#i already have a WR piece on the works

[slut4thebroken]

Ruin

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Pairing | Jason Todd x reader

Summary | Jason punishes you after you disobey him.

Warnings | Smut, 18+, sexual content, knifeplay, blood, cutting, brief use of guns, bondage, ruined orgasms, overstimulation, denial, pain play, sex toys, dacryphilia, hard to soft dom Jay, established relationship.

Words | 3.3 k

Notes | For reader’s suit, imagine Black Windows’s but it’s not one whole piece, it’s a top and a bottom but still in the same style. (And yes… part of this was based on a video😭)

Ao3 link | <3

Masterlist

“You disobeyed a direct order!” He seethed, slamming the front door shut. You huffed and turned around to face him with your arms crossed. 

“Well, your order was shit.” You shrugged, making his jaw clench as he exhaled through his nose. 

“If you can’t do what you’re told then you can’t work with me.” 

“You mean work for you.” You narrowed your eyes at him and he scoffed. “Why can’t you just admit that you were wrong for once and I made the right call.” Your voice started to raise again. 

“You could have died! And all because, what? Your pride?” He asked in disbelief. 

“But I didn’t!”

“Because I had to fucking save your ass!” 

You and Jason have always been too similar. A lot of the same things set you off, you’re both too cocky, care too much about your pride and ego. And you can bet that if one starts screaming, the other will too. Your anger fuels his, just like his fuels yours. 

“I’m not one of your little underlings that has to follow your every command, Jason. And if that’s what you think, you need to get your head out of your ass.” Your voice was lower now, but still full of malice. 

“You know what, princess?” He started stalking toward you but you held your ground. “I think you’ve forgotten your place. And I’m going to remind you.”

“Oh fuck off, Todd.” You watched the muscles in his jaw tense. You never call him by his last name unless he’s really pissing you off. Before you could even blink, his hand was in your hair, pulling your head back and moving you closer to him. His breath fanned your lips but you made sure to keep the scowl on your face. 

“Fuck you.” You hissed, debating if you should spit in his face or not. Instead, you grabbed a knife from your pants and held it up to his neck. He gave you an unimpressed look and then his gun was under your chin. So you used your second hand to do the same with your own gun. His grip tightened on your hair and you both just stared at each other, having a silent battle for dominance. Despite the fact that you’re both bluffing, you pressed the knife harder against his skin, watching a small bead of blood fall to his collarbone. 

“Everything you do right now I’m going to do ten times worse to you in a few minutes.” He warned, not even flinching at the blade piercing his skin. You stared at him with narrowed eyes, but you could feel your confidence and dominance start to break— the submissive part of you forcing its way up through the cracks. You clenched your jaw and hardened your gaze, willing it to go back down. But Jason already knew. You could tell by the way his lips were slowly curling up into a smirk. 

“Put the knife away, baby.” You ignored the butterflies from the pet name and glared at him. 

“Keep patronizing me and I’ll cut out your vocal cords.” You spat. 

“I’m sure you will, princess.” He smirked and you fucking knew he said it with that tone specifically because of what you just said. You breathed heavily as you seethed, his low laughter only fueling your anger. With a growl, you shoved his chest— you weren’t strong enough to actually move him, but he humored you by moving with the force, letting go of your hair. 

“Keep taunting me, princess and I’ll shoot you.” You pointed the gun at him, clenching your jaw. 

“Oh yeah?” He smirked, clearly entertained by your outburst. He was on you in a second, pushing the gun to the side and forcing the knife out of your hand, making you whimper when he bent your wrist the wrong way. Once he disarmed you, he placed a hand on your neck and quickly pushed you back until you hit the wall with a grunt. 

“You need to learn your fucking place.” He growled, squeezing your neck. 

“You’re supposed to teach me?” You scoffed, adding gasoline to the fire. Instead of reacting with anger like you thought he would, his eyes darkened and he smirked.  

“That’s right, baby. Now get your ass on the bed.” He took a step away from you and pointed his gun at your face. When you didn’t move, he cocked it, making you roll your eyes but start walking. You sat on the bed, looking up at him with a smirk. 

“Take away that gun and what are you? Just a little boy desperate for control.” The second you said it, you knew you fucked up. 

Bad. 

He glared at you for a moment and you held your breath as you waited, then he just chuckled darkly and set the gun on the nightstand. While he was there, he grabbed the handcuffs and vibrator you always keep in the drawer. You put up a fight as he handcuffed you but he overpowered you easily. To immobilize your legs, he just sat on your thighs. 

He dragged the zipper of your suit down at a tortuously slow pace. Once it was unzipped, he pulled a knife from his pants and cut your bra straight down the middle. You shouted a protest, which was ignored as he pushed the fabric to the side, exposing your breasts. 

“So soft.” He muttered absentmindedly as he trailed the tip of the knife over your chest. “So delicate…” He trailed it up to your neck then pressed down in the same place you had cut him. “So fragile.” You hissed when the blade broke the skin but showed no other reaction. 

He removed the knife and leaned down, licking a stripe up your neck, over the cut. You let out a low moan and subconsciously lifted your hands to place in his hair. The chain rattling on the headboard made him pull back with a small smirk. 

He put the tip of the knife back on your neck to continue, going up your jaw, then down your cheek before landing on your bottom lip. Your breath hitched as the skin split under the blade and once he was satisfied with the amount of blood, he removed it and leaned back down to kiss you. 

You moaned into the kiss and he groaned in response, licking his tongue into your mouth, focusing on your lip before sliding inside to meet your own. The kiss was hot and messy and almost aggressive but so entirely Jason. 

