#the picture from that meme is the top left on first pic and was taken may 1 2017

[how-the-feathers-have-fallen]

you remember this image, right? so I 1. couldn't find the og post about it and 2. went back on the hunt for it's origins.

i still haven't found much, other than an Amino which edited the pic without sourcing where they got it and the og Pinterest post, which says that Ryan said "You can't put your arms around a memory" about it. that's actually a song by Johnny Thunders which Ryan covered in 2012, and also tweeted "Can't put your arms around a memory", but I can't seem to connect that to the image.

and then by the time I got there. Google was no longer letting me image search. so I tried again.

AND ANSWERS WERE FOUND! but only partially

Tinsley Mortimer (from Real Housewives) hosted a New Year's Eve Party At Japonais Presented by SKY New York.

Panic! At The Disco and Pete Wentz were both in attendance to this event, and although I could not find the specific picture, the hair styles match, so you'd think it's this event, or at least circa 2006, right?

well. only maybe. because after looking through the pics, the outfits are completely different!

so now I'm stuck between the picture possibly being taken in late 2005/06 and Ryan having said something in 2012. i still have no idea.

First of all. Pop off Sherlock Holmes! Genuinely idk if this is just you (and honestly me cause I'm way too invested in this) just having extreme brainrot + internet sleuthing or you're cut out to be a detective but I'm so glad to be your John Watson that you just bounce ideas off of.

Now it's currently 1 a.m. and I've just had a mental beak over an art project but my brain is whirling.

Now that I'm looking again this Ryan in the picture looks a lot older than Brendon in the picture (idk maybe it's the scruff) so I'll just play devil's advocate for a second and say this could possibly point to this being a photoshop. Also the the proportions of Ryan's hand to his head feels horribly wrong and the lighting is odd but that could just be attributed to the flash. Maybe the photo was taken and then only slightly edited for quality for publishing or something?

Side note: is there a mark on the back of Ryan's hand there? Is it a tattoo do we know if he has one? I can't believe I'm about to ask this but do we have claer photos of his hands?

Also the glass in the lower left corner that Brendon is holding looks like a stock photo due to the white hue of the unfilled part of the glass but again, that could just be the flash.

These areas specifically:

Bother me.

Because the top one has a weird defined like between the hair where clearly they should have smushed together. This could be attributed to the shitty quality or Brendon's hair being gelled or sweaty but idk i don't think so.

Also the bottom part, Brendon's feels too... smooth? Too blended? Could be pixles. Could not.

Also the song lyric? Hear me out, could be something from a fic. Like you often see tumblr posts or memes on Pinterest and under it you'll see quotes from like a Wattpad story or something. If Ryan supposedly said it once and covered the song then there's no reason why a fan wouldn't use the song for a Ryden songfic. Our hypothetical writer here could have taken those pics from the New year's eve party and photoshoped them for their fic.

Or there could have been an outfit change at the party perhaps?

Also I looked at the years you mentioned and I looked them up. Specifically Brendon in 2006 and Ryan is 2012.

This is Brendon in 2006:

makes sense

And this is Ryan in 2012 (at least according to Google):

Notice the scruff the volume in the haircut/sytle.

Idk this all only 10 mins worth of thinking and I think the Google search of Ryan 2012 shouldn't be completely trusted cause Ryan had kinda stepped out of the lime light so he wasn't taking as many photos and they certainly weren't time stamped as thoroughly. Maybe we could ask bandom tumblr for 2012 Ryan pics? Ya know, for science? The case?

Also through what did you find out about panic!'s + Pete's attendance to the party? An article? Could you share the link? I could read through it for clues or try and find similar articles.

Also this if this American Housewife has a twitter we could check it. See if she posted an photos of it in 2006. Or check Brendon's socials (though I doubt we'll find anything remotely Ryan related there). Also if that fails there's always MySpace (tho that's a limited source since we'll only has archived screenshots) or Livejournal (after all it's proven usefull to the petekey girlies).

Also if you check my tag lexi's cursed ryden pictures and scroll you'll find the original ask you send to me

[apeshit]

there are many many many many photographers that frequent awajishima monkey center and post their photos online, but let us take some time to appreciate the iconic fisheye framework of forester4521

[violetsoju]

page 30彡★

kageyama tobio · fluff · 3.2k

a/n: came up w this idea based on a tiktok vid of this trend that randomly popped up on my feed (which i can't find anymore T_T) do let me know if you enjoyed it! ❤️

“Hey, Tobio.”

The mop of raven hair doesn’t look up to you, eyes fixated on the jiggly onsen tamago on top of the curry tonkatsu.

“There’s this new trend going on.”

He hums in response, fingers gripping onto a pair of wooden chopsticks, manoeuvring the fragile soft lump towards the spoon. Just a few more steps till being cradled snugly in the deep end of the cool ceramic spoon.

“And we’re gonna learn the moves and film it right here after this.”

His fingers twitch. One of the long pointy chopsticks loses its cool and stabs the tamago right in the core, streaks of yellow bleeding across the crisp golden brown tonkatsu. Its counterpart desperately tries to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, but too much yolk has been lost, and more jabs were made in the frantic rescue mission. Not even the string of ‘shit’ muttered could save the day. So long, dear onsen tamago.

You’re finally met with piercing blue eyes glaring at you.

“No. And look at what you did to my onsen tamago.”

“You should’ve scooped it up with your spoon instead of pushing it with your chopsticks. Common sense much?” You thank the waitress for the hot steaming tempura udon. “Plus, you’re supposed to break the yolk and coat the luscious essence over your rice, unless you’re a freak and eat it in one go.”

Kageyama’s scowl softens when a piece of fried tempura lands in his bowl in exchange for a piece of tonkatsu. A glint of delight gleams in the two pair of eyes at the first bite of delicious food, taste buds tingling in satisfaction.

It’s a rainy Wednesday night. And rainy nights call for warm comfort food to make up for the gloomy wet weather brought by the pitter patter parade of fat rain droplets. So after a spontaneous text message, here you are, with an old close friend of yours, inside a small cosy shop hidden in an alleyway without any prior arrangements.

“And let me repeat myself. I’m not going to do any dumb dance trends with you again.” Kageyama restates his point firmly.

“Come on, you had so much fun the last time! Even Tsukki sent a good job sticker in the group chat.” You reason.

“You mean he enjoyed seeing me almost tripping over my feet.”

“That was the highlight, to be honest.”

He smacks your chopsticks away with his at your attempt to snag another piece of tonkatsu, not giving in into your pout.

“Anyway, I was just kidding. You’re in luck this time because it’s not a dance trend.”

Kageyama raises an eyebrow at you suspiciously, tilting his head to ask you to continue on.

“This time it’s a trend where you grab your nearest book, turn to page 30, and the first sentence will describe your love life. Interesting, isn’t it?”

“Just when I thought you’ve outgrown these ridiculous nonsenses.”

“Says the one who still insists on drinking a box of strawberry milk before matches.” You jab your chopsticks towards his direction accusingly.

“That’s different because it actually works. And it’s good.” He counterattacks by returning your gesture.

“I hate to say this but, point taken.”

He triumphantly snickers as you sigh in defeat.

“Aren’t you curious on how my love life is described?” You question, blowing off the steam from your spoon full of udon.

Kageyama chomps on another piece of pork cutlet, unamused at your question. “If you’re generous enough to share, I’d be honoured.”

“‘He smiles’”

“What?”

“That’s the first sentence on my page 30. ‘He smiles’.” You reply matter-of-factly, taking a sip of your hot green tea.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” His brows knit in confusion, hands momentarily forgetting the spoonful of curry rice in hand.

“Use your imagination, Tobio. Awaken your romantic cells.” You gesture with your hands dramatically, earning a deadpan look from the boy seated across you.

“Does it mean whoever’s smiling is the love of your life? Or someone who’s always smiling?” Kageyama rests his cheek against his left knuckle, trying to connect the dots together.

“Well-“

“Wait a minute! Don’t tell me it’s Suga-san. Because if it is, I won’t allow it because Suga-san is way too good for you.”

He yelps as you not-so-accidentally dip your chopsticks stained with broth into his green tea.

“Shush, we both know how much Suga-san adores me. And everyone else.” You smugly take another bite of your fried tempura as he frowns in disgust after drinking the now broth infused green tea.

“I guess it’s feeling of love at the sight of his smile? Like feeling all warm and fuzzy seeing him smile.”

“Is there someone who makes you feel that way with their smile?”

You swirl the udon with your chopsticks mindlessly for a moment. “Maybe there is.”

You look up to the pair of blue eyes staring back at you, holding the intense gaze firmly, neither side backing down to break the tension.

“Do I know him?” Kageyama falters, a hint of anxiousness cracks in his voice.

“Since when were you so interested in my love life?” You laugh awkwardly, hoping to conceal your nervousness.

Despite the surrounding bustling chatter, the world suddenly falls painstakingly silent, with the irregular beats of two young hearts thumping deafeningly and out of rhythm.

The raven-haired boy succumbs first, looking back down to his half empty bowl. You continue swirling your bowl of udon, mentally slapping yourself at your answer and cracking your head to come up with something to save the mood.

“Well, I could help to scan him for you, if you want. Boys know boys better after all,”

You snap back up to look at the boy seated across you, eyes not meeting yours. This is a surprise.

“Plus, you can save the tears and snot to yourself because I might not be free to attend to your midnight crying sessions. If it really happens.”

A surge of warmth radiates throughout your body at his words. Definitely not from the hot bowl of udon.

Kageyama still has his eyes on the bowl before him, looking anywhere else but you. He tries to keep himself busy by scooping more rice, groaning as he further destroys the onsen tamago, unaware of the faint blush painting his cheeks. Definitely not from the hot bowl of curry, too.

“Don’t worry, he isn’t a jerk. I’m sure you’ll like him too.” You chuckle, adjusting your chopsticks to pick up more udon.

Oh, Kageyama Tobio, what exactly should I do with you.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽.* :☆ﾟ. ───

Scroll. Refresh. Switch apps. Repeat. Sigh.

You’ve been stuck in this constant loop for the past hour. Instead of getting much needed sleep for the next day, you subject yourself to the chains of the device held in your hand, despite the drooping eyelids and strained arm muscles.

What’s so fascinating about social media anyway? If it’s not friends or random acquaintances posting sinful food pics of ootds, it’d be someone ranting about either their work or love life, or memes you’ve already seen before. Sometimes you wonder if you’ve been casted a spell by social media.

Crying out a yelp as the gadget lands right in your face at the slip of your hands, you massage your nose bridge and forehead from the impact, grimacing in pain. It’s not easy being a slave to social media, huh.

Tossing your phone to the side, you roll over to lie flat on your back, sprawled like a star fish on your bed. A long sigh escapes your lips, eyes staring blankly at the bare celling above. Maybe you should really call it a day.

A beep from your phone tells you otherwise.

Tobio [23:17]

I did it. You owe me one box of strawberry milk.

[23:18]

IMG_20210402_961222

You immediately plop yourself up to sit cross-legged on your bed, tapping on the notification to open the message. As expected of Kageyama Tobio, it was a full-page picture of a book, with a small number 30 on the top left-hand corner. But unexpectedly of Kageyama Tobio too, the page wasn’t from those volleyball books or magazines stacked in the corner of his room. Looks like the mini ramble session you gave him on the way to the metro station worked.

“I know volleyball is the love of your life too, but we’re talking about your actual love life here! So no volleyball books or magazines, go rummage Miwa-san’s book shelf for one random romance novel. Just one. She’ll thank me for taking care of your love life.”

Sliding both your thumbs outwards on the screen to zoom in, your lips press together to form an ‘o’, brows arching in fascination at the first sentence.

She knows.

Interesting.

Your fingers dance across the screen swiftly.

me [23:20]

Ohhh interesting. See, it’s exciting, isn’t it?

Tobio [23:21]

I guess so

me [23:22]

Do you think it describes your love life well?

To actually imagine Kageyama Tobio having something that he loves as much as volleyball is, an odd and foreign feeling.

Tobio [23:24]

I’m not sure tbh

me [23:25]

Well spill the tea so I can help you analyse it

Tobio [23:25]

No

You swear you would throw punches at him if he was beside you now.

me [23:26]

Tsk tsk, so who’s the girl you’ve been hiding from me

Tobio [23:27]

Since when were you interested in my love life?

The use of your own words against you has you clicking your tongue in amusement.

You were contemplating between a civil or sarcastic remark when a new message bubble pops up.

Tobio [23:29]

But do you think she knows?

me [23:30]

About what?

Tobio [23:31]

Nvm, forget what I said

Seriously? This conversation is by no means, ending like this. You tap on the video icon on the right-hand corner of the screen hastily.

It takes a few rings for the familiar face to appear on screen, face a little too close to the camera, brows furrowed, lips pursed.

“What the heck, do you know what time it is?” Kageyama huffs in annoyance, running his fingers through his dishevelled black hair.

“Says the one who sent me such juicy information at this hour.” You bend your legs up, resting your hand on your knees for a better angle.

He throws his head back exasperatedly, muttering something inaudible along the static noise from the speakers, resting his head on a wooden frame you recognise. He still hasn’t changed his bed that he has long outgrown, complaining about soreness in his legs and arms that dangle off the edge every night.

“How do you expect me to go to bed with you hanging me like this? You have the worst timing ever.” You raise your hands in protest.

Kageyama buries half of his face in his palm. “I shouldn’t have listened to you.”

“But you get a box of strawberry milk from this! It’s worth it.” You gesture a finger gun to him knowingly.

He moves two fingers away from his face, peeking to see you through the screen like a child. Heaving a long, heavy sigh, he shifts his weight to sit up properly, half of his face still cradled in his palm.

“So, ‘she knows’, huh. Back to your question. What do you think she knows?” A tinge of excitement and fear bubble up your throat.

Kageyama avoids your gaze, looking to the side. “Well, I mean, about my, er- my feelings, I guess?”

“You mean your heart.”

The sentence has his eyes back on you, vivid blue eyes clouded by the shadows of dimly lit room.

“Yeah, uhm, well, I guess.” His voice trails off.

“Well, have you told her before?” You keep your voice steady.

“No, of course.” His words come out like a whisper.

“Then how is she going to know without any words or actions?” It comes out like a blunt statement, but somewhere deep down, a wave of relief washes over you.

“But I’m always there for her. Whenever she needs me, wherever she is, I try my best to be there for her,” Passionate flames ignite across the vast blue ocean. “I know something is on her mind when she bites the insides of her cheeks, when she flicks the tip of her thumb with her index finger constantly, or when she plays with the piercings on her ears. I’m not one with words, but I stay by her side when she needs me to, listening to her rambles or vents, or wiping away tears that stain her cheeks soft like mochi.

“I set notifications the night before to give her morning calls during her exams or important days because she tends to snooze the alarm on days like these. I always have extra band-aids ready on hand because she always somehow cuts and hurts herself, which hurts my heart too. Heck, I even learn ridiculous things that would be the death of me just for her, because nothing compares to the sparkle in her eyes when she flashes her precious smile, brighter than the sun that takes my breath away every time. I-”

Kageyama stops midway, face painted with horror as if he just let out a million-dollar secret. Panic flares in his eyes, mouth agape in incredulity as his body rigids, dumbstruck with terror by what rolled off his tongue so smoothly. You wonder if the line got disconnected because he turned into a static image, with a full-blown flustered look on his face.

You wave at the screen. “Tobio, you still there?”

It takes a few seconds for the raven-haired boy to snap back to his senses and regain his composure, coughing awkwardly in attempt to calm himself down. Small patches of blush blooming furiously on his cheeks peek out from his hands covering his mouth.

He looks cute.

No, he’s cute.

He’s always been cute.

“I- Er- Ye- Yeah, I’m still here.” Kageyama struggles to find words from his tad-larger-than-average vocabulary vault that has seem to disappear into thin air.

“Gosh, breathe Tobio, breathe. Come on, take a deep breath with me. One, two, three.”

He exhales deeply at the count of three with eyes shut close, hoping that all his jitters have been expelled away in the air.

“There you go. Feel better now?” Your lips tug up gently as the boy on the screen visibly relaxes, shoulders loosening from the tension, face free of creased lines.

He opens his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to adjust his vision before returning a soft smile to you. “Yeah, I do. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

A tranquil silence blankets over the both of you. This time, the steady beats of two young hearts thump in tune like a metronome. Two young souls gaze at each other, basking in the calmness and comfort of the sincere warm smiles that felt so much like home; but too proud to admit they were like lovesick fools, brushing off the feelings that were screaming loudly to be heard, feelings that they were afraid to face.

“Do you think she knows?” It’s a genuine question, one that takes a mountain high of courage to come up with.

“I’m sure she does.” It’s a genuine answer, one that takes a of couple hundred meters of might to emerge from the deep ends of the sea to come up with.

And you both hope that you’re on the same wavelength.

“So back to square one. Who’s the girl?”

“None of your business.”

“Another piece of crap from you and I’ll leave without you at the metro station tomorrow.”

“Sorry.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽.* :☆ﾟ. ───

When you reach the designated exit of the metro station the next day, a pair of eyes as blue as the day immediately catches your attention among the crowd, feet shuffling on its own accord towards them. As if there was a detector sensing your presence within him, the owner of the beautiful pair of orbs turns to you, raising a hand in greeting.

Kageyama gives you a smile, a smile that says, ‘I hope my smile makes you feel warm and fuzzy’.

You smile back at him, with a smile that says, ‘I hope you know that I know your heart’.

It’s hard to shake off the pride to be damned, but the two lovesick fools find themselves discarding it slowly, bit by bit with each step taken, together.

【☾】

Kageyama is a creature of routine. He always has his day planned out in detail and hates it when it doesn’t go according to plan, or when something pops out of the blue. But there are a few which he can make exceptions for. So when he receives your text asking for dinner after his training session, he agrees in a heartbeat.

He felt his heart sink deeply in his guts when you said there was, indeed, someone who made you feel warm and fuzzy with their smile. But who was he to have his say when his status was merely just a close friend?

