#I might be looking at this with too much of a 2024 morality

[fallenangelontheceiling]

I’m breaking my No Tumblr For Lent rule because I really have to share -

I’m 65 pages into Mansfield Park and I can’t stand Edmund. He’s objectively a Good Person (which I can already tell is going to be a rarity in this narrative), but god is he insufferable.

The Crawfords are flakes, but at least they’re entertaining flakes so far.

Austen is always scathingly snarky but this is the first time I think she comes off a bit self-righteous??

#jane austen #mansfield park #btw I already know how the book ends #which is NOT HELPING #the moral of Austen’s books is imo #young women need to leave the damn house #even Lizzie who is already sparkly comes into her own when she leaves #Anne definitely benefits from getting tf away from her Dad’s #afaik Fanny never gets that? #besides visiting her bio family in Southampton #which is literally a manipulation tactic to say #haha see you could be poor and stuffed like sardines #see it could be worse! stay with us it’s your only option! #Fanny clings to William and Edmund because she never finds her people #she starts the novel not valued at all #and ends it valued only as so far as her Aunt finds her Helpful #however #I might be looking at this with too much of a 2024 morality #but that hasn’t really been an issue with other Austen novels #so… is it me? is the problem me? #not to be all women need to be xyz to be interesting… #wouldn’t Fanny make a great sympathetic villain #let my girl be jealous and bitter and totally in denial about it #that would only work if she felt emotionally entitled to Edmund #god this book is such a chore

[gimmethatagustd]

morals on sundays | myg

You're still in love with your ex-boyfriend. Yoongi offers some help to get over him.

○ Pairing: BFF!Yoongi x f!Reader

○ Rating: Explicit/18+

○ Genre: Friends with benefits, angst, smut, fluff

○ 6 / 100 Drabble Challenge (FWB)

○ Word Count: 2,177

○ Warnings: MC's boyfriend cheated on her, post-breakup blues, questionable decision making, fingering so good you'll try to run away from it, pussy eating, too much tongue sucking probably, Yoongi is a boob guy, they have matching Spongebob and Patrick coffee mugs so why aren't they married?? Idiots

○ Notes: Shout out to @sailoryooons for also writing about a daegu boy eating pussy tonight 😌 And, as usual, I wrote this with scrambled eggs for brains and didn't proofread it, so if you see any errors, no you didn't

○ Post Date: January 22, 2024

○ Masterlist | Send me ur thots

○ What was Jai listening to? Imported - Jessie Reyez ft. 6LACK

Lately, you’ve felt like disappearing – not into a crowded city street in another country or down an unlit dirt road into the unknown, but into the warm folds of Yoongi’s hoodie. You’re already halfway there, with your fingers interlaced with his, shoved into the large front pocket, and your face tucked into his shoulder. 

“Fuck, I hate taking the bus,” he curses, his words turning into a cloud that disappears into the cold air. 

“How much time do we have?” 

Yoongi turns his head, and his lips briefly touch the cold curve of your ear. 

“You’re mumbling. What’d you say?”

���How much time until it comes?” You squint up at him, cheek still pressed against his shoulder. It’s too warm here to want to move. 

“Can’t check the app on my phone unless you give me my hands.” 

“No.” 

Yoongi chuckles and jostles your head by bobbing his shoulders. 

“I thought our date would cheer you up.” His complaint is playful, eyes sparkling in the streetlights when he returns his gaze to the empty road. You should have gotten a taxi. 

“I’m gonna die alone. Doesn’t matter how much late-night pizza I eat or how many stupid action movies I watch,” you grumble into Yoongi’s shoulder. 

“Even when the action movie lead has a super hot sex scene that’s poorly timed and irrelevant to the plot?” 

“Nope.”

“Even when the coolest guy on the entire planet was the one who took you?” Yoongi smiles cheekily, his gaze back on you. He wiggles his shoulders again, hard enough to bounce your head. 

Annoyed, you straighten up, hands still shoved in his pockets. The movie wasn’t that bad. The pizza was actually great. You’re just depressed. 

“I didn’t think it would take this long…” You whisper into the little space between your body and Yoongi’s. He knows you aren’t talking about the bus. 

Yoongi squeezes your hands inside his hoodie. The rest of you might be freezing in the winter night air, but at least Yoongi keeps your hands warm. He keeps your heart warm, too, with his sincere gaze when he looks at you. 

“You were too good for him.” 

Yoongi’s right. He’s always right. 

You’re sufficiently frozen by the time the bus finally arrives. Yoongi pays for you both because he’s trying to make life easy. No bumps in the road, no unnecessary stress. He lets you sit in a window seat so you can stare out at the blurry night scenery and have your sad main character moment for as long as it takes to get to your apartment. 

Once you arrive, he follows you inside and heads straight to the kitchen while you slump down the hall to your bedroom. The cold seeps so deeply into your bones that the sweatpants and sweater you change into barely help increase your body temperature. 

Maybe it’s because the sweatpants and sweater are your ex-boyfriend’s, and the universe wants to keep your body as cold as his heart was. 

In the kitchen, Yoongi uses a wooden spoon to stir hot chocolate in a small pot, your favorite kind that comes in a block of chocolate that melts with milk. It’s likely been years since Yoongi has made you hot chocolate. Cozy winter nights indoors were once commonplace, the two of you alternating between apartments to make each other snacks and treat cuddles like currency. The appearance of your ex put an end to the comfort you shared with Yoongi. It put an end to most things that brought you comfort. 

As you expect, Yoongi has two mugs out on the counter. You reach for yours, twisting it in your hands as you wait for him to finish. 

“Remember when Spongebob tried to become best friends with Squidward instead of Patrick?” Yoongi asks, turning off the stove. He uses a ladle to pour hot chocolate into his pink mug, then pours some into your yellow one. 

“Yes.” 

“He was Squidward. I’m just mad I didn’t get to blow up his house–” Yoongi laughs and nearly spills his drink when you smack him in the arm, “–with bubbles! With bubbles. I’m not homicidal.” 

Rolling your eyes, you set down your mug next to Yoongi’s, both drinks too hot to drink quickly. 

“Thank you,” you mumble, hooking your finger into his hoodie pocket and tugging lightly, the action absentminded. You keep your eyes cast downward because you don’t want him to see your tears if they run. “I’m sorry I’ve been in such a shitty mood. I know it’s been a while, but, it just… I don’t know. I can’t stop thinking about him, and everything fucking hurts…” 

Yoongi slips his fingers under your sleeve and circles your wrist, pulling your hand away from his pocket so he can lace your fingers together. They’re so much warmer now, defrosted by the heat blasting through your apartment and Yoongi’s hot chocolate. 

“Maybe you could start by not wearing his clothes?” Yoongi offers quietly. “Can’t imagine it’s easy to get over someone when you keep them on your body like that.” 

You sniffle and nod. Again, Yoongi is always right. 

“Easier said than done…” you mumble, giving him a weak smile when you finally meet his eyes. There’s something there in his expression, something that seems different. 

You don’t move away when Yoongi steps closer, even when he has you backed against the counter, even when you feel like you’re going to swallow your heart. 

“I could take them off for you,” Yoongi says softly. He lets go of your sleeve to pinch the hem of your sweater, tugging it lightly. “If you can’t do it, I can.” 

“Yeah?” You feel out of breath, maybe because you suck in your stomach when Yoongi’s fingers brush against it. 

“Yeah,” he echoes, fingers sliding along your ribs as he pushes your sweater up. “So you can get over him.” 

It’s a terrible idea, but your stomach flutters when he looks at you with sleepy eyes weighed down by the late hour and lust. He bites his bottom lip, and you feel your resolve slip as easily as Yoongi’s fingers do beneath your clothes. 

“I want to.” The declaration is desperate, and for a moment, you can’t do anything but stare into Yoongi’s eyes with an all-consuming sadness that eats at your insides, gnawing on bones and biting holes into your lungs. “God, Yoongi, I want to.” 

Yoongi touches his forehead to yours, making you close your eyes because he’s too close and you’re too much of a coward. 

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi whispers. His voice is as gentle as his hands on your bare waist, his thumbs caressing your sensitive skin. 

You raise your arms for Yoongi to pull off your sweater. He’s confident when he squeezes your tits, doesn’t even seem caught off guard when he realizes you’re not wearing anything under the sweater. He brushes his thumbs over your nipples as he leans in to kiss you, his tongue tasting sweet from the hot chocolate when he flicks it against yours. 

“Yoongi,” you call out with an airy sigh that harmonizes nicely with the sound of him sucking open-mouthed kisses down your neck. 

“Hmm?” Yoongi hums against the base of your throat, the vibration sending a tingling sensation straight to your clit. He keeps one hand on the counter beside your waist, caging you in, while his other hand cups your pussy over your sweatpants. 

“Oh,” you gasp, your hands immediately finding Yoongi’s firm shoulders when he starts rubbing your clit, occasionally dipping his fingers lower to press against your entrance, soaking the fabric. 

“These are his, too, right?” 

“Y-yes,” you moan as Yoongi pulls down your sweatpants, taking your underwear with them. 

You can’t say you never thought about how attractive Yoongi is; it’s hard to ignore. It’s just that Yoongi is your best friend. If anything were to happen between the two of you, you don’t know if you’d be able to survive losing him, too. You love him. 

But you also love your ex. 

It’s hard to think about that, though, with two of Yoongi’s fingers pumping in and out of your pussy. They’re long, reaching deeper than your own can when you finger yourself, always late at night when you’re lonely. It never feels good after. The clarity always seems to hit too quickly, like being dunked in a pool of ice water. 

Three months. That’s how long it’s been since another person touched you, since you found out your ex-boyfriend had been cheating on you. You didn’t realize how much you missed it until you’ve got your head thrown back and your thighs quivering as Yoongi fucks you with his fingers. You nearly climb up the counter, both wanting him to touch you more and trying to get away because it’s too good. 

Your ex never searched for the spot that would make your legs shake, but Yoongi does. He curls his fingers against your front wall and keeps up his rhythm, moving with your body when you can’t control where it goes. 

“Fuck, right there.” You’re burning up, veins turned to lava that’s rushing toward your core as Yoongi fucks you closer and closer to your orgasm until you’re on the verge of tears because you haven’t been touched in so long and you’re so lonely and you weren’t good enough. You weren’t enough. 

“Wanna make you cum,” Yoongi groans, deep and gravelly, between licking a stripe up your tits and sucking your nipples. 

“Please,” you moan, “Please, I’m so close.” 

Your arousal gushes around his fingers, slicking them up and making your pussy squelch when Yoongi flutters them inside you. He keeps his thumb pressed against your clit, almost too hard. It stops you from bucking your hips, but you can barely stand as it is. 

Yoongi’s lips are back on yours, red from sucking your nipples until it hurt. He whispers against your lips and opens his mouth to let you suck on his tongue with a pathetic whimper. 

“Not yet, though.” 

“Wha– Yoongi, no–” It’s embarrassing how loudly you cry out when Yoongi slips his fingers out of your pussy. You feel the fire in your core simmer until you’re left with a painfully throbbing clit and your juices smeared on your inner thighs. 

“Shhh, you know I always take care of you.” Yoongi shuts you up with a bite to your bottom lip. He leans down slightly to squeeze the backs of your thighs and hoist you up onto the counter. “Lean back.” 

The cold marble counter sends shivers across your body, but it can’t keep up with the heat of Yoongi’s mouth on your pussy. He kisses your lips so gently that you think you might actually cry before he pushes your thighs back, opening you up. 

“Oh fuck,” you moan as Yoongi goes straight for your clit, sucking on it as he swirls his tongue around it. You dig your hands into his hair and tug the strands hard enough to make him moan into your pussy. “Use your, use–” 

Yoongi laps at your clit in quick, consistent bursts that fall in line with the tempo he’s fucking you to with two fingers again. His free hand presses against your lower abdomen, keeping your body taunt so you don’t buck into his face or curl inward. It’s bad enough that you can’t stop your legs from shaking when one rests on his shoulder and the other drapes over the crook of his arm. 

It’s messy and loud, Yoongi licking and sucking your pussy like he really is trying to empty your mind of everything but the way the tip of his hot, wet tongue feels swirling your clit and the stretch of his fingers when he slips a third inside you and focuses on massaging the sensitive part of your walls. It’s working. He completely consumes your senses, down to how gorgeous he looks staring at you from between your thighs. 

Your Yoongi, fingerfucking you and sucking your clit like you’re his favorite meal. 

You try not to bang your head against the counter when you finally cum, instead focusing the overwhelming energy into pulling Yoongi’s hair to keep his face in your pussy.

He continues fucking you with his fingers through your orgasm, to the point that you can’t lie still any longer. 

“Yoongi, oh my god, Yoongi, it’s too much,” you whimper and gasp, thighs closing around his head until he finally eases his fingers out of you. 

Strings of your arousal connect his lips with your pussy until he swipes his tongue along his bottom lip, cutting them off. His bangs are pushed off his forehead and his hair sticks up from you pulling on it, but his eyes sparkle and his cheeks are just as rosy as his pink, slicked-up lips. 

“Shit,” Yoongi murmurs, leaning over you on the counter to kiss you. He shoves his tongue in your mouth and lets you suck your juices from it. 

You think you taste better on Yoongi’s tongue than on your ex’s. 

Disclaimer: All my writing is fictional and for entertainment purposes only. None of these characters are meant to actually represent the real people mentioned in the stories. 

All rights reserved © @gimmethatagustd​ - Do not copy, repost, modify, or translate any of my writing. Do not use my writing for any AI purposes whatsoever. Do not use my fics for anything aside from reading and commenting on them. My fics will only be posted on this Tumblr and on AO3 (gimmethatagustd & daddytaehyungie). Request an AO3 account here. 

