#OPUS INN

[beautifultiderecords]

映画『Daughters』

Composed 3 Songs by Opus Inn

https://daughters.tokyo

#opus inn #ayakamiyoshi #junkoabe #三吉彩花 #阿部純子

[the-travelling-witch]

𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄

summary: /ˈɔːrɪeɪt,ˈɔːrɪət/  “of a golden colour or brilliance”

pairing: xiao x gn! reader

warnings: just fluff in the form of my belated new years drabble

genshin impact masterlist

prosperous year of the dragon!! ♡

The sky over Liyue was clear once again, the last lanterns’ glow already a distant memory as the twinkling of stars filled the remnants of the night once more. On the horizon the first sunlight of the new year coloured the wisps of clouds golden and amber, reminiscent of a shooting star’s tail or elegant dragons winding in the dawn of a new day.

For Xiao, it was the cue he could finally rest after defending the nation and its citizens from those that seek to harm them, clinging to the shadows of the night to crawl into the coming year unnoticed. There were no exceptions to his god-given duty, not even as the festive sounds of the harbour drifted up into the mountains and colourful explosives decorated the night. 

No, it was especially because of this that the ghosts of days past could not be allowed to get ahold of the mortal realm.

Green fog parted along the wooden panels of the room he occupied at Wangshu Inn before the soles of his shoes quietly made contact with the solid ground; first his toes before rolling down to his heel, one foot after the other, with a grace befitting that of a dancer, rather than that of a warrior.

What he did not anticipate as he set down his spear, however, was the soft call of his name before a familiar weight flung itself into his arms. Like a warm breeze, your arms wrapped around his neck in a gentle embrace and when he buried his head in the crook of yours, he deeply inhaled the scent of home.

“Happy New Year, Xiao,” you whispered against his skin, your voice melting the tension of his shoulders as it enveloped him, looping around your connected figures like butterflies circling a flower.

“A prosperous new year to you too,” he replied tentatively. As an adeptus, both the concept of time and the importance of this tradition was different to him and he’d never had much reason to celebrate the passing of time in such short intervals. But since he’d met you, you’d not only intertwined both your hands and fates to show him more of your world, Xiao also learnt to cherish what time he could spend with you, no matter how short it may be.

Pulling back just a little, your hands came to frame his beautiful face with delicate care, as if he was not someone to be feared but someone to be loved. You’d watched all night as lanterns had risen into the sky, carrying the wishes and hopes of the people towards the heavens. Yet none of them compared to the amber glow of Xiao’s eyes as they sparkled at you with such fondness it should weigh you down; instead, you felt like you and your heart were light enough to soar high on golden wings, no fear of falling chaining you down if you were with him.

As the sun continued further on its eternal round, aureate rays framed his head in a radiant halo and you didn’t question for even a second that the man before you could be an angel. Risking the accusation of defiling something sacred, you pressed your lips against his plush ones and tasted a piece of heaven for yourself.

When your eyes fluttered open again, Xiao looked as dazed as you felt, fingers brushing over his lips. Then, equally as reverent, his knuckles grazed your bottom lip and you took ahold of his wrist to keep him steady as you pressed a languid kiss to the back of his hand, dusting his cheeks with a light flush, like a painter perfecting their magnum opus.

“I’ve waited quite a while for my new year’s kiss, you know,” you hummed, so entranced by the adeptus in front of you, it was as if time and space around you stood still enough to count the dust particles in the sunlight. “It was worth it though.”

“I see, you are still set in your ways of dragging me into your mortal traditions,” Xiao scoffed, though there was not a single tint of malice in his voice, only teasing affection. If you couldn’t tell by his amorous cadence alone, his actions spoke even louder of his devotion. “Not that I mind in the slightest.”

With practised precision, his lips found yours again as one hand cradled the side of your face and the other pulled you in closer by the waist, as if there was a way to become physically one the same way your hearts had already done. With your attention bound by the flutter of your own heart, you didn’t notice how dexterous fingers discreetly tied a protective charm to your clothes for you to find at a later point in time. 

“What was that for?” You smiled, the distance between the two of you nearly insignificant yet too far all the same.

“I had to get my own new year’s kiss too, didn’t I?” A hint of a smugness tugged the corner of his lips upwards as the corners of his eyes softened downwards while tracing the movement of his thumb against your cheekbone. “Traditions should be honoured after all.”

Your laughter invoked the iridescence of a pearl to brighten his view as you led him over to the balcony railing so you could welcome the dawning year with all its pink and orange hues, arm in arm as the waking birds filled the morning hours with their chirping.

“Speaking of traditions,” you started, transfixed by the sight of the sun rising over the mountains in a vibrant crimson, “there is the belief that the first song you hear in the new year will predict how yours is going to go.”

“Is that so?” Xiao inquired, watching as a small bird hopped onto the wooden railing, careful but curious as it inched closer to the two of you. “It appears nature blesses us with hope and freedom this year.”

“How beautiful,” you mused, as you leaned further into him. 

Turning his head, Xiao studied the way you shone in the morning light before placing a gentle kiss against your temple, light enough you could believe it was the wing of a crystalfly brushing your skin. “Beautiful, indeed.”

© the-travelling-witch 2023 - do not repost, translate, copy or edit

if you like my content, reblogs, comments and asks are always much appreciated ♡

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#┊holly’s potions ೃ༄ #genshin impact #x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact fluff #genshin fluff #xiao x reader #xiao fluff #genshin impact xiao #genshin x you #xiao x you

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi! do you have any fic recs about sherlock and john having to share a bed for a number of reasons for example they go to an inn and there is only one bed left!! do you also have any recs for sleepy sherlock. Thank you so much!

Hi Nonny!

You're in luck, I love bedsharing fics, and I'm going to use your list as an excuse to post up my next part!! Check these out:

BED SHARING Pt. 6

See also

The Speckled Blonde / BedSharing

BedSharing Pt. 2 and Insecure Sherlock

Bed Sharing Pt. 3

Bed Sharing Pt. 4 

Bed Sharing Pt. 5

Sleepy Fics

The Last Room At The End of The Hall by Corporate_cards (G, 219 w.,  1 Ch. || Fluff) – All things can wait, for finally things work, in the last room at the end of the hall. Part 1 of Random Things I've Written In Class -- Johnlock

Octopus by glass_rose_paperweight (G, 705 w., 1 Ch. || Established Relationship, Fluff, Bed Sharing, Limpet Sherlock) – A week after Sherlock and John finally get together, and John is finding sharing a bed with Sherlock Holmes to be ... difficult, sometimes. If not downright suffocating.

A Comprehensive Taxonomy of Tobacco-Ash by Silvergirl (E, 11,475 w., 2 Ch. || No TRF AU || Cranky Sherlock, Alternating POV’s, Self-Esteem Issues, Jealous John, Pining John, Confessions, First Kiss, Frottage, Bed Sharing, Sensuality, Cuddling, Touching) – A handsome academic approaches Sherlock about publishing his magnum opus on tobacco-ash in a prestigious scientific journal. Sherlock is quite flattered and flustered, and John’s nose is out of joint.In this little AU there is no Fall and no Mary. Instead, there is humor and smut. Truly a disproportionate amount of smut.

holding steady by darcylindbergh (E, 12,724 w., 4 Ch. || Post S4, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Growing Old, Gone Fishing, Mood without Plot, Soft Sherlock, Caring Sherlock, POV John Third Person, Anxious Sherlock, First Kiss, Touching, Feeling Old, Sherlock Worship, Crying Sherlock, Cuddles, Comforting, Introspection, Retirement, Hand Holding, Forehead Kisses, Caring John, Bed Sharing, Emotional Love Making) – Sitting on a thick wool blanket at the end of a rickety dock side-by-side, legs dangling over the edge, a styrofoam container of wet, dark dirt between them, they’re fishing. John knows what this is about. This is about finally figuring it out.

A Hooligans’ Game Played By Gentlemen by scullyseviltwin (E, 15,213 w., 1 Ch. || First Time, Rugby as Foreplay, Porn with Lots of Plot, John POV, Ogling, Body Appreciation, Cranky Sherlock, Slow Burn, Bed Sharing, Cuddling, Touching, Heavy Petting, Blow Job, Botttomlock) – In which John wants to get back in shape, does so, joins a rugby league and has sex with Sherlock Holmes. In that order.

How To Unfold a Heart by elwinglyre (E, 25,477 w., 7 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It, BAMF John, Mentioned Eurus, POV First Person Sherlock, Case Fic, Fluff, Slow Burn Topping from the Bottom, 3 Yr Old Rosie, Introspection, Sexual Fantasies, John Worship, Ogling, Hand Holding, Kidnapping, Domesticity, Sherlock Whump, First Kiss/Time, Doctor John, Caring John, Soft Sherlock, Sensuality, Touching, Crying, Love Confessions, Anxious Sherlock, Rimming, Toplock, Fingering, Bossy Bottom John) – To Sherlock’s dismay, John’s return to Baker Street with Rosie is only temporary. Sherlock’s daily visits to Regent Park with John and Rosie illuminate his lost childhood memories and missed opportunities. But with each trip to the park, Sherlock also feels a growing sense of hope. That is until the past horrors return unexpectedly in a cryptic note folded in the shape of a heart. To decipher the message, Sherlock must uncover the nature of the hearts around him, including his own.

