#this was really fun i got to geek out about hair dye

[sp0o0kylights]

I once had to pose in a ton of photos for a friend's AP photography final back in high school so may I present to you:

Steve Harrington, who gave in to Robin's begging that he act as her weird art model for her senior year portfolio (the same one her teacher is encouraging her to bat out of the ballpark and enter into contests.) 

She's doing a whole thing on fashion, subcultures and sexuality using photos and collaged poetry, a project that has Steve trying on different outfits and posing in different places. 

"This might help me land a scholarship, Dingus." She hisses while she's got him bent over her bathtub, spraying parts of his hair blue with wash-out dye.

Steve, soulmate and best friend extraordinaire, goes through it all with minimal (for him) bitching, even if the goth outfit feels absolutely ridiculous, and the 'geek' photoshoot downright laughable.

He starts to have fun when she has him mimic Nancy's straight laced, all A's good girl aura, and equally has a blast with the country look (he has no idea where Robin got a miniature horse but it conned him for every piece of food he had on him and then some.) 

The final piece is the one they're struggling with, the one Robin's now (fake) dying his hair partially blue for. 

A few hours later and he's dressed up once again in a studded leather jacket, the tightest jeans he owns ringed with belts, and combat boots.

 Robin had even talked him into letting her use eyelash glue to attach a few metal studs on his face--two acting as an eyebrow piercing and one on his nose. 

The looks he drew took a minute to get used too when all was said and done, Robin dragging him around Hawkins while she tried to find the 'perfect backdrop' but he's not gonna lie. 

He kinda enjoys being punk Steve.

That is, until Robin has him posing in an alleyway and Eddie Munson comes around the corner, jaw right about falling to the floor.

Even better? 

Eddie doesn't recognize him. 

Not at first, when he siddles up to Steve, nodding to the handkerchief in Steve's back pocket and then flicking the pink triangle pin on his jacket with a finger. 

Steve owes Jonathan a bottle of his father's best alcohol for giving him enough knowledge to get through the music razing Eddie subjects him too, and Steve's all too happy to play the part of punk asshole to Munson's music-snob metalhead.

It's not until Eddies playing with his hair and Robin gives in to letting him have a quick break from the shoot that he gives up the ghost, leaning in to whisper in Eddie's ear. 

"Gotta say, Munson," Steve all but purrs."I wasn't expecting you to fall for the Harrington Charm that fast."

"What?" Eddie asks, jerking his head back to look at him with wide eyes. 

Maybe it's the outfit giving him the extra ounce of courage, but Steve likes to think more that it gives him the freedom to lean forward and brush their lips together. 

Eddie doesn't return it, but that's alright. 

Steve's played this game enough to know that it was merely a hook for a real kiss. 

"Okay." Robin says, annoyed, camera at her side. "Steve, I'm happy that you're finally exploring that repressed as fuck homosexuality we keep arguing about, I really am, but I have to get this last photo!" 

He ignores her, instead nudging Eddie's shoulders.

"Care to pose with me?" Steve asks, grinning. He can tell Eddie still isn't sure if this is a joke, that he's seconds from running, and reaches out to tug on his black handkerchief. "Get Robin her photo, and then talk about this after, Mr. S&M."

Eddie flushes scarlet, but after some reassurance (and wheelding) from Robin, finally agrees. 

(Later, he agrees to a date, which Steve also credits the outfit for.

Even if Robin demands half the credit.) 

[legless-fish-on-rollerskates]

Hey, baby gay here, wanting to dye my hair for the first time and I saw you were posting about hair dye, do you have stories about your experience with it and/or any good brand recommendations? I'm excited but also nervous, I don't want to screw it up. Sorry if this is weird for me to ask

No don't apologize I love talking about hair dye!! (I'm such a nerd lol)

The first time I ever dyed my hair was in fourth grade, I think. I was growing out a pixie cut at the time, so my hair was a shaggy mess, and me and my best friend put red streaks in our hair together. At the time, I thought it looked badass. I can tell you now that it did not. I looked like a ZhuZhu pet.

Since then, I have dyed my hair a LOT. I had it blue at one point in middle school, VERY briefly. I dyed it royal purple for a part in a show after that, decided I liked it, and stuck with varying shades of purple for several years. Gradually I shifted from purples to dark reds and pinks.

At the beginning of last year I had been planning on getting a haircut and reupping the dye because it was both fading severely and starting to grow out. Then quarantine happened. I figured no one would see it, so why bother? I let my hair grow out through the summer, got it cut when it started getting unmanageable, and by fall all I had left was a tiny bit of blonde at the tips. Almost all of my hair was back to its natural brown, and the small amount of pink left in the lighter ends was nearly invisible.

I didn't really realize how much having pink hair had become a part of me until I literally stopped recognizing myself in the mirror. It just felt wrong.

So I redyed my hair.

For a while, my hair was the right color and life was good. But, as inevitably will happen, it faded out again.

So I dyed it again! (which is what I'm assuming you saw my posts about)

So that's a kind of long story about what having dyed hair has been like for me. It's fun! I enjoy it! I hope you do too!

As for recommendations - if you're doing it in a salon you get whatever they have. If you're having an independent hair stylist do it they'll likely discuss all of this with you and have a much better idea of what they're doing than me. If you're doing it yourself at home, I have a few favorites for dye brands.

For a long time Splat was my go-to for quick and easy bright color. It's reasonably cheap, has straightforward instructions, and lasts a decent amount of time. I like to think of Splat as the working man of hair dye - nothing fancy, but solid quality that gets the job done. Unfortunately, it's a lot harder to find in stores now than it used to be. (You can still order it online if you're dedicated)

Punky Color is great for vibrancy, but it washes out almost completely in just a few weeks. Good for when you might be wanting something more temporary, not so great for someone like me. It's vegan though, if that's something that's important to you.

*just found out that Splat is vegan as well, I was not previously aware of that

What I currently use is Arctic Fox (also vegan, apparently. i'm learning new things today), which I absolutely ADORE. It's what you see in the picture above, and it's the best hair dye I've encountered. It comes in an incredibly wide range of colors with various levels of saturation, it lasts longer than anything else I've tried, and IT COMES IN BOTTLES. I know you've never dyed your hair before anon, but this is a BIG DEAL. Most do-at-home hair dye kits come in bags inside boxes that you squeeze out and mix yourself. There's almost always dye left over, especially if you don't have a lot of hair. It's messy and you have to deal with the extra. Arctic Fox is RESEALABLE, EASILY STORED, AND REUSABLE MONTHS LATER.

Can you tell I love this dye brand?

The lack of damage compared to other products should also be noted - when I was redoing my hair the other day I got distracted and ended up leaving the dye in for almost three times the recommended waiting period. (Believe it or not, I was watching She-Ra. Yes. I know. We all know. I'm very gay. This post has thoroughly proven that. Moving on.) My hair is absolutely fine, still soft and fluffy, and hasn't started falling out (yet).

Also, it smells really good. I'm not kidding.

Some general notes on hair coloring: if you have dark hair, you're going to want to bleach it if you want the color to stand out at all. If you flat iron or curl your hair regularly, or if it's chemically straightened, this can cause a lot of damage to the hair. You have been warned. Also, if you're wanting the dye to last a long time, invest in color-support conditioner (I use Keracolor). It's worth it. I promise.

Other than that, I wish you luck in your hair coloring journey anon, and I apologize for how long this got. Hope some of this is helpful!

(tumblr gays feel free to add on to this post with your own hair dye experiences)

[knitgeek]

So you know that post about TCW bloopers? Well, I raise you one - Rebels blooper reel:

Hera turning too quickly and smacking the camera with her lekku

Constant door malfunctions on the Ghost, resulting in many cut scenes and bumped foreheads

Anytime a Clone Wars actor is on set the Rebels cast geeking out because they grew up watching them

Chopper rolling past in the background of scenes he’s not supposed to be in

Zeb forgetting his lines and switching back to his regular accent

All the wobbly lightsaber takes

Agent Kallus yelling “Sorry mate!” after kicking the stormtrooper off the bridge in s1

Ezra noticing the different camera blocking for him and Sabine when he gets his growth spurt

The first take of the reunion scene between Ahsoka and Rex is just them crying cause they haven’t worked together in so long

Hera making wierd faces while filming her flight scenes in the Ghost

All the horrendous cursing after messing up their lines

The cast taking selfies with random props

Kanan messing up introducing the crew to Cham Syndulla wasn’t scripted

They use real Loth cats to film, so there’s plenty of footage of the cast (Ezra) cuddling and playing with them between shots

Sabine doing the darksaber fight in one take, because she was so emotionally drained afterwards

Anytime a Mandolorian removes their helmet and their hair is sticking up

Ezra humming the mission impossible theme while in the air vents

The Grand Inquisitor pulling out his spinning blade, but it doesn’t work right and the whole take is ruined by a squeaking noise

Ezra’s voice cracks from s1 and s2

A time lapse of the cast painting the stolen tie-fighter from s1

A stormtrooper tripping over a mouse droid in the background of a shot

Thrawn delivering a brilliant monologue , then sneezing

Zeb dropping the Kallus dummy they used to film the cave scene

After Kanan gets his visor in s3, it falls off his face countless times before they just glue it on

A million takes of Rex throwing his helmet until he finally hit the Stormtrooper in the face

Hera and Kanan calling the crew “the kids” off-screen and it somehow worked it’s way into the real script

No one told Kallus when in the scene he’d be thrown against the glass so his reaction was real

So was Kanan’s, bc he really was supposed to be the one to do it

Vizago behind the scenes with reading glasses on looking over his script

Vader and Ahsoka talking about lunch plans while filming Malachore

Choppers arms randomly popping out and getting caught on the set

Hera doing the “Zeb-Ez-Chop-damnit, Sabine!” Thing That Parents Do

Ezra: “But Ahsoka is dead!” *looks directly into the camera and winks*

Chopper tipping over while rolling down the ramp of the Ghost

Ezra’s babbling to Tristen in s3 being twice as long as what they included in the final cut before Kanan stopped him

Zeb spinning his bo rifle too fast and throwing it accidentily during a fight, but he stays in character and goes with it

Dance battles between Stormtroopers

Sabine and Ezra hiding in closets/crawl spaces and popping out to scare cast members

Kanan flirting with Hera but she can’t keep a straight face so they just end up laughing

Sabine yelling “What??” bc she can’t hear under her helmet

Ahsoka re-taking the shot with Mori landing on her arm bc the trained bird kept landing on her head instead

The Jedi “using the Force” but the prop doesn’t move and everyone’s dead silent until someone says “performance anxiety?”

Hair and makeup room live-streams from Sabine every season when they re-dye her hair

Hondo not learning his lines, just knowing generally what is happening in a scene so no two takes with him are the same

When Hera is unconscious in the Med bay, she falls asleep and starts snoring in the middle of a take

Ezra igniting his lightsaber in a scene and glitter popping out bc Sabine rigged it to explode

This got really long but idc I’m just having fun thinking about this chaotic family

[poetrusicperry]

the poets and their fav marvel characters/movies !!!

ok honestly i have no idea if any of this makes sense lol but i hope it’s comprehendible. also i have not had the time or resources to watch any of the new mcu era, which is why i didn’t include any of it. and if you have any other ideas of which characters and movies the poets would like comment them bc i want to see what you guys think hehe !! <3 sending love and hugs to anyone who needs it (and anyone who doesn’t, too)

neil: neil adores comic books. he used to sneak them when he was younger, taking breaks from his summer school homework to read them (he has a stash in his room that his father still hasn’t found). there is no doubt in my mind that neil wouldn’t be head over heels for spiderman, are you kidding ?? most definitely tried to climb walls or hang upside down when he was little. desperately wishes he could come up with his own chemical equation for web fluid. he’d completely immerse himself in the fact that there are three different eras to depict and analyze, too, having a very heated debate with charlie and meeks about who the best spiderman is. also really wants to reenact the upside down kiss with todd

neil’s fav movies (he can’t pick a fav) would be: the og spiderman, the amazing spiderman, and spiderman: homecoming (likes spiderman: 3 purely for shits and gigs)

todd: i feel like todd really likes comics (would spend his summers collecting them and reading in his room while his parents took jeff to sports camps/summer camps). he’d love scarlet witch because todd really loves to see her character growth through the films (coming to understand her powers and utilizing them accordingly), and also just admires how badass she is (”she’s so powerful and she doesn’t even know it until she faces hardship. oh, i love her so much”). upon hearing this explanation, neil couldn’t contain a smile because todd doesn’t even realize that he’s the exact same way (’: todd also likes bucky because he’s “so cool” and his metal arm is “sick” hehe (and he really loves the bond that bucky and steve have)

todd’s fav movie would probably be captain america: tfa because he likes seeing young steve rogers of course, but also because todd admires his strength (sees himself in pre-serum steve and hopes that one day he will become his own version of post-serum steve (: ). also like avengers: aou bc that’s when he’s really first introduced to scarlet witch (watches the post-credit scene from captain america: tws just to see wanda and pietro)

charlie: charlie never really read comic books, but he loves the mcu !! first of all, charlie can’t decide anything ever, so why would picking his fav superhero be any different; peter quill, iron man, or black widow. he’d like peter quill because “he’s unapologetically himself and completely hilarious,” and would absolutely dress as starlord for halloween at least once (probably more than once). as for iron man, charlie just likes how cool tony stark is and how he invented a suit that could fly (”there are so many likable qualities about him !!” he’d say, to which cameron would reply, “like what, the fact that he’s a womanizer, a pompous ass, or that he’s seemingly too smart for his own good ?” and charlie would just smirk, “all of the above”). for black widow, it’d be pretty simple (“she’s so badass. i can’t tell if i want to do her or be her”). claims his honorary mentions would be korg, rocket, and groot

charlie’s fav movies are guardians of the galaxy vol. 1 and vol. 2 because they’re “fun.” likes thor: ragnarok because it also has fun vibes.

