#with clients and i feel like their clients should know that their private personal info is not safe w these ppl but idk maybe juststay out?

[yanderes-galore]

Yippe! Is it alright, then, if I request Romantic Toji Fushiguro with a Sorceror S/O, please? (And if not, its cool, I know you mentioned you needed to like the idea as well) Thank you very much! ^^

Toji has no content from me yet, so, I have to change that obviously.

Yandere! Toji Fushiguro with Sorcerer! Darling

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Enemies to one-sided lovers, Violence, Blood, Threats, Possessive behavior, Stalking, Kidnapping, Isolation, Sadism, Breaking of bones, Attempted mind break, Forced relationship.

This is quite the position for you.

Toji's known as the "Sorcerer Killer" for a reason.

Imagine if you were a target that Toji was paid to hunt down and kill.

At first the assassin is fully prepared to kill you.

He hates the Sorcerer world due to his past, taking down Sorcerers has never been a challenge for him.

He doesn't care what his client's motives are, a job's a job.

Until he "meets" you.

Imagine if Toji met or found his target, only to realize he doesn't want to kill them.

When he watches you from afar... maybe you remind him of someone?

For some reason he hesitates... his normally stoic and cold behavior snapping a bit.

I imagine Toji would take his time with hunting you, pretending to the client that he needs to get more info.

Which is partially true...

Toji wants to know why this Sorcerer isn't one he can kill without hesitation.

You no doubt sense something's wrong.

Perhaps you are aware people may be trying to kill you for one reason or another.

But you have no clue the infamous Sorcerer Killer is hesitating with you.

I imagine you may remind him of his late wife (regardless of gender).

As a result, he feels...regret.

It wounds his pride, yet while he yearns for the thrill of fighting, he doesn't want to make you suffer too much.

Sorcerer or not, he finds preparing to kill you a struggle.

Even when he eventually wills himself to fight you, he struggles to put his all into it.

He enjoys the thrill, though.

Perhaps some sadism does trickle through his resistance.

Once he actually fights you he tries to view you as just another Sorcerer.

It works due to his bloodlust, making him forget his personal feelings just enough to overpower you.

He recalls the blood splattering on his clothes euphoric and familiar.

Yet... he stops when he notices your weak struggling.

He really should finish the job, his blown wide eyes staring down at you.

But even now he can see you determined to save yourself, despite your bloody wounds and weak breaths.

The wide dilated eyes you give him makes him drop his blood stained weapon.

He grimaces, irritated at himself for hesitating.

Even now he isn't entirely sure why he didn't kill you earlier... or why he still won't now.

Did he watch you for so long that he got attached?

He pauses again, watching your chest heave.

Did... Did he fall for you?

He sighs deeply, what a pain.

It's then you're spared by the Sorcerer Killer.

Well... your life is...

To secure his reward he actually hides you away once finding a way to help undo his damage.

The client wouldn't care as long as you were out of the picture, right?

I imagine despite his earlier violence, Toji would allow you to heal.

Except... to keep you out of the Sorcerer world... he'd probably cripple you in some way.

Break a leg... break an arm... anything to prevent you from using your technique.

He'd probably tease and muse about your position, a sadistic glint in his eyes as he tells you you're useless to Jujutsu Society.

But... Hey... He is too, isn't he?

He finds satisfaction in the fact you have to rely on him now.

He won't kill you, never will, he doesn't have to as you're no longer a threat anymore.

He gets his money... and he gets a cute little partner too.

Even if he had you rehabilitated to the point of walking, you'll never be 100%.

Which means... you can't match his strength.

To keep you out of sight he keeps you in a private home. Perhaps a small home and away from society as a whole?

He's so used to just drifting that it takes him a little while to settle in.

He's oddly affectionate... despite him being your captor and attempted killer.

He kisses you softly, yet if you attempt to refuse he gives you time.

You'll give in at some point...

After all, he gets to keep you to himself.

You may refuse him at first, but really, can you even run?

He just took you in as a secondary prize, removing you from the public eye to wrap tightly in his arms.

You may not have died by the Sorcerer Killer...

Yet sparing you was no act of mercy in your eyes.

[valleyfthdolls]

More Gal rewrite content 🙏🙏🙏

I am a man crawling through the desert to find the oasis of the Gals /silly

YAYY YIPPEE I LOVE MY GAL REWRITES

I'm gonna do a bullet list for this as I tend to

I love the idea of instead of the girls being shallow bullies, they're the equivalent of that girl gang in 80s who were bullied by boys and formed a gang to protect themselves and other girls from bullying. They definitely come off much less antagonistic and outright mean than the 202X mode delinquents, because they're easier to befriend, don't berate and mock everyone who comes near them, and don't belittle you for trying to befriend them on the assumption that you're doing it because you're being bullied.

I like to imagine the girls as queer. Specifically I think that Hana is a lesbian and Kokoro is a trans woman at least, based on their color schemes. As for the others, I see them as being bi or pansexual and probably polyamorous. I think it's funny to imagine that their whole little side quest or whatever about getting Gema their affection is them deciding he's cool enough to join the polycule /hj

As for why my versions of the gals don't get along with Hosho (Horuda), I honestly think it's the simple fact that they think she's creepy, and she resents them for that because that's been the defense of the people who's bullied her all her life: "she's just creepy." Of course, she's not actually interested in being shows what their friend, she just thinks it sucks that they think she's creepy too.

I think my tidbit about my Hoshiko ripping out a bully's hair shows what kind of a person she is. I imagine that she was probably being bullied for her weight and appearance (since my redesign does have Hoshiko as plus sized) and she just snapped and started tearing into the girl, slapping the shit out of her, and just yanked an entire chunk of hair out. She struggles to not take things too far, and her responses to things are often disproportionately intense. She takes pride in this because it gets people off her back, but she knows that it's not a good thing.

Since it's planned that in the future, you should be able to join Musume's friend group, I wonder what the gals would think abt Ayano as a member of the group. Lemme cook for a sec

Kashiko would be wary of her because she's creepy, but since I imagine Kashiko is a frequent client of Info-chan to keep track of what people are saying and doing around school, Ayano could convince Info-chan to help her gain Kash's trust. After that, I think Kashiko would probably cheer her on a lot. She'd take it as a challenge to try to get Ayano to laugh, smile, etc.

Hoshiko would Get Ayano's struggles. Complain to her sometimes abt how stupid she finds it that they have to pretend to be a totally different person and whatever so other people don't think they're evil, but then people ALSO think they're evil FOR pretending, and Ayano has her face buried in her hands going "oh my god yeah. dude you get it it's HELL"

I think Kokoro would recognize the way Ayano mirrors their behaviors as her own behavior and want to help her fit in. Initially, she'd be intimidated, but once she noticed that, she'd be like ohh, I understand what's happening here and start helping Ayano, like telling her abt the basics of gyaru makeup and fashion, doing her nails, giving her tips, etc.

Hana would appreciate Ayano's ability to mask I think. She'd encourage her to loosen up in private, though. They'd talk shit in private together I think, but both of them are publicly very calm.

Musume would love Ayano, or at least the idea of her, because she feels like she's really sticking it to her dad by both making another "perfectly good girl" into a member of her little gang and befriending the Aishis' kid. She'd be kind of the overbearing type who Ayano doesn't actually need to say anything around. I think she doesn't realize that she likes the idea of Ayano more than Ayano herself, though, because Ayano is such a masker that she is always others' idea of her.

I can imagine Musume just absolutely flooding her Line account with videos and selfies of her and Ayano going out to get sodas and bubble tea and snacks to meet up with the girlfriends and having her arm around Ayano's shoulder the whole time, right up next to her in every photo and doing little kissy faces and peace signs at the camera.

Because of Ayano's social chameleon traits, I think she'd fit in fine and the girls would probably be equally flirty with her as they are with each other, ask her opinions on things and people, etc, but it would also be so funny if she was like that one meme that's like "apparently the reason I've felt so outcast in my friend group is that they're all in a polyamorous relationship and didn't tell me????"

[majaloveschris]

As an anon said in the past, if I were Chris, I would be really concerned about someone apparently from my inner social circle leaking info to blogs about my private matters such as wedding and house. If someone is actually leaking his info, he really should reevaluate his friends and the people he lets into his life (but well, he basically allowed a racist, antisemitic into his life so he clearly isn’t very smart when it comes to that). If the house is his I still don’t feel like he would live there and the decoration doesn’t seem to be his style (or even Alba’s style but she probably doesn’t care about anything as long as she keeps getting attention and we know she molds herself to what benefits her the most). If this house has the name of his trustee, does that automatically make it his? I don’t think Chris is the only client they have. Also, I read some people saying that the Carlisle house was bought by him in 2018 according to Tara’s page? She more than anyone should protect the privacy of her friend but she’s an attention seeker too so I don’t really have much faith in her.

I also don’t know why would Chris want to have pics of his house in a magazine like AD and then hold back because of “keeping his privacy”, he knows very well what would happen if he did that feature for AD so I don’t buy that shit either. L&D lying about the location seems weird to me too, because the damage has already been done since the beginning of this shitshow, why would they try to “protect” anything now? And if they lie that clearly shows how unprofessional they are and that they only care about the attention as well.

Sorry for the long rant but like everything else in this “happy and healthy relationship” seems the opposite and with a lack of sense

For now, this is the last ask I share about the Carlisle house. Some people in my inbox are going crazy over this topic. Not even their alleged wedding caused whatever this is.

We actually talked about this with a good friend of mine yesterday and how having those addresses on that site is really unsafe. I guess it works for her as a portfolio, but still. She could have all the other details but the address. I think she should've already removed it. However, I still have a hard time believing that anybody from his circle comes to Tumblr to share information about his personal matters, such as his wedding, for example. I always say this and will continue to repeat it, that even DM said that his circle is very tight and that she never really has anything on him or gets info. If somebody from his circle wanted to leak something, they wouldn't come to Tumblr. Neither would Justin. If they decided to betray him, they would want to do that on a bigger level. If somebody comes here and shares legit information about him or his personal life, I'd rather say that's his team, or if it's even somebody closer to him, they do it to plant something; they do it for PR reasons. A lot of rumors start here, but if somebody would leak something or do something to harm him, and not to help sell a narrative, they would go somewhere else, not here.

I also don't think that house is really his style, and I also doubt he would want to move into such a big house. The other MA one isn't one he is currently living in.

My very good friends explained to me that all the houses are owned by the same company but by different trusts.

If this whole thing was about "protecting privacy," having an AD article wouldn't have even crossed his mind. So they did the whole photoshoot, the whole interview, or whatever, and then he was like "Nah, I'd rather have my privacy with this one". I don't think that's how it works. And again, saying "privacy" and "Chris" in the same sentence is, at least for now, ridiculous. Since Alba is in the picture, somehow everything involving her has lost the privilege of being private.

Interestingly, this is the first time L&D cared about the mean comments and DMs they got because of Chrisba. This was definitely not the first time I saw them receive hateful comments because of them, and they clearly didn't seem to care about it, and now suddenly they even changed the location because of that. I don't really think that the privacy and hateful comments/DM explanations are working here right now.

And I'd like to ask everybody not to go to L&D's page and leave hateful comments or send hateful DMs. It's inappropriate; it's a bad thing to do. Leave them be.

[imaginationintowords]

Speak Now *sequel to The Kids Will Be Alright*

Chapter 8

Single dad!Bucky, Single mom!Reader, Clark Kent x Reader; Hybrid Social Media AU

Summary: Bucky and Y/n are dealing with the aftermath of Y/n’s engagement to Clark. Everyone has mixed feelings about the engagement, seeing as it is too quick, but they’re all just trying to be supportive of her and Clark, that is everyone except Natasha. Natasha and Y/n are still not talking. Sam and Natasha are also having marriage issues, Sam not agreeing with the way Natasha handled everything, while Natasha wishes he’d just be on her side. Bucky is trying his hardest to push down his feelings for Y/n, but as time continues on he can’t help but feel sadness as he sees Clark and Y/n plan their wedding. He continues to suffer in silence, while Steve watches his best friend slowly deteriorate. Y/n is out of her mind stressed, debating whether to call this whole thing off, or just elope.

Warnings: none

Word count: 2991

Masterlist

*taglist to this series is closed. To be added to the waitlist/permanent tag list. Info here*

_____________

“Natasha, did you want me to call dinner in?” Sam calls out to her, walking into their living room where Natasha was sitting on the couch. She was on her laptop going over her schedule for the work week ahead of her.

“Yeah, I’m down for whatever you want to eat,” she tells him, as he walks in to sit next to her.

“I’m going to order from that Indian place we like,” he sits down next to her, pulling out his phone to place the order.

“What the hell,” Natasha says, looking down at an email.

“Okay, then I won’t order Indian.”

“No, Indian is good,” she says, “I just got an email from Diana Prince.”

“Really?” He says looking over at her laptop, “Why?”

“What the hell,” she pauses, reading over the email.

“What?” Sam says, leaning over to try and read the email.

“She’s asking if I’m representing Bucky in a custody battle with [Y/N],” she tells him.

“What the hell?”

“I know,” she says confused, “Did you know he was going for full custody?”

“No,” Sam shakes his head, “I’m more confused as to why Diana Prince would be contacting you about this and not Loki or Pepper, or someone else in the family law department.”

“Babe, I’m just as confused as you are,” she says, “She mentions how my name was brought up when meeting with [Y/N]. What would [Y/N] even tell her? I’m not a family law attorney. She knows that. Why would I, a criminal defense lawyer, take on a child custody case?”

“I mean if she says [Y/N] mentioned you, you kinda have to assume why, right,” Sam says.

“Why would she even bring up what's going on between us in a meeting with her lawyer? How does that make me involved in this custody case?” Natasha says, completely dumbfounded why [Y/N] would tell Diana Prince she had any involvement in this, “Diana Prince is the last person I would ever want to know what’s going on in my fucking personal life. Especially one that now involves her new client.”

“Very bold of her to get Diana Prince on the case,” Sam says, knowing Natasha’s history with Diana.

“She clearly doesn’t want to lose custody.”

“Yeah, but that’s the part that doesn’t make sense,” Sam says, “Why would Bucky even threaten to take Daisy away? I get things between them haven’t been as great as it was pre-engagement but I just don’t see him going straight to that option. It’s very unlike him.”

“Very unlike him,” she agrees, still lost in thought over the entire situation, “That’s the last thing he would do. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt Daisy.”

“Do I just ignore it?” Natasha turns towards Sam, “Do I respond back? Do I call Bucky?”

“This is clearly a private matter between Bucky and [Y/N]. And he clearly didn’t want us to know. But,” he pauses.

“But what?” Natasha pushes.

“Thinking as a lawyer. You don’t really want to let Diana know that. Right? That you don’t know what’s going on. Because for all we know Bucky could be doing just that, and seeing as we are way too close to the situation. We ethically shouldn’t be involved as his attorney.”

“So should I call him?”

“There is one other person that comes to mind that he might’ve asked. The only person in our group who’s an actual family law attorney.”

“Do you really think Loki would do that? Plus he’s on paternity leave,” Natasha says.

“He might. If Bucky asked.”

“So do I call Loki?”

“No. Because if he didn’t then we would just be gossiping about something that you and I are clearly not supposed to know,” Sam says.

“So do I call Bucky?” She asks again.

“That’s probably the best option.” He shrugs, still unsure about this whole situation.

“Okay,” she sighs, and picks up her phone.

“Hey Nat, what’s up?” Bucky answered the phone.

“So I’m just going to be straight up with you,” she says.

“Okay, about what?” He asked, taken back by her greeting.

“So I got an email from Diana Prince, regarding a custody battle between you and [Y/N],” she tells him, “she was basically asking me if I was representing you in this custody battle.”

“Please tell me this is some sick joke,” Bucky deadpans.

“It would be a very sick joke,” Natasha tells him.

“I can’t believe she’s really doing this,” Bucky sighs. Natasha can hear the exhaustion laced in his voice, “If she only listened to me for five fucking minutes she would see that this has been completely thrown out of proportion.”

“So you’re not filing for full custody?”

“No, fuck no,” he says, “I just wanted us to meet up with a lawyer to have our agreement made legal. So we can’t fuck each other over.”

“So you don’t have a lawyer?”

“I do,” he tells her, “but not in the way she thinks I do. I asked Loki to help me draft up our agreement. Nothing would really change aside from the fact that we both need to communicate better with each other. And that she can’t do anything shady regarding Daisy. Like for instance she can’t just move Daisy away from me. That we both need to be in agreement when it comes to Daisy.”

“Honestly I just needed a legal way to protect myself as Daisy’s father,” Bucky stresses.

“Yeah well it looks like it’s going to be way more than just that,” Natasha sighs, feeling sorry for Bucky and the situation he’s currently in.