Domestic Matters by ohlooktheresabee (M, 29,404 w., 6 Ch. || Fantasy AU || First Meetings, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Domestic Fluff, BAMF Sherlock, BAMF John, Idiots in Love, Misunderstandings, Supernatural Elements, Implied / Referenced Child Abuse, Elf Sherlock, Human/Elf Politics, Emotional Abuse, Possessive Sherlock, Anxious Sherlock, Buddy Greg) – All flatmates need to work out domestic matters between them - who does the dishes, who takes out the rubbish, how often does the carpet need to be vacuumed - these are part and parcel of sharing a living space together. However, when you’re an elf and your flatmate is going to be a human you just met, this rather complicates things…Very loosely inspired by 'The Elves and The Shoemaker' by The Brothers Grimm.

Lucifer's Gardens by ampersand_ch (E, 32,679 w., 12 Ch. || GERMAN VERSION|| Romance, Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Murder, Poison / Drugging, Mystery, John Undercover, Academic Club, Therapy, Rituals, Jungian Archetypes, Doctors & Physicians, Grief/Mourning, Esotericism, Hospitals, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, John Falls In Love With Another Man, Jealous Sherlock, Crying, Doctor John, Hand Holding, First Kiss/Time, Mysticism, Hugging, Touching) – John goes undercover for an investigation as a favour to Lestrade in a village in Suffolk. The events surrounding the case awaken deep-seated fears in Sherlock. While John begins to come to a realisation of what he needs in Lucifer's Gardens, Sherlock tries to find a way to reach John – in more ways than one.

You Might Just as Well Be Blind by ArwaMachine (E, 56,625 w., 12 Ch. || Fake Relationship, For a Case, Bed Sharing, Platonic Cuddling, Jealous Sherlock, Oblivious John, BAMF Hudders, Fluff and Angst, Frottage, Anal Sex, Happy Ending, Case Fic, Flirting, Pining John, POV John, Toplock, Possessive Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Infidelity) – When a serial killer starts targeting couples, Sherlock and John must do what they have to do in order to get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately, John already has a girlfriend. Surely pretending to be in a relationship with Sherlock won't pose any problems with his relationship, will it?

Bakers with Benefits by Raina_at (E, 88,130 w., 14 Ch. || Great British Bake Off AU || Strangers to Lovers, Switchlock, Friends with Benefits, Mentions of Alcoholism / Past Drug Use, Banter, Flirting, Fluff, Light Angst, Semi-Public Sex, Past Sherlock/Victor, Mutual Pining, POV Sherlock, Obsessive Sherlock, John’s Bum) – Sherlock Holmes has a successful YouTube baking channel, but what he really wants is his own bakery. When an old friend sends him a call for the very first Great British Bake Off, he seizes the opportunity to finally win a sponsor for his bakery. Here's the plan: Win Bake Off, get the bakery, don't fall in love with the handsome Army doctor at the neighbouring station. Easy.

Drawn to Stars by Silvergirl (E, 109,272 w., 60 Ch. || S4 Compliant to TLD / TFP Doesn’t Exist, Sherlock’s Italian Adventure, Sherlock/OC and Johnlock, Jealous John, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, First Kiss/Time, Idiots in Love, 3 Part Story, Slow Burn, Inexperienced Sherlock, Bottom Sherlock, Introspection, Alternating First and Third Person POV, Separation and Reconciliation, Emotional Love Making, Love Confessions via Letters, Angst with Happy Ending) – After the Culverton Smith case Sherlock is clean, working, and looking for a romantic partner—since John has told him that’s what he needs. Shame John didn’t mention he was interested in that role himself, before Sherlock went off to Rome with a gorgeous Italian copper to try to fall in love and become a complete human being.  Part 1 of the Drawn to Stars series

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton (M, 144,688 w., 40 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic / Meta Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Demisexual Sherlock, Holmes Family, John Whump, Gay Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Drug Addiction, Parenting, TFP is a Nightmare, Virgin Sherlock, Slow Burn, Minor Character Death, Switchlock, John’s Past, Sherlock’s Past, Eurus, Love Confessions) –Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #bed sharing fics #bedsharing fics #sleepy fics

[lazypastrys-thingymajingky]

Out of Body Spooks

It's currently our finals and it's an absolute pain TwT we were tasked in one of our subjects to create a 5 page comic, and here's mine (and it's pretty rushed, sorry bout that)

2 aspiring filmmakers want to create the best and most Authentic horror paranormal film in history within an infamous Inn, where it is rumored to be haunted by its former residents. Lil did they know that the rumors were true, and they did their best to convince the residents to help them with their magnum opus!

#lazypastry's art #Out of Body Spooks #Comics #traditional drawing #Traditional art #original character #original characters #OCs #Paranormal #Was actually planning this to be a horror comedy #I don't even know if it has horror or comedy #Ghosts #Ghost

[hexiewrites]

I was gone in the summer so I missed this milestone but: I've officially been in the steddie fandom a year (plus, uh, three months), and wow, what a fucking amazing year it's been

(i do want to shout out to my spouse for BEGGING me to watch this show for multiple years until i finally caved when they were away last summer, and to whoever made a steddie fanvid on tiktok, and the algorithm gods who went 'this bitch likes gay shit' and served it to me, causing my total descent into absolutely madness)

in that time (since august of 2022, and actually almost all between aug 2022-april 2023), I've:

written 16 (!!!) fics

totalling 307,294 words (holy fuck)

my three most popular fics are, by no small margin:

same as it ever was (which was only my 3rd ever steddie fic) (and which is currently being podficc'd by the amazing @n0connections!)

carve your name into my chest (my magnum opus, the steddie hockey fic, which I am still to this day absolutely blown away by the reception to. it's baby brother prequel, clean ice cold hearts can't lose, is much less popular but one of my absolute faves. can be read as a standalone, if you're into that!)

&, there'll be a riot cause i know you (proving that you're all really just here for the smut ;))

I've had other podfics made (thank you, @amanita-fierce, for the amazing pod of when they raise the landing gear (will your heart stay here)

I've gone absolutely crazy with a @thefreakandthehair prompt and accidentally wrote a hallmark movie fic that's the second longest thing I've ever done (make this inn our own), which the incredible @staymagical BOUND INTO A BOOK for me (the craziest and coolest thing that's ever happened in my fandom life, I'm not even gonna lie!) (and then my amazing beta blue bound carve into a book, but they don't have tumblr so they don't get a fun tag, but I also cried very hard about that as well)

I've gotten more fanart than I could even hope to tag, but special shoutout to @oriarts for being the first and for never failing to make me lose my mind over the way you make my fuzzy brain images come to life, and also for letting me brain spaghetti at them literally all the time, many of my fics would not exist without ori (psst if you make fanart PLEASE tag me so i can see it and cry!!!)

and I've made more friends than I ever expected, and have felt so loved and supported by this whole community. I've been part of fandom for the better part of two decades now (yikes) and have never felt so welcome, and appreciated, and I have to thank all of you for that.

I'm so excited to be back, and I'm sorry I don't have a pithy way to end this post. <3

ps. no promises, but hopefully there will be some new stuff coming down the pipeline in the next few months. hope to see you there!

#about the author #hex writes stuff #my stuff #kind of? #a retrospective #one year anniversary #plus three months #cause ya girl has adhd

[musical-chan]

What's This? Another Masterpost?

Hello! You can call me Music-chan or MrsMusica or just straight up Music if you like. I'm a musician and a writer and currently I am very much into the Legend of Zelda fandom.

While you're here, why don't you check out my current magnum opus:

Father of Time

In an alternate universe, the Fierce Deity is freed from his mask and adopts a young Link. This is updated about every 4 days! And don't forget to check out the winter holiday I created to use in the OOT/MM era, Starfall Wishes! It's set around chapter 5 of my Deity fic.

See below for links to other fanfics I've finished!

Linked Universe Fics

Defeat or Deity: The Chain fights something they're not sure they can win against and Time uses the Fierce Deity mask. But maybe the deity does not want to let go. Well, Sky isn't going to stand for that.

Puzzles: Maybe Warriors was missing out on the Hero of Courage experience by never having done a dungeon or a temple. Maybe he's about to find out what it's like.

The Unbearable Weight of Three Days: It was three days, over and over and over again. But it was over, right? He would never have to do it again.

You Want to Talk to Link, Right?: The Hero of Time used to play a song to talk to his friend, Saria. What if he also had a song?

Hey Link!: What is a man to do when travelling with 8 people with the same name?