meeks: meeks LOVES comic books to begin with, and collects them avidly, but dr. strange and the entire idea surrounding his powers/strengths ?? the ability to bend time ?? if that doesn't sound right up meeks’ alley, idk what does. there are clearly a lot of things that meeks will geek out over unapologetically, but dr. strange is one of those things that he just will not shut up about, ever (”it’s just so AWESOME”). desperately wishes that sling rings were real. also gushes with todd about bucky’s metal arm, going off on a tangent about the science behind the “rigidity flexibility ratio.” can also go on for hours about the quantum realm (:

therefore, meeks’ favorite mcu film is dr. strange and he would be completely eager and buzzing for dr. strange in the multiverse of madness. also likes antman (:

pitts: also a comic book geek hehe. and i'm sensing that pitts really likes thor. thor is pretty much just a dorky, goofy tall dude (like pitts, just with... a lot bigger biceps LOL). finds a lot of the same things funny in the movies that thor laughs at. getting into thor gets him into norse mythology, where he’d spend hours searching for/reading books on it at the welton library (meeks would have to come find him because he’d been gone for that long). wishes he could grow facial hair that nicely, and even attempted to once, but charlie shut that down real quick HAHA (”i'm not going to stop making fun of how ridiculous you look until you shave”). becomes a huge einstein rosen bridge geek, learning all there is to learn about that (and norse everything).

pitts’ favorite movie is thor: ragnarok (”it’s the best out of the three”), and he really doesn’t enjoy thor: the dark world (almost has a vendetta against it, “why did they feel the need to dye his beard and his eyebrows ??”)

cameron: surprisingly knows a lot about comics and the mcu ? his fav character is captain america due to steve rogers’ unflinching morals and standards (cameron began to to veer a teeny tiny bit away from cap, though, when he began to rebel in captain america: civil war, but he still loves him). really likes the historical aspect behind captain america (wwii and the 1940s). he and pitts absolutely had a meltdown when steve lifted mjolnir and almost got kicked out of the movie theater for their reaction (”NO FUCKING WAY, NO FUCKING WAY !! I KNEW IT. PITTSIE, I KNEW IT !!” which is super uncharacteristic for cameron, but he doesn’t fuck around when it comes to cap). got in an actual argument with charlie after captain america: civil war arguing that tony was in the wrong (”steve was doing the right thing because he was following his moral code !! even if he was breaking rules, it still made sense,” and charlie would just laugh, “you say that, but i was just following my moral code when i made the phone call to god and you didn’t find that funny,” “you’re an idiot, charlie”). also really likes nebula bc he relates to her in the fact that she never felt like she belonged/fit in.

his father served in wwii, so captain america: tfa has a really special place in his heart (he’s seen it so many times he can cite the movie as it goes along)

knox: knox knows the least about superheroes/comics, but still likes to tag along to the movies when the poets go to a premiere. he really likes black widow (”she’s just really pretty, okay?”) and hulk (”he just smashes stuff, HAHA ! how awesome is that ??”). even though he’s not very knowledgable about the mcu or marvel itself, he loves to listen to meeks about everything. almost always asks questions throughout the entirety of the movie (”knox, shut up, we’ll explain after it’s over !!”). thanos really freaked him out tbh; the idea of something like the snap happening dialed his whole “carpe diem” thing to eleven lol. 

knox’s fav movie is the first avengers because the amount of conflict isn’t as bad as the other avengers movies (”i like seeing them work together, it makes me sad when they argue and disagree).

[boys-from-santacarla]

Note; I deeply apologize seeing as this is going to end up being long. Onto the information; My name is Ghost(mainly go by this one), Acid, Killer(more of a nickname), or Gore(more of a nickname). I go by he/they/xe/its, and I'm a dude, MLM and poly so it really doesn't matter much who it is. Born March 31st, being an Aries I'm a very loud and energetic person. I'm also very impulsive and get myself into deep shit, even if I don't realize I'm doin' it. I get overly loud when the topic is about something I enjoy or is into, if I try flirting on purpose it's ass but when I do it without realizing I get called a huge flirt. Big music and art geek, I have sketchbooks upon sketchbooks filled just sitting around in my room. I listen to a lot of rock like Queen, Guns N Roses, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, ACDC, Nickelback, KISS, Slipknot, KoRn, and on and on. Although I listen to every genre of music minus country(although there are few songs I can deal with). Big tattoo/piercing person, if you have one visible I will point it out and geek out about it. Although literally don't ask me to name a few songs unless I've been rambling on about it because I have the shittiest memory. I dye my hair so often it's surprising my hair is still healthy. I have literally bleached my hair, dyed it red and let that fade for a week, then dyed it blue and have been touching up the blue ever since then. If it wasn't due to money problems and the fact it's hard to borrow in my town my hair would probably have my hair a different color every two weeks. I ramble quite a bit and have the shittiest focus and memory, so you may have to pull me to the side and tell me to calm down. Would definitely compliment on the boys looks, specially their outfits. I'm a coffee and monster addict at this point, you'll see one or the other in my hand, and the occasional water bottle because I try to keep myself health. My love language is through touch and insulting people. Ex, "I fucking love you dumbass" or flipping you off playfully as a way of saying "i love you bitch". Smoking doesn't bother me, grew up around it my entire life. I love riding on motorcycles, no matter the weather, is it cold asf, nice idgaf, is it raining, shit lets go. I have a bad(good in some people's eyes) of using petnames/nicknames for everyone. Everyone has a wholesome petname from me and then I'll call them a whore or some shit. I cuss too much for my own good, I literally don't have a filter in my entire body. I will impulsively say shit, sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it's a bad thing. Due to my anxiety I try to stay away from large crowds, but if I'm in them (aka on the boardwalk) I will have music blaring in my ears and my ears glued into my current sketchbook. Although I currently don't have them, I'm going to add them anyways because I'm going to end up getting them when I have the money to go to a piercer or to get a kit. I want a shit ton of piercings. Such as snake bites(lip piercing), tongue, septum, all of the piercings finished on my ears, and bridge. I've stated once I'm a big tattoo geek, so I want a quite a bit of those. I'm definitely a big "oh let's do it myself" person, and I have tried giving myself a septum piercing. (it would've worked if it wasn't for the fact I did it too low to be able to flip it up to hide it) I love the adrenaline of fights, it doesn't matter if I win or loose, although I do prefer if I win. I literally get the most random urge to fight someone for the hell of it. Probably has something to do with impulsive thoughts and shit, but oh well. I'm a big respect person, I live by the motto "you respect me, I'll respect you". I have blackouts sometimes due to rage and anxiety, so I try to keep myself from having them. I have a bad habit of rambling and saying sorry too much. I tend to repeatedly say sorry whilst rambling as I tend to get overly excited and loud when I ramble. I'm a very talkive person if I know and trust you. If you're around me and you don't get your ear talked off or messed with, you're probably not liked or

you need to leave. It's one easy way you'll be able to tell if I get along with you or not. I kinda have a whatever/punk/alt style, a lot of time I just grab something decent and throw it on. Although you'll always see me wearing a belt and my platform shoes. I'm 5'0, so my obsession with platforms grew because of my need to be tall. I wear a lot of baggy clothing, I'm definitely more of a comfort over style person.

Ok, my dude, I'll definitely pair you with...

Marko and Paul

Oh, man, you three are gonna be some threesome (and not necessarily in the sexual way lol)

Just imagine THE MESS

The boys think you're adorable when you get into the romantic mood and try to flirt but end up saying bad pick-up lines, so they'll laugh, but will twirl their hair as whoerish as possible and follow the game. Or they would get on with their manly act and fight to see who will flirt back better.

Now, the chatting will be so goddamn long! You three will go on 4 hour-long conversations that'll get from a "look at this new t-shirt I got" to "so that's why Ronald Reagan was an alien". The worst part is left to the spectators like David or Dwayne since none of you three will be the sane individual and shut y'all up.

The blondes like your drawing, and ask you to draw them or random stuff and people CONSTANTLY, so you'll have many opportunities to improve your skills and try with different models. When they happen to find some of your sketchbooks, they try to impress you or simply give a small present by drawing you or something you like, or at least make the attempt since some of the "fine pieces" as they call them, they give you are like children's school projects.

And, man, about the hair, are you blessed to have the glam diva Paul by your side to give advice and constructive criticism to your hair. He will help you choose the color and will give it style from time to time if you accept. The process to dye it will be so much fun, and so chaotic; experimenting with the pigments ends up with wounds caused from the bleach and the currently used wardrobe disposed later.

A thing they love about you is that you can stand up for yourself if needed, but they rather you not to, because they know you handle yourself and the others well, maybe too well for your good. Paul tries to take care of you as much as he can so there is no need for you to possibly get hurt. It was enough trying to control Marko so he didn't get involved in some stupid street fight every night at the boardwalk to now have to worry daily about you too. Marko shares the passion for the adrenaline of this and will think it is hot as hell, but he protects you as much as Paul, maybe a bit softer than him about it tho, but if you're in the middle of a fight and it starts to get worse than expected, he dead ass will force you to back off. He'll finish the business himself, sweetheart.

As for your love language, don't worry, these dorks will accept you playful pushes with joy, and they'll give you some of them too. But if you accidentally flip and fall some meters before hitting ground, you know the rule: laugh first, help second.

Oh, and you better get prepared for the bullying. You're the smallest in the group, so that leads to a constant attack as a hobbit. Marko joins the quip, but I mean, he'll get humiliated along. Let's just say Paul gives you two a hard time about it. With all the love of course.

They love to get out with you and the others and go to the boardwalk, but they try to take you out on days it is not that crowded, or in hours where a small amount of souls are having a stroll. But, if you happen to go out on a crowded night, they will keep you focused on having a good time, but just mention your getting uncomfortable and you'll be back at the cave in less than a minute.

Paul and Marko really love your style, they think it looks badass and try to match tough outfits with you from time to time. Giving you cool shirts and leather jackets with some patches on them that they think are awesome. Don't ask why some of the clothes have strange-colored stains on them tho.

They go with you to get you ears or nose pierced from the moment you three decided doing it diy style was a bad idea cuz y'all ended up with a bleeding nose and an ear infection the first time of trying it, and because there's no voice of reason in the threesome, Star and Dwayne had to give you kids a very long lecture of not doing those things by yourself.

[cosplayinamerica]

Wilykat (Pro) and Wilykit (Con) from the Thundercats TV series : Pro & Con Cosplay / Photo : dtjaaaam

We're identical twins, so we like to play into that when we can, and if possible, learn a technique we haven't done before. With their giant hair and tendencies for twin hijinks These two characters fit the bill! Wilykat is the oldest of the two and is slightly more cautious, which mirrors Pro, while Wilykit is younger and more adventurous like Con, so they fit us very well personally, too!

We spent a good time laughing about how to map these characters into human bodies, where to put seams on clothing, dying fabric, and just figuring out how to make these wigs. We both got kind of ridiculous about color matching and there were many hours spent stirring dye baths in the yard. The most hilarious part was tackling the wigs, after all, the most iconic part of any 80's cartoon is the larger than life do's. We researched several wig options and landed on using a tutorial we found for making "Cats" (yes, the stage production!) wigs out of hundreds of plugs we made from home spun yarn glued and styled onto a wig cap.

We were overwhelmed with how well they were received. When we first made them, we weren't sure many people would recognize us because it's an older series, but those thoughts evaporated almost immediately when we hit the convention floor. The number of people who shouted "Thundercats Ho!" and asked for photos when we walked by was just staggering. So many parents were suddenly just as excited as their kids about cosplay, and that was probably the best part.

We discovered cosplay around 2004 or 2005 when we went to our first convention near our home town. We thought you had to cosplay in order to fit in so we threw something together really quickly. Later we realized that you certainly don't have to cosplay at conventions if you don't want to, but it does make the experience a lot of fun.

Pro: From the connections I've made with other cosplayers to awards and successes, to botching up expensive and time consuming projects, cosplay has taught me so much about patience and ingenuity! I've learned so many skills (how to use new materials, expanding on artistic skills I previously had and even resurrecting some of that algebra and geometry I hated once upon a time), cosplay allows me to exercise so many different parts of my brain. Advocacy for inclusion is also something very important to me, and cosplay is such a wonderful way to support people from all backgrounds and identities.

Con: I've learned just how long I can go without sleep without hallucinating haha. Cosplay has really taught me how to be creative with materials and think outside the box. I've gotten to play with so many things over the years to get my costumes to behave and that has been such a joy. It has also given me some incredible opportunities to take on new and fulfilling responsibilities and finding ways of making our communities more inclusive.

This is something we've been discussing a lot for the past few weeks.  Cosplay is very much influenced by identities of people wearing the costume, and it as been difficult negotiating cosplay and fighting for racial justice. We are Black people first, cosplayers second, and it has been painful watching more and more cases of unjust killing, profiling, and harassment as a result of institutional racism. On top of that, we're in the midst of a pandemic, which means our normal avenues of decompressing just aren't there. What has been helpful is thinking about how cosplayers (or really anyone with a platform) can use our spaces for good--be that donating, providing links to donations like Black Lives Matter, sharing educational resources, and examining and creating policies (both inside of and outside of our geek lives) that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.

[sierraraeck]

Jet Talk

Spencer x OC Aundreya

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Summary: Now that the two of them are starting to get over their differences, they actually start working well together. On the jet ride home, they talk and play chess. Story five.

Category: Some angst, some fluff.

Warnings: Cussing. Normal CM stuff. Retelling of house fire and the death of family members.

Word Count: 3.9k

A/N: Just a reminder that this is all fiction and I don’t actually know anything about hair care chemicals.

So the back twitching had subsided. Ever since Spencer and I went to dinner, things were so much better. Work was better, and he and I actually started working together on all of the stuff that didn’t require field work, because I was still not cleared for that yet. Well, I was, then the people above Hotch found out that I had a personal phone, and postponed that privilege for another few weeks. Aaron tried to take partial responsibility but I wouldn’t let him. They looked through my phone history, and because it was all clear, they let me keep it as long as Garcia could continue to monitor it. That was fine with me. It was just another time to add to the list of ‘everyone-being-thankful-that-Garcia-is-a-tech-goddess’.

But now that Spencer and I were, dare I say, kind of friends, working on cases was actually fun. I hadn’t had as much practice keeping up with him as everyone else did, but I felt like I was adjusting pretty well. I may not have had the education he or the rest of them did, but I definitely had the quick paced thinking skills. And if I do say so myself, I was getting pretty good at the geographical profile and picking out patterns in victimology since there was nothing else I was allowed to do.

Reid came rushing into the precinct conference room that we’d been allowed to set up in, late to our lunch break because he got caught up with the ME.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, not even slowing down long enough to notice his food. He walked right over to the board where the picture of the third woman was just put up.

“What do you got?” I asked, taking the finishing bite of my Lo Mein.

“Woah, slow your roll. Give the man a moment to eat his crappy Chinese food,” Morgan said. Of all the people on the team, Spencer and I were the only ones who never complained about the food. Probably because mine was gone too fast and his wasn’t gone fast enough. Sometimes it wasn’t gone at all.