“I’m not trying to take Daisy away,” he says, “I would never do that. That would just do more harm towards Daisy. And I would never in a million years put that stress on her. She doesn’t need to be dragged into this shit show of a mess, purely because her parents have a hard time communicating.”

“That’s why I was so confused why Diana Prince would even email me regarding this,” she tells him.

“I can’t even imagine what she’s telling Diana about this whole situation,” he sighs in defeat, feeling a headache coming on, “the last person I would ever want to know what’s going on in my life.”

“That’s what I said,” Natasha says.

“Just don’t email her back,” Bucky tells her, “I’ll talk to Loki about it, and have him send her an email explaining the situation on Monday, after I talk to [Y/N] tomorrow when she drops Daisy off.”

“Okay, if you need any help don’t hesitate to ask,” Natasha tells him before they hang up.

_________________________

Bucky spends the early evening scurrying around his little townhouse, getting things ready for when Daisy gets dropped off. He already had dinner ready for her on the stove.

The knock on his door takes him by surprise for a split second. He quickly goes over to open the door, expecting to see [Y/N] and Daisy. He definitely wasn’t expecting Clark to be with them also. He can’t help but to let out a light scoff.

Guess this is how it’s going to be now, he thought.

“Daddy!” Daisy exclaimed, throwing her arms around his legs.

“Hi honey,” he smiles, hugging her.

She lets go of his legs and runs off to go put her backpack in her room.

“Can we talk?” Bucky asks [Y/N], “just five minutes.”

“I don’t think that’s best,” Clark says.

“No offense but I was talking to [Y/N],” Bucky says, annoyed not bothering to look at Clark, “Please [Y/N]. It doesn’t have to go down this route. Please just let me explain everything and you’ll see this was all just a misunderstanding.”

“What route are you talking about?” She asks.

“I’m not an idiot, [Y/N]. I know you’ve got Diana Prince representing you. In whatever you think this might be.”

‘You’re the one that set that in motion the moment you told me you got an attorney to discuss our custody agreement,” she tells him, “you did that Bucky.”

“I didn’t even do anything,” he tries to keep his voice down, so Daisy can’t hear them.

“But you threatened me that you would.”

“I did no such thing.”

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” Daisy yells, as she comes skipping into the room. All the adults go silent.

“Okay, Dais,” he smiles, “go wash up and dinner is all done in the kitchen.”

“Can we watch Frozen while we eat?” She asks, eyes lighting up.

“Of course,” he smiles at her as she runs off with a squeal.

He turns back to the door,  “Please [Y/N], don’t do anything yet. Please. Just give me a moment to explain everything.”

“I’m sorry Bucky,” she shakes her head, “it’s already done.”

Bucky just stands there in shock.

“We should go,” Clark says, ushering her away from his front door, he turns back towards Bucky, “from now on I think it’s best if we just go through our attorneys. We won’t be discussing this with you any further than needed.”

Bucky stood there watching them walk away. Fighting every inch of his body telling him to punch Clark in the face. He really wanted to. But the last thing he wanted was for Daisy to see any of that drama. Plus he knows that the couple would just use it against him.

“I’m ready Daddy,” Daisy says, coming back into the room.

“Sounds good,” he closes the door, and turns to look down at her, “let's eat.”

_________________

After making sure Daisy is asleep for the night, Bucky calls Loki.

“Hey Buck,” Loki answers, “How did it go?”

“Bad,” he answers, “So bad, that I guess now we have to talk through our attorneys.”

“Really?” Loki asked surprised that this is all coming down to this.

“Apparently so,” he says, collapsing onto the couch, “Clark made sure I knew to no longer discuss this with them.”

“Who did [Y/N] get to represent her?” Loki asks.

“Diana Prince,” Bucky tells him.

“You’re kidding me?”

“Nope. Apparently [Y/N] told her she thought I got Natasha to represent me.”

“Why would she? That doesn’t even make sense.”

“None of this is making any sense anymore,” Bucky sighs.

“I’m just going to ask this one final time, are you sure you want to go through with this?” Loki asks him.

Bucky pauses for a moment. He knows he can end it all right at this moment. If he were to tell [Y/N] that he is dropping it all and just wants to keep things the way they were, she would. But he knows that it won’t change anything and things won’t be like how they were. They just simply can’t and now he has Clark to worry about.

In the end he’s doing all of this for Daisy, if he gives up it almost feels like he would be.

“Yes,” Bucky says so surely in his answer, “This is the only way now.”

“I’ll email Diana Prince, letting her know that I’m representing you, along with the agreement we have drafted up. I’ll also go ahead and set up a meeting for all of us to talk it through,” Loki explains how this is all going to go down, “have your secretary send your schedule to mine so I can pick the date that works best.”

“Okay, I will. Once again Loki, I’m very grateful that you’re doing this for me,” Bucky tells him.

“I’m sure that’ll change once you get my bill,” Loki jokes.

Bucky lets out a boisterous laugh. He hears a crying baby in the background.

“I’ve taken enough of your time. I’ll let you get back to the family.”

“Just one last thing,” Loki says before hanging up, “Be prepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Things are probably going to get worse before they get better. But don’t let it get the best of you. Child custody cases really know how to bring the worse out of a person. Just try not to let it affect you. You know you’re a good father. Everyone does, including [Y/N]. At the end of the day, this is all for Daisy.”

“Thanks Lok, I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.”

“Goodnight Bucky,” Loki says.

“Goodnight,” Bucky hangs up the phone.

_________________

“Do you have those samples for the Tanner’s kitchen remodel?” [Y/N] asks Valkyrie as she walks into her office.

“Yes, I do,” Val says, digging through the items on her desk, pulling out the samples needed, “they ended up changing the cabinet colors. Again.”

“Again?” [Y/N] sighs, “this is the third time. Are they serious about keeping this color? Because I’m headed to finalize everything with the contractor.”

“Might want to give them a call before you go.”

“Will do,” she sighs, grabbing the samples.

“Is everything okay?” Val asks, noticing [Y/N]’s stressed out look.

“Things have been a bit stressful at home,” [Y/N] says.

“What’s going on? Feel like I have no idea what’s been going on with you lately,” Val says.

“Yeah, we haven’t had a girl’s night out in awhile.”

“It’s been a couple of months,” Val says, festering to the chair in front of her desk for [Y/N] to sit.

[Y/N] takes a seat and sighs.

“So what’s wrong?” Val asks.

“Bucky and I are about to get into a custody battle.”

“Wait, what?” Val says surprised by that confession.

“Yup,” she sighs, “Bucky got a lawyer a couple of weeks ago.”

“Why? I thought things were good with your agreement?”

“So did I,” [Y/N] says, “until he mentioned wanting to have a meeting with his lawyer to discuss our agreement.”

“Why would he do that?”

“He thinks I’m going to just move and take Daisy with me without considering him.”

“Are you moving?” Val asks.

“No, I don’t plan on moving,” [Y/N] shakes her head, “at least not in the next five years. Also I wouldn’t take Daisy away from him. But he seems to think otherwise. And now things are escalating way too fast.”

“Was something just not working with your agreement?”

“He wouldn’t say. He just kept saying he has to protect himself,” [Y/N] says, “I have never once threatened to take Daisy from him. I’ve never tried to use her as a pawn. Things have always been good between us.

Things have never been this bad between us. Not in all our years of friendship.”

“I mean things were bound to change,” Val says, “especially with you getting married.”

“But me getting married doesn’t mean I’m going to take Daisy from him.”

“Yeah, but maybe he needs this as reassurance.”

“But why does it need to be this extreme?”

“He is a lawyer,” Val shrugs, “Maybe you two just need to sit down and talk it over.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a very good idea at this moment,” [Y/N] sighs, “we got into a bad argument. Clark thinks we should keep it short and anything regarding this should be discussed through our lawyers.”

Valkyrie is taken back by this information. She’s surprised Clark is having any say in this situation.

“Don’t you think that just talking through your lawyers is a bit extreme?” Val asks, hoping to maybe get [Y/N] to change her mind and just talk to Bucky.

“Maybe.”’

“Also don’t you think this should just be between you and Bucky?” Val says, “No offense to Clark, but do you think his involvement might be playing a part in all of Bucky’s frustration?”

“Maybe,” [Y/N] ponders over that thought, “Probably. Most likely.”

“Do you want Clark involved in all of this?” Val asks.

“He’s been very helpful with the whole situation,” [Y/N] says, “he set me up with his lawyer friend who will be representing me. He’s also going to be Daisy’s stepfather once we get married. So he’ll have some sort of say.”

“Yeah, that is true,” Val nods, “but you guys aren’t married right now. Do you think Bucky finds his involvement in all of this to be a bit…much?”

“I’m sure he would prefer Clark to stay out of it,” [Y/N] says, “I’m sure he sees it as Clark interfering on something that doesn’t involve him, and potentially making things worse.”

“Do you think Clark will make things worse?”

[Y/N] takes a moment to ponder the question. She knows Clark is just doing what he thinks is best for her, and he’s been so incredibly helpful and supportive through all of this. But even she knows Clark’s input will be more biased towards how he sees things and how it’ll affect them as a couple, future family.

She thinks back to being in the lawyer office and them discussing holidays. [Y/N] never wants to exclude Bucky in anything especially when it involves their daughter. So she never saw their holiday agreement as anything strange, it was their normal. She never saw it being an issue. That’s mostly because it was never an issue. She and Bucky grew up in New York, both their families are there, so it was always easy to include everyone in everything. With Clark not being from here, it does change things. She knew he wanted to say more on the holiday stuff, but chose against it. And she meant to bring it up to him, but she just doesn’t know how to go about it. Plus right now her only focus is Daisy and this thing with Bucky.

“[Y/N],” Valkyrie softly calls out, breaking [Y/N] from her thoughts.

“Sorry,” she whispers, “I think Clark just makes things more complicated.”

“In a good or bad way?”

“Both?” [Y/N] thinks out loud.

“I guess only time will tell where the scale will tip,” Valkyrie says, leaving [Y/N] to ponder more with her thoughts.

___________

Speak Now taglist *the series tag list is closed, but the permanent one is still open*

@stinkysteveharrington @jupiter-gvf @romantic-slaps-on-the-asss @kmuir1 @angstysebfan @thefandomimagines @princess-momo-barnes @spid3rgwen @friendlyneighborhoodchaos @teenagedreams-bucky @capmanranger @freakassbuthunter @shadowolf993 @carmellasworld @zaphdekota @writing-for-marvel @sazc94 @aliloz-3 @goffbby @film-enthusiastt @eclipses-and-moondust @isidorareadings @mylifewithfandoms @your-not-invisible-to-me @seb13stan @jewelsrocks99 @peaches-roses-sins @mirrorballsangel @ohharrie @feel-it-on-the-way-home13 @buckystevelove @enlyume

[sublimepizzastarfish]

Pirate Software's "rearchitecture" for Stop Killing Games

There's been a lot of fascinating drama around Stop Killing Games. Go read the initiative here:

It is a good initiative, and anyone who is a consumer that can, should absolutely go support it.

Jason "Thor" Hall, CEO of Pirate Software, recently had a few, let's say, "takes" on the matter (I'm trying and failing to remain neutral), which began on a stream. The stream's VOD has since deleted on his YouTube channel.

Louis Rossmann, who you might know as the largest Right to Repair activist in the US, made a response to a section of the releevant stream here:

Thor, CEO of Pirate Software, made two videos to clarify his points:

There is an argument in the video at the 2:08 mark that I will reference later.

(I recommend watching all these videos on 2x speed. You will get the same info out of them all, because especially video 2 is a lot of repetition)

Now, as mentioned above, there is one particular technical argument that bugs me about what Thor, CEO of Pirate Software, is making. Here is the full quote:

How would you keep League of Legends in a functional, playable state? You'd have to rearchitect the entire game. The game is what is called "client-server". So, in client-server models, there's a server, there's a client, and all of the math, all of the game, everything happens on the server. The client just displays it. And the reason we want to do it that way is so that you can't teleport around and do a billion damage. You don't trust the client. You trust the server. The client just displays what it's told. Right? So, if we wanted to rearchitect this, we would have to take all of that server logic, push it back out into the client, and somehow make that playable in a multiplayer-only video game. That doesn't make sense to me. So this doesn't work for all games. Why is [the initiative] calling out all games?

So, first off, yes, most games do client-server architecture for multiplayer logic, because you do trust the servers. It is an important step to curbing an entire class of cheats. It doesn't necessarily mean the client isn't malicious (for example, there are cheats for League of Legends that show a growing circle when an enemy leaves the fog of war in the minimap). However, it does mean the client doesn't know 100% of the game at any time when information is selectively fed to each client based on something like the fog of war. That's awesome.

Some games, like PlanetSide (rest in peace) and Overwatch (2) use what's called client-side hit detection. Some games, like Halo 1, employ more selective hit detection models, where only certain weapons use client-side hit detection (see https://c20.reclaimers.net/h1/engine/netcode/). Client-side versus server-side hit detection can change the overall feel of a game, and it's one of the things game developers decide on in multiplayer-only games that require it. In the case of an massively multiplayer online first person shooter (MMOFPS) like PlanetSide (2), the server simply can't calculate thousands of people's math in a reasonable amount of time, because otherwise the hit detection would otherwise feel very crappy to play, and so the math is offloaded to the client and the client says "hit" when they hit.

However, there are a few counterexamples to the specific technical argument that keeping the game playable after end-of-lifing it requires rearchitecting:

Games with dedicated servers exist - Command & Conquer: Renegade, Starsiege: TRIBES

Games where one client also hosts the multiplayer server exist - Half Life 2, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine

Private server hosting exists - World of Warcraft

Some of these games, particularly the examples with dedicated servers that can be run on user hardware, can also run as the second example.

To say keeping a multiplayer-only online game requires rearchitecting a game like League of Legends means a lack of imagination. More relevantly, it means a lack of systems thinking.

To me, it is very strange for someone such as Thor, CEO of Pirate Software, who is self-described as being a 20 year veteran of the games industry to say. I won't say skill issue, because I think there is an ulterior motive at play.

Just to hammer the point home, I drew up some crappy diagrams in Inkscape because this extremely wrong technical argument bugged me so, so much.

Here is what a client-server model looks like:

Here, you have 10 clients, each being a player of the game. Then, you have the server, run by Riot, the developer and maintainer of League of Legends.

Here is the imagination of Thor, CEO of Pirate Software, had to say on the matter on the required way rearchitect it:

Those who know their network models would understand this looks very much like a mesh network, or a peer-to-peer model. And, to be fair, some games might attempt it.

However, this isn't *usually* how games described using a peer-to-peer (P2P) model work. Most peer-to-peer models, like the architecture used in Space Marines, are often used for matchmaking. Once you are in a game, one of the clients also serves as the host (selecting by some algorithm, like randomly or whoever has the best hardware).

P2P is nice, because the company doesn't have to run servers for matchmaking at all during their lifespan (and sometimes a matchmaking server might be spun up to serve as a relay to help with network issues or help other clients find clients quickly). As we'll get into later, a client machine will also serve as the host machine. It is a perfectly fair and valid, although it comes with it's frustrations (mainly in the realm of network address translation (NAT) traversal, because your computer behind a router is not usually exposed to the wider Internet, though sometimes routers have universal plug-and-play (UPnP) set up, which makes NAT traversal much easier here).

If you've ever seen a message in the game "migrating host" because the host left, they likely use P2P matchmaking, but still use a client-server model. They can just migrate the game data to a new host using the data on the other clients as a seed for the data.

This is likely their setup for actual gameplay:

One of the clients now has a server on the same machine. Sometimes, this could be the game itself that would serve in singleplayer. However, most often, this is just a server that's lightweight enough for the client to connect to and they play that way (it's also really nice to develop and QA this way, because many server bugs will also be seen by the client).

Now, one of the disadvantages here is: Can all remote clients connect to the host that the server (and one of the clients) is running on? Again, NAT traversal issues usually play a role here. In the first few days of any game that uses this, and only this, there will likely be a lot of issues with connectivity.

Another disadvantage: The host won't have latency issues. This is why in the case of, for example, Among Us, the client host can see certain things happening (like someone is dead the moment they hit a button or reported a body), but remote player hosts might not.

Okay, so, maybe it's not possible to rearchitect something like League of Legends like this. It could reasonably be a lot of work. Here is another solution:

Looks very similar to the first architecture, doesn't it? It is! The difference is that the text "Riot" was changed to "not Riot".

This is how World of Warcraft and Pokemon Go private servers work.

The vast majority of games that would not run without private servers simply do not require rearchitecting to keep in a reasonably playable state when the servers shut down.

[magicallymalted]

Hello bonita!!

I know you're busy but I require your career advice wisdom.

Wilhemine Arcano is perhaps the perfect stereotype of the family: an incredibly intelligent woman, who knows how to fight and always seeks wisdom and adventure. Like her parents, she has great ambitions and loves being challenged, both physically and academically. She craves to do something incredible, historic even..