Miwa thought he had lost it when he barged into her room without notice that night, scanning her bookshelf for novels, specifically of the romance genre. It was more nerve-wrecking than retaking exams back in high school with Hinata while flipping through the pages, and it didn’t help much when he finally found the particular page, with the first line inked in black staring back at him in doubt.

He doesn’t know why he sent the picture of the page to you. What exactly was he expecting?

Worse, he doesn’t even know why he started blabbing about how he was always there for you, how much he cares for you, and how much you mean to him. It all just came out so naturally that he could actually score an A+ for impromptu speaking.

But when your eyes were filled with concern while calming him down instead of making fun of him or pestering him for more, something flutters in his mind. Maybe it was from the rush of adrenaline from before, or maybe it was his heart that had leaped out from his chest taking over. He brings up the question once again, with more confidence this time.

He knows you’re not one to lie with your eyes. And he sees the kindness and honesty in them.

A ray of hope flickers in him.

So today, Kageyama musters up every ounce of courage he has, and tells himself it’s now or never: to close the gap he has longed for so long between two hands that swayed side by side. Instead of retreating his hands away when they brush against yours, he curls the tip of his fingers with yours delicately, as if your fingers would melt at his touch.

He hopes that he made the right decision.

And when your fingers curl back, intertwined with his, he knows he has made the right decision, and that his question has been answered.

She knows.

And the fact that he’s the one behind the smile that makes you go all warm and fuzzy, he swears it feels like he could run for miles and miles without running out of breath, soaring even higher than the clouds in the skies. None of the perfect sets he has set in his lifetime could compare to the satisfaction and bliss he was feeling right now.

Because you had set his life ablaze the moment fate brought the both of you together, and you’re his end game.

[chrisjake-cp]

History 3 Trapped Filming Diary (full English translation) - Days 1-10

Just before you start reading, a little note of explanation: the author of this diary will frequently use the character’s name when they mean the actor. I have added the names of the actors between square brackets sometimes to avoid confusion. Also between square brackets you will find some words that are implied, so I added them in the translation to make the translation a bit smoother, but they aren’t included in the Chinese text. 

The book’s author will also talk in the first person POV sometimes, refering to themselves as either “I”, “we” or “this little editor 小编”.  So each time you see me write “I”, it is not my own opinion I’m inserting in the text, but the author/editor’s. If I have anything else to add or explain myself, I’ll add it in a note at the end of the text.  

I’ll repeat: I don’t own the book so I can’t post my scans of the pictures that came with every day. So I posted some other pictures of the scenes that were being filmed with each day. These pics belong to LINE TV or Choco Media, or I’ve taken screenshots. 

Day 1-10 under the cut. 

Day 1

The first day of shooting happened to coincide with ‘Li Dong’⁕ but the temperatures of that day soared to 29 degrees. The crew was going sleeveless, but the actors were all wearing sweaters or dress shirts. Tang Yi, who had on the most, was wearing a turtleneck sweater and a suit jacket on top at one point, but he didn’t sweat very much.⁕ Meanwhile A De [Stanley], wearing a shirt and a suit jacket, was [clad] the ‘thinnest’ at the scene. When he got off work and took off his sweaty shirt, the wardrobe department exclaimed: “This shirt is so wet!”

Officer Meng’s scenes for that day consisted of eating from 10 am in the morning until 6pm in the evening. He basically ate from when he got to work until he got off work. All in all he had two large bags of rice and poured 4 liters of coca cola. Junhao [Jake] will start sweating profusely and start flushing when he eats spicy food, so as soon as the director yelled ‘cut’, the crew would immediately pass him a plastic bag so he could spit out the spicy Kung Pao Chicken he was eating.

⁕ Li Dong 立冬 literally means ‘establishing the winter’, so it is some kind of winter solstice in Asian culture. In the Gregorian calendar, it falls on 7 or 8 November. According to the IG stories of some of the cast of Trapped, it was indeed 7 November 2018 when shooting started. 

⁕ Chris apparently doesn’t sweat much, no matter how hot he gets. He says as much in his vlog as well. I envy him, because I’d just be sweating buckets like Stanley. 

Day 2

The first meeting between Tang Yi and Wenhao is also the second time that Chengyang [Chris] and teacher Jiakui [Chen Jiakui, the actor who plays Chen Wenhao] worked together. They cooperated for the first time on a movie. At that time teacher Jiakui served as the movie’s drama teacher. When Chris had gone through make-up in the early morning, he sat alone in a corner with the script. You could easily see that he was conflicted and upset. [For the other movie] teacher Jiakui was Chris’ mentor, but here Wenhao was the target of Tang Yi’s revenge.

In the process of their scenes where they faced each other, the director hoped that Tang Yi could hate Wenhao even more, but Tang Yi’s personality is subdued and calm. So how could he fly into a raging fit and still keep his calm? In a part that was not captured on camera, teacher Jiakui aggravated some lines to make Chris more infuriated. Afterwards teacher Jiakui also said that the role of Tang Yi is not easy to perform. [Tang Yi] is a young mob boss, The hate in his eyes must therefore also carry a bit of youthfullness, which is difficult to experience for normal people in the course of their lives.

Day 3

Today was the first time that Zhaozi arrived on set, and while he was bored waiting for his scenes, Zhaozi started to act as the shop’s clerk to sell suits. Apart from suits, bowties and regular ties, he even managed to sell shoehorns. By oneself, the words just kept on flying out of his mouth which left Shaofei beside him looking dumbfounded (if you want to see Shaofei’s dumbfounded meme-like look, you have to absolutely watch the behind-the-scenes on the DVDs)⁕. [Shaofei] continued to shout “If you buy a shoehorn you get Zhaozi for free with it, please someone take Zhaozi away, Unit 3 can’t stand it anymore.”

Boss Tang was tired, and took a nap in his own shop. ‘Just a little while will do. Shaofei and A De, you two be on the lookout for me, and if the director is coming, remember to wake me.’

⁕ Excellent advice. Please do watch the behind-the-scenes after finishing this book, because a lot of what is written here is visualized in the bts. The bts are arranged per episode though, and not per filming day, but it’s still amazing to be able to see what went on. 

Day 4

The set for the offices of Investigation Unit 3 is actually the office of LINE TV’s Choco Media branch. The contemporary industrial style caused the atmosphere among Unit 3 to be even more lively. 

For Unit 3’s first scene together, the director used a one-shot to have everyone appear on the scene, which meant that the first time all the actors were present, they had to have a ‘chemistry’ test. But apart from the actors, chemistry also had to be there for the whole staff, as the directing crew, the camera crew and the sound crew, really everyone, also had to follow [the actors] along⁕. I still remember that by the 20th take, everyone’s lines ran very smoothly, the shot was satisfactory and everyone was where they were supposed to be. The director and the crew were holding their breath in concentration, and just when they thought they’d succeed, A Zhi [character Zhou Guanzhi, played by Kass Tsai] forgot a line in the very last sentence hahahaha. In the end, this round took 27 takes.

⁕ The author uses a metaphor/reference here. They write 乾坤大挪移 which means something like ‘The Great Shift of the Cosmos’ and is apparently a kind of martial art from a martial arts novel. It consists of 7 increasingly difficult skill levels, whereby the 7th level is almost unattainable. In other words, shooting this one-shot scene required the whole cast and crew pulling off this great cosmos shift, and thus was a big, big challenge. 

Day 5

After we shot the scene where the two idiots from Unit 3 [Shaofei and Zhaozi] got into trouble and received an explosive scolding by Dapao [Shi Dapao, the name of Unit 3’s Captain]⁕, the director told Shaofei that she wanted to add a scene where he sat next to the window thinking about Sister Lizhen, continuing in the same mood [as the previous scene]...Everyone in Unit 3 felt that Shaofei was continuing to set his teeth into a meaningless old case. If there had only been some progress in the investigation...but [Shaofei] not only didn’t find any new leads, but he also got into trouble everywhere. If Sister Lizhen would still be alive, he wouldn’t be like this now...Shaofei really, really missed sister Lizhen. Rather than say that the director added this scene at the last moment, it’s more like she deliberately didn’t tell Junhao [Jake] that she would add this part. 

When they were shooting, the director played the music from the music box through the megaphone and from time to time talked as well, to provoke moody feelings in Jake. In the end Jake grabbed his phone and scrolled through his mother’s Facebook, and to all our surprise Jake started bawling, so much so that even after the ‘cut’ he couldn’t stop, until the director walked over and lightly patted him on the back. To be able to cry like that in a short amount of time, even he himself hadn’t expected that.

⁕ How much fun is it that the name of the Captain of Unit 3 literally means big cannon, when he explodes in anger all the damn time? 😂 I am quite convinced that in the hospital scene where Shaofei tells Tang Yi of his fortune-telling and that only a cannon can strike him down - he uses the exact same wording ‘dapao’ - it’s actually an inside joke and he may not have meant ‘cannon’ literally. 

Day 6

Today’s weather couldn’t be called very fine, and when we were shooting until 3 or 4 P.M., the daylight was almost gone, just when the filming location had large windows in every corner that reached the ground. Our funny director said “Why did the production team run out of light after 3 P.M.? Did they forget to send notice⁕ to the sun?” This caused the crew that was present to not know whether to laugh or cry. But in the end, before the sun got off work, everyone else smoothly finished their job as well.

⁕ the term “to send notice” is quite literal, but the word is indeed an entertainment industry term as well, that means to hire someone for a short amount of time or for a specific show, without there having to be a longer-term contractual agreement. So it could also be translated as “did they forget to hire the sun [to star in today’s scenes]?”

Day 7

It was a day with complicated feelings for Shaofei and little Tang Yi, as Shaofei discovered Tang Yi’s past history. 

Before going to meet the adoptive father of his lover, of course Shaofei had to straighten himself out first and shave his beard to leave a good impression. In the evening, today’s final scene was shot. Before starting filming, the director hoped that [Tang Yi’s] adoptive father could guide little Tang Yi’s mood, because the intensity of this scene needed to bring out the reason why Tang Yi’s feelings for Tang Guodong ran so deep and make everyone feel the warmth that Tang Guodong brought to Tang Yi even more. 

Under the constant conflict of raising [little Tang Yi] through much difficulties, a loud and clear slap came down heavily on little Tang Yi’s face. The silence at the [shooting] site caused the loud sound to be infinitely amplified, and the director and the crew were all shocked. When the ‘cut’ sounded, little Tang Yi instantly started crying, and the director rushed to the room immediately. On every crew member’s face was reluctance and shock. Meanwhile the adoptive father sat with his head down on the sofa, full of remorse. 

An extra tidbit from the same scene: the crew’s love for little gadgets

There are always a few conspicuous toys in front of the director’s monitor. She explained that these were toys that members of the crew who are close to her gave her to alleviate stress. I don’t know which toy is the director’s favourite?

 Day 8

For the setting of the toilets of Unit 3 we actually used the toilets in a department store. Zhaozi, who arrived at the store very early in the morning, was hit on by an older lady who was just coming into work. The lady said: “Aren’t you Zhao Youting [Mark Chao]? You definitely are Zhao Youting!!” Even though Zhaozi went on to deny it, the lady didn’t listen and believed that this handsome guy in front of her was Zhao Youting himself. 

Actually, Zhaozi passed on the above story [to us], and no one actually saw this older lady. Zhaozi often tells bluff stories with a straight face, but I [this little editor] have my reservations about its credibility. But be as it may, after he was told that he looked like Zhao Youting, Zhaozi’s acting skills immediately leveled up. So okay, whether or not the story was real, we thank this lady ‘from the legends’.

Day 9

Can I call you dad after this hug? 

I still remember the story of a friend coming out to his mother. He said to his mom: “I’m sorry if this thing disappoints you. I don’t dare to ask for your blessing. I just hope that you can show some understanding.” Through a chat message, his mother could only briefly reply: “If your other half is a good kid, I will give you my blessing.”

Many people in a same-sex relationship don’t dare to confess to the older generation and they don’t dare to ask for their blessings. Their only hope is not to be hated. It’s like that facing this society, and it’s the case when facing your beloved family. When Wenhao and Shaofei met each other, Wenhao gave Shaofei a hug. This hug must have carried [Wenhao’s] unspoken blessing. 

No worries, dear father-in-law. I, Officer Meng, will take care of everything (pats on the back). 

Wenhao and Guodong together brings its own hint of romance.⁕ The fighting was very intense that day, so much so that the police dispatched a Quick Fight Force team in concern [for the situation]. 

⁕ The term that the author uses is 腐味 (fuwei, the taste of fu). The first character, ‘fu’ is the same ‘fu’ that is used in terms like fujoshi 腐女子 and fudanshi  腐男子 (which are Japanese) but it’s the same pronunciation for that first character. So the author implies that there might have been something more than friendship going on between Chen Wenhao and Tang Guodong. They imply the same thing later in the book as well (day 60, where the two are called a CP). 

Day 10

A Mei [Stanley] who portrays A De, said that he was the expert in getting beaten [in this drama]. I say that Stanley definitely dedicated himself to taking on that role. Many times his head bumped into the wall and the crew told him to take a break, but Stanley couldn’t stop yelling “no no, hurry up, I’m familiar with it now!”

All the way through the end Officer Meng and Vixen⁕ no.1, A De, cheered each other on before ‘Action!’ [was called]. 

⁕ The word for vixen is ‘fox spirit’  狐狸精 in Chinese. I love that and I could probably write essays on this subject. In classical Chinese literature, foxes were most of the time portrayed as (mainly female) temptresses who seduced males for sex and then didn’t shy away from sucking the soul out of them, kind of like a succubus. If anyone is ever in the mood for some academic literature about foxes in late imperial China, I've got you covered  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3237790-alien-kind

So A De and Andy are constantly referred to as these foxes who want to seduce Tang Yi and snatch him away in front of Shaofei’s eyes. 

[diogxnes]

for the headcanon ask meme.. how about one of each? 0:-)

thanks love, and sorry for the late response!! i'm not 100% sure if i’m interpreting your ask correctly but i’m gonna take it as one of each body part canon for whatever character i feel like <3

headcanon: we don’t know anything about robin’s family but i am 100% certain that she has no siblings and her dad has been out of the picture for a very long time. she has a couple of fuzzy, vaguely nostalgic memories of him but knows rationally that there isn’t anything to miss because if he was really a good person or a good father he’d still be around. she lives with just her mom, who is well-meaning and tries and cares but has fallen off a bit, and struggles to take care of even herself, let alone an angsty, rebellious teenage daughter. so robin is an entirely different person at home--she’s the caretaker, the responsible one. she feels trapped and cannot wait to move out, but she also feels desperately guilty at the thought of leaving her mother to fend for herself. i think it makes a really good counterpoint to steve’s absent-powerful-parents situation (which technically isn’t canon but it looks like we’ve all just accepted it as fact lmao) and would be a really good source of conflict and personal growth for robin later in the show. (realized after i decided all this that this situation is similar to dustin’s and to jonathan’s. i love giving people mommy issues <3)

heartcanon: after the whole chasing-joyce-down-the-street thing jonathan goes back to the morgue because he doesn’t feel like he can go home just yet and feels irrationally like he owes it to will to look properly at his body instead of running away, since at least one person in their family needs to confront will’s death head-on and it clearly isn’t gonna be their mom. when he gets back hopper is still there, sorting out some of the paperwork that joyce left behind. hopper offers to go back with jonathan; he knows from experience how hard it is to look at the body of a kid you love, and he doesn’t want jonathan to have to face it alone. jonathan doesn’t really want the company but he doesn’t refuse it, either. he lets hop stand silently beside him while they wheel out will’s body, and when they pull back the sheet he’s about to lose his resolve again when he feels hop’s hand on his shoulder. neither of them say anything until they’re out on the street, about to go their separate ways. then hopper does his think where he bends down to be at eye level with short people and clasps both of jonathan’s shoulders and tells him that if he or his mom ever need anything, or even if jonathan just wants to talk to someone else who has gone through this, he can call any time and hopper will be there for him. neither of them ever speak of this interaction again, but jonathan treasures the knowledge that he has someone looking out for him and his family. 

gutcanon: steve is gonna die in s4. I don’t want it to happen but I feel in my bones that it will. this show hasn’t actually killed off any major characters yet (and anyone who thinks billy is a major character beyond being an antagonist can gtfo) and i don't think that everyone surviving is gonna last. and steve makes the most sense. they aren’t gonna kill off jonathan when the whole first season was about joyce getting her other son back from the dead. i don’t think they’re gonna kill any of the kids because they’re kids. nancy isn’t gonna die because for better or for worse the duffers have leaned REALLY hard into the whole “badass invincible girl with gun” thing. robin isn’t gonna die because the optics of immediately killing their only (out) gay character are not good. joyce isn’t gonna die because that’ll mess up hop’s redemption arc and lbr winona carries the show. so that leaves steve. also it’s a fantastic (if horrifying) conclusion to his character arc if he goes from dustin calling him “that douchebag steve harrington” in 1.01 to sacrificing himself to save dustin in s4. yknow what i should’ve made this my headcanon and the robin thing my gutcanon because this is WAY more thought out lmao

junkcanon: steve is a top and jonathan is a bottom. unless you’re into stoncy in which case steve is the ultimate power bottom and nancy is unquestionably the top of the bunch. nancy is a top and robin is a bottom. i will not explain myself because i know that i am right 

spleencanon: this is also a headcanon and a heartcanon but jonathan absolutely went and apologized to both steve and nancy together for the s1 photos and they had an adult conversation about how it wasn’t okay but he’s learned and grown and moved on. because absolutely fuck the duffers for deciding that STEVE was the one who needed to apologize to JONATHAN for destroying the camera that was used to take creepshots of his girlfriend. and fuck the duffers for deciding that “in that moment you weren’t like the other girls <3” was a good justification for taking topless pics of nancy without her consent. so yeah jonathan owned up to it and took responsibility and apologized (beyond the super brief “i shouldn’t have taken those”) and only after that did steve forgive him and replace his camera <3

[the-gray-ghosty]

Gabriel has Instagram (of course he does)

Many hunters have social media; younglings like Claire, Kaia, Alex & Jack, and also Jody, Sam, Castiel, Donna, and a few other hunters. The teens use snapchat more, but they all have Instagram. (Even Rowena, all the way from Hell.)