The Inn at the End of Time: He has met a terrible fate

And Time Again & A Moment of Time, a Deep Blue Sky: Two follow up stories to a non-LU fic I did about the Hero of Time

So You Want To Be A Hero: An introspective Hyrule-centric fic

You Don't Have to Feel Safe to Feel Unafraid: A gift fic I did for a creator Discord server I'm on! It's basically crack idea, treated seriously. MM Link and BotW Link trade places.

A Wild Time at Calamity Ganon: This was an unprompted gift fic for an artist on tumblr I really enjoy! The young Hero of Time finds himself in a ruined castle and look! It's yet another Link! More crack for sure.

Other Zelda Fics

Too Much Healing, Rauru: A TotK fic and my first one on AO3! Link finds himself in a cave with a mysterious voice in his head again. Maybe there were a few extra things in his head as well.

Time and Time Again: Link has made it to the Temple of Time and he's going to save Hyrule from Ganondorf! Or will he? (This has two LU fics to go along with it)

The Silent Realm: What did the Hero of the Skies think of the Silent Realm?

A Wonderful Dream: Was it all just a dream? Set in Link's Awakening

Remainder of the Sky: Skyloft is falling and Link has many thoughts. This one is so beautiful and I love it.

#fanfic #legend of zelda fanfiction #legend of zelda fanfic #linked universe fanfic #father of time fic #loz fanfic #musical-chan talks

[canonical-transformation]

More Houses of Teyvat shenanigans:

Kaveh has been driven to the point of throwing hands over his botched magnum opus. It’s not his fault that Dori refused to build it in an area that would show it off better!

Al Haitham’s house is recommended by Kaveh and everyone who lives nearby audibly breathes a sigh of relief as the two of them might shut up for once.

Faruzan’s style of decor was described as ‘out of fashion’ and she then proceeded to cry as she was sure that it was a trend at some point in her recent memory.

Ningguang is greatly confused when Zhongli offers her a tour of the Golden House as it isn’t his.

What happened at Yelan’s house stays in Yelan’s house.

A tour of Shenhe’s abode is just an extended hike in Jueyan Karst.

The Wangshu Inn tour ends with someone who was almost killed by Xiao unintentionally impaling someone.

(Also personal Jade Palace tour when?)

Yes to all of this :D

I think I grabbed a few Sanctuary of Surasthana screenshots back in 3.2; that could make for a fun one:

Ningguang would be so unimpressed with the private retreat turned prison. It's so stark and gloomy. None of the *fun* kind of Dendro, like foliage and Leyline stuff. Just ugly glowy green.

#monster mansions of teyvat #ningguang #asks #narcoticwriter #genshin impact #silly headcanons #zhongli #faruzan #alhaitham #kaveh #yelan #shenhe #xiao (alatus)

[haleyhylia]

Lady Cloud Strife, Flower of the Honey Bee Inn ~ (Final Fantasy VII Remake) A reworking of a portrait of Amalia de Llano y Dotres, condesa de Vilches from 1853 by Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz. Thank you, Square Enix, for making Cloud-in-a-Dress canon way back in 1997 and for taking this to the ultra next level in 2020. I couldn’t help myself. It’s just too good to *not* give the classical portrait treatment. Easily my magnum opus. I don’t know where to go from here. but it’s worth it! + HQ art prints available through my Etsy shop + More art & info on DeviantArt

#cloud strife #genderfluid #genderbend #cross dressing #cloud in a dress #girl cloud #gaming #pc games #ps4 #playstation #ps5 #playstation games #square enix #sony #ff7 #ff7 cloud #ff7 fanart #final fantasy 7 #final fantasy #final fantasy vii #ff7 remake #ff7 rebirth #vintage #classical art #historical fashion #oil painting #portrait #ffvii #ffvii 25th anniversary #artists on tumblr

[corner-stories]

⭐️

Fanfic Writers: Director’s Cut

Reblog this if you want readers to come into your ask box and ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines. Or, send in a ⭐star⭐  to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!

I fully believe that, in all my years of fic writing for fandom, this one lil 800 word Jeankasa one-shot called "Wishing For More" is my Magnum Opus.

This was in the era where the Marley arc was happening in the manga but SNK was on people's mind because S2 and S3 came out. While pics of Reiner looking depressed/hot and Zeke memes dominated most of the fandom, I was in that little subset of people wondering what tf the Island Devils were up to.

And remember, this was months before the reveal of the post-timeskip Scouts so I had no idea what anyone looked like or how the characters changed after 4 years.

I fell into the category of people who believed that Jean and Mikasa became some flavour of lovers at one point or another so that's where Wishing For More came from.

The entire plot is just Jean and Mikasa spending time together in a room at an inn and Mikasa observing the scars he sustained from the Retaking of Shiganshina. I liked the concept of writing characters with various scars back then and I like it now.

At the time I had this whole lil scenario where the Scouts were stationed at an inn for weeks and were just told to be on standby, so unless they were needed they were largely left to their own devices. It lead to me writing a lot about Jean and Mikasa either seeing each other a lot in the hallways of the inn or spending time together in their respective rooms.

All I could assume about Mikasa at that time was that she was wrangling with the mess of emotions that come with realizing your childhood BFFs will succumb to the Curse of Ymir in 8/13 years, as a result she's more on the quiet introspective side bc her thoughts are constantly plagued with what the meaning of life is if it can end so cruelly.

And this was definitely what started me on my "Mikasa deserves to be happy" agenda because post basement reveal I could already anticipate that her life would just get more distressing from that point on.

Is it a surprise that I was compelled to write her finding comfort in the arms of the hot funky horse man? Or write a scenario where she sees the collection of scars on his shoulders and back before gently running her fingers across them? Or have her slowly realize that unlike the resident Titan Shifters, Jean is a normal human who can't heal from traumatic injuries?

Anyways, thanks for the ask bc I've read too much JK hate on twitter and needed a palate cleanser. And also thanks to everyone who kudos'd and commented on the fic over the years. It means a lot to me, especially now since I'm starting to trolling comments on my fics. Y'all are the real MVPs.

#jeankasa #jeanmika #snk #ask box memes

[bridgyrose]

Kale and Arrelle stuck together and found a mirror that could body swap them

(Melly, I know this is you, and you're going to enjoy this)

“If you think its so easy being me, then you try it for a day!” Arelle yelled at her twin sister Kale. “You’re always treating every day as if tomorrow doesnt matter, that no matter what you do wont have consequences.” 

Kale scoffed as she strummed her lute, losing her train of thought with the song she was writing. “Everything I do is wrong no matter what I do. So yeah, maybe I dont care about the consequences if I’m always in trouble.” 

“You impersonated me during training!” 

“It was a joke!” Kale stood up, her tail swinging around for a moment as she put her lute on her back. “I didnt hurt anyone.” 

“You nearly got me expelled from training!” Arelle glared at Kale. “There’s a chance I wont be able to be a guard now because of you!” 

Kale rolled her eyes and practically danced around the garden as she hopped from rock to rock. “Why would you want to be a stuffy old guard anyway? All they do is sit around and yell at people. ‘No singing in the town square. No magic at the inn. Leave the ale alone in the tavern. You better not be pulling fish out of the streams!’” She sat down and sighed. “But you get to do whatever you want. The pride of this village. No one ever gets angry at you.” 

“If you think its that easy, then you be me for a day!” 

Kale paused as the world around her and Arelle seemed to stop as the mirror-like pond started to glow around them. She moved away from the way from the water, eyes glued to it as a soft voice spoke through the wind. 

“*Arguens sororibus opus est ut expendas in die inter se est scriptor calceamenta.*” 

A flash of light blinded Kale for a brief moment as she stumbled in her step, hesitating when she felt leather gloves around her fingers… and then the feeling of a missing tail. She looked over the pinkish tan skin on her arm and reached for the glaive on her back. 

“What the hell did you do, Kale?!” 

Kale stumbled back as a puff of smoke left her fingers… Arelle’s fingers? She shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what happened. “I didnt do anything! And will you please calm down? My… your magic isnt exactly… stable.” 

Arelle growled a bit. “Just give me back my body!” 

“I’m not thrilled to be you either.” Kale grabbed the glaive from off her back and twirled it around for a moment before dropping it, wincing as she heard it clatter against the rocks. “Besides, maybe it’ll be good for us to see what life is like for the other. You did say that I have no idea what its like to be you.” 

“Alright, fine, we be each other, and then what? How do we switch back?” 

“I… have no idea…” Kale picked the glaive up from off the ground and paused when she saw Arelle’s reflection looking back at her. Her smile faded as she looked over her human features, feeling like she couldnt recognize herself anymore. “I’ll find a way for us to switch back, but until then, let me make this up to you and live your life while we’re stuck like this. You said things arent so easy for you, then let me see it.” 

“Kale-” 

“You get to sit back and relax. Until we… I find a way to fix this, you dont have to worry about training or responsibility, just taking it easy and seeing how my life is.” 