With all the personal info, I leave her figure in your hands.

Love,

endlessly-cursed

*vaults over the desk* Hi there! Thank you for your patience as we replenish our reserves in terms of both nourishment and labour. Wilhemine sounds like a perfect candidate for our services and we should be happy to take her on!

As far as our services go, we will best attempt to explore manners in which Wilhemine's current skill sets may be of use, while also coinciding with atmospheres that may be in alignment with her temperament. Please note that the following list is merely meant to offer some insight into potential possibilities, and is not a concrete boundary for occupational pursuits. Yet, should Wilhemine like further consultation after this instance, or perhaps has found a good fit for herself upon review of these positions, we would be most obliged to hear of such success or more help needed!

It should be noted that there are refunds allowed, only further assistance as requested or restraining orders if not—the career ghost is obsessively insistent that all wixen be equipped with fulfilling jobs. But before the ados are in any way furthered, let's get into it.

Politics: ICW Ambassador/Delegate

For a woman interested in doing something incredible, taking on the role of an ambassador/delegate for The International Confederation of Wizards is surely a role that would require both emotional and cognitive intelligence and would be of grave importance in diplomatic matters as well as promoting relations and cultural connections between her homeland and other nations' citizens. This position may also grant her the ability to travel and be stationed in many different countries over the course of her political career.

Law: Wizarding Defense Attorney, Prosecutor, or Consultant

Whether working in the capacity as a public defender or holding a private practice as a prosecutor, Wilhemine may find fulfillment in representing wixen in a court of law and serving justice. As a magical law consultant, she could help on a local, national, or even international level on analyzing, drafting, and interpreting magical laws and regulations for her clients.

Craft/History: Magical Artifacts Restorer

A great challenge may be found in the restoration and preservation of magical artifacts that would also extend to research and documentation of the history of said enchanted objects. This work would require a meticulous and skilled wizard/witch, and she could contemplate having her own business of it, working in relations with the cursebreakers of Gringotts, or even within a museum.

Department of Mysteries Unspeakable

Satisfying an intellectual curiosity, Wilhemine may enjoy work in one of the many rooms of the Department of Mysteries, conducting research on mysterious magical phenomena. Should she find anything of importance that can be published to society, the "historic" quality of her work would be traversing the waters of uncharted magic.

Magical Philanthropy

If she's rather good with finances, championing a cause (or several) may be a good way for her to leave a legacy and support the betterment (or destruction) of wizarding society. She could establish, fund, and/or work for magical charities dedicated to various causes, organize events, and collaborate with other well-known wizards to further promote her work.

We hope that you find this information most auspicious. If you would like any further reading material leaflets on such positions, or perhaps none are to your liking, please feel free to let us know! After all, we have to start by ruling out possibilities, and maybe some are closer than others.

Kind regards,

The Magically Malted Career Services Team

[trinetadetectiveagency]

The Best Private Investigator for Marriage Background Checks

Getting married is a big step!  If you want some peace of mind before you say “I do,” Trinetra Detective Agency can help. We're a marriage detective agency that specializes in marriage background check.  We know how important it is to make sure your future spouse is who they say they are. Our hard-working team will look into everything and find out if there's anything you should know.

Many people consider us the best private investigator when it comes to marriage issues. Our investigations are confidential and trustworthy, and they can help you figure things out before making a big decision about your relationship. We want to give you all the facts you need to feel sure about what to do next.

At Trinetra Detective Agency, we keep our prices low without cutting corners. That's why people call us the cheap private investigator! We find the truth you require at a price that works for you, whether it's checking someone's background or looking into something fishy. Every case is different, so we offer custom plans to fit your situation.

Require a helping hand with a tricky problem? Trinetra Detective Agency is here for you! We're your local private investigator team, trained to solve mysteries big and small. Whether it's a personal matter you want kept secret, or a business puzzle you require cracked, our experienced investigators will handle it all with care and know-how. Look no further for reliable private investigator services – Trinetra Detective Agency is on the case!

Need to get answers?  Think something's not right? Trinetra Detective Agency can help. Our investigators are the best in the business, and they'll keep everything confidential.  We can find out what you need to understand, whether it's following someone, checking someone's background, or something else entirely. When you need the truth, hire a private investigator from Trinetra Detective Agency.

At Trinetra Detective Agency, we're a top-notch private detective agency. We get how important it is to get you answers fast. Your needs come first, and we work hard to find the information you need to make the best choices. No matter how tricky your situation is, you can count on us for accurate and dependable info.

Looking for answers? Our private investigation services can help. We work with people, businesses, and organizations of all kinds. Maybe you suspect someone is cheating, or there's fraud going on. Whatever the situation, our investigators are on your side. We're professional, honest, and get the job done right, so you get the results you need.

If you require help with a situation and want someone to look into it for you, call Trinetra Detective Agency. We have local private investigators with a lot of experience on our team. They'll work with you closely and keep everything confidential throughout the entire process.

Trinetra Detective Agency is a trusted private investigation agency. We help people find the truth in secret. Our investigators are highly skilled and have lots of experience. We can help with all sorts of problems, whether they're personal or for work. You can count on us to be professional and keep everything confidential.

Thinking about hiring a private investigator?  The price is important, for sure. Here at Trinetra Detective Agency, we offer good rates without cutting corners. We're all about being upfront and honest, and we'll work with you to create a plan that fits your needs and how much you can spend.

Trinetra Detective Agency is a top private investigation companies. We're different because we're perfect at what we do, and we care about our clients. We offer many services, like checking someone's background, watching someone secretly, and even helping with legal stuff. Not only that, but we use the latest tools and technology to find out the truth so you can make the best decisions.

Trinetra Detective Agency is your best partner each time it comes to private investigations. Help from our experienced team and our dedication to excellence, we do our best to deliver results that exceed your expectations. If you require private detective services, don't be shy to contact us for a confidential consultation.

Trinetra Detective Agency is your number one destination for private investigators in my area. Supported by our expert team of professionals, we offer secure and reliable investigative services according to your specific needs. Whether it's a personal matter or a complex situation requiring special attention, our personal detective agency is committed to finding the truth and providing you with the information you need to make informed decisions.

[sheerioswifties]

.

[peachyteabuck]

i’m your bitch, part ii

summary: part 2 to ‘i’m your bitch,’ you meet carol at her penthouse

a commission for @carolwandanat​ 

pairing: carol danvers x reader

words: 2,089

trigger warnings: choking, D/s dynamic, titles (daddy, babygirl, slut, etc), humiliation, degradation, praise, mean sugar daddy au, spanking, use of a vibrator

ask box / masterlist / ko-fi / commission info

You own exactly one nice dress. You’ve worn it to every celebration, every nice event since you’d bought it in college in the clearance section of some clothing boutique in your hometown; the sleeveless thigh-length black dress with a high neck and loose waist hasn’t failed you yet, even as your hands shake just a little while you slip your scuffed matte black heels onto your feet.

Just as Carol said earlier that day, a large black car arrives outside your run-down apartment building at the exact time she told you. Just like in the movies, a man with large dark sunglasses and white gloves gets out of the car to open the door for you; and just like in the movies he ignores your desire for conversation. About fifteen minutes later the car stops in front of the most expensive apartment building in town, your door opened by the same man while you’re ushered into the building without comment. You barely have time to admire the walkway, the doorman, the ceiling painted with a night sky; before you’re ushered into an elevator and sent up to the very top floor. When the large elevator doors open, you’re sent into a small waiting room, where you press a small black button framed by an ornate metal design.

“Come in!” you hear from behind the door, and with shaky hands and bated breath, you enter.

Immediately you’re surrounded by a homely warmth you can’t explain until you see Carol in the kitchen, her only instructions for you to sit on the bar.

You’re silent as you watch her cook – her staff all dismissed home for the night. It’s the two of you, heavy silence weighing of you as you sit at the bar.

“Let me cut to the chase,” she says plainly, slicing into raw beef with a knife so sharp you can feel it from across the room. “I’m a very busy woman, as I’m sure you know. I didn’t get where I am because I beat around the bush, or I was nice, or I let people do whatever they wanted.  You understand?”

You nod silently. Of course you know this, you’ve worked under her for years.

“Good, I also expect you to do the same. You’ve been my assistant for a long time, and you’ve always been very succinct. That should not change even with our agreement.”

Once again you nod, wringing your hands under the table. At least she likes your work ethic – that must count for something, right?

She speaks plainly, as if she’s outlining a business deal with a client known to cause trouble. “First things first, no one at work should know anything about this arrangement.”

Understandable, you think to yourself. You certainly don’t need Jeremy in accounting adding you to his spank bank.

“Second, the only people who may know are confidants of mine, these include but are not limited to Ms. Romanoff, who you will address by a title of their choosing. Third, you will refer to me as Daddy when we are alone and in the company of those aforementioned people.”

You gulp. That might be a little tough.

“You will perform all duties as needed, and as directed by me. My friends can give you directions in private, but if anyone who does not know about our agreement is within the room you will address us as if we are your boss and not your dominants. In return for your time you will receive $10,000 in your bank account every week on Friday, along with all of your bills being handled,” your ears start ringing at the idea of an amount that large, and it’s hard to catch the rest of her sentence. “I’ll get you in touch with my personal accountant tomorrow, so you can just send her all the billing information, so you don’t have to think about that anymore. Of course, you don’t have to move in with me, but it’s always an option. You’ll get a credit card attached to my account for food, clothes, or whatever it is you like.”

Alright, you’re absolutely fine with this. All you can imagine is all of your debt going down to zero – moving into a nicer apartment, maybe even getting a pet or something. Part of you worries that someone’s about to come out from behind and yell that you’re being punked, with the rest of you too distracted by possibilities all that money would give you.

After a moment she sets her large, sharp knife onto the cutting board, turning to you and lean on the marble countertop. The crackling of vegetable in oil behind her loud as fireworks rivals the heart beats in your ears. “Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes,” a moment passes before you finish. “Daddy.”

A satisfied smile spreads across her lips, and she turns to the stone before giving them a good stir. “Good.”

She finishes dinner and places it on an already-set table, the meal passes without much incident. Consisting mostly of you eating in relative silence while Carol talks about her day, she occasionally ask for your input or look at you for your reactions – largely she speaks between bites until the plate is clear save a few streaks of sauce. When Carol finishes her meal (just a few minutes after you finished yours), she sits back and sips at her red wine, staring at you as you, in turn, stare at your surroundings.  

The woman across from you breaks your concentration on a knick-knack positioned on the mantle in the living room. “Take all the dishes into the kitchen and rinse them off – I’ll have my maid finish them tomorrow. Come into the bedroom when you’ve finished, it’s down the hall to the left. The door will be open so it won’t be hard to find.”

It takes a second, but eventually a “yes, Daddy,” falls from your lips while you rush to clear the table fast as a mouse’s heart beats. She’s barefoot, walking away silently as you follow her orders. It’s not like it takes very long to clean up a dinner made for two, but the way your hands shake make you nervous to clean the steak knives and you’re sure if you broke a plate the world would shatter just the same. When you turn the faucet off, the silence cements your anxiety over your next task.

When you find the bedroom Carol immediately sits up from a chair to your left, staring down at you and invading your space. With every step back you take she takes one step forward, not stopping until you’re sandwiched between her and the wall. Silently, her hands make their way to the front of your neck, the feeling from her palm only pressing into your throat but somehow felt in your chest as well.

“What, baby?” she purrs, watching as your eyes widen with fear. “You can’t handle a little pressure?”

You don’t know what to do – whether to gasp out or claw at her wrists or kick at her. The wall is impossibly hard against your back, cold, too; similar to how Carol feels in front of you.

“So good,” she murmurs so quiet it’s as if she’s talking to herself. It makes a heat summer in your abdomen you can’t control. “Such a good little plaything for Daddy.”

Your brain starts to scream just as she lets go, watching as you fall to the floor and desperately inhale to fill your lungs back with air. “Is it just too much for you?” she asks. “Real shame if it is – we’re just getting started.”

You grasp at your chest, shaking your head. “N-no Daddy,” you somehow are able to gasp out. “N-no I can handle it, thank you, Daddy.”

Carol just smiles as you slowly regain a normal breathing speed, inhaling and exhaling with ease. “You’re very well-behaved little toy, aren’t you?”

“Y-yes Daddy,” you mumble out, the word still feeling foreign on your tongue – a mouth coated in vanilla that is suddenly spiced. As Carol beckons you closer, a single finger crooked to tempt you closer, you can’t tell if you truly dislike the taste that floods your mouth.

Slowly, with unwavering eye contact, you crawl towards her. Lust fogs out rational thought as she instructs you to get on the bed on all fours, you’re the cool bedroom air hitting your glistening pussy and sending shivers up your spine.

Carol laughs as she traces the pads of her fingers along your wet lips, watching as your hips back into her touch ever so slightly. “Such a little slut, aren’t you?”

You gulp, and in the half-second it takes for your brain to process what’s happening you hear skin hitting skin, and then a sharp pain erupted from your ass. “Yes! Daddy, yes!” you yelp, petrified of further punishment. “Mm, Oh I know, I know, it hurts so bad, doesn't it?” the woman behind you muses. “You know, one day I’m going to spank you until you can’t sit right for a week. But for now,” she rubs at the heated spot. “For now, this is enough.”

You shiver, wondering if she had any more fantasies revolving around you. How much has she thought about you? What else did she have planned for you – and what did she want to put you through?

Your thoughts are cut short as you feel two of her fingers easily entering you, the feeling of how full you making your upper body collapse onto the perfectly made bed while you ass careens towards her. “Such a tight pussy,” she whispers as she watches you grab at the bedsheets and moan lewdly. “Attached to such a good girl, too…”

She works you open easily, adding fingers as soon as your moans die down and ignoring where the ache between your legs sung the most intense. Even as you did your best to force her hand down, she resisted, correcting course when you tried to throw her off track. Eventually, a plea falls from your lips, small as a pebble and soft as a mouse.

“Please,” you nearly whisper. “Please, Daddy…”

Carol doesn’t skip a beat, fucking four fingers into you at an agonizingly slow pace. “Please, what, baby?”

“P-please can I c-come, Daddy?” you grit your teeth, not wanting to let a moan slip over your tongue. “Can you make me c-come, please?”

Carol, not stopping the way her fingers curl perfectly inside you, just smiles wickedly.  “Of course, good toys deserve good rewards.”

She grabs a long, curved vibrator that you hadn’t noticed before, using her free hand to turn it on to what you guess (and hope) is its highest setting. You barely have time to process what’s happening before it’s placed against your clit. Immediately you scream, nearly sobbing, as you switch between wanting more of it and hopelessly overstimulated. Regardless of your confusion you fuck yourself against her fingers and the toy, the fog clouding your judgement and eroding your hesitations.

“You take it so well,” she praises, and it lights one more fire inside your abdomen. “Did you know you get wetter, no matter what I say to you? It’s quite cute actually, how adorable you are when you’re getting fucked like the whore you are.”

Even if you wanted to respond, words turned into mush and babble as you get closer and closer to your peak. You’ve orgasmed before, it’s not as if you’re losing your virginity or anything…but this, this is different. None of the one night stands from Tinder or friends with benefits from college ever fucked you like this – and it makes you want it even more.

Carol’s voice solidifies your desires, whispering in your ear. “Come on, baby, come for Daddy…”

You cry out as you do just that, an explosion inside of you mimicking the way you gush onto the fancy comforter. You’re out of breath, your brain is fried, and you feel like someone turned your bones to Jell-O.

When the pleasure subsides and you finally collapse, Carol manhandles you until you’re positioned under the covers, wiping you down with a cold cloth before getting into bed next you.

Once you’re curled into Carol’s side the fatigue that’s been kept at bay takes over your body, your eyelids fluttering shut when you can’t keep them open any longer.

This is good, you tell yourself before you slip into unconsciousness. This, all of it, will be good for you.

[soldouthaz]

hey all!  it’s nearly the end of the year now and it’s time to finish the list of my favorite 2020 fics! (you can find part i of this rec here !) I can’t thank these authors and anyone else who published things this year enough. it’s been many long months where a distraction was much needed, and we got such amazing content for FREE. being able to escape into another world for even just a few minutes right now is priceless. 

to everyone who wrote something, read something, or simply made it through this year, kudos to you! wishing everyone a much more relaxing 2021 with even more amazing fics to come. :)  thank you guys for everything – happy holidays & new year, and happy reading!  

there were so many good ones out this year and there’s no way I can include all of them, but I enjoyed so many more than just the ones on this list! the ones I picked just stood out to me for some reason based on how I was feeling or what I was going through at the time, and they all helped me in some way or another. :) not to mention, I am sooo behind on recent fics and most of the blff, so I will be making more recs slowly into the new year as well!  

quick disclaimer! as with every time I put these together, this list is based on my own opinions and features a variety of different kinds of fics and tropes. I include the info next to them for a reason! please stick to your own preferences and leave any hate out of your choices. that being said, if you enjoy any of these, please leave the author a kudos, comment, or send them a message to let them know you liked it!  

okay, in no particular order!:  

a place with skeletons by @crazyupsetter / whoknows 
 E | 50k | b!L | veela!Louis 

“I would choose anyone other than you,” Louis says, picking up his train of thought again. He feels a lot more cornered and defensive when they’re in Harry’s house, for some reason. 