He pulled away, but immediately moved to your neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses and dark bruises. He gave one last kiss on the cut on your neck, then sat up again. If all he was planning on doing to punish you was cut you occasionally and kiss you… well that wasn’t much of a punishment at all to be honest. You tried not to smirk at the thought. 

“You’re awfully quiet tonight.” You hinted at the question you wanted to ask instead. 

“Baby, why would I talk dirty to you when I know how much you love it?” He grinned, making you frown. Instead of pouting you tried a different tactic. 

“Sounds like an excuse to be lazy. Is that also why you got the vibrator out?” You smirked, glancing at the toy on the bed. “Careful, Jay. You’re awfully close to becoming a pillow princess.”  

“Keep talking. You’re only making it worse for yourself and more fun for me.” He said smugly. 

“What’s a pillow princess gonna do?” You scoffed, still smirking. You were always terrible at knowing when to keep your mouth shut. He stared at you for a moment, then laughed quietly at your disobedience and moved between your legs. He pulled on the waistband of your pants and underwear, forcing them down your legs until they were at your ankles, where he had to quickly rip your boots off to fully remove them. Then he was back to sitting over your thighs. 

He didn’t even say anything as he picked up the vibrator, immediately turning it on and pressing it against your clit. You let out a choked moan from the sudden stimulation and he started slowly moving it in small circles, still maintaining firm pressure. You squeezed your eyes shut with a long vulgar moan and heard him chuckle quietly. 

“Fuck— Jason.” You said through a breath, feeling yourself already close to the edge. It’s rare that you ever need to use the vibrator so whenever you do, it’s always really intense. You expected him to pull away, to make a remark about how you don’t have permission to come, but he didn’t say or do anything. Not being able to hold it any longer, you fell over the edge, then all stimulation was gone. You let out a choked sob and opened your eyes to look at him. 

“Jason,” You whimpered, giving him the pout that always makes him cave. By now, your ruined orgasm was done and your chest heaved as you watched him. 

“I’m sorry, did you still want this?” He condescended, glancing at the toy then back to you. 

“Fuck you.” You growled, now angry from the lack of pleasurable release. He clicked his tongue and turned it back on, pressing it firmly against your now sensitive clit. You cried out, trying to squirm away from him, but not being able to because of him sitting on your legs. 

“S-stop, Jay— stop,” You whimpered, barely able to handle the overstimulation. He just let out a dark chuckle, making you look at him with watery eyes. 

“No, baby. We’re gonna do this over and over again and I’m only gonna stop once it dies.” He smirked. You let out a strangled whimper and yanked your hands forward, the metal chain rattling loudly on the headboard. 

“Please, I- I’m sorry,” He shushed you and you let your words die off into incoherent babbling. 

“You did this to yourself. You’re a big girl, you can handle the consequences of your own actions.” He condescended. You shook your head and squeezed your eyes shut. 

“Can’t…” Despite your words, you could already feel your second orgasm barreling toward you. After only another moment, the coil in your stomach snapped and you let out a loud moan that turned into a sob when he once again removed the vibrator. 

“Please! Please, I'm sorry!” You cried, the tears in your eyes threatening to fall. “Please, Jay, I won’t do it again. I promise— please,” He brought his hand down hard on your sensitive clit with a loud smack, forcing a broken moan from you.  

“No amount of begging is gonna get you out of this, princess.” 

“Jason,” You whimpered. Your watery puppy dog eyes had no effect on him though. He placed the vibrator back on your clit, making you cry out and yank on the handcuffs again. “Fuck! Jay— Jay, please.” You gasped, squeezing your eyes shut and feeling hot tears start to roll down your temples. 

“God you look so fucking hot like this. Let me see those pretty fuck me eyes.” Your eyes fluttered open and you stared up at him through wet lashes, bottom lip trembling. “Jesus fucking christ.” He groaned, gaze rapidly moving over your face and the rest of your body. 

“Aren’t you a fuckin sight, huh? Tits out, arms tied to the bed, tears running down that pretty face, and look at how red your little pussy is, baby.” He lifted the vibrator and you let out a heavy breath of relief as your chest heaved. The second you looked down like he said, the toy was back on your clit. Your crying intensified and you continued trying to squirm away from the stimulation. 

“Jay— fuck… Please, Jay.. hurts so bad.” You whimpered, pulling out all the stops to get his mercy. “Please, baby, I’m sorry— I won’t do it again, I promise. I’ll listen to you.” 

“I know you will. But I also know it’s going to take more than just this to make your words actually truthful. Right now you’re just saying what I want to hear to get me to stop.” 

“No! No, I- I'm not lying, Jay.” 

“I don’t believe you.” He shrugged, making you let out a sob and pull on the restraints again, your legs trying to kick him off of you. “Throwing a tantrum now?” He asked with raised brows. 

“Fuck— Jay, please. I’m sorry.” You whimpered. 

“Shh, baby. You don’t want the gag, do you?” You whined at the threat, bottom lip trembling, and shook your head. “That’s what I thought. So why don’t you shut the fuck up and take your punishment, like a good little girl?” Your third orgasm hit you suddenly, but as soon as your back arched and your eyes squeezed shut, he removed the vibrator, making you release an anguished cry. 

He kept that up for what felt like hours. After the fifth orgasm you could barely talk, but after the seventh, you lost count of how many ones he ruined. When the vibrator finally died, you were both relieved and disappointed. 

“Ready for my cock?” He asked, making your breath hitch. You nodded, not even attempting to speak, and watched him walk over to the closet where most of the sex toys are stored. When he came back with a fleshlight, you whined with a pout. “Relax, I’m still gonna fuck you, princess.” You were too fucked out to try and figure out what that meant. He lined up the end with your hole, making you tense up. 