Arelle sighed and pulled Kale’s lute off her back, finger picking at the strings for a moment. “How sure are you that you can fix this?” 

“Not very… but that doesnt mean I wont try!” 

“Fine. But if you screw anything up for me-” 

“I promise, I wont mess things up again.” Kale paused and looked up at the sun. “Though… you may want to start making your way to Lord Bunterton’s.” 

“Why?” 

Kale looked away and blushed. “His son requested a… private concert.” 

“Kale-” 

“Just make sure to keep him happy!” Kale yelled as she ran out of the garden. “You can do that, right?” 

“Kale, get back here!” Arelle yelled after Kale, chasing after and nearly tripping over her tail. “You know I dont know how to play music!”

#arelle #kale amity #drabbles #dndn #Kale the bard #Arelle the fighter

[kittttycakes]

Ooooohhh Dream and Desire with 78. Drink though!

are octuple drabbles a thing

78. Drink

“Come now, surely we’re both old enough to at least pretend to be civilized creatures,” Desire said with a slow smile. “Have a drink with me. Tell me all about your day.”

“I do not want a drink,” Dream replied, too struck by their unexpected presence in the New Inn to say anything further.

It was almost uncanny, to see his sibling in the light of the afternoon sun. He was so used to seeing them as they meant to be perceived: in the red glow of their own beating heart, under the glare of flashing strobe lights, by the fleeting light of the moon. Here, they looked different, the uncanny gold of their eyes still flashing, but here they were the warmth of honey rather than the cold glint of a coin.

“I could make you want a drink.”

Once, he would have laughed with them, sat across from them, and talked easily. Now, he was torn between the impulse to disappear entirely and the urge to demand that they tell him what they were doing here, in a place they had no right to be. Only that was not entirely true, was it? Desire could walk the waking world if they chose to; they simply did not choose to often. It was, they had confided in him once, in better times, overwhelming, to feel it all. Every whim, every want, every desire great and small, pressing in around them, begging to be felt. Easier to stay in their realm, where they might pick and choose which threads to follow.

Dream sat across from his sibling and studied their face, which revealed nothing. “Why are you here?” he said at last, tired of the games and the tricks he had played at with Desire for time untold.

“I was bored and thought I might pay a little visit to our favorite human,” they said, and it struck Dream, as clear and clean as a blow, that they were lying.

“Hob Gadling is not here.” This was true; Hob was giving a presentation at a conference, hours away, and although Dream could have gone to visit him there, it was not just Hob he had missed, but this, the place that was the closest he could come to the now crumbling White Horse.

“And what a shame that is, he improves the view considerably,” Desire said, taking a slow sip from their drink. Dream could feel the eyes watching them, tracking the movement of their throat, but none had yet dared to approach the table, and Desire had been sitting alone when he arrived.

“Would you not tell me the truth, my sibling?”

“The truth, if you have a drink with me.”

“Very well.”

What Desire wanted, Desire always got, and with barely a lift of their hand, another two drinks appeared, short, squat glasses with liquid the color of their eyes within.

Desire waited until Dream had lifted the glass to his lips and taken a perfunctory sip of the drink within to speak.

“Don’t tell me you can’t feel it. It’s in the bones of this place, every stone, every plank of wood. It might as well have been mixed into the paint. Your little immortal pet, your friend, your Hob. He wants things so badly, doesn’t he? He always has. He always will. But what he’s wanted most, what he’s wanted the longest…it’s all sunk in here. This is his magnum opus, this is the culmination of it all, the shrine he built and tends like the faithful acolyte he is.” Desire drained the rest of their glass and set it aside.

“And it drowns everything else out. There is only that, here, no matter who else steps into this space. At first it was overwhelming. But now—” they paused, as if weighing whether they should continue. Dream almost wished they would, in equal measure that he feared what they had to say. He took another drink.

“Now I can tune it out. White noise, as the humans are so fond of.”

The realization, when it came, hit Dream at full force. A place where Desire could simply be, could rest without the steady hum under their skin of want, of need, of cavernous desire, all of the ache and none of the fulfillment. Here, it was quiet, something he had not thought Desire would ever want. It was, perhaps, the closest thing to peace that they had found in aeons.

There was nothing, Dream knew, that he could say, the fragile ceasefire between them at their uncomfortable honesty too tenuous to risk. Instead, he sat back slightly in his chair, and finished his drink.

#just-french-me-up #beloved mutuals #ask games #dream & desire #I have a lot of feelings about dream and desire and their relationship as siblings #and how desire’s powers might function #I have not read more than one volume of the comics so this is me flying by the seat of my pants

[roughdaysandart]

My magnum opus: This portion of the Ch16 Rough Day comic script edits

Ok I say something's my magnum opus ALOT, but this is it...at least for now, thats how much I adore this. Once again im trying to keep as much of it to the original as possible but there really is so much that you can do to modify that much charachter-developing smut out before you have to make another scenario to convey the same message and flow with the original story and plot/direction seamlessley.

Why did I suddenly jump to abridging the LAST section of ch 16 for chrisitan roomates today? Well, I happened to rewatch Eyes Wide Shut today, and the Christmas party scene between Alice and the Stranger got me thinking of the perfec scenario in which to remove explicit smut from the picture while conveying the same idea:

Instead of taunting Mando with Spicy Comm time, why not have Sweet Girl talking to another man while he listens instead?

ALOOOOt of good ideas from EWS entering my mind palace now (not the creepy ones tho...also def no infidelity bc SG WOULD NEVER) for the edits, and Im so excited to share more editied/revised/added scenes prompted by EWS!

***DISCLAIMER: since this more like a script right now, not all of the dialougue is included yet (will do that when I make my way back to CH 16 in a few weeeks probrobly, trying to do edits in chronological order of the chapters), just the descriptions and jists of the changed scenes, how they relate to past and future content, etc, although admit thats some parts have full dialougue because I couldnt stop myself.***

Anyway, heres your CHUM my fellow sickos, feast away!

---------------------------------------------------------

ROUGH DAY (original by @no-droids), CH 16, "Ask me again tomorrow" (last part): ABRIDGED FOR CHRISTIAN ROOMATES BY @roughdaysandart

Sweet Girl is in the middle of downtown Nariss, after buying a change of clothes. Standing in the square right in front of a large tower of an inn. She surveys at least two dozen floors, noticing how it even boasts a convention/event center, or maybe it's a restaurant, somewhere around the center, the large, warmly-lit balcony likely having a perfect view of the city skyline, and she hears it audibly bustling. She notices a banner outside the front doors of the Inn advertising an all-night auction. Some traveling collection of artistic and historical rarities from the outer-rim.

Knowing it's crazy-expensive to pay for anythig here, she knows there's no way she's spending her precious credits on a room, even after spending last night in a tree, and is definitely not feeling bold enough to break into a room either when a New Republic headquarters is literally right next to the Inn.

At first she naturally wants to stay clear of officers, knowing they're trouble for Din, but then recalls what he said before she left. 

(insert flashback : “I’m only telling you so that you’ll know your advantage and find a way to exploit it.  I can’t be seen by any officers, or they might arrest me.”

Thinking about the growing variables in her favor, along with her increasing fatigue, she decides she IS feeling bold enough to try sneaking into the lobby or a secluded corner within the inn that has a sofa she could rest on for the night. But then another thought comes to mind: on the chance that Din does get close to her tonight: if she’s going for crowds and officers, why try to be out of the way then? Why not take it as far as she possibly can right now?

She shuffles in her pack to find and put on her mechanic’s goggles, which she only brought out of habit, not believing that she would actually end up using them for something like this. Finding a spare tool and trash bin in an adjacent alley, she confidently walks past the Inn’s receptionist, grumbling about how she hates being called in this late for repairs. She then rides the lift to a random floor, finds her way to the nearest bathroom, leaves the tools in a random stall, and takes all the time in the galaxy freshening herself up and changing into her clean clothes.

Close to midnight. She knows where she's gotta go next. Leaving her bag in the fancy decorative dresser in the ladies room, she walks out, an air of vitality entering her despite the fatigue with the new feeling of cleanliness. Making her way to the lift again, she politely asks a passing service droid where that auction she saw a banner for is tonight. 

She finds everything she's looking for there. She expected something like this, but didn't expect to hit the total Maker-jackpot. There are officers even at the door of the bar, holding security for the largest and grandest collection of items she has ever seen on the balcony. For them to not hire private security, she thinks, the event or company must be affiliated with the New Republic somehow, maybe some resesrch-based or educational branch. Shes seen countless large gatherings these past few months as a consequence of traveling with Din, but never has she been to anything like this. Such a vibrant venue littered with well dressed attendees, whom she guesses must all be there to admire or bid for the pieces. Upon passing the epicenter of the auction, she takes notice of the particularly ordinary outer-rim objects and such displayed, knowing first hand of how common or worthless such things are, at least back on Arvala-7. Perhaps to everyone else, such ordinary things from the outer-rim are seen as exotic rarities. 

