a lot of mileage out of pretending like he doesn’t believe the meteor shower is actually going to start, and Patrick returns the favour by refusing to call them ‘shooting stars’, but when they actually do start flying across the sky, they both fall silent for a moment, watching.

“Hey David,” Patrick whispers, “you gonna make a wish?”

“How can I make a wish if they’re not shooting stars?” David shoots back. “No one wishes on a falling meteor.”

Patrick laughs, and it jostles David’s head where it rests against his chest. 

David hesitates for a moment, but it’s not like anyone will actually know, so he chooses a shooting star, closes his eyes, and, loathing himself a little bit, wishes fervently for his family to come visit soon.

He’s embarrassed to have done it the moment he opens his eyes, and he darts a glance up at Patrick to see if he’s been caught somehow, but Patrick is distracted, alert, head tilted toward the woods behind them.

After a moment, David hears it, too: a crashing in the undergrowth.

“Oh my god, is it a bear?” he asks, pawing frantically at Patrick’s side as he sits up. “I did not sign up for any bears; I don’t even know what we’d have to burn down if a bear touched me.”

Patrick’s lips twitch, which David thinks is highly inappropriate given the emergency bear circumstances in which they’ve found themselves, and says, “If a bear touched you, I don’t think you’d be in any condition to burn anything down.”

“And you wouldn’t avenge me?” David knows his voice is rising in hysteria, knows that will only bring the bear down on them faster, but he can’t calm down.

The crashing is getting closer, and David rises to a crouch. He definitely won’t be any use in a bear fight, but Patrick might be able to hold the bear off while David makes his escape. It would be tragic to lose Patrick to a bear, but David would be fantastic in the role of grieving widow to a bear-fighting hero.

None of that comes to pass, though, because instead of a bear, Alexis stumbles out from the trees.

“What are you doing here?” David shouts, veins still pumping with adrenaline.

“Ummm, what kind of welcome is that, David?” Alexis asks. She combs her fingers through her hair and shrieks in frustration when she pulls out a twig. “When I’ve come all this way through, like, branches and dirt and stuff, to visit my much, much, much older brother.” She tosses the twig aside and taps him several times on the chest as she speaks, to emphasise all of the frankly rude muches she uses.

David swats her hands away and rears back to remind her that he is not that much older than her, but he pauses when she gasps theatrically, pulling her shoulders to her ears and looking between David and Patrick with her mouth held open.

He knows he shouldn’t, but David gives in. “What, what, what is it?” he demands.

Alexis has a sleekly smug expression that suggests she has just identified a rich new vein of teasing material. She turns to Patrick and taps him playfully on the arm. “Patrick,” she coos. “You didn’t tell me David was turning into a silver fox.” She delivers the last words with great delight right into David’s face, and he can’t help the way his hands fly to his temples.

“Good to see you, Alexis,” Patrick says evenly. “Always appreciate the harmony and peace you bring into our lives.”

David swings on him accusingly. “You said it looks distinguished and…sexy.” He very much regrets letting that last bit slip out in front of Alexis, but she’s surprisingly quiet.

He turns to peer at her suspiciously, and her face is distant under the starlight. She startles back to reality when Patrick steps forward for a hug, embraces both of them while squealing greetings, but she’s clearly still considering something.

“So, like, wait, how long has it actually been?” she finally asks, toying with the ends of her hair.

David glances at Patrick, who shrugs and says, “Since we saw you in person? Two years, maybe? I think it was at your ironic 90s New Years party.”

Alexis does that flaily thing with her hands and leans forward in shock. “Ironic 90s? Ew, I had a decade-themed party? Wait, when actually are we?”

David looked at her in disbelief. “What do you mean, when? Seriously, why are you even here? How did you know we were here?”

Patrick is rubbing soothing circles on his back. “Well, we did tell her the guest room was hers anytime, David.” He steps forward to grab the blanket and bundle it into his arms. “I think we still have some of your products from your last visit in the toilet, Alexis, so we can get you all set up.”

“Thank you,” Alexis says pointedly, taking Patrick’s arm and throwing a cocky look over her shoulder at David.

The two of them start back to the car, leaving David standing alone in a field, shooting stars flying overhead. 

“What?” He shouts to the stars. “What just happened?”

[sizhui]

hello angie :DD i am currently reading through your character study again! its very comprehensive so i hope to be able to get as much as I can out of it. also hehe ive noticed a pattern in what sorts of things you seem to enjoy writing about, from what ive read it seems wen kexing n ah xu (idk his name sorry) remind me somewhat of the mother n father from when she calls them down to dinner or perhaps wilfred (fogot) n his husband... but theres not so much erm downer here? anyways i like those things so im glad u can write about things so viscerally !! also i thoroughly enjoyed how u use settings, ghosts n hauntings to explore wen kexing's character. im not sure how much of these images are present in canon but from what i know of cn novels i wouldnt expect it to be too far from canon!

ill put the rest of my response under the cut !

it was very romantic i felt :) particularly the bits about like. letting go and becoming human, becoming properly tangible with ah xu. sort of accepting the incomprehensibility of their becoming if it makes sense? it was so very romantic to me.i particularly enjoyed the bit about gallows and ghosthood and houses? idk it was just so romantic it brought me to tears!! like it is about love!