@jooniesxbby @seokteoksworld @taegeum @dprmoon @chimmisbae

#yoongi x reader #bts x reader #yoongi smut #bts smut #yoongi angst #bts angst #yoongi fluff #bts fluff #yoongi fanfic #bts fanfic #jai writes #gimmethatagustd #mos #100 drabble challenge

[nerdieforpedro]

Weekend Update 02/25/2024

Nerdie! You saw it right! He won! *hugs tightly*

Yes he did! 🥰 We're all so happy for him! Finally!

We're also buzzing about how he looks like he's on the cover of a romance novel. Maybe on a ranch, maybe in the 1800's. It's a pretty versatile look. He likes his deep V's....

As we all should. Also, I'm taking notes on that. *scribbles*

Anything new besides, well clearly pirate adventures?

Pirates have scurvy and Pedro is well nourished so none of that. Other ideas for his characters. Ezra and Pero might have scurvy though. I did manage to write some this week. It's been busy. 👀 Ugh...real life stuff. Nothing major. Just needs to be done.

Nerdie's fics:

Guiding Light (Ezra one shot - I was chatting with @lady-bess and had the idea for this. I always have Ezra in some crime. 😎)

Lunch is happening right? (Part two of my summer romance Javi G fic. Not sure how many parts.)

He told me his name (Din Djarin x plus size female reader) I wrote it after reading a new Din fic by @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin (will be listed below. I'd still call it moody because despite writing, I still have trouble with my vocabulary. 🤣 It is pretty though. I'm working on a follow-up since people asked 👀)

Can't win carino (Javi G one shot - for @i-own-loki because she gave me the idea and the moodboard so I ran with it.)

The Man Next Door (Jake Lockley one shot for @megamindsecretlair because she kinda asked, more like I asked her what she wanted in it. She asked for action and smut. I might try more action in fics later.)

Get a room you two and BONE (Part two of my Tim Rockford comedy series which now has romance? I binged too much B99, watched a bit of Castle and a few episodes of Kojak with my mom. The insanity will only increase with part three but maybe there might be some growth between Tim and Doc? Or a hippo.)

Nerdie I thought you said you were busy....that's six fics...

I was and some of them I had been working on for a while. I also had some insomnia (that lead to parts two and three of the Tim Rockford fic). Anyway, on to the main event! 😘

Nerdie's fic recommendations! or things I read this week. 😄

14 x kisses by @trulybetty (Jack Daniels x reader) Part of her 29 days of valentines for February.

Sorgan Girls Are Easy - Solo Din Djarin by @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin (the fic that inspired my Din - her Din has 100% more smut)

Half of you - chapter 3 by @foxilayde (Santiago Garcia x fem. reader) Slow burn series - love it and trying to read it slowly to savor it.

Falling for you by @toomanystoriessolittletime (Javi Pena x fem reader) A bittersweet read that had me wonder what was next but I was hopeful.

Sunday Naps by @javierpena-inatacvest (Frankie Morales x fem reader) More proof that cuddling with Frankie leads to wonderful things.

Poe Dameron falling in love with his shy best friend (GN reader) by @i-belong-to-the-stars What one hopes for if you're shy and you're in love with those curls...er Poe. 🫣

Mystery Strain by @rebel-held (Dieter Bravo x GN reader) All kinks are valid and who doesn't love Dieter with a belly? 😘

Bulletproof by @laurfilijames (Jax Teller x fem reader) She wrote poetic porn with feelings. I was overcome, titllated and confused.

A girl walks into a bookshop by @oonajaeadira (Ezra x fem reader) Soft Ezra with a bookshop, yes please! 😄

Beneath the mask by @saradika (Din Djarin x fem reader) A medieval knight Din...so where does one pick up the velvet dress?

Loneliness by @sirowsky (Pero Tovar x GN reader) Pondering Pero in your local Park? Highly recommended for Valentine's Day.

15 x cashmere by @trulybetty (Joel Miller x GN reader) What thread count was it that encouraged Joel to hop in bed in such a state? For my personal file. 👀

He sees you by @maggiemayhemnj (Joel Miller x reader) This writer will tell you she just loves words. I would argue that the words love her in a unique way that makes you see the things. 💜

16 x dance by @trulybetty (Tim Rockford x reader) I pictured him dancing with the reader in his trench coat. @secretelephanttattoo (El) is to the holsters as I am to the trench coat. 🤣 In my mind.

Quiet Moments Collection by @secretelephanttattoo (various Pedro characters x reader) It’s the small instances that you think don’t matter, that are the most meaningful.

Plus One by @always-andromeda (Frankie Morales x fem reader) Always a fan of two idiots in love, even with their spat.

A Strange Fate by @youandmeand5bucks (Silva x fem reader) Two people who came together because of life circumtances. Are they really satisfied?

A Beskar Valentine by @firstofficerwiggles (Din Djarin x female reader) Awesome username, it makes me giggle. Din will be ten steps ahead and still fifteen behind when it comes to matters of the heart. My guy is an overthinking champion.

Seven by @lokischocolatefountain (Javier Pena x reader) A simple discussion about children leads Javier to a drastic solution.

To be Explored Later by @legendary-pink-dot (Frankie Morales x fem reader x Santiago Garcia) aka Ms. Curls if ya nasty! 😘 Somehow I missed the gem of a sandwich. How the reader was able to think about anything is beyond me.

Red Light Glow by @missredherring (Lucian Flores x fem reader) This man has me and @rhoorl keeping track of his silk shirt and gold chain. We would accept his call. The guilt would go away too quickly if we felt it at all. 😌

Incarnadine by @iamskyereads (Pero Tovar x fem reader) This Pero has me swoon with his care toward the reader, his love of baths (I just want him to soak and relax - he's been earning coin!), and his word choice. This is another person that words appear to favor. 💜

Not like I fangirled over these writers this week or anything 👀

What on the docket for this week Nerdie?

Part three of the Javi G summer romance

Maybe...Roc & Doc part three I don't like sitting on finished parts but then I whine about having no motivation for the next part. 👀 I make no sense.

March is toward the end of the week so my March Spring Prompts will start! I scheduled the first six days I think. I got anxious about getting behind (which isn't the point of doing them but anxiety doesn't care) and did some in advance. I like how they're coming along and that they're short. Unlike this update. 🤣 They won't have summaries, but will have warnings, tags and notes.

And because I hear series and I think "I should start another one!" I decided to write an Ezra series. How did I happen upon our favorites prospector/scoundrel/reluctant father figure? I've been reading works by @morallyinept @maggiemayhemnj and @magpiepills

Ezra intimidated me because of his language, but actually, I think I'd get along with him because he puts on a persona with a great deal of performance. It's the audience's job to figure out if you're serious or not. Or at least that's how I approached him. 🤨 This could go badly. I stuck him on the bayou with an air boat and I want him to cook gumbo. *full delusional achievement unlocked*

Special shout-outs to @connectioneverywhere and @soft-girl-musings for sending me lovely asks this week.

Also to @inept-the-magnificent who called Tim Rockford her sidepiece and I am still very tickled. 🤣

This update was long 🤗 Hehe

Love Nerdie ❤️

#weekend update #Nerdie #Nerdie's update #pedro pascal characters #fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #din djarin #joel miller #frankie morales #dieter bravo #the mandalorian #nerdie fic rec #pero tovar lovers unite! #pero tovar #ezra prospect #Ezra #jax teller #javier peña #javier gutierrez #tim rockford #jack daniels #Lucian Flores

[thompsborn]

gonna make little chapter recaps while i reread what's posted of homeward bound so far. and then i am going to bust out chapter seventeen. might not finish it this weekend, but i hope to get a majority of it written. let's get into it.

starting with chapter one - i'm so tired of being afraid

word count: 7,535 (7,515 without the chapter lyrics at the start)

chapter song: six by sleeping at last

chapter lyrics:

what would it feel like to put this baggage down? if i'm being honest i'm not sure i'd know how

recap + lines i felt were important enough to jot down:

peter moves into his new apartment (december 2024)

peter decides that needs to be alone

"when he's alone, there's no one to let down but himself."

peter looks up norman, otto, max, flint, and curt as a precaution now that he knows they turned into villains in the other worlds

norman and otto: started oscorp together during the five year gap between snaps, but have not gotten very far due to the world mourning the half of the population that's gone and also because stark industries is already a powerhouse in all the industries that oscorp is trying to step a foot into. peter deems them not a threat for now but will occasionally check on them just to be safe.

max and flint: peter is unable to find records of anyone with their names when looking them up. that's doesn't guarantee they don't exist in this world, they could have different names or something like that, but peter finds no trace of them and feels like it's safe to assume they don't exist here. he'll still check again occasionally to see if anything pops up down the line.

curt: a professor at empire state university with no signs of any of the things that happened in the other world happening to him here. again, peter will check occasionally to make sure, but overall he thinks that his world is most likely safe from these five people becoming villains like they did in the other peter's worlds.

peter looks into empire state university after looking up curt and thinks about how he'd like to go to college. it's always been part of his life plan. his life is completely different than what it was ever supposed to be and he'd need to get his GED, but he thinks about how he'd like to still go if he can make it work.

peter decides he needs to remake his suit, partially because he other suits can't be used anymore now that karen doesn't recognize him - edith doesn't recognize him anymore, either, which makes peter sad because he feels like he's lost a connection that he had with tony after tony's death - but he also wants to remake his suits because he knows the other peter's made their own from suits from scratch as well, so he thinks it's pretty fitting and thinks that it's kind of like he's building himself up from scratch and starting over for good - "...as both Peter Parker and as Spider-Man"

"and karen not knowing him feels a lot like losing another friend."

he includes peter 2 and peter 3 in his suit design to honor them and remind himself that, even if he is alone in his world, he isn't alone in the universe.

raimi spidey emblem on his chest:

and tasm spidey emblem on his back:

"when peter gets lost, or angry, or overwhelmed... he has reminders of them, interwoven into his suit, for him to brush his fingers against and think to himself, be strong, peter. do it for your brothers."

peter had an uncle ben in his world, but his uncle ben died less than two years after his parents did when he was six and a half years old. peter thinks about how his uncle ben impacted his life in a much different life than the other peter's. his uncle ben's last words shaped his morals and his outlook in life, to the point that, when tony first showed up to recruit peter for germany, he had used his own wording based on what ben said to explain why being spidey is so important to him.

"he remembers ben shrugging, remembers him smiling, remembers him saying, "if i didn't help, it'd be my fault, too." the way he said it had been so simple, so sure - a philosophy he fully and passionately believed in."

actually just this whole section feels very important to me so i'm going to copy and paste it right here:

In a way, Uncle Ben played a significant part in Peter becoming Spider-Man, but not in the same way that the Other Peter’s seemed to be influenced by their Uncle Ben’s. Peter remembers that he didn’t think much of the last words he heard his Ben say for a while, but that they seemed to click in his head around the time he was nine or ten, and suddenly they were words he wanted to live by. Doing good, and getting in the way to stop bad things, no matter how big or how small, because then it’d be his fault, too, if he didn’t.

It’s what he told Mr. Stark, back when he was still fourteen almost fifteen and the man had appeared in his apartment. When you can do the things I can, he had said—not exactly what Ben had said, no, kind of added onto by Peter, altered with the weight of Spider-Man stacked on top of the same philosophy he already lived by—but you don’t, and then the bad things happen… they happen because of you.

It’s not what the Other Peter’s talked about, though—because Ben didn’t tell Peter that great power comes with great responsibility. Aunt May told him that. But, for the Other Peter’s, it had been an Uncle that lived longer than his own did.

Then again, the Other Peter’s didn’t have the Avenger’s, and they never had Mr. Stark. Maybe it’s just different because each world isn’t supposed to be the same, and that’s all there is to it.

also may's line from right before ben died, which peter later tells harley about when telling harley the truth about his life:

“You stupid Parker men,” May had scoffed. “Way too selfless for your own good.”

peter thinks that it feels important that uncle ben had such a huge role in shaping who he is, and how the ben's of the other worlds had such a huge part in the other peter's lives as well, even if it was in vastly different ways. he then thinks about how, out of the very few things that peter was able to get out of his and may's old apartment before it was cleared out, one of them happened to be a box of uncle ben's old stuff - including, at the very top of the box, ben's old camera.

peter learns how to use ben's camera to take pictures properly in order to then take pictures of himself as spidey to sell to the daily bugle. he thinks it's amusing and ironic that the pictures he takes are used for articles that slander spidey, knowing that jjj would probably lose his shit if he knew he bought the pictures from spider-man himself.

"everything seems to be trial and error these days - life was never a certainty before, but now it's pretty clearly up in the air and he's left scrambling to try and figure it out, approaching every corner completely blind to what he'll find when he turns it - but that's alright, because he's got the brain of a scientist and trial and error could just be another term for experiment, so it works out well."

that ^ quote is a nice tie in to the tony flashback that happens in chapter 16, where tony calls peter an observer and says that peter is always gathering information and how peter looks more than most people do because peter likes to be prepared and likes to understand.

peter spends new years eve alone (new years, 2024) and watches the fireworks while thinking about the other peter's not being alone before going back to patrol.

peter gets his first Big Injury since ending up completely on his own. he has no one to call and he has no super pain killers like the ones tony had made for him before tony died. the injury starts at his left hip, goes over his ribs, stops at the center of his chest. it was done with a knife. peter has to stitch himself up. it's the first time he's ever done stitches on himself.

he passes out after finishing the stitches and wakes up almost a full day later. thinks about his healing and how his enhancements are definitely being negatively impacted by his lackluster eating habits - he's broke as fuck and also doesn't have much of an appetite due to being traumatized and depressed.