Gabriel's Instagram is very chaotic; From random memes to pictures of dogs to a story highlight group called "3 Dicks in Rome"

The pictures in that grouping are from when Gabriel "kidnapped" Sam and Castiel and took them to Rome for a month on vacation.

Gabriel, Sam and Castiel took a road trip to Rome for one month during the summer. (Jack stayed back with Jody and the girls, and Dean stayed at the bunker.)

Sam and Castiel were dating, (the "godamn cutest couple ever", according to Gabriel.) Gabriel basically kidnapped them from the bunker, saying they needed a break from hunting. (Sam and Cas both agreed with him.) Here are the pictures Gabriel posted on his "3 Dicks in Rome" Instagram highlight story during from trip.

1. The first picture on his story was a pic of Sam and Cas sitting together by a fountain, holding hands with a red and purple sunset behind them.

2. The second picture was another cute picture Gabe took of Sam, holding a squishy cat that wandered up to them in the street. (Castiel dubbed the cat "Fredrick".)

3. The third picture was a selfie of Sam and Gabriel on top of a roof, with Gelato and a caption that said: 2am ice cream run with the bestie. Sam had his hands up in a peace sign and looked very cheerful, smiling in a way that showed his dimples

4-5. The fourth and fifth pictures were of Castiel and Gabriel in front of stone white pillars, tourists wandering around them.

6. The sixth picture was a picture obviously taken by another tourist, and was of Sam with an angel on each side. His right arm wrapped around Castiels waist and his left arm resting on top of the short archangels head like an arm rest. (Thats Sam's favorite picture, its framed in his room in the bunker.)

7. The seventh picture is a picture Gabriel sneakily took when the couple wasn't paying attention. Castiel and Sam are leaning on a bridge, Cas has his arms around Sam and the taller man is laughing at something his boyfriend said. "The Smiles on their Faces are *Chefs Kiss*" is the caption of the picture.

8. The last few pictures on the highlight are some of the beautiful buildings, more cats, and a few more random selfies of Gabriel.

[z-iridest]

Can you do hawks and todoroki reaction to meeting their s/o for the first time after months of long distance online dating🙇🏾‍♀️🙇🏾‍♀️🌸

(A/N: This is such a cute idea! :3 Hope u don't mind headcannons again)

Online, Long Distance Dating: First Time Meeting In Real Life

Shouto Todoroki

To be fair, Shouto Todoroki hadn't even known what Instagram, or any other social media platform even was besides Facebook.

When he was first introduced to Instagram, the account made for him by his friends, he had instantly gained 1 million followers almost overnight. (He says it's only because of his father, but c'mon, ladies, he's just that hot)

The account posts page is filled with tagged, sneaky pictures from his friends, all of them adorable, pictures of soba, his mother (totally appreciation posts for Mamaroki) Fuyumi and Natsuo

But, one follower of his in particular caught his herochromatic eyes.... Y/N L/N. They had liked every one of his posts since day one, always leaving a friendly "hello" in the comments or leaving a comment about how wonderful his family seemed to be. If only Shouto knew just how whipped he was about to be....

The specific post that started it all popped up in his feed one fateful day was a picture of you that had been taken at the perfect moment. Your h/c floated in the breeze, your e/c shut as you were caught in an open mouthed laugh, Shouto finding your smile to be not only infectious, but bewitching. Yet, he yearned to hear what your laugh sounded like.

Before he knew what the hell he was even doing, he had -How would his friends put it?- slid into your dms, saying hello.

Since you lived in America (and were a light sleeper on top of being a slight insomniac), you weren't expecting a dm before the sun could wake up, so the minute your phone went off with a notification, you nearly fell out of bed due to the earbuds in your ears... That notification was LOUD!

When you looked at the message, it was from DamnIcyHot (that username was all Bakugo) and read: Hello, I'm Shouto. You looked beautiful in your recent post, and I thought you deserved to hear that. I hope you have a wonderful day

You blushed and that dm... Well, let's just say it wasn't the last.

Just two months after talking to you, Shoto asked you out.... On a video call, dressed in a tux with a red tie, and holding a half white and half red rose. (Pic above, folks)

Poor baby is so nervous, he's shifting and fixing his tie every few seconds and it's all you can do not to start squealing.

Y/N... I never thought it was possible to fall in love with someone I have yet to meet in real life, but, I have. I've fallen hard for you, Y/N. Everytime I see you post, it brings me so much joy and makes me smile everyday, and... I don't want it to ever stop. Y/N, I want to be able to video call you every night, to tell you how beautiful and perfect you are in my eyes until you fall asleep. I want to be able to see you every night and wake up to your beautiful face every morning. If I may have this chance, I promise, you will be treated like the princess you are, and I will never let you forget how precious you are to me.

The poor, half white, half red haired baby is now stumbling over his words as a blush darker than the red half of his hair appears on his face. Y/N... I was wondering... Would you... Maybe... want to be mine?

You had blushed and hidden behind your hands, a sight that Shouto still remembers as the cutest thing you've ever done, and nodded in response. If you had dared looked up, you would have seen the relieved look on his face as a laugh, a genuine laugh of relief, spills from his lips.

And that was only the beginning...

It only took a couple days before his friends noticed that their herochromatic eyed friend was acting a bit... Stranger than usual.

He was grumpier on certain days, happily smiling down at his phone, excusing himself to go to his room for hours on end.

Nobody knew what was going on, or why he was on his phone so much.

Kaminari had suggested spying on Todoroki, but Izuku had gone with a more... Direct approach.

When asked why he was on his phone so much, Todoroki had just blinked and said matter of factily, I have an S/O. The whole class, except for Yamomo, is shocked by this. This one of those, "I thought it was obvious" moments for Yamomo.

Speaking of Yamomo, she asks who the lucky person is. Instead of answering her, Shouto shows her the screenshot he unashamedly took of you.

In the screenshot, you're sporting a bright smile, e/c eyes filled with adoration and love, the look you had given him before calling him your Peppermint Baby for the first time, that baby boi was soooooo flustered by it. (What? He couldn't help it, it was too cute of a moment to let pass). The girls instantly squeal and ship you two together while some of the boys (*cough, cough* Kaminari and Mineta *cough*) are wondering how the hell you guys had even gotten together.

That same night, he called you and told you about the day's events, which honestly had you in fits of laughter.

Shortly after that, you were informed that you were being moved to Japan. Were you excited? Yes! You get to meet your boyfriend face to face for the first time, you were nervous and excited at the same time.

Did you tell him? Nope. You were waaaaay too giddy with the thought of how surprised he would be to see you.

Since you were being moved to Japan, that meant being transferred into U.A. High. Your Class being 1-A.

Shouto was talking to his friend group when you arrived, and thankfully for you, his back was to the door.

A green haired boy was the first to see you, his green eyes going a little wide while his friends were unawares, discussing who the new student could be.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, you quickly put your finger to your lips, silencing him.

Thankfully, the Broccoli Boi gets the hint and schools his features before his friends can notice.

You quietly tip toed until you were directly behind him.

Covering a giggle, you covered his herochromatic eyes with your hands.

The second his eyes were covered, he jumped

Just as he was about to react, he read an all too familiar voice. "Hiya, Peppermint." It couldn't be....

Hands trembling slightly, he gingerly took hold of your hands and turned around, surprised to see a pair of e/c eyes looking back at him. "Y-Y/N?" You were so much more goregous in person....

"Surprise!" You giggled before you felt his arms wrapped tightly around you, a laugh leaving you as your feet left the ground as he picked you up, slightly spinning you before setting you down.

"Is this the girl you were telling us about, Todoroki?" A girl with big brown eyes and floating brown hair asked. The excitement in Shouto's eyes was evident as he finally turned to his friends, realizing you from his hug but still keeping his arm wrapped around you.

"Ururaka, Iida, Midoriya, this is my s/o, Y/N. Y/N, meet my friends Midoriya, Ururaka, and Iida." Shouto introduced you to his friends first. Iida's loud greeting captured the attention of your fellow classmates, and pretty soon, you were surrounded by a bunch of new friends.

It took a while for the excitement to die down, but when it finally did and Shouto finally got you alone, you suddenly found his lips on yours. Your first official kiss with Todoroki... Scratch that, your first one ever.

You found out that day that the Peppermint nickname you had given him... It was well deserved. That boy's lips tasted like sweet peppermint, and his kiss had been so gentle but passionate at the same time, it had taken your breath away.

Let's just say you guys shared a lot of firsts after that..... ;)

Keigo Takami (Hawks)

Hawks? On Instagram? Bitch, please...

This motherfucker is always on Instagram when off duty or taking a break from hero work. He's the number 2 hero now for crying outloud, like he's gonna just ignore the fans that hit him up?

The Instagram he uses for his hero work is officialhawks, set up by his management that he visits every once in a while. That's the one the fans usually float to, and when fans dm, that's when he goes on it.

His personal Instagram, though? That's where the fun really begins.

His personal Instagram? Spice-E-Wings

Only follows a select few on it, and honestly, it'd be a lie if he said he didn't follow Endeavour's accout...

When your profile popped up under his suggested, he got curious....

Seeing as curiosity killed a cat, but never a bird, he satisfied his curiosity by checking out your profile.

Dis Bird Boi was not prepared for what he found.... And he instantly wanted to dm you...

Since you were used to your phone not going off, you were startled when your phone went off. Your roommate, who had seen you jump, teased you about it, to which you simply waved them off as you unlocked your phone to check the messages

Spice-E-Wings? What kind of a username was that?

Nevertheless, you accepted the message and saw this:

Hey there, wyd? ;) Jk, how r u?

The conversation started from there and took the most random turns, eventually turning into you two trying to one up each other on memes

He revealed who he was about a month after talking to you.

You... freaked... out....

You'd been talking to the Hawks the whole time?! Hawks was the one pro hero you had a crush on!

Just months later, on your bday, he asked you to be officially his.

Hey, dove, I gotta be serious here, okay? I really, really like ya, and I wanna get to know ya better. So, with that in mind.... U wanna be mine?

You have never squealed so loud in your life.... Once you were composed, you accepted.

The minute he saw your dm back, his heart exploded, ngl: Only if I get to call you my baby bird ;)

Month after month, it was like the two of you had an unexplainable chemistry despite never seeing each other in real life. Every morning started for you with a G'mornin princess 😘 from Keigo, he never wasted the day when it came to showing you affection over the phone

Despite having never seen your face, Bird Boi was whipped for you.

Did he want to see what you looked like? Hell yeah! But, he knew just by talking to you all this time, that it wasn't something you were ready for.

Imagine his surprise when on his birthday, he received a picture....

When he opened it, it read Happy Birthday Baby Bird, featuring the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life! His jaw dropped a little, ngl

Those beautiful e/c eyes, your silky h/c hair... Don't even get him started on that bod of yours... That man could praise you like a goddess for hours if you'd let him

His message back to you after that picture?

😍😍😍 Best. Birthday. Ever.

About a year after the two of you started talking, you ended up being transferred to a different city to work.... 12 hours away from your hometown.... To the very same city Keigo patrolled and was responsible for!

Instead of surprising him, knowing he was a Pro Hero, you told him about what was happening and the day you were moving.

Keigo was beyond ecstatic when you told him. He was finally gonna see you in person!

I have an idea, princess, as soon as you're settled in, meet me at the cafè Leblanc. I'll treat you to some coffee jelly on my break.... Leblanc's got the best coffee jelly in Japan. I wanna see you in person, and the sooner the better.

You felt nervous, but agreed to a time to meet up at

When you moved about two weeks later, you moved into your apartment and found that your place was only about a 10 minute walk from the cafè Keigo mentioned.

Now... If Keigo wasn't whipped for you before....

He certainly was now.....

The minute he spotted h/c hair in the crowd, he moved up into the air, his amber eyes easily finding you in the crowd.

You were soooooo much more beautiful in person, and it made him extremely happy to see you.

But, all of a sudden, Hawks felt nervous... What would you think of him when you saw him in person? That baby bird watched over you from the skies until it was time to call it quits. When he finally got everything done, he flew back to the cafè, where you were still waiting for him

No backing out now, Hawks... That's your baby down there, go see them. No big deal.

The mental peptalk did nothing for him... His body wouldn't move...

After an hour, you were getting worried, your brow furrowed as your mind raced through the horrible things that could have happened to him. You decided to text him, Hey, where r u?

And what was this bird brained bastard's reply?

Look up, princess

When you did, you saw him. Big red wings, amber eyes, messy blond hair and all. You watched him as he gracefully glided to you despite his nervousness.

The look in his amber eyes was so soft, a look of pure, unadulterated adoration and love for you clear as day. He immediately wrapped his arms around you

"I'm so sorry I kept you waiting, princess... Forgive me?"

You answered by kissing him, threading your fingers through his soft blond hair as he held you close to him, his wings wrapping around you too. When the two of you pulled away, a goofy grin was smiled before the first of many dates at that cafè took place

His Instagram post that day consisted of a very adorable kiss over coffee jelly with the caption: Finders Keepers, and I found a keeper :3

(A/N: A big thank you to @prismaroyal and @sadistiks for helping me out with Hawks' part :3 hope you guys enjoyed!)

Taglist: @fakeanimefanntnt @lxvely-mha @bnhabookclub

[simptasia]

ultimate ship meme ask <3 for science trio!

ah, thank you! i’m so sorry it took me this long to respond, i didn’t mean for 2 bloody weeks to pass. i kept procrastinating or being too tired

daniel + charlotte + miles

General:

Rate the Ship Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OT3 to Rule all other OT3s

How long will they last? 

eternity and then some

How quickly did/will they fall in love?

daniel @ charlotte, i’m thinking like a week or so. kinda hit him like a bullet

charlotte @ daniel, two or three weeks

daniel @ miles, somewhere from a couple of months to a year

charlotte @ miles, in living timeline didn’t happen, in limboverse, i’ll give her 3 months. and she loved him as a friend already anyways. i imagine it’s her who brings miles into the fold, allowing the sci trio to be fully realised

miles @ daniel and charlotte, oh Fuck Knows. it happens, but [shrugs]. and i like the idea that miles didn’t realise he was in love with daniel and charlotte (and sawyer and juliet) until waaay after their time together. like he falls in love with richard and then The Power Of Hindsight kinda fucks him over

(and for anybody who gets snippy saying that “a couple of weeks is too quick to fall in love!” or some shit: my bf fell in love with me in 2 weeks, and for me it took a month. so nyeh. also hurley/libby, sayid/shannon and charlie/claire)

How was their first kiss?

all of these take place in limboverse

daniel/charlotte: so i imagine this happens like right after they Remember, so emotions are running high and char is like “i’m gonna do something i should have done when we were alive” and just sorta grabs dan’s face and <3

and dan is stunned for a second and then sinks into it. you know that lovely trope of somebody being kissed and their eyes are open and then they practically melt closed from the kissy feelings. and they’re soulmates and this has been a long time coming and i feel cliche but uh, fireworks

daniel/miles: so the three of them have started Their Thing and like, they’re in a sexual relationship now but because char started this, dan is unsure about like, do him and miles do... stuff... together too? is that a thing? they were all touching each other during The Event. plus dan isn’t exactly sure how he feels about miles, but he’s been slowly getting more attracted to him over time. and also dan’s never been with a guy before. so yeah dan is overthinking things and meanwhile, miles is like “if he’s up for it, i’m down” but keeping his distance because like, it’s dan and he doesn’t know if dan is into him

that was a long build up to say, eventually the dan/miles side of the triangle does get figured out and after a moment of awkwardness dan kisses miles, tentative at first and then That Spark happens and they both get into it. at one moment miles pulls back just a bit and dan deliriously like... chases his mouth. because it turns out kissing miles is awesome. and miles notes dan’s a good kisser too, and dan isn’t even offended at the surprised in miles’ tone. 

so in short, dan and miles’ first kiss went on for longer than miles expected because dan got tingly soup brain

also in both of dan’s first kisses with these two he kept his hands to himself outta 1. not thinking clearly because Mouth Things and 2. awkwardness. both char and miles had to grab dan’s hands and place them upon themselves, to remind him, you have these, please use them (there’s a line i give char: “i think you’d find i have many lovely things below my shoulders, dan”). from then on, dan is Characteristically Handsy. annnnyways!

charlotte/miles: it was very shortly after they met actually. pierre introduced them at the museum and there was attraction yes, but also this spark which they both wordlessly acknowledge. when pierre has left (just to get coffee hjjdhasa), they talk for a bit and then casually agree to go somewhere private. a coat check room. they got hit with familiarity and both of them being the type of people who have casual sex that information translated into “i’m gonna fuck this person now”

so basically their first kiss was messy, frantic, impulsive, clothes quickly being taken off, etc etc. thats how their friends with benefits thing started, even before they were friends, really. this was years ago and they became besties

Wedding:

in this set-up, it’d be dan and char getting married

Who proposed?

dan, technically but it wasn’t a surprise. marriage was something both of them discussed for a while before and char was the one who brought it up

(and here is where she jokes “you know what my mum would say about me marrying an american” and daniel gets an Awful Feeling from that)

Who is the best man/men?

well, miles, of course. richard is also one of the groomsman <3

Who is the braid’s maid(s)?

Why Weren’t You Allowed To Have Lady Friends

and besides that, most of the available women in lost have Moved On

annnnd i just remembered char has two sisters. chelsea and chloe

Who did the most planning?

char. it’s not that dan doesn’t care, it’s just she just has more preferences. patterns and colours and things like that. but they all pitch in at least a little

tho miles is the least help. at one point char holds up two swatches for bridesmaids dresses and asks which one he likes more (she’ll decide herself, she just wants Interaction, for her nerves) and miles doesn’t look up from his magazine and says “the left one”. char is annoyed and he says “whichever one is closest to purple”. they’re each a shade of green and blue

Who stressed the most?

oh, char. she never thought she’d get married so she’s never really emotionally prepared herself for it. or for planning a event like this. she isn’t paitent with people she doesn’t already like so dealing with wedding business people has been a task. and just. marriage isn’t stressful, weddings are. which is why dan is gonna be a good boy and absolutely help. and miles is also helping...

char: and how exactly have you been helping??

miles: [serious tone] i’m the plucky comic relief

char: [death glare]

miles: ...i’ll go pick up the flowers

- later -

daniel: heeey miles, you know how you and charlotte like to playfully snipe at each other? ...you can’t do that right now, she’s kinda stressed

miles: [wheeling in dozens of lillies] yeah, i figured that

char, from the other room: WHY ARE CAKES SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE

How fancy was the ceremony?

Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big.

i’ll give this a 7 outta 10 on the “ooh aah” scale. oh yeah they could absolutely afford a huge fuck off wedding but they didn’t want one. also another reason they didn’t have a Huge Wedding is that dan, char and miles legit don’t know enough people i always picture their wedding happens in like a park. a nice one. and there’s a real prevalant flower motif happening here. arch covered in flowers, petals on the ground, lotsa white lillies about. there’s a real English Garden / cottage aesthetic vibe to this. char’s got a flower in her hair and i just decided her wedding dress has like cloth white flowers on it, not all over it. so like, the whole thing is cute and elegant  and flowery and more expensive than it looks. the main colours being used are white, light blue and lilac

oh oh, the cake is chocolate on the inside! and it’s white (duh) but with lilac flower trim around each layer. char never planned for a wedding before but once she adjusted to the idea she was like “this is gonna be really really pretty”

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding?

eloise. no explanation needed

Sex:

Who is on top?

well, everybody who can be, has been. char has defo given dan and miles the strap. the least toppage going on is dan topping miles. very rarely happens

Who is the one to instigate things?

well, char is the Most instigate-y and dan is the least instigate-y, with miles in the middle. and damn if that doesn’t sum up their dynamic

How healthy is their sex life?

Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

gonna give them all, overall, a reasonable eight. it happens a Lot, but it’s not a crazy amount. (except when dan and char are trying for a baby, then dan is... dan is... lovingly tenderized)

there’s diff variables (heh) at play here, but for the most part theres quite a bit of sex going all around. so yeah, their neighbours don’t like them very much, because char is Really Really Loud and easily satisfied

How kinky are they?

Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

that 8 is via the power of char and miles’ kinky tastes

dan is decidedly more vanilla but willing to try new things. and he’s got some latent kinks/fetishes hiding in him that these two bring out of him

i’ve gone into this many times but basically char is into being dominating, miles loves pain and as far as dan’s brain is concerned, Charlotte Is A Fetish

there’s more going on than that, but i’m being succint

How long do they normally last?

miles doesn’t last notably long, or notably short. but he seems like a real stayer in comparison to dan and charlotte. char comes quickly and repeatedly

dan, oh dan, he’s not. he’s not lasting long. this is not bad thing. he was worried about it at first but char is a-okay with this. she wuvs her boy. and besides, he has pretty good recovery. so second round if the first round was like a bit “oh”

dan is sensitive (and autistic!), sex is a Lot for him. anyways miles has defo joked about these two cumming at the drop of a hate. another reason the neighbours are annoyed, Please Go To Sleep Charlotte (nyet)

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms?

nobody here is unsatisified

How rough are they in bed? -

Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it

on this scale, i’m giving dan/char a 2 to 4, char/miles a 5 to 10 and dan/miles a 3 to 6. and all together oh... anything could happen

the general “rule” is Take It Easy On Dan, He’s Delicate

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do?

No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory

so much. so much cuddle snuggle uwuwuwuwu no no get back here miles you cannot escape, come back here and be loved

dan is a major cuddler, very tactile, char is pretty affectionate. miles used to be “meh” on affection but he’s warm to it these three cuddling in bed lives rent free in my head 24/7

Children:

How many children will they have naturally?

i’ve given dan and char 4 kids (three girls and a boy). penny, ada, marie and isaac. i’ve made charts about this

hypothetically, like in sims, i’ve given char and miles a daughter but i’m not commited to that idea, like i don’t have that in my Internal Canon

but he’s their papa too, emotionally <3

How many children will they adopt?

none, unless you count rats

Who gets stuck with the most diapers?

dan’s job requires the least Work, so he’s at home more often, so yeah

Who is the stricter parent?

char, but she’s not strict strict, this is just in comparison to daniel “but i can’t say mean things to my babies” faraday and miles “wanna learn how to shoplift?” straume. she’s not a Mean Nagging Mum stereotype tho, i won’t allow it

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school?

dan and char are Equally “you can’t be doing stuff like this, it’s not safe” whilst miles is lowkey encouraging it. but after a stern look he has to admit riding a scooter on the school roof is kinda fucked up. like miles is... miles but he doesn’t want his babies like actually hurt, he’s still a good dad

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)?

dan dan the photographic memory man

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings?

char, because i think that’d be really funny. and i want all of them to go to at least one meeting together, because they heard some bitch refer to their daughter marie as “that weird child” and that she warned her children to keep away from dan, char and miles kids. and also she refered to dan, char and miles as “deviants” cuz she feels kids shouldn’t have three parents

soooo char is going to publicly cut her down. verbally and viciously. dan and miles are also angery but they’re there to make sure char doesn’t actually physically beat this woman. and also this final caveat:

miles: [eating a sad looking muffin] and your muffins suck too

Who cried the most at graduation?

char but dan and miles are crying too

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law?

MILES IS A COP!!! and it’s never felt so good until the moment ada got busted for drinking at a party when she was only 17. oh miles isn’t that abusing your authority? “yeah but every cop does that, i may as well do it for my kid”

yeah, that crime is  the worst thing i could think of for this, i don’t think these people’s kids would do like actual bad crimes

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking?

you know, i tend to picture miles cooking the most. my typical default for imagining char and miles chatting is that they’re in the kitchen, she’s holding tea and he’s making something on the stove. typically mac & cheese. or bacon

but really i think they all cook a decent amount

Who is the most picky in their food choice?

dan because he’s autistic and has some medical requirements, like my esoteric headcanon that he cannot digest meat at all

Who does the grocery shopping?

char and miles are more used to it, whilst i imagine dan has barely set foot in a grocery store in his life. but upon, like, being a grown up, he starts going more with char and miles and he likes it, for the most part. the lights are a bitch, tho

i think dan does it the least, miles the most, and char and miles go together more often than not. oh, and when char is out of pads and she forgot to stock up, miles is the designated Get Me Pads And Painkillers You Bastard man

tho that trope always confused me, as somebody who has at least 5 packages of pads in my pad drawer at all times. are there really period having people who don’t stock up ahead of time and have to ask their significant other?

but i digress

How often do they bake desserts?

not notably often, but i’ve defo imagined miles making Special Brownies

which daniel proceeded to eat all of in a fit of I’m Suddenly Very Hungry

what’s that puddle over there? oh it’s just dan

but anyways thinking on this, i can see these three making a cake together. and it goes a little wonky because their kitchen is small and Too Many Cooks. but a flat chocolate cake is a cake nonetheless. monch

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater?

dan: salad, the other option is No Good, so my boy is a vegetarian

char: i’ve made her more a meat lover than a veggie lover (tis her love of a proper English Breakfast) but not overally so

miles: defo likes meat (and savoury things in general) over salad. he’s not one of those guys whose a dickhead about it tho. veggies are just alright to him

tho i can see miles teasing dan about his “rabbit food diet” (which isn’t even apt because rabbits aren’t in the habit of mainlining noodles and pasta)

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner?

aaahh this feels like something dan would do, he wants to be ~womantic~

Who is more likely to suggest going out?

char, the extroverted outdoorsy one

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking?

dan because he got distracted by something. like he was cooking something in the oven and then some Musical Thoughts overtake him and he’s gotta write it down and wait 30 minutes have past OH GOD THE PIE BEEP BEEP BEEP

Chores:

Who cleans the room?

The Room. the Singular Room

anyways they all clean, it’s not very interesting to think about

Who is really against chores?

none of them. miles will half-heartedly complain sometimes but he grew up used to helping out around the house

Who cleans up after the pets?

dan and char clean up after their rats and cat because they are responsible pet owners. and char will clean miles’ wounds because jean-luc is a bastard cat

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug?

what kind of idiot... No!

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over?

i can’t see this, like any of them getting stressed about that

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning?

miles’ dollar now

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths?

dan takes longer showers, char takes longer baths

Who takes the dog out for a walk?

no dog, only kitty. kitties don’t go for walks

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays?

ohh i imagine char decks the place out for christmas. she loves christmas because good family memories. and also she has knitted christmas jumpers for her boys (and cat). christmas and halloween is the only major holiday that they got ham for. and by they, i mean char and miles

dan is just happy to be here

char: you know miles, it’s january and that little bat is still hanging above the fireplace

miles: if you wanna take him down, you can

char: ...no, i just wanted to adknowledge him

dan: he’s part of the family

What are their goals for the relationship?

uh, love, sex and babies. duh

Who is most likely to sleep till noon?

miles. coffee keeps him on his work schedule

Who plays the most pranks?

well, miles, obviously. i can’t think of any because i don’t really go for pranks but nothing elaborate, simple stuff. does that “orders a black coffee at macdonalds when your kids are in the backseat” count as a prank. miles would do that, pause for enough time for the kids to be like :O and then ask for their orders

there! done! wowee, bless any y’all who take the time to read All Of That

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Any new bottom!lock? Preferably short please!

Hi Nonny!

I’ve got lots of Bottomlock! I’ve been sorting them for awhile when someone asked me for Toplock stuff, so here’s what I’ve sorted so far! As per usual, all my shorter fics are at the top, so you can go down the list until you reach a word count you don’t want to read anymore XD 

Enjoy!

BOTTOMLOCK (2019)

See also: Toplock / Bottomlock

Tied by beejohnlocked (E, 1,029 w. || PWP, Bottomlock, Bondage) – Sherlock ties John up and rides him.

Public by beejohnlocked (E, 1,703 w. || Bottomlock, Butt Plugs, Public Sex, Anal, Slight Rimming) – Sherlock cannot wait. John doesn’t mind.

Let the Sun Fade Out by nothingislittle (E, 2,711 w. || Fluff & Smut, Praise Kink, PWP, Obsessed Sherlock, Bottomlock, Heart-Tearing Love) – “He could warm the sun itself, Sherlock thinks, could heat their flat with just his presence, could brighten the room with one dazzling smile or just the sparkling in his eyes. John is everything, he’s beautiful and he shines, he’s everything.”

Straight Shooter by nefariosity (E, 3,249 w. || Est. Rel., Light Dom/Sub, Military Kink, PWP) – Sherlock has a military kink. John indulges him.

Bathroom Accessories by Evenlodes_Friend (E, 3,324 w. || Sex Toys, Butt Plug, First Kiss / Time, Romance, Horny Sherlock, John’s Patience Wears Thin, Humour, Bottomlock) – John discovers that Sherlock has been playing with some very adult toys in the bath.

In Nomine by Atiki (E, 3,517 w. || Est. Rel., PWP, Anal, Domesticity, Love Confessions, Sherlock Loves John, Overwhelmed Sherlock) – “Alright?” John asks gently, planting a kiss on Sherlock’s left collar bone, smoothing a hand down his chest and belly until it rests in the soft trail of hair below his belly button. John’s smile is all soft and warm. His hand feels tender and solid and real. A soldier’s hand. A surgeon’s hand. A lover’s hand. Oh. “John”, Sherlock gasps. And that’s where it begins. Written for a prompt on the Kink Meme: The only word Sherlock says during sex is “John”.

Spoils of War by sweetcupncakes (E, 3,563 w. || Bottomlock, Military Kink, Comeplay, Anal) – John brushes his thumb over the gun’s slide, over the rear sight. Sherlock’s mouth feels too wet. He could lick John’s fingers, suck on them, bite down softly on that callus that is a direct result of John’s frequent need to handle the gun at all. Sherlock could do that, John might like it, really. Sherlock has been told his mouth is absolutely lovely.

Morning Sunlight by slashscribe (E, 3,565 w || PWP, Morning Sex, Fluff, PWP, Established Rel., Soft Idiots) – A thin band of soft morning light peeks between the curtains and stretches across John’s torso, laying dormant across his forearm, dipping into the space between his arm and his chest, illuminating his right nipple but just brushing the edge of his left, disappearing into his armpit, and reappearing again right over Sherlock’s eyes where his head rests, nestled against John’s shoulder. Sherlock is not annoyed by the light’s intrusion on his sleep, not when it rests so soft and tantalizing on John’s skin, a work of unintentionally erotic art. A PWP with so much emotion.

Rumpled by WhimsicalEthnographies (E, 3,601 w. || Est. Rel., Insecure Sherlock, Fluff, PWP, Proposal, Bottomlock) – Then, halfway through a documentary on river otters that neither of them was paying attention to–how could John, with a gangly, limp consulting detective practically purring in his lap?–Sherlock suddenly bolted upright, looked at John with a perplexed expression and a crinkle above his nose, and blurted, “Marry me.” Part 4 of Longitudinal Cohort

Happy anniversary by Salambo06 (E, 3,772 w. || Est. Rel., Vulnerable Sherlock, Wedding Anniversary, Anal, Texting, Lingerie) – John inhaled deeply, feeling his cock pulse under the silk gown, and he let his eyes travel on the lean body in front of him. Sherlock was kneeling on the bed, their bed, and the picture had been taken so John could perfectly see his bare chest and pelvis. But what mattered most, what made John harden rather quickly, was the pair of panties Sherlock was wearing in the picture. Black, string over each hip and laces that outlined Sherlock’s erect cock barely hidden under the soft underwear.

Well Begun Is Half Done by Avice (E, 3,897 w. || Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Anal/Oral, Seduction, John in Charge, Pining Sherlock, John’s Penis, Bottomlock) – Sherlock is putting together an elaborate plan of seducing John. John grows tired of waiting and takes matters into his own hands.

Lingerie by Sexxica (E, 4,135 w. || Valentine’s Day, Lingerie / Women’s Underwear, Mildly Public Masturbation, Picture Texting / Sexting, Bottomlock, Body Worship, Anal Sex / Fingering, Rimming, Orgasm Delay / Denial, Est. Rel.) – It’s Valentines Day and Sherlock is taking John to Angelo’s for dinner. Sherlock also happens to be wearing a garter belt, stockings and a rather small pair of women’s underwear under his clothes. There’s no dessert at Angelo’s because John needs to get Sherlock home just as quickly as he can before they both lose their minds entirely.

Keep Each Other Company by orithea (E, 4,600 w. || Est. Rel., Threesome, Self-cest, Time Traveller Sherlock) – One Sherlock is demanding enough. Two of them are impossible to resist. Part 3 of The Time Traveller’s Flatmate

The Prize We Sought Is Won by deathfrisbees (E, 4,610 w. || First Time, Mild D/S, Oral, Military Kink, Bottomlock) – Sherlock’s in love, or in lust, or both – unfortunately, the object of his affections is not only his completely oblivious flatmate, but said flatmate would probably run screaming into the hills should he find out. John’s been invited to a wedding – unfortunately, the groom used to serve under him back in Afghanistan, and requests that John wear a uniform he’s honestly not sure he fits into. Unfortunately for both flatmates, Sherlock’s got a military kink the size of Kandahar and John wants to know if he actually can fit into this uniform or if his eyes are deceiving him. It goes from there.

Butterfly, Pinned Under Glass by billiethepoet (E, 4,648 w. || Possessive Sherlock, Jealousy, Barebacking, BAMF!John) – It started as a desire to keep John safe and whole, and ended up as just desire.

a violent flash of purple by hudders-and-hiddles (E, 4,749 w. || Sex Toys, Friends to Lovers, PWP, Love Confessions, Porn With Feelings) – When Sherlock accidentally drops his towel, he ends up revealing a whole lot more than he’d intended.

Linger by queenoftrivia (E, 4,908 w. || Lingerielock, Fluff and Smut, BJ / HJ, Bottomlock, Dirty Talk) – Sherlock decides to surprise John after a somewhat stressful day at work.

Strings by EstherShapiro (E, 5,267 w. || Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Massage, Friends to Lovers, Fingering, Anal, PWP) – Sherlock wakes his doctor up. Was this weird? John was sitting on his bed, late at night, rubbing his hands over another man’s body? That was supposed to be weird, right? Then again, this wasn’t just some man, it was Sherlock. They were so used to each other that John didn’t even think to question it. It wasn’t weird.

Midnight Plowboy by weeesi (E, 5,399 w. || Est. Rel., Fake Vintage Gay Erotica, Anal, PWP, Roleplay) – “Does it feel like I’m sure?” John whispers into Sherlock’s ear. Sherlock swallows again.

Times Two by WhimsicalEthnographies (E, 5,595 w. || Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Victorian John, Modern John, Sherlock has a Good Imagination, PWP, Bottomlock, Spitroasting) – “But you’re not that John…” “Of course I am,” John’s lips and mustache brush against Sherlock’s mouth as he talks. “All us Johns are that John, now. That John is in every room in your Palace.” He leans in for another messy kiss, tongue swirling all around the inside of Sherlock’s mouth. “In fact,” he moves to suck on the sensitive skin underneath Sherlock’s ear. “I think I hear him coming right now.”

Excerpts from Purgatory by reapersun, what_alchemy (E, 5,829 w. || Post-TRF, Doctor John, Reunion Fic, Rough Sex, Angry Sex, Bottomlock, Fic with Pics)  – John serves community service in homeless shelters for chinning the superintendent. Unbeknownst to him, the Homeless Network has his back.

Survival Strategies for the Domesticated British Butthole by Atiki (E, 6,183 w. || Crack, Rimming, Anal Sex, Iced Lolly, Hair Removal, Depilation) – In which there’s a rimming disaster, Sherlock depilates his butt, everything goes very, very wrong and groceries are mistreated. This fic contains hair removal creme in a butthole, ice lollies in a butthole and John Watson’s penis in a butthole. You have been warned.