i dont really know what the ghost or valley is but i enjoyed that u developed it overtime. also i enjoye dhow the story transitions, from wen kexing alone physically n w his thoughts to the ah xu entering his life, filling his memories n changing him. its good for the tone.

like i got the vibes that wen kexing is a ghostly gloomy man. he seems sorta cynical and forsaken but desiring deeply to be whole i think. the heaviness of his burden was conveyed well. from the visceral n shocking scene of eating his fathers corpse a complete inversion of natural order i guess and love . he feels very trapped, always struggling but not quite able to get there alone. i also found ig a struggle within him to just die lol or Not.

particularly i feel wen kexing's decision to cut down the forest in his heart, his perception of himself as a dying tree, among one of the ghosts (being haunted n himself haunting) rlly emphasise that he is stuck and this death looms ever forward

ALSO AAAAH PHYSICIALITY!!! i liked that how its used.. being able to be touched by others to confirm you are a living thing or believe you are but now

anuyways sorry this was long n rambly n nothing but really!! it felt like such a nice love story somehow!!

thumbs up i liked it !! :D r u watching anything next

HELLO DEAR LAB!!Thank you SO MUCH for such a long and thorough and beautiful analysis of my story, i let out a funny sound of joy like 10 times while reading it!!!!! Your perception of the story is pretty much exactly what I was trying to convey with it - i feel a little proud of both of us, and blessed to have a reader as wonderful as you!

In the novel there is a fraction of people called "ghosts" who live in that valley cast away from society, but it's never really explored what that status MEANS for them so this was my take on it - in a way it's canon compliant, but most of the ideas came from my crazy overthinking hehe, I'm really happy you enjoyed! I'm very happy you perceived this story as deeply romantic, because that was the goal - writing about painful things like suicidal ideation, haunting and eating your father's corpse (he does actually do that in the novel OUCH) and having it still be a love story... There is definitely a lot of struggle to Just Die in Wen Kexing. Like Ah Xu explicitly wants to die in the novel and everyone always talks about that, but i also perceived the same in Wen Kexing and felt that that was one of the reasons they were able to connect and wanted to write about it. I'm happy you were able to get such a good grip on his character from my writing alone! I also usually avoid writing about physicality so I'm glad it fit in well here and served the story well !

Please don't apologize for this being long because that made me very happy, and it's definitely not rambly and nothing, it's everything to me! Thank you, dear Lab, for reading my work with such care ♥️♥️♥️♥️

P. S. IT ALSO MADE ME HAPPY THAT U CONNECTED IT TO BSCTTD . EVERYTHING ALWAYS COMES BACK TO IT.

[theflyindutchwoman]

Tim in Metro was quite a sight - and I'm not just talking about how good he looked in his new uniform. What I found interesting is how every scene about Metro had a slight edge to it… It was like standing at crossroads and not knowing which direction to take : will Tim enjoy staying there? Or is he going to leave?

Let's start with the training sessions. They were a really nice touch to highlight the difference between patrol and Metro. Which isn't necessarily a knock on patrol by the way. They after all started there as well. But they're right to emphasise that Metro is a complete different beast. They're a tactical response team, specialised in very specific situations (like hostage rescue mission). Think of SWAT… Not everyone makes the cut. And Tim has some extra challenges here. He's not just starting a new job and joining a new team. He's also replacing their team leader : he's in charge of them. So it's imperative that he gets up to speed. Add the fact that Tim is a creature of habit and likes his comfort zone. He spent more than 12 years on patrol, doing things a certain way, with people he got to know and trust along the way. Now he has to practically start over. That's a lot of things to process at the moment. It feels off because he is off-balance. He has to find his new equilibrium. That may take some time. And maybe he won't find it. Nevertheless, they all worked effortlessly once they were on the mission, so they're at least off to a good start.

And as harsh and critical as they may have sounded, the team seemed to be rather encouraging towards Tim. There was no real friction or hard feelings. They didn't openly resent him for Hicks leaving or anything of the sort. They were challenging him but they all congratulated him when he succeeded a training exercise and they made him part of the team with the unicorn stickers prank. Again there was a slight edge : at this point, Tim doesn't know them and they don't know him… They're practically observing each other. And while his leadership was questioned when they were staging the rescue mission, it was actually for a valid reason : Angela is a detective, so not exactly the first person one would choose as a spotter. And as a leader, choosing an outsider to do the job one of your teammates can do might send a message that you don't trust them. But once Tim explained his reasoning, his teammate had no problem with apologising and giving Angela credit and following orders. Even Pine, who may not be all warm and fuzzy, seemed quite supportive. When Tim was frustrated after his first training round, she was quick to remind him that they all went through the same period of adjustment. And when he was on the outside, she didn't hesitate to mend the bridge and invite him to join them for drinks. Baby steps…

I know some people are worried that this new team won't be supportive of Chenford… But so far there's nothing to really indicate that. To be fair, only two people have really talked in the team, so it's hard to say what they think. And that's IF they even find out about them or make a deal out of it… But for what it's worth, Nyla told Lucy that Tim's predecessor, Hicks, had a wife who worked for the department and he seemed to get along with the rest of them…

So I honestly could see it go either way… The next episodes should clue us in further on whether Tim is going to embrace this new position or not. I will just say that adding more recurring characters at this point is a challenge of its own, as the cast is already quite large, so we might never get to really know the rest of the Metro team. The same way we barely see Caradine when Angela and Nyla are concerned, we might just end up following Tim (and maybe Lt. Pine), with the rest of the team in the background.