"part of him wonders how drastic a change it really is - wonders if, maybe, the scars will stop fading away. for some reason, that's the thought that makes him feel sick to his stomach."

fun fact: this injury is the one that peter tells harley about in chapter 15 when harley is asking about some of peter's scars.

and that's the end of chapter one! these little recaps are entirely for my own benefit - the only reason i'm posting them is because giving myself the expectation and responsibility of posting them will make me actually commit to recapping every chapter, which will make working on chapter seventeen a lot fucking easier and will make it so i'm able to finish chapter seventeen a lot fucking faster.

i will be reblogging with the chapter two recap shortly

#homeward bound fic

[qqueenofhades]

Leftists are genuinely so transparent with their misogyny, it baffles me. Someone made a point about how Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi are very close in age but only one of them constantly gets hounded about their competency and ability to be a politician, and these people are like "hm but Bernie Sanders thinks everyone deserves healthcare and Nancy Pelosi doesn't" what??? Where does that information even exist beyond the smear campaigns the leftists have made up in their heads to insist the Dems (Pelosi, in particular) suck and justify hating them? It's like... even when the Dems do something good, and take the right position on an issue, these people are just waiting to find some way to rearrange it to fit their narrative that they actually hate them and it's only people like Bernie Sanders who genuinely give a shit.

not to mention thinking everyone deserves healthcare and actually working to make that happen are two different things. Bernie can have all the "correct" ideological positions in the world, but it doesn't seem like he's done much to advance most of them lol

Well, yeah. That's why they are useless dickweeds at best and and unrepentant enablers of fascism at the worst. They gleefully latch onto any lie, mischaracterization, exaggeration, or other bit of propaganda that makes the Democrats look bad and themselves feel Exaltedly Special and justified in not sullying their hands with a flawed democratic process. They don't give a shit if the actual world goes to hell, as long as they still have the Bestest and Most Special Ideas. Which serves the aims of both the actual right wing machine that feeds it to them and the organized Russian troll farms that feed it to THEM. And yet.

Give me a hundred Nancy Pelosis, arguably the most effective Democratic politician in living memory, over Bernie Sanders, he of the blindingly obvious once-a-month Guardian op ed and literally nothing else in the way of substantial policy, while tacitly or openly encouraging his supporters to withhold their vote as "punishment" for any candidate not him. I will say in Bernie's favor that he has changed his tune ahead of 2024, but it is the least of what he owes everyone for contributing to the clusterfuck of 2016 as substantially as he did. So.

And lol yes, the Online Leftists, known for their radical compassion and empathy to all people! They're too busy policing fellow leftists for Thoughtcrime or any other impulse to actually take a tangible action (which might therefore be Morally Problematic) to ever actually once apply compassion to a real person, let alone those who don't agree with them in some part already. In fact, they are perfectly happy to let the people they are supposed to be caring about suffer the increasing effects of nationalized, racialized, homophobic, misogynist, xenophobic white supremacist fascism, as the proper punishment for not being Leftist enough and voting for the Democrats, who they (as noted) eagerly sabotage and undercut far more than the Republicans. So yeah.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts

[ghostofaboy]

Ghost of a Boy Top Ten (March 2024)

So I was taking a look at my stats, I thought it might be nice to put together a top ten list. These are the fics that have gotten the most notes here on Tumblr, so if you enjoy any of these, please consider reblogging them.

10 - Risky Business Max Lord/Male OC - Max finds himself in the men’s room at the office when he spots something interesting… a glory hole (2252 words)

9 - Kinktober '23 - Day Five - Face-Fucking Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth - 517 words

8 - The Worthwhile Delay Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth - Din and Cobb are delayed in getting back to Freetown after an excursion into the desert. Luckily Cobb thinks of something for them to do to pass the time. (1467 words)

7 - Kinktober '23 - Day Six - Medical Torture Marcus Moreno - 1537 words

6 - Pushing Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels/Javier Peña - Jack and Javier try something new as they continue to push each other boundaries. (1551 words)

5 - Something A Little New Frankie Morales/Benny Miller - Benny wants to try something a little new with Frankie, and Frankie is more than happy to agree. (1754 words)

4 - Take Your Time Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth - Finally having some time to themselves, Cobb rims Din for the first time, who finds that he likes it a little too much. (993 words)

3 - Kinktober '23 - Day One - Sex Toys Frankie Morales - 735 words

2 - Inter-Agency Cooperation Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels/Javier Peña - Jack runs into another agent on a mission and figures out a new way for them both to get what they want. (2633 words)

1 - Finally and Final Javier Peña/Steve Murphy - At first, Javi believes Steve is angry with him, but it turns out it’s something else entirely. (2444 words)

#frankie morales #din djarin #agent whiskey #javier peña #max lord #dincobb #fishben #marcus moreno #stavier #pedro pascal character fanfiction #frankie 'catfish' morales #jack 'whiskey' daniels #maxwell lord

[valiant-if]

Happy... February!?

Hey, all! This is my official month-and-a-half-late Happy New Year!

I hope that 2024 has been treating people well. I don't talk too much about real world events on either of my IF blogs because I need to compartmentalize for my own personal sanity, but I know there's a lotta shit going on all over the place. I hope things get better for those going through tough times, and I hope those who are doing well remain that way for as long as possible.

I'm back to flip-flopping between both of my projects pretty evenly, which for this project means jumping full force into Chapter 2. I'm gonna go into detail in a bit here on what I'm working on for this chapter—for anyone who wants to remain completely surprised, I'll be talking about that under the cut.

As a reminder, or for those who might have missed it, the Preset Character Form is still open and will remain open probably until I'm finishing up Chapter 2. Not sure what the hell I'm talking about, or just want a reminder? You can read more about the Preset Character Form here.

That about does it for general updates. Those who want to avoid any and all discussion about what I'm working on for Chapter 2, this is your cue to peace out. For the rest, continue under the cut.

To start, let's talk a little bit about Chapter 2. when we left off in Chapter 1, MC was in a tenuous agreement with the crew of the Valiant to be ferried safely to their next destination: Janus Terminal.

And Chapter 2 will be picking up exactly where we left off. You'll first get a little bit of downtime, which involves learning a bit more about your character's back story, deciding a few key elements of that back story, delving a bit deeper into character creation elements, and getting to know a few members of the Valiant before reaching Janus Terminal.

Janus Terminal itself will be an episode that, if everything goes to plan, will give the MC a first-hand perspective on what the crew of the Valiant is capable of as well as a general idea of where each crew member's moral compass points. That goes both ways, though, and the actions the MC does or does not take while on Janus Terminal will really solidify how the other crew members feel about the MC at the beginning of the story.

Mechanically, here's what that looks like. To start with, Chapter 1 establishes a variable for each character that defines their first impression of the MC. Downtime at the beginning of Chapter 2 will give you the opportunity to affect that first impression, but you won't have time to do that for everyone.

The list of possible first impressions are different for every character, and for some characters it will be extremely hard to get on their good side no matter what you do. Don't worry, though—these first impressions are designed to be only that. No matter what first impressions you settle on, they will not lock you out of friendship, rivalry, or romance with any of the characters.

They will, however, affect whether you start with more of a rivalry or a friendship and serve as a jumping-off point for tracking how relationships evolve throughout the story. I want characters to remember how they felt about you in the beginning regardless of how they feel about you later, and I want your initial social choices to really affect the relationship early on instead of having to wait a long time for a payoff.

To that end, I'll be editing the current code slightly to simplify things on the back end. Currently, I've been tracking relationships on a sliding scale with 50 as the median. I realized recently: that's stupid and unnecessarily complicated for me. It's easier if I just track friendship and rivalry as separate points, like I do with personality aspects. While this does essentially double the number of variables tracking relationships with each character, it makes things easier for me because I don't constantly have to code in clamps, and it will be simple to create a widget to track which stat is higher.

Using a similar scale I've seen in several video games in the long past, choices will affect friendship or rivalry on a scale, adding 1, 2, or 3 points to a given stat. With that distribution to various choices, I think the chances of an even 50/50 split down the road are pretty low, so I haven't though much about what it will look like if that happens, but maybe there will be a not-so-secret secret third type of relationship that involves a fair balance of the two.

I really don't want the MCs personality to be a huge factor in the friendship/rivalry system. That doesn't mean personality choices will never affect those stats, but generally it won't affect those stats unless the thing being said is something that an NPC fundamentally agrees or disagrees with. Mostly, it's going to be about your actions and how you approach certain situations.

As for current progress on all of this, the introduction of Chapter 2, which involves most of the back story stuff and the character creation additions, has been finished for a little while now. I'm currently working on the downtime conversations, specifically the one with Switch. She's the easiest to tackle because she has the fewest number of possible first impressions, but even her route is a lot of work. I don't want any of these conversations to feel streamlined with choices sprinkled in them. Different conversation choices will result in different conversations, which seems like it should be a given, but it's pretty typical for IFs to railroad you onto one conversation topic—not a criticism, sometimes you gotta do it to move a story forward, but that's not what these downtime conversations are for.

The basic structure of these conversations so far looks something like this:

Meet with character > 5 personality choices > 4 conversation choices appropriate to the situation for each different personality situation > resulting first impression passage

All of these passages have some variety based on whatever first impression the character starts with at this point.

And then there may be questions or continuances wherever appropriate dependent on the character. I'm not gonna go into the math specifics of how many separate conversation sections that means I'll be writing, but you can see how it would multiply into a lot, and Switch only has 4 possible first impressions that she can land on.

That being said, Switch is a special case where her limited number of first impressions expand into an additional one. A couple of characters have 4 or 5, and they won't change much. Kiran and Anton have 7 and 8, respectively, and rather than having some added, they'll likely have their first impressions narrowed down and fine-tuned by spending time with them in Chapter 2. So I expect that, at the end of the day, these conversations will have close to the same number of passages, give or take to account for different situations.

Once the downtime section is concluded, all first impression values will be locked in and result in the starting point for friendship and rivalry points. Choices affecting those points will start showing up more often in the latter parts of Chapter 2.

So there you have it, that's where I'm at with Valiant right now, and I know I talked a whole heck of a lot this post, but I like to be at least semi-transparent about the back-end work.

I can't be sure when the next update will be released—life has been kicking my ass lately in more ways than one, as, I suspect, has been the case for many of us. (You were always right, Smash Mouth. The years truly do start coming and don't stop coming.) However, I can tell you that, due to the length of the wait as well as the amount of content, I will probably be updating Chapter 2 in multiple parts. You'll get the intro and the downtime conversations as soon as I'm finished with them.

Due to the changes I'll be making to the code, you'll likely need to start from the beginning of the game when that time comes, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

#progress update

[wiihtigo]

As Wolfgang has popped up in my dreams a few times, I must ask: 3 (where'd the benny stuff come from?), 7, aaand 17

ask game

3. Do they have a love interest, and was that their choice or yours?

it was...IT WAS DESTINY.....WOLFGECKO FOREVER 2024...I JUST BECAME SO ATTACHED TO BENNY WHILE I PLAYED FNV FOR THE FIRST TIME I WAS ENRAPTURED I WAS OBSESSED....wolfgangs character is pretty much developed by how i played fnv for the first time so the way i kept trying to help benny get out of his own fuckups alive and also kept falling for his tricks i took to characterize wolfgang as the sort of the big stupid yandere we know and love today. the comic i drew of him beating tf out of the legion was based on a moment when i was streaming the game when i tried freeing benny from the fort like 800 times but he kept dying so i was eventually told to just cheat code go godmode so i did killed everyone in sight and got that funny dialogue where bennys like Dear lord. I thought it was so funny

it helped along the characterization i have where wolfys big and strong and scary and yandere. hes so cutes.

from there i just kept thinking about their relationship and what that might look like past the confines of the game! obviously he keeps following benny around. does some real Misery shit to him. they live the rest of their days in the house from courage the cowardly dog in the middle of nowhere

heres some artwork from both me and my friend andy of tiny (andys oc and wolfgangs friend) coming to visit them

7. What attribute of them (some facet of their personality, their history, their look, or whatever etc) would you find most important to somehow preserve if they were transplanted to an AU fanfic?

OUGHHHH well maybe some stuff i think could be misconstrued is that he genuinely never wants to hurt benny? hes always working to keep him safe and close to him (forever...! /dracula music) .even though hes big and scary and punches people to death its more in like a...(knocks on his head) (its hollow) like hes kind of without malice. he does things without thinking too hard on them, be that good or bad. he doesnt hold any ill will or grudges towards people, even his blowing up the legion was kinda like "they wont let benny go and theyre cruel to some people that have helped me so ill get rid of them" HE DOESNT REALLY HAVE ANY MORALS UNLESS A BEAUTIFUL MAN TELLS HIM TO. LOL... humm also he def can talk but hes quiet, and doesnt talk a bunch at once. and mostly only speaks when hes spoken to

17. Is your character holding any grudges? Are they likely to stop?

ohh..kind of answered above LOL NO HE DOESNT you might call him forgiving but its more that hes not offended by much in the first place so theres nothing to forgive. this is probably something that fucks with bennys head, completely convinced that one day the other shoe is gonna drop and its gonna be him splattered against the wall next (well good, he should feel scared. it was fucked up what he did to my boy)

#asks #i havent thought abt them in a minute I SMILED. I MISS THEM

[dojae-huh]

Hii Huh nim, seems like u r catching up with the contents that u r missed becoz of the busy schedule of urs....haha....that's nice....I am happy for you.....how s the work.....nd how is 2k24 is going for you....everything's fine right.....