Talk by illwick (E, 6,364 w. || Dirty Talk, John’s Giant Junk, PWP, Light BDSM, Size Kink, Oral / Anal, Rough Sex, Dirty Talk, Established Rel.) – Sherlock was never much for dirty talk… until an unexpected visit yields unexpected results. Part 20 of Unwind

Inside by magikspell (E, 6,757 w. || Loss of Virginity, Anal / Rimming, Fluff, Humour, Awkwardness, Shy Sherlock, Bottomlock) – “Being inside someone. Feeling someone inside you.”

Abatement by WhimsicalEthnographies (E, 6,816 w. || Est. Rel., Retirementlock, Fluff, Sherlock’s Self Esteem, Grumpy Sherlock, Idiots in Love, PWP, Fluff and Smut, Bottomlock) – “What’s wrong with you? You love the cottage,” John glances over to the passenger seat, then quickly turns his eyes back to the road. Driving was still not his forte, but considering Sherlock still couldn’t properly bend and lift his new knee enough to press and release the clutch, he had to make do. Not that Sherlock hadn’t tried to argue his way into the driver’s seat. “I love the cottage for a week or two, John. Don’t be deliberately obstuse,” Sherlock grumbles, sinking further in his seat. Well, as best he can with a four-week-old knee replacement. “And that’s all we’re going for, love,” John says out loud. But what he’s thinking is, shit. He knows.

The space between by Salambo06 (E, 6,830 w. || PWP, Friends to Lovers, Masturbation, Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Miscommunications, Bottom Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Sexual Fantasy) – “It’s for a case,” Sherlock says as soon as John looks down at his computer. John remains silent for a long moment, eyes moving from the screen to Sherlock, before saying, “You don’t have to explain.” His voice is low, too low, and Sherlock looks at the computer, putting the video on pause. “Lestrade asked me-, no, forced me to find out who’s threatening a famous porn star, and the suspect is among his co-stars, so I only need to watch out for any signs from his partners, anything that might show they’re the one sending those threats and I can move to something else.” “Right.”

A Kiss and a Cuddle should be Sufficient by Evenlodes_Friend (E, 6,853 w. || Gay Sex Club, Fake Relationship, PWP, Orgies, Rimming, BJ’s, Violence, Case Fic, Voyeurism) – Going undercover, Sherlock and John pursue a vicious killer to a gay group sex party. Not unexpectedly, things get a little out of hand. Set after Baskerville, but before the Fall.

Caught In The Act Series by ShirleyCarlton (E, 7,009 w. across 6 stories || Est. Rel, Voyeurism, Character POV’s, Masturbation, Switchlock) – This is a series of six scenarios written from the points of view of six different people as they accidentally walk in on Sherlock and John having sex. (A couple stories in the series are Bottomlock, just check the tags :))

Beg for Mercy (Twice) by Solitary_Endeavor (E, 7,060 w. || Est. Rel., Bottomlock, Bearded John, Edging, Rough Sex, Idiots in Love, Canon Compliant) – Sherlock hasn’t left the flat in four days, the itch of impatience beneath his skin too great to allow him to suffer interaction with any human being who isn’t John. This is probably a mercy that goes both ways, as he’s driving even himself mad. Sherlock supposes there is a lesson to be learned here about having himself to blame, but of course he blames Mycroft.

Of Razors, Pipes, Red Notebooks and Rugby Jerseys, Or: Sherlock Doesn’t Like His Doctors Clean Shaven by allonsys_girl (E, 7,313 w. || Est. Rel., PWP / Porn With Feelings, John’s Beard / Beard Kink, Roleplay, Love Declarations, Banter, Rimming, Anal, Domestic Fluff / Bliss, Idiots in Love, Emotional Lovemaking, Pet Names, Obsessive Sherlock, Sherlock POV, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock) – John grows a beard. Sherlock really likes it. Part 1 of Consulting Husbands

I can’t pretend by Salambo06 (E, 7,692 w. || Fake Relationship, Victor Trevor, Jealous John, Miscommunications, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, First Kiss/Time, Anal, BJs) – They had arrived more than a hour ago, and the moment they had walked inside the hotel reception, John had understood why Sherlock hadn’t wanted to come. Two men, posh suits and expensive watches on their wrists, had come to greet them with sharp remarks and badly hidden mockery, and John had seen red. Sherlock hadn’t said anything, mostly ignoring the two men entirely, and without thinking twice about it, John had slid an arm around Sherlock’s waist and introduced himself as his husband.

C. sapiens by patternofdefiance (E, 8,813 w. || Tentacles Porn, Magical Realism, Bottomlock, Anal / Tentacle Sex, Pheremones) – “A few weeks ago I would have thought you were impossible,” Sherlock begins, walking into the kitchen in his blue robe, and John – not quite catching on – wants to scoff and argue, No, actually, you are impossible, but then Sherlock continues: “But now I’d say you are improbable.” John thinks this might be flattering, if he could wrap his head around it, but he can’t – Sherlock is standing near, steaming his sun-baked-clean-sand smell, like the beach after rain, an alive smell, an other smell. It’s intoxicating, and John has been studiously avoiding it, but he can’t shift away now it’s so near. Now Sherlock’s so near. And then Sherlock ruins the probable-loveliness of his words and the definite-beauty of his presence by saying: “And by ‘improbable’ I mean ‘not yet scientifically acknowledged.’” Part 1 of Gifts from the Sea

Unwasted by patternofdefiance (E, 8,966 w. || Post-S3 / S3 Fix-It, Developing Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Angelo’s, Fluff, First Time, Anal, Cum Play, Flashbacks to ASiB, Mutual Pining, Love Confessions, Bottomlock, Cuddles, Multiple Orgasms, BJ’s, Bed Sharing) – John finds it three months after he’s moved back. He’s on the hunt for something to make for dinner, is scrounging through the cupboards, when he happens upon the graveyard of pasta boxes Sherlock still seems to create when left to his own devices. Behind seven boxes of pasta, all almost completely empty, is a dark-glassed bottle, with a paler coat of dust.It’s unopened. John’s face falls slack when he sees it, instantly recognises it, and for a long moment he just stands and looks at it.

The Newlywed Game: Johnlock Edition by patternofdefiance (E, 9,020 w. || Fake Relationship, Fake Marriage, Friends to Lovers, Humour, Romance, Smut, Case Fic, Self-Esteem Issues) – John and Sherlock pretend to be married in order to be contestants in a Newlywed Game. Of course it’s for a case. Of course it doesn’t stay that way. Part 8 of I Blame Tumblr

Praise Me by testosterone_tea (E, 11,813 w. || Sherlock POV, Bottomlock, Dev. Rel., Virgin Sherlock, First Kiss / Time, BJ’s, Anal, Praise Kink, Understanding John, Public Sex, Rimming, Hand Jobs) – In which Sherlock has an interesting physical reaction to compliments and John discovers it.

Your Eyes in Darkness Glowing by tamed_untranslatable (E, 14,686 w. || Est. Rel., Bottomlock, Hotel Sex, Case Fic, Russia, Anal, BJ’s) – Sherlock gets roped into a case in Moscow on his brother’s insistence, but finds that he can’t do it without John.

In A Changing Age by allonsys_girl (E, 15,590 w. || Victorian AU, Virgin / Demi Sherlock, First Kiss / Time, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Mild H/C, Bottomlock) – Sherlock wakes up in the 19th century, with no idea how he got there.

A Silver Sixpence by doodle (E , 16,400 w. || LIVEJOURNAL || Fake Relationship, Fake Marriage, Case Fic, ) - John and Sherlock have to get married for a case, and learn some things about each other. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this story, though it’s on LJ.

Between Friends by SilentAuror (E, 18,036 w. || Post S3, Alternating POV, Friends to Lovers, John in Denial, Abduction, Awkward Situations / Miscommunications, Porn With Feels, Blowjobs, Pining, Unrequited, Angst With Happy Ending) – Sherlock gets abducted. As John discovers him tied up naked in an empty storage facility and comes to rescue him, Sherlock’s body has an unfortunate reaction which triggers a series of events. John is convinced that everything will be fine as long as they never discuss it. Sherlock isn’t as sure…

State of Flux by Atiki (E, 24,655 w. || S3 Fix It, Sherlock POV, Slow Burn, First Kiss/Time, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Cuddles and Snuggles, Awkwardness, Insecure/Virgin Sherlock, Romance, Humour, Masturbation, Love Declarations, Bottomlock, Brief Suicidal Ideations) – John’s marriage is over and he is finally back home (i.e. at Baker Street, where he belongs). Sherlock is awfully insecure and John is awfully hesitant, and they’re both awkward idiots, of course, but they figure it out. Many First Times happen.

An Acquired Taste by kinklock (E, 31,059 w. || Vampires AU || Vampire Sherlock, Misunderstandings, Bat!Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Humour, Magical Realism, Fluff and Angst, Blood Drinking, Holmes Family, Slow Burn) – At Montague Street when Sherlock was forced to sate his body’s needs, he was at least able to wander about the flat as much as he pleased.At Baker Street, it was mini-bags in a mini-fridge and bedroom confinement.

The Midas Touch by flawedamythyst (E, 32,231 w. || Magical Realism, John has a Magical Cock, Dub Con, Healer John) – John Watson has a medical condition that means everyone he sleeps with is instantly healed of all illness and injury. This causes complications when Sherlock breaks his arm, and even more complications when Sherlock falls in love with him. Yes, this is a story where John has a literal magic healing cock. It’s a lot less cracky than you’re probably imagining. Warning: Contains complex issues of sexual consent, although not between Sherlock and John.

A Study In Auto-Signatures, Sniper Dolphins, and Sex Holidays by cwb (E, 32,690 w. || Case Fic, Post S3, Evil Mary, Dev. Rel., Beach Holidays, Confused Sherlock, Friends to Lovers, Honeymoon, Epistolary, Bottomlock, First Kiss / Time, Fluff, Secret Agents, BAMF!John) – John and Mary go on their sex holiday, and Sherlock is grumpy and pining about it. Part 1 of HOT DOLPHIN SEX

a good old-fashioned happy ending by darcylindbergh (E, 32,731 w. || Christmas, Frottage, Comfort, Est. Rel., Fluff, Insecure Sherlock) – For Christmas this year, Sherlock wants to get John something special: something every fairytale deserves. Part 2 of things fairy tales are made of

The Real Great Perfumers by shelleysprometheus (E, 45,355 w. || Case Fic, Alternating POV, Gay Sherlock / Bi John, Canon Compliant with Divergence at TRF, Friends to Lovers, Oral / Anal, Pining, First Kiss / Time, Dev. Rel., Drugging, Body Worship, Bathing, Love Confessions, Travelling, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock, BJ’s, Alternating POV, Jealous John) – The case, this case. This extraordinary, fascinating, scintillating case. A house. Designed entirely by its eccentric owner, built by no less than five hundred expert tradesmen in the heart of Marrakesh. A house that had, seemingly not only driven its owner out, but also to his quite unpleasant death. And a perfumer, a chemist no less, the very thought of the secrets that house could reveal, would reveal was irresistible. Sherlock had to have this case … and it seems, he also had to have John! Part 1 of the Forethought and Fire series

Spare Change by Ermerness (E, 51,966 w. || Rich Holmeses AU || First Kiss / Time, Holmes Family, Virgin Sherlock, Anal, First Meetings, Bossy Bottom) – The Holmes family is one of the richest and most powerful in England. Sherlock spends his time flying around the world on the family’s private jet drinking a lot and shopping at expensive boutiques as a way of trying to alleviate his endless boredom. His mother decides it’s time he settles down with someone powerful, wealthy and well connected. John Watson happens to be none of those things.

A Further Sea by i_ship_an_armada & ShinySherlock (E, 125,492 w. || Historical Pirates AU || Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Doctor John / Pirate Captain Sherlock, Sailing, UST / RST, Masturbation, Action / Adventure, Mild Angst & Peril, Romance, Shaving, Molly/Janine, Bottomlock, Hand / Blow Jobs, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn, Mild Violence, Happy Ending) – Here be a tale of adventure for both body and soul, but beware if ye be not of stout heart, for this be piratelock, ya savvy? Luckless ship’s surgeon John Watson takes a chance, and finds himself eye to eye with The Ghost, the scourge of the seven seas and a definite thorn in the side of the blaggard, James Moriarty. But when John finds there’s more to this most cunning pirate than be meetin’ the eye, he has to choose… is it a pirate’s life for him?

[acuppellarp]

If you’d like to participate, simply reblog this post. And please remember to send asks and not just answer them! If, say, 10 people reblog it, each of them should have received at least 10 asks by the end of the week. It’s easy enough to open it on the main blog and just go through the reblog list!

Meme Monday: Stir The Pot - 1 Year of ACup edition!

Send one or more questions to get an answer from the character, or to dare the character to do something! WARNING: some of these questions and dares may be NSFW. ALSO WARNING: if you decide to reblog this, your character will have to answer the question. Whether they lie or not is up to you, but no ‘I refuse to answer that’ or ‘I’d rather keep it to myself’ answers will be allowed! As for dares, your character may refuse because we’re all about consent, but they will have to give a reason for their refusal.

TRUTHS

Do you currently have a crush? If so, please describe her in detail.

______ hires you to write her the perfect Tinder profile and find her true love. How do you describe/sell her?

If you were Eagle One, who would be your codenames Been There Done That, Currently Doing That, Happened Once In A Dream, and Eagle Two?

What would you do if you accidentally walked in on ______ naked? What if the roles were reversed?

What would you do if you woke up naked next to ______?

You wake up from a coma and the first person you see is ______ telling you she’s your wife. How do you react?

You have to attend a wedding and you absolutely need a hot lady friend to play your girlfriend. Which ACup girl do you choose? How do you think it’d go?

Which ACup girls would you have a threesome with?

If you lean Dominant, which ACup girl would you like to have on her knees? If you lean submissive, which one would you like to kneel for?

Who did you last say I love you to, romantically? Did you mean it?

You’ve won a free night at a super romantic luxury hotel room complete with champagne, strawberries, and a lovely hot tub. Which of the ACup girls do you share it with? How do you think it’d go?

What would you do if a fortune teller told you ______ is destined to be the love of your life?

______ - hot or not?

You’re not feeling well. It’s nothing serious, but you need some serious TLC, preferably for someone who makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Who from ACup is there at your bedside ready to nurse you back to health?

You’re on a sinking ship with ______, ______, ______, and _______, only four of you can fit in the life boat, who gets left as shark bait?

Give these people yearbook style superlatives:

Assuming they want to give it to you, who would you want a lap dance from, out of the ACup ladies?

Your partner excluded, and assuming there will be no consequences, who from ACup would you choose to have a night of passion with?

If you could kiss anyone from ACup right now, who would you choose?

________ shows up at your door with a bouquet of flowers and an offer to take you out on a romantic date. What do you do?

________ shows up at your door with strawberries, champagne, and an offer to give you a night of wild sex. What do you do?

Have you ever had a wet dream about anyone at ACup? If so, please share. In detail.

What was the last thing you said to your crush?

Describe your top 5 Tumbr crushes without saying their name, and see if they can guess who they are.

You go to the doctor and she tells you you have one day to live. You decide to say the things you’ve always wanted to say to some of the ACup girls. What do you say, and to whom?

When was the last time you had sex? Who was it with? How was it?

Without saying their name, tell someone how you really feel about them.

There’s a new machine that lets you design your own dream for the night, with one caveat: it has to be a sexy one. Who from ACup would you want to dream of, and what would they do in the dream?

Congratulations, you’re a parent! Who from ACup would you want to raise a child with? What would you hope the baby got from her, and what from you?

Out of the ACup girls, who do you think would make the best couple? And the worst?

What’s your current relationship status? Be very specific. (Single but crushing, taken but suffering from lesbian bed death, about a month away from proposing…)

What’s a current sexual fantasy that you could actually see happening in real life? (For example, making out with your friend Jan against ACup’s yellow door. Bad example: making out with Cate Blanchett in the original Batmobile.)

Are you kinky at all? If so, what are you into? If not, what’s the least vanilla thing you enjoy?

You walk into ACup to see ______ and _______ making out. What do you do, and how do you feel?

If ACup had a fandom, who do you think you’d be shipped with? What do you think your fanfics would be like? (Smutty, angsty, fluffy…)

When was the last time you got jealous? What happened to make you feel that way?

Name all the ACup ladies you’ve ever kissed, and provide a rating. (For example: Marcia - 4/5, too much tongue.)

Name all the ACup ladies you’ve ever slept with, and provide a rating.

FMK: _____, ______, ______

A rich old relative died and left you a million dollars, but only if you get married in the next week. Would you accept? Who from ACup would you marry? Do you think you’d stay married?

If you had to design the perfect woman using only parts of the ACup girls, which parts would you use? (For example: Sam’s toes, April’s voice…)

You’re teleported back to when you were still young and full of doubts. Who from ACup would you choose to give you the sex talk?

Would you rather only ever have sex once a month with the girl you like, or have all the sex you want but never with her?

It’s the zombie apocalypse and you find yourself alone with only your Tumblr crushes as your fellow survivors. How screwed are you?

Six ACup girls are posing for a sexy calendar. Which six girls would be the perfect combination that’d make you buy it?

When was the last time you had an orgasm thinking about an ACup girl? Was she there, or was it a fantasy? 

Who do you think will be the first ACup couple to get married? Who would be the first to get divorced?

It’s your wedding, and you have to fill all the roles with ACup girls. Who do you choose as your bride, your maid of honor, your bridesmaids, your officiant, and your flower girl?

If you only could keep one person from ACup in your life forever, who would you choose?

Wildcard! Asker can choose their own question to ask.

DARES

I dare you to sext ______.

I dare you to ask ______ out on a date.

I dare you to post a sexy picture of yourself.

I dare you to share with the class an explicit sexy dream/fantasy you’ve had with an ACup girl.

I dare you to say exactly what you thought about your last sexual encounter.

I dare you to let ______ leave a visible mark on your body.

I dare you to kiss your crush.

I dare you to kiss ______.

I dare you to get up on the ACup stage and dedicate a song to your crush. If you can’t sing, you can play it over the sound system, but there MUST be a public dedication.

I dare you to tell ______ exactly how you feel about them.

I dare you to tell your crush how you feel about them.

I dare you to send ______ a sexy pic. Nudity optional, sexiness mandatory.