“It’s okay I’m not hungry,” Reid said, turning to look at us. “The ME said that all three women had lethal levels of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia in their systems.”

“So the unsub forced it down their throats?” I suggested.

“That’s what I would assume considering the only other place they had traces of it was under their fingernails.”

“The only way it’d be under their fingernails is if they worked with it,” I stated. Everyone else was busy munching so that left Reid and I to fill the airspace.

“That’s what I thought, but when I asked Garcia to pull up their work history, all she found was that they all used to work at salons years ago.”

“The same salon?”

“No. Completely different and not in the unsub’s target area,” he responded.

“Wait, but their houses are in the target area,” I said, an idea forming.

“Right, but they were all killed away from their houses.”

“Sure, but these women had these chemicals under their nails for a reason. Both ammonia and hydrogen peroxide are ingredients in hair dye,” I said, my words picking up pace.

“So they had to have been using them at their homes,” Spencer said, realization dawning on him. “They were operating hair salons from out of their houses.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. The unsub could have gone to them to get their hair done, something triggered them-”

“And then they surprise-attacked them and quickly forced the chemicals down their throats.” Spencer finished, his words picking up pace as well.

“Exactly. We’ve got to be looking at a female unsub. Only women would visit salons this much, and killing her victims by chemical wouldn’t be hard for her to do. I mean, it would only take 500 ppm of ammonia and a swig of concentrated hydrogen peroxide to kill someone,” I said. JJ looked over at me, a questioning look on her face. “What? I may not have a PhD in chemistry but I know things.”

She raised her hands in surrender.

“Plus, if she is surprise-attacking them, it wouldn’t be that difficult for her to overpower them long enough to get the chemicals down their throats.” I nodded at his words. “This unsub has to have some sort of background in cosmetology or chemistry to know how much of the chemicals to use along with the correlation to hair dye ingredients.”

“I agree. Don’t hairdressers have to have a license to work?” I asked.

“Yes, they do!” Spencer replied, quickly pressing the button that had Penelope’s number on speed-dial. “Garcia, can you compile a list for me?”

“Absolutely, my boy wonder. What do you need?” her cheery voice seeped from the phone like warm honey and spread throughout the room.

“I need you to compile a list of licenced hairdressers in the area who don’t work at salons, along with anyone who has a background in chemistry,” Spencer asked, his voice commanding.

“Okey-dokey. That will be on your tablets shortly.”

“Thanks, Garcia.” Only seconds later our tablets were pinging. I swear to god that woman is a wizard.

“We need to start looking through these, one of them could potentially be our unsub,” Spencer said earnestly.

“Yeah, and the rest of them are her potential victims,” I pointed out. Spencer and I looked up from our tablets and made eye contact, nodding in agreement with each other. I’d been so caught up in our own little world of deductions that I hadn’t noticed the rest of the team staring at us.

Slowly, Prentiss leaned over to Hotch and deliberately asked, “Do you know why the rest of us are even here?” I stifled a laugh and saw Reid look down to hide a smirk in my peripheral. We had kind of run away with that one. Aaron just raised his eyebrows.

“Seriously. If the two of them are just going to do … that from now on, what are the rest of us even here for?”

“That is a fantastic question,” Rossi answered, in his bored, dry humored tone. Spencer and I exchanged amused smiles, trying to shield them from the rest of the team.

Emily sighed, holding out her hand in Spencer and I’s direction. “Would one of you geeks hand me my tablet?” Spencer and I just stood there, staring at her hand.

“Derek, that’s rude,” I said, snapping my fingers, forcing him to look at me, “Emily’s trying to talk to you.”

Emily snorted and Derek rolled his eyes. “Ha ha. Very funny, smartass.”

“Hey, just trying to keep it real.”

“We appreciate that,” JJ said, patting Morgan on the shoulder and winking at me on her way to grab her own tablet. He just shrugged her off.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

We spent hours looking through those women until we found one that matched our profile, Hayley Morrison. We had initially skipped over her because she worked in a chemistry lab and didn’t seem to have any connection to cosmetology, but what drew our attention to her the second time around was that she’d been to the hospital several times as a child for chemical burns.

“You know, it’s interesting that out of all the chemicals our unsub could have chosen, she picked ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. There are plenty of other chemicals in hair dye she could have picked like resorcinol, lead acetate, toluene, and phenylenediamine. Not to mention all the chemicals she’d have access to working at a chemistry lab like arsenic, formaldehyde, mercury, bisphenol, fluoride, lead, methyl alcohol, cyclohexane, and many others she could have easily gotten her hands on. It’s actually really interesting because those two chemicals would…” Spencer rambled, before cutting himself off after he realized that the team was just gaping at him. The volume of his voice dramatically dropped, “Sorry. I can go into more detail if you’d like.”

“No, we’re good-”

“Yes,” I said. Everyone’s attention whipped toward me as I said it, shock and even slight horror taking over their features. Now, I’ve been viewed as a crazy person before, but these people looked at me like I needed an immediate lobotomy. “Okay, wow. Don’t all stab me at once,” I commented, my eyes wide. Spencer looked like he’d been shot with a tranquilizer. I was so confused because I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Clearly that was wrong.

“What did you just say?” Morgan asked me.

“I said-”

“No. Fairly certain you said no,” he cut me off. The rest of the team nodded and I just squinted my eyes at them.

“Actually I said yes. I’d love to hear more. But considering our time crunch,” I turned to Reid, “why don’t you just tell me about it on the jet?”

“Uh, what? Sure,” Reid floundered coming out of his daze, brows still furrowed. I never completed high school, didn’t even make it through the first semester of my freshman year, so there were a lot of basic things I was missing out on. Not like I needed all that information for anything, but regardless I wanted to learn more. What better way than to have the resident genius explain all of the things he knows (that by the way are coming in handy in our line of work) to me? Plus, the guy needed someone to listen to him rant, otherwise I was convinced his brain would implode from never getting to relieve any of the pressure stemming from all that knowledge. I was willing to be a pair of ears, another fine social skill I’d learned on the streets.

“Cool. Make a mental note of this chemical talk in that eidetic memory of yours and we’ll come back to it.”

“That’s not actually how eidetic memories work,” Spencer corrected me.

“Great. You can educate me on that in the jet as well,” I said with a wink. Spencer gave me his signature small smile, just like the one he did after the whole Kristy thing.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Come to find out, Hayley’s mother worked as an at-home hairdresser and forced her to make home-made hair dye with harmful chemicals using her bare hands. It wrecked the skin on her hands and forearms for the rest of her life, so we figured she was killing surrogates for her mother. Unfortunately we couldn’t put it together fast enough before we had to add a fourth picture to our board. When we found Hayley, she was in a secondary lab she created in her garage, and was in the process of mixing the two chemicals together, about to up her count to five. Instead of running or getting detained, she swallowed the mixture herself. Luckily, we got her to a hospital in time.

As we boarded the jet, I made sure to stay right behind Spencer so I could snatch up the seat next to him. When I sat down, he gave me a weird look.

“What?” I asked.

“I honestly didn’t think you were serious,” he replied.

“I am. As long as you want to talk about it, I want to listen to it.”

“Actually?”

“Deadass.”

“Hey Chambers,” Derek called across the plane, “You sure you know what you’re doing?”

“I always do,” I clapped back.

“Alright. Your eardrums,” he teased, followed by a quick raise of the eyebrows at Spencer. I just brushed it off.

“So tell me all about chemicals and eidetic memories.”

And he did. He spilled so much information that I’d have to spend the rest of the week cleaning up the jet. At first I didn’t want to interrupt him to ask questions, but I soon realized that he enjoyed answering them and helping me understand what the hell he was talking about. I’m not going to lie, I was still pretty confused about the whole chemicals thing by the end, but he looked so giddy sharing everything he knew about it that I was okay with that. The eidetic memory stuff made more sense to me, though. Or maybe I was just trying harder to understand it.

After an hour and a half of Q&A, he ran out of facts to tell me.

“There’s no way,” I teased. “Did I really run you dry of all your chemical and memory facts?”

“It looks like it,” he smiled at me. I hadn’t realized it being completely immersed in his talking, but my back was cramping from sitting completely perpendicular to the chair so that I could face him head on. I quickly cracked my back and neck with loud, satisfying pops.

“Ew. That does not sound healthy,” Emily said as she walked by us on her way to get coffee.

“Despite popular belief, it’s actually not that bad for you. It’s basically like being your own chiropractor,” Spencer answered for me. We both waited for him to go on, but he didn’t.

Emily gave him a questioning look, “No more? No stats or fun facts?”

He shook his head.

“Damn, girl. I underestimated you. You really did a number on him,” Prentiss accused.

I shrugged. “I didn’t do anything except listen and ask occasional questions. He wore himself out.”

“Eh, that sounds about right,” she nodded, returning back to her seat.

“What now? We’ve still got three plus hours to kill,” I asked. I didn’t want to sleep because then I wouldn’t be able to sleep through the night once we landed.

“Not sure. Do you want coffee?” he offered.

“No thanks,” I said, getting out of my chair to let him out. He slid past me and I switched to the seat across from his. I’d never been a fan of coffee. I didn’t do soda either so the only way I ever got caffeine was through tea, but that didn’t happen often either. I’d rather just run off of natural energy. I looked around for something to do since neither of us were going to be sleeping anytime soon and found a small travel chess set.

I’d always been a fan of chess. I played all the time with my grandfather, then played with Rafael, the Cloaks’ leader, and picked it back up at the end of my prison days. I had just started setting it up when Reid sat back down.

“You know how to play chess?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’ve played all my life. I was actually in the chess club in elementary school,” I laughed. I hadn’t thought about those days in a long time.

“Oh really? That’s so cool,” I could tell there was a hint of skepticism in his voice.

“What?”

He gave a small laugh. “It’s just that you don’t really strike me as the nerdy chess club type.”

“Oh that’s because I wasn’t. I was the dominating chess club type,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

“Is that so?”

“Yep.”

“Alright. I’d be willing to bet that I can change that,” he challenged, leaning in, the intensity of his eye contact increasing.

“I’m sure you can, Doctor Genius. Let’s see it,” I accepted.

“White commences the game,” he stated, gesturing for me to go ahead. I made my first move. He feigned a grimace.

“Oh come on. Don’t try and play mind games with me. It’s not going to work,” I pointed out.

“Worth a shot. It works on Morgan and JJ,” he said. I laughed as he made his move.

About fifty moves and forty minutes later, I was in checkmate.

“Dammit,” I said.

“If it makes you feel any better, that’s one of the longest games I’ve ever played.”

“Really?” I was shocked.

“Yeah. On average it only takes me about 25 minutes to beat someone. Our game was 40. And you took me to the average 50 moves per game, usually I’m sitting at about 20.”

“Cool. I’m glad I could provide you some sort of a challenge,” I said. “So have you ever lost?”

“Yes. I lost to Gideon, my old mentor, many times before I could beat him. He actually taught me a lot about the strategy,” His voice was sad and pensive. I knew the two of them were close, that’s why I wasn’t surprised by his next question. “How did you know Gideon?”

“Do you remember when I told you that the Storefront Slaughterer burnt our apartement down?”

He nodded.

“Well, I was the most paranoid out of the three of us, so I kept one of my old softball bats by my bed. When I heard my bedroom door open that night, I put a hand on it before I even saw who it was. When he tried to yank me out of bed, something my mom and sister knew better than to do, I hit him with it. I couldn’t tell if he was dead or not, but he was definitely unconscious for the time being. I ran to my mom and sister’s rooms and saw that they were already dead,” I swallowed. I’d told this story many times and re-lived it twice as much. I felt a general sense of detachment at this point, but having to say the words of confirmation always shook me a little.

“I don’t remember how long I stood there in disbelief, but however long, it was too long. Long enough for him to regain consciousness and return the favor. I must have dropped the bat in the midst of everything because he hit me with it. He hit the side of my head, and for good measure, broke my femur in my right leg. He told me that I didn’t deserve to die as quickly as they did. That I deserved to slowly burn alive or suffocate from the smoke. He got up and left, leaving me in a daze. I was going to give up. I was. I had made the decision, lying between my mother and my sister that we were all going to die together. I don’t know what changed my mind. It could have been the intense heat, the pain from my leg, or the fact that I was slowly losing the ability to breathe. But for some reason, I decided to get up and fight. I walked to the door but it was too hot so my only way out was the window. I jumped five stories down, which honestly should have killed me or shattered my spine, but it didn’t. It left me winded with three broken ribs and mostly unconscious. That’s when I met Gideon.

“I don’t really remember what happened, but he later told me that I’d been there for an hour, slowly bleeding out before he got to me. I jumped out a window on the back of the building and landed behind a giant dumpster and it was dark, so I wasn’t exactly easy to spot. He told me that the only thing I said to him before I slipped completely under was, ‘help me disappear.’ He called a paramedic over to treat me, but he wouldn’t let them take me to the hospital, which I was grateful for. He made one of them get in the backseat of his car with me as he drove me back to his house. I stayed there and recovered for the next few months during which he told me all about his team and their extensive process to track this guy. I told him that I couldn’t stay there and I wouldn’t go back to my father so he helped me change my identity. I thanked him for everything he’d done for me when I left for the streets, and we agreed to keep in touch. We did, all the way up until he left the bureau. He and Aaron consulted me a few times but other than that, he didn’t visit. He didn’t even bother to come see me in person when he decided to cut all ties, which I don’t blame him for, but all I got was a letter that just showed up one day in my cell.” Spencer’s whole mood shifted when I said that, his eyes getting bigger.

“He left you a letter too?” he asked. Too? I was shocked. Gideon left him a letter? How come he never told me about Spencer?

“Yeah. We hadn’t been in contact for ages and then one day a letter just showed up in my cell, telling me that it was his turn to disappear and not to look for him. You got one too?”

“Yes,” was all I got. It must have been a painful memory because I could tell he didn’t want to elaborate.

“Well, anyway, I have him to thank for my life and the rest of the BAU for listening to me when I sent in that tip.” We were silent for a while, thinking about Gideon and what he must be doing now.

“Why’d he ask you not to look for him?”

“I’d assume it’s because he knew that I was either going to get out, or gain enough connections that I could. I mean, I was one of the best private investigators, and he wanted to be left alone. He knew I’d respect his wishes, but only if he directly told me them.”

He nodded.

“Okay, enough of that. Wanna play again?” I asked.

“You sure you want to get beat twice in a row?” he asked, a little bit of pep coming back into his words. I answered by making my first move.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

About 15 minutes before landing, the rest of the team started slowly waking up. Reid and I were on game number five. Gasp, I’d lost the previous four. But a few moves later, I had him in checkmate. I sat back, squinting my eyes, and stared at him with my best bitchface.