It doesn’t really make sense, considering that this time, Louis was the one who couldn’t hack it any longer. He broke first. There’s something about being in Harry’s space, though, the green and earthy feeling of it. It should feel like open space with all the plants, but Louis has never felt more claustrophobic than he does when he’s here. Harry’s chest moves against his back, a sharp intake of air. 

Before he can open his mouth to defend himself, Louis keeps going, “If I had a choice in any of this, I would have been saved by that elderly security guard over you. I wouldn’t mind having to have the occasional cuddle with her.” 

even the best laid plans by @falsegoodnight
 E | 25k | b!L | uni au  

Louis wants to have sex with someone and decides Harry is the perfect alpha for the job. 

runaway darling by @solvetheminourdreams 
E | 26k | no smut | wedding au  

An AU where Louis hates weddings, Harry loves them, and together they help a bride skip hers. 

three days in february by @mercurial-madhouse / writing_practice 
 E | 187k | b!L | magical realism  

Louis is cursed after a night out with the lads and the five have just three days to figure out what happened and how to break it before Harry and Louis both lose their sanity and maybe something more. Louis can hear everything Harry thinks and Harry isn’t sure he can keep his feelings for Louis a secret from his own mind. 

a springtime’s wilt, an autumn’s bloom by snowcaplou  E | 20k | b!L | abo 

Harry is Louis' personal chauffeur, and although he hides his feelings for his boss behind a wall of rigid professionalism, Louis still manages to squeeze through the cracks.

just a flicker in the dark by @falsegoodnight 
 E | 57k | b!L | witch!Louis 

Louis is a struggling witch desperate to prove himself after yet another magic disaster and finds a calling in the haunted house of client Niall Horan. Things get more complicated when he’s assigned a case partner: acclaimed medium and ex-boyfriend, Harry Styles. 

terror of surrender by @loubellies 
E | 31k | b!L | yoga instructor!H  

Louis is a recent divorcee with a new favorite yoga teacher, Harry. 

loving you’s a bloodsport by @rosesau
 M | 106k | no graphic smut | royalty au  

harry is a bratty prince, louis is a guard who works in his palace, and niall is the only one who’s got his life in control. 

spoonful of sugar by @zanniscaramouche (check out this part too!)  
E | 43k | b!L | mob boss!Harry  

Louis Tomlinson cares for his family above all else, a fact that’s led him on a twisted path peddling drugs to support them. Just as he’s made the decision to jump ship, Louis gets snared between the two largest crime syndicates in the city. To keep his family safe he’s forced to trust the man that failed to keep his promise two years ago, the resident drug lord he’s unknowingly been working for, Harry Styles. 

quiet people have the loudest minds by @2tiedships2
 M | 38k | referenced b!L | abo 

The one where Louis is a nonverbal omega who has accepted the fact that he will never find an alpha that will treat him as an equal. On the other hand, he’s never met anyone like Harry. 

works like a charm by @falsegoodnight 
E | 18k | b!L | Hogwarts au  

Ever since Louis joined the team in fifth year, a few facts have become set in stone. 

One: Louis is the best chaser in Hogwarts.  

Two: Harry is the best beater in Hogwarts. 

Three: They do not get along.  

So it’s really unfair of Liam to think that forcing them to spend time together as Louis recovers from his injury will make them the best of friends. The last thing Louis would do is get along with that git. 

show you the stars in the daylight by @yvesaintlourent / bruisedhoney 
E | 13k | b!L | friends to lovers  

The one where Louis has a type and at sixteen and scrawy, it’s definitely not his best friend’s little brother Harry…ten years later, he changes his mind. 

in a sea of mist by @tomlinvelvetfics 
E | 126k | b!L | mythology au  

A Greek Mythology/Camp Half-Blood AU where Harry is lost, the road to peace is a wretched one, and somehow, through a mist of confusion and regrets, Louis seems to be the only thing that makes sense and everything Harry needs. 

confessions of a fabricated alpha by @jaerie 
E | 18k | b!H/b!L mention | abo  

famous alpha Harry Styles has a secret and paying an alpha to roleplay a relationship with him over the phone is the only way he can be himself. 

take my whole life too by @goodmorninglou
  E | 24k | b!L | d/s elements | WIP

Louis knows three things, at the base of it all. 

He likes when Harry hurts him. He doesn’t know why, not really, but he knows that he likes it. Likes giving up control, likes feeling small and taken care of, likes being praised for taking whatever Harry gives him for as long as he gives it. He and Harry are meant to be. No matter what time they finally fall together, what day, what age, what place, the moment that they do, that’ll be it. It’s going to be them against everyone else, hand in hand for the rest of their lives. That’s been a given since they met. The half of Louis’ soul that’s missing is Harry’s. 

And, sans those two things, he doesn’t really know much of anything at all. 

sweet like honey by @falsegoodnight  
E | 33k | b!L | amateur porn au  

Harry and Louis need money and they find an unconventional solution in the form of PornHub. It’s not supposed to be a big deal. 

a few rereads posted from before this year that I enjoyed again!  

the case of the (definitely not haunted) styles mansion by briamaria  
E | 40k | b!H | nancy drew au  

the Nancy Drew AU where Marcel is a man of logic, Louis is a private detective who believes in ghosts, and the Styles Mansion is definitely, absolutely, positively *not* haunted. 

canyon moon by @eeveelou  
E | 40k | b!L | abo  

For as long as Louis has remembered, he has been promised to be mated to Harry, his best friend and the future pack alpha. But Louis’s heart belonged to the forest and to the hunt more than he could ever imagine it belonging to Harry.  Then Harry’s father dies in a violent accident, and Louis’s future alpha disappears on the wind.  

An A/B/O Lion King AU 

lemon eyes by @turnyourankle  
E | 50k | b!H | abo  

It’s not proper for omegas to mess around with alphas before finding their bondmate. But Harry doesn’t give a damn what’s proper and fully intends on getting as much experience as he can before even trying to find one. As far as he’s concerned, the right alpha won’t care, and he’ll have some fun on the way.  And who better to start with than Louis Tomlinson, the alpha with the worst reputation on campus? 

all this delusion in our heads by snowcaplou 
 E | 15k | b!L | exes to lovers  

After Harry and Louis break up, they cope with it in very different ways. What will happen when Harry keeps calling his ex over when things go wrong in his life, but Louis just can’t take it anymore? 

the way the storms blow by @rbbsbb  
E | 21k | b!L | roommates au  

Louis doesn’t have a habit of thinking about Harry’s dick. 

That would be weird, seeing as they’re best mates, and they share a flat, and they’ve spent holidays at each other’s family homes. 

Their friendship hasn’t ever risen to a point where Louis should want to see his mate’s dick, and he’s happy to keep it that way.  Except, all that Louis can think about is exactly that. The size of it. The shape. The amount of people it’s been in.  

Maybe it’s the tequila talking, or the fact that Louis’ just recently walked in to an eyeful of Harry taking turns on some slags that he’s never seen before, but. Louis’ mind can’t stop obsessing over the idea. 

and a few more recs from some other fandoms for anyone who might be interested! (feel free to rec me some more if you know of any!)  

burning the ground by lq_traintracks (drarry)  
E | 10k | b!draco | abo 

“Strap him down,” someone said, and Harry felt the rage thicken inside him – the viscous fear. Magical bindings pulled taut around his wrists … He felt a wand touch his arm and then a sharp bite as something punctured the skin, and a sweet, cool tonic rushed his veins. His breathing slowed. His eyelids drooped. The ceiling went grey and dark. And then he heard a woman’s voice sigh, “Someone, get Healer Malfoy.” 

every step you take by nokomis (sterek) 
 E | 50k | light b!Stiles | abo  

Stiles accidentally ends up magically bound to Derek. It’s super. 

+

alright, I think that’s it for this rec! as always, please let me know if i’ve tagged anything incorrectly or if you’d like to be untagged from something!  

and like I said before, I am wayyy behind on reading for these last few months and I need to catch up. when I do, I’ll definitely make some more recs into the new year! 

I just want to say another thank you to anyone who wrote or read or created or just existed this year. it’s been hard on us all but having this outlet definitely made it easier. I can’t wait to see what else is published next year! happy reading everyone, and happy new year! :)

[the-writing-mill]

assassin au with the "making a deal to save the other" and jangobi?

Okay, this one’s actually even a bit longer than the other one, so it’s going under a read more lol

Jango is a merc/bounty hunter/assassin guy, Obi-Wan is an information broker with an editing cover job and a “rental property” to embezzle money

These two have never met, and have no idea about each other’s identities beyond knowing their underground reputations, until Jango is hired to assassinate Obi-Wan’s little brother, Anakin

Obi-Wan is visiting Anakin for the weekend on the day of the planned assassination, and notices things are a little off, setting off all of his learned criminal world/underground alarms

(Anakin, btw, is a part time mechanic, part time engineering student. Obi-Wan has very carefully kept the boy out of his world since becoming Anakin’s official guardian after their adoptive father, Qui-Gon Jinn, died in an accident)

Obi-Wan gets paranoid enough after spending an evening with Anakin that he fakes a pillow body in the guest room and sets himself up in the living room to guard

This is somewhat fortunate for him when an apparent burglar (who moves much too professionally and dangerously) breaks in through a window near silently

Jango barely has half a second of realizing something’s up before being side tackled

The fight is pretty intense, if odd for being so quiet, since they both coincidentally don’t want Anakin to wake up (at some point Obi-Wan manages to get Jango’s ski mask off)

In the end, Obi-Wan ends up pinned under Jango, hands restrained above his head, knife against his throat, straddled

Jango grumbles sardonically about how Obi-Wan couldn’t make Jango’s job easier and just sleep through the night and call the police in the morning, tipping Obi-Wan off to the man being there for Anakin instead of him

Obi-Wan is, of course, a self-sacrificing idiot and gets Jango’s attention by wondering out loud about what a small-time mechanic going through school could have done to get a high-level assassin sent after him

(Jango’s plan, as Obi-Wan has figured out, was to stage a break in/burglary and wake Anakin up and kill him in the resulting “fight” to make it look like the burglar had killed Anakin in the heat of the moment)

With the man under him clearly having figured out too much, Jango decides he’ll have to kill him too, but first thinks it’s worth learning what gave him away

There’s a bit of back and forth until Obi-Wan is able to piece together who exactly Jango is (should his assassin name be Mythosaur? I think that would be fun and the “myth” bit can refer to his work being so subtle and Jango being such an unknown outside of his assassin rep)

Now, someone figuring out exactly who Jango is an even bigger no-no, so Jango goes right for the kill

Jango doesn’t manage to kill Obi-Wan before Obi-Wan offers a deal (didn’t think I’d take “making a deal to save the other” this way, did you?)

Jango’s pressing a blade into Obi-Wan’s neck enough to draw blood but finds himself intrigued enough to let the man talk for another few seconds (Obi-Wan really is quite the negotiator)

Obi-Wan offers free information for life, basically, and to be support for a set number of missions a year. In exchange, Jango won’t kill Anakin and will let Obi-Wan find Jango’s client and kill the client to nullify the contract (and prevent Jango’s rep from being tarnished)

It’s an utterly absurd proposal but also clearly made with knowledge of the underground, so Jango of course asks who Obi-Wan thinks he is to make that kind of offer

Jango finds himself reluctantly impressed by Obi-Wan’s identity (I have no idea what his underworld identity is, but I don’t it to be “The Negotiator”) and finds himself considering the deal, which Obi-Wan catches onto and he manages to convince Jango

(Part of the final deal includes the fact that Jango technically has two more months per his contract to carry out the hit. If Obi-Wan can’t find the client by then, Jango will kill Anakin anyways. Obi-Wan is desperately confident that he can do it, despite Jango having basically zero info beyond the contract and a clearly shell company in Hong Kong to wire the money to)

Jango gets Obi-Wan to give him a glut of information over the next few weeks, to the point of them spending a few hours in a private booth/room in a very private club so Obi-Wan can safely give it all to him. Obi-Wan is both desperate to meet expectations and tries his best; and is also very annoyed at getting pulled away from hunting down who’s trying to kill Anakin and therefore sasses Jango quite a bit.

Obi-Wan is really having trouble figuring out who wants to kill Anakin, finally giving in and starting from the other end, Anakin himself. Why would someone want to kill Anakin? Specifically why would the sort of person who can find and hire Jango want to kill Anakin? This is in some ways even harder to figure out, but Obi-Wan has many more leads and information to access

After a few weeks of this dynamic, the first change is when Jango and Obi-Wan end up complaining about a mutual acquaintance during an info drop off, which leads to more mutual bitching

Then Jango drags Obi-Wan across the country (we’re just going to assume we were in like… NYC or Chicago before) to assist him in another assassination in LA

Obi-Wan is somewhat tempted to get Jango caught, since that would be an easy way to save Anakin, but decides against it for multiple reasons (including a few that he will not yet acknowledge, including developing fondness for Jango and, even worse, the first few seeds of trust)

So instead of going to prison, Jango returns from a smooth assassination to an already half-drunk Obi-Wan, shirt very scandalously unbuttoned halfway down

The have a nice night of just drinking and relaxing and then wake up the next morning curled around each other in bed (they didn’t have sex, as the lack of certain types of soreness and their clean, still on, pants from the night before prove. But they still have the knowledge and a few sensations of sleeping together with their guards down)

When they get back, things are a little awkward, but it’s fine, they’re professionals, so they’ll keep meeting to keep up their deal. Obi-Wan keeps giving Jango any info he wants, and they keep accidentally falling back into their habits of doing things like complaining about mutual acquaintances who annoy them

Obi-Wan is also making some headway with investigating who wants to kill Anakin, finding many questionable decisions on Anakin’s part, especially regarding friends/social circle, but not anyone who would be able to hire Jango that would dislike Anakin

With about a week and a half left, and leads running out, Obi-Wan starts to freak out a little, which Jango notices, which in turn makes Jango realize that he doesn’t like Obi-Wan being stressed out and afraid and tense and looking at Jango like he’s a cat about to pounce on a wounded canary

But Jango also puts work before all else so when he has another job (coincidentally in the same city), Jango drags Obi-Wan with him, unfortunately making the mistake to literally bring Obi-Wan with him

When Jango starts cursing about the job going to hell part way through a shoot-out, Obi-Wan casually comments that it’s not even that bad, prompting a sass battle between the two of them while they’re still fighting their actual opponents where Jango realizes that Obi-Wan, as brilliant as he is, has the worst on-the-ground luck ever

In the end, they win, with a very damaged, limping vehicle that they, for handwavey reasons, need to get to some spot that the car won’t make it to as is. Thus, they have to go slide into the mechanic shop Anakin’s working the graveyard shift for

Obi-Wan really does hate, in many ways, finally having his two worlds collide, bringing Jango and the shot-out car directly to Anakin, and is almost distracted from how bad he feels about it when Jango tries to comfort him

Jango is, thankfully, a very good actor, and Anakin is a bit oblivious. He very easily starts clumsily probing Jango about what Obi-Wan and Jango quickly figure out Anakin thinks is a romantic relationship between them (and, to be fair, Obi-Wan has been acting strange, and spending much more time “with a friend” in the past two months or so)

At some point, Obi-Wan gets so uncomfortable with the idea that he and Jango are in a romantic relationship that he makes what is, to him and Jango, a mistake, and draws attention to the bullet holes again

Jango vaguely looks like he wants to kill Obi-Wan while Anakin casually explains it’s not that big of a deal, although he might have to find a better patch if this sort of thing keeps happening

This stops any murder plans Jango was making, and any counter plans Obi-Wan was making in favor of carefully probing Anakin to figure out when else he had fixed a bullet ridden car

Anakin reveals pretty easily that his engineering school’s dean, Sidney Palpatine (Sidney=Sid-=Sidious lol) had dropped in about two and a half months ago with a car in similar condition. As well as a few other people that Anakin describes well enough for Jango and Obi-Wan to identify as members of a local crime organization and a private army (like Blackwater/Academi), as well as mention a weird package in the trunk

This is clearly the who and why for Jango getting hired to assassinate Anakin, but they both play it cool until Anakin’s done and they can go on their way to drop off the vehicle

Cue Obi-Wan having a panic attack, which freaks Jango out quite a bit, since he’s so used to Obi-Wan being very calm and controlled and not showing vulnerability. Obi-Wan even gets outwardly angry