Yes it looks like doyoung is much more cheerful and happy these days even though he lose about 500k followers nd the bullying stuff becoz the McDonald's deals...but he is a survivor u knw....just like u said how he turned bunny into bunny prince he is going to rule the world like a king with his singing....just wait and see how he is going to slay his solo in a unique manner that no one ever did...even if it is the same like others I bet, there might be something that he includes to look different....like how he even changed a lyrics from gold dust when he sang it for a solo show....I like it huh nim....I am really waiting that to happen....I cant wait any longer ...haha....I am so happy for my bunny prince...I hope he does evrything that he wants nd gives him more recognition as an idol and also as a great singer...to be honest i always thinks he is worthy to be recognized more as singer nd to get more and more opportunity...maybe it is becoz he is bias right...I kinda exaggerate...haha....sorry but I like doing that...so huh nim....we could just wait for it right....I hope evryone could makes their every dreams come true this year....huh him too....dont lose hope nd take care of your health....say my hii to your wild friends there...okay?? ....haha...

Fighting....let's go for a long and happy and successful year....i will try to make more asks again....have great blog okay....😊

Doyoung laughs in the face of adversity and stays kind to his real followers. (pics from here) Good for him, an example to emulate.

I think what helps Doyoung is not only the experience of going through the attacks in the past and learning from it (the whole circle of it, how it goes and what waits in the end), but also his fundamental beliefs about the nature of people and his belief in himself, in being a good person, his strong morale. He might think he is lacking here and there, but he knows he will turn mountains to be a successful singer, he has no other paths.

So, even if Do gets momentarily hurt or angry because of the attacks and antis, he doesn't internalise it and blame himself. He is bold enough to warn his fans with "something is coming up but believe in me, believe I'm a good person". He also categorises his own fans in this way "(as I'm a good person) my (true) fans can only be good people".

I decided to not anticipate things. I'll just wait patiently for the solo albums to come and pay attention to something else untill then instead. I hope you are right and Do will not try to walk the middle ground and think too much about what fans may want from him. Him approcahing Lucy (a band) and doing the 28 reasons cover were good signs.

When a person steps on a path of bettering oneself (losing weight, learning a skill/language), he/she needs to surround oneself with same minded people. The (miserable) people in one's life will discourage, stand in the way, not believe in the positive outcome, try to drag down to stay on their level. A support group will do the opposite.

Not that I wouldn't do what I do without Doyoung, the drive for change and action needs to come from within yourself, but he and 127 are definitely my support group who help to move in the right direction easier by their example. They are the positive to confront the negative.

Well, the 2024 started OK, I'm sticking to my physical exercises, language learning and looking for field work opportunities for Spring and Summer (and going to a new country, of course, can't stop my migratory habits). And I've kind of decided on a trajectory I need to try to reach my big goals for the upcoming few years. Can't say there are any results yet or I'm in a good financial shape, but I'm trying to beat that proverbial milk into butter and get out of the bucket.

Where I haven't done much progress is my own creative endevours. I sold a few original paintings last year, which is good, and I did drawing exercises, but I'm still in the process of persuading and pushing myself to pick up paints and produce something. Drawing is torture...

As for NCT content. I promised myself to finish all NCT Life-s this year. I always drop them after a few episodes (I completed just a few). They are not very funny, but they do have many moments that help to understand neos better. I should watch more old vlives, like Jaehyun and Yuta cooking, Doyoung with Renjun, etc. I haven't even watched Doyoung's tv-series, haha.... yes, I'm waiting for the right mood... yes, I'm like that...

I don't understand when fans complain there is nothing new from JaeDo or 127. There is a ton of everything. No fan will be able to watch all performances and interviews and fancams and clips from concerts. And one can always re-watch old things. Like this Favorite+Sticker performance. It had good camerawork and outfits.

Fighting.

I will say hi to the spider in my bathroom, no other wild friends around for the time being.

#ask me away #Doyoung is my bias #food all around chips all around

[sebstanaddict]

The Distance

Chapter 7 - A New Home

Summary : A space adventure where we follow Bucky Barnes around the universe as he struggles to reclaim the love of his life amidst the backdrop of war between humans and the Kree race.

Yon-Rogg and Adriana embarked on a journey to restart their lives together, but an encounter with an alien race threatened to ruin their plan. Will they succeed to restart their life or will they surrender to the alien race's wills? Meanwhile, Bucky and his team went to a morally questionable planet to track Kang The Conqueror. Will they succeed in finding him? Or will their efforts proved to be futile?

Pairings : Bucky Barnes x Adriana Weaver (OC)

Chapters: 7 / 20 (might add more as I write)

Chapter List >

Warning : violence, grief, angst

Word count : 9k

This is a sequel to my first Bucky fic, New Beginning. Check it out here.

Torfa, Outskirts of Greater Magellanic Cloud - July 2024

Adriana stood frozen inside Yon-Rogg's ship as he slowly put the waterproof suit onto her. He was just kneeling down and helping to put her feet inside the suit and stood back up to help zip the front part of it close. He was so close that she could smell his scent and it made her heart beat faster. Yon-Rogg's eyes flicked up to hers as he pulled the zipper up, avoiding to look at her chest. The gesture warmed her heart somehow. She knew then that Yon-Rogg could be trusted. After all, he did say he had feelings for her and that he risked his life by not following Supreme Intelligence's orders to kill her. So he must have loved her so much. She wished she knew if she had feelings for him too. It would make everything easier. But she tried to search within her heart and mind whether she had feelings for him and she came up blank. She didn't even remember him except from when he shielded her in the ship from incoming missile.

"There. You're all set." Yon-Rogg said as he put on a helmet on Adriana's head.

"Push this to close the front part. You should still be able to breathe underwater. The helmet releases oxygen from the suit." Yon-Rogg said, lifting her hand up and directed it to the side of the helmet where there are buttons.

"Okay. Thanks." Adriana nodded, pulling her hand off from his. His touch on her made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. She could see a slight disappointment in Yon-Rogg's eyes as she pulled her hand from his, but he got over it quickly and he proceeded to put a waterproof suit on himself.

Yon-Rogg had explained to Adriana earlier that since the ship had tracking device on it, Supreme Intelligence must have known where they were. He must have presumed that Yon-Rogg brought her here to kill her. So in order to make Supreme Intelligence lose track of them, he was planning on faking an accident where it would seem he and Adriana had died on the accident, leaving them free to start over their lives away from Supreme Intelligence.

"Alright, take a seat Una. We're taking off shortly." Yon-Rogg said after putting his suit on. He went to sit on the cockpit, buckled himself up and started pushing some buttons.

Adriana took a seat behind him and put her seat belt on. Yon-Rogg pushed some more buttons and soon the ship started to take off. He steered it away from the mountain they were on while looking down on the surface of the planet, trying to find a spot where they could get off the ship. After a while he spotted green forest up ahead, right as they were passing a large body of water. Beyond the forest he could see some more mountains.

"Una. I think this is it." Yon-Rogg said, turning to look at Adriana and she nodded.

She took her seatbelt off and stood up. Yon-Rogg pushed some buttons and turned on the autopilot. He then unbuckled himself and stood up. He walked towards the door of the ship and pushed a button. Soon, the door of the ship was opened. Adriana looked down and saw nothing but water. The ship flew slowly over it towards the green forest.

"Ready?" Yon-Rogg asked, turning to look at her. She pushed the button by her helmet and the front part of her helmet was closed. She nodded and Yon-Rogg closed his helmet.

"On three." He said and took her hand. Adriana nodded.

"One.. two.. three.."

Adriana jumped and Yon-Rogg jumped next to her. She released her hand from his as they got nearer the water, stretching both hands in front of her as she prepared to dive head first into the water.

As her body hit the water, the cold shocked her. But she didn't stop as she continued to dive deeper into the water. She could see Yon-Rogg in front of her, his hand beckoning for her to follow him. They swam closer to the forest and finally went up to the surface once they could see the bottom of the water sloped upwards towards land.

Just as they arrived at the surface they saw Yon-Rogg's ship flying over the forest and headed straight towards the mountain. When they arrived on shore, the ship hit the mountain, making a loud crashing sound then exploded. The vibrations from the impact traveled to where they were, shaking the ground underneath them. Birds flew out from the forest, surprised by the impact. They could hear in the distance a loud growling sound. It seemed they had disturbed the peacefulness of the forest and woken up creatures in it.

Adriana pushed the button by her helmet and took it off, panting slightly. Yon-Rogg took his helmet off too and put it down on the sand.

"Are you alright?" Yon-Rogg asked, turning to look at her.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I hope whatever made that sound won't attack us." she said while putting her helmet down on the sand.

"It seems to be far away. I think we're safe for now." Yon-Rogg smiled and he extended his hand to her. Just then something streaked fast in front of them and landed on the sand near them. An arrow was stuck on the sand. Adriana and Yon-Rogg raised their hands as they turned to look at whoever had shot that arrow.

Adriana's eyes widened as she saw five creatures came out of the forest, brandishing weapons at them. The creatures were human-like but with horns coming out from the sides of their foreheads. Two of them pointed arrows that glowed blue at them while the other two pointed spears at them, the point of the spears also glowed blue. The other one, who seemed to be their leader stood holding a sword up. The sword also had blue light surrounding it.

"Get down on your knees! Now!" the leader of the horned creatures yelled at them.

Adriana slowly knelt down, still raising her hands up. Yon-Rogg knelt down too next to her.

The five horned creatures walked closer to them, staring at them cautiously. Adriana's heart was racing fast in her chest as the creatures surrounded them. She wondered if these creatures were going to hurt them or not. She looked up at one of them and saw the one closest to her, which was holding a spear, looked at her as if she was a meal on a plate. She knew that look and it disgusted her. She didn't know how she remembered but she suddenly pulled the creature's spear close to her and took it off him successfully, surprising the creature. She stood up and quickly twirled the spear around, hitting the creatures one by one on their heads and chests, making them all fall to the ground unconscious. Her fast movements caught them by surprise.

"How did you do that?" Yon-Rogg asked, standing up in awe.

"I.. I don't know.." Adriana said, dumbfounded as she stared at the spear in her hand.

Yon-Rogg grabbed the sword from one of the creatures then took her hand and guided her to run with him into the forest. They were running into the forest when they suddenly felt the ground shook beneath their feet and growling sounds came from in front of them. Small animals scurried in front of them, running on the opposite direction. They stopped as they saw the small animals. Then they quickly turned around and ran back following the animals when they saw a large sabre tooth tiger-like creature but with five eyes appeared in front of them. The creature growled and ran fast towards them. Adriana ran as fast as she could but the creature was also fast. After a while they finally managed to make it onto the edge of the forest. Just as the creature caught up to them, something streaked past their heads and struck the creature on its body. The horned human-like creatures were all awake and two of them were shooting arrows at the saber tooth tiger. None of the arrows successfully hit it, they all bounced on the creature's thick skin and fell to the ground. But the arrows distracted the creature enough so that Adriana and Yon-Rogg could run to the side, away from it.

The creature now set its eyes on the five horned human-like creatures. It growled and ran towards them, toppling three of them to the ground. It continued chasing one of them whose sword Yon-Rogg had taken earlier. It was about to devour the horned creature when Adriana suddenly ran fast towards the creature and jumped up high, landing on top of the creature's neck, stopping the creature in its tracks. She quickly stuck the spear in her hand on the creature's soft exposed neck. The creature choked as Adriana continued to push the spear deeper into the creature's neck. Adriana held on to her spear as the creature brandished around, howling in pain. After a while it finally stopped moving and fell down to the ground in a thud, lifeless.

Adriana pulled the spear off from the creature's neck and jumped down. The horned creature approached her, raising his hands up as he saw Adriana pointing the spear at him.

"Thank you. For saving my life." The creature said, bowing his head in respect.

"You're welcome." Adriana said still holding the spear tight in her hands.

The other four horned creatures stood next to their leader, pointing their arrows and spear at her. Yon-Rogg stood next to Adriana, raising his sword, ready to attack.

For several moments neither party made a move. They stared at each other, seizing each other up. Finally, the leader of the horned creatures extended his hands and lowered the arrows and spears the other creatures were holding.

"I think.. a truce is in order. You have saved my life after all. And it's clear you can kill us all without batting an eye." He said, winking at Adriana.

"That's true." Adriana said, pride filled her voice. She didn't know she had deadly skills like that. Wherever she came from, she must have received immense training so she could have powerful skills.

Adriana lowered the spear in her hand and Yon-Rogg followed suit, lowering the sword in his hand.

"Could you return that to me please? That sword belong to my great grandfather. He wouldn't be pleased with me if I lose it." The horned creature said, extending his hand towards Yon-Rogg.

"I'm sorry. But until we get clear confirmation that you won't hurt us the minute we give you your weapons back, I prefer holding onto it, thank you." Yon-Rogg said, shaking his head.

The creature tilted his head to the side and studied Yon-Rogg. His eyes suddenly widened.

"A Kree! You're a Kree!" He yelled. Anger suddenly filled his eyes. The four other horned creatures raised their weapons back at them again.

"What if we are?!" Adriana asked, confusion filled her voice.

"Clearly you're not a Kree if you don't understand that our races are mortal enemies!" The horned creature answered in disbelief.

"Wait a minute. You're Argens?" Yon-Rogg asked, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes we are!" The creature confirmed with pride.

"I thought you were all extinct already." Yon-Rogg snickered.

"We're more resilient than you think!" The creature scoffed.

"Now, hand me back my sword you filthy Kree!" He yelled.

He grabbed a spear from one of his comrades and attacked Yon-Rogg with it. Yon-Rogg raised the sword in his hands to block him and they started duelling. Somehow Yon-Rogg got the upper hand and he managed to get away. The creature ran to chase him, pointing the spear in his hand at him.