[flynn-digital-character-course]

Character Design Final Poster part 5

Today we had peer feedback, we had to do some general thumbnail sketches for what we want our poster to look like, then we had to display these and receive feedback on them, here is most of my feedback.

"top right has nice perspective" I would hope because it's the only one of the 3 that I put more than a tiny sliver of effort into

Close up of these two, yellow says "Consistency in character" and "Top one has best composition [incomprehensible] balanced". the red one says "Composition makes him seem a bit small rather than him being a giant", "Work on a pose/angle that emphasise" (???) and "Show size contrast, small planet vs him". for the first red comment I'll touch on similar things later, for the second uhhh idk why the sentence just sorta ends, not sure what they were trying to say about the pose, for the last comment I think they misinterpreted that the "planet" I think they're referring to is actually Fleratimus as well which I think comes off better with colour and probably when I design the symbols on the computer.

for the left yellow one I agree although the reason I didn't make any other poses it because it simply takes to long, 3 days for the one I did was enough for the right yellow one this location is the only location this setup of Fleratimus' computing form and its holographic avatar can coexist, the arches are the inside of its church, something which will look better once I fully figure them out. For the bottom pink one they're saying there's a lot of negative space in one of them, the reason for that is because it took me 2 minutes to draw.

The yellow one says "The uniqueness and detail in the character makes it really interesting" yay, that was the intention. The pink one basically says that there needs to be something to compare the scale to which I do agree with, I was planning on having some people around the base in front of it.

Basically a rewording of the previous pink one, character needs scale reference to ground it.

The top one is the one I want to mention here, it says that the 100 words itself is somewhat hard to understand which I can see, I do think I should rewrite the 100 words to specify more about what the viewer is seeing but I'll try get more feedback on it.

Overall I'm definitely sticking to the top idea as a base. Some things I need to do include provide an improved sense of scale and figure out some of the finer compositional points. Compositionally I want Fleratimus to come off as a God/Godlike being who, despite being huge, feels small in the machinations it is a part of, I think the best way to achieve this presenting of Fleratimus as a physically large and imposing figure but small in it's self perception will be to slightly shrink Fleratimus' Avatar in frame but make up for that with scale markers, mostly things like people and chairs and bookshelves. That should result in the perception that Fleratimus is large work with the perception that it is still a part of even larger things. I can also probably increase the size of the Fleratimus computer in the background, currently it seems a little small and disconnected from its Avatar although when I add the colours it definitely helps connect the two things.

[ur-local-new-years-child]

February 4

I feel sick.

Apparently, my roof-camping days are over.

Oh sigh.

I’m in bed right now, trying my hardest to taste something in my grandmother’s famous lemon-honey tea as she talks with the town’s herbalist downstairs.

But I’m strong enough to walk around, don’t worry! In fact, If I were there in front of you, I’d be flexing my muscles.

(Not that I have big ones. I’m a sad noodle arm guy. Oh sigh.)

Enough about my woe; I have a Viewfinder!

It was my stepdad’s new years’ present to me, along with a box of reels. It came in today!

My favourite ones are the space ones, the sea ones, and the ones with flower fields- I think from Amsterdam? 

It’s like I’m really there, floating through space or swimming with the tropical fishes.

“Saki-kun, someone’s here to see you! They’ll be coming up in a minute!”

My heart jumped a bit as your face formed in my mind. Good thing I was already red in the face, thanks to my fever, because if you walked in on a blushing, red-faced Ichigatsu, I would die.

Shrrr. You peek your head in the room. “hey, Ichigo-san. I heard you were sick. Uh… I brought you some food that my aunt said would be good for you...”

I turn my head towards the sliding door, and up at you. 

“Hai…” I croaked, then coughed a bit. You got down on your knees, and levelled your face with mine.

The fact that we were so close our noses could touch had my fever go up a degree. And i don’t think it was because I was getting sicker.

“You…have really nice eyes…” You whispered, more to yourself than to me.

+1 degree. Boy, you trying to fry my brains?

“U-uh… well, are you hungry?” 

Ha! Your cheeks were dusted pink too! Small victories are better than none.

“Ya..” 

You ran down the stairs, and I heard murmuring somewhere in the house. Soon I heard your quick footsteps ascend the stairs, and you had SO many containers of food. I can not emphasise just how many you had.

“I made as much as I could, cuz y’know, tastes are different.”

“Tank yoo.” ugh, it was a bother just to even talk.

Soon it smelled like a buffet. There was just so much to choose from. 

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrAGhhhh….

I groaned and covered my face. Not only was I sick, but my stomach had to make minecraft zombie sounds. In front of you.

“Unnngh…”

“Here, I’ll feed you. Pay me back with something cool, okay? Thats two things you aught to compensate me for.” You reach for me and try to situate my languid body in your lap.

I’m dead. Dead. Thats it, you’ve killed me. 

In hindsight, I must’ve been a pretty lucky guy, getting a cute neighbour to make me all these foods and then feeding me while saying (very cutely) “pay me back with something cool, okay?”

If this were an anime I’d have spirals for eyes and steam rising out of my head. You sure you don’t have a criminal record?