“Woah, what’s going on here?” Morgan asked as he walked by on his way to finish the last bit of coffee, able to sense the tension. I didn’t answer, I just crossed my arms and kept staring at Reid.

“I’m not sure. She’s just been staring at me like that,” he answered.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“It looks to me like she’s got you in checkmate-”

“Bullshit,” I interrupted, still totally focused on Spencer. Both of them furrowed their brow. “He let me win.”

Derek quickly turned to walk away mumbling something about not getting involved, but Spencer said, “That’s not true.”

“How many games have we played?”

“Five.”

“Is that how much you think my ego is worth? Five games?” He just gave me a confused look. “Listen up Doctor Genius. I don’t have a fragile ego and I know that you let me win. After the first four games, I started to get a feel for how you played, and I know that you wouldn’t have made those last two moves if you actually wanted to win. So let me tell you this. I want to beat you, but I actually want to earn it. It may take me 100 games, maybe more, but I will beat you and it will be because I actually outplayed you. I can’t do that if you go easy on me and I don’t actually get a feel for how your mind works. I enjoy a challenge and am not just going to break or give up because I’m losing. I want to learn from you, which I thought was obvious after I suggested you tell me everything you didn’t get to share while working the case. So do me a favor. Don’t ever go easy on me.” He started to smile and gave me a single, but definite, nod.

“Fantastic. So let’s reset the board to where it was a few moves ago, and why don’t you beat me like a true genius.”

[rosettahart]

Glass-says: Chapter 17

Chapter 1, Chapter 16

Ao3 link

Summary: The weekend has passed and Virgil hasn't heard anything back from Princey since the masquerade and someone's willing to make a deal.

Warnings: Implied Physical Abuse, Bullying.

Chapter 17

"Has he texted you back yet, Kiddo?" Patton asked, following Virgil and Logan into the sound booth and waving at Roman when he saw he was already there.

Virgil shook his head, collapsing back into a bean bag chair and running a hand through his hair. "He would have texted me back already if he was going to."

"And we haven't seen anyone with dyed red hair all day…" Patton pulled a container of cookies out, opening it and setting it down in the middle of everyone.

"Perhaps it was only a temporary dye, there are other ways you should be able to narrow this down to one person." Logan mentioned, hissing as Roman elbowed him in the side, holding it as he sent a glare Romans way. "Was that absolutely necessary, Roman?"

Roman rolled his eyes. "Oh relax, I didn't hit you that hard."

"Lo, you okay?" Patton rested a hand worriedly on Logan's leg.

Logan schooled his face into a neutral expression but kept his hand where it was, his lip twitching slightly. Out of all the possible places Roman could have nudged him, it had to be in the worst one. "I am alright Patton, Roman merely happened to hit a sore area of my abdomen. I have been physically exerting myself more recently and it seems I happened to push myself further than I should have." 

"Are you sure? Roman and I could go get you something for the soreness."

"Me? Why should I have to come?" Roman protested.

"You know why." Patton returned through his teeth so it'd be harder to understand, nodding his head at Logan.

"Fine." Roman muttered, grabbing a couple of cookies before standing up. He did feel the slightest bit guilty but at the same time how was he supposed to have known Logan was sore? "But I actually want to have time to eat my lunch afterwards."

"It'll only take a few minutes, Kiddo." 

"Seeing as how this is an issue of my own I should go." Logan spoke up as he stood, gritting his teeth. 

"Then we'll all go." Patton smiled.

Virgil pulled out his laptop and headphones. "You guys go ahead. I'll just stay here. I've got things to do." 

"You sure, Kiddo?" Patton checked, his smile fading. 

Virgil popped his headphones on, pulling up the cue for his webcast, not looking up. "Yeah, I'm sure." 

Roman watched Virgil over Patton's shoulder until his ghostly friend started moving. He hesitated. Should he tell Virgil? Should he risk it on the chance it'd make him happy? That it could make him smile? That maybe… He opened his mouth.

"Roman?" 

And risk losing his friends and the roof over his head? "I'm coming." Roman waited a moment before following Patton out. Maybe not...

Virgil sighed as soon as the door was closed behind his friends, not really in the mood to ready the cue for the next day. He leaned back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling when the door opened, he quickly pulled off his headphones when it wasn't who he expected it to be. "I-I tried to ignore him but-" He cleared his throat, trying to keep the nerves from his voice as he stood. "Things came up."

Charlotte motioned for the girls following her to wait outside, letting them close the door for her. "Relax, Virgil." She chuckled, patting his cheek. "I'm not here to hurt you, I promise."

Virgil tensed up uncomfortably regardless of her words. 

"Me and the girls have been hard on you, we haven't been fair." Charlotte slowly began to pace the booth. "Paris is gone, out of the way, she doesn't even go to this school anymore."

Virgil couldn't help but shiver at the almost eerily gentle tone of her voice, uneasy about what Charlotte could have done to make Paris leave.

"You obviously have been trying your best to avoid Roman after our warnings, but maybe…" Charlotte turned to Virgil. "You would do that much better if we could offer something you really wanted in return for staying as far away from Roman as you possibly can."

"An offer?" Virgil lifted his head so he could meet Charlotte's gaze.

"It's hard not to notice how your eyes have gone from person to person, almost as if in search of someone and a friend told me she saw you with someone at the masquerade, someone who may have run off." 

"You know who he is?" Virgil's eyes lit up before he remembered who he was talking to, looking away.

"No, but I know people who can find out." Charlotte tipped his head up with her finger. "But…"

"...I have to stop hanging out with Roman." Virgil's posture sank at the idea. Roman or Princey? Why was he hesitating over it? Why was there a part of him that didn't want to give up spending time with the dumb theatre geek? Why was there a part of him pausing at choosing his crush of a few years and greatest internet friend over someone he still hardly knew anything about?

"And you have to make sure to keep Logan away from him too."

"Logan, but-"

"He's his own person, I know." Charlotte nodded, pulling her hand away. "It's more of a suggestion than part of the deal because if he doesn't stay away from him we'd have to warn him separately and it would be a pain."

Virgil bit his thumb, still unsure about it.

Charlotte sighed. "You want the guy don't you? It's a friend over a boyfriend Virgil. You could have this dreamy guy you danced with, you laughed with, you had fun with, don't you like him, Virgil? Don't you want to find out who he is under that mask? Don't you want to go on dates with him, hold him close and make out him? That's what I want with Roman, Virgil." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But that's hard to do when his attention is on you and your friend instead of me." She turned her back to him, watching the empty theatre below. "We could both have what we want. We could both be happy. Or you can choose to keep spending time with him while me and some friends continue to make the rest of your high school experience miserable. Some light nudges and poking was nothing Virgil, I have the power to make it much worse."

Virgil bit down harder on his thumb, wincing when he drew blood. He could be happy and he could have Princey. It wasn't worth it to hold onto Roman was it? To put up with the bullying for over another year and a half? "...Okay."

Charlotte spun around with a grin, holding out her hand. "We'll find him by the end of tomorrow."

Virgil gave her hand a weak shake, nodding.

Charlotte moved over to the door, stopping with her hand on the handle, voice dropping. "But if you break the deal there will be consequences."

Virgil stayed as he was for some time after Charlotte left, eyes staying on the door. He was going to see Princey again… He was going to know who he was, what he looked like, why he had- Why he had run off that night... Did he want to know?

"I just want one look so I know how bad it is, Lo."

"I appreciate your concern, Patton, but as I have said previously you would not see anything as my muscles are in pain due to the overexertion, there would be no bruising." Logan returned. "The pain medication will begin taking its effect soon so there is no reason to worry."

Patton gave a little nod in understanding, wishing there was more that he could do. Noticing Virgil was standing the ghost smiled, but his smile faltered when he realized his friend was just staring unfocused somewhere behind him. "Kiddo?"

Virgil snapped out of it. "Sorry I just remembered I have an assignment I need to check out a book for." He gathered up his things, zipping up his bag.

"We could come with you." Roman offered, moving to grab his backpack.

"No, you and Patton stay." Virgil glanced at Roman for a brief second before turning to Logan. "Could you come help me pick out a book?"

"Of course." Logan slung his bag over his shoulder carefully. "What is it your assignment is on?"

Roman turned to Patton, eyebrows furrowed. "Was that off to you?"

"He probably just needs to focus." Patton offered with uncertainty. "He just needs some quiet time."

Roman took a seat, fidgeting with the straps on his bag. "Do you think he's mad at Princey?" 

"Mad? Why would Virge be mad?" Patton sat beside him, leaning against him as he watched his kiddo's hands.

"He ran away. They had an amazing night together and then Princey ruined it all and disappeared. He won't even text Virgil back."

"V's not mad. He knows Princey was hesitant to meet him, he's just upset he might have scared him away by taking things too fast." 

"He shouldn't be upset with himself, it's Princey's fault!" Roman exclaimed, swiftly getting back up onto his feet, pointing at the door. "Princey should have stayed, should have taken off his own mask and should have faced Virgil instead of leaving him like this to feel miserable. He's an idiotic coward, he's-"

"Don't talk about him like that!" Patton pushed Roman's hand down. "Princeys been there for Virgil through the times I couldn't be, he spent hours and hours up into the night with him until he was okay. He cheered on my Kiddo from practically the very beginning of the webcast, boosting his confidence. He's Virgil's best friend and people get scared. They get nervous, Ro, everyone does. Princey just wasn't ready."

Roman's lip quivered and Patton wordlessly pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back as the thespian struggled not to full on cry. 

He needed to tell Virgil he was Princey.

Chapter 18

Authors Notes: Thought I'd actually update this here too so here it is and hope you enjoy. -Danielle

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[neverheardnothing]

The Black Suits song ranking

Happy (late) Black Suits Day (eighteenth of September) y'all! Not that anyone asked but I have decided on my personal Black Suits song ranking. As always, I am very correct with my Joe Iconis music takes and will accept no criticism. Also I'm talking about 2013 here. Love yourself (and the work) and listen to 2013 instead of 2012 for better audio quality and a tighter book.

Spirit Song - I don't think anyone is surprised this is my top ranked song lol. "A melody only exists when someone hears, and the number one thing that I've learned through all my years. The fans and the family make the music strong, and the cheering is just as important as the song!" As Will describes it, it's a love letter to audiences (hey, that's me!) and when I listen to this song I'm always reminded of how much Joe believes in the message of this song, that the audience is part of the show.

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang - [Joe Iconis voice] the language of the show. A lot of this list was influenced by not only how much I liked the song but by how well the songs functioned as extensions/expansions of the scene and the believability of that character singing the song. To me Bangx5 is one of the ultimate examples of this. The lyrics "there's a heavy metal hole where a soul used to be" like that's SO teenage angst and overdramatic just like Chris is supposed to be in this moment. I remember when I first heard the song I was like "is that it? Simple repeated [I am ___] lyrics for your act 1 finale? Seems a bit underwhelming even if it musically goes hard" but then after like another listen through of the show or so I realized that was the intention. When you're seventeen or so and you feel like your world is crashing down around you, sometimes the only way you can articulate it is "I am white boy rage, I am in a cage, I am bang bang bang bang bang bang bang." You are bang, you are loud crashing noises, your emotions are too loud and intense to be described with your limited vocabulary but you try anyways and fail. I love the contrast of the lyrics "I am chew my pens" and "I am hurt my friends" right next to each other. And the harmony at the end? Chefs fucking kiss.

Amphibian - This song is so goddamn fun. Like honestly. That’s it. Nato is chilling by himself and makes up a song about himself and his frog and it’s the best goddamn time in the show. You really get the feeling like these characters are actually friends. I love the “idiot” Nato vs “smart” Brandon. The “who cares about Beethoven. It’s a movie about a dog” joke never fails to make me laugh. When Brandon is expecting a regular bridge to the song and Nato whips out the falsetto and he goes “oh my God” like. Peak comedy here. And also Will Roland doing That? I’m in awe. Like this is what The Black Suits (the band) is, friends hanging out and having fun with music, that makes the next scene when the band formally break up so sad.

It's All Good - “So we’re cool and whatever?” It’s such a teenage boy thing to say. Like you want to acknowledge that you guys have been through something but at the same time you want to undercut it so you don’t run the risk of seeming too openly emotional. I’m also only very slightly bitter about that review that was like “oh wait so the only stakes of this show is the battle of the bands?” Like hello? Did you not see the show or listen to a single second of the finale? It’s about the way these characters communicate in their kinda inadequate ways and how they use music to express themselves. In a way it’s classic, cliche musical theater 101, with the characters unable to say what they feel with plain English so they resort to music, but of course with a Joe Iconis twist. The stakes aren’t the fucking battle of the band, it’s the friendship between the boys. It’s literally so obvious I want to scream. Anyways this song is fantastic way to end the show.

Car Ride To Long Beach - That's right. Car Ride To Long Beach is 5th place. I'm only very slightly bitter about the review that was like "is fried chicken REALLY the deciding factor in going on a drug run?" And by slightly bitter I mean this person goes on the list of people I want to beat up for being so fucking wrong about a Joe show. No, you fucking fool, that's not actually the deciding factor. She's at least on the fence, if not already secretly decided yes, about it from the moment he asks. It's about the company, it's about the road trip, it's about breaking the rules after having been "good" for so long. I am so adamant that this song is about desire and thrill and guilt and wanting to be seen for who you are and not just John saying obscene things. Like take the dialogue exchange right before she finally vocally says yes. "What do I look like right now?" "Uh. You look like... Lisa?" "... Alright let's go." Like tell me that does not drive you fucking crazy after Lisa's constant questions about others perception of her and trying to figure out who she is herself. Car Ride To Long Beach is good you guys are just mean.

Social Worker - Another example of an incredibly fitting character song. The refusal and reluctance of a teenage boy to admit that he actually needs or gets mental health help. I love the music-ification of a panic attack as loud drums and electric guitar. "I don't really go to the social worker," he says, as he goes to the social worker. It’s truly hilariously, heartbreakingly fitting for his character.

The Answer - When that Things To Ruin reviewer said Joe is a master of putting commonly shared moments to music no one else has done before, they were right. Who HASN’T taken a test and failed it so utterly they started questioning their entire life and worried for their future before? I love the repeated lyric questions like John is sitting there reading the question over and over trying to figure out what the answer is. I love the synthy keyboard. Fantastic choice @ Charlie Rosen.