"Get back here you filthy Kree!" The creature shouted.

"Should we help him?" One of the creature holding an arrow asked.

"No, if we help him that female Kree might attack us. Besides, he's tough. I'm sure he can get that sword back." The other creature whose spear was taken by Adriana said, looking at Adriana in apprehension.

Adriana smiled as she heard what the creature had said. She was glad that they feared and respected her.

"Guys! A little help here!" The leader of the creatures who was duelling with Yon-Rogg shouted as they fought past them. He was still fighting Yon-Rogg who was fiercely swinging the sword. The clang of the sword and spear rang in Adriana's ears, making her flinch.

"Are you going to attack us if we help him?" One of the creature asked Adriana.

Adriana sighed. "No, I'll help."

"Stop! stop!" She yelled as she ran towards Yon-Rogg and put herself between him and the leader of the creature. Both Yon-Rogg and the leader of the creatures froze in their tracks, still raising their weapons.

"Stop! Yon-Rogg, give him back his sword." Adriana ordered, extending her arms to prevent them from attacking each other.

"What?! And lose the only thing that can help me defend myself?" Yon-Rogg asked in disbelief.

"They won't hurt us. Right?" Adriana asked the leader of the creature.

"No, we won't hurt you but we might kill the Kree." He answered and Yon-Rogg raised the sword in his hand again.

"But I'm a Kree too! Why would you kill him and not me?!" Adriana asked incredulously.

"Oh.. you're a Kree too?" The creature asked, disbelief filled his eyes.

"Yes!" Adriana said, exasperated.

"Well, I owe you my life so I won't kill you." He said.

"If you kill him, I will kill all of you! You understand?" Adriana raised her voice, threatening him.

The creature studied her and Yon-Rogg then he finally nodded. He dropped the spear in his hand then raised both his hands in surrender.

"Now Yon-Rogg, return the sword to him." Adriana ordered.

Yon-Rogg reluctantly gave the creature his sword back. The creature accepted it and put it back in its sheath on his waist.

"Okay, good. Now that we have come to an understanding, maybe we can introduce each other in a more civil way." Adriana said.

"And I'll start. My name is Una-Ver and this is Yon-Rogg. And we're not here to hurt anyone." She continued.

"I'm Halvos Madirna. Leader of the Argens on this planet." The creature said.

"And these are my fellow comrades, Agnus, Cellith, Hordu and Cartho." Halvos said, extending his hand to his comrades and they nodded at them.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all." Adriana said, nodding her head.

"Now, what brings you here?" Halvos asked.

"We.. umm.." Adriana glanced at Yon-Rogg, not sure what to say.

"We were on a mission. But our ship malfunctioned and we had to get off it to save ourselves." Yon-Rogg explained.

"I see. What kind of mission? What does the Kree want from Torfa?" Halvos asked.

"It's confidential. We can't share that. But.. we assure you that it has nothing to do with you or the other inhabitants of this planet. We were merely looking for a deserted planet to do the mission. We didn't know Torfa is now inhabited." Yon-Rogg replied.

"Hmm.. very well. I will accept that explanation for now. But if I find out in the future that you are intending to hurt us or other inhabitants of this planet, then I will not hesitate to kill you." Halvos warned.

"Fair enough." Yon-Rogg nodded.

"Now come. It's unsafe to stay out here too long. The explosion from your ship must have bothered the Pentatigras. We don't want to stay out here where we could easily cross their paths." Halvos said, referring to the five eyed giant sabertooth tiger.

"Oh.. so there are more of them?" Adriana asked as they started walking away from the shore.

"Yes, there are many of them. They live in a cave on the mountain your ship just hit. So I'm sure more of them will come down soon to try to find whoever is responsible." Halvos said.

"Oh no." Adriana said, shaking her head. One of the Pentatigras was enough to wreak havoc. She couldn't imagine facing more of them.

-----

Adriana and Yon-Rogg followed the Argens, walking at the edge of the forest along the beach. She wondered why they didn't go into the forest. She had suspected the Argens to live in the forest where there must be a lot of animals and vegetations to be their source of food. Not to mention there could be spring water in there. But they continued on their journey until the forest became barren land and there were only rocks and sand.

After a while she could see giant stone structures in front of her. They stood in rows, towering over them. There must be at least twenty of them. The structures were dirty white in color with streaks of red on them. Probably from the constant exposure of the toxic fog around them. She thought.

The Argens continued walking and suddenly stopped in front of one of the stone structures. Halvos touched the stone structure on multiple spots. The spots where he touched turned blue. Slowly the blue light on the spots moved to combine together into a rectangle. It slowly widened and formed a large rectangular shape. The stone inside of the rectangle moved aside slowly, revealing a dark passage inside.

"Please, come in." Halvos said, beckoning for them to come inside.

"No, you go on first, we'll follow." Yon-Rogg said.

"Don't worry. This is the entrance to where we live. Agnus, show them. Go on in." Halvos said, clapping Agnus' shoulder and pushed him in.

"Hey! No need to push me, Halvos!" Agnus complained but he continued walking into the entrance anyway.

Agnus was holding a spear. Once he was inside, the spear gave the dark entrance some light so that they could see the insides better. Adriana squinted her eyes and she could make out stone walls inside.

One by one the Argens walked into the entrance, leaving Halvos, Adriana and Yon-Rogg outside of it. Adriana entered first, followed by Yon-Rogg then Halvos. Then the entrance closed itself once Halvos was in.

Once inside, it took a while for Adriana to adjust to the darkness. But the blue light coming from the Argens' weapons helped her see. They were inside what seemed to be a circular chamber. The walls surrounding them glowed blue all of a sudden and Adriana could see some strange shapes on one of the walls, like ancient runes. Halvos touched one of the shape on the wall then the chamber they were in suddenly moved downwards. Adriana almost lost her balance when the chamber started moving but Yon-Rogg caught her and held her in place.

"Thanks." Adriana said, blushing a little as she looked up at Yon-Rogg. He just looked down at her and smiled shyly. He continued to hold her until the chamber stopped moving.

One side of the chamber suddenly opened, revealing a massive area underground. Adriana's eyes widened as she stepped outside of the chamber. On the ceiling in the middle of the chamber she could see a bright light like a mini sun. Underneath it was a small city where the Argens lived. The buildings and structures were all made from black stone with mostly round shaped architectures. Almost all of the stones were imbued with the blue light she had seen in the chamber they just got out of. People.. well.. Argens could be seen walking around. They all had horns on the sides of their foreheads. Even the small Argen children had them. Their clothes reminded Adriana like clothes from the medieval era. The female Argens wore long dresses and frocks, covered with cloaks while the male Argens wore leather pants and tunics covered with cloaks.

"Welcome to Lyra, our capital city." Halvos said, sweeping his hand in front of him. Showing off the city to Yon-Rogg and Adriana.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Adriana exclaimed as she continued to gaze around the city, drinking in the environment.

"Come. Let me take you to meet The Elders." Halvos said.

"The Elders?" Yon-Rogg asked.

"Yes. I may be the leader of the Argens but The Elders are whom I ask for advice in almost any situation." He explained.

"Oh, alright." Yon-Rogg nodded.

Halvos continued to walk, guiding them further into the city. As they walked some Argens noticed them and some stared at them as if they were a weird animal. Adriana smiled at them, trying to show them that she was not to be scared of. Some of the Argens smiled back at her yet some avoided her gaze.

They continued walking on the cobbled street and after passing what seemed to be the market in the city, they arrived at the city center. A large three story building stood in front of them. Glowing ancient runes-like shapes adorned the top of the entrance of the building. Adriana figured they were writings in Argen language. The walls of the building were made from black stone. Streaks of blue glowed on the walls. It seemed vibranium was imbued all over the city.

"Welcome to the city hall." Halvos said as the door to the building opened automatically in front of them.

A large hall welcomed them where they could see some Argens wearing brown colored uniform walking around. Halvos continued to walk further into the building and guided them into a circular room about three hundred square feet wide at the end of the hall.

"Please wait here while I talk to The Elders first." Halvos said.

Adriana and Yon-Rogg nodded. Soon all the Argens left them in the room. They seemed to be in a waiting room of some sort. Chairs where placed around the room leaving the middle empty. There was what seemed to be a water dispenser at one side of the room with glasses provided on the table next to it.

"I'm thirsty. Do you think it's okay if we drink that?" Adriana asked, pointing at the water dispenser.

"Well, if I were you, I wouldn't feel safe. I'd wait until one of them drink it first to make sure they're not poisoned." Yon-Rogg said as he sat on one of the chairs.

"You're so negative, Yon-Rogg." Adriana shook her head.

"I'm just being cautious." Yon-Rogg said.

"Well, I'm thirsty. I'm gonna try it." Adriana shrugged then walked to the water dispenser.

"Una.. don't you dare drink that." Yon-Rogg warned her.

"But I'm thirsty Yon-Rogg." She protested as she grabbed a glass and pushed a button on the dispenser. Soon water poured out of it into the glass. Yon-Rogg stood up and quickly walked over to her and grabbed the glass from her hand. He then took a sip of the water and swallowed it.

"Hey! You could get one on your own you know." Adriana protested.

"But I wanted to test it first before you.. " suddenly Yon-Rogg choked and started coughing violently.

"Yon-Rogg! Are you okay?!" Adriana exclaimed in panic as she held Yon-Rogg's shoulder and took the glass off his hand.

Yon-Rogg stopped coughing and smiled suddenly. Then he started laughing loudly.

"Ugh.. you were faking it?!" Adriana slapped his back angrily.

"Sorry. I had to. You wouldn't listen to me so I thought I'd give you a lesson." Yon-Rogg shrugged.

"What if it was really poisoned? You would've been hurt!" Adriana stated.

"Well.. Better me than you." Yon-Rogg winked, leaving her speechless.

"I told you I have feelings for you Una. I'm not going to let anything hurt you." Yon-Rogg said, raising his hand up and stroked her cheek gently with his thumb, making her heart beat faster.

Adriana felt strange. She felt like someone else had done the same thing to her. But that someone wasn't Yon-Rogg. There was someone else. But she couldn't remember who it was. She just remembered the same gentle touch stroking her cheek.

Suddenly the door to the room was opened and Halvos came in. Yon-Rogg dropped his hand from her cheek and turned around to face him.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I didn't offer you drinks before. What a bad host I am. But I guess you found some drinks yourself." Halvos said.

"It's okay Halvos." Adriana smiled as she put the glass she was still holding on a table next to the water dispenser.

"Come, The Elders are ready to meet you." Halvos said.

-----

The Elders Chamber, Lyra City Hall, Lyra, Torfa - July 2024

Halvos brought them outside of the room and took them to enter another room on the other side of the building. He stopped in front of a huge double doors.

"This is The Elders Chamber, where The Elders accept guests. They are.. shall we say.. a little ancient. So, please speak loudly in front of them. Their hearing aren't really good." Halvos said. Adriana and Yon-Rogg nodded.

Halvos then opened the door. Behind the door they found a huge circular room. A raised platform could be seen right across from them where three old Argens sat behind a long desk. Two male Argens and one female Argen stared at them as they walked in. In front of The Elders were rows and rows of chairs where The Elders' guests could sit.

Halvos guided them to stand in front of The Elders and started speaking.

"Your Excellency Zando Egarna, Your Excellency Havnal Erramda, and Your Excellency Renara Assigno. These are the Kree I have mentioned previously. The male Kree is Yon-Rogg and the female is Una-Ver." Halvos said, bowing his head in respect.

"Thank you, Halvos. You may sit down." One of the male Elder Argen said.

He looked down on them from behind his thick glasses, his gaze passed Adriana but lingered on Yon-Rogg and he seemed to scowl.

"Now, Kree, could you please state the reason on why you are on Torfa?" The Elder asked.

"Your Excellency. We were on a classified mission sent by The Supreme Intelligence, the Kree leader from Hala. Our ship malfunctioned as we tried to get back to Hala so we were forced to get off it. We ended up on the shores near the forest where we met Halvos and one of the Pentatigras." Yon-Rogg said.

"Yes.. yes. Halvos told us you saved his life." The female Elder, Renara said.

"Yes, Una-Ver killed the Pentatigra who was about to devour Halvos." Yon-Rogg nodded.

"Yes. We cannot thank you enough for saving his life. That is why we allow you to speak with us. Otherwise, we would have you killed once we knew you were a Kree." The other male Elder said.

"Why?" Adriana asked. She had been curious on why The Argens and The Kree were mortal enemies.

"Why?!" The male Elder asked, raising his voice in disbelief.

"Child.. don't you know the history of the war between our races? The war that destroyed our homeworld and forced us to flee across the universe?!" He asked, dumbfounded at Adriana's lack of knowledge.

"Forgive her, Your Excellency. Una-Ver is suffering from memory loss. She doesn't remember anything beyond yesterday." Yon-Rogg bowed apologetically.

"Memory loss? Interesting." Renara said, looking at Adriana.

"Yes.. I'm sorry Your Excellency. I don't remember anything happening in my past. Or anything about myself." She said, looking down dejectedly.

"Well, it will do you good if you know about the war. You can tell her about it I'm sure." One of the male Elder said to Yon-Rogg.

"Yes, Your Excellency, I will tell her the story of the war between our races." Yon-Rogg nodded.

"Very well. Now, what is your plan?" The male Elder asked.

"We.. well, our ship is destroyed so we don't have a means of transport. We cannot go back to Hala.. nor we want to. Because the mission failed, we don't dare to go back to Hala. Supreme Intelligence threatened to kill us should we fail the mission. We were planning on hiding out here, hoping that Supreme Intelligence won't find us here. So we would like to ask for your permission to stay here." Yon-Rogg said.