I dare you to tell someone in explicit detail a fantasy you have about them.

I dare you to spend 7 minutes in heaven with ______.

I dare you to whisper something sexy in _______’s ear.

I dare you to post a sexy picture of yourself. Nudity optional, sexiness mandatory.

I dare you to take off a piece of clothing and give it to ______.

I dare you to give ______ your phone so they can text someone in your contacts.

I dare you to kiss ______ on the ________. 

I dare you to ________. (Asker’s choice!)

[thewritenerd]

Victor and Adam: NANOWRIMO Day 1

He heard his mother sigh and could picture her shaking her head clearly in his own. ‘Victor darling I know it seems a long time. But I know what you’re like, especially when you get an idea. If you don’t start preparing now you’ll never be ready. Speaking of plans, are you working on anything at the moment?’ ‘Nothing that’s gotten past the first stage,’ he replied. His mother made a humming sound but said nothing else. ‘There’s something else isn’t there?’ ‘Well I don’t know if you’ve made a decision yet but do you plan on bringing, oh what was his name, oh right Adam.’ Victor pinched his nose and sighed. ‘I’m not sure. I guess I could ask Igor to watch him for a few days.’ ‘Well let me know as soon as you can, I still need to plan seating arrangements.’ Her tone was still light but there was a clear strain to it. Victor knew she didn’t want Adam to come and he wasn’t big on the idea himself. ‘Well I’ll let you get back to work.’ His mother continued. ‘Bye bye.’ ‘Goodbye mother. Say hello to father for me.’ With that he hung up.

***

It was getting dark by the time Adam got home from school. Victor could hear him talking to Igor as they approached the door. The sound was muffled so he couldn’t make out what was being said but from his tone Victor could tell the boy was very excited about something. Once the footsteps reached the door they stopped. Victor heard Igor say something then the heavier of the two footsteps walk away. Quickly picking up a pen Victor began writing, so as to make it seem he hadn’t just been staring at a wall for hours, as the door opened and Igor stepped in. ‘Will you be having dinner in the dining room or your office?’ he asked. ‘I’ll be having it in the dinning room. I need a change of scenery.’ Igor nodded. ‘It’ll be ready the usual time.’ He left muttering about how moving from one room of the house to the next did not count as a “change of scenery”. Victor ignored this and instead busied himself with clearing up his desk. At six exactly he made his way to the dinning room where Adam was already sat at one end of the table. Victor set himself down at the other as Igor came in carrying their dinner. Salmon, potatoes, carrots and asparagus all swimming in a sweet-smelling sauce. Once he’d set the plates down Igor set about pouring their drinks. Wine for Victor, white obviously, and water for Adam. Victor began eating without a word, Adam on the other side seemed very eager to talk. Telling Victor all about his new school and two kids he’d made friends with. Eventually Victor cut in, ‘If you’re not going to eat anything you should leave the room.’ Gesturing to Adam’s nearly full plate. Adam’s head dropped and continued eating his dinner in silence. Victor could feel more than see Igor glowering at him. Once their plates were cleared Igor cleared the table. ‘Shall I bring out your dessert now?’ he asked. ‘Yes. But only a small bowl for me.’ Victor replied. Igor then turned to Adam who shook his head and began to stand up. ‘I’m not hungry.’ He said as he began to leave. ‘Well if you get hungry later come to me.’ Igor called after him, before turning to face Victor. ‘I may not be an expert on children. But I do know when someone is eager to tell you something you can at least pretend you care. You didn’t even listen to a word he said,’ he scolded. ‘I did.’ Victor argued. ‘To some of it,’ he added under the weight of the old mans glare. Igor shook his head and made his way to the kitchen. ‘I know you’re not happy about current events. But there’s no need to take it out on the one person who had no say in any of this.’ Victor opened his mouth to say Adam didn’t really count as a person but decided against it. Igor was a difficult man to anger, but an unpleasant one if you unfortunate to do so. And he seemed to have grown rather attached to the boy.

 Adam

Once in his room Adam shut the door, it had taken a good amount of self-control not to slam it, Adam sat down at his desk. He didn’t have much in the way of decorations. Or stuff in general. But he did have a computer. An old clunky thing not too dissimilar to the ones he’d seen in the school IT room. He had sat next to Chelsea and the two of them had spent their lesson setting up social media accounts for Adam.  Or at least during the moments when the teacher hadn’t been looking. Chelsea insisted he should get all the ones ve and Nate used. ‘So we can share meme’s with you. And tag you in stuff,’ ve’d explained. The hardest part had been thinking of a username. Eventually he’d settled on JustAdam, Adam had already been taken. He didn’t have a description or a profile pic on any of his accounts, nor did he know what to put. Deciding to check his friends accounts for ideas he typed Chelsea’s url TaxidermyPrincess. Ver icon was a photo of verself wearing a green scarf made of feathers and ver lips pursed as if waiting for someone to kiss them. Ver description was a long one and just looking at it made his head spin. He tried Nate’s profile ? next. Nate’s icon was a picture of a spiral and his description was brief; Nate, 16, he/him, future mathematician, current school boy. More about me. The last part was a link Adam was just about to click on when a loud sound made him jump. Noticing a blue dot had appeared next to one of the icons at the top of the screen he clicked on it. Seeing he had a message from Chelsea he clicked on it.

Hey saw you were online. I’m bored. Wanna chat?

Adam started typing his reply.

Sure. What about?

IDK anything happening with you?

IDK?

You saying you don’t know what’s happening or are you asking me what IDK means?

What it means.

I don’t know

Why did you say it if you don’t know what it means?

No it means I don’t know.

:)

….

Adam Frankenstein are you messing with me!

Maybe

Sitting at his desk Adam was grinning from ear to ear. Igor loved that kind of joke, pretending to be a confused old man when really he knew exactly what was going on. It could be frustrating at first but once he’d clocked on Adam found them very amusing.

You’re a bad friend you know that.

Adam’s grin fell.

I only meant it as a joke. I do it all the time with Igor I didn’t mean to upset you.

Hey it’s fine. I was joking too. Also who’s Igor?

He’s

He frowned. What was Igor. He worked for his dad but that was all Adam knew. Eventually he replied.

He looks after me.

Isn’t that your dads job?

No he’s a. Well he says he’s a scientist. But he never said what kind.

A biologist? He made you after all.

Maybe. I could ask. If he’ll listen.

Uh oh. Something happen?

I was just trying to make conversation at dinner and he didn’t listen to a word I said.

Ugh sucks ☹. Hey least you got me to talk to. And Nate.

Yeah I suppose.

Hang on I’m gonna find you something.

Ve spent the next few minutes sending Adam cat videos and best of clips of their favourite Let’s players. Which Adam watched as they talked. Eventually ve had to leave, Zoe, ver foster mum, wanted ver to help do some shopping. So Adam said goodbye before heading downstairs to grab himself some melon slices. As he was passing the front room he heard someone shouting. Stopping he leaned into the door, careful not to push against it as he did so. ‘Oh don’t give me that bull crap!’ he heard his father yell. ‘Old time’s sake my ass! You screwed up and I paid for it.’ There was a pause which was when Adam realised this was a phone conversation. ‘You’ll be wasting your time. And if you think I won’t strangle you into an inch of your life if you try to bring this up to my face you are very wrong indeed.’ Footsteps approached the door as Adam suddenly realised Victor was about to catch him eaves dropping. As quickly and quietly as he could, which with his stature wasn’t an easy thing to do simultaneously, he rushed to the kitchen disappearing just in the nick of time. The kitchen itself was empty. Igor having long ago retired to his room. Adam found the melon slices in the fridge. Igor always made sure there was some prepared ever since learning they were Adam’s favourite snack. He also found a can of Cream soda at the back. As he opened the can and took a swig Adam wondered what he could do next. Igor would probably open to another game of Chinese checkers. And maybe Adam could win more than one game this time. Or maybe he could go for a stroll around the ruins. No one had any problems with him going to the old dilapidated side of the castle as long as he didn’t try climbing any stairs.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Carl/Beth Entanglement Details: S4 Vs. S8

Okay, so here’s what I want to talk about today. In the past few days, I’ve posted both of these memes, and I’ve been promising a Carl/Beth post. (Btw, the Carl one has already gotten more than double the likes on IG that my pics usually get. I know that’s because of Carl’s bite, but still. People are obviously connecting with this.

I was actually going to do this post before the MSF aired, and I just didn’t get around to it. Now I’m kind of glad I didn’t. Now with confirmation of Carl’s bite, it’ll just be a little more concrete. I want to remind everyone of some early intersections between Carl and Beth symbolism, so it’s a little more obvious that Gimple always planned it that way, and that Beth has to come on the heels of Carl’s death. Here we go:

I originally wanted to talk about the parallels between the train tracks sites from the second edit. I’m going to change it a bit and talk more about Carl than Daryl. By the way, if you haven’t read my “Beth Greene was Never Gimple’s Sheriff” post, I’d advise you to do so. This will make a lot more sense if you have that as background.

So let’s talk about the structure of S4. I’ve already talked a lot about how the structure of various episodes in S4 foreshadowed future events but I’m going to talk about the overall structure of episodes. In 4x08, the prison went down, right? Remember that there were a ton of callbacks in 8x08 to the loss of the prison in 4x08. So if the two seasons are being paralleled, the two MSFs line up pretty well. S4 = loss of prison. It’s burned down. S5 = loss of Alexandria. It’s burnt down/blown up.

Then everyone was separated into small groups. Rick and Carl, later joined by Michonne were one. Beth and Daryl another. Tyreese and the girls, which Carl joins fairly quickly. And then Maggie/Sasha/Tyreese. Things are a little different here, but I would like to point out that that is the start of @thegloriouscollectorlady’s 4 Arcs for 4 Communities theory. She theorized that the groups would = living situations/leadership in the future, and she was right. (Mostly. Not all of it, especially Daryl’s, has been confirmed yet, but I believe it will be.) So Rick/Carl/Michonne = Alexandria. Carol = Kingdom. Maggie = Hilltop. We had a forth group in Glenn/Tara who were joined by Abe/Rosita and Eugene. We have a 4th group now in Aaron and Eugene, though neither of them were in S4 to be paralleled with. The odd one out is really Beth and Daryl, who obviously aren’t running a community on their own, but may at one point.

So then we have episode 4x09, from which the top picture, this one, 

was taken. (Ignore the arrows; they’re from a different meta and I was too lazy to retake the screenshot. ;D) Now, the reason I’m bringing this up is that the bottom picture was something they focused on in 8x06. In fact, Daryl rode past it on his bike, and I felt like it was a callback to S4.

So Rick and Carl leave the prison, and there is some interesting symbolism in the first place they go (pickles) but I want to focus on the house they stay in, because we have two major sequences that both foreshadow Beth’s arc.

The first is Rick. He lies down to sleep and falls into a semi-comatose state. Really, his body is just exhausted from the fight with the Gov, and he sleeps for more than 24 hours. But it’s kinda like he’s in a coma for a time, and Carl really can’t wake him up. Then we even have a scene at night where Carl things Rick has died and turned because his breathing is so ragged. Carl tries to shoot him, but doesn’t. (And thank goodness, because Rick isn’t really dead.) But the point is that Rick is in a coma and no one can wake him. At one point, TF (just Carl in this case) thinks he’s turned, even though he hasn’t. And specifically does NOT shoot him. All things we believe happened with Beth.

Oh, and Rick has a Beth-ish wound:

Then there’s Carl himself. He goes out on his own and leads walkers away from the house. This is where we get the visual parallel above to where he was bitten. So that sequence where he falls down and the walkers pile on him in S4 was a foreshadow of that happening in S8, only then he was actually bitten, where in S4 he obviously was not.

Then he goes into the pudding house. The first room he goes into, he sees a bird cage, much like the ones we saw in Beth’s cell in 4x01. It’s open, though, and there’s a dead bird on the floor beside it. 

I have no doubt at all that that represents Beth, the song bird, being “killed” when she tries to escape her cage (Grady). And that by itself doesn’t suggest resurrection so much as just death.

However, as we go along, some interesting things start to happen. Carl opens a door and walker lunges at him. Carl falls onto his back but gets his gun and shoots the walker in the head. He shoots it in the EXACT same place Beth is shot: left side of the forehead. The walker face plants in front of him. For about a second and a half. Then it jumps back up again. Carl looks shocked that it didn’t die.

I mean, that alone should tell everyone that Beth’s wound wasn’t fatal. Or at the very least that it didn’t transect her brain stem to keep her from turning. If it was possible for that particular wound to do so, this walker wouldn’t have jumped back up. So it’s both proof that her injury was survivable AND a foreshadow of her living. Because right after Carl sees the dead bird and the cage, he sees a walker jump back up after sustaining the exact injury that Beth did.

Then he goes into the nautical-themed bedroom. This is where we get all kinds of crazy S7/S8 symbolism. Carl uses a lamp from the front yard to fight the walker (Lamp Theory). The nautical theme is ALL over the bedroom (Oceanside). There’s a yellow bat in the background (Negan). And of course in fighting the walker, he loses a shoe. (Lost shoes/feet theory). Oh, and after he gets out, we see a pair of yellow-handled scissors by his foot. (Yellow = escape/Beth’s yellow polo/opening credits flash; scissors = what she stabbed Dawn with.)

So all these crazy symbols come together in this scene. Then Carl eats his pudding and returns to Rick. The next day, Rick wakes up from his coma alive and well and everything is okay.

So here’s what I’m taking away from all this symbolism. First off, Carl could = Beth here, because he heads out on his own and has to save himself/take care of himself, which he does.

But as far as Carl’s arc is concerned, I feel like this represents him being the sheriff, being an adult, and making his own decisions. Remember they said twice that this was “his show.” This sequence in S4 represented his show. And only after the sequence that foreshadowed him being bitten did we see the dead song bird coupled with resurrection. (Meanwhile in 8x08, we saw a burning phoenix.)

On top of that, it wasn’t until after he escaped from the walker in the nautical room that Rick (also a parallel of Beth) awakened. (Of course in terms of the plot, we think she awakened a long time ago, but TF and the GA don’t know that. So I guess maybe it’s better to say that she’ll appear.)

So this foreshadows that sometime after Carl was bitten, at a time in the story when both Oceanside and Negan are in play, Beth will appear. And even more than that… remember yesterday I talked about the last stand at Hilltop, and most of us have thought for several weeks that Aaron and Enid will run into her at Oceanside. So I said maybe she would come with the Oceansiders to save TF’s bacon from Negan during the last stand. I almost feel like we have that foreshadowed here. The details, of course, could be very different than I’m thinking (they usually are) but think of it this way.

Carl (Beth proxy) defeats the walker inside the nautical/Oceanside room, suggesting victory will come from Oceanside. The bat in the room (Negan) is yellow, as are the scissors outside the door. Beth used scissors to stab Dawn, which ultimately led to her defeat, and Negan has lots of parallels to Dawn. At the very least, Negan is Daryl’s Dawn. (Is everyone following? I know this is a lot. Sorrynotsorry.) So I feel like the message here is that help will come from Oceanside specifically to defeat Negan, in the same way Dawn was defeated.

In fact, since Beth was kind of sacrificed to defeat Dawn and the system at Grady, and since Carl is the one in this scene, I think it shows that Carl in a way was sacrificed to defeat Negan. Gimple was super weird about what will happen next, but he keeps saying that Carl’s death will play into the story in 8b and people will understand why it was necessary. 

So maybe it’s something about Siddiq? Such that if Carl hadn’t made that sacrifice and brought him into Alexandria, TF wouldn’t have won against Negan? (And keep in mind that in the books, Siddiq has ties to Oceanside, so it really could all work together.) I don’t know. Just spit balling here.

But are we all seeing how this was foreshadowed in S4? And this sequence was many episodes before 4x16 where the hat was actually placed on Beth’s head. As I said many weeks ago now, Carl was never Gimple’s sheriff. Beth was always going to be the future.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that the shot in 5x16 of Carl and Judith looking at the music box in front of the Morse Code poster makes a lot more sense now. We always just thought that was about Beth and the music box, but it was more than that. They could have shown anyone with the music box. Someone closer to Beth, like Maggie or Daryl, might have made more sense anyway. But they went with Carl, and that was obviously purposeful.

In the season where Beth disappeared, and TF found a new home, they showed the music box singing, I think, to symbolize that she was still out there. But once the “new home,” including the Morse Code poster, which we saw being destroyed as Rick and Negan fought, was gone, then Carl would die. He’s even wearing his hat in this scene. And the new sheriff (symbolized by the music box) would appear.

In a way, it makes more sense than ever that the music box disappeared after S5. The last time we saw it was during the last season Beth appeared in. That’s because this arc that’s been running ever since wasn’t about her and wasn’t something she would ever be a part of. This was TF at Alexandria. We probably won’t see the music box again until she reappears, and her time as sheriff begins.

So what does that mean for 8b? I’ll give you a few possibilities I’ve thought of. Keep in mind, this is all just conjecture and could very well turn out to be wrong.

Aside from the Oceansiders showing up with Beth to save the day, which I think may not happen until the season finale, I’m still hoping that we, the audience, will see her earlier than that.

I think 8x09 is a possibility, but I’m really on the fence over whether they’d have her return in the same episode in which Carl actually dies. That might get some hate from the audience if they feel like one character is being exchanged for another and Carl’s death isn’t getting the respect it deserves. So on the one hand, I would think they’d stay away from that. But on the other hand, some of the stuff Gimple has said suggests that maybe something about Carl’s death might actually usher in the change in the story in a way that the audience will like and connect with. So maybe we will see her in 8x09? I can see it going either way and honestly don’t know which is more likely.

Returning to what I said at the beginning about 4x08 and 8x08 lining up, the parallels with Carl and Rick happened right after, in 4x09, so that suggests maybe we will see her very soon. But on the other hand, predicting things like that has never worked out especially well for us. I don’t think Gimple always lines up episodes exactly. I think he purposely shies away from that so things aren’t predictable. 4x10 was Inmates, where we had Beth’s diary voice over, and a backward progression that definitely foreshadowed some things. (Details here)And then Bethyl happened in 4x12/13. So you see what I mean? It really could fall anywhere and almost every episode is a possibility.