Band-Aids and Cigarettes - Oh this song is so good I feel guilty about putting it at 8. It’s like honestly heartbreaking, not being able to give what the other person needs and being aware of it. And the unconventionality of it being sung by the mentor character instead of a love interest or something.

The Feeling (Part 1 and 2) - Yeah I’m combining them into one song and also assuming the entire beach/Chris & Mrs. Werring conversation is part of the song, too, with the interlude of the “I just want something good to happens.” This song is a jam, plain and simple. I love the absolutely terrible advice that Mrs. Werring gives Chris. “You got to push all your worries inside of yourself, and then they’ll mix creating a combustible boom.” Awful! But Annie Golden sings it so well. And it makes Band-Aids and Cigarettes later that much more sad. In part 2, I love how interconnected the two conversations are. “Just breathe them in -> I love the beach.” The synchronous “I don’t even remember why I liked him/her in the first place.” The score here having the Spirit Song melody. Also now feels like a good time to bring up my Lisa Bred is nonbinary headcanon (though it’s practically textual canon) with “I’m not a girl, I’m a song.” Like that right there, she literally states she’s not a girl, and that’s just the most obvious part. Twice before now, she’s asked people about how they perceive her (“what do I look like right now?” “my girlfriend?” / “Lisa”) and her arc in this show up to this point is discovering more about herself and trying new things. She’s aware of societal gender norms (“isn’t that what boyfriend girlfriends are supposed to do?”) and how she doesn’t really fit in with them. She’s experimenting with expressing herself (dyeing her hair blue, photography). Like it’s all right there. I don’t know if Joe was intentionally writing a nonbinary character figuring herself out but that’s what I get when I read the text straight. In Lisa’s mind, John is one of the gateways to trying new things (“you give me this feeling”) and then that blends right into the rest of The Feeling and it’s so fucking GOOD. I love this song.

Blue Hair - The OG Joe Iconis viral song! I love the music song of this song so much, specifically the guitar/piano riff. I love the multiple sources of motivation of doing it, from actually wanting to try something different, to getting a reaction from Chris and John, even if she denies that last part. And then again at the end of the song with her self-awareness. She’s doing something to stand out/express herself! I love it.

Nato's Song - A six minute clusterfuck of a song and it’s beautiful. Sticking to the actual Nato stuff right now, I think it’s a pretty clever way of passing time and seeing how it’s affecting him and everyone else in the show. With the interspersed content of other characters, it really is the musical equivalent of a film montage. I love seeing Chris’ further breakdown in the form of voicemails to his dad. The music of Blue Hair, Old Records, and Rather Be coming back is fucking great. Everyone is just struggling in this song and it’s great.

Rock 'N Roll Band (Reprise) - I love this re-introduction song so much and the differences between it and the original. I love the chaoticness of the solos all going at the same time. I love the cut Geek Rock Garage King still making in into the show as Brandon’s bridge and how out of place it is with the rest of the song musically but yet it’s still in it. I love the a capella break with Mrs. Werring cheering them on.

Old Records - The fact that John plays the guitar as Chris sings it for someone to hear is so good. When he gets affirmation that John likes the song, he continues. And it’s only after being called out about his writing revealing things about him that Chris feels bad about the song again and claims that they were just dummy lyrics. Once John leaves the backing music comes back on like glockenspiel or something and I love the lightness of it combined with the electric guitar that comes in after.

Black Suit On - I know we’re at like 3/4ths through but I honestly love this song. I love all the songs so much. This ranking honestly barely matters because I love all the songs in this show. I love the (unrealistic) idea of finally being able to be your best self, of all your problems going away, if only something symbolic but ultimately inconsequential thing were to happen. It’s about the (shared) vision for a different future than the one you’re currently living! (By the way I am so haunted by Jen Tepper saying this song was actually about LIHN. Like does anyone know what that means? Do I fundamentally misunderstand this song or LIHN? I don’t get the connection.)

Lisa - Once again, the relatability. Who hasn’t felt like they were good enough for another person? I love the specificity of the AOL verse. It’s so late 2000s. And the rest of the lyrics are so angsty and overdramatic as John is. Specifically in the context of the show this song really hurts after Lisa tells him she can’t fix whatever issues are wrong with him.

Rock 'N Roll Band - I love how the entire song is so what teenagers going through school, waiting for life to change, and seeking refuge in the only place where they feel like they are important and can be themselves. I love all their intros. I love Brandon going way too hard on the drums. “I’m gonna scream and shout, knock you out. I’m gonna conquer the world, get the girl. I’m gonna get some respect, finally connect. When I take a stand, with my rock ‘n roll band.” The extreme vividness of the type of stuck they feel here is so good and it’s a good summary of the show.

Pop Tarts - I love that this song is still called Pop Tarts despite all references to it having been removed except for one dialogue. I love the section of Chris’ vision for the band. The pre-reprise of the beginning of It’s All Good with “we’re cool and whatever?” and all of them joining in and getting on the same page. We love some boys just absolutely barely capable of communicating with each other with words.

Song In My Head/Only Person In The World - The absolute irony and poetry of John singing “I’m the only person in the world” and Chris singing about how everyone is gone when this is a duet. It’s literally so fucking good. When they both sing “I’m the only person in the world” at the same time? Are you kidding me? And this song is ranked 18th? Truly every song in this show is top tier.

Rather Be - This song is rather on the nose in its message, everyone would rather be at band rehearsal. It’s a solid song that helps us get into each of their characters more (“rather be where my buddies / now the same bands / and tolerate my drum fills” / “where my brothas like that I’m weird / and ask to see my squid impression” / “because we’ve only got a little while to get fantastic and get some style / if we do it soon then I won’t have to go to college” / “christ I’d rather be anywhere / but sitting trapped here taking this asshole test”). I love it when characters in shows all have different reasons for singing the same lines.

McFly Is Looking For A Drummer - Rip to this song, being ranked last. It’s not that I don’t like it because I actually do. Again, I just love all the songs in this show. He’s trying to communicate in his own way, which happens to be in music references, but that’s not how other people around him understand, and so he sees this opportunity to be with people who are more like him, but then he he gets scared that he wouldn’t fit in the way he hopes he would, which would be even worse than where he’s currently at where he knows that they don’t quite get him but are his friends anyways. I love that one moment where he drops out singing. It’s very reminiscent of in Michael In The Bathroom when you expect him to sing the title words but he doesn’t, so your brain fills it in for you. It functions a bit differently than that moment does in BMC though. I think in this song it’s the comparison of how he’s currently treated with the possibility of what McFly represents, that he could have the exact opposite experience there, that he’s imagining all the possibilities in that moment. Lol, ranked 20 and I still have so many things to say about this song.

[bubblybubbubs]

Hi!! Can you do a ship for me? Any era is good! I’m 5’7, have black hair but I like to dye the tips different colors sometimes, and dark brown eyes. I’m genderfluid and bi so do with that what you will. I love art and poetry and music but I’m also a punk and listen to rock music. I’m a Slytherin, and I am VERY sassy and sarcastic. I’m really into astrology and stuff, and I also am a huge movie + superhero geek. I seem really cold and bitchy at first but I’m pretty chill once you get to know me.

I ship you with Ginny Weasley

Neither of you would pay much attention to each other until both of your fourth years.

Even though you had a lot of classes together you ran in very different circles.

From what she knew about you she didn’t really like you, based mostly on the fact that you were a Slytherin and the fact that your bestfriend was Pansy Parkinson.

Your first real encounter was in your fourth year when you were headed to the Dungeons from the Astronomy Tower and Ginny was on her way to a Dumbeldore’s army meeting.

You saw her sneaking around and decided to follow her. You had heard rumors about Harry Potter’s club and you were curious.

She noticed you were follow her pretty quickly.

“Don’t you dare report me to Umbridge.”

“Why would I do that.”

“You’re a Slytherin, why wouldn’t you.”

“I don’t care about you, or your little club Weasley.”

After that you both seemed to see a lot more of each other.

you had the strange urge to talk to her so when you saw her outside the quidditch pitch after practice you took your chances.

“Weasley!”

“What do you want?”

“I want in on your club.”

“Yeah right.”

“Are you judging based off my house? Sounds an awful lot like prejudice, I though you were against that.”

“Fine, I’ll talk to Harry. But don’t get your hopes up.”

You didn’t initially intend to join Dumbledore’s Army but it seemed like your only opportunity to talk to her.

But if anyone even suggested the idea of liking a Weasley, you would quickly shut it down,

Surprisingly Harry allowed you to attend a meeting and even more surprisingly you were nervous.

Everyone was a little hesitant towards you being there so you hovered in the back as you watched Harry demonstrate some spells.

You came back for more meetings, at first you hadn’t expected to but Harry had a noble cause. And you would love to stand up to all the snobs in your house.

You and Ginny finally became friends when Harry paired the both of you to duel.

“Your not half bad.”

“Thanks Weasley, you’re not awful either.”

“You can call me Ginny, there’s about 3 other Weasleys in here and it can get confusing.” 

You started hanging out during your free time rather than only at the meetings.

You introduced her to all the music and movies you liked and she thought it was really cool.

She on the other hand taught you how to play quidditch, it was fun even if you sucked.

You started to spend more time with her than with Pansy, you really enjoyed each others company.

Ginny was the first one to make a move.

“I really like you.”

“Aw thanks, I love my fans.”

“I mean I like you , like you.”

“That’s good because I like you, like you too Weasley.”

Ginny’s friends still didn’t really trust you but you didn’t really care.

The twins really liked you though, they thought you were cool.

Especially when you convinced Ginny to dye her hair. She kept it red but you both got matching purple strands.

She made teased you for being such a geek but she secretly thought it was the cutest whenever you got really excited about movies and superheroes you liked.

You would always cheer for her at quidditch games even if it did earn you dirty looks from your housemates.

When the golden trio left during your 6th year you both stepped up to lead Dumbledore’s Army, you even managed to recruit some Slytherins.

You fought at the Hogwarts War alongside her and comforted her when Fred died.

After the war you both decided to go back to finish school.

It was hard since you both lost friends during the war but you both eventually graduated.

You moved in together after Hogwarts, Ginny became a famous quidditch player rather quickly and you were so happy for her.

You went back to Hogwarts to teach Astrology which you loved.

You proposed to her after her team won the quidditch world cup and she accepted happily.

Her team lifted her up and cheered for the both of you.

definite power couple and every one knew it.

Molly Weasley was your biggest fan.

[the-uptake]

Something-Something Full Empty

The Uptake, The world was beginning to fluoresce into wounds. Book 2, Chapter 3. Go to previous. I never said ‘Choly was a rational creature. TWs: Poisoning, attempted lust suicide, symphorophilia minutiae, hard emeto, joint trauma.

_________________________________

Leaving Cecil to sleep, 'Choly rolled off the mattress into the floor, and stood again. With damp hair, he walked on his knees over to the microwave perched on a cardboard box. From one of the food boxes in the floor, he pulled a food-meal bar. In his horridly over-loved armchair, he peeled down the wrapper and ate quietly, washing down the pebbly, vaguely flavored junk with the rest of his room temperature vodka coffee from earlier. His face soured. Neither the bar nor the coffee revolted him individually--but those of more frail constitutions should not consume them together. But, he persisted toward polishing off the easy-access, high-protein substance that would help soak up a bit of his encroaching hangover without waking his boyfriend.

While he snacked with the reader in his lap, legs up with his feet up in the seat with him, he continued browsing for more Wolfrin information. He’d most likely find Wolfrin in the Quarter somewhere on Level 1, since Levels 2 and 3 saw less chemical dumping and more solids. And he could most likely slip past EPA’s barricades near where the buildings functioned as support columns for the downtown off ramp from the Bayonne Bridge.

A morsel fell off the bar down his tank top, and he fished it out and ate it absently.

Drafting a mental laundry list trapped him in a loop of thought for a spell. No matter how much either of them wished it, ‘Choly genuinely had almost zero experience with chasing verbot--or truffling, for that matter--and this whole thing smacked of ridiculous parody. He tossed the bar wrapper in the waste bin under the TV tray. It had crushed him in a very real way that night, to finally admit his financial infirmities to Cecil, and despite Cecil’s supportive response to the confession, in this forming illicit act existed an opportunity to prove that 'Choly deserved his admiration.

His peculiar spontaneity had attracted Cecil, hadn’t it? The dreg glanced down at the fresh tattoo on his right forearm, a simple clean monochrome style, a triangular sigil divided by an inverted ray of swords. He took another drink, and sighed. Ink excited his boyfriend, an indicative tongue of rebellious fire which imparted its language upon the skin. He’d gotten the design at encountering Cecil’s enthusiasm (the librarian himself porting two intricate tattoo sleeves), and had come close to touching up his dye job. It felt so... fake, as though he couldn’t trust his identity to hold up to scrutiny should it meet any. He’d lived his life surrounded by verbot, but he wasn’t really a chaser.

But he could chase. Couldn’t he? Certainly a sorter could wander off the cadre floor in pursuit of the black market lifelines that pulsed out from it. That’s how he found the hard drive in the first place, after all. Sorter 101: test all data technologies for improper disc wipes. But, to step out of the cadre and into the yards... That was another creature entirely.

He checked his messaging service one more time for Revenant. When he still found his friend offline, he hovered over the username to see he’d last logged in thirteen days ago. Rev usually stayed logged on, bare minimum away or idle, and ‘Choly took notice just how long it had been since his friend had last logged on. He reassured himself with the affirmation that if Rev couldn’t be raised to join in the fun, that he’d just have to play catch-up later. But...

You’d never really do that.

‘Choly shifted to slouch to one side in the chair, then immediately to the other. He bit at his centred labret ring. The thing is, he would really do that. Abandon help him, should he ever locate any of the Geek’s... elephant’s feet he described in coitus not an hour before. In the past, only the barrier of reality and proximity had ever stopped him from acting on any of these impulses. Substances which could transfigure someone beyond the human condition simply had not existed, and now they existed, and they existed in his city. A twisting radiochemical kismet had manifested a new and unexplored realm of potential metagenesis, and he couldn’t deny her.

There was a chance he could, in the attempt to mod the system, brick it. But, the risks that came with unprecedented payout only heightened the appeal. Everything about the attempt, he calculated beforehand, arcane and obscene in its own right. Every article, every action, held in it a certain power over him. In that moment of machination, the fantasy-becoming-reality seized him to his core.