“Aaaahn….” I take whatever it was you were offering me. Warm, pungent flavours penetrated my useless tongue, and I could finally taste things again.

“Mmmmmnnnn. Isho goo…” munch munch munch. The texture reminded me of cold soba, or those really thick noodles my mom made once.

I wanted more, It was really, really good.

We went through about three big cartons of the mystery food.

While we were eating, you told me about more cool places, like the Boardwalk, where most kids crowd with there nets and buckets. You also told me that Fuji park always hosts a big new years feast, since the town was founded on New Year’s Day. 

There was also the Library (“the librarian always gushes about you.” “weeawy?”), Sen-Bun Cafe (“the only interesting cafe here, their melonpan is the best.”) and Our Spot. (Was it just me, or did you flush a little while saying that?)

I showed you my Viewfinder, and with the way your face lit up, I was so tempted to check and see if the sun was still in the sky.

“Mmm…tank yu for comingh..” I laid back on your chest, full of the food you brought.

“U-um.. y-yeah, you’re welcome…I gotta make sure my neighbour’s okay, right?”

Outside the window, snow started to fall, lightly, as if it were just taking its time, enjoying its descent until i joined with the rest below. I rested my eyes on that sight, and it felt like I was dreaming, the warm fuzziness of slipping away.

But I felt your head rest on mine, and you hugged my waist. I was instantly dragged back to the real world. And Honestly? Reality doesn’t seem so bad right now.

“It’s so peaceful, the way snow flurries just fall.. Like they don’t have a care in the world.” you whisper to me.  “You know, I always imagine that the snow holds the essence of our ancestors, coming down to visit and showering us with comfort…and sometimes…” you set me back down on my futon, and opened the window, holding out your hand briefly. You bring it back in, watching the flurries melt in in the warmth of your hand.

“Sometimes I think about becoming snow, too…. Then I’ll get to be everywhere, all the time, forever and ever. I’d evaporate, turn into rain…” you close the window. “And be part of the world…”

I don’t know if I was imagining it, but…

It looked like there were tears in your eyes.

[gatherthesuspectspod]

A GTS Short

This script is the first in a series of shorts intended to flesh out some more of the world of Gather The Suspects. One day, we hope you'll get to actually hear them! But in the meantime, we hope you enjoy!

SCENE 1 - INT - JACK and KARA’s Flat

Computer games are playing in the background and we hear JACK shout the occasional thing at his game. “Ooh, shoot him, quick!”  “Aaah you lousy thing…”  “Hey, that was my health pack! Give it back” end abruptly with a click.

JACK: (shouting) Kara! The bloody electric’s gone again!

KARA: (entering) Oh, for goodness sake. I thought we were done with all of this…

JACK: I’m sooo bored!!!

KARA: Jack, it’s been off for like five seconds, seriously?

JACK: (shrugs) Genius like this takes a lot of mental stimulation!

There is a knock on the door and the door opens

GERAINT: (calling in from the hall) Just me… you guys lost power too? 

JACK: (sarcastically) Nooo, we often just sit here in the dark and try to connect with our primordial selves... You know, really get in touch with that inner caveman.

KARA: Ignore Jack, he’s in a bad mood because he can’t spend an eleventh hour straight playing video games.

JACK: (Grunts) I’m going to find my Gameboy (rummaging around in the draws)

GERAINT: The whole city’s out I think, look, no lights across the Bay at all. 

JACK: Gaah! No batteries, stupid bloo-

KARA: Jack! I’m sure you can spend one night without gaming-

JACK (interrupting) Bored!   

KARA: Oh, for god sake, you’re such a child-

JACK (interrupting) Bored!

GERAINT: Aaaaanyway, I thought that you might be, so I dug out the old wind-up radio.

JACK: Oh, good! The radio. We may as well go live in the middle ages.

KARA: Oh, stop being so ridiculous, Jack. You like listening to the radio!

JACK: Yeah, when I choose to. Now it’s forced on me it feels just like work…

KARA: (pointedly) oh, I’m surprised you know how that feels… 

GERAINT: Aah, come on, it’ll be nice. You know, like the good old, bad old days. At least this time we won’t have bombs going off every five minutes. I’ll turn on WBC, I think that phone-in show with the really horrible callers is on…

You like shouting at that one… I’ll turn it on...

[Radio crank winds up and Jingle fades in. A voiceover announces  “WBC radio - Wales’ premier music and talk radio.”]

JEREMY: Welcome back to This Evening with Jeremy on WBC radio - 64.5 FM and online. Today we’ve been discussing climate change and the upgrades to the Cardiff Bay barrage. 

With low lying parts of the coast already feeling the effects of rising sea levels, what more can we do to keep everyone safe? Give us a call and have your say...Giles Hampson from Cardiff is on the line. Giles, Good Evening.

MR HAMPSON: Good Evening, Jeremy.

JEREMY: What do you think about the proposed upgrades to the barrage Giles, do you think the plans go far enough?

MR HAMPSON: Well, Jeremy, it’s all nonsense really, isn’t it?

JEREMY: Oh, so you agree with our earlier caller, John? You think it would be better to add to the sea defences around Tremorfa, rather than spend more money on the bay right now?