Cue Jango’s “oh. Oh.” moment

Jango basically drags a near catatonic Obi-Wan back to the apartment he’s been staying in and drugs him to sleep (in Jango’s mind, if Obi-Wan was too out of it to notice a drugged drink, then he clearly had no more business staying awake)

By the time Obi-Wan wakes up and starts panicking, less than yesterday (thanks to a good night’s sleep), Jango has some basic information on the legal and illegal lives of Palpatine, and a few half-formed assassination plans

Jango also has toast. Which he makes Obi-Wan eat. Obi-Wan grumps about not having been forced to eat breakfast since he was a teen. Cue a small sassy back and forth that further calms Obi-Wan down

Jango offers to kill Palpatine for free, which startles Obi-Wan because that is not how the criminal underworld works. Jango half-heartedly puts forth some logic about how Obi-Wan succeeding with their deal means that Jango gets to keep the best information broker on his side. Obi-Wan can tell that that isn’t all, and recognizes that Jango is probably being kind, but won’t outright admit it

They eventually decide on a plan where Anakin will bring Obi-Wan with him to go visit dean Palpatine who he’s friends with, and that Obi-Wan will bring some poisoned tea in a travel to mug to share. Anakin will refuse the tea, being Anakin, and Obi-Wan and Palpatine will both drink the poison. Obi-Wan will have the antidote (either disguised as something innocuous or to be taken during a bathroom break) and cure himself before there are any symptoms, leaving Palpatine to die of what will look like a natural heart attack

The plan goes awry, due to Kenobi luck, when Anakin accidentally has them barge in while Palpatine is meeting with another criminal. Cue a fight in the office, a secret passage, and more criminals to fight while Jango scrambles to get to the new location to help

Obi-Wan manages to actually word his way into delaying their defeats and deaths until Jango gets there. Jango manages to take out about half of the enemies before he gets defeated/captured as well

At this point Obi-Wan tries to make a deal again, to save Anakin and Jango. It seems to work/Palpatine seems interested, only for him to pull the rug out and basically say he’ll be either killing all three or making them wish they were dead, including some conjecture about Obi-Wan’s looks (aka sexual slavery)

Cue Jango getting incensed enough to break free again and start fighting again. He gets to Obi-Wan, frees him, and thus ensues a battle couple take down from the cheesiest of action flicks

In the end, Palpatine is the last one standing. Before either of them (or Anakin, who is beginning to get over his shock) can kill Palpatine, he runs away. Jango, Obi-Wan, and a confused Anakin give chase, stopping at the end of an alley as they realize that Palpatine has been hit by a bus

Jango and Obi-Wan drag Anakin through a convoluted path back to Obi-Wan’s apartment and confirm that, yes, Palpatine died. Jango and Obi-Wan quickly confirm that there’s nothing linking them to the crime scene (Palpatine had told his secretary that Anakin and Obi-Wan had left out the back when he realized he was going to have to kill them, giving them an alibi)

Obi-Wan and Jango tell Anakin a mostly true story and prod Anakin to decide to go back to [insert some place here] and live with some half-distant bio relatives (the Lars family), maybe finish his degree online

Cut to a few months later, Obi-Wan is reading an update text from Anakin before Jango comes into the room. Obi-Wan gives him a good luck kiss before sending Jango out to his job, reminding him that “I’ve always got your back”, Jango responds in kind, Obi-Wan accepts this/informs Jango that he knows before letting Jango drag him into another kiss

[mmvalentine]

I’m currently living 101% on fanfic and I’m starting to dream up plots someone help me

ok but here it is: the bat boys are cops (in my dream rhys wasn’t a cop he was an astronomer but he was tagging along cas and az for some reason?) and they have to go to this strip club after a lead but can’t reveal that they’re cops right away so the girls working there that might know something on the case will help. And of course one of the girls working there is feyre and rhys is like omg who is this goddess amongst us mortals? and she happens to be the one who has seen the suspect of the crime

and that’s it things just got weird in my dream after that

Anon y’all are cracked I honestly thought about it and then could not take it seriously this is so funny!!! I’m gonna write you a bullet fic kk?

· Cas and Az are detectives assigned to a top secret case where they need to go undercover to a strip club. Unfortunately, they have been working this area for years and since strip clubs don’t always attract the nicest people, they are worried they’ll get recognised if two cops suddenly show up together. So they convince their astronomer friend Rhys to come with them.

· The three boys go undercover as a stag do, where Rhys is the groom of course. They want all the girls to be paying attention to him so that Cas and Az can do some sneaky detecting.

· They arrive and Rhys sees Feyre first. She’s stunning, he’s speechless, it’s a good thing he’s sitting down because he might have fallen over. Then Cas and Az see her, and realise she’s the one they need to get close to.

· So of course they put in a request for Feyre to come dance for the groom and Rhys could have fallen out of his godsdamned chair. They prompt Rhys to try chat to her while she’s with them, and of course this goes predictably badly.

· On the upside, Feyre is used to awkward men trying to make small talk with her as she gets inappropriately close. So she humours him as he says things like ‘how long have you been here,’ ‘do you enjoy it,’ who’s actually the boss here?’

· Once Cas and Az are sure that Feyre is the right person and establish some basic info, they pay for a private session. The three of them go into a dark lounge, and Feyre starts to give them the VIP treatment.

· Cas and Az sweep the room for cameras and recording. While they do this, Feyre is giving Rhys a lap dance that makes him convinced he has died and gone to heaven. There’s a part of him that feels bad, because he’s never paid a woman for sexual attention before and he wonders if it’s demeaning to women. But Feyre certainly looks in control here, and he can’t help that he enjoys the feeling- he’s only human, after all.

· Once they are satisfied, Cas and Az tell Feyre what’s really going on. They say that they received an anonymous tip that the woman who runs this establishment has been trafficking girls and boys in, and abusing them while making a lot of money off them. They tell her they are ready to arrest her right now, if she will agree to testify in court.

· At that moment, Feyre changes completely. The fun, charming woman goes pale and looks terrified. It takes Cas and Az ten minutes to convince her they really are cops and they are here to help. Finally she agrees, and tells the where they can find the main office.

· Cas and Az thak her, and then leave her with Rhys as they go sniffing around for the owner of the club, the madame. Aramantha.

· Left alone, Rhys suddenly feels terrible for letting her dance on him. He should have stopped her, should have waited until Cas and Az told her the truth. He looks over at her and she looks scared.

· Feyre looks back at him and to his great surprise, breaks into a massive grin. She has tears in her eyes but she is just so relieved that someone is finally going after Aramantha.

· Rhys tries to apologise for the ruse, for making her dance on him. But Feyre laughs, and says she honestly enjoys it when the clients are as cute and sweet as Rhys.

· Rhys asks her how long she’s been here, and Feyre tells him it’s been almost a year. 50 weeks. She’s a little breathless, and wild-eyed with the fear and the anticipation of being free from Aramantha.

· Next thing he knows, Feyre leans over and kisses him. When he asks what that was for, she tells him it’s a thank you for bringing Cas and Az down here. Rhys tells her it wasn’t him. He’s just there to help out.

· Feyre tells him she’s still grateful he’s there. She sits back down over Rhys’ lap, and he is confused. Tells her she doesn’t have to do this anymore, they made sure no one could see them in here. Feyre says she knows.

· She restarts the lap dance, slower than before, staring into Rhys’ eyes. She says she is in need of distraction, waiting for Cas and Az is making her crazy. Then she kisses Rhys, and they both get so caught up in it that when Rhys’ phone ring they have their hands all over each other and the vibration of the phone makes them jump.

· It’s done. More police cars are arriving on scene now, patrons are being herded out in a hurry and police are talking to the men and women who work in the club.

· Feyre and Rhys hurry out the front, in time to see a furious looking Aramantha being cuffed by Az and Cas reads her her rights.

· Feyre thanks them all and everyone goes home. The club is shut down but the people who were living out of it are allowed to stay, since they have nowhere else to go. The police send in social workers to start longer term work with people who have been trafficked and now need to set up their own lives.

· Over the next few months, people slowly start moving out of the club. Feyre does some digging and because she is exceptionally clever, she realises that Rhys is actually the one who left the anonymous tip in the first place.

· She tracks him down, turns up at his doorstep and tells him as much. He tries to deny it, but she knows that has been spending time the park across the road, late at night with his telescope. He is the only one watching the area long enough to see what’s really going on in the club.

· And finally, Rhys confesses. He was the anonymous tipper. Even Cas and Az don’t know. Feyre asks him if she can buy him dinner. He says only if she wants to spend time with him as a person. He does not want her gratitude.

· She says she’s only here because he’s so damn cute. He laughs, and agrees.

· WELL of course she tells him to come pick her up, but when he gets there she’s actually made dinner at her apartment, and invites him in. She’s made soup, and they drink wine, and by the end of the night they’re naked on Feyre’s couch.

· A year later, Feyre and Rhys are living together. Feyre works as a teacher at a life drawing class, and Aramantha is rotting in jail.

· THE END

Hahaha there you go little anon I know it’s just bullets but I hope you got a kick out of it! Keep dreaming up weird and wonderful things my love!

[rogueninja]

and you know what while we’re on the subject, names have an interesting role in the series. let’s review

titular character’s name (din djarin) is not revealed until literally the last episode, and the fact that someone even knows his name is telling of WHO that person is and HOW they acquired this information. and it’s not that mando hides this information, per se. everyone just seems to know to call him Mando. The Mandalorians don’t seem to have any rules against sharing your name, but at the same time, rarely seem to offer up the information. Din himself stated he had not heard that name spoken since he swore the creed. 

interestingly enough, him name is actually spoken 2 more times in the episode after the reveal. once by himself when he tells the others to tell the covert that din djarin sent them (implying the other mandalorians will know who that is, even though his name has not been spoken (maybe he meant spoken by non-mandos?))

then again by the armorer who tells ig-11 to carry the jetpack for din djarin. this is especially interesting because she actually does not know that his name has been revealed to them. all this leads me to believe that his name having a reveal is a combination of the fact that mandalorians now live in secrecy (coming up only 1 at a time), the loner way of life of being a bounty hunter (few non-mando friends), and probably the fact that Din himself is very private and never offers up the information, plus the fact that society seems perfectly comfortable referring to every Mandalorian as “Mando.”

i’m interested to see how his name will be utilized henceforth. will cara dune start calling him Din? I expect Greef to continue with Mando. Maybe in the future someone will finally straight up ask him his name, or heaven forbid he actually properly introduce himself to someone. Heck even i feel weird referring to him as Din and not Mando bc he never seemed to offer that up freely

Baby Yoda. second only to the main character and the internet had to make up a meme name for him. canonically known as “The Child.” In this case, we have a character who we know pretty much nothing about their backstory, and they are literally a non-verbal baby who cannot communicate it to us. It has recently been teased that his name will be revealed in season 2. this may happen 1 of 2 ways

Mando somehow finds where The Child came from, and people there reveal his original name, if he ever had one. 

Mando names him. Really rooting for this one. Of course this could not take place in season 1 because though Mando cared for the child, he seemed reluctant to become emotionally attached, knowing this way of life wasn’t suited for him. However now that Armorer has declared them a clan of 2, it’s only reasonable Mando should name him!!! given the Yoda species trend, a ‘Y’ name seems probable but i’m fine with anything !! (i would even be on board with naming him kuill or something)

Kuill. I actually bring this up because even though his name is in the credits in the first 2 episodes, his name is not said onscreen until episode 7, where he deliberately is like “YO I HAVE A NAME” since Mando keeps calling him “ugnaught.” This once again seems to tell me that Mando literally never bothers to ask people’s names. Like he spent several days with Kuill without ever learning his name. It actually makes me wonder if maybe he doesn’t ask so they don’t ask back ?? just speculating here. honestly though he pretty much never seems to ask anyone personal questions like ever unless they offer up the info freely.

Carasynthia Dune. I think it’s safe to say we were all weirdly excited by this revelation. I decided to mention this because even though we knew her name already, just learning her full name feels like we know her that much more, especially considering this information was immediately followed by the reveal that she is Alderaanian, which really gives us pretty much all the info we need to know about her character and why she hates imps so much.

Just gonna throw this one in here: The Client. We don’t learn his name, and now that he’s dead we probably never will. We also knew nothing about him other than that he worked for Moff Gideon. 

Suffice to say, there are a lot of “The” names in this, The Mandalorian.

So what’s the point then?? To me, names have power, and in this show are kind of a gauge for how much is known about a character/how much that character wants others to know. We slowly get to know Mando better throughout the series, culminating in the reveal of his name. He is by nature a private person - we don’t even get to see his face until the same episode where his name is revealed. The Child’s name is as much a mystery as the character himself. Names have power in this show, and the more we know about them, the more is revealed about who that character is. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[magicalgirlsandcerulean]

Ep. 10's blog post

This blog post, with Hori's second entrance, is dated 15th June 2021. Spoilers below, as always!

Notes before we begin:

For those of you who didn't check out ep. 9's blog post, see tweet 2 on that for more info about one of the characters of the day.

Due to the unintended delay on this post, I've tried to translate more completely than usual and that caused the release of this post to be postponed by another day...Sorry. Even still, consult the actual post for proper placement of emojis, coloured text etc.

This time, just for efficiency's sake, I skipped a lot of the honorifics because Hori refers to Takara, Tina and Tsumahara as -san. I've only left it in for "Balle-san" (a one-off) and when other people refer to Hori as "Hori-san" (as opposed to when Hori calls himself "Hori" with no honorific).

Also, an advance note that you'll probably want to cry when Hori pulls out the crying kaomoji. (I wanted to cry at two points when he did, at least.)

CR translations were used where I could chase them up.

Post title: バリバリのバリの禁忌其の拾！

The Very Vigorous Taboo No. Ten! [T/N: バリバリのバリ (baribari no bari) has some obvious repetition in Japanese, so I had to try convey that in English as well, even though small!Takara is more "working hard" than "vigorous". The final "bari" is a Hakata dialect thing - we already know Hori is from Fukuoka, so that fits. I had to translate the title because this phrase appears later on.]

皆様、お世話になっております。

Everyone, thank you for taking care of me. Fairy蘭丸〜あなたの心お助けします〜で雅楽代 寶 を演じております、堀 曜宏と申します。

I am called Akihiro Hori, who voices Takara Utashiro in Fairy Ranmaru ~We Will Help Your Heart~. 又の名をジャガイモ堀堀です、本日は何卒よろしくお願いします。

Also known as "Potato Digging Hori", please kindly take care of me today. [T/N: "Potato digging" = jagaimo hori, so "potato digging Hori" = jagaimo hori Hori. It also makes reference to the ep. where the kids dug up potatoes.] 禁忌其の拾『快楽』熱かったですね！！！

Episode 10, "Hedonism", was passionate, wasn't it?!!! 今回は寶さんの二回目のお当番回ということで、本編を見返しながら楽しめるような感想を主観ですが、勢いと共に書かせて頂きたいと思います。

This time was Takara's second focus episode. Although we see [elements] that recur from the original story [ep. 5], the impressions we are able to enjoy are subjective and so I will write with fervour. 開幕は女王チームとの密談からSTART!!

We START by opening the curtain on the queen team's private talk!! [T/N: "Queen team" = Queen + Houjou (+ sloth).] シリウスについて女王からせっつかれている寶さん。

The Queen is pestering Takara about Sirius. 座長…誰の台詞が麩菓子じゃい！！！！

Leader...whose lines are fugashi!!!! [T/N: Fugashi are a type of Japanese sweet. There are sweet potato fugashi, so I assume this is either a typo or a pun on a similar word. If it's a pun, the word is likely to be おかしい (strange, suspicious, unbecoming).] [T/N 2: The line below suggests "leader" (zachou) = Ranmaru, so this sentence would be referring to Sakata.] でも生配信で話している時の堀からは想像できないと思いますが…実は普段の堀は、どうやら寶さんの女王様に対する話し方くらいのらりくらりでみんなと通話しているらしく、このシーンをみんなで見てる時、ざちょ「堀さんだ」草「堀さんだねぇ」なんて言われながらみんなに笑われておりました。

However, while the stream was happening, I couldn't imagine this, but...to tell the truth, the way I usually speak to everyone is like Takara's non-committal way of speaking to the Queen, so when everyone saw this scene, the leader [Sakata] went, "That's Hori-san," and Kusano went, "That's Hori-san, isn't it?" without saying anything and so everyone laughed. 電話が切れた後の豊穣さんと女王の会話から、寶さんのお父上が夭聖界にとって如何に大事な存在だったかがわかります。

After the call was cut, we learn how important Takara's father is in the fairy world from Houjou and the Queen's conversation. そんな豊穣さんからの厚い信頼に応えるように、どこかのお姉さんへお誘いをかける寶さん…

While proving worthy of Houjou's kind confidence, Takara is asking a girl out somewhere... お相手の名前、ayakoさんって面白い名前だなぁと思ってたら、堀気づいちゃいました。[T/N: The source text, as you can see when you pause the ep. at the right time, is meant to say "[at sign]yako", but the at sign was tripping the "mention a user" function in Tumblr, so I had to swap it out with a lowercase A where it appears in this post.]