He outright lacked compunction for any real safety in the endeavor--only ritual and circumstance had a home in him tonight. The only industrial gear he owned was his BLT, likely his most expensive belonging. Inlaid with backlighting and translucent digital display, the curved clear acrylic full-face visor-tech provided its wearer a customized vision aid and variably hands-free Web access. Sorters predominantly had them for jotting invoice notes, and some models even had edges outfitted with inline respirator film which could filter e-waste dust particulate. His visor and cutout work gloves would suffice to brave the hazardous waste quarantine. Not that any of that mattered once he got to the prize.

A subtle rummage through the pile of clothing beside the bed netted him a black t-shirt, his hybrid denim skinnies, and a pair of socks. Donning the change of clothes, he swallowed his nerves, then slicked down his bangtails to either side of his face and put on his BLT halo over them and pulled down the glass. Cecil had not yet stirred a bit, and as the pale chartreuse visor calibrated to his prescription, ‘Choly smiled to himself in a distant ache that crawled into anticipation.

With the visor running, he could then strap on his black work boots and confirm the contents of his clear sidebag: his glasses, in the off chance the visor acted up, and chapstick, wallet of cardkeys and cred, and his reader. A variety of smuggling vessels had graced his fantasies, but carried off-site in a see-through bag, no success seemed so viable as with his tippling cane. He shivered as he put on his slim knee-length coat just thinking about following through with it, and grabbing his cane from the umbrella stand, slipped out of the apartment unnoticed.

Not many buses ran this late at night going down from Level 5, and he appreciated the bone conduction nodes in the halo of his BLT to burn the good next half hour waiting at the bus stop with music. Favoring the organic shoegaze loaded in his reader with cubes, he resisted the compulsion to stream music to save bandwidth. Once his ride arrived, the lonely transit passed quickly with no stops along the way, and he continued scheming and re-scheming the exact minutiae of his task uninterrupted.

He got off on Level 3. After a certain hour, the free public lifts charged a third-cred per level, and he happily resigned to waving his toll pass upon entry to the empty lift to fork over the full cred it would cost. Upon stepping foot off the lift at Level 1, he turned off his music and focused fully on his errand.

The residential sector of the Quarter came alive at sunset with the typical ambient discord of various yelling. It struck an unusual chord in the stalker, to descend to ground level by lift to find the stalking yards themselves so eerily silent, accompanied only by the sound of his limp gait. Bustling traffic aped distantly above him against the solipsistic dimensions of the area. Passing by some blocks, he heard the occasional dripping, or the echo of vehicles in reverse. Subconsciously, he knew the latter meant more waste dumping belied the quarantine, for its inhabitants to discover come morning.

‘Choly savored entering a space the federal officials had declared unsafe, and that his low-grade BLT filtration would likely only do so much. No accounting for air quality in a place like this, after all. Stalkers had reasons they didn’t even eat in their own homes, and only dined in the commercial district abutting it. Yet, federal bullying had instated this quarantine, this exclusion zone. The stalkers hadn’t asked for this. They’d never asked for any of this. Even just a year ago, he’d have met no resistance venturing where he did now; but tonight, he remained vigilant for EPA employees who might try to stop him.

First, the government had to deny him the right to grafting by banning the splicing drug Vekarix before medicine had advanced far enough to permit more than just mammal, marsupial, and reptile compatibility. Bullshit insect politics. He still sometimes regretted trying to be patient, now that he couldn’t even settle on something lesser. But now, with the Wolfrin, the government sought to deny him the right to knot up his genetics like some kind of saccharine, fractal klein bottle. They were his genes, and he wouldn’t have it to let them tell him what he could and couldn’t do with them.

The dreg did his best to skirt a different path, anytime he noticed generator spotlights or vehicles that stood out as non-native. At a dead end just Southwest of the residential area fashioned from abandoned factory buildings, he glanced out over the waterfront reflecting the lights of higher levels, and steeled himself. The loose quarantine of all three lowest Levels started at 87th Street and extended just past 99th down through the foundations of the Bayonne Bridge, from the shores of Newark Bay to the West all the way East to Route 440. Almost the entire Quarter, but not quite. He embarked across the street, and with buildings only to one side, not even the sound of his cane accompanied him, replaced by the waterfront current. A yard cordoned off with caution tape greeted him. Unlike the typical chemical dumping yard, rather than scattered unceremoniously, hundreds of drums had been arranged neatly, as though sorted by contents. Two figures in white hazmat suits guarded the locked fence, so he wandered the perimeter until he found a point at which the rust of fluctuating water levels had peeled the chain-link wires from the support pipe. He could not feasibly scale the fence, so through the narrow gap in it he went.

He had a lot of reasons to avoid truffling.

Only limited but effective use of generator spotlights illuminated this particular yard, set on key haystacks of drums. He looked side to side in awe. A combination of water and a saturation of leaking chemicals thickened the damp soil, which possessed an ungodly industrial stench that cut through even the BLT filters and thrilled ‘Choly wild. The elements had rusted off the labels of many of the drums, their contents now unknown without cracking them open. These contents, for many of them, had trickled from cracks and crusted upon their exteriors. He licked his lips eagerly with a knitted brow, at the thought of the technicolor landscape this must have been by broad daylight.

Distracted by near-synesthesia, his cane sank in too deep in the slurried soil and compromised his footing. He stumbled and planted face-first in the noxious mud, and his cane resounded against a drum. The two on-duty EPA workers immediately approached to investigate the potential for an intruder, and he panicked at hearing the gates open. The muck smearing his visor blinded him, and though he grappled for his cane and kicked at the mud in vain, attempts to stand only successfully doused himself further in noxious muck. Tears streaking hot, he planted a filthy gloved palm flush to his mouth under his BLT at the awareness he’d hyperextended his knee in the fall. Adrenaline propelled him to a hiding place in the middle of an arrangement of drums. A stink that reminded of battery acid enveloped him. Deer-eyed, he raked mud from his visor and crouched in a mixture of agony and intensity, and watched as the beams of two flashlights cased the area. One guard ultimately informed the other that the sound must have been a drum giving into chemical pressure, and that they’d investigate more thoroughly once they had the daylight, and then they returned to their post outside the gate.

Once alone again, ‘Choly tried to stand back up, this time forced to rely on his cane with a fully bad-off leg. He unzipped his coat a bit and took a mouthful of fabric between his teeth from the shoulder of his shirt, and bore down hard on the leg to reset it. Stifling a scream into a viscous nasal sputter, he ended up biting through the garment. He only consciously ignored the taste of mud, shock-induced drooling joining the mess of substances splattered and smeared on him. Vacuously he wiped his mouth with the back of his glove, and continued onward.

He stopped at one cordoned off haystack of drums, eyeing how the leakage glowed a furious antifreeze green in the moonlight. Though the precise and biting stench of rotten flowers, he couldn’t pinpoint the metallic odor. He stood there for some time in slack disbelief how easily he had arrived here. Surely this substance had caused all the media chaos. Trembling, he held up the tape with his cane and skimmed the faces of the drums for what little details remained. He squinted at faded white ink on glossy black surfaces. 1,4-dimethyl-2,3-fluoro-dieldrin. Before tonight, he’d known it only by a handful of trade names. Drinaflux. Wolfrin. Fluxeldrin. Though it did not appear notably caustic, the drums leaked from bluish iridescent crystalline scabs. He couldn’t read the warning diamond save the 4 on the blue health field.

He whet his lips and in both hands gripped the lever-locked ring poorly securing the lid to the open-head drum. He nearly doubled over it, enraptured by proximity, and licked at his teeth with a sneering, ragged breath. He hinged up his visor in favor of leaving as little between him and the experience of the prize, and he wafted readily of the nauseous and overwhelmingly metallic bouquet of the corrosion-halo. The stuff pooled around his uneven footprints from other adjacent drums. He frowned to unstick himself from the soft shoreline sediment so he could begin his work with surer footing.

‘Choly unscrewed the handle of his cane and tucked it in one coat side pocket, then carefully shook out all four glass vials it could carry and deposited them in the opposite pocket. He did not think to bring mechanical tools with him, and no amount of prying dislodged the lever of the corroded lid-ring. The attempt did, however, coax a crack to leak more readily, and he hurriedly unscrewed a vial to catch the liquid serendipity as it dripped out. Once filled, he slid the resealed vial into the cane, then followed with another.

Caught up in the delirium of success and fumes, he lost reality long enough not to recognize the workers approached on another perimeter scouting. Frantic at the wet smack of their heavy footsteps, he cried in desperation that the chemical wouldn’t pour any faster. He couldn’t leave without a full empty--he couldn’t. The two guards grabbed him and dragged him back as he shakily reaffixed the handle of his cane.

“You punk! Abandon you doin’ in here?”

“I--”

“This place’s giftwrapped with yellow tape for a reason, kid.”

“I-- I’m not--” He modulated his breathing. “I had t’see for myself the slag’s goin’ on. That’s the stuff, yeah? That’s what’s makin’ everybody sick as sin.” He tried to wag a finger at the haystack, but met silence as each guard hooked one of his arms in one of theirs, insisting his exit. “Hh-- hey! Answer me!”

The two workers tossed him out into the street. His cane clattered to the pavement and his bag crunched beneath him. He curled into himself after impact, and stared at his cane as dead-still as he could from where he lay coddling his knee and seething through his teeth.

“Abandon’s wrong with that kid.” The two of them returned inside the fence and locked it. “Obviously got health problems. The cane and all. Still climbing all over a yard like this. In the dark.”

“That’s a Stalker for you, man.” The other scoffed at ‘Choly, but after that their conversation fell too distant to overhear.

He sniffed away the mucus and twitched, aching all over and encrusted in chemical-saturated mud. Once he’d recovered enough from the fall, he reclaimed his prize. Disbelief stole his breath, of what he’d managed, his eyes thrown wide with delight. Holy slagging shit. It worked.

With bated breath, he sat up and pulled into his lap his cane, and his bag from under him. Unzipping the bag, he inspected the reader with relief, only to learn the crunch had been his glasses. A detached grope at his BLT pulled the visor back down with lighthearted resignation. He stood again to limp away before the workers had second thoughts about just letting him walk away. If the glasses were the only loss tonight, he’d succeeded in spades.

As he shambled along the dilapidated block, ‘Choly gawked at the cane he carried rather than used, in too much shock from his stupid success to ease his horrendous limp. He slipped into an alleyway once outside the quarantine proper, and leaned against a brick wall to catch his breath and rest his bad leg. If he ever slagged up a knee, it was the left one, wasn’t it. The sheer rush of the experience alone dampened the pain--but without fail, he’d more than feel it come morning.

He slid down the wall and sat. The impact of hitting the concrete might have shattered any of the flasks, and he scrambled to unscrew the handle back off to expose its contents. This expedited consequence agitated his aches to the surface at last. He shook out the vials one at a time, and set them in his lap with each confirmed in tact. Most of the chemical’s bizarre glow had faded, the stuff now more resembling the glaze of antifreeze on pavement. He gritted his teeth with a ragged breath and sniffed what had escaped the threads of the cap, to a gag reflex. The bouquet of rotten cut flowers had only intensified. He put the cautious tip of his tongue to the edge of the cap, and recoiled in a delighted revulsion at the mere taste.

Here and now, ‘Choly had to follow this idiotic series of bad ideas through to completion. He couldn’t take it home, to partake in private. Cecil would try to talk him out of it.

The copper cast of the nearest street light lay too far away from him for benefit. In the dark, he pulled out his reader and initialized his flashlight again to survey the site of his metagenesis. At this point he realized his battery had sunk to a sliver--he’d written for some time before coming down here. Too, he’d inadvertently left on his data all the while he’d researched his crown-stuffs--checking his usage statistics, he’d run out of non-Web data altogether, including minutes. He’d soon have no artificial light in the privacy of the alley, and if this went badly, he couldn’t call for help. He hadn’t even told anyone where he’d gone. Not that he had any reception from where he sat in the dank space between the two once-warehouses. The possibility he’d be helpless to the chemical’s aftermath only excited him further. It would have full control over him until it finished with him.

He swallowed hard, the oiliness of the glass tube an entirely too-pleasant sensation. It felt bitter. The chemical adopted that strange characteristic glow again, presumably from the temperature of skin contact. He emptied his splints and gloves into his bag along with his reader, allowing the dim glow of the metagen in his lap to light his endeavor.

Metagen. His mind reeled with the thought of his body wrecked asunder and rebuilt in another design. He wondered how instantaneous metagenesis might be, what method most fast-acting. From the start he hadn’t planned on having enough of the stuff to go with skin contact, so he proceeded with ingestion. He’d be the first to undergo metagenesis by drinking Wolfrin. Would he turn out as well, or even better than, the Geek? How many metahumans had this stuff even created? He’d soon join them. He unscrewed a flask and pocketed the cap, locked in metaskepsis, then let his nostrils drink deep of Wolfrin’s suppurate stink. He held it to his lips, and licked what the wet threads had transferred onto them, and he choked a bit on the potency of the rotten, metallic taste of the stuff, even more biting than the smell. His nose crinkled at the initial experience to steel himself, and he went bottoms-up.

Reflexively, he flung the flask across the alley. It shattered on the concrete. His hands shot to his mouth, eyes and nostrils watering as he immediately choked on vomit. His writhing echoed in the empty space, and he grew delirious on potential consequences. The entire length of his throat burned. He barely managed to down a second flask. The Wolfrin now coated his stomach lining. Another attempt at upheaval seized him up, and a moan shook deep in his lungs. Rhetoric only spurred him further, and he blindly grasped to cup himself through tears, his grip so weak between infirmity, illness, and exhaustion. Stifling a third dry heave, he drained the third flask, and the fourth chased quickly after. He blacked out as the toxins took hold, the delirious onset of an Erebus of nightmares. He dreamed himself melting to all abandon to soak into the asphalt, that he dissolved in entirety before reduced to atoms then recompiled by the catalytic substance he’d imbibed.

The city awoke before he did. After daybreak he sat up, shaky, and rubbed his head scruff with a groan. Clammy all over, he shuddered from a coating of morning mist and dust. He eventually noticed the blood splatter on the ground beside where he’d laid, and automatically wiped his nose and mouth. He didn’t pair the observation to the action until he saw the back of his hand, and snapped awake in arousal. Though his head reverberated with a lead-deep ache, his entire body throbbed to its tempo, and he writhed.

He knew Cecil would be livid with him for this--but he’d acclimate to having a meta around, wouldn’t he? The notion had him face-down in his blood spill in an instant, running his fingertips through its dark, still-damp stain.

“Oh slag--” he ground even more insistently against the ground, “--his meta. Gonna be-- hiS META--”

Nausea overwhelmed him again, and he coughed a spatter of blood. The clamminess, he realized, came more from a sick sweat, but this only aroused him further. The last thing he imagined before passing out again was his body in wretched, retching upheaval as it rejected everything it had rendered obsolete.