MR HAMPSON: (bluntly) No, I mean that man was clearly an idiot. A typical mentality for those tree-hugging do-gooders that got us into this mess in the first place. I meant the whole (emphasising with disgust) ‘Global Warming’ thing. I mean, it’s nonsense, isn’t it? Nothing but a fairy tale for simple minds.

JEREMY: (sighs) OK, Giles. There’s a lot to unpack there. Let me make sure I’m understanding you correctly… You don’t believe in climate change but you also believe that people like John, who do, are somehow responsible for the thing you don’t believe exists? 

MR HAMPSON: Uh, no, no. You are twisting my words…that’s just like the ‘mainstream media’. 

JEREMY:  Uh, ok… I mean, I’m recording this in my bedroom thanks to budget cutbacks - we’re not exactly the old BBC... But go on…

MR HAMPSON: I mean, all we’ve heard for the past 20 years is Global warming this, the environment that. It’s just a way to scare us into being controlled. I mean there is nothing we can do about it now, is there? 

JEREMY: We just heard from the Environment minister today, on this very programme, talking about yet another coastal town that’s been abandoned thanks to rising water levels… I mean I’m still slightly confused. What do John’s - and I quote - “tree-hugging do-gooder” views have to do with all this? 

MR HAMPSON: Aah, well they are the engine of control, you see. They make us feel guilty and try to force us into doing things at tremendous cost to the economy. All to perpetuate this...this myth.

JEREMY: So you do think it’s a myth? Even you said a few moments ago it was real.

MR HAMPSON: The myth is that this ‘climate change’ can be affected by us mere humans. 

JEREMY: So now you’re saying it is real?

MR HAMPSON: No, no, no. You’re putting words in my mouth…

JEREMY: You just said, “there is nothing we can do about it now.” 

MR HAMPSON: What I’m saying, sonny, is that even if it IS real, which I highly doubt that it is -

JEREMY: Why do you doubt that it is?

MR HAMPSON: (not put off by the interruption) WHICH, I highly doubt it is. BUT, if it is then it’s likely part of some natural earthly cycle, baked in on the seventh day... so, who are we to try and stop it? All these arrogant lefties do is cause unnecessary panic. We are British after all, and we - 

JEREMY: Actually, I hate to break it to you Giles, but Britain doesn’t exist anymore.

MR HAMPSON: (sardonically) We are inhabitants of the British Isles and will deal with it in the way we always have. A quiet stoic dignity. Just like the old Blitz spirit…

JEREMY: Or the civil war in 2023... 

MR HAMPSON: I’m not sure I like your tone, Jeremy. 

JEREMY: I’m sorry Mr Hampson. It’s just you have said a lot of things already... most of which are contradictory. You don’t seem to have made your own mind up. Is it fake or is something above our control or something we can control but left it too late to act on? So, which is it, Giles?

MR HAMPSON: Well, really does it matter? Either way, me downgrading my Jaguar to some crappy little Japanese hybrid isn’t going to save anything is it? It’s costing the economy millions. In my day we didn’t have any of this PC nonsense about -

JEREMY: But, I mean some may argue that it might be a little late now that entire towns are disappearing beneath the Irish Sea, but what about before, Giles - when it was in our power to change it, did you do anything?

MR HAMPSON: What do you mean, did I DO anything? What did those little tree-hugging do-gooders do about it? They are the ones so concerned about it after all. What did THEY do, eh? 

JEREMY: (sighs) but, Giles -

MR HAMPSON: And anyway, how could I possibly have done something? Surely if it is real - and I’m not saying it is - then it’s down to the government to do something about it.

JEREMY: Aah, so now we may be getting somewhere… so, when there might have been a chance to change things, did you vote for a party that would have tackled it? 

MR HAMPSON: Well, of course not, why would I? I may as well vote for the Toothfairy party! Look you and your lot -

JEREMY: My lot? 

MR HAMSON? Yes the liberal media elite

JEREMY: Again, recording from my bedroom which also doubles as my kitchen and lounge…

MR HAMPSON: You know I’m right, Jeremy. I’m speaking for the majority here. We’re sick of people in positions of power telling us, the real people, what to do and how to act. Me driving my Jaguar around the place isn’t going to solve global warming.

JEREMY: I don’t think you repeatedly bringing up your Jaguar gives you the 'man of the people' vibe that you think it does… 

MR HAMPSON: See, looking down at the little people again, while encouraging propaganda for such rubbish.

JEREMY: What rubbish?

MR HAMPSON: Climate change, of course. The mainstream media are constantly talking about it -

JEREMY: Because towns are literally disappearing, half of the Southern Hemisphere is on fire. We are a current affairs programme, we talk about the topics that are having a real-world impact on our listeners -

MR HAMPSON: Well I’ve not seen it. Are we just supposed to take your word for it - these things could be down to a number of natural things. Why aren’t you talking about the real scandal of our times - how people like us, the rea- 

JEREMY: Sorry to interrupt you, Giles. We’ve had another caller who’d like to get in on the debate. Jack from Cardiff, I understand you have a different view to Giles?

JACK: Hi Jeremy. Yes, that’s right. Loving the show, by the way… 

MY HAMPSON: (muttering) Oh, not this cretin... Jeremy, I must protest, he’s completely ill-equipped to be discussing-

JEREMY: (ignoring this) Oh, well thank you, Jack. And what was the point you wanted to make about this discussion?