“What are you doing?” Your words slurred together, heavy with exhaustion. 

“Shh. Just trust me, baby.” He cooed and you couldn’t help but obey, your body relaxing into the bed. You whined when he pushed the toy in, feeling far too sensitive, but also relieved that you were finally full. When he settled between your legs and took out his cock, it finally clicked. 

“Jay,” You whined, watching as he stroked himself slowly. “You said you were gonna fuck me.” 

“I am.” He lined the tip of his cock up with the entrance of the fake pussy and all of your protests died on your tongue when he sunk in, brows scrunched together and mouth open in a silent moan. The toy shifted inside of you, but it wasn’t enough to give you any genuine relief. You let out a strangled sob and pulled on the handcuffs— much softer than before though because of how raw your wrists had gotten. 

“You’re okay.” He cooed, making you shake your head as you cried. “Shh, princess. You can take it, can’t you? For me?” You whined, feeling conflicted. 

“Please… ‘m sorry.” You whimpered. 

“I know, baby. You’ll be okay.” He slowly dragged his cock out, then pushed back in. A strangled sob escaped your lips and he leaned down, muffling your sounds with a kiss. Once you started whining and whimpering instead of crying out and sobbing, he pulled back. 

“You’re such a good girl.” He whispered, bringing a hand up to wipe the tears from your face. His hips moved slowly, barely jostling the toy inside you. The only plus to this situation was that you weren’t empty anymore. “Took your punishment so well, baby.” 

“Jay,” Your bottom lip wobbled and he gave you a soft smile as he cupped your cheek. When you let out a choked sob, he shushed you softly. “Wanna touch you..” You whimpered, feeling more tears fall when you unsuccessfully tried to bring your hands forward again. 

“Yeah?” You nodded, biting your trembling lip. “Okay, sweetheart. Since you’re doing such a good job, you can touch me.” The second your arms were free, you wrapped them around his body, pulling him down into a hug as you buried your face in the crook of his neck. When you placed a soft kiss there, he let out a shaky breath. 

“Fuck— I’m not gonna last much longer.” He grumbled, breathing heavily against your shoulder as his hips sped up. “This is a punishment for me too, baby. It’s nowhere near as good as the real thing.” You wanted to beg him to take this out and use the real thing instead, but you could barely get any words out when he sped up even more. Your walls fluttered around the toy and you got even needier just by listening to his desperate grunts and moans as he rutted into you, chasing his orgasm. “But don’t worry, I’m still gonna give you my come.” He whispered, planting a wet kiss on the side of your neck. You moved a hand to his hair and tugged on the strands lightly as your back arched up into him. 

When he suddenly pulled up, out of your arms, you whined, but it cut off once you saw that he was pulling the toy out of you and off of his cock. He stroked himself quickly, his breathing coming in short pants until he let out a low groan, covering your sore, abused pussy in his release. He rode out his orgasm, then his hand slowed to a stop as he caught his breath. 

“C’mere, princess.” He said softly, laying down next to you and pulling you into his arms. “Can you tell me how you’re feeling?” He placed a gentle kiss on the top of your head and you snuggled into him more. 

“Needy..” You mumbled. When he laughed quietly, the corners of your lips turned up into a small smile. 

“That’s the only bad thing you’re feeling?” He asked again, and you realized now what he meant. 

“Mhm. Still just a little fuzzy.” 

“Good.” He kissed the top of your head again, then started running his fingers through your hair, making your eyes flutter closed as you let out a pleased sigh. The longer you laid here, not distracted by anything, the more your thoughts continued to race. You already felt bad for what you did, but the drop of endorphins, as well as the fact that you just finished a somewhat intense scene, only exacerbated the feeling. 

“Jay, I- I’m sorry.” You started, then cleared your sore throat and spoke a little louder. “I thought I was doing the right thing but I shouldn’t have deviated from the plan and I won’t do it again. I’m sorry for scaring you too.” If the roles were reversed and Jason didn’t follow the plan, then almost died— again— you wouldn’t let him out of your sight for weeks, maybe even months. 

“I’m sorry for yelling.” He said quietly, his own way of accepting your apology. 

“I deserved it.” You smiled. Your heart fluttered when you heard the deep rumble in his chest as he laughed quietly.  

“But hey I mean… if you ever want to go against the plan— in a way that doesn’t almost maim or kill you— I’m not saying it would lead to some pretty hot sex, but…” You giggled into his chest at his words. 

“There’s no fucking way I’m doing that shit again. The ruined orgasms and overstimulation? That was just downright cruel, Jay.” You tried to suppress your laughter and sound stern, but as soon as you heard his chuckle, your serious exterior broke. “And how on earth did you come up with the fleshlight thing?” That part, even though it was torture for you, was almost impressive honestly. 

“I don’t know… I wanted to fuck you, but I didn’t want to fuck you… if that makes any sense.” He said sheepishly. 

“Close enough.” You laughed quietly. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time you deviate from the plan.” You said with a smirk. Riding a dildo right next to his cock would probably drive him mad and you were already creating a plan in your head for everything else you could do to him— for all of the ways you could torture him. 

Taglist (join here)

@pedrisgatorade @lunyyx @faebirdie @idkdudsworld @nashja @rentaldarling @whydoyoucare866 @zurakoisanhornysimp @brooklynscherry-z @wartofart @deimks @n1ghtw1ngslvr @harleycao @baebeepeach @jayroytodd @zurakoisanhornysimp

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd smut #jason todd x reader smut #red hood x reader smut #red hood x reader #red hood smut #red hood #vigilante!reader

[appocalipse]

ok its me again… i cant decide if store or jewelry is better so maybe u just pick whichever one u like lol ty :)

hi ♥ i went with jewelry + exes to lovers hehe <3 hope you like it!