[winryofresembool]

Love Can Melt the Ice, chapter 20

A/N: 20 chapters?? I can’t believe this. A big thank you of course belongs to you, who have supported my journey :’) (Esp. @criis55 whose commentary actually helped me to write the dialogue in this one.) I’m sorry this is a short one, but I just /really/ wanted to get something out. Because I cut this so short, that also means there are a couple of more chapters to come... I just can’t contain myself, can I? Anyway, please enjoy and don’t forget to review!! I really hope someone’s still around to read this.

Summary: Just some fluff before the party :’)

Previous chapters:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 pt 1, pt 2, 16, 17, 18, 19

Next chapter: [x]

Companion pieces (note: these are all post Olympics happenings so reading the main fic first is recommended): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Words: 1450+ (but it’s all Edwin!)

Genre: flooof

Winry knocked on Ed’s door again about 15 minutes after leaving the room. Now she was wearing an azure blue, knee length, v-neck dress that matched her eyes, and equally blue ballerinas. Her hair was down (Winry explained the bun had felt really uncomfortable) but curled, and her smile wider than Ed had seen during the entire time they had spent together. When Ed opened the door for her, she spun around a few times like she had earlier on the ice, caught the hem of her dress and curtsied to him playfully.

“So? What do you think?” she asked curiously and spread her arms wider, so he could get a better look at the dress. “This is suitable for tonight, right?”

Ed couldn’t speak for a couple of moments. “Y-yeah! Of course! It looks… it looks great!”

“Aw, thank you. You know, you don’t look bad yourself.” Winry smirked and tugged at his ponytail playfully. “This matches the medal I’ll get, by the way.”

“Oh? Good thing I didn’t dye it silver then. Once my teammates almost made me do it.”

“Oh, poor you… Well, shall we go? The others are probably waiting already.”

Since Ed was using his crutches, they couldn’t walk hand in hand, but Winry hooked her arm with his. As they made their way to the cab stop, she realized: soon everyone would know about their new relationship status. She got slightly nervous about how Ed would feel about her figure skating friends’ reactions. Or… simply making it public. Once it was out in the air, there would be no going back. But he had said he would do anything he wasn’t sure about so she reasoned that she shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

“You’re suddenly being quiet,” Ed noted suddenly. “Is everything OK?”

“Of course it is! It’s just… this all is almost too good to be true. Am I… am I really the Olympic champion? Are we… are we really dating now?”

“Why would you even ask that?” Ed growled. “Your performance was awesome! And if you need more convincing on that other matter… I made my decision and I won’t change it easily. I’d be lying if I claimed that one part of me still isn’t screaming of horror when I think about myself dating… but some things are worth it.”

Winry had to blink a couple of times so she wouldn’t start crying right then and there. “You know, you are actually much sweeter than you give yourself credit for… Thank you. I guess… I’m just not used to feeling this happy… Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for everything I have, which is probably more than I’ve let you to understand, but… ever since my parents died, I’ve felt… like I am missing something. But that feeling has been slowly fading lately.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Can you guess if there are any specific reasons for that?” Winry took his face between her hands, so he would have to look directly at her.

“How would I know? I can’t read your thoughts,” Ed asked, pretending to be oblivious even though he had gotten the hint.

“Idiot,” Winry sighed and rolled her eyes. “It’s you, of course.”

“Oh.” For a while Ed didn’t know what else to say, until: “Can I ask you one question?”

“Sure?”

“Why do you like me?” He was blushing again, hoping that one day he’d manage to speak to her normally without looking like a dork. “If I’m honest, I don’t really understand it.”

“If you don’t understand it, then I’m afraid I can’t help you.” Winry pouted at him like the question had offended her. “Relax,” she added finally, smiling at him softly. “There are a lot of reasons. In the beginning, I guess I was simply curious because you were my childhood friend, so I wanted to see how time has treated you. We had fun talking with each other and I felt comfortable with you when we spent time together. Admittedly…” Her hand briefly stroked the sleeve of Ed’s coat under which the automail was. “I was also fascinated by your automail when I heard about it.”

“You really are an automail geek…” Ed sighed and started hopping towards the cab stop again.

“Hey, automail geek and proud!” Winry exclaimed. “Anyway, I was only getting to my point. For some reason, I felt you were a person who would never hurt me. That is, until you ran away from our meeting without explaining what was wrong.”

“I’m still sorr…”

“It’s OK, we’ve been over it. I know you had your reasons. So, afterwards I talked with Riza and heard about how you had without hesitation gotten between your brother and that Envy, giving you that injury. Then I heard from Rosé you had woken her up and saved her career. And THEN,” she raised her voice when Ed looked like he was about to protest, her eyebrow shooting up as well, “After your tournament had ended in the worst possible way, I heard about your home situation and about the poor little girl, and I finally understood.”

“Understood what?” Ed asked, not seeing where Winry was going with her story.

“That you are one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.” She stopped in front of him, giving him that fierce, stubborn look that he had learned to admire. “Sure, you can be hotheaded sometimes, and I don’t like how you try to keep things to yourself, but I like you despite that. Your first instinct is to protect the people around you, even if it ends up hurting you. I understand now that you were only pushing me away to protect me. But I have some news for you: I don’t need you to do that for me. I can take care of myself just fine. What I want from you is simply you.”

Her demeanor softened as she continued: “I want to spend more time with you, and learn to know more about what you are under that icy, edgy hockey player cover…” (Ed snorted a bit at her description) “… and I want to…”

“Yeah?”

She poked his nose. “I’ll tell you the rest after you tell me why you like me. Equivalent exchange, isn’t that what our relationship is about?”

Ed got flustered. “Wha...”

“Yes?” She looked at him expectantly.

“Eh… I’m super bad at describing something like that, and you probably know it, but I guess I have to try.” He took a deep breath, and continued: “You… You’re damn strong. Much stronger than you probably realize. You know how I’ve dealt with the issues of my life, which isn’t exactly the healthiest way, but your way of coping is so different. Much more admirable.”

He had a brief thinking break, looking at anywhere but her, but she set her hand back on his cheek, looking at him with determination, and Ed finally found the words.

“You have always pushed yourself to be the best you can be in the thing you do. Proof? You’re an Olympic champion. You also want to become a great automail mechanic. You are open to new things and determined to learn. Besides, challenge is always a good thing in my opinion, and you have proven to be very good at challenging me. Maybe at some point we’ll be at each other’s throats, but I couldn’t be with someone who doesn’t have her own will.”

A short break again.

“… But you also have a different side. A s-sweet and soft. That part of you that organized me a birthday party and was there for me when I was having a hard time. Your support has… it has been a bigger help to me than you probably understand. Al would… Al would probably say that you have managed to melt my ice barrier. I… I think he’s right.”

“Good answer,” Winry lowered her voice, inching closer to him. “I suppose I could reveal what I was going to tell you earlier, but I’d prefer a physical demonstration.”

“Ok. This time I can take a hint,” Ed said and freed one of his hands from its crutch before sneaking it around her waste and pulling her for an open-mouthed kiss. She teased his tongue with hers while one of her hands searched for the back of his neck, and one freed his hair from its ponytail.

“Sorry…” she whispered when they pulled away to get some air. “I just wanted to test what it felt like.”

“’S OK…”

He kissed her again, this kiss being more charged than the previous ones. Had they not been outside in the cold, they might have continued much longer, but soon they remembered where they were, and waved a cab to take them to the party.

[baekhyunbitz]

🌸about me tag🌸

I was tagged by the oh so incredible Chelle. Thank you babe😚💚🖤💚🖤

The rules are:

1. Tag the person who tagged you

2. Answer the questions.

3. Tag 10 people

Let’s get it started!

•How tall are you?

164.5cm... a small 5'4

•What color and style is your hair?

I'm a natural Ginger but I've died my hair plenty of colors. Now it's short. Bob length honestly. I really want to dye it a blue though. It would be my first major color. I want my hair to resemble Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim.

•What color are your eyes?

Brown. Not sure what shade you would call it so you tell me! I'm told they are very beautiful in the sunlight. I do love them in the sunlight myself.

•Do you wear glasses?

I do... they are a hassle but I need to see so I put up with them. I'm near sighted.

•Do you wear braces?

Nope. My teeth are not perfectly straight but close to it.

•What’s your fashion sense?

I'm a pretty casual/edgy/comfy dresser. My main piece of clothing is HOODIES!! ask @broccoli-channie-soup, she's seen it!! I wear tight jeans cause loose pants that arent sweatpants feel weird to me. Band tees are my life. I even have my selection of kpop shirts I like to wear a lot. Patterns like stripes or animal prints are a slight favorite of mine. Van's are my go to shoes, if not then my ked boots or my Lugz.

•Full name?

Jade Amber Carter.

Jade: The name of Luke Skywalker's wife in the Star Wars books.

Amber: the stone that they extracted DNA from in Jurassic Park.

(My dad is a huge geek, but I've learned well!)

•When were you born?

June 27th, 1995 on a Tuesday at 9pm exactly. I was also a problem baby, my mom needed a C-section cause the cord wrapped around my neck.

•Where are you from and where do you live now?

I was born in Florida and then moved to Indiana when I turned 13, so I've been here 10 years now, 11 in June.

•What school do you go to?

I graduated high school in 2014. I have not done any other schooling though but I plan to do online schooling at some point in my future.

•What kind of student are you?

I honestly was a really shy person all through school till maybe my senior year.

•Do you like school?

It was okay. I miss the fun memories and wish I did Show Choir longer.

•Favorite subject?

Music for sure. Took music every year in school starting in 4th grade.

•Favorite TV show?

I have a couple.

American Horror Story

Sabrina

Shameless

He is Psychometric

Do Bong Soon

What happened to secretary Kim

Big Bang Theory

•Favorite Movie?

CRAZY RICH ASIANS. I love the story so much, the main characters!!!!! The way Rachael Carrie's herself through the whole movie, not taking shit from anyone. And Nick is just so freaking handsome. Asian Ellen is my favorite hahaha she kills me. All around, a terrific movie.

•Favorite books?

Can't get there from here - Todd Strasser

Favorite pastime?

Going to amusement parks!!!! I miss the thrill of the rides so much. And beaches!!! I used to go all the time.

•Do you have any regrets?

I regret quite a bit with my last relationship but I know, without those mistakes, I wouldnt be here doing what I'm doing and being a better me each and every day.

•Dream job?

Photographer. I still need to get my own camera but I use my friends and have my pictures in albums on Facebook.

•Would you ever like to be married?

Maybe one day but I'm in no rush!

•Would you like to have kids?

Probably but not anytime soon. I struggle just living with myself everyday, I dont have that mental state to handle a child.

•How many?

1-2

•Do you like shopping?

It's a sin and a curse honestly.... I have a spending issue....

But I do take care of actual bills and rent first.

•What countries have you visited?

I want to travel all over the world so bad especially for my photography growth. But sadly I've only stayed in the United States

•Scariest nightmare you have ever had?

It was actually a night mare within a nightmare. I was dreaming that I was at my best friend's old house with her in her room. The spot at the end of her bed, you could see out into the living room and it was pitch black. We both heard a noise out in the living room. We paused the movie and both looked out the door for a minute. Then all of a sudden a boy in all white runs up right to the doorway and is screaming at us. He doesn't go past the doorway though. I woke up from this dream thinking everything was fine. I got up from the bed and its morning, I open the door and that little boy was there and started yelling in my face. I was so scared, I slammed the door and ran back to the bed and then I woke up for me and kinda freaked my friend out. That house was just haunted by something, it freaked us out for years.

•Any enemies?

Myself like always.

•Any significant other?

@broccoli-channie-soup ofcourse!!!!!

•Do you believe in miracles?

Sometimes.

•How are you?

I'm okay. More depressed though in the last three years but it's gotten worse this year. I'm just all over the place mentally and emotionally. I've had my good days in between the many bad ones. I wake up every morning so I can't complain too much.

I'm tagging: @broccoli-channie-soup @cho-ji-eun @kingparkjinyoung @teamwanggae @kpopiseverythng @felixis-es @sleepysungjin @akpopqueen @wonheoney @thotnosoppa and if anyone else who wants to do this, feel free!!

[chogiweol]

college geek!chanyeol

anon asked: “Hiii can I request a cute geeky college chanyeol bulletpoint where he’s had a crush on the reader but is to shy to approach her and they end up together eventually?”

genre: fluff uwu

author’s note: of course you can, i adore college aus and geeky chanyeol so i had fun writing this. thank you so much!

chanyeol is a college sophmore, he majors in music composition and never knows what's his minor

he's had a crush on you since the first semester of the first year, when he saw you walk in

he remembers vividly what you looked like, what you wore, and the scent of your perfume when you walked past him

you wore light blue jeans, you looked comfy in your thick, grey hoodie that adorned your school's name and year, and you smelled like vanilla? or sugar?

he'd have to ask culinary student!do kyungsoo for his opinion.

you had a pair of converse on, they looked exactly like his,

which prompted him to think that you were his soulmate...

so he ran with it.

chanyeol himself was popular off of his looks, a lot of people were attracted to him because he looked cute and he had a great body

but not so much for personality, he's quiet and reserved and usually absorbed in his own little world, doodling in his notebooks, eyes scoping around the room behind the thick lense of his glasses.

he knew he could be a cool kid and he could be an asshole, he could drink and party all the time but in truth,

he didn't want to, he had more important things to worry about

like whether your perfume was scented of vanilla or of toasted sugar

his last girlfriend left him because he was "too nerdy" and he "embarrassed" her whenever he spoke

usually he talked about the history of music, his mangas, the anime he recently watched, the classic cars he's seen on the road that day, or he'd make dad jokes that were too-dad for his own father,

he liked her a lot and her words always stung but it was nothing compared to what he felt for you

he swears that he loves you a lot and that your words sting in a different way; in a good way, it sets his senses on fire whenever you're near him.

now here's the problem

you're always near him but not near him

you were really good friends with some of his friends; kyungsoo, junmyeon, you even talked to jongdae more than you talked to him!

it..wasn't your fault though, you would try to start a conversation with him and he'd get shy and red and shut down

he'd nod and stare at you with those big, beautiful eyes

(you thought they were beautiful, he wouldn't find out for a while, though)

there was a time when you went over to his dorms to hang out with the other guys

he buried himself in his room, hidden and snuggled underneath all his blankets, sweating with a racing heart whenever he heard your footsteps close to his door; secretly praying you'd come in and sit in his lap..by some chance.

little did he know; that's all you wanted to do

you knew about his terrible jokes, his silly fears of whatever bug was in season, you knew all about his manga collection, how much he loves junk food, the way his nose twitches when too much pollen gets in it, how passionate he was whenever it was just him and his music.

the boys had been telling you all about him for the last year, hinting about how cute the two of you would be together, in an attempt to get their two best friends to date..

but it always ended up in vain, chanyeol too scared to talk to the pretty person with shining eyes and a gorgeous smile and you too scared to confront the handsome geek who once sneezed on your face, so they had to take desperate measures.

they thought of a plan.

it was close to spring break, they had free time to spend out of the dorms.

the boys all decided to force you two to be alone.

all the boys had evacuated the dorm at the crack of dawn, which was cleaned and silent without all nine voices yelling through the walls.

they had you sleepover like it was any other friday night and you had resided in the livingroom, waking up at 10 am to the loud crunching of doritos from the other side of the space..

it was chanyeol.

he was staring at you while enjoying his chemically processed breakfast, beads of sweat collecting at his hairline, freezing like a deer in headlights when he saw you had woken up

you were informed by junmyeon a few months ago that chanyeol chews food significantly louder when he's nervous or stressed out;

"are you okay?" you squinted a little bit, noticing his face turn red..maybe the food dye from the doritos had taken their toll on the giant.

his hair was every which way and he had some red blemishes on his tan skin, he was in some sweatpants and a black tanktop, in other words, he looked like a five course meal with expensive dessert.

anyways

he had nodded, his cheeks filled with munched dorito shards; he'd probably choke if he tried to swallow it now,

so he sat there with it in his mouth, dead silent in fear of spitting while talking

"...where are the other guys?" the way he was staring at you made you nervous, he's looking at you with accusing saucers for eyes, like he didn't trust you

and that kinda hurt your feelings.

but it wasn't that he didn't trust you, he knew you were kind and gentle, he was just shocked that you were talking to him.