JACK: Well, I just thought that it was important to interject a bit of science into the debate.

JEREMY: Oh, you are a scientist, Jack?

MR HAMPSON: No, of course he’s not a scientist, Jeremy. The boy is an idiot.

JACK: Well, I have spent many years working on this theory. Testing and revising my hypothesis but I always come to the same conclusion.

JEREMY: Exciting, well let us know what you’ve found?

JACK: Well, after much observation, I have concluded that Giles Hampson is a massive fu-

JEREMY: Oh.. uum… thank goodness for the cough button, eh? On that note, I think we’ll leave that discussion for today. While I go outside and have a large whisky, here’s the news… When we come back, we’ll be talking about… um.. I dunno, something fun. 

[Jingle again and the news begins it slowly fades into the background as focus shifts back to our trio in the flat]

NEWS REPORTER: Tensions in France continue tonight as the civil war continues. With food in short supply and much of Northern France under control of Front National, the embattled liberal government has demanded an immediate halt to all separatist action on French soil. 

Meanwhile, closer to home, the English government have denied all reports of the mass starvation event that took place in Kent last month. A spokesman for the government told the EBC last night that the story has been a clear plant, to undermine the superb work by the UKFree party to unite the country. The denials come hot on the heels of similar denials last month when allied drones spotted large funeral pyres being built on the banks of the Medway. 

We go over to our English correspondent, Harriet Graves, for more:

NEWS REPORTER 2: Thanks, Seren. Yes, the UKFree party aren’t taking these latest revelations very well. Two inside sources told me yesterday that senior government ministers had been shot because of the leaks. 

We have reached out to the English government for comment, but do not expect a reply. Back to you in the studio. 

NEWS REPORTER: Thank you, Harriet. Finally, researchers at Cardiff University have reported finding a way to increase fertility in mice. Should they be successful, then human trials are expected to start by the winter. This is one step towards the Welsh government objective of redressing our ageing population and productivity issue. In the Senedd last week, the opposition described the plan as “crap of the highest order, even if we did manage to increase the working-age population, where exactly does the first minister propose they work?"

And that’s your news round-up for this evening, join us again tomorrow at 6am. Nos Da. 

JACK: hah, you were right! Listening to the radio can be fun! 

GERAINT: I feel like I should have put more emphasis on the ‘listening’ part. 

KARA: We’ll be paying for that one at the next residents meeting…

JACK: Meh, it was worth it. 

[power clicks back on and things start humming again]

GERAINT: Ooh, the power’s back on… do you want to keep… oh, he’s already back on the Playstation…

KARA: Come on, let’s go grab a coffee...

Sound of shooting and clicking as Jack plays his games mixes with the grim news reports. Jack shouts, "hah, take that. Try steal my kill will you! That'll teach you to mess with StabathaChristie69" 

~CREDITS~

POST CREDIT SEQUENCE

JEREMY: Welcome back to this evening with Jeremy. Well after that eventful few moments, let’s see what else is on your mind, Wales.

Next up we have Jillian from Cardiff. Jillian. What’s on your mind this evening?

MRS HAMPSON: Hello? Hello? Yes, is this the Jeremy show? 

JEREMY: That's right, you're through live on the air with Jeremy. What's on your mind? 

MRS HAMPSON: I’d like to speak to the manager, please. 

JEREMY: (sighs) Why didn’t I take that tv job. 

[pinkteapotwriting]

Their Perfect Y/N

Wolfstar x Fem!reader

Warning : Smut, pretty chill though. Daddy kink. That kinda stuff.

 Word count : 2532

---

Your first order meeting. You were so young, you just got out of Hogwarts considered an adult in the muggle world. Only 18, and you had a war to fight, friends to defend, lives to protect. It’s funny how determined you were to obliterate every death eater, but your heart was caught in your throat at the prospect of entering headquarters. You tried to ignore it, this was the first step to saving the people you cared about. You watched the houses split apart and sucked in a big breath before knocking. 

Walking through the doorway was easy enough, being immediately overwhelmed by a high pitched, brutal shriek.

“MUD BLOOD, BLOOD TRAITORS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS. DISGUSTING, FILTHY-”

“SHUT UP YOU FUCKING HAG!”

You were frozen in a state of terror, already you were messing up and you haven’t even said anything yet. 

“Y/N, right?”

Your wide eyes moved towards the figure with sleek ebony curls. The intense grey eyes were intimidating, but once you looked closer you saw the twinkle of humor in them. You shook his tattooed clad hands and tried not to let your knees buckle under his firm grasp. 

“Yes, and I’d ask you yours, but the daily prophet has done a great job of introducing me already.”

His smile was genuine, but you could read into that touch of sadness. But he was quick to shake it off.

“Don’t mind my mother, I promise she’s just as unpleasant as you get to know her.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know that-”

“Oh don’t worry about it love. No one told you. It’s amazing that you could come, Remus says you were one of his best students. Really exceptional at defense against the dark arts.”

Heat flushed to your face at the praise and the mention of your favorite professor.

“Professor Lupin is here too?”

Your question was quickly answered when those familiar arms you would stare at entranced in class were draped over Sirius’s shoulders.

“Nice to see you Y/N, but you’re not my student anymore so please, just call me Remus.”

“Feels illegal but sounds good Remus.”