One scenario that occurred to me is that perhaps they’ll parallel season 5. I would actually really love it if this scenario happened, but again, it’s just conjecture on my part. So in 5x08, Beth seemed to have died, but actually didn’t, right? So in that MSF, much like this one, we didn’t have any major character deaths. The death came in 509, with Tyreese. Similarly, Carl will die in 8x09. The thing about 5x09 is that Beth was in that episode as a part of Tyreese’s death hallucination. And that episode was so bizarre and abstract, with a ridiculous amount of foreshadowing and Beth symbolism in it. (Details here.)

So I was thinking that maybe in a similar fashion, all of 8x09 will be Carl in the throes of death, just as 5x09 was for Tyreese. But maybe instead of a hallucination, we’ll see flashbacks from the missing 17 days after Grady, and Beth will be in them? It would be an awesome parallel. And again, no idea if it will be this way. It might work out completely different, but I’m kind of hoping. If that WERE the case, Beth would be there, but we might not necessarily find out she’s alive. They would just be flashbacks.

(And I did draw a parallel between the slide show in 5x09 and Michonne’s line about it being Carl’s show. Just saying.)

So that made me consider that in 5x10, the music box woke up. If they were to parallel S5, maybe we’ll finally see her in ep 10. I’d never seriously considered ep 10 as a possibility. A finale or MSF just seemed more likely. But that would be super-interesting as far as the music box is concerned, wouldn’t it?

In short, I have no idea when she’ll appear, but I wanted to point out/reiterate some of these entanglements. As I’ve said many times now, these are things we noticed years ago, but just didn’t understand the full extent of what they meant. As the seasons pass and the foreshadowing is fulfilled, we can see that it was planned and foreshadowed this way from the beginning. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait.

[nicolapelts]

so i’ve been in the twitter rp community since early 2015 and trends come and go very fast which is why i’m here today making this post to update you on what’s new since other guides are kinda outdated. oops. anyway everything will be under the read more and i hope it makes things more clear! 

.01: filling out the app

if you’re familiar with appless rp’s then you already know how to do this because it’s the exact same. basically just fill in all your characters info in the areas it’s asked. since you don’t have to use gifs or anything for twitter, there’s also tons of cute faceclaims you can use. i even made a page (i’m debuting it early on this post) of pictures of 39 faceclaims you can check out here. by clicking on the pictures it’ll take you to their insta!

02.: making your account

now this part is where things have changed from other guides about twitter rping.

usernames: @ names with 2′s or 4′s in them are done. please leave them in 2016. @‘s that are like puns of your characters name is what everyone is doing. ex: FAIONTHEWALL, KELSEYULATER, SAHARDLYCARE, COCANICOLA... (none of these @‘s are mine i don’t even know if they’re taken i just made some up based off fcs)

display name: it used to be a huge trend to put tv show character names in all caps but now things are a little more… relaxed. people will put quotes from memes or vines in cool fonts (go to messletters to get cool fonts). this part isn’t really strict you can honestly put whatever kinda quote.

icons and headers: people don’t really match their icons and headers (if u wanna do that, go right ahead) but most people just put some kinda meme there or if you wanna make a fast friend tweet “lms to be my header” and Bam someone will send a pic and that can be your header. photoshoot icons are a little weird since you want the account to look like it’s a personal account u know? so basically: selfies. pictures w pets, candids taken by a friend, u know.

other: okay so twitter started this dumb thing where your notifs won’t work for 24 hours after your first tweet, so if you see people tweet “/ notifs” before ooc hour they’re just making sure that when the roleplay opens other members will be able to see them in their notifications. sounds kinda confusing, i know. it’s annoying. also, make sure to go into settings and privacy > timeline > and make sure “see best tweets first” is turned off otherwise your timeline will be all over the place. another thing is to go into the notifications tab and click the gear icon on the top right corner to turn off the ‘quality filter’. i’d suggest saving accounts so you don’t have to keep making new ones but honestly do whatever.

03: sending in your account

this part is easy. you don’t have to go to the tumblr main and send them an anon saying “my account is @ whatever!” all you have to do is follow the main twitter which will always be linked on the main tumblr and that’s it! you can even tweet them like “/ hey” just to make sure they get the notification. 

.04: ooc hour / plotting in general

ooc hour is when all members have time before the roleplay officially opens to plot with other members. honestly, you will find that lots of people are lazy and don’t have anything planned because they prefer to go with chem which is okay. during this time people will also talk ooc and basically just get ready. however, plotting after you join a rp is kinda tricky. don’t feel bad if you join a group and post a plotting tweet that only gets a couple likes. nobody is trying to make you feel left out or anything, it’s just that at this point people are leaning more towards chem than actually plotting. but there will always be at least a few people that’ll be down to plot!!

.05: tweeting 

i can’t really help with this part since it is your character that you’ll be playing and i obviously know nothing about them so i’m just gonna list some tips. first, make sure your tweets are actually something people can reply to. a simple “hello” will do just fine tbh. second, reply to others!!!! third, don’t…..make pity tweets… idk if this makes sense but don’t make pity tweets especially ooc. things like “/ wow i’m feeling sooo ignored i’m gonna drop lol” make people feel really awkward idk just talk to an admin if you’re feeling like that and they will help. finally, DO post and like lms tweets! lms tweets are anything from “lms for a dm” “lms to be in my milestone tweet”.

.06: quirk

THIS is honestly different for everyone. you’ll find people who love quirk and you’ll find people who think quirk is ruining rp. quirk is basically just memes and being funny. it’s a good way to make friends with other characters, but it’s annoying to be quirky during serious times. for example, if you’re in a horror rp and a character just got attacked your character wouldn’t be like “WHOOPSIE DAISIES! LOL! THEY SHOULDVE SEEN THAT COMING! :p”.

this is the end if i missed anything lmk also ? if you don’t want to do any of this you don’t have to i’m not gonna tell you how to rp cause at the end of the day it’s not that deep and you can do whatever you want.

[epiphany-in-exile]

Billboard Taylor Swift's 2017: The Timeline 12/18/2017 by Allison Stubblebine From the record-breaking 'Reputation' to speaking out against sexual assault, Swift continued to change culture in 2017. Taylor Swift didn't do a lot in 2017... until she did. Following months spent attempting to fly under the radar, and the Instagram blackout of Aug. 2017, Swift took the rest of the year by storm, with a not-so-traditional album rollout for Reputation and a series of larger than life visuals to accompany the first singles. Fans got a sneak preview at what was to come from her personally curated Secret Sessions, but those were hidden away from the lens of the media. Now that Reputation is here to stay, Billboard has taken a look back at Swift's action packed year. Jan. 27 - “I Don’t Want to Live Forever” music video release Swift kicked off the New Year with the release of the visuals to Fifty Shades Darker track “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” Swift and former 1D artist Zayn trashed a hotel room for the video, lit by flashing shades of blue and red. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Feb. 4 2017 - Taylor Swift plays “only show of 2017” Swift broke some disappointing news to fans during her pre-Super Bowl set for DIRECTV Now Super Saturday Night. "I have to be really honest with you about something: As far as I know, I'm doing one show in 2017. And as far as I know, this is that one show," Swift said long before the announcement of Reputation. She added, “You're the crowd in my most recent daydreams, when I'm thinking about being onstage, so I was wondering: If you don't feel like dancing for yourself or screaming for yourself, you don't feel in the mood or whatever, you're like stressed out, would you do it for me tonight?" Feb. 15-16 - TAS Rights Management, LLC filed nine separate trademarks for “Swifties” Swift’s brand nailed down the things most true to her: Swifties. Nine separate trademarks were filed for the word alone, including one involving “a website featuring non-downloadable audio recordings [and] video recordings.” The idea that Swift would launch her own streaming service was debunked. Mar. 2 - Ed Sheeran teases Swift’s upcoming album The singer revealed that his pal would be putting her music out quite late on in the year, saying, “Taylor [Swift] isn’t going to be releasing until probably the end of this year—Christmas is the smartest time to release because that’s when everyone buys records.” Looks like he was right. Mar. 10 - Man arrested for stalking/burglary inside Swift’s apartment building A man was arrested in Swift’s New York City building on charges of burglary, stalking, and trespassing. According to a Page Six report, the man allegedly hoped to meet the singer face-to-face. While the man was initially held on $20,000 bail, he was found unfit to stand trial and reportedly “placed in the custody of the New York State Office of Mental Health” as of late September. April 4 - “Busy working” on new album in Nashville After the singer had been spotted driving around Nashville, a source confirmed to ET that she’d come “to get away from the paparazzi,” and also that she had “been busy working on her upcoming album.” May 15 - She’s really in Nashville! Swift celebrates Mother’s Day at home with her mom TMZ did the heavy digging and proved that Swift really had been in Nashville - though she may have been hopping back and forth, as she was spotted getting onto her private jet after a spending the weekend with mama Swift for Mother’s Day. July 4 - Keeping it low-key for the first time in years on the Fourth of July Paparazzi were very upset that Swift didn’t have an Independence day blowout tailor-made for media, even though she'd been keeping a relatively low profile all year. Aug. 14 - $1 Countersuit Win The long-drawn-out legal battle between DJ David Mueller, who was accused of reaching under the pop star’s skirt to grope her during a photo shoot in 2013, was finally put to rest. After Mueller attempted to countersue for damages that occurred following Swift’s accusation (which was quietly made to the station, who promptly let him go), the singer was awarded a single symbolic dollar in damages. Swift’s attorney Douglas Baldridge explained the value, “It means no means no, and it tells every woman that they will determine what is tolerated with their body." Aug. 18-20 - Bye bye, old Taylor… and old posts In the internet-breaking fashion Swift seems to have perfected, the singer’s social media accounts went into full blackout mode. No old posts were to be found anywhere, signaling that she was gearing up to launch something huge. Aug. 21 - She’s back, but only with some snakes In one of the best social media moments of the year, Swift posted a three-part series of glitch-y snake videos without captions to her Instagram to break her short-lived blackout. The image of the snake had become synonymous with Swift’s internet-meme identity, following the drawn-out beef with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West regarding West’s “Famous” lyrics and video. Aug. 23 - It’s an album! After five days (AKA an eternity in Swiftie time), Swift revealed the project behind the social media madness. Continuing in the three-part posting style, Swift announced “FIRST SINGLE OUT TOMORROW NIGHT,” posted the cover art, and announced the release date for then-upcoming album Reputation. All posts were still caption-less. Aug. 24 - Look what you made her do. Swift released Reputation’s lead single “Look What You Made Me Do” with a clever caption on Instagram: “..ready for it? New single #LookWhatYouMadeMeDo out now.” Of course, the forthcoming track title remained an inside joke to the singer’s team upon posting time. Aug. 27 - Look what you made her do, part two. The singer premiered the visuals for “LWYMMD” at the 2017 MTV VMAs, snagging 43.2 million views in the first 24 hours alone, now standing with over 783 million views. The Joseph Kahn-directed visual is loaded with references to the “old Taylor,” including a tombstone for Nils Sjoberg, her songwriting pseudonym on ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris’ 2016 hit “This Is What You Came For,” nearly all of her most iconic outfits, more snakes, and nearly all her besties’ names scribbled on a new version of her “You Belong With Me” music video costume. Sept. 3 - “…Ready for It?” released Swift released the second track off Reputation after she previewed it on Saturday Night Football the night prior. It followed suit with the darker, much more dramatic new Taylor, yet gave no clearer picture of what was yet to come. Sept. 5 - No. 1, again Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" tops the Billboard Hot 100, where it would reign for three weeks. The song was her fifth Hot 100 No. 1 and broke the weekly streaming record for a song by a woman; it also stopped the record-tying 16-week reign of "Despacito." Sept. 7 - TayTay On Demand Ever wanted to know what Swift is up to at any given moment? Well this isn’t exactly that, but the trailer jokes that it will be. Swift announced her new video-on-demand channel in partnership with AT&T and DirectTV called Taylor Swift NOW, accompanied by a hilarious play-by-play of Swift’s day in the studio (complete with Andy Samberg cameo). Oct. 11 - The Swift Life app announced Stans will finally have a one-stop-shop for finding out everything there is to know about their fave singer. It is said to function as a social network of sorts, leaning into Swift’s hobby of “lurking” and replying to fans on social media, and also offering an opportunity to “collect Taymojis, stickers, pics, and more.” Oct. 20 - “Gorgeous” released The predictable yet addicting pop track the world was waiting for finally arrived. Swift sang of a romantic interest that was somehow too gorgeous for even a superstar like her to talk to. James Reynolds, two-year-old daughter of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, was later officially credited in album liner notes as the voice at the beginning of the track. Oct. 27 - “…Ready for it?” returns with visuals The fans surely weren’t ready for it, yet with the Joseph Kahn directed video packed with hidden messages, it wasn’t long before Swifties decoded them all. Among the most obvious are Swift’s birth year spray-painted on a wall, the Chinese characters for “Year of the Snake,” as well as a similar lightning strike in the intro to Calvin Harris’ “This is What You Came For” album art. Nov. 2 - “Call It What You Want” lyric video released Fans started to get a fuller picture of what was coming from Reputation in just over a week. Swift seemed to be finding her way to happiness in the first ballad to be released from the album, but she was still attempting to rid herself of the drama she’d endured. The day was special for more than one reason, coinciding with the 13th anniversary (Swift’s lucky number) of meeting Scott Borchetta, the Big Machine Records executive who signed her and gave her the fateful big break. Nov. 7 - Track list revealed on Swift’s Instagram Account Three days prior to the Reputation release date, Swift posted the back cover to the album, featuring the track listing. Nov. 8 - CMA Win Even though she's left country in the dust on her own albums, Swift's song for Little Big Town, "Better Man," nabbed song of the year at the 2017 CMAs. Nov. 9 - The album was leaked, and this is why we can’t have nice things In this day and age, so many albums leak prior to release date, but not quite in this fashion: missing from the leaked files was track no. 13, “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.” Whether it was at the hands of Swift’s team, Swift herself, or a sneaky fan, it was quite the clever move. On the same day, an intimate recording “New Years Day” from what looks like a secret session was premiered on ABC during an episode of Scandal. Nov. 10 - Reputation is out everywhere, except for streaming services Reputation hit shelves and online retailers; a Target exclusive version included a magazine with poems and photos from Swift. She announced 20 days later that Reputation would be available to stream at midnight on Dec. 1. Nov. 11 - SNL Swift plays Saturday Night Live, busting out "...Ready for It?" and an acoustic "Call It What You Want." Nov. 13 - Tonight Show Following the death of Jimmy Fallon's mother, Taylor Swift agreed to appear on The Tonight Show to play a moving version of "New Year's Day." Nov. 20 - Reputation Is No. 1 Swift's Reputation becomes her fifth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. Reputation notched 2017’s biggest week for an album, as the set earned 1.238 million equivalent album units in the week ending Nov. 16, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 1.216 million were in traditional album sales -- the largest sales frame for an album since 2015. It would hold the No. 1 spot for three weeks. Nov. 28 - Grammy Time The Taylor Swift-penned "Better Man" from Little Big Town is nominated for best country song -- which is a songwriter(s) award, so Swift will get a trophy if it wins. She's also nominated for best song written for visual media for her Zayn collab "I Don't Want to Live Forever." Dec. 1 - Taylors In the Stream Reputation appears on the major streaming services. Dec. 4 2017 - Reputation, but make it fashion (UK Vogue cover) Vogue UK revealed its first cover of the new year would feature Swift. Newly appointed Editor in Chief Edward Enninful styled the singer during his second cover after taking the reigns from Alexandra Shulman. Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, also photographers for all Reputation visuals, shot the twelve-page spread. Two days later, the high fashion mag revealed a poem Swift wrote exclusively to run with the feature, titled, "The Trick to Holding On." Dec. 6 2017 - Swift is one of Time’s “Silence Breakers” Her summer court case was not meant to be a media spectacle, but it was meant to prove a point with the symbolic $1 request. As Time gave the platform to “The Silence Breakers,” women who helped bring sexual assault and harassment to the forefront of the national conversation, as its 2017 Person of the Year, Swift was among the individuals highlighted. The Time interview is the first time Swift has done press about the court case, and in it she detailed reaching out to Kesha for support, as well as her feelings as she sat in the courtroom. "I was angry. In that moment, I decided to forego any courtroom formalities and just answer the questions the way it happened,” Swift said. “This man hadn’t considered any formalities when he assaulted me, and his lawyer didn’t hold back on my mom -- why should I be polite? I’m told it was the most amount of times the word 'ass' has ever been said in Colorado Federal Court." Dec. 8 2017 - Swift Plays iHeartRadio’s Z100 Jingle Ball in NYC The pre-Super Bowl performance wasn’t her only concert of 2017, after all. Camila Cabello and Lindsay Lohan were Swift’s biggest fans at the show, posting videos dancing the night away to various social media platforms. Dec. 11 - Reputation Continues to Be Big Swift earned her 55th Hot 100 hit with Reputation album track "End Game," featuring rapping from Future, Ed Sheeran and herself. Dec. 13 - B'Day & Tix While some fans were able to buy tickets in advance, the general public tickets for Swift's Reputation Tour went on sale Dec. 13, 2017 -- not coincidentally her 28th birthday. She released a tour trailer to celebrate. Dec. 14 - Still Getting 'Ready' Swift dropped a lyric video for BloodPop's bouncy remix of "...Ready for It?"

[tauers-go-dutch]

Barcelona: Where all the sangria was had

We caught a late flight on Friday to Barcelona for a long Easter weekend. We saved Saturday as a day for exploration. We started the day with brunch, of course, and it did not disappoint. We then strolled into the main parts of town, down Las Ramblas and through the gothic quarter. It probably makes more sense to allow the photos to document our day. The day ended on the docks at La Barceloneta followed by a fancy dinner at a Spanish tapas place. I had made reservations for 8 pm and we were the first ones to the restaurant. They really do run on a different schedule in Spain!