His partner's name is "ayako", which I thought was an amusing name. これ、あやこって読むんですね！！！（アハ体験）

This is read "Ayako", isn't it?!!! (a-ha moment) そしてはい、きました、 バリバリのバリのショタカラさん！！！！（人間体）

Also, we got to see him, the very vigorous sho-Takara!!!! (human form) [T/N: Literally "we got to see him" was "[he] came", LOL.] [T/N 2: Sho-Takara = shota (prepubescent boy) + Takara.] あまりの可愛さにコメントも騒然としましたね。

There was an uproar in the comments that he's excessively cute. 回想シーンでは以前も登場した、弁護士さんと寶さんの関係も明らかになりました。

The relationship between the lawyer, who's appeared before this flashback scene, and Takara is also made clear. 弁護士さんも元夭聖、しかも寶さんのお父上とただならぬ関係だったみたいです。

The lawyer was also from the fairy world and had a strong relationship with Takara's father. 幼い寶さんは弁護士さんからどんな風に人間界の生き方を仕込まれたんでしょうか…

What sort of way of living in the human world did the very young Takara learn from the lawyer...? 半裸シーツで肌に傷をおった姿のショタカラさんが、窓の外を見上げながら「いつかきっと… 」と呟く様子にその壮絶さを感じます。

The half-naked and wounded sho-Takara, looking out the window and whispering, "Someday, surely..." [gives off a] heroic feeling. [T/N: I couldn't use the CR quote for this because that's translated more in context, as just "someday".] 寶さんのエセ関西弁は、この弁護士さんに仕込まれた影響だったんですね。

Takara's fake Kansai accent is acquired from the lawyer's. そして現代に戻ったと思ったら、 飛んで火にいる子猫ちゅわん！

Also, when we think we've returned to the present, a kitten jumps into the flame! [T/N: This translation builds off the CR version of the line, "Like a kitten to the flame!"] 今回の依頼人、ティナさんの登場です！！

This time's client, Tina, appears!! 「ちょっと何言ってるかわからないんだけど！」

"Oh, please! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" 寶さんこの時のっけから飛ばしまくっていたので、堀はこの台詞がツボに入って笑いを堪えるのが大変でした。

Takara, at that time, couldn't help but send her flying from the beginning and it was difficult for me because I was trying not to laugh - there was "tsubo" in my lines. あいも変わらずスマートに名刺を渡すも、「世界で一番惚れてる男のところに連れてって！」とピシャリ。

Even after [Takara was] as smooth as ever and [handed] over the business card, she refused with "Take me to the man I love most!" [T/N: The word for "smooth" here is literally "smart", but "smart" doesn't seem to have the right connotations.] …どうやら今回の依頼人も、一筋縄ではいかないみたいです。

...apparently, this time's client seems very straightforward. 『快楽』ﾁﾘﾘﾘﾝ

"Hedonism" *ring ring ring* 寶さんはティナさんをお子さんのお迎えに連れて行き、そのまま2人を仕事場へと送り届けます。

Takara brought Tina to her child and, without a pause, brought those two to [Tina's] workplace. 仕事場ではみんなでティナさんのお子さんをあやしていたり、同僚の方のティナさんのダンスへの信頼に、思わずいい職場だなぁと感心する堀でしたが。。。

At the workplace, everyone comforted Tina's child and Tina's colleagues had confidence in her dance, so I admired, without thinking, how good of a workplace it was... そこに現れる父親、妻原さんですよ！！！！！（ﾌﾝﾇｰ‼︎）

Then the husband, Tsumahara, appeared!!!!! (Barbarian!!) [T/N: There is no confirmed reading of this name, so it might be "Tsumabara".] 前回のうるう回の久二さんも相当でしたが…勝るとも劣らない圧倒的なそれ…っ！！

He's equivalent to last time's (Uruu's episode's) Kyuji...but [Kyuji] overwhelmingly compares favourably to that guy...!! お子さんの顔も見ずにお金をせびるのみならず、ティナさんの一張羅のコートまで…！！

Not only does he demand money without seeing his child's face, but he also goes as far as taking Tina's one good coat...!! ちょっと申し訳なさそうにして受け取るのがまた、なんかもう…っ！！

The fact he looks a little apologetic as he receives it is just...!! だのにティナさんは、頑張って稼がなきゃって…″家族″のためにって(′つω；｀)

Despite this, Tina must try her hardest to make money...for her "family". (′つω；｀) その言葉は、お子さんに対してだけじゃなくて…うわぁああああ！！！

Those word aren't just for her family...uwaaaaa!!! 次のカットで妻原さんは貰ったそのお金をギャンブルに突っ込んでました（遠い目）

In the next cut, Tsumahara pushes the money he received into gambling. (distant eyes) この時の寶さんのモテポイント、 「姉さん、そろそろ出番でっせ」は何も見なかったように落ち着いて投げてあげて、 それでも見られたくない所を見られちゃった、というニュアンスが返ってきたら 「こういうことする俺、格好ええやろ？」と冗談まじりに茶化しながら優しさを渡す。

This is the time Takara is popular. He says, "Dearie? I think you're on." He calms down and gives up as if he never saw anything, but even still, after he returned [from seeing her exchange with Tsumahara] with a nuance of "he saw what he did not want to see", he would joke gently, "Aren't I cool for doing this sort of thing?" and poke fun at himself. この機微がモテる大人のテクニックなんですよ…！！

This subtlety is a technique popular with adults...!! 見てくださってる男性の皆さんにも是非取り入れていただきたい…なぁみんな！！？

Any men watching should certainly take in this [advice]...yeah, everyone?!! 堀は後十年は修行させてください(′・ω・｀)

Please train me [in the art of love] for another 10 years. (′・ω・｀) はい、一方BAR Fは今日もカレーです。

Yes, at the same time, there's curry at Bar F today too. 前回のラストが熱い…！展開だっただけに、皆さんあれからどうなったのか、眠れない夜を過ごされていたと思います。

The conclusion last time was intense...! I'm sure everyone had a sleepless night wondering what happened after that development. 何気なく水をうるうくんに渡す焔くん 、 何気なく焔くんを気遣ううるうくん、 照れながらも返事をする焔くん、 嬉しそうな蘭丸樹果バックン。

Homura, who's casually giving water to Uruu,

Uruu, who worries about Homura,

Homura, who blushes while responding,

Ranmaru, Juka and Bakkun, who seem happy. てぇてぇが過ぎてぇ堀は平身低頭（てぇとう）ですありがてぇ…ありがてぇてぇ！！！！

They're excessively precious and I was prostrating myself, thanking them...thanks, precious!!!! [T/N: Hori slurs several of his words in this sentence, typically てぇてぇ = toutoi (precious/noble), 平身低頭 = heishin teitou (prostrating oneself) and ありがてぇ = arigatou (thank you). He then combines てぇてぇ and ありがてぇ, hence "precious".] それから所変わってお出掛け中の寶さん、 いつも通りキスのおねだりを茶化しながら交わしていきます。

Then, in the meantime, Takara was out, as always, begging for kisses and teasing a woman. 聞こえないくらいの声で憂うように、「わいが欲しいのは、なんやろなぁ」とポツリ。

In a voice that can barely be heard, he mumbles, "I don't know what I want..." この台詞は後の展開にも効いてくる凄く大事な台詞なんですが…。

This line is very important in terms of later developments... コメントで「（カレーには）ナンやろなぁ…」って書いた人怒らないから正直に言いなさい（ﾋﾟｷﾋﾟｷ）

In the comments, there was a person who wrote, "I don't know what (curry) I want..." - please say who you are, I won't be mad *veins snap* Aパートおしまい！

That's the end of the A part! ブログでもCM入ります！情報いっぱいだよ！

This is a blog, but I'll still insert ads! There's a lot of info! ・山野ホールでライブします！（9/18だよ！）

- The live show at Noyama Hall! (On the 18th of September!) ・特典盛り沢山のBD、DVD発売します！（第1巻は６/16発売！）

- The BD/DVD is being sold, with lots of bonuses! (1st BD/DVD sold on the 16th of June!) ・キャラソンアルバムHEAVENS DOOR発売します！（同じく6/16、遂に艶歌が全部聞けるよ！）

- The character song album HEAVEN'S DOOR is being sold! (On the same day [as the BD/DVD], the 16th of June, so you can finally hear the whole enka!) てつえーさん「Nice Pole Dance…ﾀﾞﾝｽﾀﾞﾝｽ」（ええ声エコー）

Tetsuei [Sumiya]: "Nice pole dance...(dance dance)" (nice voice echo) Bパートいきます！！

To the B part!! 開幕ティナさんのキラキラポールダンスからスタート！！

The curtain opens on Tina, who starts with a sparkling pole dance!! お子さんを膝に乗せて馴染んでいる寶さん。

The child, who's on the lap of and [now] accustomed to Takara. お子さんのママ～！の声、可愛いですねぇ(´,,･Д･,,`)

The child's cry of "Mama~!" was cute, wasn't it? (´,,･Д･,,`) やはり彼のためにも、家族の為にも頑張るというティナさん。

Of course, Tina will try hard for his sake, for the family's sake. 自身の生い立ちから、家族という存在をいかに大事にしているかが伺えます。

From his own background, we can see how much he values the existence of his family. 5話の寶回の時の依頼人の恵夢さんもやはり家族のために身を粉にして働いていましたし、今回のティナさんも…。

From episode 5's Takara episode, the client, Emu, also worked assiduously for her family, so this time's Tina also... 寶さんにも金鋼族の復興のため、寶さんのため、痩せ細った体で自分の食べるものすら譲ってくれたお母さんという存在がいたからこそ、家族のために自分を犠牲にして頑張る方に複雑な思いを抱いてしまうので��無いでしょうか。

In order for Takara to revive the Metallum Clan, for Takara's sake, Takara's mother even gave over her own food and it is precisely because of that that she became a victim of trying hard for the sake of her family and that's why Takara has such complicated emotions, is it not? しかも今回はその″家族″が不義を行っているなんて…。

Moreover, this time, this time's "family" is unjust... そしてそして！！！！！

Also, also!!!!! お待たせしました！銭湯ノルマ達成ですありがとうございます！！

Thanks for waiting! Thanks for fulfilling the bath quota!! この時流れてきた「みんなストローは持ったかァ！！」ってコメント、爆笑しました。

At this time, the comment that came about was "Everyone's holding straws!!" and so there was uproarious laughter. [T/N: It's not clear if there's just one person laughing or many, hence the intentional vagueness.] ですが今回の銭湯の中身はすっごくシリウス…じゃなかったシリアス。

However, this time's bath [scene] is amazingly serious...not (Sirius). [T/N: Hori inserts Sirius's name at the end of the sentence as a pun on "serious", so if it seemed like the translation said "serious, not serious", I did my job.] みんなの顔を眺めながら、豊穣さんと交わした特命の話を回想していきます。

After we gaze at everyone's faces, we go to a flashback scene where [Takara is] given his directive from Houjou. その中には女王に内密の話まで…そんな重たいものを背負いながら、寶さんはみんなに毎日カレーを作っていたんですね。

In that it's to the point it's kept a secret from the Queen...Takara makes curry for everyone everyday while burdened with those heavy things, huh? でも、これまで毎日みんなでカレーを食べて、銭湯に入って、愛著を集めて、日々を過ごして。

However, until now, every day everyone's eaten their curry, gone to the bath, gathered attachment and spent their days [together].

家族として一緒に過ごしてきたみんなの顔を見回した時の寶さんの顔は、優しさに満ち溢れた顔でした。

As family, when spending time together and looking around at everyone's faces, Takara's face is full of affection. この時の「楽しい時間は長く続きまへんな」という台詞。

At this time, there is the line: "The fun times never last, do they?" 寶さんのみならず、堀自身もF蘭の最終回の近さを意識しておりましたので、言葉にした時に込み上げるものがありました。

Not only Takara, but I personally realised F-Ran's final episode is near and so, while I'm bad at putting this into words, [emotions] welled up inside me. そして明らかになる妻原さんの別の家族の存在。

Then, it becomes clear Tsumahara has a different family. ティナさんと妻原さんの会話が始まります。

Tina starts a conversation with Tsumahara. もうここの妻原さんのクズっぷりが真骨頂！！！

Already, the Tsumahara from this [point in] time's true worth is basically scum!!! ティナさんがあまりにもあまりにも可哀想で…

Tina is really, really unfortunate... 「お前も俺を見捨てるんだな！！」

"So, you're abandoning me too!!" あんた、別のところでも同じようなことしとったんか…？

Aren't you the same, even though it's from a different perspective...? 絶望のあまり、倒されたゴミ袋の上で笑うしかなくなってしまうティナさん。

Without much remorse, Tina has no choice as she's left collapsed on the rubbish bags and Tsumahara laughs. そこに夭聖は現れるんです…！！

Then, the fairies appear...!! 「美人さん、お持ち帰りしてええか？」

"Lovely lady, might I walk you home?" ほんと、全人類言ってみたい台詞トップ5にランクインする台詞です…！！

Really, that's going to rank in the top 5 lines that all of humanity wants to be said to them...!! チャイルドシートを携えたいつもの車でティナさんの話を聞く寶さん。

Takara listens to the story of Tina, who's always carrying a child seat around with her. 「わかってた、利用されてるだけって」

"I knew...some part of me knew he was just using me." 「なのに、あいつがポケットに手を入れた時にさ、指輪かなって思ったんだよね」

"But when he reached into his pocket, I honestly thought it might be a ring." 「笑顔で溢れるあったかい家庭、作りたかったの」

"I wanted to create a happy family, full of smiles..." この台詞が悲痛過ぎて…。

These lines are too sorrowful... 堀は最初、思わず拳を握りしめて返す台詞をかけてしまいました。

I, at first, clenched my fists without thinking at these lines. ですがこの時、製作陣から、何より真摯に優しさを向けてあげて。

However, this time, I felt sincerely affectionate for this cobbled-together group. 頑張っている人は報われるんだよ。ってティナに伝えて欲しい、というディレクションを頂いて。

I received the direction that I should convey to Tina, "Hard work will be rewarded!" このシーンの台詞は寶さん自身の言葉で、その思いが乗らなきゃダメなんだと何度もトライさせていただきました。

This scene's dialogue is in Takara's own words and I had to try repeatedly to convey his thoughts on it. 「あなたの心、頂けますか？」 から大自然の流れでジャ…変身の時間だぁーーー！！！！！

After "Could I take your heart?", the scene changes and...it's transformation time---!!!!! 思わずナイスバルク！と声をかけたくなる惚れ惚れする筋肉。

Without thinking, I was charmed by [Takara's] muscles and wanted to call out, "Nice bulk!" 画面いっぱいに広がる肉体美と拳、地面をぶっ壊しながらあげる名乗り。

The physical beauty of his body and fists filled the screen, he broke the ground and called out his name. 格好よさが臨界点突破して美しいに昇華しとるんですよ！！！！！！！

His coolness has broken through the critical point and sublimated itself into beauty!!!!!!! 妻原さんはティナさんとあんな会話をした後だというのに、 魂が昂りながら「夢も愛もどうでもいい」なんて曰いながらギャンブルに興じていらっしゃいますねぇ…。

Tsumahara, even after he had that conversation with Tina, happily spends his days gambling, arousing his spirit as he says, "What do dreams and love matter?" バレさん、技を借りるぜ…！！

Balle-san, I'll borrow a technique of yours...!! ふざけんにょ！！！！！

Stop screwing around!!!!! [T/N: reference to Balle-san's ep. 9 post] そして始まる艶歌、五話もそうでしたが、歌詞が今回の話とのリンクして、絵の美しさも合間って没入してしまいます。

Then the enka begins - it was in ep. 5 as well but the lyrics are linked to this episode and I was immersed in the beauty of the visuals for a moment. 早くフルで聴いてほしい！！！皆様、是非HEAVENS DOORを！「愛の勘定」も勿論ですが、みんなの艶歌をフルで聴けばストーリーとのリンクが増して、よりグッと来るはずです！！！

I want you to hurry and listen to the full version!!!! Everyone, please listen to HEAVEN'S DOOR! There's "Payment of Love" of course, but if you listen to everyone's full enka, you'll [be able to make] links with the story and it will hit you in the feels!!! 艶歌が終わり、ドアが開けば今回のヘブンズ空間はまるで屏風の中に入ったかのような和風の世界。

After the enka ends, the door opens to this time's Heaven's Room, which is a Japanese-style world quite like that on a folding screen. そこに雷神と雷神を模したかのような敵が現れます。