You all found your way to the dining room table and tried your best not to be intimidated by the row of wizards you admired and respected so much. Before you got the chance to breathe though Molly had you trapped in a tight bear hug.

“Oh Y/N, so good to see you dear. Of course I’m not happy about the circumstance, but all the same, glad to know you’re here and safe.”

There was no oxygen left in your lungs to respond, so you just smiled and accepted her warm embrace.

“Molly, if you want her safe and healthy you might want to give her the chance to breathe.”

Grateful for Remus’s interjection you gave Molly a quick peck on the cheek, while she released you bashfully. 

“Thank you Molly.”

 The meeting itself was fine, it was the dinner afterwards that had you terrified, because right across from you was Sirius and Remus. Two of the most attractive men you’ve ever seen and their unrelenting questions and invested eye contact had the embarrassment coming up all at the same time. That didn’t deter them though. If anything it sprung even more questions and conversation starters. You didn’t even notice everyone else had left, leaving just you three at the table. You were cupping some tea between both hands, while Remus was leaning against Sirius’s shoulder. Sirius was replicating the affection by wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

It was peaceful, never had you felt so comfortable in the presence of other people before. So safe. 

“Y/N, I’m glad you came, like I said Remus speaks very highly of you and we need all the help we can get. So if you want to invite your boyfriend or something to join, you should.”

“Oh, I don’t have a boyfriend actually, but speaking of which I had no idea you guys were together. You’re a really beautiful couple.”

Remus only smiled a little, but Sirius’s grin was proud.

“Thanks Y/N, you’re really quite beautiful too. We’re actually not gay though though, we’re both bisexual. We’ve even been known to have thirds in relationships. Nothing permanent though, haven’t found that right person.”

“Does that mean that you’re still open to-?

“Oh absolutely, there’s this girl we actually have our eyes set on right now.”

Your face fell.

“Oh, well if you two like her then she must be lovely.”

Remus and Sirius shared a look, clearly amused by your cluelessness and we all know what teases they can be. Remus spoke up this time.

“OH yeah, she’s a darling. She just joined the order.” 

“She has Y/H/C and Y/E/C. Exactly our type wouldn’t you say Remus?”

“An absolute beauty, exactly our type that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, she looks particularly cute when she holds a cup of tea, with an adorable confused expression.”

“I don’t understand, well I think I do but-”

Remus was sitting up straight now, zoning in on your troubled expression.

“Y/N, we want you. If you’re uncomfortable we can drop it and give you space from here on out and we’re so sorry for making you-”

“Wait. You guys like me? Like that?”

Sirius snorted at your surprise.

“How could we not? You’re completely captivating. Do you feel the same love?”

“I do, it’s just that I’m not experienced, like, at all. And you guys are so it’s intimidating.”

“We would never want to do anything to make you uncomfortable or unsafe. How about we talk more about this more tomorrow.”

Remus’s words were sincere, and well thought out. Yours were less eloquent, much more desperate sounding than you would have liked.

“No please, I need you now.”

Sirius was a man who smiled a lot. Always quick to let out a genuine, hearty laugh. But this was different. It was a taunting smile, a dangerous smile. And you were completely captivated. 

“Yeah? What’s got you so needy love? No one’s done anything yet.”

The table between you felt like it was keeping you miles apart. So you pouted, but Remus tutted. 

“Answer his question Pup, good girls speak up when told to.”

“I-I don’t know, I can’t help it. I’ve never felt like this before and I just need you.”

---

Clothes were discarded slower than you deemed necessary. Their clothes at least, not yours. You were only left in your underwear. They really just wanted to take their time with you, not worried about them, but you. You just looked so pretty sprawled out on their bed, it was impossible not to stop and admire your trembling figure. Remus slid behind you, allowing you to rest against his now bare chest. While Sirius knelt in between your legs, hovering over you, thumb running over your bottom lip. 

“So pretty baby. Can I take these off now?”

He was referring to your panties and you were all too eager to be rid of them. Except Sirius was still fully clothed, which wasn’t exactly ideal.

“Sure, but could you take this off?” You tugged at the bottom of his shirt suggestively, but Remus was tugging your arms back.

“That’s not how we ask for what we want love, try again.”

You bore into Sirius’s grey eyes. The twinkle of humour was gone, there was love and respect there, but mostly they were filled with hunger. His blatant lust had you nervous, not ever experiencing such intensity before. It had you subconsciously closing your legs. So Sirius was pouting.

“Darling you don’t have to be shy, we like hearing what you have to say.”

You sighed and spread your legs again while Remus robbed your arms soothingly.

“S-siri, can you take off your shirt please. I wanna see you.”

“Good girl for asking so nice.”

He departed from the bed to remove all but his boxers, and it just reaffirmed that you’d be spending hours tracing his tattoos later. Emphasise on the later, cause at the moment you’d rather spend time with him doing something else. He seemed to be feeling much the same, but had to pause to chuckle at your dazed reaction.

“See something you like?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too.”

Remus pressed a kiss to the back of your head. 

“Alright love, you ready? Do you want this?”

“Yes, please. Do you want this?”

“Of course love.”