She also comes to see that the balcony and patio is not only a convention center, but also dons an equally exsquisite bar. And it's not the mere presence of a bar that necessarily excites her, but the plethora of plush seating fixtures littering the surrounding space of it. And although she didn't want to waste credits on a room here, she KNOWS she has credits for what she sees as she nears the bar. She can't resist when she notices a certain wine fixture on one of the glass shelves, its contents the same distinct color as and labeled with the depiction of that purple fruit she had come to crave these last few days here.

Drink in hand, she makes her way to the large sofa up against the corner farthest from the doors, passing close to and admiring the view of the skyline at the edge of the balcony. Now, her view is triangulated, where she can see the bar, crowded auction, and the vast opening of the balcony. She plans to just rest there for a few hours, maybe just doze off until she gathers her strength again and can scurry off to begin evading Din long enough tomorrow to reach the orphanage. 

 It is then she notices the comm clock change to midnight, and she opens the comm first, making an effort to cup her hand along her face and ear in an attempt to block the ambient chatter from Din. He notices her demeanor, along with the chatter, predicting correctly that she is somewhere nicer in the city after spending last night in a tree. They talk for a few minutes as she continues to sip on her glass, more frequently as the banter grows, not imagining the fruit could taste any better than it already did. Okay with the alcohol, yes, but also with Din’s company. He mentions that they need to charge the communicators tonight, and SG contemplates how she is going to find a place to leave hers as she rests in the bar for the night.

After a bit of her glass is emptied, she sets it on the low table in front of her, readying to respond to Din’s last remark. From her lowered gaze, she sees a hand reach out, lifting to take it away. “Sorry, that's my glass”, she protests as she adjusts her gaze upwards, vision noticeably a little buzzed. A well dressed man. A very well dressed man. He pauses as she blinks, pulled out of her euphoria in forgetting anyone else or thing existed beyond the exchange between her and Din. In one motion he then slides past the table to sit by her at the empty side of the long sofa, handing the glass back to her hand. “I’m absolutely certain of it.” he clarifies warmly.

The comm is still open. She would have closed it to prevent anything the man said from possibly giving her location away, but her mind was lagging a little both from the unexpected newcomer and the continued buzz. The man's tone is noticeably flirtatious. A small introductory exchange occurs, and she entertains his flattery lightly, giving passive responses and continuing only because she is so humored by how Din relentlessly questions who this man is, what she's doing, through the earpiece. And, she can't help but feel a bit reckless with this ridiculously good wine in her system.

Throughout the conversation, her responses double in meaning to both the man and Din. They are mildly flirtatious responses to the man, but are in fact clever answers to all that Din grunts through the earpiece as he grows more agitated, though most of it is purposefully taunting, being how he knows this tone is only for him. But it is for him,she reasons, it just happens to also answer the things that man in front of her says. 

The man attempts to impress her by mentioning his prestigious position in the traveling exhibition of outer rim rarities and such (funny line: about how she is an outer rim rarity/beauty). He mentions that this is the gallery’s last night, that they always do an all-night event to close the gallery before leaving in the morning. He sighs, stating how disappointed he is that he decided to leave earlier than the end of the event tonight, not expecting to happen upon company like her. He explains that he even had all his things already packed and put on the company ship, and that he was just on his way to drop off his key before he sat here (flashing the room key from out of his pocket intentionally).

She obviously doesn't even consider the proposition, but thinks for a moment. An empty room, a high rise SUITE, and the guest is conveniently NOT spending their last night in it. She, or maybe the wine, convinces herself that she HAS to keep entertaining him so she can distract him long enough to swipe that key. It's beyond dangerous territory with Din hearing it all, like poking a caged animal with the way he can just do nothing but endure. She may know that it's just a distraction to get the room key, but Din most certainly won't. He will think she is escalating things just to get to him for no reason, and she wouldn't normally be this bold, but the promise of a free shower and mattress is too irresistible. Plus, she's sure she can explain herself to him, however warped but harmless her logic is right now, once he calms down. If he calms down. If he doesn't find her right this second and choke this man out right in front of her with blind rage. But Din’s growing demands into the comm to know her location make it obvious that he won't be finding her anytime soon. 

She takes that into consideration, and can't help but enjoy the sudden power trip she has in making Din this helpless, knowing how rare it is. Disguised in conversation with the man, she lets Din know of her desire for him to see her, and how he should naturally feel the same desire. It's in this section that she discovers and turns on the video function of the communicator.

“…You wouldn’t.” Din challenges.

Din can now see and hear her head-on as the comm on her wrist faces her head while it moves to rest on the higher cushion of the couch near the man’s neck. Din is obviously fuming through the ear piece the whole time now being able to see what she is doing. Between blending conversation with the man, she manages to look into the camera and basically speak directly to Din, the audacity only making him more ruffled. The conversation with the man continues to escalate, and she moves closer, subtly inching her freehand where she knew she saw the key return to his pocket.

After successfully swiping the key, the next few moments in their conversation ultimately brings it to an end. The man asks about something that makes her response include a word that has “Man” within it, and the exchange ends something like this:

“Man-uh-man(___finish word___),” she stutters, feeling something as her heart remembers that all too familiar word she was so close to uttering. The stuttering means that she is taken aback when she hears something in the earpiece interrupt the word. “Din,” he whispers, so quiet she almost wouldn't have heard if it didn't come directly in her ear, like he almost doesn’t want to but has to anyway, and then her face turns red hot. The man asks if everything is alright with her sudden flusteredness.“D-Din,” she blurts instead, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible through the rising swell, though at the same time quite forcefully trying to NOT say it. It would NOT be good to mention his name to anyone, even if by accident, even if the man has no idea what those three precious letters really mean.  She blurts, “D-DINNER, I–uh– need to have dinner, that's all-uh. T-too much to drink heh heh”. 

The man mentions how late it is for dinner, though propositions to join her. She manages to convince him to stay seated when she promises to let him after she uses the ladies room. In the last few creative flirtatious remarks she uses to try and appear genuine about it, Din’s voice comes through the ear piece, only different.

“Stop.” he growls, the return of his natural authoritative tone jarring in her flustered moment. He must have seen it, she thinks. She still had her wrist up when she was caught off guard, before she ended the video-function. He saw the way her tummy and chest started to heave, how her body froze at the shock of hearing him say his name suddenly—and yeah, Maker, he saw it, because his tone makes her quickly scurry out of the bar, sad to have accidentally left the rest of her glass behind. Oh well, she thinks, just makes the man believe more that she's coming back, better for her she guesses.

Making her way back to the bathroom she cleaned up in a few levels below, she begins trying to explain herself to a very incoherent Din, trying to start with how she had to do it, but not able to clarify exactly why she had to quick enough over Din’s explosiveness. The middle of the exchange goes something like this:

“Dank Far–,” Din spits through the earpiece, and she thinks the mic might just break.  “You think—y-you think—”

What?”  she hums, basking in the afterglow and rush of the epic saga before and so, so curious.  Truly, completely mindless in this cloud of sensation, she has no clue what she's thinking, but if anybody would be able to tell her, it’s him.

She reaches into the dresser in the ladies room and hauls her heavy pack onto her back. There’s a moment where his breathing stops. It’s completely silent on the line, before she hears another few heavy footsteps on his end pick up and then halt just as quickly.

“You think you can taunt me?”   He murmurs, dangerous and deadly quiet.  “Show me exactly where you are, disappear and then make me waste forever trying to get there?  You think that’s gonna work?”

She makes her way out into the hall and towards the lift, considering it. He may have not predicted her strategy perfectly, but his insight has stopped surprising her by now. “...Maybe.” 

You can hear the seeping agitation in the short pause.

“Maybe you shouldn’t fall asleep tonight.”

Ooh.  That one sends goosebumps down her arms, but she's gained four hours on top of a twelve hour head start.  He can’t scare her with that tone, not when she's still woozy with giddyness and he isn’t right in front of her. Instead of wilting beneath the hard threat, she just blinks gently at the communicator as she pushes the button to the floor that matches the one on the room key, finding strength in being the only one to get him this worked up when he’s always so composed, this talkative when he barely says a word.  “Maybe I’ll just stay here then?”

“Maybe you wanted me to know you’re in an inn because you already found someplace to hide that isn’t one,” Din reasons very, very adeptly.  Stars, her heart subtly begins to pick up at the speed in which he's going to speak this fast.  “Can’t be planning to stay with someone you just met because you’d already be there, can’t be going to a hostel because you found the one city on this moon built for commerce and not aid.  Not staying in another inn, you can’t afford it—the view looks high up, that robe is expensive, and you already bought food and at least five pairs of shoes in two days.  I don’t think the place you found is even in Nariss.  You think you can outsmart me, sweet girl?”