"out," is all that he had the courage to say, hot flashes racking his body as the bag of chips began to slip tauntingly from his hands.

"..out where? do you think they'll be back soon? when did they leave?" junmyeon also informed you that, with the little knowledge you had of their plan, if you ask chanyeol enough questions, he'll have to answer you in full at some point

"the store...no...two hours ago." he mumbled to the best of his ability, finally swallowing the soggy shards in his mouth.

"were you watching me sleep for two hours?" you raise your eyebrows and squinted again, giving him that same accusing look

he wasn't going to budge anytime soon so you sighed and tried to fix your bedhair as best as you could without a mirror, frowning when you felt it wasn't good enough.

"oh..maybe I should go then, I look terrible right now." you laughed it off a little bit, a half smile tracing your lips once you stood and began collecting your things.

without a single thought at all, chanyeol blurted it out.

"you look amazing right now..I mean..not in the weird way..just..you look really beautiful all the time like..you never have a bad hair day or a bad skin day or a bad face day, you're just really...stunning..like right now."

he was well aware of what he was saying, this was the most he's ever said to you

and you fell in love with his voice.

"you really think so?" your face looked as red as chanyeol's hair, your mouth forming making an 'o' shape,

you almost swooned when he flashed you a toothy smile and nodded, his nervousness seeming to melt away after he told you what he's been wanting to tell you since that first semester.

"you know, the guy's have told me a lot about you and I think you're very handsome." your smile lit up your face, but soon fell away when the geeky giant frowned.

"you might not think that once you get to know me," he cocked his head to the side, a little doubting hope in his heart.

you watched his every move, awestruck by what he just told you.

"well..I know enough about you to know that we like the same kinds of music, we have the same major, both of us are scared of moths..I know that you like converse and anime, mangas, and you chew loudly when you get nervous." you couldn't help but get a little riled up when you spoke, sharing that little bit of hope with him.

that frown was gone but he wasn't smiling, he was kinda just staring at you like you had just told him the world's biggest secret.

"and you still like me?"

you rolled your eyes and got up, closing the distance between you two as you sat besides him, "of course I do, who wouldn't? I think you're the coolest guy on the earth."

your eyes met and he could see the sincerity in your words.

"...do you wanna ditch this place and go to my room?" he bit his lip because he was nervous but also because he was holding back a celebratory screech, hoping you'd let him show you his manga collection.

"park chanyeol? I'd be honored."

uwu

the guys got back to the dorms later on that day to find you and chanyeol napping on his bed, mangas and takeout containers surrounding your sleeping bodies, both of you had smiles on your faces.

jongin turned to jongdae.

"should we wake them up?"

jongdae shook his head and cupped a hand over the younger's shoulder.

"no, but we need to take ugly pictures to use as blackmail for when they do wake up."

the two shared a look and pulled out their phones, taking the worst possible angles to post all over social media for your anniversaries and birthdays, putting it to good use when they needed the answers to last week's homework.

[cruzrogue]

Triple Smoak Effect

Summary

Takes place sometime after season 2. (AU of course)

For a few hours Felicity is divided into her three versions of herself… Past, present, and future. A ficlet about how much I adore this picture by @cherchersketch

 Triple Smoak Effect

(Small ficlet) on A03

 Oliver Queen didn’t know what to make of the word Meta-human. To him it just doesn’t sit right even with everything that has happened to him since his lost voyage on the Gambit. He’s seen things and experienced more than his fair share of crazy intense moments. He should have known the universe is yet to be tired of playing with him in ways he can never truly understand. He feels if there is a higher power than he is the butt of many jokes.

He watches in complete shock as his Felicity is being transformed before his very eyes. How his arrow deflected the ray meant for him as he tries to shield her and with some really bad luck it hits a mirrored surface only to hit her full force.

He makes short work of knocking the crazy villain down as John secures the man who Oliver wants to crack open with his fists for endangering the woman who means the world to him but as both men tend to the meta they are startled to see that their girl is dividing into three different versions of herself.

The rogue snickers as he watches everything unfold. He actually laughs at the scene. His powers mostly humdrum but with this new trick its impressive as he finds some wickedness in future endeavors. “I like the dark badass one she looks like my type…” he doesn’t finish as John knocks him out. Oliver is to stunned to even care what the creep is saying.

“Yea, honey. I’m way too good for your sorry existence.” She looking down at the unconscious man with just a load of apathy.

John Diggle can be a surprised with many things in life but seeing a spitfire version of Felicity is a topper. Noticing the pink-tips of dyed hair Felicity’s version just looking at the criminal like she’s seen him before and being quite comfortable in this setting. It must totally mean she’s been around where these crazy moments don’t faze her. With her unconsciously moving a small golden band on her ring finger he can take a wild guess that she’s married. He wonders the implications of having these different Felicitys, do they represent milestones in her life? So many questions and it may be time to get started with finding some answers.

“Okay ladies, I mean Felicity.” John Diggle starts the process of figuring out what is happening “How do you feel?”

In unison they all speak at once and both Oliver and John look at one another.

“So, the universal word of fine. Okay then. You all just feel fine?” John shakes his head as these three ladies nod in confirmation. Oliver’s eyes darting between each woman but always landing on the one he considers his standard Felicity.

                                          {}{}{}{}<>{}{}{}{}

Their ponytail Felicity asks if they should contact Star Labs due to their expertise on Metas. Which gets the pink-tip one to disagree which makes ponytail Felicity ask why not.

“Yes, why not? Star Labs is a viable option.” Oliver agreeing with his Felicity which makes pink-tip arch her brows.

“You are siding with her because of the ponytail, right? I know you too well otherwise.”

“I think you’ve always known him.” Dig supplies

“Talk for yourself never met the dude.” Goth Felicity scoffs easily. “Though he does rock leather well what’s with the color green?”

Oliver opens and quickly closes his mouth he really still can’t believe the three versions of his girl Wednesday.

“Okay, colors aside we need to figure out what is happening.” John redirecting it back to the problem at hand.

Pink-tips speaks up again, “If I may?” she looks at John then at her husband, well ponytail’s future husband they nod and she knows her two versions are waiting on her. “We need to ride this out. This meta-human’s name is Count Jinx, he breaks the barrier of past and future and brings a split in his victim its wears off in a few hours.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m a piece of future Felicity. The dark one is my younger self and ponytail is basically me on normal day.”

Oliver looks between each woman taking in Felicity’s appearance in different time points of her life. Goth Felicity looks like she’d chew him out and possibility bring him to his knees. Though her eyes are the same ones he’s dreamed about when he can’t refuse the connection between them. He then looks at future Felicity and wonders if he still has any connection to her. The hair dye job adds a fieriness to his fair sweet Felicity and she rocks it, does she know she has his heart? Looking at the one he dubs in his head as his Felicity she has this innocence that he doesn’t want his darkness to penetrate. She’s too good for him.

John asks while he’s noticing Oliver taking in each version of his girl before him. “What do we do with Count Jinx once he wakes up.”

“We’ll need to create a neutralizing damping field.” Looking at the tablet in ponytail’s hand “May I?”

“Sure. Is there anything I can do?”

“If Goth me and you my ponytail version can gather some metal that be great.”

“What about us?”

“Cover his head so he’ll be disoriented and keep him from escaping.”

                                           {}{}{}{}<>{}{}{}{}

Felicity looks at the tablet and starts pulls up some old code that she never knew back then why she kept it filed away is now the key to containing Count Jinx from his powers. John comes to check on her progress.

“Well I like the pink it’s edgy.” Dig says

“Thanks John it sweet but I’m actually letting it fade out.”

“I assume there is a story behind it?”

They share a look and she smiles, “Yep, but at the end of the day as long as my husband likes it, I’m good.”

“I saw the ring your hiding now.” his head points to Oliver helping the others gather some metal. “Does it happen to be with that lug over there.”

“It’s a good thing your good at keeping secrets. Can’t have younger version me and the drama Queen knowing what is in store. What gave it away?”

“It would be a travesty that watching you both fall in love and not be together in the end.”

“You’ve been our biggest cheerleader another reason why I love you John…”

“Are we missing anything here?” Oliver comes up to them only hearing her declaration of love while holding some metal and wires.

“Nope, Felicity was just reminiscing and telling me how awesome I am.”

Felicity shakes her head, “See I couldn’t love you less. You’ll always be one of my greatest friends.”

“Thanks Felicity ditto. You two mean the world to me.”

Oliver looking at their comradery he agrees these two mean a great deal to him.

“Well if you three are done with the lovey dovely crap don’t we have work to do?”

Ponytail smiles at her younger version and whispers “Those are our boys you going to love them.”

“Whatever. At least they aren’t boring.”

                                             {}{}{}{}<>{}{}{}{}

She starts to explain how this all works. They have a small confinement area setup they just wait for time to be up and everything to go back to normal. Star Labs is contacted so hopeful this criminal be off the streets for a while.

“Well this was fun.” Goth Felicity rolls her eyes.

“It wasn’t that bad. I got to see my past self again.”

“Okay sure nothing stands out like becoming the dork I feared I’d become.”

“Hey I take offense to that.”

“You should four-eyed geek.”

Oliver looks at Pink-tips as she’s just looking at her two younger versions bicker. She looks at Oliver and shrugs. She also sees John hiding a smile. The bickering is tame but insightful but once Goth starts asking about her future love life Pink-tips gets involved. “Hey guys let’s not.”

“Why? Have the hots for leathers? I know I do. Not that chocolate isn’t a nice flavor too. Both these men are hot. So, what’s the deal?”

“No! No. We aren’t going there.” Ponytail looks at her Goth version. “You’ll disappear leaving me to deal with the embarrassment. No. No thanks.”

“Wow! Your quite uptight when’s the last time you got…”

“Enough.” Pink-tips says gritting her teeth. “Oliver and John don’t need that kind of information so zip it.”

“Fine. Whatevers.” Goth Felicity drums out as she looks at the men she will surround herself with in the future. She can sense the attraction to the one named Oliver. He seems nice and he rocks that getup. Though she would love to peel it off of him with her teeth. From John she gets the whole protective older brother vibe but he is also so doable. Must really be good friends.

Their wait comes to an end as they can feel the change occur and Goth Felicity does the unspeakable going right upon Oliver’s lap wrapping her fingers around his neck and pecking his lips. As the change quickly finishes Felicity is still on his lap and their lips locked. As a cough takes them from the moment.

They jump apart.

[babsaros]

ask game

tagged by @lavender-paws!

How tall are you? something like 5’4”

What color and style is your hair? Bisexual Bob, im fighting this middle part as hard as i can tho, and it's like mostly green but the dye has been washing out so it's got some brown in there too. I wanba dye it pink next….. Or a proper silver like i was trying to go for.

What color are your eyes? green!

Do you wear glasses? nope!

Do you wear braces? nah, probably should have as a kid but my teeth are straight enough not to need it

What is your fashion style? black and gay

Full name? Babs Knopf and that's all anyone is getting out of me

When were you born? june 15

Where are you from and where do you live now? lived in Oklahoma for 10 years, now i live in Japan

What school did you go to? high school

What kind of student were you? bad

Do you like school? high school is genuinely traumatizing and that's not a kooky way of overexaggerating

What are your favorite subjects? idk i liked art and history. i took biology 3 times too

Favorite tv shows? mp100, criminal minds, freaks and geeks, soul eater, the good place, b99

Favorite books? The provost’s dog, may-bird and the ever after, the mysterious benedict society, tbh i just reread all the books i read as a kid over and over

Favorite past time? drawing, listening to jimmy buffet, thrift shopping

Any regrets? not caring about grades in high school enough

Dream job? firefighter

Would you like to get married? yes so much i would love to be married

Would you like to have kids someday? The idea of being pregnant makes me sick so. Maybe in like a billion years i’ll be the eccentric old witch that adopts a teenager with a hidden magical destiny tho.

How many? As many kids as have secret magical destinies and need adopting.

Do you like shopping? yes a lot

What countries have you visited? I’ve lived in america, germany, and japan

What's the scariest nightmare you've ever had? one time i was half asleep still and i felt something come into the room and i knew that if i rolled over to look i would see something i didn’t want to see so i just went back to sleep. aside from that i have like a lot of rlly bad fucked up dreams but none of them really nightmares.

Any enemies? trump.

Do you have a s/o? yes and i love her so much she’s my sunshine c-:

Do you believe in miracles? I believe in a lot of things

tagging. okay i know ppl always say “whoever wants to do this” but like. i rlly mean it. i don’t wanna bug anybody by tagging them, or excluding someone who did want to be tagged so like. if u want to do this. do it and tag me. it’s fun. ily bye.