Once Sirius was nestled between your thighs again he gave one reassuring peck before making his journey downward. He started sucking right below your ear, and you were already whimpering. He could get drunk on that noise. All the sounds you released so willingly as he nipped your collar bone, kissed your hip, and sank his teeth into your inner thigh. Right next to where you needed him most. He didn’t give you much time to complain though, cause soon enough that last barrier of clothing was being discarded and your fingers found their way through his black tresses. The vibrations of his moan against your clit had you bucking into his face. He kept his palms planted firmly on your thighs.

“That feel good Puppy? No one’s ever made you feel like this huh? Gotta stay still though, can’t make you feel good of you can’t stay still.”

“F-feels so good.”

“I know baby, Moony how bout you help her practice for another time.”

Remus seemed to understand what he meant and you were confused until-

“Open up pretty girl.”

Until Remus’s fingers were brushing past your lips. You started sucking on them as if it was second nature. 

Sirius went back to suckling against your clit, but this time one of his fingers was teasing your entrance. Which once had you whining against Remus’s fingers, so he pulled them out to let you speak. 

“What is it baby.”

“P-Please Siri.”

“By that way, how does she taste?”

He answered by inserting his pointer finger briefly before bringing it to Remus’s lips. Remus released it with a dramatic pop. 

“Now I think I’m jealous, Hurry up Pads so I can get a turn.”

You never thought you had this type of response in you, but Sirius’s fingers thrusting in and out of you was sending shocks through your body. Every touch burned in the best way possible and it was only a short matter of time until the coil snapped. 

“Are you gonna be a good girl and cum for us Y/N?”

“Y-yeah. Please, feels so good.”

“Bet it does, let go for us darling, I know you can.”

He placed delicate kisses across your shoulders as you released all over Sirius’s face and fingers. Despite not being the one who came Sirius parted ruefully with a heaving chest. Remus beckoned him closer and as soon as he was within reach Remus was cleaning off his glistening face with his tongue. A sight you found all too arousing.

“Did so good Y/N, you too Pads. My turn now.”

“Please I need to be inside of her so bad.”

Remus pondered for a moment.

“Could you be gentle with her as she needed. You’d have to be.”

“She was clenching around my fingers… don’t know how I’d respond with her wrapped around my cock. You’re right Moony.”

And there you were, wishing they’d skip the whole talking like you weren’t even there, and just fuck you already. Luckily your desire looked as if it was going to be satiated shortly as Remus and Sirius switched places. When Remus removed his clothes you stared at his member with complete and utter desire. He mistook it for nervousness though.

“It’s alright love, if you want to stop we can. We can go at your pace and I promise if you’re in any pain at all that we can-”

Your voice sounded pained, raspy and desperate as if you were being deprived of oxygen.

“Remmy, I need you. Please I need it so bad.”

He sighed in relief and stroked his length as he settled over top of you.

“I got you. Such a good girl using her manners. Tell me if it hurts at all okay.”

Chest against chest was not close enough, even that could not satisfy the desire, the need, to be close to Remus. It seemed he was replicating your feelings as he drank up every moan that flew past your lips. If Sirius wasn’t rubbing your arms and soothing your hairline you never would have been grounded enough to tell that this was reality. 

“Fuck, you weren’t kidding Pads. She’s so tight I can barely move. You feel so good love.”

Your high pitched moans were gradually becoming more staccato as Remus thrust into you.

“I-it’s not my fault you’re so big.”

“S’ not a bad thing at all Pup. You like my cock, you like being stretched out like this?”

“Yes yes yes. So much, please please Da-”

Embarrassment creeped up from the back of your mind, all the way to your cheeks, but Sirius noticed.

“What were you gonna call him baby. C’mon now, don’t be shy.”

Remus halted his movements to stare at your face intently.

“I- I don’t wanna, M’embarrassed”

Remus gave one more thrust to emphasise his point.

“Say it.”

You knew by the stern look on his face it was better to obey, or else you wouldn’t get what you wanted.

“Daddy, please let me cum. You feel so good. You’re so big daddy I-fuck”

You were cut off by your own moaning as Remus proceeded to thrust at a rapid pace.

“Cum then.”

It was like you were being blindsided. If you were standing you would have been knocked off your feet. Sirius held your hand the whole way, and your grip only tightened as Remus chased his own high. 

“Where do you want me to cum baby?”

“Please cum inside me Daddy.”

“Yeah, you want Daddy to breed you? So pretty and innocent, didn’t know you were so dirty baby. I’m gonna stuff you full sweet girl- FUCK.”

He bit into your shoulder as he painted your insides with his release, and you found yourself whimpering as he pulled out. Remus was always a good caretaker though.

“It’s alright sweetheart. You did so good. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“No wait-”

“What is it pup?”

“Siri needs to feel good too.”

“If you’re sure then go ahead love.” Remus scootched out of the way so Sirius could situate you where he wanted. And that was face pressed into the mattress apparently. He sheathed himself fully inside of you, pressed his chest against your back so he could reach your ear and whisper.

“My turn, we’ll see who you’re calling Daddy at the end of this.”

---

Bonus

The prospect of war was terrifying. You were so focused on protecting everyone around you. So it was a great comfort knowing, as you slept in between Sirius and Remus, that you had two people who would go to all ends to keep you safe.

Because besides each other they now had something even more undeniably precious. 

You.

Their perfect Y/N. 

---

@sunny-bunnny @quindolyn @accioweaslcy @bluemoonyblurbs @weasleyposts