The chill down her spine doesn’t reach her eyes, she doesnt let it.  She just feels herself smile, tilting her head, but Din doesn’t accept her silence the way she’s always accepted his.  He wants an answer from her, right now, and it’s clear in the dark rumble of his voice, the danger slowly brewing beyond what she originally planned for.

“Tell me,” he orders, unamused and leaving no room to disobey.  

As the lift door opens, she thinks ahead and decides to spare them both his likely meteoric response of hearing the room door beep and open in a minute.

“How long do you think you can keep running?”

She waits a second when she braces herself at what she's about to dare to do before she quickly whispers it. “I………gotta go”, she winces with a mischievous smile as she goes to close the comm line.

“DON’T YOU D-” Dins voice starts, only to be cut off immediately.

The silence is deafening after, him practically yelling that last bit, and she hopes that the cradle was closed so the kids' poor little ears were saved from the blast. She exits the lift and moves down the hall, heart still racing from daring to cut him off at the peak of his rage. She finally finds the key’s matching room, and Maker, when she opens the door, she tries to stifle her gasp so as to not wake any neighbors in the hall. 

The room is extravagant. The first thing she notices is the giant window peeking over the breathtaking skyline, letting in all of the purple and blue hues of light the sky blended with the glowing lights of the city. And then the bed, a giant bed and a giant mattress. It might as well be made out of pure spice the way it makes her nearly sob with happiness.

She then spends an untraceable amount of time enjoying the exploits of her treacherous efforts. An actual shower and mattress, dying of sleep depravity and the mental energy needed to keep up that whole exchange through it. Once she finally pauses to settle on the bed, she opens the comm line again, bracing herself for what might be the most nervous she's had to be in a while.

“Finally going to tell me where you are?”. Din’s voice isn't loud, but it most certainly isn't relaxed. He must be livid now, having all that time to fester and brew as she took her time cleaning herself up in the fresher. He might only sound this calm not to scare her off, if that's what he thinks made her hang up last time anyway.  “In a way, yeah.” she starts. “It's actually good news, but you may hate me for it, if you don't already.”  She lets a short pause ring in the air in an attempt to measure his temperature. “.......good news…..” Din finishes, audibly impatient and saying it through a clenched jaw. Seeing how he is making such a desperate effort to sound composed and just keep her talking, she once again thinks it's safe to venture into dangerous territory once more tonight with him. 

“Remember how you thought I wasn't planning to stay with someone I'd already met, or I'd already be there?”

“…………………………………..yes”

“…..Well I am here””

“…………………………………..okay”

“B-but i'm not with them”

“................................................uhhuh”

“A-and do you remember the man I talked to earlier, at the bar?”

“.............................................…I'm trying not to” 

And do you remember when he mentioned his uh…room?

“………”

“D-din?”

“……………………….how…could I….forget.” Din spurts through gritted teeth, almost a mumble. She's sure if he's got something in his hand right now, it's most certainly broken with the way his fists must be clenched, she just prays it's not the kid. 

“Uh-well-I um….”

“…………………………………......you what?”

“.........................................…. I’m in their room–”

“you–”

A prolonged silence sinks in, and she wonders how long she can even let this go on before something genuinely bad happens. She's already had her fun for the night, why push it more when she's already gotten what she wanted out of him?

Letting DIn’s stunned silence radiate a few seconds more, she finally laughs, explosively, forgetting any concept of neighbors anymore. Stuttering between giggles, she manages to utter: “Im-s-soryy-HAHA-its b-because I haha-i um–....I st-stole his room key—hahaHAHAHAHAH–I–m so sorry that I -–ha– but it was right there and he didn't even notice-HAHAHA- when he was busy talking to me, so dumb and clueless HAHAHAHAHAHA” . More silence over the comm, and she wonders if he actually hung up before she could finish before. She stops laughing a moment to check in case. “D-din? I'm so sorry, haha” she says breathlessly, gasping for air and hoping for any response at all at this point.

“......For the first time in my life, I feel provoked to throw my helmet.”

“ahaha–Please dont be mad, I had to–”

“ –Mad? That's not the word we're dealing with, what we've got is something I can't even think of a word for. And you HAD to?” He sounds beyond annoyed, but she's grateful he's not boiling like before.

“HAHAHAHAHA, k-kind of–HA–”

“….You think that was funny?” his tone gets serious again. "You better pray that I never find that man".

"Well I know for a fact he's not coming back, which is why I took it" she childishly giggles.

Din stays silent. For a second, she prays he doesn't actually throw the whole chase out the window just to find that man as soon as possible now and vent his anger.

Suppressing her gasps for oxygen, she starts: “ohh come on, you predicted that I would be somewhere nicer after spending last night in a tree.  You should've known what I was really after the whole time haaha- I  I know you didn't see him show me the card but– I let you see me the whole time, how could I in Maker’s name ever–?”

“Doesn't matter if it was a means to an end, that was just….. way too hard to watch.”

A second of silence passes as her breathing finally slows.

“I'm sorry you had to hear it”, she breathes, sincerity rising in her tone. “But I wouldn't have wanted you to hang up, I missed your voice. … I swear, all I was thinking about was you the whole time, in my ear, I could barely keep up the conversation trying not to say your name. I only thought of you and how much I wanted you with me then.”

“……………..”

“-Y-you and t-the uh–room key—haHAHAHHAHAHHAH”

“I've met mercenaries less sadistic than you are right now.” His voice sounds flat, just in pure astonishment at how she is actually able to push it yet again. Another burst of laughter, and she falls back on the bed, gasping for air as she tries to regain her composure.“Well why don't you come give me what I deserve and lock me away already, hmmm? Bounty hunter?” 

“That's one way to put it”, his voice sounding more humored at the thought, though clearly still trying to sound as upset as he can. “AHA-hahahaaaaahahaha…..”, her laughter fades finally from pure exhaustion, her abdomen now on fire from the extended flexing.

Note: and something like : "you know im not goint to let this go/forget this easily/make you pay for that"

"Haaaa, I'm counting on it." she sighs.

A few seconds pass as the tension settles with the time. “Give me your coordinates”. A tender, sweet tone seeping through the mic. She closes her eyes and exhales,  “Ask me again tomorrow.” But then, instead of immediately responding, she just hears Din’s footsteps suddenly pick up, faster than any pace she’s been able to keep over the past few days.  She doesn't think it sounds like a run necessarily, she knows that his legs and strides are far longer than hers and it’s probably pretty much equivalent to a run for her. She hears the rhythm of her demise speeding up, coming closer and closer, and everything in her both fears it and welcomes it.

“We’ll see,” he tells her, and then the red light vanishes and her earpiece clicks to silence.

She moves to place the comm on the charger at the bedside nightstand, at last able to put her mind to sleep along with her body.

Even though it takes her much longer to do so than it normally would on a bed so large and comfortable, after such an exciting night and not being used to flickering light when she tries to sleep but wanting to experience the rarity anyways, she’s eventually able to pass out. But, not even a few minutes into a restless dream, she turns over and accidentally knocks her communicator off the wireless charging station on the side table.  

It blinks with four percent battery life.

#mando #the mandolorian #mando fanfiction #mando x reader #the mandolarian #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #din djarin #drawing #rough day #star wars #rough day fanfic #edit #editing #my edit #my fic #star wars fanfiction #fanfiction #pedrohub #pedro pascal #depraved #im sick #romance #flirting #banter #the broski report #britney broski #brittany broski #broski nation #broski report

[jeonghoneyss]

been thinking about my old wips and especially the circus fic... that was going to be my magnum opus; it had everything: circus train. trapeze. jam tarts and inn owners junhao. stowing away on a train. found family. everyone being in love with chan in some way or another. at least 8 different tragic backstories. 4 different fics in the series planned because it grew too big to be in one story. they were on that train for five weeks because i didn’t think about distances. what a story.

#i loved it so much #it needs to be reworked a Lot but the idea is still great and i really want to do it properly one day #it was such a good idea i think

[papermoonloveslucy]

CURTAIN UP!

Lucy On Stage ~ Act 1

Lucille Ball’s dream was always to appear on Broadway. That dream didn’t become reality until 1960. In the meantime, if Lucy couldn’t go to Broadway, Broadway would come to Lucy - on her radio and television shows!  

“The Milkmaid’s Dilemma or The Lady’s Not For Turning”

“Liz Substitutes in a Club Play” (1951) ~ In this episode of Lucille Ball’s radio sitcom MY FAVORITE HUSBAND, Liz (Lucille Ball) is determined to play the lead in the women’s club play, even if she has to keep the leading lady from showing up. There’s only one problem: Liz has learned the lines for the wrong play! 

The title of the play is a pun on the play “The Lady’s Not for Burning” by Christopher Fry. It opened on Broadway just two months before this episode aired starring Richard Burton and John Gielgud, who also directed. Coincidentally, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would say “the lady’s not for turning” in a now famous speech in October 1980. 