The Elders seemed to be surprised. They looked at each other and then conferred among themselves in a language Adriana didn't understand. They beckoned for Halvos to come near them and after some time Halvos returned to his seat.

"Could you tell us the mission? We will let you stay if you tell us the mission." Renara said.

Yon-Rogg glanced at Adriana, and Adriana nodded slowly.

"I was tasked to kill Una-Ver. Supreme Intelligence thinks she's a mole for the people of earth. So he wants her dead. But.. I.. I couldn't kill her. She was a member of the special elite taskforce I once led. I just couldn't kill my own comrade." Yon-Rogg said.

"So you decided to betray Supreme Intelligence?" Renara asked.

"Yes. He threatened to have me killed if I failed on killing her. But I.. I'd rather die myself than having to kill her." Yon-Rogg said, glancing at Adriana and smiled at her. She blushed as he looked at her and returned his smile with a shy smile.

"Well.. in that case. I think we can give permission for you to stay here. As long as you promise not to hurt our people." Renara said.

"Of course Your Excellency. We wouldn't dream of hurting your people. The war between our races were in the past. And I have no more grudges against your people." Yon-Rogg said.

"Well, that is easy for you to say seeing how your race won the war." one of the male Elder said in disgust.

"Forgive me Your Excellency, I did not mean to come off that way." Yon-Rogg bowed his head in apology.

"Well, the past is the past. Let's not focus on that. For now let's look into a brighter future ahead. With you staying with us, one day our races may just form a beneficial alliance." Renara said.

"Yes, Your Excellency." Yon-Rogg nodded.

"Alright, now that we have decided. Halvos, you can take them to one of the empty houses for the refugees at the border. We hope you'll find staying with us enjoyable." Renara said, smiling at them.

"Thank you very much Your Excellency." Yon-Rogg put his hand on his chest in respect and bowed his head. Adriana bowed her head too. They then turned around and went out of the room. Glad the meeting went well and that they had a new place to call their home.

-----

Border of Lyra, Lyra, Torfa - July 2024

Halvos took them to the border of the city, where small houses that the Argens had set up for refugees stood. Torfa was not just inhabited by The Argens. But it was also home to several other alien races whose homeworld had been destroyed, whether by natural causes or brought on by wars.

A long time ago the original population of Torfa was wiped out by an unknown plague. It was an empty planet for many years until the Galactic Council decided to use it as a place for alien races whose homeworld were destroyed. There were at least five alien races living there at one point. After some time they found out that Torfa had vibranium, so they mined it. Unfortunately, the mining method used released toxic material onto the air and water. And soon, almost all of the population became sick from the toxic material. The mining operation was stopped and the mine was destroyed. But too many of the population had become too sick to survive. Those who still could, left the planet, leaving it empty for the second time.

After many years, The Argens, having lost the war with The Kree and had their homeworld destroyed, went to Torfa and turned its underground to be habitable for them. They managed to use a different mining technology to mine vibranium, which didn't release toxic material into the air and water. They used it to power their underground houses and buildings and as a source of light for them. They created filters to filter the water and air so the water and air that entered their underground city had been purified from toxic materials.

After they were successful in turning Torfa into a habitable planet, some other alien races who also had lost their homeworld heard of their success and decided to also inhabit it. So now there were three alien races living there, the Argens, the Sentimault and the Nowlanians.

The Nowlanians were a humanoid green skinned race and had very short life span compared to others. They lived to only about twenty years old. While the Sentimault were a race who lived in robotic bodies. They required exoskeletons to survive anywhere outside of their homeworld and they needed bio-manufacturing to produce the exoskeletons.

As Adriana and Yon-Rogg entered the refugee area, they saw some of the Nowlanians and Sentimaults walking around. They stared as Adriana and Yon-Rogg passed. One of the Nowlanians, who looked like a fifteen year old green skinned and red haired boy, smiled at Adriana as she passed. She smiled back at him and the Nowlanian waved at her in delight. She waved back and continued walking.

Finally they arrived at a small empty house. The structure of the house was round, like three quarters of a ball. The walls were black with streaks of blue from the vibranium.

Halvos pressed a button at the door of the house. The door glowed blue and slid open, revealing a surprisingly light and bright interior. Apparently there were many lamps installed at the ceiling. And despite the walls being black, the mostly white furniture in the house helped brighten it.

Halvos allowed Adriana and Yon-Rogg to enter the house first. The house was about six hundred square feet in size. It had a sitting room at the front which had a leather sofa and coffee table. Behind the sofa was a small kitchen and a dining table. On the left of the sitting room were two bedrooms opposite from each other and a bathroom located between them. The bedrooms were already furnished with beds, wardrobes as well as dressing tables. Adriana's eyes widened as she studied the furnitures in the house. They all reminded her somehow of a place she once called home.

"Well, welcome to your new home." Halvos smiled at them.

"This is amazing! Thank you so much Halvos!" Adriana said as she walked closer to him then hugged him, surprising him.

"Oh! Yes.. well. You're welcome." Halvos said, releasing himself from her hug. He seemed to be blushing a little, Adriana noted, making her smiled in amusement. She glanced at Yon-Rogg and found him giving Halvos a death stare.

"This house is weird." Yon-Rogg said coldly.

"What are you talking about Yon-Rogg?" Adriana asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I mean. The furnitures seemed to be secondhand. Did someone else use to live here?" He asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes. An elderly Nowlanian couple used to live here. They died about a week ago. They didn't have children so this house had been empty since they died." Halvos said.

"Oh I see." Adriana nodded.

"I don't feel comfortable living here." Yon-Rogg said. Adriana elbowed him on the ribs, making him yelped in pain.

"Don't be rude Yon-Rogg! Halvos, we would love to stay here. Thank you very much!" Adriana said, smiling wide at him.

"You're welcome, Una. Alright, I'll leave you to settle down. If you need clothing and such, I think the Nowlanian couple left some clothing in the wardrobes. I will have someone to drop off some food and drinks for you later today. But after that you will need to work and earn a living to put food on the table like everyone else." Halvos said.

"Oh of course, Halvos. We'll definitely look for a job starting tomorrow." Adriana said.

"Alright. Bye now. Hope you'll enjoy yourselves here." Halvos smiled and then left the house, leaving Adriana and Yon-Rogg to stand in the middle of the living room awkwardly.

"So.." Adriana said, turning to Yon-Rogg.

"So.." Yon-Rogg said, smiling at her.

Adriana reached out and held his hands in hers and guided him to sit on the sofa.

"Yon-Rogg, thank you for sparing my life. I.. I don't know if I ever will be able to repay you. I wish.. I wish I had the same feelings for you as you have for me. But.. honestly I don't feel that way about you. At least, not now. I mean.. I barely remember you Yon-Rogg." Adriana said, squeezing his hands.

"Una, it's okay. I understand." Yon-Rogg smiled gently at her, squeezing her hands back.

"Thank you Yon-Rogg. I do hope someday I can return the feeling back to you. But for now.. let's start off as friends. Shall we?" Adriana said, looking up at Yon-Rogg, hoping he would understand.

"Of course, Una. Anything to make you happy." He smiled, and her heart skipped a beat.

Maybe she could love him back. Adriana thought. He was so kind and nice to her and he spared her life. Surely someone like that deserved her love.

She looked at his yellow eyes and tried to find comfort in there but she couldn't. A feeling deep down inside her told her that this was wrong. Someone else was out there, and that someone loved her even more than Yon-Rogg did. But she couldn't remember who it was. She could only remember the warmth in her heart of being loved so much, so fully that she felt at home with the person. But the person was not Yon-Rogg. Well, whoever that person was, he was not here with her. Yon-Rogg was. And she should try to get used to living with him. After all, she had no other choice.

-----

Border of Lyra, Lyra, Torfa - January 2025

"Una! Una! Where are you?!" Yon-Rogg yelled inside the house. He finally did it and he couldn't wait to show her.

"What is it Yon-Rogg?" Adriana asked, coming out of the bathroom.

"Oh.. there you are! Come! You have to see this. I finally did it!" Yon-Rogg said excitedly.

"Did what Yon-Rogg?" Adriana asked, dumbfounded.

"Just.. come! Come on!" Yon-Rogg grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the house.

They ran on the cobbled street of Lyra, heading towards the exit to the surface. Once they got on the surface Yon-Rogg dragged her to run on the sand towards a cave near the tall stone structures. There in the cave was a small red ship. Yon-Rogg found the ship several months ago when he was doing his daily patrolling of the planet. Yes, with his military background he was hired by the Argens to be part of the security team. He patrolled the planet daily, sometimes in the morning until afternoon, sometimes the other way around. He was feeling bored to death of his job when he found the broken ship stranded at an area of the planet he barely set foot on. Whoever left the ship seemed to have left the planet because he couldn't find anything or anyone around the ship. With help from the other security members, he moved the ship into a cave not far from the entrance to Lyra. He had been spending some time trying to fix it and get it turned on again.

Yon-Rogg continued to drag Adriana into the ship. He then sat her on the co-pilot's seat while he sat on the pilot's seat. He then pushed some buttons and the ship came to live.

"Oh my God! You did it Yon-Rogg! You fixed the ship!" Adriana exclaimed happily, giving Yon-Rogg a hug.

"That's not all. Buckle your seatbelt, Una. We're going on a ride." Yon-Rogg winked at her.

Adriana put her seatbelt on and sat back, studying Yon-Rogg while he pushed some more buttons and finally pulled a lever on the middle of the cockpit slowly towards him. The ship hovered slowly then Yon-Rogg pulled the lever down fully and the ship took off to the sky.

"Woohoo! Oh my God! This is amazing!" Adriana shouted gleefully.

She looked outside the window as the ship passed the forest then the large body of water. It then continued to fly towards a mountain far in the distance.

"Yon-Rogg.. where are we going?" Adriana asked, turning to look at him in confusion.

"I'm taking you to somewhere beautiful." He winked and she blushed, making his heart skipped a beat.

After a while they finally arrived at a mountain. Yon-Rogg parked the ship in the front of a cave on the mountain and guided her to walk outside.

He guided her to sit at the edge of a cliff facing the beautiful view of Torfa. It was time for sunset, the sky was starting to turn dark but Adriana could see glimmers of orange colored the horizon.

"It's beautiful." She smiled, drinking in the gorgeous view in front of her.

"It is." Yon-Rogg smiled then turned to look at her, squeezing her hand.

"But you're more beautiful, Una." He said in a low voice, making her blush.

"Una. I.. I know I've told you this before. But, I need to tell you again. Being with you for the past six months is like a dream come true for me. Even though you don't love me back but I'm grateful that you allowed me to be friends with you. However, I can't help but wish we were more... I.. I love you, Una. I've always loved you." Yon-Rogg said, cupping his hands on the sides of her face, gazing at her with love and adoration.

She gazed back at him, her eyebrows furrowed as she searched his eyes. After a while her eyes cleared and she gazed at him back with love in her eyes.

"I love you too, Yon-Rogg. I've fallen in love with you for a couple of months now." She smiled shyly at him.

Yon-Rogg couldn't believe his ears! She was in love with him! Just as he had been in love with her for so long! With his heartbeat racing in his chest, he leaned close to her. He glanced at her perfectly kissable lips and finally closed the gap between them, capturing her lips with his. His heart seemed to explode with love and happiness as he finally kissed her. Kissing her was even better than he imagined. His hands went down to her waist and he pulled her closer to him as she put her hands around his neck.

Yon-Rogg never felt as happy as he was that day. He made a promise in his heart that he would always love her and be by her side. She was the love of his life and he would never let her go.

-----

Border of Lyra, Lyra, Torfa - March 2025

Adriana opened her eyes and found Yon-Rogg's piercing yellow eyes staring back at her with love and adoration.

"Good morning, my love." Yon-Rogg smiled as he stroked her cheek gently with his thumb.

"Good morning, Yon-Rogg honey." She smiled back, putting the palm of her hand on his cheek gently. She leaned in closer and kissed him, making him smile.

"How are you feeling today?" He asked.

"I feel great!" She smiled, remembering the fierce love making they did the night before and blushed as she remembered it.

"Good..Because...I have something to tell you. Well.. ask you.. actually." He said as he sat up from the bed and pulled her up with him.

"Yon-Rogg.. what are you doing?" She asked, her hand on her mouth in disbelief as Yon-Rogg knelt on the floor in front of her, holding her hand tight, sweat seeped out from his palm.

"Una, I've never felt happier in my life than when I'm with you. You are my love, my sunshine, my everything. I couldn't imagine living without you. I want to grow old with you and spend the rest of my life with you. So.. will you marry me and make me the happiest Kree in the world?" He asked and he pulled out a beautiful vibranium ring from his pocket. The ring was black with streaks of blue and gold. A small diamond sat on the middle of the ring, glowing brightly.

"Oh Yon-Rogg! Yes! I will marry you!" Adriana exclaimed and reached out to hug him tight, tears streaming down her face. Yon-Rogg released her from the hug and slid the ring onto her right ring finger, on top of the platinum ring with the heart shaped diamond on it, the ring Yon-Rogg said used to belong to her mother.

After he put the ring on her finger, he leaned close to her and kissed her. Adriana felt so happy yet strange at the same time. Her heart should be exploding with joy but she felt a weird sting instead. She felt deep down that she had experienced something like this before. How perfect it seemed to her when it happened. How happy she was that she was getting married. Well, she was happy too to be Yon-Rogg's fiancee. After all, she did love him. But she couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right, like half of her was grieving.

She kicked herself mentally for feeling that way. Yon-Rogg loved her and she loved him too. That should be enough. She was going to marry Yon-Rogg, had beautiful children together and lived happily until the day they die.