[JEWELRY; Wearing a piece of jewelry (ring/necklace/bracelet/watch) that the other bought. ]

Two seconds after you enter the bathroom, the door opens and Steve comes in.

"Here, let me help you," he says, already approaching before you can answer.

Breaking up with Steve had been one of the hardest things you'd ever done. The breakup hadn't happened because you didn't love him anymore, or because you were interested in someone else, or for any other reason ordinary couples break up.

No. You'd broken up with him for one simple reason: you were afraid you weren't good enough. Steve was kind, he was brave, and of course he was very handsome and charming, although those last two things didn't weigh that much in the balance of things. And if Nancy — who had been his first love —was anything to go by, you had very little chance of being the girlfriend Steve deserved. She was just perfect in your eyes; beautiful, smart, very, very brave. She would often risk her life for others, like he did. And if the two of them didn't work out together, why would it work out with you?

You're well aware that the whole problem may simply be in your mind, that you're being unfair — both to Steve and yourself — but you couldn't help it. So you had walked away, protecting yourself—even though part of you knew Steve would never hurt you.

That's why today, two months after you'd broken up with him, you considered not coming to Max's birthday; you knew he would be here. But you love Max and it wouldn't have been fair to her not to come for such a selfish reason.

Then, against your better judgment, you came, reason why you're now trapped in a very tiny space with your ex — with whom you're still very much in love with.

Steve does a brief damage analysis. There's a sizable stain on the front of the lovely green dress you're wearing, a mixture of scarlet and purple right over your heart, spreading like a bleeding.

It's just grape juice, of course. You're trying to remove it with a cloth soaked in ice water, but he's not sure it's working.

This unavoidably brings a memory to his mind, one he's not fond of. Steve hesitates.

Then he pushes it away; you're not Nancy. You and him aren't even together anymore.

He realizes he's not making himself feel any better with that thought.

"I'm fine, Steve," you say in a tone that's neither warm nor cold; a balanced, measured, trained tone. "You can go back to the party."

"I'm sorry," he replies, biting the inside of his cheek as he thinks about what to say next. Uh...

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was," he insists. It's a half truth; Steve and the kids were kicking a ball back and forth, some game you were trying not to pay attention to, and then it somehow ended up hitting the cup in your hand and disaster was done. "I'm sorry, I should have been more careful."

You don't look at him, too focused on the stain. "It was an accident," you say, and Steve hears the usual gentleness behind your voice. "And it's just a dress, anyway. It's okay."

"It's a pretty dress-very pretty."

It's a risky move, he thinks. But by then he's said it and there's nothing he can do about it.

Steve watches the way you swallow, the way you pause for a brief second, how you look at him and quickly look away. It's a reaction, at least.

You don't answer. The trailer is small and the bathroom proportionately tiny. The air practically crackles with tension around you two.

The stain seems to be fading, but the fabric is getting wetter, sticking to your skin, turning transparent…

"Steve," you whisper, and his gaze darts to your face immediately. Is it a warning or an invitation?

He had definitely been staring.

"Sorry," he says again.

"Stop apologizing."

You put the cloth under the running water. Steve hears a metallic clink before he sees where it comes from: your arm. Your wrist, more precisely, where the bracelet he gave you as a gift just a few months ago is.

Steve can't stop himself from taking your wrist into his hand for a better look, half expecting the object to disappear at any moment, only a figment of his imagination.

"You still have it," it's not a question because it would be stupid to ask when he can see it for himself, but Steve still can't believe you're wearing it.

It doesn't.

He looks at you. You look flustered, your cheeks warm. Your parted lips can't get any words out, and the only thing Steve can think about is placing his hand on the back of your neck and kissing you slowly.

You gently pull your wrist away from his touch. "Do you...want it back?"

"I- what? No!" he exclaims, as if the idea horrifies him. "No, I'm just…I'm just surprised you're wearing the bracelet I gave you, that's all."

"I like the bracelet."

"Only the bracelet?"

Maybe he's pushing his luck, he thinks. But there's hope on the way you hesitate before answering, on the look on your face.

You look at the floor, dropping the cloth on the sink. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"Dustin told me you have a date tomorrow."

It is true. To be honest, this date means so much to you that you had forgotten about it until this very moment.

"I'm trying to move on," you say honestly. And failing, is what you don't say.

"By wearing the bracelet I gave you? Doesn't it remind you of me at all?"

Every damn thing makes me think of you.

An exasperated sigh escapes your lips. "I'm trying to move on," you repeat, weaker this time, a whisper. He hears it.

"So if I kissed you right now, you wouldn't feel anything?"

A single step is enough for Steve to be directly in front of you. Your heart seems to have been replaced by something three times faster and much louder.

"Steve-"

"Wouldn't you kiss me back?" he touches your face with a gentle hand, leaning into you slowly.

Not wanting to say yes, I'd kiss you back (the truth) but unable to say no (which is a big, big lie), you take a step back as he steps forward. Nowhere to go — your back hits the wall.

He breathes against your mouth and you close your eyes, letting your head rest against the wall. "Steve," you whisper.

"I love you," he whispers back. "I just- I love you. You can go on a date tomorrow, you can go on a hundred dates, it doesn't matter. I won't give up on you, you hear me? Not unless you tell me that I don't stand a chance."

You don't.

Steve walks away. You stand there, leaning against the wall long after you hear the door close behind him, desperately trying to catch your breath.

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington x you #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fic #steve harrington #stranger things fanfic #fanfiction #stranger things drabble #steve harrington drabble #steve harrington blurb #stranger things oneshot #stranger things imagine #stranger things

[commander-krios]

BG3 fic writing 2023 summary meme

this meme was made by the wonderful @mightymizora, you can get the questions here. I didn't write much bg3 this year seeing as I joined the fandom in October, but here is what I have!