“John’s Other Whistler”

“Liz’s Radio Script” (1951) ~ Liz's entry is a finalist in a playwriting contest, and the Coopers and the Atterburys perform it on the local radio station.  

The title of Liz’s play combines two of the most popular radio shows of the time: “John's Other Wife” and “The Whistler”. Liz has retyped the script so quickly that there are some misspellings that lead to on-air goofs!

GEORGE: You’ve got a face like a camel. LIZ: That’s ‘cameo’!

IRIS: I don’t care. I’ve got another liver.  LIZ: That’s ‘lover’! IRIS: At my age, I’d get more use out  of another liver!

GEORGE: ...And your nose is continued on the next page!

This dialogue was later rewritten and recycled into...

“The Perils of Pamela” / “A Tree Grows in Havana”

“Lucy Writes a Play” (1952) ~ Playwright Lucy pens a drama with a Cuban locale. She figures Ricky for the star. The hitch: he refuses the part. So she changes her play from Cuba to England and has Fred take Ricky’s spot. However, Ricky has decided to surprise Lucy and appear in the play… only problem is he has the wrong script!

Voice from the Audience: I think it stinks!

The title “A Tree Grows in Havana” was inspired by A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which was a book and a film in the mid-40's. There was even a Broadway musical of the same title starring Shirley Booth that closed two weeks before the episode filmed. Lucy rewrites the script into an English comedy titled "The Perils of Pamela", a nod to several films titled The Perils of Pauline directed by Lucille Ball’s friend George Marshall. Some sample dialogue from her rewritten opus:

LUCY: What's the mater, Matter? Uh, what's the matter, Mater?

LUCY: Pater won't be down for tea. We just buried him. Had to. Dead, you know.

FRED: Would you pour me a spot of tea, my dear louse? [looks at script closer] I mean Louise.

“The Pleasant Peasant”

“The Operetta” (1952) ~ The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League is putting on an operetta and Lucy is in charge. As treasurer, she has no money in the club account so she has to write the show herself!  Needless to say, Ricky and the Mertzes are in the cast as well.

Because the repo men come to take back the unpaid scenery and costumes, we never see the end of the operetta. According to Lucy’s description of the show, there were two acts, with 18 scenes in the first act alone. The plot involved Lily being kidnapped by highway men because their leader had been turned into a frog by a wicked witch. Lily is really the frog / leader’s long-lost sister, separated from him when they were tadpoles. Later the Prince (who thinks he’s a peasant but is really a frog) goes to work for Squire Quinn at the Inn on the River Out.

These are references to composers Sigmund Romberg and Rudolf Friml, as well as Charles John Thomas, a popular baritone of the time. In 1915 Thomas starred on Broadway in a Friml operetta called The Peasant Girl which included a song called “The Gypsy” sung by 'Celeste and Chorus.’ “The Pleasant Peasant” even includes a parody of “The Drinking Song” from Romberg’s The Student Prince.

The operetta contains an original score by Eliot Daniel that features “The Pleasant Peasant Girls", "The Good Squire Quinn", "Lily of the Valley", "Queen of the Gypsies", "The Troops of the King", and "Good Prince Lancelot". Lucy plays Camille, the snaggle-toothed crone. Ethel is cast as Lily (of the Valley), Ricky is (the good) Prince Lancelot, and Fred is (what else) Friar Quinn of the Inn on the River Out. The ladies of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League (including Myra Marsh and Betty Jaynes) are the chorus.  

“The Professor and the Co-Ed” 

“Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (1953) ~ A new Broadway musical is casting and Lucy and the Mertzes want to land parts. Unfortunately, Lucy’s eye exam leaves her a nearsighted mess just before the big audition.

Ethel translates the Variety headline for Lucy: “Parker Preps Prod for Pitts Preem” as “Parker Prepares Production for Pittsburgh Premiere.” The article goes on to say “William Parker, formerly legit prod, currently top pic exec, seeks thesps for flesh tuner.” Ethel doesn’t translate this section, but it means that “William Parker, formerly a theatrical producer, currently a top motion picture executive, is casting actors for a live stage musical.”

Although we never see the musical itself (just the auditions) it is a musical comedy set in the 1920s titled “The Professor and the Co-Ed” and it sounds reminiscent of Good News, a real-life 1927 legit tuner (Varietyese for 'stage musical’) also set on a college campus in the roaring '20s. Good News was made into a film in 1930 and then remade in 1947.  

All three versions of Good News include the song "The Varsity Drag,” which Fred and Ethel sing in this episode. A musical about college co-eds must have been familiar territory to the Arnazes. Too Many Girls was Desi Arnaz’s 1939 Broadway debut and the 1940 film version introduced (literally) Desi to Lucy.

“Gay ‘90s Revue”

“Mertz and Kurtz” (1954) ~ Fred's old vaudeville partner (Charles Wininger) is in town, so the Mertzes pretend to be wealthier than they really are to impress him. But it turns out that he has been doing some pretending as well!  

Perhaps not strictly a stage musical, this revue has a bit of a story and characters, so it qualifies. Set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Fred and Barney play dairymen attending a convention, Lucy and Ethel are bathing beauties, and Ricky is the handsome lifeguard. The score includes classics from the theatre and popular music. 

"Peach on the Beach" by Vincent Youmans and Otto Harbach was originally written for the 1925 Broadway musical No, No, Nanette which (coincidentally) starred Charles Winninger.

"By the Beautiful Sea" by Harry Carroll and Harold R. Atteridge. The song topped the early American music charts in the summer of 1914, during the outbreak of World War I. By the Beautiful Sea was also the title of a 1954 musical that was on Broadway when the episode was filmed. 

“They Go Wild Over Me” by Fred Fisherin, who also wrote the lyrics for the 1919 Broadway show Irene.

"On the Boardwalk to Atlantic City" by Josef Myrow and Mack Gordon for the 1946 film Three Little Girls in Blue, about three sisters from Red Bank NJ who spend their inheritance on a trip to Atlantic City, where they hope to snare rich husbands.

“Over the Teacups” 

“Ethel’s Birthday” (1954) ~ It's Ethel's birthday and she gets two memorable presents: Hostess Pants and tickets to the theatre. An argument with Lucy over the former threatens to spoil the latter.  

The fictional play is said to be “the biggest hit in town.” The tickets cost Ricky $6.60 each! Although we never see the actors in the play, we hear Mary Lansing as the weepy Cynthia. English actor Richard Kean voices the character of John, who breaks the news to Cynthia about the death of their mutual friend. 

“Kildoonan!”

“Lucy Goes to Scotland” (1956) ~ While in London, Lucy dreams of going to her ancestral home in Scotland. Although not strictly a stage show, Lucy dreams in the musical comedy format!  

The inspiration for this episode is clearly Lerner and Loewe's 1947 musical Brigadoon. The name of the village in the musical is the similarly-sounding Kildoonan; and the two-headed dragon appears once every 30 years, just as the village of Brigadoon appears once every 100 years. Both also feature a sword dance and bagpipes. Although the show had closed in London several years earlier, the film version was released in 1954, a little over a year before this episode's filming. It was produced by MGM (the Arnazes studio of choice) and featured Van Johnson, who Lucy danced with in “The Dancing Star”. 

The dream has five original songs by Eliott Daniel and Larry Orenstein (who also played the Mayor of Kildoonan): "'Tis Nae a Braw Bricht Nicht", "A McGillicuddy Is Here", "I'm in Love with a Dragon's Dinner", "Two Heads Are Nae Better Than One", and "The Dragon Waltz".  

The Townspeople of Kildoonan include Betty Allen (who was a background singer for the 1954 film of Brigadoon), Betty Noyes, Norma Zimmer, John Gustafson, John Hynd, Robert E. Hamlin, Ann Ellen Walker, Dick Byron, and Chuck Schrouder.  

“The Enchanted Forest”

“LIttle Ricky’s School Pageant” (1957) ~ Little Ricky is cast as the lead in his school play, with Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel also getting into the act. 

The scenery and choreography for the pageant were designed by Desi’s fishing buddy and friend Pepito Perez (aka Pepito the Clown) and his wife Joanne, who ran a nearby Dance Academy. For years afterward, Joanne used the Enchanted Forest backdrops for their productions of “Hansel and Gretel.” Their school also provided the two dozen other students for the pageant. Candy Rogers (Susie Brown) was their prize pupil so was rewarded with the female lead. Lucy played the Wicked Witch, Ricky played a Hollow Tree, Ethel plays the Fairy Princess (she fit the costume) and Fred is Hippity Hoppity the Frog. The pageant also features 12 gnomes, 12 bunnies, 3 dancing owls, and a skunk! 

“The Most Happy Fella”

“Lucy’s Night In Town” (1957) ~ Lucy has tickets to a big Broadway musical, but she mistakenly got seats for the matinee instead of the evening show. 

FRED (seeing the title of the play): I’ll bet he wasn’t married!