The following is an excerpt Ryan wanted to write due to an entertaining experience while on the docks: 

After Mariah and I walked around all day, we sat down at the pier to relax. Next to us was a British family. Two young boys play with the birds as their mom and dad watched on. However, the situation became a lot more fun when the oldest brother (probably high school freshman) joined his family. He apparently really wanted to get to the Barcelona FC football (soccer) game, but is also passionate about his rests (naps). I shit you not, this kid actually recited the following monologue.  Cue cheesy, nasally stereotypical British accent: "Mother," the brother said, "we really should get back to the hotel. We need to have a proper rest before the match.  If we don't leave now, we won't have time to get dinner before the match." After a pause, he continued, "Oh, well I know. I suppose we could get a hot dog at half time." I think what sold it for me was the fact that his parents completely ignored his complaints. He must do this sort of thing all the time. I was on the floor laughing at the absurdity- it was amazing.

The park where we decided Barcelona is our new favorite place

Gaudi’s Casa Battlo

Some of all of the sangria

Barcelona’s official cathedral, The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia. It was impossible to get a decent photo, as it was surrounded by buildings on all sides. 

Barcelona’s Arch of Triumph. Actually built for a World Fair. 

The only kind of lobster I like

View from the pier 

We got up early Sunday morning, Easter, and walked to the Hard Rock Cafe to meet up with a tour group. We hopped on a bus with some new friends from Atlanta currently living and working in Helsinki and were off to Montserrat. Now, I had heard of Montserrat several years ago and had always wanted to go after seeing the incredible photos online. I must say, it definitely lived up to expectations. Legend goes, according to our tour guide, that a black statue of the Virgin Mary was found on the mountain. The dude who stumbled upon her tried to take her down the mountain to show the village people, but she eventually got too heavy to be moved! Instead, the people decided that must be where she was meant to stay, and they built a monastery around her. Some believe it is also the location of the holy grail, and people frequently make pilgrimage to the mountain.

Anyways, we went into the chapel in time for Easter service and had the privilege of hearing the world’s oldest formal boys’ choir sing. Afterward we had the opportunity to explore the mountain. We hiked up to St. Michael’s cross and took in the incredible views of the valley before hitting up the gift shop to sample the liquors made by the monks right there on the mountain. (It was delicious. If we could have taken liquids on the flight home with us, I am certain a bottle or two would have made its way back to Amsterdam!)

View from Montserrat

Outside the monastery 

The black Virgin Mary is up there ^^^

A smaller chapel located on Montserrat

St. Michael’s Cross and the view of Montserrat from the cross(top pic).

The second half of the day was reserved for wine tasting. We had a delicious lunch on the winery grounds then had a quick tour and finally got to taste some wines. Again, delicious, and if I could have taken a bottle home I definitely would have. The area is known for its Cava, similar to Champagne, but the winery we visited actually focused more on red blends. The winery, Oller del Mas, has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 1,000 years. I was slightly disappointed not to have been the heir of that castle…

Lunch on the winery’s golf course. Montserrat in the background.

Ryan helping Sandra explain wine fermentation

Wine tasting in a castle! 

After our tasting we headed back to Barcelona, where the night was still young. Our lovely tour guide, Sandra, recommended several restaurants to us, and we chose a taco place she said was popular with young locals. Best Mexican I’ve had in eight months!

Easter Monday, which is a national holiday in most of Europe, we had a second tour lined up. This time we were going to a region called Costa Brava. I chose it because it had beautiful pictures of beaches. Ryan chose it because Game of Thrones. Win-Win!

The day started in a small town north of Barcelona called Girona, which may be the most charming place I’ve ever been. (I tried to find a good In Bruges meme to insert here, but a quick google search is not turning up a whole lot.)

We explored the old Arab bath grounds then made our way up to the city walls. We walked the length of the city, taking in the scenes from above, before heading back to our meeting point. However, not before crossing the Eiffel Bridge, or the Pont de les Peixateries Velles, and stopping for some fancy ice cream from a chef who owns the only 4-star restaurant in Catalonia. It was so good. So. Good. I don’t think I can eat Ben & Jerry’s ever again. (Those of you who know me well know that’s a lie.) But-- it was so good. I got a lavender coconut ice cream with lavender-flavored marshmallows, honeycomb and strawberries. Ryan got a silly nose-shaped popsicle.

Girona

Several Game of Thrones scenes have been filmed in Girona, including Arya’s fight and flight through the narrow passageways to escape the Waif.

Jaime Lannister climbed that tower.

Eiffel’s lesser known work, Girona’s  Pont de les Peixateries Velles

World’s best ice cream gelato. And a weird red nose. 

Then it was time to hop in the van and head towards the coast. We stopped a small town called Pals for about half an hour then ended up in a true little coast town called Palafrugell. (Basically our tour guide walked us to a shop in Pals that gives him kickbacks if his tourists shop there. He literally made us wait outside while they gave him free liquors. Oh well.)

Quick stop in Pals

Palafrugell was absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately just a bit too chilly to enjoy the beach to its full potential. We stepped into a small beachside seafood place where I made the ultimate sacrifice of giving up a meal I might actually eat in order for Ryan to have some seafood paella. With risotto and paella dishes throughout Italy and Spain, we always found that at least two people have to order for them to make it. I don’t particularly like eating meals with bright orange crustaceans involved, but I gave in and tried to eat some of the rice. Unable to get a bite without bright orange antennae stuck in my fork, I gave up and let Ryan enjoy his meal. After an hour or so exploring the little beaches, we hopped on the tour van back to Barcelona and ended the night in a cool little beer bar called CocoVail. I had some stellar tacos and sangria, while Ryan tried out some local brews and filled up on chicken wings.

How I feel about meals involving exoskeletons

Cool street art

Tuesday, our last day in town, was all about Gaudi. But first, breakfast. We went to a place called Brunch & Cake and pancakes will never be the same. I had green tea matcha pancakes with a strawberry syrup and Ryan had a waffle topped with scrambled eggs and gravy. Glorious. Then we headed to Barcelona’s top attraction, La Sagrada Familia.

Yes, we take photos of our food. 

The basilica has been under construction for more than a century, with a potential completion date of 2026. Gaudi was one of many architects to work on the church, and he died in a tram accident before it was even a quarter of the way finished. We bought extra tickets to go up one of the finished towers, and we chose the Nativity Tower. It was incredible to see workers meticulously placing tiny mosaic pieces on new construction ten feet away from statues that have been worn down by the weather for more than 100 years. I’ll let photos tell the rest.

Apologies for the photo dump here

After the basilica we headed north for Gaudi 2.0: Park Guell. Gaudi designed this park with another architect for the wealthy residents living on the hill in northern Barcelona. We spent about two hours wandering through the park and hiking behind it before making our way back down the hill.

Inside Park Guell. Gaudi lived in the house on the left for a bit. 

The entrance to Park Guell

With about two hours until we had to be at the airport, I insisted we hit up Las Ramblas again, so that I could have a second serving of that lavender coconut ice cream. The ice cream shop, called Rocambolesc, had two locations, and I wasn’t going to pass it up. We got our ice cream and strolled back to our hotel to grab our bags and head back home.

Gelato 2.0 to wrap up a wonderful trip

[itsrockysroad]

Pictured Rocks to Blind Sucker Campground, August 2016

Before the photos, it might be helpful to understand how I came to backpack the Pictured Rocks...

I’m a member of the “Michigan Hiking and Backpacking” Facebook group.  One day in July 2016, a guy named Matt posted photos and a trip report to the group from his solo NCT hikes in and around Wilderness State Park. I was doing a little hiking and thought it might be fun to make more friends that are also interested in hiking/backpacking and camping. So, I commented on his post that I’d be interested in joining him on a hike if he ever wanted company.  We chatted back and forth for a couple of days and he mentioned that he already had a backpacking trip to the Pictured Rocks planned and that he was looking for someone to join him.  

We chatted a lot about the details of the trip mostly via text message.  Matt is a strong planner and very good with details (I’m less effective than Matt on both fronts).  He had already hiked a few hundred NCT miles by this point and had a great sense of what he wanted to accomplish with the trip.  He essentially had the whole trip planned and invited me to join.  I couldn’t believe my luck!  

Matt and I didn’t even speak by phone before the trip.  All of our communications were text message and Facebook messages.  We both drove up to the U.P. late the night before our first day.  I slept in my car at Straits State Park and he slept in his car at a truck Stop.  We agreed to meet early for breakfast at Big Boy in St. Ignace.  It was probably one of the most outgoing (at least out of my comfort zone) things I’ve done in recent memory.  I walked into Big Boy wondering if I was about to have breakfast with a serial killer.  I’m sure Matt probably thought something similar about me.  

Seriously, it seemed a little crazy.  I drove 250 miles to spend a week in the woods camping with a guy I’d never actually met (or even spoke to on a phone.) We seemed to get along pretty well from the beginning.  That week turned out to be a great adventure.   Matt and I have since hiked more than 200 miles together on the NCT....

After breakfast, we drove to the Blind Sucker State Forest Campground.  We hiked the “Blind Sucker Pathway”.  It is a loop that includes a few miles of the NCT and some trail along the Lake Superior shore. It was beautiful and I think I fell in love with hiking in the U.P. that day.  The views of Lake Superior were amazing and got even better on subsequent days.

The next day, we drove to the Grand Sable Visitor Center in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  We picked up our permits, left our cars and caught our shuttle to the Munising Visitor Center.  From there, we headed into the park to start our adventure hiking eastward.  

Grand Island was ever present in the distance for the first 20 miles of the trip. (The land you can see through the trees below is Grand Island.)

These steps were quite the luxury.  In most places, it is all hiker stairs...(roots and rocks.)

Matt decided to get high for this pic.  (I’m more leery of heights.) 

The river just beyond the Miner’s Castle visitor center:  The color of the water in U.P. steams is almost always kind of rusty.  The ground water there contains tannin and the color adds to the spectacular array of interesting aspects of the wilderness. 

 This photo is taken from Miner’s Beach.

There are so many fantastic overlooks and views of the rocks from the trail. This trail is definitely one of my most favorite that I have ever hiked.

The Pictured Rocks Cruise Boats and colorful kayaks were also ever present.  They come by every few hours.  

This is the mouth of the Mosquito River.  We spent our first night camped at the Mosquito River Camp Ground.  We had a great camp site with easy access to the river for water.   I absolutely love this section of the park. I had day hiked to the Mosquito River a couple of years prior and loved it.  It was very exciting to get to backpack there and stay the night. 

Broader perspective of the Mosquito River.

The river mouth at dusk.

As the evening wore on, our chance at a full sunset was overtaken by storm clouds rolling in overhead.

Quick shot of me...

You have to look really closely in the photo below, but there is a bald eagle flying just below the tree line at the top of the rocks just left of center.

Matt sitting atop the rocks.

Matt on top of the rocks.

Grand Portal Point is one of my favorite spots along the trail. It is one of the best views on the whole trail, in my opinion.

Chapel Beach looking West.

Chapel Rock.  This is one of the best known spots on the trail and yet somehow, I managed to not get any “great” photos of it.  This is the best shot I took that shows the whole thing.  

The tree on top of Chapel Rock.  (See the root leaving the rock below on the middle-right?)

Going from memory, so I’m not completely sure, but I think this is spray falls.

We spent the second night at the Beaver Creek campground.  Beaver Creek is below.

There were some bears around, but about all we saw was their leavings.

Beaver Lake in the Beaver Basin Wilderness.

This is the trail from the Beaver Creek Campground to the Beaver Lake.

Camping at Beaver Creek gave me one my favorite sunsets on the trip.

Different perspective, same sunset.

We spent our last night of our Pictured Rocks trip at the Au Sable campground. We were lucky to get there early enough to get to take the lighthouse tour. 

A shot from the top of the lighthouse taken during the tour.   We were able to walk around the outside of the top. 

The Au Sable Light at dusk.

I loved this artifact in one of the buildings at the light station.

Grand Sable Dunes.

The “Log Slide” atop the dunes.

From the top of the dunes looking back at the Au Sable Light.  (The little white structure in the photo.)

Me at the completion of the Pictured Rocks hike with the Grand Sable Visitor Center in the background. We finished the Pictured Rocks section on the 100th birthday of the National Park Service.  The Park Service provided some very tasty cookies at the visitor center in celebration of its birthday.  (They were extra yummy after four days of backpacking food.)

We continued along the trail past the Visitor Center to the Grand Sable Falls. The falls are between the Visitor Center and Grand Marais.

We hiked this a different day, but I moved the photos to match the geographical order.  We actually hiked the beach from Grand Marais to the Falls and then back.  It was only a mile or so, but it was tough hiking in sand. 

This little guy was at the Grand Marais harbor light.

The Grand Marais Harbor Light.

We continued east of Grand Marais towards the Blind Sucker Campground.  

This is the Blind Sucker River along the trail.  After leaving Pictured Rocks, we spent a night in a hotel in Newberry to get cleaned up.  The next night, we moved back outside to stay at the Blind Sucker State Forest Campground (#2). We had a great spot with only a couple of neighbors at the far end of the campground.  The campground features large wooded sites with pretty good separation between most sites.  Many sites have direct access to the river/lake.

The trail makes its way to the Lake Superior shore in several places along the way.  By far, some of my favorite moments on the trail were in the places like this where so few people will ever make their way to see the beautiful views.

One of my least favorite spots was a large section that had been logged.  I’m not against logging, but this section was hot without tree cover and it had lots of limbs/litter on the ground that were hard on the feet.  We were at least hoping to scare up a bear somewhere in these big open spaces, but alas...no luck....

One of my favorite spots was this little two-track.  We saw paw-prints through this space of a mama bear and a cub or two.

Matt has eagle eyes.  He spotted so many critters like this little chipmunk along the way.  I didn’t even notice most of them until he pointed them out.

Follow the blue blazes.

This gorgeous sunset was taken near the Lake Superior State Forest Campground.  I didn’t alter the color in any way.   It was a beautiful sunset that we caught as we were driving back to the campground after finishing a hike.

The last section that we hiked was the craziest.  It was six or seven miles that ran from the Lake Superior Campground to the western edge of Muskellunge Lake State Park.  It hadn’t been maintained in a while.  There were literally sections of the trail that had eroded into the lake.   Other sections were so overgrown that we were constantly battling our way through the leaves and branches.  In many spots, Matt could be twenty feet ahead of me on the trail and I couldn’t see him at all because of all of the overgrown vegetation.  It made for an adventurous day of digging our way through the woods. I don’t have much in the way of photos because the trail was kinda bad and I put the camera in a case to focus on finding my way safely. I think it was my least favorite section of the trip.

The photo below was after we finished for the week and were about to head home.  It was the selfie to mark our successful week.  I’m not sure I’d recommend to everyone to head off to the wilderness with someone you meet online, but I’m really glad I did in this case.  Matt and I have hiked several times since this trip including spending another week in the U.P. in October 2016 that covered even more NCT miles. I’ve had so much fun with the adventure, that Matt has inspired me to want to hike even more of the NCT.  I’ll be adding more miles in 2017, some with Matt and others and some solo.  I’ll definitely be doing the 2017 #Hike100NCT challenge.

This is me walking in to work the next Monday after the trip....Do I look happy? I just keep repeating to myself:  “Working pays for hiking trips.”

Rocky’s Recommendations:

1. There’s a common Internet meme that reads, “The comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.”   I’m happy that I was more adventurous than my usual self.  It turned out to be a great experience.  I left my comfort zone, made a new friend, had a fun adventure and continue to look forward to future adventures.  If you decide to head off into the woods with someone you meet online, perhaps let another friend know your plans and check in with friend on pre-planned intervals so they can send the calvary, if needed. 

2.  The Pictured Rocks are stunning, but they are also one of the most busy backpacking destinations in Michigan.   Go.  See it.  Enjoy yourself, but know that you will likely not be alone or find a lot of solitude in the campgrounds.  I like solitude, but this trip was so epic that I didn’t mind the “cozy” campgrounds full of adventurers.  If you are serious about your solitude, the trail east of Grand Marais is a little less scenic, but much quieter and much less traveled.

3.  Dispersed camping is not permitted in the Pictured Rocks.  All campsites require a reservation.  New in 2017, reservations are made online using the web site:  https://recreation.gov

4.  If you’re a person who “needs” a campfire, know that most camp sites in this park either do not permit fires or only permit a single fire at each campground in a communal fire ring.  Each camp site at Blind Sucker had a fire ring.

5.  The latrines at the campgrounds we visited are, well, not very well placed for privacy.  They are essentially a seat that is next to a tree.  Some of the campgrounds have a nearby group camp site.  If the group site is unoccupied, you’ll have more privacy if you make your way to the group site latrine.  The camp ground at Mosquito had outhouses, but they smelled so terrible, that I just wanted to avoid them. There is a port-a-john at the Au Sable Light House that is about half a mile from the Au Sable camp ground.

6.  We enjoyed a beer and burger at the Lake Superior Brewing Company after our hike.  The food was good!  Stop by and give it a try, but expect it to be busy since it’s the only game in town. 

7.  Stop by Grand Marais Outfitters.  They have a lot of cool stuff, but when I was last there in October of 2016, they sold cool t-shirts with an NCT blue blaze. If you’re an NCT hiker, it’s a cool souvenir option to remember your trip.

8.  We spent a night in the Quality Inn in Newberry mid-week.  The room was clean and comfortable for a reasonable price.  

9.  We had a great burger at the Newberry Country Club Woodland Grill/Bar.   (It was a quick walk across the road from the Quality Inn.)  If you’re in Newberry and hungry for a burger, I’d highly recommend you give them a try.  I was a bit leery when our burgers were served on triangle-ish shaped buns, but wow were they tasty.

10.  I snore obnoxiously.  I always take a container of disposable ear plugs with me when I’m hiking/backpacking so that I can offer them to others that are sleeping near my camp. The earplugs may help keep the peace at night and in the daytime.

11.  We used TrailSpotters to shuttle us the 40ish miles from Grand Marais to Munising so that we could then hike back to our cars.  The driver was friendly and knowledgeable.  The drive went by quickly and I recommend the shuttle service.  They also offer emergency pickup/assistance for a much higher fee.

Questions?  (Corrections?)  Don’t hesitate to reach out to me.