What are your A03 stats? How many words written, how many hits, kudos, and comments? Words: 17k Hits: 2700 Kudos: 359 Comments: 44

Did you have a favourite canon character to write? It definitely ended up being Rolan. 4 out of the 5 bg3 fics I wrote were about him lmao

Did you have a favourite OC to write? Juniper, my tiefling bard. She's a mess and she's absolutely so dumb. I adore her.

Which fic was your most popular? Better Judgment, a Rolan/Tav fic that is getting a second chapter soon!

Which fic was your personal favourite? This is so tough. I love all of them! But I guess the best, for me, is Better Judgment. It shows how much of a fool Juniper is and how exasperated, but charmed Rolan is.

Was there anything you wrote that was a surprise to you? Why? Rolan/Dammon's fic, A Divine Dream. I've been so obsessed with my bard and Rolan that I didn't think I was capable of writing another ship with him. I also got to sneak some Karlach/Wyll in that fic too so it was completely self indulgent.

What is your favourite piece of description you wrote? Why do you like it? I'm obsessed with this description of Juniper as she tends to Rolan's wounds in Nights Like This:

No words passed between them as Juniper’s hand hovered near his jaw, the turquoise glow of her healing magic cool and bright. His skin prickled at the sensation, unused to being tended so. She sang quietly as she worked, ocean eyes focused on his injuries. He could feel his muscles mend, his bruises soothed, the pain he’d felt for weeks fade, all gone in nearly an instant. His lungs expanded with his breath and he finally relaxed under her careful ministrations.  Her voice was captivating. He was a fool, Rolan chided himself, to have never sat and listened to her before. His thoughts were always on Baldur’s Gate, on the future he was building for himself and his siblings. Not on the people around him.  Certainly not on the woman who had risked so much for him when she had no cause to. Rolan studied her in the fire’s glow, lavender skin dulled to a grey in the darkness, a particularly nasty scar harsh against her pretty face. It was, in that silent moment, that he noticed freckles dotted her cheeks and nose, dark against her much lighter tone. He didn’t realize he’d done it until his fingers had already brushed against her face, a soft touch that distracted her from her work. Her eyes darted to his, a searing blue that reminded him of the hottest fires that burned in Avernus. Beautiful, dangerous… fires that could kill. That could cleanse.

What was your favourite piece of dialogue you wrote? Why do you like it? This little moment in Long Rest ranks up there with some of my favorite dialogue that I've ever written in a fic. Juniper is such a tease, it's how she shows affection:

“Ah, well, let’s just say that Alfira will be glad to know that I find someone else more bothersome than her.” “I can’t tell if I’m supposed to be flattered or offended.” Juniper released her hold on his arm and immediately missed his warmth. She ran her fingers across the strings of her lute, the sound calming her nerves. “And where do I rank in regards to Cal and Lia?” “Getting closer to the top of the list the more you speak.” A bark of laughter escaped her mouth before she could stop it. “Oh! Was that a joke?”

What was your overall feeling about your writing in 2023? What were you proud of? What were the highlights? I think this has been my best writing year ever. I joined two new fandoms, wrote 200k words, and just felt more comfortable with my writing than I have in a while. I did have a time where I wasn't writing much at all, the block was so bad, but I pushed through and playing Andromeda Six really did jumpstart my creativity again. I'm proud of the fact that I managed to write so much despite feeling like I wasn't doing anything. Most of it came in chaotically inspired bursts, but I'm proud of it.

What would you like to explore more in 2024? I'd liked to explore more of the companions in bg3, particularly Wyll, Astarion, and Lae'zel. Maybe I can even get some Durgetash written finally.

#my writing #bg3 meme

[whisperingrockandroll]

WR&R MYSTERY KIDS LORE & WORLDBUILD MASTER POST

Gear up, kids, because this will be a long one.

It's been a while since I posted a new comic. Pretty soon there'll be a bunch, because I've been sitting on a mountain of scripts and just started making progress on actually making them into comics. I wanna build up a nice little backlog that I can queue up and not worry about for a long while. In the meantime though, I have something I hope will tide you guys over.

There's been a problem with my comic from the very beginning I've never really thought to address for years, and until now, I never found a good place for it. That problem is "worldbuilding." Originally when this comic started out, it was just a Psychonauts comic. Then I got into Mystery Kids, and the MKs just showed up out of nowhere.

If you're still interested, click under the cut. If you already find this post boring and kind of long, just skip it.

We never got any information on how the Mystery Kids club started or how they all met. For the longest time, I kind of just defered to the collective fandom's various disorganized headcanons and ideas and stuff. But I think enough time has passed that those ideas have all changed, been forgotten about, or branched off into their own individual works.

So, it's finally time for me to fix that by giving this comic its own set of lore and backstory. In this post I'm going to explain how everything happened, how the kids came together and what order everything happened in. This is kind of written for my own personal amusement, but also as a guide to keep in mind when I'm writing new stories in this setting, to keep things consistent.

PART ONE: THE CANON HISTORY

The first step for this little exercise is to figure out when all the stuff in the original "canon" happened. This is where things get a little messy, because we have to figure out a proper order for everything so all the pieces can fit into place.

First, we have to come up with a system for naming the different eras and phases where things happen, so we can more easily compartmentalize the different events. So we'll call the first year the Mystery Kids are together "Year One." Anything before that we'll call Year -1 or -2.

Year -2 is where we'll put the events of Paranorman. They happen in Fall, around Halloween probably. Nearly the end of the year. It's important to set this part the furthest back for reasons we'll get into later.