This episode takes the foursome to the Broadway musical The Most Happy Fella. Because the Arnazes were investors in the show the original cast album and show poster were used in the filming. The Frank Loesser musical was simultaneously playing at New York’s Imperial Theatre, although except for an establishing shot of the theatre’s exterior, the episode was filmed entirely in California. Coincidentally, the Imperial was where Desi Arnaz made his Broadway debut in Too Many Girls (1939). In 1979, his daughter Lucie Arnaz also made her Broadway debut at the Imperial in They’re Playing Our Song. Vivian Vance appeared there in 1941’s Let’s Face It! starring Eve Arden. The 1,443 seat theater opened in 1923 and is still in operation today.

The episode utilized the Frank Loesser songs “Standin’ on the Corner,” “Big D,” and “Don’t Cry” - all sung by the original cast: Susan Johnson, John Henson, Alan J. Gilbert, Shorty Long, Roy Lazarus, and Art Lund. Although Robert Weede is billed on the marquee, he is not heard in any of the songs, nor is leading lady Jo Sullivan, the composer’s wife, although both were nominated for 1956 Tony Awards. This is not the first Frank Loesser musical to be featured on “I Love Lucy.” A clip from the 1955 film Guys and Dolls was inserted into the MGM executives show in “Lucy and the Dummy”, but was cut for syndication and the DVD.

“The Queen’s Lament”

”The Celebrity Next Door” (1958) ~ Stage and screen star Tallulah Bankhead has moved in next door to the Ricardos and Mertzes! Once Lucy discovers that a celebrity is in her midst, she has gotten Bankhead and the entire gang involved with the local PTA show.

The fictional play “The Queen's Lament” is probably a hold-over from when Bette Davis was intended to be the 'celebrity next door', as she had recently played Queen Elizabeth on film in The Virgin Queen in 1955 as well as in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex in 1939.

The cast and crew of the play includes: The Queen ~ Miss Tallulah Bankhead; Her Lady in Waiting ~ Lucy Ricardo; The Duke of Farthington ~ Ricky Ricardo; Genevieve, the Royal Cook ~ Ethel Mertz; A Knight ~ Fred Mertz; Musical Entertainment by the Westport Glee Club; Directed by Mrs. Ida Thompson; Written by Mr. Thompson; Costumes by Mrs. Wilson.

“Western Frolics” 

“MIlton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos” (1957) ~  Lucy wants Milton Berle to perform in the PTA play so she secretly offers her home for him to finish his latest book in peace. 

“Western Frolics” consists mostly of the musical number “Them There Days”  composed by Arthur Hamilton especially for this show.

CURTAIN DOWN on Act 1

#I Love Lucy #My Favorite Husband #Lucille Ball #Desi Arnaz #William Frawley #Little Ricky #Vivian Vance #Milton Berle #Tallulah Bankhead #The Most Happy Fella #Brigadoon #The Virgin Queen #Broadway #Musicals #Plays #Sigmund Romberg #The Pleasant Peasant #Victor Herbert #Rudolf Friml #TV #Radio #Lucy #The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour

[gmanwhore]

GT: Ii wantted tto lett youu knnow thhat todday i2 thee dday

GT: Ii cann feeel itt inn myy bonne2 ohh yeeah ooh yeaah inndeed

GT: 2oomething2 gonnna happeen imm telliing youu

GT: Thhe gamme itt2 fuccking happpening

GT: annd ii mmay orr mayy nnot knnow cuzz capptor likke2 mme mmore thann thhe other22 :)

OI: Bmsjh1u. J'mm cf qsfqbsfe. (Alr1ght. 1'll be prepared)

OI: P1, u1jt jt hpjoh up cf cfbvujgvm, J kvtu lopx ju. Zpv lopx J 1bwf bmxbzt mpwfe u1f hmpsz pg u1f hbnf. (Oh, th1s 1s go1ng to be beaut1ful, 1 just know 1t. You know 1 have always loved the glory of the game.)

OI: Ju't opu bmxbzt jo xjoojoh, zpv lopx? Jo gbdu ju't sbsfmz xjoojoh. J bn tp vtfe up mptjoh ju epfto'u nbuufs boznpsf. (1t's not always 1n w1nn1ng, you know? 1n fact 1t's rarely w1nn1ng. 1 am so used to los1ng 1t doesn't matter anymore.)

OI: U1f hbnf jt u1f foe. U1f foe jt nz eftujoz. (The game 1s the end. The end 1s my dest1ny.)

OI: Th1s w1ll be fun 1ndeed.

#asks

[iviarellereads]

The Eye of the World, Chapter 44 - The Dark Along the Ways

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one!)

(Leaf and vine icon)(1) In which we must stay quite literally in the light.

Rand and the party sneak out to the stables, where horses are ready and waiting for them: their own and some replacements for those already lost, plus one that looks like it might fit Loial. Moiraine advises Gill to write to Sheriam, at the White Tower, if he fears any trouble from their stay. He says it's fine, she's already given him the only inn in Caemlyn with no rats, he can double his custom on that alone. The stablemen lead them out of a hidden second exit from the stable, into an alley that lets out far from the two main streets the inn connects to. There's nobody watching this way.

Loial leads the way, since he can feel the Waygate somehow, though he can’t explain it. Eventually he points to a shop, and says it's under there. Moiraine finds a cellar door in the alley,(2) and uses a touch of magic to open the rusty lock quietly. The cellar hasn't been used in years, and Mat asks who would build a Gate here. Loial says there used to be a grove here, with all the trees Ogier could coax to grow in the climate, some a hundred spans high. And all that was murdered for shops.(3)

The Gate has been incorporated into part of the brick wall, by builders who acknowledged that it was well built and sturdy, you might as well use it to support something. It still looks like a fancy carved landscape. Moiraine moves one of the leaves carved into the wall, it comes away with no trouble and fits into another spot, and the wall changes somehow and becomes partly a mirror, reflecting them. Moiraine urges them through, and so they go into a place so dark, their lanterns don't seem to light as far around them as they should.

Rand looks back through, and everyone seems to be moving in slow motion on the other side of the gate, which now shows the cellar as if through smoky glass. Loial says time passes quicker inside the Ways. The rest of them follow through, and when the gate is closed, their world becomes limited by darkness to just where their lanterns reach.

The road beneath them is pitted stone, like some kind of acid has eaten into it, and there's a white line broken in some places by the hollows. Loial says the lines lead them to the nearest guidepost. Sometimes they see bits of construction, as if this was once part of a great city or highway, and Rand thinks it looks familiar somehow,(4) but surely that's just his imagination searching for anything to cling to in such a strange place.

A series of bridges between stone islands ensues, with no difference between them except the degree of damage they've sustained. Eventually Rand adjusts to the strangeness, a little, and thinks that this isn't nearly as bad as Loial made it out to be. They're almost boring.(5) Then Loial makes a startled noise, and when Rand looks to see what the trouble is, the bridge they must follow next ends in a jagged gap.

=====

(1) Because this is the Avendesora leaf, and that's also the symbol of the key to the Ways. (2)"There must be a cellar door" must there? Or are you depending on the ta'veren effect of plot convenience? (3) Hey RJ, your environmentalism's showing. I know it's not always the case, but I think if you have to draw from Tolkien for the first instalment of your magnum opus as much as RJ did to please his publisher and the readers of his time, if you don't include some of the environmentalism you're doing it capital-w Wrong. (4) The main interesting note here is that Rand feels the architecture of the Ways is familiar. We know the Ways were constructed by male Aes Sedai soon after or during the Breaking. We also know or can guess by now that Rand is Lews Therin reincarnated, the Dragon reborn, and Lews Therin was the male leader of the Aes Sedai (one of his fancy titles up in the prologue given by Elan Morin, "you wore the Ring of Tamyrlin, and sat in the High Seat", sounds like the Amyrlin Seat of the era of the rest of the book). So, safe to assume that the other male Aes Sedai built the Ways to match familiar architecture to them, which would also feel familiar to Lews Therin. This kind of hearkens back to a conversation earlier in the book, when Mat yells that old tongue battle cry. Afterward, they joke that he's some fancy warrior reborn, that's why he had access to the memory. In his case we can't be entirely sure but the authority figures dismiss it. But if that's a thing that can happen, and we know from the context of the story, it's not a stretch to say Rand is Lews Therin reborn, and he does seem to be accessing bits and pieces of his past life's memories, he's just still WAY in denial. The big question is, does Moiraine know, is that why she came to Emond's Field. She did say she was looking for "just one" person important to the Pattern when she found three… (5) Even without the missing route at the end of the chapter, that feels a little Too Ominous that things are about to get worse.

#wheel of time #wot #the wheel of time #twot #the eye of the world #eye of the world #eotw #teotw #wot leaves and vine icon #rand al'thor #loial #mat cauthon #perrin aybara #egwene al'vere #nynaeve al'meara #moiraine damodred #lan mandragoran