-----

House of Games, Kitson City, Planet Kitson - March 2025

The door to the galaxy-wide infamous gambling establishment, House of Games, suddenly opened with a loud bang. Bucky, Sam and Kate ran out of it while shots were being fired at them.

"Clint! Clint! Come pick us up now!" Bucky yelled into his comms as they continued running through the shady streets of Kitson City, bumping into passersby while passing through the many brothels the planet had.

"Roger that, Bucky." Clint answered through his comms.

The quinjet was parked on top of a building not far from the House of Games. Clint took it down to where Bucky, Kate and Sam were. He deactivated the invisible feature and slowly hovered the jet and landed right in front of them, making the local people ran to the side, away from it.

More and more men came out of the House of Games, shooting at them. But thankfully none of them successfully hit Bucky, Sam nor Kate. They quickly ran into the quinjet and closed the door behind them while shots were still being fired, bouncing off the quinjet's exterior. Once they were in, Clint immediately took off.

"Phew! That was close!" Kate commented, panting as she tried to catch her breath.

"Guys! We're not safe yet! Buckle up! They're chasing us!" Clint shouted as he manouvered the quinjet to the right to avoid being hit by a missile shot by a ship sent to attack them by Mr.Kitson, the leader on planet Kitson and the owner of the House of Games.

Bucky, Sam and Kate toppled to the ground as the ship veered right.

"Clint! What are you doing?!" Kate protested as she tried to get up.

"I was avoiding a missile! I told you we're being attacked!" Clint yelled.

"Now buckle up all of you!" Clint continued to yell.

Sam stood up and quickly took a seat on the co-pilot's seat while Bucky and Kate sat and buckled up behind him.

The ships chasing them continued to fire shots at them. Clint veered the quinjet to the left and the right trying to avoid them.

While Clint was dodging the shots, Sam tried to turn the invisibility feature of the quinjet on. He turned the knob to turn it on but it didn't work. The quinjet continued to stay visible.

"Oh d****t!" Sam cursed.

"What is it Sam?" Bucky asked.

"We can't go invisible. This thing is broken!" Sam protested as he tried to turn the knob again.

"What?!" Clint exclaimed.

Sam then pushed some buttons and activated the quinjet's weapons system. By looking at the display on his front and moving a joystick next to it he started to shoot at the ships chasing them. There were at least five ships chasing them. He tried to take them down one by one. He successfully took down three of them but couldn't take down the other two.

One of the two suddenly jetted quickly past them and flew right in front of them. The other one flew behind them so that they were trapped.

"Clint! Do something!" Kate yelled as both ships started to launch a missile at them.

"Hold on!" Clint yelled.

Clint pushed some buttons and pulled a lever next to him. The quinjet's nose abruptly turned up and they were flying vertically up to the sky. Bucky held on to his seat tightly, feeling the pressure all over his body. He really hated this part of flying. He hoped he wouldn't throw up after this.

The quinjet successfully shot up to the sky avoiding the two missile headed at them. The missiles hit each of Mr.Kitson's ships instead, exploding in the sky, leaving them free from all of his attacks.

Clint continued to steer the quinjet away from the planet. Once they were out of the planet's atmosphere, Clint slowed the quinjet down and set the autopilot on.

"Okay. What happened back there?" Clint asked, turning his seat around to face the others.

"Mr.Kitson promised to tell us what he knew about Kang if we won a game at the House of Games. But if we lose, we promised that he could take Kate and make her work at one of his brothels. Well.. we lost. So of course we had to get away before he could take Kate." Sam started to explain.

"What?!" Clint exclaimed in disbelief.

"Whose f*****g idea was that?!" Clint asked incredulously.

"Mine actually." Kate said sheepishly.

"You what? You offered yourself to be one of his prostitutes?! Kate, what were you thinking?!" Clint protested.

"I thought I was gonna win! The game seemed easy enough to win at first glance. And since none of these guys had anymore ideas to offer him, I thought that was the perfect idea." Kate explained.

"Sorry Clint, we didn't have time to confer at all, we had to improvise. If we knew she was going to offer herself to Mr.Kitson we wouldn't have agreed to it." Bucky explained.

"Yeah.. well.. we all know the games are rigged at most gambling establishments. Especially one like the House of Games. Kate, please think twice before doing something like that again." Clint pleaded.

"Yeah of course. Sorry Clint." Kate said, looking down in regret.

"So now we have no information at all about Kang?" Clint asked.

"Nope, none, nada, zip." Sam said, exasperated.

"I'm starting to think this Kang doesn't exist." Bucky commented.

"Yeah, but Wanda, Stephen and Carol are confident he exists." Kate said.

The Avengers had spent the past six months trying to track down Kang but none of them had succeeded. He truly seemed like a ghost. They went to all corners of the universe trying to find information about him, but they only got hints here and there and never a definite answer on where they could find him. Bucky felt like they were being led on a wild-goose chase somehow.

"Well.. they could be wrong. In any case, we need to get back to earth. With the invisibility feature broken we can't continue with the mission." Clint said.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go back to earth and discuss this with the others. I also want to know what their statuses are." Sam said and he turned on his seat to face the front of the quinjet, Clint followed him, turning on his seat to the front.

Suddenly Bucky felt a sting in his heart. It came out of nowhere. He flinched as he felt the pain in his chest and put his hand on it. He could feel that something was wrong. But he didn't know what it was.

"Bucky.. you okay?" Kate asked, putting her hand on Bucky's shoulder, looking at him in concern.

"Yeah.. yeah.. I'm good. I'm just still unstable from that vertical manouver." He said, not sure he could tell Kate the truth because he didn't know what he was feeling.

"Okay." Kate nodded and took her hand off his shoulder then leaned back on her seat. Bucky sighed in relief. He really didn't want anyone to be worried about him. He was fine.

Bucky suddenly remembered Adriana. The moment where he proposed to her and saw her wide smiling face and tears streaming down her face flashed in his mind. He then felt it again, the feeling of grief pressuring his chest. His eyes started to prickle and he blinked furiously, trying to stop himself from crying. What was happening to him? Why did it feel like he just lost his other half?

He leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes. He took deep breaths and tried to focus on his breathing. Slowly but surely the pressure on his chest loosened and the feeling of grief passed him and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Adriana had been gone for almost a year now. He thought he was finally over her. He rarely thought about her ever since he went on the space mission to find Kang. Yes, he still sometimes had dreams of her. But he could handle them better. He almost never cried anymore as he thought of her. So this feeling was peculiar to him.

Well, whatever it was, it had passed. He thought. He should just forget about it. His body suddenly jolted back in his seat as the quinjet went into warp, heading back towards earth.

Chapter 8 >

#sebastian stan #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x oc #marvel #avengers #avengers fan fiction #sebastian stan fanfic #sebastian stan fanfiction #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes fan fiction #winter soldier #winter soldier fan fiction

[keefwho]

April 23 - 2024 Tuesday

11:08pm

6.5/10

This morning I gave Sporticus a bath. There was a big spider in the shower the whole time I couldn't seem to wash down the drain but it didn't bother me too much. She shed a TON of hair this time around. I also found out later that she peed in the corner of my room, likely after her bath while I was taking a shower. For breakfast I made a jimmy dean sandwich with rice and a pear cup. I intended on doing my workout today and this was a good breakfast for it calorie-wise. I watch an episode of Moral Orel about Doughy being neglected.

For work I warmed up with sketches of wolves. They didn't turn out as good as others and I found out that their front legs aren't easily simplified. Also that they are very similar to horses at certain joints. Then I spent another hour on the Venus commission coloring the characters. And then I finished preparing my next NSFW YCH.

After work I did my dishes and started my workout. I watched a video of Dan Schneider while I did a few sets of lunges and a couple miles on the treadmill. I found out my knee still hurts, I MAY have to schedule a doctor's appointment for it. Although I haven't given it an opportunity for some good rest so I should probably try to take it mega easy for a couple weeks before asking a doctor. For lunch I made chicken stew. I was aiming to make it rich and spicy but ended up making it too salty somehow, I think too much lemon pepper. It was edible but not that great for the effort. While cooling/eating, TK was messaging me about issues with her boyfriend and how he has a pattern of problematic jealousy. I took her side completely with what she had to say, it sounded to me like he not only had unrealistic expectations but also that he was not communicating the problem very well. It got me thinking a lot in general about jealousy and how the dynamic can change between two people that work well together when they elevate from friends to a relationship. I think nothing SHOULD change if both parties know how to talk and don't develop unrealistic needs.

I did my afternoon work late on account of how long the stew took. I did a request for FY that I think turned out okay and then I got into VRchat to paint from "life". I went to that old world DS and I found with all the hobkin avatars and picked a place to stand that I'm going to copy from. I think it's a great idea because it's basically just a color study and results in a sort of unique result, that being what looks like an uninteresting in-game screenshot but it's actually been hand painted. After that I worked on my avatar for about 15 minutes which was enough time to prepare and bake the AO for the textures. This whole time I was using my good headphones to listen to loud rain with some music and a stream at a lower volume.

When I was done I hopped on the Roblox horse game to catch some horses and check out the training island. DS was free so we called and watched a furry species ranking video while I horse trained and she practiced airbrushing. We also finally watched the fabled balut sausage video which was horrifying, I actually thought I might throw up and had to look away. Then it was more of the usual furry con content and we went on a sidetrack trying to see if any of the footage had her in it. We found about 10 pixels of her at the waterfront in 2022, still an exciting find.