Year -1 is where we'll put Coraline and Psychonauts. Dipper and Mabel are still in Pidemont. There are a few references in the comic to Raz still having a water problem due to "the curse." But in PN2 he conquers the curse. We'll chock that up to lingering after-effects and him trying to get past the mental block.

Near the end of Year -1, Aggie returns and reunites with Norman in events identical to how they played out in Ask-Norgatha. A lot of things that happen are very similar to that old blog, with the exception being Norman and Aggie don't get together. That comes later.

Year 1 is when Gravity Falls happens. Coraline and Norman are family friends (or cousins? I haven't decided, maybe not. Maybe 'honoary cousins'?) Anyway, so: things play out pretty much how they did in that fan episode people made. Doctor Loboto (during a villainous relapse, or a manic episode) comes to Gravity Falls, Raz and Lili chase after him, Coraline and Wybie come with Norman's family on a vacation to Gravity Falls. Aggie stays behind because Norman doesn't want her to get lost. At this point, her Poltergeist powers haven't kicked in yet and other people can't see her, meaning she'd have no way to get home.

So, during Loboto's shennanigans, the kids all come together to stop him. That's when we move into…

PART TWO: THE FANON HISTORY

Note: in this period, my comic has a lot of Holiday specials. We're operating on Peanuts rules here, where the time-scaling slides around to keep the characters from aging. But we'll say in the "real" canon, the stuff that happens on Holidays actually happen on regular days, for the most part. If things "have to" happen on a Holiday, they'll all happen on the same one, just at different times. We'll try not to think too hard about this, because it's just a cartoon. We're out to make a consistent world, but not to arbitrarily restrict ourselves. None of this stuff happened in the "real" world anyway.

Anyway, moving right along to the rest of "Year 1." This is for the comics I made while the show was still airing, so things all kind of click together.

This is where the first Mystery Kids Adventure happens. The kids are all united and save the day. All of this happens right in the middle of the events of Gravity Falls. From then on out, the kids have adventures together on and off, but its a little hard because they have to travel a pretty great distance to hang out together. They keep in touch on social media and stuff, occasionally finding ways to fake excuses to go out and travel together. But mostly, the group is pretty disorganized.

Dib is also a mindless fanboy of the group and wants to join, but everybody thinks he's weird and annoying, so they try their best to politely blow him off. Then he builds a teleporter that lets the kids get together easier, but the thing just barely works. Dib is made a "junior member" and just sort of hangs around.

The kids have a "clubhouse", but it's just a shanty shack built by Soos, half a mile away from the Mystery Shack.

At some point during this period, the Bedlam returns and the kids have to team up to stop her. Aggie helps somehow with her newly-emerging poltergiest powers. The Bedlam is defeated, and that's the last "real" adventure they have for a little while. They don't have a reliable way to meet up anymore, so they only get together for parties and stuff. This is where the Season 3 Finale happens, if you've read my archives.

PART THREE: THE CURRENT SITUATION

From Season 4 and onwards, everything that happens to the Mystery Kids happens in Year 2. That's where we are now.

It starts with Dib on one of his own little adventures. Somehow, he ends up stumbling on an abandoned treehouse that used to belong to the Kids Next Door. It hasn't been populated in years, but its full of still-functional tech that just got left behind. With it, Dib's able to power-up the teleporter technology and now the Mystery Kids can come together whenever they want. You need to stand perfectly still for like five minutes for the teleporter to work, so it isn't a "get out of danger free" plot device.

Seems like a REALLY important development to happen offscreen and go totally unmentioned, right? Well… I thought of it retroactively, so, whoops! But it's fine. We'll just have to make a flashback comic later where the kids find it.

So, from now on, everything that happens in the comic happens here, in Year 2.

If you've read this far, I'd like to thank you for humoring my nonsensical fanfiction ramblings for my silly mspaint webcomic. I hope you had fun and got as much out of that as I did. I'm really happy I was finally able to put it all together in one coherent place.

#Mystery Kids #Psychonauts #Gravity Falls #Coraline #Paranorman #Invader Zim #Long Post #Lore Dump

[messyhairdiaz]

Fuck It Friday!

Tagged by @sibylsleaves and @rewritetheending ☺️

Continuing my fuck it Friday tradition of sharing something I started and then more or less abandoned. I’ve posted pieces of this before, early last year I think? For various seven sentence sundays, but I figured I may as well post the whole 4.7k I have. This is an au for the show From, and who knows, it comes back for season 2 in April so maybe my interest in it will return

Tagging! @elvensorceress @fiona-fififi @gayhoediaz if you feel like sharing something

It says a lot about the last few hours that Eddie’s day is already well and truly fucked even before the car crash.

The accident is just the cherry on top, really, the pièce de résistance to this shit-tacular day.

The tree across the road should’ve been his first sign that things were about to go south, but he brushed it off. Trees fall. It happens.

The black birds filling the sky didn’t exactly set him at ease, but they’re birds. Birds fly around.

“Did you know a group of crows is called a murder?” Christopher had helpfully supplied from the passenger seat of the RV Eddie had spent a stupid amount of money renting for the Diaz Boys’ Great Summer Adventure.

“I did not. But hey, maybe they were ravens,” Eddie had said as he’d carefully turned the RV around to find a detour.

“An unkindness then.”

“What?” He’d asked, distracted as he tried to get the stupid vehicle turned around on the narrow road without getting stuck in a ditch, but he got it done, and had looked at his son, the seven year old’s face uncharacteristically serious.

“A group of ravens is called an unkindness.”

And Eddie didn’t know then, why that had unsettled him worse than a murder, but by the time they’d driven through the same tiny town for the third time, passing by the same unsmiling faces, it starts to make a little more sense.