Then, enemies that look like the well-known thunder god and a thunder god's imitation appear. [T/N: referring to Raijin] 毎回のことですが、ヘブンズ空間も本当に趣向を凝らしてあって…ど緊張のバトルシーンのはずなのに、思わず堀の魂も昂ってしまいます…！！！

It happens every time, but these Heaven's Rooms are really ingenious...there should've been a hugely nerve-wracking battle scene, but without thinking, my spirit was unintentionally aroused...!!! なんと今回の鍵穴にはティナさんとお子さんの2人が！

What? This time Tina and her child are both behind the keyhole! なぜわかったノルマに愛らしい声が混ざる日が来るとは。

I never thought I'd see the day where a charming voice would be mixed in with the "What? I got it!" quota. そしてもう一方の鍵穴からは妻原さんの極悪な声が…

Also, in the other keyhole is Tsumahara's heinous voice... 「人はなあ！快楽には勝てねぇんだよ！」 「酒！タバコ！セッッッ！！薬物！！特にギャンブルはなぁ！！」

"A person can't conquer their hedonistic tendencies! The pleasures of drinking! Smoking! Sex! Drugs! And gambling especially!!" [T/N: Hori censors the word "sex" by "stuttering" over the final syllable but CR doesn't, so I've sided with the latter.] 座長が現場で ハッキリ言ったぁーーー！！！ってツッコんでたのを覚えていますw

"The leader put it clearly at the time--!!!" I remember joking. ですが、言葉のパワーはもうネタの領域を超えた、狂気の世界のそれです。

However, that is a mad world where the power of words is beyond the realm of stories. その言葉に促されるように敵から酒の玉攻撃が、 そしてもう一方の敵からはヤニの煙の攻撃が。

With those urging words, the enemies send bubbles of alcohol and then from the other side comes a tobacco smoke attack. この時のうめき声のディレクションは、堀くん今○○kgの重りが乗ってるよ！！ と言われながら、体にそれに合わせた負荷をかけるように声を出していました。次の日筋肉痛になりました。

At this time, when the direction, "Groan and pretend you have a __ kg weight on you!!" was given, as I shouted, it was like a corresponding load was being added. The next day my muscles hurt. なんとか持ち堪えた寶さんですが、 「なら、これならどうかしら…」 その言葉と共に現れる寶さんのお母さんの幻想。

Takara's able to hold out somehow, but then an illusion of Takara's mother appears with the words, "Well, what will you do?" 前回もうるうくん���お母さんと焔くんのお父さんが現れましたが、まさか今回は寶さんのお母さんが…。

Last time, Uruu's mother and Homura's father appeared, so surely this time Takara's mother... しかもこんな形で痩せ細っていないお母さんの姿を見ることになるなんて…！

Furthermore, to see his not-so-skinny mother in this form...! あの優しかった声で、こちらに攻撃をかけてきます。

This is the attack that's given with that gentle voice. 押し倒されて首をしめられる寶さん。

Takara is being held down and strangled [by his mother's illusion]. この時の台詞の色気も相まって、まるで2人が繋がっているような…

Coupled with the sexiness of the dialogue at this point, it's as if the two are connected... 更に畳み掛けるようにチェリーの入ったグラスから液体を口に含み、そのマッマ寶さんの口に流し込みます。

Furthermore, as if pressing for answers, Takara's mother uses her mouth to pour liquid into Takara's mouth, from a glass with a cherry in it. 苦しさのあまり悶絶絶叫する寶さん、これは先の妻原さんの「酒、タバコ、セッッッッ、そして薬物」それらの快楽を暗喩しているのでしょうか。

Is Takara, who's about to scream and faint in agony, [being subjected to] metaphors for hedonism Tsumahara was mentioning earlier? そしてシリウスの登場です。

Also, Sirius appears. す○ざんまいのポーズって言うのやめーや！！！

Stop doing the Su___zanmai pose!!! [T/N: referring to the dude who stands with his hands outstretched from Sushizanmai] しかし今回の句には堀は思わず確かに…と頷いてしまいました。

However, this time I couldn't help but nod and say, "Indeed..." 人は何故ほんの刹那の快楽のために沢山のものを犠牲にしてしまうのか…

Why do we sacrifice so much for a fleeting moment of pleasure? むしろ刹那だからこそ、それを追い求めてしまうのかもしれませんね（哲学）

Rather, it's because it's momentary that we chase it and seek it out? (philosophising) 苦しみながらも、「俺が欲しいものはこんなんじゃない」と懸命に耐える寶。

Even in agony, Takara eagerly bears it [and says], "This isn't what I want." しかしそれも、「あなたが欲しいのは、母親からの豊満な愛情でしょう？」と、肥大化した幻想に押しつぶされる寶さん。

However, in addition to that, the illusion becomes fat [with the words], "What you want is the full-bodied love of your mother!" ニコニコのタグにもありましたが、確かに快楽要素全部乗せプレスは重い、重すぎます。

As the tag on Nico Nico said, it is true that all the hedonistic elements being pressed are heavy, far too heavy, イきかける寶さんですがなんとか力を振り絞り、幻想を押しのけます。

Takara is about to have the life choked out of him, but he comes to his senses and pushes the illusion away. しかしそれが最後の力だったのか、体が動かず追撃をかわせそうにありません…！

However, that was the last of his strength and so he's not able to move...! これで終わりか…と思ったその瞬間ですよ！！！！！

This was the moment...I thought it was the end!!!!! 最高に勇ましい掛け声と共に焔が敵の攻撃から寶を守ります！！

With a shout, Homura, who's the best and heroic, comes and protects Takara from attack!! そのまま蘭丸とうるうが雷神と風神を倒し、樹果が 「オン・アユス・ヴァルタ！」の掛け声とともにペロキャンを振って寶さんを回復してくれます。

Similarly, Ranmaru and Uruu bring down the thunder gods and, with his tongue stuck out and his lollipop, Juka yells, "On ayus valta!" to heal Takara. ここ、さいっっっっっこうに熱かったです！！！！！

This was the most intensssssssssssssse [moment]!!!!! 寶のピンチに駆けつけるファミリー達、初めての全員集合、初めての共闘！！！

This is the first time they've [run to Takara's aid and] fought as a family when Takara was in a pinch!!! 台本を読ませてもらった時は、遂にきたか…！くらいの興奮だったんですが、 現場でこのシーンを録った時、こーすけの「はぁあああああ！！」って勇ましい声が聞こえてきた瞬間、鳥肌がブワァーって！体がカァーッて！熱くなったことを強く覚えています。

When reading the script, I was exhilarated to the point of going, "Finally, they came!" and now that this scene is recorded, I strongly remember the moment Kohsuke [Tanabe] valiantly can be heard going, "Haaaaaaaaaaa!!" I got goosebumps from the passion. 蘭丸とうるうの声も頼もしくて、樹果のたからぁ～！って呼び声に癒されて。

Trustworthy Ranmaru and Uruu, and Juka healing Takara by calling out his name. こんなに頼もしい仲間達が揃って、負けるわけがないですよ！！！！

With trustworthy friends like these, you won't lose!!!! この後の飛び上がるシーンも、月を殴りつけるシーンも、高まったボルテージを思いっきりぶつけさせて頂きました！

After this is the flying scene, the moon-breaking scene and I was able to use my heightened [emotions] to the fullest! [T/N: Hori calls his heightened emotions "voltage".] そしてGO TO HEAVEN!!!!!

Then, GO TO HEAVEN!!!!! 「またすっからかんかよぉ～！」なんて言いながら、トドメを刺された時の勢いで手持ちをオールインしてしまう妻原さん。

Tsumahara, for some reason, said, "I'm broke again?!" as he's finished off while playing everything he has with an all-in due to his leftover momentum. [T/N: the all-in in poker] ティナさんの「寶さん、あなたと結ばれたかった…」

Tina: "Takara...I wish we could've been together." 依頼人からこんなに純粋に好意を向けられるなんて…寶さんも罪な人ね。

The client has this kind of pure affection [for him]...Takara's also a wrongdoer, isn't he? ですがそれは叶わない、ティナさんもわかっているからこその過去形なのでしょうか…。

However, that can't be granted, since Tina understanding him is now past tense, isn't it...? こんなにも切ないワンシーンなのに、もう1人の堀が「あなたと結バレッタ裕…」って囁いてきてもうダメです（現在朝4時）

In this one heartrending scene, too, another Hori whispers to me, "You and Yutaka Balletta ..." but it's already no good (currently 4 in the morning)

全てが片付き、夭聖体のみんなが寶さんに声をかけてきます。

Everything's wrapped up so everyone calls out to Takara. なんだよお前ら、ちくしょー、まじで、お前ら…(′つω；｀)

What the hell, everyone, damn, really, you guys... (′つω；｀) しかもうるうくん、「僕たちは、ファミリーなのだから」それってさ、焔くんのことも、みんなのことも引っくるめて″ファミリー″なんだよね…？

Yet, Uruu goes, "We're family, in case you've forgotten." That means Homura and everyone are 'family', huh...? 万感の思いを込めて「サンキュ」と一言だけ返す寶さん。

Takara returns that with a single word full of emotions: "Thank you." 寶さん、あなたの欲しかったものって、きっと…

Takara, what you really want is certainly... そして後方家族面の蘭丸、その視線の先には様子を見ていたチルカが…。

Then, from behind Ranmaru, Chilka, who was watching him out of the corner of his eye... かつて愛していると言っていた蘭丸に対して、「Go to Hell!!地獄に落としてやる！」と言い残してその場を去ります。

As opposed to [when] he said he loved Ranmaru in the past, he leaves as he [yells], "Go to hell!!" …何故和訳してくれたんだ…。そこに不穏な空気が残ります。

Why did this Japanese translation come up? This left a disquieting atmosphere. [T/N: Hori translates "Go to hell!" (ENG) as "Fall into hell!" (JPN).] 豊穣さんの「いいファミリーになりましたな」

Houjou: "They've become a fine family indeed." この一言、嬉しかったなぁ。

I was happy with this one brief comment.

第一話の時、「君たちは今からファミリーだ」 なんて言われて戸惑っていた5人ですが、今では声を大にしてファミリー蘭丸って叫べます。

In episode 1, he says, "From now on, you are family," leaving the 5 of them bewildered, but now they can yell about how they're "family Ranmaru". いや、ファミリー蘭丸ではないけどね！？山本さんのプリティミス（伏線）だけどね！？笑

No, not "family Ranmaru"?! Is this a pretty mistake from Yamamoto (foreshadowing)?! (LOL) [T/N: This is referring to Bakkun's VA Kazutomi Yamamoto. Also, yes, it does say "pretty mistake", but it's likely to be "printing mistake".] そんな中改めて十訓を厳守させよと戒める女王。

In that [part], the Queen once again demands rigid adherence of the 10 Laws. あのような過ちとは…過去の因縁はまだ根が深そうです。

A mistake like that... it seems that past fates are still deep-rooted. そしてここからが怒涛の展開ですよ皆さん。

Then, everyone, the surge in developments [happens] from here. なんとあのシルク・ドゥ・マーズから合格通知が届いたティナさん！

Tina's somehow received a notification of acceptance into Cirque de Mars! 相当頑張ってきた努力が遂に実って、ニューヨークから熱いラブコールをかけられています。

The hard work she put in has finally pulled off and she's receiving passionate calls from New York. 喜んでいたのも束の間、そこに現れたのはなんと妻原さん！！？

It was a short moment that she could be happy, and then, who would arrive but Tsumahara?!! あんたって人は、懲りずにまだティナさんに…と持ったらなんと勝ちすぎちまったから命を狙われている！？

He's still trying to teach Tina a lesson, but...he won too much and they're gonna kill him?!

それもしかして、GO TO HEAVENされた時のオールインで…！？

On top of that, what about the all-in from the GO TO HEAVEN...?! すっからかんかよォー！！じゃなかったのかよォー！！

He's not broke anymore?!! 費用も全て持つから連れて行ってくれ、なんて、うーん、ティナさんとしては助かるけど…。

He'll come along, pay for everything and, yeah, sorta help Tina out...? まぁ、イケメンだからいっか……よくないわい！！！！

Well, he's handsome...but no!!!! [T/N: reference to ep. 5] 改心して今度こそ家族になるのか、それともニューヨークでまた悶着を起こすのかはわかりませんが、なんにせよティナさんとお子さんの先行きが明るくて良かったです。

I don't know if the family has reformed properly or if they're going to New York to quarrel again, but Tina and her child's future is bright. その様子を微笑ましく見ていた寶さんの元に、一本の電話が。

After seeing the smiling child's face, he receives a call. シリウスの事を伝えていた弁護士さんから、大変なことがわかったぞ、と。

The lawyer uncovered some [information] about Sirius and it's something unbelievable. 女王の過去や！と言いながら見せた一枚の写真には…、 あ、あ、あ、あ、あアイドルユニットぉ！！？

"...the Queen's past!" he says as we're shown a photo of an...i-i-i-i-i-idol unit?!! かつて一大ブームを巻き起こした、ウィンタートライアングル。

Winter Tri-angels, who created a sensational big boom in the past. シリウス！？ベテルギウス！！？プロキオン…？

Sirius?! Betelgeuse?!! Procyon...? シリウスとベテルギウスは恐らく…でも姿が…！？

Sirius and Betelgeuse are probably...but that form is...?! そして女王の過去というのは、この写真とどう関係してくるのでしょうか…。

Also, what does the Queen's past have to do with this picture...? 女王の過去や、チルカと蘭丸の確執、夭聖界のことや、寶さんの言っていたもう一山、更にここに来てまた新しい謎が…！！！

The Queen's past, Chilka and Ranmaru's antagonism, the fairy world, all the stuff Takara said - on top of that, another mystery...!!! 本編もいよいよクライマックスに向けて、盛り上がりが止まるところを知りません。

At last, we're approaching the climax of the main story and I don't know if [the tension] will stop rising.

いよいよあと二話ですが、最後までみんなで大騒ぎしていきましょう！

Finally, there's two episodes to go, so let's get really excited until the end! Fairy蘭丸～あなたの心お助けします～ 次回『憎悪』もお見逃しなく！！というわけで、禁忌其の拾『快楽』堀の感想ここまでとなります。

Don't miss the next episode of Fairy Ranmaru ~We Will Help Your Heart~, "Hatred"!! That's it for my impressions on Taboo No. 10, "Hedonism". ここまで長い文章に付き合って頂き、ありがとうございました！！

Thanks for keeping me company [as I write] these long sentences!! 余談なんですが、大体メインキャストは一緒に録るんですが、この回の収録は実は堀が1人ブースに籠って先に録られた皆様の声を聴きながら台詞を当てておりました。

As a side note, usually the main cast would record together, but this time, I was alone in the booth, listening to the voices of those who recorded before as I added my lines. 収録が終わってからブースのドアを開けて、 誰もいないだろうなぁ、と思ってフッと休憩スペースを見たら、 なんと5 to HEAVENのみんなが残ってくれてて、映像が流れるディスプレイをずっと見守ってくれてて、 こっちを向いて堀さんお疲れ！とか、メッチャ汗だくじゃん！とか笑いながら言ってくれて。

When I finished recording and opened the booth, I looked at the rest area, thinking no one was there. Surprisingly, everyone from 5 to HEAVEN was there, watching over a video display. They turned to me and said things like, "Good work, Hori-san!" and "You're so sweaty!" so I laughed while I talked. その瞬間、堀の頭の中に寶さんのサンキュ。のシーンがリフレインして、 なんかしどろもどろになるくらい嬉しかったです。きっとあの瞬間は忘れられないです。

In that moment, the scene where Takara says, "Thank you," played again in my head and although I was [in a state of] confusion, I was happy. I will surely not forget that moment. はい、余談終わり！笑

Yes, I'm done with my side note! (LOL) 話が進むにつれて、SNSで#F蘭丸であげてくださってる実況や感想、ファンアートや、写真など、盛り上がっているのを実感しております。

To continue the conversation, use #F蘭丸 on your real-time impressions, fanart, photos etc., which will give a real feeling to your excitement. そしてそれを見ている時、堀はスマホを握りしめるくらい嬉しくなります。

Also, when I see those, I become so happy, I grasp my phone tightly. いつもF蘭を応援して下さり本当にありがとうございます。皆さんの声が僕らの力になります！

As always, really, thank you for supporting F-Ran. Everyone's voices will be my strength! 引き続きFairy蘭丸を応援の程、何卒よろしくお願いいたします！！！

Please kindly take care of me as you continue to support Fairy Ranmaru!!! このブログ書くの頑張ったからな！

I tried my best with this blog [post]! 読んでくれてメチャクチャ嬉しかったからな！

Thanks a lot for reading! 雅楽代 た～から！役の堀曜宏でした！

This has been Akihiro Hori! who plays the role of Ta~kara Utashiro! スネークバァーイ！🐍

Snake-bye!🐍 [T/N: "Snakebite Hori" joke.] ワイの魅力、皆にも伝わったかな～？

Takara: Did I convey my appeal to everyone~?