In bed we did our puzzles. The crossword was really hard for some reason and took us a whole 12 minutes. The last 2 only took a little over 1 minute each. Then it was 2 Monster High chapters and I played through the Beast's Castle level in KH2 until I got to the boss. We did a little smash or pass session with the enemies and a few actually got me thinkin a little.

~~~

Today was strange in that for most of it, I really had the desire to be alone but not to be myself. Usually when I wanna do something alone, I'm still trying to express myself. But I didn't want that today, I wanted the influence of others. The happy medium was a little bit of texting. Also since today was about "self", I combined that with my Costar prompt which was "cry over someone else's problems". So during the afternoon I was thinking a lot about TK and DS, putting myself in their shoes thinking about the woes they both expressed today. It felt good, like a helpful empathy exercise.

#journal #diary

[nerdieforpedro]

Weekend Update 03/03/2024

Hello! This update will be a bit shorter than others. Due to school and other things I haven't written or read as much as I normally do. In fact, I'll need to push back one of my series because the outline for it doesn't look right at all. 🥸 I'm feeling more moody and my smut fairy is back. Not that I can't write fluff, it's just in shorter bursts. To sum up:

Two Hearts by the Ocean will be delayed by a week or two (hopefully I can get the outline to cooperate with ideas).

Roc & Doc is updated less regularly so it's not affected.

March Spring Prompts are ongoing. I've been keeping them under 1k so shouldn't be any issues there. I did several of them ahead of time so I'm working on the last 2/3's of the month. I think. There's 10 or 11 done currently. Ugh math.

Florida Heat and Foul Play are both smut so they're safe.

Weddings 101 with Dieter should be fine as well considering what I planned for the next chapter. Not sure when it will be out.

The Lake between us is still on schedule. (Out later today I believe and then bi-monthly.)

Diddle Disco Dieter is being beta read, so maybe this week.

Follow up to a Din Djarin one shot I did still pending. It doesn't have the right feel yet.

I'm also tinkering with a Javier Pena series and a Frankie Morales series as well.

Nerdie, you think maybe, you might have too many projects?

I'm not understanding what you're saying. 😙 Or maybe I do. I have been thinking about cutting back but then my brain says, 'No. Why? It's fine. Motivation comes and goes but your need to write is forever. Also, we can't just leave these ideas in here. They'll turn into cobwebs."

We...nevermind. Carry on.

Now for what you really came for, fic recommendations! 🥰 Make sure to check warnings before you read. 😎

Hot in the Hotel by @musings-of-a-rose Dieter Bravo with himself. (The mind is a wonderful thing. Also pro tip: accents). 😍

It's Leading me on every time we Touch by @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin (Poe Dameron x f. reader)

Aquarius by @magpiepills (Javier Pena x f. reader)

Private Chef Joel by @bluemusickid (Joel Miller x plus size f reader)

Hunger by @morallyinept (Pero Tovar x f. reader)

Hush by @dincrypt (Din Djarin x reader)

En El Mar by @magpiepills (Javier Gutierrez x f reader)

En El Mar by @magpiepills (Joel Miller x f. reader)

Lie to Me by @morallyinept (Javier Pena x reader)

Night Walks by @toxicanonymity (Joel Miller x f reader)

Feel Good by @charethcutestrory02 (Frankie Morales x Benny Miller)

Keep It by @jksprincess10 (Marcus Pike x reader)

Second Chances part 1 by @pedroscurls (Marcus Pike x f reader)

To the Flame chapter 6, chapter 7 and chapter 8 by @pedroshotwifey (dark Javier Pena x f reader)

Sorry by @secretelephanttattoo (Frankie Morales x f reader)

Bat & Al’s Hidden Treasure Fic Rec List by @magpiepills and @schnarfer

Stay safe and happy reading everyone! 🤗

Love Nerdie ❤️

#Weekend Update #nerdie's update #Pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #Pedro pascal fanfiction #Nerdie fic recs

[saltypiss]

In other news, Republicans think Wrestling is Real in 2024 over in Oklahoma.

Republicans fell for a joke on Twitter where someone pretended to be a history teacher grading a student's paper about Gettysburg that was just Dump's spoken speech. You'll never guess what they thought sounded unhinged, but most of all!!! Leftist. Dump's own words, yes, R's, you're slow, I get it.

Republicans are still in Full Bipartisan Agreement with Democrats, a historical first for our generation, that we must continue the Genocide in Gaza, and debate what really is a genocide if not freedom for us.

Trump to charge RNC members 5% for using his name or likeness ever... Good.

The Juror's randomly selected have had their identity's stolen by Dump's Legal Team and are expected to leak when stuff looks mildly bad, and of course it'll be legal for the former president because well hell if this country doesn't like genocidal people!

Dems decided to let Ohio keep Biden off the ballot by not setting their conference before the deadline, sure, R's are absolutely being corrupt, but ya gotta love Dems shooting themselves in the foot for their enemies to stomp on. Gotta make the anti-genocide fence-sitters really grapple with their ethics for this shitty old man after all. (won't work dipshits)

Colorado Republicans united against the greatest threat Dem's can create, no not the Genocide thing, but Allowing Child Rape Victims to Sue their Rapists. Yes yet again, R's unify to abuse to children further, who'd have thought none of them wanted a lawsuit...

SCOTUS going off breaking the law of the land and trust in governmence again by considering Vacating J6 terrorists. Hey man, if they want another J6, I'm just saying maybe we shouldn't let the Shit Smearers do it, maybe Adults can demand better from their government? I'm not considering, nor demanding or inspiring, just thinking aloud of what other's might think in this very high tension time of America, y'know. Also don't think it'll be the capitol only next time, pretty sure letting this be legal will only empower...well, everyone. Just sayin', thinkin alooooud, probably a bad ideaaaaaa long term.

Arizona Republicans are still illegally denying the vote cast by voters to bring back abortion Women's Autonomy rights.

And Dem voters are still expecting normal people to suddenly really like the idea of a genocide simply because Biden made living so noticeably nicer for them...Alot of Larping going on with Dem Voters seperating Ukraine opinions with Palestine opinions.

Alabama politicians decide to vote against allowing Bodycams to be Public Record, of course R's voted against but ya gotta love Dems doing it too. Shitfuck.

Hawaii is paying government workers 20k for working during the pandemic, before ya get mad, they kept businesses going and aided feeding the people that actually matter like fast food people, by giving them meal cards. It's smart, but boy howdy ya gotta love how only supporting the government will reap you any minor benefit and not working for them, well, ya get some scraps.

Florida, on top of Child Slavery, forced Death Births, Irradiated roads, decided they also wanted to remove heat protections for workers. As always, a shithole no one cares about because it'll be the first to go when the floods begin.

Dump's sleeping in court, which really goes to show he's not getting in anymore trouble. Just waiting to poison the jury until everyone gives up, because this country is hardly real, it's all a celebrity show where morals don't matter and reality can be bent to your convenience, Dems, it's a Genocide, you Cannot Drop This Ball by aiding a Genocide and demanding others accept your inhumanity. Time to demand accountability, leadership, and grow some self-respect because boy, if you think either Biden or Dump would choose you over power, you'll be sorely mistaken.

Much like businesses, ya aren't friends with them and they actively hate hate HATE you. I don't blame em, imagine being dumb enough to support a genocide for Biden. Biden.

#republicans are beyond parody #biden #dems #republicans

[skinni-girls-eat-books]

Sunday, April 14th, 2024! Pt 2 (one day NC 🥳)

10:03am: I went back and reread some posts from earlier in the week and remembered that I was doing really good! I think last night was a one off and a little step backwards, but nothing that can't be overcome again. Things happen. People disappoint us and let us down, doesn't mean we have to become hard and cold to the world.

I'm gonna stay positive and know that

1) fake positivity does turn into real positivity after a while 2) positivity attracts people, friends and that's what I would like.

Stay positive! Definitely still process your trauma, but there's so much good in life! Like that awesome feeling when you have a good day with someone new ❤️ I guess I understand wanting to start fresh with someone because it's exciting! Plus be confident knowing that you were never the problem and omg there's so many guys out there that want a chance with you, honestly things will probably get better with age.

Don't be like the boss, a whole ass pharmacist going back n forth with someone beneath him, petty drama, stress and emotional turmoil. I don't want that life, it's bad for your physical body. When I think about the positive feelings I've been having for about the past two weeks, the tension lifts from my body. I have so much to look forward to. And I can't control anyone else's actions, I can only control my actions and my emotions and how I react to things.

This door closing is just opening up a bunch new ones :) and what one man won't do, another man will ❤️ let's work on me so I can find my forever guy ❤️

I love you

6:53pm: Got home from work and I'm bleeding like crazy. Longest month of my life. New homie sounded like he was gonna come over but I think he chickened out? Lmao that's crazy 😂 Had a nice day at work, ranted to the boss and it helped me a lot. He told me to make a pros and cons list and I said that con side would look crazy 🤣 he said he does the same thing and it helps him, also he said the no contact thing is helping him a lot PLUS this man is wildin OUT like every night is a bachelor party or something and I want to be like him haha. So crazy tho he's just like yeah and then I might get back with his gf after a few months like ???? Guys are insane lmao.

Weirdest thing I have thought about today is how prude he* is. 🤔 I really don't have to explain myself but like, he has the two biggest ho friends I've ever seen and acts like I'm just supposed to be some untouchable angel is WACK. Tbh I wouldn't get back together with him for that alone, it's a major rift in our morals. He thinks he/ his friends can just do whatever but then judges girls for doing the same? Icky, double standard ass mf 🤢 this man belongs in the looney bin after last night. Weird ass said he hopes the guy I end up with has wack dick and he hopes nobody is better than him 🤣 who tf says that

I literally had to lie to this man on facetime so he wouldn't have a meltdown if I told him what I really did, getting piped in our bed by a great guy 😂 crazyyyyy flex bro, but yeah keep doing it in y'all's parents house 🥴 literally just gave me icky goosebumps thinking about that.

Who cares lol I'm glad that part of my life is over. I'm tired of looking stupid tbh. Hesitant to do a # days no contact tracker on here because ik it can be counterintuitive to think about him technically, but shit I already think about him anyway, so I think it'll be a good idea to *try* and if it sucks I'll stop.

1:10am: Going to sleep now, didn't do anything after work today but that's ok :) had yogurt and cereal for dinner and both cats are on my bed ❤️ Spent too much time on my phone but it's ok, too. I think I'm gonna do a beginning of the day and end of the day, then I can kinda track triggers that make me want to reach out to him. Ik it's stress but also ik this will help. Distractions are great, but I want better distractions than just being on my phone lol.

Goals for tomorrow: Last OSCE! Study for exam! Study MOA! I know you hate it but that doesn't matter right now, you gotta grind before you party 🎉 Study for Jesse McCartney ❤️ He doesn't want you to fail your exam 😂

Goodnight, I love you so much I hope you had a good Sunday. I'm listening to crime podcasts while I fall asleep, something I couldn't do with you here lol. Perks of being a bachelorette 🤪 Hella peaceful and everything is easy going.

Day 1 NC complete! ❤️🥳

[fairfieldthinkspace]

William Wyler: A Master Filmmaker Revisited

By Jay Rozgonyi

Associate Vice Provost for Pedagogical Innovation & Effectiveness

Director, Center for Academic Excellence

Instructor of both Educational Technology and Film Studies

How about this for a great Final Jeopardy question under the category The Oscars: “He’s the Hollywood director with the most Best Director nominations (12), the most Best Picture nominations (13), and the most acting nominations in his films (36).” Pretty good, I’d say. But chances are that the question will never be used—not because I’m not a staff writer for the show, but also because the answer would likely be considered too hard for most contestants, even serious film fans.

That they wouldn’t be able to name William Wyler is unfortunate, as he was one of the truly great filmmakers of the 20th century. A lot of his movies are well known: Wuthering Heights, Ben-Hur, Roman Holiday, Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives, Funny Girl… I could go on and on. But unlike Alfred Hitchcock and suspense, or John Ford and Westerns, Wyler didn’t focus on a particular genre; instead—as the list of films I just mentioned demonstrates—he moved from comedy to drama to romance to historical epic. Because of that, he was brushed aside by the critics of the 1960s and 1970s, who considered him a gifted Hollywood studio director but thought that he lacked a coherent artistic vision. In fact, Wyler’s highly diverse output was the result of a quest for innovation and a desire to challenge himself by always trying something new throughout a career that lasted nearly 50 years.

If you Google William Wyler filmmaking style, you’ll learn about the way he carefully composed his shots, staggered his actors from deep in the frame to extremely close up, and staged dialogue scenes with few cuts so all the characters are visible at the same time—all directorial techniques that demonstrate his meticulous craftsmanship. I see another element to his films, however, which hasn’t received much attention at all: a steadfast attention to social justice and basic human morality. Once you look for these themes, it’s as easy to spot as his striking camera setups and his precise use of light and shadow. Wyler’s firm sense of conscience comes out in the nuances of his stories and the characters who inhabit them, and in the subtle ways they speak to the issues of their respective days. We see it in 1937’s Dead End, where the Depression has left families broken and juveniles with little sense of hope for their future. We see it in 1946’s The Best Years of Our Lives, where GIs returning from World War II confront a home front that seems to have moved beyond them and their sacrifices, and toward a future focused on making money and assailing anyone who might be a “Commie.” And we see it in 1970’s The Liberation of L.B. Jones, Wyler’s last film and in many ways his most courageous—a brutally honest look at racism in America and the dehumanization it brings upon us all. 

Over the course of 2024, Fairfield University is celebrating the career of William Wyler with an undergraduate course devoted to his work, a series of film screenings at the Fairfield Bookstore on the Post Road, and an exhibition of materials from his private collection titled William Wyler: Master Filmmaker, Man of Conscience, which will be on display at the DiMenna-Nyselius Library from September through December. We’re just a few years away from the 125th anniversary of Wyler’s birth in 1902, so this seems like a good time for a lot more people to get acquainted with the man and his films. Then, perhaps, by 2027, the Final Jeopardyanswer might even be too easy for contestants to ponder. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Fairfield University’s celebration of the life and work of William Wyler would not be possible without the generous support of his daughters, Catherine and Melanie Wyler. We thank them for all that they’ve done to enable us to share their father’s work with our community.

The following movie screenings will be open to the public at 6:30 p.m. on these dates at the Fairfield University Downtown Bookstore, located at 1499 Post Road, Fairfield, Conn.:

April 9: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); guests: Melanie Wyler (in person) and Catherine Wyler (via Zoom).

October 1: The Desperate Hours (1955); guests: Melanie Wyler (in person) and Catherine Wyler (via Zoom); other Wyler family members may attend via Zoom.

November 19: The Liberation of L.B. Jones(1970); guests: Melanie Wyler (in person) and Catherine Wyler (via Zoom); other Wyler family members may attend via Zoom.

#Fairfield University #Jay Rozgonyi #William Wyler #The Best Years of Our Lives #The Desperate Hours #The Liberation of L.B. Jones #Wuthering Heights #Dead End #Ben-Hur #Roman Holiday #Mrs. Miniver #Funny Girl #Oscars

[beautifully-lumpy]

"where's bricks and border?"

since 2024 started i've been “decluttering” my online presence. i deleted both of my onward tumblr blogs as i realized how insecure and desperate for validation i was back when i used them (and i was just generally tired of getting notifications from them).

and another thing that has been sitting in my mind is bricks and border. i came up with the idea for this AU 9 months ago and was pumped to start writing it. through these 9 months i released a lot of art for it, and hyped it up. i was going to release the first chapter in december - but the release day came and went. i just couldn't gather the concentration to write the damn thing.

not only could i not concentrate on it - but several of the youtubers i was originally going to feature in this AU have been exposed for being weird/awful/etc. and as the months went on the domino effect of drama began to affect the nerdy/geeky corner of youtube bricks and border is specifically based around. i would have to keep rewriting stuff, and eventually i just thought to myself that this is just going to keep happening over and over and over again. nothing is sacred. even though i believe i chose two youtubers that are at very low risk of being exposed for anything to be the main protagonists of this AU, they aren't sacred either.

did i understand in the first place that something like this could age poorly? yes, i did. but i loved the idea too much, and then commenced 9 months of false hope. 9 months where i pondered over the morals of something like this and kept insisting that it’s heavily fictionalized versions of real people. after all, people do stuff like this all the time with other celebrities!

and yet…it got to a point where i began to feel icky, no matter how many excuses i made.

so…is bricks and border canceled? as a youtuber AU, yes. but are oaksport and the stories of these characters gone for good?

i don't want this world to go to waste. maybe i’ll file off the serial numbers and make it into my own thing. i love this world. i love these characters. but…scott the woz’s lore doesn't come into play much here, other than scott, rex, and jeb being there. laz is as far from the actual jim caddick as he could possibly be - he’s basically a completely different person who just looks and sounds like him.

the number one thing that’s limited me with this story is that it features fictionalized versions of real people. but if i just change around a few things - i can now do whatever the hell i want! i can ship whatever characters i want, i don't have to worry about things aging poorly, i can assign sexualities and neurodivergencies to characters, i can do all the things i wanted to do that i previously couldn't because i personally felt it was invasive.

i can keep the characters the exact same…i just need to change their names!

obviously the name “bricks and border” will have to go. not sure what it’ll be changed to yet. but i know that this story ain't going nowhere!

i can only hope y’all will respect my decision. while others might not feel as icky about writing something like bricks and border, for me it personally felt more and more wrong as time went on. eventually as soon as trouble reached the completionist and chuggaconroy/lady emily i had to take the whole “youtuber AU” part of it to the back of the shed. as i said before, the story and characters will be the exact same…it's just that some names will be changed. i hope y’all will still be interested in reading. however from this day on, art/updates on the story will no longer be posted on this specific blog.

- mel

#bricks and border #important