The near collision with a speeding Mercedes stops them from driving through a fourth time, as does the tree that spears through the windshield and traps Eddie in his seat, clipping so close to his ribs on the left side that it tears his shirt and probably takes some skin with it, but miraculously doesn't impale him.

He’s disoriented, a warm trickle of blood on his brow reminding him that he smacked his head on the steering wheel on impact. He blinks, the medic skills ingrained in him already running a checklist over his body. Possible concussion, likely mild, superficial cuts and scrapes from broken glass and the tree, his right wrist hurts like it might be sprained, possibly fractured, and there’s the matter of the RV being on its side, but he’s otherwise unharmed.

But very, very stuck.

He jerks his head to the side, panic rearing when Christopher isn’t in the seat next to him. His brain catches up, and he remembers sending Christopher to sit at the dinner table the second time around, when he’d stopped and asked a man for directions, only receiving a blank look in return.

“Christopher,” he gasps, voice breathy and weak with fear. How could he be so stupid as to send his son into the back of a moving RV, where there are no seatbelts. He hadn’t allowed it the whole trip, so of course the moment he does they’re in an accident.

“Christopher!” He tries again when he gets no answer. He takes a couple of breaths, forcing himself to remain calm. He stayed calm on the ground in Afghanistan, he can stay calm here.

He tries to twist in his seat to look into the back, but the tree hasn’t left him a lot of room to work with, and gravity in a sideways RV isn’t helping him either. He draws in a deep breath and shouts, “Christopher!”

There’s a moan, and the sound terrifies him and electrifies him in equal measure. “Daddy?” Christopher asks, sounding so small.

“Hey, hey, I’m here, buddy. Are you hurt?”

“My—my leg hurts, and I can’t move it.”

“That’s ok, if you can’t, don’t try to. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“My head hurts a little. I think I hit the table, but it’s not bad.”

“Ok, that’s good, Christopher. Can you see what’s wrong with your leg?”

There‘s a pause, and Eddie has to fight down the instinct to start throwing himself against the tree to try to get back there, but then Christopher answers him. “I can’t see. I’m on my belly, and when I try to look it hurts,” he says, and Eddie can hear the tears and pain in his voice.

“Ok, don’t try to look anymore, I’m gonna call for help.” Eddie’s phone is clipped to the dashboard, easily within reach when there’s not a tree pinning him to his seat, but achingly far now. He curses himself for never enabling hands free mode when he last upgraded. He strains against the tree, reaching as far as he can, wrist flaring with pain, and his fingers brush the corner of the phone, but he needs another inch to grab it. He stretches harder, grimacing at the pressure on his ribs, but he manages to push himself up just enough that he’s able to snag it and pull the phone out of the clip, ignoring the burst of pain in his wrist. He leans back, ignoring the dull ache in his chest that’s sure to be a hell of a bruise tomorrow and unlocks his phone.

“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath. No signal. It doesn’t even say emergency calls only. He tries anyway, punching in 911 and holding it to his ear, but there’s just silence as the phone attempts and fails to dial out, connecting to nothing. “Fuck,” he says louder, and it speaks to Christopher’s state that he doesn’t tease his dad for swearing.

He pulls up the phone’s camera and switches to selfie mode, wincing when he gets a look at his face, more blood than he’d realized caked down the side. He allows himself one quick look at the cut above his eyebrow, deems it nothing pressing, and then holds the phone up, angling it this way and that, searching for his son on the screen.

It takes a moment, but when he finds him he sucks in a breath.

There’s a piece of debris jutting out the back of Christopher’s thigh, a dark ring of blood circling it.

——

Buck’s heart had sank when the RV had rolled through town the first time, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself from sending up a prayer to any god that will listen that he wouldn’t see it come through again.

It did, of course. And he’d watched as it stopped, and the window had rolled down, revealing an absolutely gorgeous man. He’d listened as the man had asked the closest person how to get back on the highway, and his heart had sunk further, remembering just two years ago when he’d leaned out the window of his jeep and asked the same question.

He’d watched as the RV had come through a third time, turning around at the diner and going back the way he’d come, just like they all try at some point.

The RV doesn’t come back immediately this time, and Buck doesn’t think a lot of it because that too, is par for the course. The man is probably pulled over on the side of the road, consulting a map, or trying to get a signal. If he doesn’t come back before long someone will be sent after him, probably Buck, and that’ll be that.

But then he sees the bloody woman.

“Oh fuck,” Albert says, sitting up straighter on the porch steps they’d been lounging on, and Buck’s up like a shot.

“Go get your brother, or Hen,” Buck demands, and Albert takes off, heading for the small clinic. Buck goes the opposite direction and intercepts the woman. Her knees buckle just as he reaches her, and he’s barely able to morph her collapse into a slow sit down.

“Miss, can you tell me what happened?” He asks, brushing her long red hair out of her face to try to find the source of all the blood. It’s almost funny how quickly he falls back on his firefighter training despite rarely having cause to use it in the past two years.

“RV,” she manages, her eyelids fluttering.

“Did your RV crash?” He asks, looking back down the road where she’d come from.

“Almost hit the RV. Both of us crashed,” she answers, and then passes out.

Buck’s hands go numb. She can’t possibly mean that she wasn’t in the RV. Two cars on the same day? It’s never happened before. He’s not sure there’s ever even been two in the same week. In the two years he’s been here only five cars have come before today, and the last one was months ago.

“What’ve we got, Buckaroo. Did that RV crash?” Chimney asks, dropping to his knees next to Buck and the woman, Albert right on his heels with a backboard.