Update: Fixed the note regarding "Yamamoto". Thanks, @blankie-greenie-anon.

Update 2: Missed a sentence, improved a sentence and fixed some pronouns and other minor things.

Update 3: Improved a sentence.

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 5x05-- And the firm had two partners...

Hello and happy season 6 renewal! I think I assumed TGF would last three years when it premiered—not five, and certainly not six (this assumption was because I thought the CBS All Access experiment would fail and it would take three seasons for them to admit defeat). Now, I kinda think TGF might just run as long as the people involved want to do it. The way I’ve come to think of TGF is that, because it has no overarching arc or plot and because it is always topical, it is a show without a clear end point. That’s why it’s still fresh even though it is a spin-off in its fifth season. I could see it still feeling fresh in its tenth season if it continues to evolve and change. Anyway, here’s to season six!  

Thoughts on season five, episode five, which I didn’t really love, under the cut.

The episode kicks off with TikTok and Jay’s hallucinations... yay. I’m hooked.  

Look, before we get further into this episode, I’m going to comment on Jay’s plot as a whole. I am really, really glad this show decided to dedicate screentime to showing how horrific COVID is, and especially how horrific the disparities in treatment by race and class were. The hallucinations pay off about as well as they could. And I still do not like anything about this plot. I wish I could say I did.  

Rivi is now out of the hospital and suing Harbor Hospital. He claims that his daughter died of COVID due to their improper care.  

I’m intrigued by Rivi’s wife. She’s deaf and reads lips, and her first scene—where she reads the lips of Harbor Hospital’s lawyers privately discussing settlement—establishes that she’s a partner to Rivi and not “just a wife.” (I think this is going to also help distinguish Rivi from Bishop. Both care about families, but we all know Bishop had his wife killed.)  

Julius and Diane talk about Kurt’s case. Diane looks incredulous when Julius floats the idea of Kurt taking a deal. I almost laughed at Diane’s expression because, well, she’s talking to Julius, her former client who spent time in prison for something he didn’t do. Luckily the show remembers its history, and Julius notes this to Diane.  

Julius also points out that Diane is acting more like Kurt’s wife than his lawyer in this situation, and he won’t share things that are relevant to her personal life but not her professional life.

I am also not going to recap too much of the COVID stuff. Everything I have to say about it is going to be a variation on what I said above-- I'm glad they’re spotlighting important themes but I still don’t like this plot.

I do like that Jay notices Carmen saying “darn” instead of “damn.” She blames parental training and notes she also starts every email with “Dear.”

I do not like that Jay now hallucinates a woman who is literally credited as “naked woman” to illustrate that he has a little bit of a crush on Carmen.  

Why are they already bringing the suit before they have found any evidence of discrimination at Harbor Hospital and before they’ve looked into what type of care Pia Rivi actually received?  

Jay asks Carmen if she wants to join a group of RL staffers for drinks. Carmen says she’ll think about it. Yay for Carmen plots that bring her into the firm’s social circle.

I also don’t think I’ll have much to say about the Diane and Kurt plot. These FBI investigation plots are always the same: a lot of rehashing of the same fights, lots of new twists and turns where it always feels like the facts are changing, and a clean slate when all is said and done. I was thinking about this the other day and was like, “Ah, wouldn’t it be nice to go back to the good old days before the stakes got so high that the FBI was always investigating one of the regulars”? And then I remembered that season 1 of Wife has a plotline (which ends up being mostly inconsequential) in which the FBI investigate Peter.  

The FBI’s investigation of Peter in season 1 is so inconsequential, in fact, that it brings us Elsbeth’s first appearance and I STILL see people thinking that Executive Order 13224 in season 3 is her first appearance. It is forgettable enough that people manage to forget ELSBETH TASCIONI.

Anyway my point here is just that this feels like familiar territory and until the writers prove to me they have something new to say, about Jan 6 or about the FBI or about Diane and Kurt’s marriage, I... am not that invested.

Julius calls Diane out on being part of every conversation with Kurt. This is a good point. This is something that I would like to see the show address more. Didn’t Kurt ask Diane last episode not to be involved? Why don’t we get to see the fallout of that decision and how it impacts their marriage? I know this show is not character driven in the way I’d like it to be, and I know that is part of why it always feels fresh. It just tries my patience sometimes.  

Diane looks really red in this scene.  

LOL @ the stock footage of an ambulance pulling up in front of Harbor Hospital that clearly says “LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT.”  

One problem I have with Jay’s plot in this episode is that it feels very, very similar to the hospital episode of Evil. This is only a problem because the episode of Evil is much better. The hospital episode of Evil uses horror to show racism in the healthcare system; it’s very innovative and suspenseful. This episode wants to do the same thing... but I don’t think the writers found the exact right tone to pull it off. I can see what they are trying to do and admire that they are trying, at least.

I am struggling to articulate why I dislike this plot so much! The best I can say is that something just isn’t clicking. And, honestly, this may just be a problem with how little I’ve ever understood the hype around Jay. I’m not sure if I’ve ever said this before, but the show seems more enamored with Jay than I am, and I’m always at a little bit of a distance from the character. (I suspect it’s an acting thing, not a writing thing.)

There is also just a LOT going on in all of the Jay/hospital scenes, probably more than is needed to get the point across. It’s like the episode can’t decide if it’s all in on being horror, if it’s trying to be surreal, if it’s trying to be quirky, if it’s trying to be heartfelt, if it’s trying to be pointed, or if it’s trying to be about Jay’s emotions. I actually think this plot would’ve worked better if it were a little toned down.  

Starkey is in Diane’s office and it’s time for one of those scenes that happens in all of these FBI plots where the FBI agent is annoying and then the person they’re annoying walks away and is sassy towards the FBI. This scene feels like a mix of the one in the season two premiere where Starkey tries this strategy on Maia and some of the clunkier moments of the TGW series finale.

Danny Pino is on The Good Fight now! I’m excited to see him! He’s super charismatic; I see why they had him playing a politician on BrainDead. On this show, he insists everyone call him Racehorse.  

Racehorse is now representing the hospital, and Carmen is a little outmatched.  

Predictably, Racehorse’s strategy is to try to force Rivi to testify by bringing a countersuit. Testifying is obviously bad for Rivi since he runs a criminal enterprise and would have to answer questions under oath.  

Really long pause before the credits. Also, I don’t like this thing where we don’t get to see Liz until after the credits. I demand more Liz!  

This episode is called “And the firm had two partners” but has nothing to do with Diane and Liz and the drama about who should be a name partner. It barely even has anything to do with Liz! Misleading.  

Yay for Nikki M. James, who directed this episode!

Okay, I saw a post on Reddit about how everyone looks red in this episode and didn’t think anything of it, but on rewatch? That post is spot-on; everyone looks red. The scenes in Diane’s home are particularly bad. Kurt looks like he has an awful sunburn.

I’m glad to see Diane’s home also has a kitchen; I was getting concerned it really was just that one room.

I love Diane and Kurt but sometimes their plots rely too heavily on just being like, she’s a liberal! He's a conservative! Tension ensues!  

This episode is, sadly, Wackner free and very light on Marissa. I am fine without Wackner for an episode (sometimes a break from gimmick is nice) but I really miss Marissa’s energy.  

Diane asks Marissa to investigate something related to Kurt’s case. Marissa’s not thrilled, seeing as she is no longer an investigator and has two other jobs, but she agrees anyway.  

Diane doesn’t learn, does she? Two scenes ago she was apologizing to Kurt for meddling and revealing info he didn’t want her to reveal (the name of the rioter) and now she’s trying to get more information so she can... put herself in a position where she can act on more information Kurt doesn’t want her to act on? Cool.

LIZ!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!

Rivi and Isabel want to talk to Liz without Carmen present. Isabel, wisely, wants Liz to be on the case along with Carmen. Liz protests, but Isabel insists. She notes that she could see some associates using a racial slur against Rivi... and Liz knows she has to join the case to keep Rivi on as a client. She apologizes and then fires all three associates involved in the joke.  

There’s a whole subplot about a doctor who posts TikToks that allege racism at Harbor Hospital, but also silly TikToks to boost her follower count. I do like that they allow this doctor to be both someone who wanted to do good and someone who wanted fame.

After this, though, we lose the thread of the TikTok dancer (and of the COTW, kind of) because the plot becomes more about Jay. That’s fine, though it’s a little bit clunky.  

There’s a reveal that Jay’s hallucination of Frederick Douglass is actually a fellow patient who was in the COVID pit at Harbor Hospital with him. As I said before, this is the best payoff for the hallucinations possible, but there were still too many scenes of the hallucinations.

Wow, I actively do not want to watch these scenes a second time.

NRA lady from the season 2 panel (with Adrian, Mr. Elk, the Florrick fan, etc.) is back. She is friends with Kurt, because of course she is, and could speak up and defend him. She doesn’t want to.  

God, I hope he isn’t fucking her. I can barely do another one of these FBI plots—don't make me sit through another Kurt Likes Pretty Ladies with Guns plot.

Even though NRA lady doesn’t want to speak up, Marissa has followed Kurt and identified her.

More stuff happens with Jay.  

What if the hallucinations don’t end with this episode? I like showing that Jay is a long hauler but omg do I loathe these hallucinations.  

I do like that Jay clues Carmen in on the hallucinations.  

Why is Julius even allowing Diane to tag along on visits to Starkey, and why must this gag with the dead birds keep going?!?  

More Jay stuff.  

I just don’t get why they’re asking about the Pit, where Jay and lots of other black or brown people with COVID were held, before they have any idea where Pia Rivi was held in the hospital. Are they just trying to fact-find?  

Shockingly, Pia Rivi was never sent to the Pit and actually received special care because no one wanted to anger Rivi. I... would have assumed this from the start or looked into this before bringing the suit? I know the whole point of this case is to get to explore Jay’s experience in the hospital and shine light on disparities in healthcare but I can still nitpick!  

Jay recalls hearing someone say that he was taken out of the Pit and given better care after the hospital received a call. He asks Liz if she made that call—she didn’t. She says she wishes it had been her, but she didn’t know the situation was that bad. I’m a little surprised we didn’t get references to Adrian or Marissa here. If they could’ve made a call, they absolutely would’ve. Adrian’s like a father to Jay, and Marissa is a loyal friend. Adrian has enough sway to get Jay better care, and you KNOW Marissa is resourceful and connected enough to get him good care.

I really love this Liz and Carmen scene where Carmen asks Liz for advice and Liz helps her out. I like that Carmen still has things to learn—and knows it—even as she’s a great, capable, talented lawyer.

Carmen starts to leave, then turns around and says, “I want to learn from you. I don’t... My attitude is knowing, but it’s just my attitude. It’s not who I am.” YES! I’m so glad we’re getting lines like this that make Carmen’s personality clearer. She’s not a malicious sociopath who wants to defend drug dealers and help bad people get away with horrible crimes. She’s a new lawyer who wants to be ready to handle anything, make a name for herself, and come across as untouchable. This line makes everything click into place: this is why she’s willing to represent Rivi, put forward her own strategies, and be so polite it's rude to Liz... and why she also would rather stay at RL than go work full time for Lester.  

Liz smiles, realizing she’s gotten through. “Carmen. When I was your age, I acted exactly the same way. I wanted to be perfect. So, I acted like I was perfect. Because bluff is always a part of it, but just... just let me help you, when I can. Ask questions.” I believe it. And now I really just want to see an episode where young Liz and young Alicia face off. My guess is Liz tried to project boldness and fearlessness, while Alicia tried to project hyper competence and that’s why they clashed (and why Alicia was thought to lack a “killer instinct”). Okay, okay, I’ll stop talking about Alicia.  

Racehorse deposes Rivi and it ends with Rivi beating the crap out of Racehorse. I assume this is setting up a longer arc. You don’t introduce a personality as big as Racehorse played by a Kings-favorite like Danny Pino without having plans.  

Also, it’s heavily implied that Isabel is a huge part of the leadership of Rivi’s drug empire. I’m no longer surprised by “actually the wife isn’t so innocent and is also a criminal!” reveals, but I still like this. I think it works better because there’s never any implication that Isabel is an unknowing innocent. Rivi treats her like his equal from their first scene together; she clearly is aware and okay with his prison time and the accusations against him.

We spend a lot of time on how the whole fight was caught on camera. Wonder if that will come back. (I can’t remember—did that accidental sex tape of Maia and the DNC girl ever come back into play?)

Diane threatens NRA lady until she agrees to help Kurt out.  

Jay asks Diane if she made the call to help him. She didn’t. Like Liz, she’s apologetic that it wasn’t her.  

Turns out it was David Lee. He claims it was a business decision. Sure, David. This is so fitting with David Lee’s character—he's always doing stuff like this. And he always likes to say it was about business. I think he secretly has a heart, though.  

(I don’t have much to say about this reveal since it’s familiar territory for David Lee.)  

I like that Jay’s hallucination appears to him as his friend, rather than Frederick Douglass, in his last scene of the episode. I hope that is the end of the hallucination plot.

Kurt gets the news that NRA lady is going to speak up for him. He tells Diane and says “it’s amazing how close we came to disaster right then,” as they have a drink. KURT AND DIANE, YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER—IT IS NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER. And this? Is not over! Does anyone really think this is over!? It will be more surprising to me if NRA lady actually follows through and this all gets wrapped up than if there’s a Big Twist.  

I know these writers and I know these arcs. They are meandering and full of twists and turns and add up to a complete picture that doesn’t really hold together. That’s why I’m so negative on this episode even though I’ve been positive on the arc in the past. This feels like the mid-season misdirection that it almost certainly is, and I was hoping this arc would be a little more about commentary and a little less about convoluted plot nonsense.  

Diane and Kurt dancing at the end of the episode HAS to be a reference to Diane and Will’s post-victory dances, right?  

[earthangel]

🌟 🔮 earthangel's tarot readings 🔮 🌟

i've revamped my tumblr, so i decided to revamp my tarot offers, too! now there aren't just single card readings, there's reading packages!! here are my offers & rules:

reading packages:

💘 the lovers package: 2.22€

are you looking for romance & would like to know how to attract it into your life? do you have someone in mind & would like to know if it could work? this is the package for you! i'll let you know what's blocking you + how to invite that energy into your life! i'll pull 3 cards max, & the third card can be a question of your choice. i'll need your crush's initials + astro signs (if possible)!

🎭 this or that package: 2.22€

do you have a decision to take, but can't make up your mind? i'll pull two cards representing both choices; third card is advice from the universe.

🌙 moon package: 3.33€

a reading about your spiritual path; check in with the universe! what message would the universe want to tell you? what would you like to ask of it? we'll have a back & forth conversation where i can pull up to 4 cards.

of course, there are simpler offers, if you've got a specific question!

simple readings (question(s) of your choice):

1-card reading = 2€

2-card reading = 3€

4-card reading = 5€

i'll need your initials/name + astro signs for any type of reading! depending on your choice of package/question, i might need you to tell me a little bit about yourself, too

rules:

- i won't answer questions about legal & medical matters, or talk to spirits. firstly because i don't feel comfortable doing so, secondly because i don't work with spirits

- we'll talk through tumblr dms

- you can pay me either before or after the reading, but if you choose to pay me after, you'll have 24h to do so before i block & report you. if you pay me before, i can take up to 24h before replying, unless i tell you i won't be able to do the reading. i will give you my paypal link in private!

- please give me feedback, both privately & publicly! i need it to grow as a reader & better satisfy my clients. not giving me feedback will result in a block.

- as you can see, i do third-party readings. i feel capable of reading someone's energy, but please don't forget that we can never know what's going through someone's head for sure unless we ask them!

- please be polite! i'm just a human trying to get by & help people through her hobby. thank you 🌸

- if you have any questions about the rules/offers, please send an ask & i will reply (& add the info on here)

why should you choose me as your reader?

- tarot questions not respecting these rules will be ignored.

q&a: (wip)

- "can i ask multiple questions for simple readings?"

yes, except for the 1-card reading! if you'd like, for example, a 3-card reading to answer (up to) 3 questions, u can ask for that!

i've been practicing tarot for over 3 years now, & have developed my intuition, more specifically my claircognizance. i've chosen tarot reading as my favorite divination tool because, well, i don't actually use it for divinatory purposes. i use it to translate the universe's messages into clear words, to convey its advice. my past clients (both friends & strangers) have told me how complete, accurate & full of compassion my readings are. (testimonials in these posts' notes/tags)

i used to do readings in-person for my friends & my friends' friends, but i haven't had the opportunity for this kind of contact ever since the pandemic started. i'd like to create this connection with someone again, & give whatever help i can offer. i hope to hear from u guys soon 🌸