“Yeah,” Buck answers in a daze. “But she wasn’t in it.”

Chimney and Albert’s attention snaps to him in unison. “What?” Chim asks disbelievingly.

“Before she passed out she said she almost hit the RV, and they both crashed. Fuck.” He shoots to his feet, his brain finally catching up with him. “There’s just a couple hours til sundown.” Buck looks at the sun and grimaces. They’ll be lucky if it’s even two full hours. “Albert, help Chim get her to the clinic and then get Athena and a med bag and come find me.”

“Where are you going?”

“To find that RV.”

——

It’s not hard, thankfully. The stretch of road doesn’t go very far in either direction outside of the town proper before you’re looped back in on the other side, and the woman’s Mercedes isn’t hard to spot wrapped around a tree. Buck checks it to make sure no one is inside, taking a moment to pop the trunk and grab a small first aid kit and roadside toolset before taking off again. Not much further he finds dirt kicked up in deep tire tracks, and if he peers through the trees he can see the back end of an RV on its side.

He slides down an embankment and runs towards the front of the RV.

“Hello?” He calls.

“Oh thank god,” someone says, and Buck recognizes the voice as the man who’d been driving. Buck’s got a half-formed thought that he hopes the man is the only person inside when the man dashes that by saying, “Please, can you help my son?”

Buck stops in his tracks and closes his eyes. The guy hadn’t looked much older than Buck, so his son must be a child. Buck wouldn’t wish this town on anyone, but a child? Fuck. He won’t be the first, and almost certainly not the last, but it aches to think about regardless.

Buck takes a steadying breath. “Yeah, I just gotta figure out how to get in there.”

Buck tosses the first aid kit and tool kit onto the side of the RV now serving as the roof, backs up a few steps, and then runs at the RV, jumping and grabbing anything he can hold onto to pull himself up. He looks around, but there’s just the driver’s door, the camper door presumably now on the ground. He carefully makes his way to the driver’s door, grimacing when he sees the tree speared through the windshield, sure he’s about to get a gory eyeful, but he’s thankful when he looks in the window and finds the tree has just trapped the driver and not run him through.

His eyes find the man’s face, sees the gash above his eyebrow, and the blood, but it doesn’t look too bad, and the man is lucid, his eyes clear and bright.

“Hey, my name is Buck. Are you hurt?”

The man shakes his head. “Not really, just fucking stuck. My son though…” he trails off, and he gets the sense that the man doesn’t want to say it aloud, whether he feels like that makes it real or if he doesn’t want his son to hear, he doesn’t know. “I’m Eddie. My son’s name is Christopher.”

“Ok, Eddie, I’m gonna get you guys out of here.”

——

Buck does not get them out of there. He climbs over Eddie and checks on Christopher, and Eddie hears him talking soothingly to his son, returning to the cab after a couple of minutes.

“How bad is it?” Eddie asks quietly, cutting right to the chase.

“It’s not great, but it could be a lot worse. I’m confident the debris missed the femoral, and I don’t think it hit bone either. But it’s all the way through and embedded in the RV. It’s going to have to be removed before we can get him out.”

Eddie won’t be truly satisfied until he’s out of this fucking seat and checking on Christopher himself. He eyes Buck, really taking him in for the first time, and his eyes narrow when he reads Buck’s t-shirt. “You seem to know what you’re talking about. Guess I’m lucky to be run off the road by LAFD. Awfully far from home though, huh?”

Buck looks puzzled for a second before glancing down at LAFD emblazoned in large letters on his chest, and then his eyes widen as he catches up with the rest of Eddie’s statement.

“Ah, no, I wasn’t driving the other car. A woman was, she managed to walk back into town.”

“Is she ok?”

“I don’t know. I left her in the care of one of our doctors, so hopefully. She told me the RV crashed, so I came running.”

Eddie’s brow furrows, and he feels a fresh round of blood squeeze out of his cut. “You live in this place, but you’re wearing an LAFD t-shirt. Are you even a firefighter?”

Buck shrugs and starts testing the tree for weakness. “As in, am I certified? Yes. Am I currently employed by a fire station? No, because we don’t actually have one. It’s—complicated,” he finishes, finding a weak spot where the tree forks. He pulls a small crowbar from the toolkit and goes to work, and after a few minutes of both of them pulling and pushing and levering, the smaller portion of the tree cracks loose and falls against the passenger side window, allowing Eddie to get free of the driver’s seat. He’s barely got both feet planted before he’s rushing to his son’s side.

“Hey, buddy, I’m here now.”

“Dad,” Christopher breathes, relief coloring his tone. “It hurts,” he adds, turning his little head to the side to look beseechingly at Eddie.

“I know, honey. We’re going to make it better as soon as we can.” Eddie feels Buck’s eyes on him as he carefully checks Christopher’s neck and spine.

“You a doctor?”

“Former army medic,” he answers, moving down to Christopher’s leg now that he’s satisfied he doesn’t have a spinal injury. The debris appears to be a twisted piece of metal, maybe part of the table, Eddie’s not sure, but it’s like Buck says, it’s embedded all the way through Christopher’s leg clear through to the wall of the RV beneath him.

The blood soaking into Christopher’s jeans has barely expanded since Eddie first saw it, and that’s good. Buck seems to be right about the femoral artery not being hit, and he’s pretty confident it hasn’t hit bone either. But getting it out is going to suck, and they’re going to need more than the little first aid kit Buck has.

“I couldn’t get a signal to call 911, can you go back to town to call for help?” He asks as he takes Christopher’s hand and runs his fingers through his hair, his heart aching as he takes in the tear tracks on his face.

“Albert should be here any minute with a med bag,” Buck says, as if that’s reassuring or a response to what he’d said..

Eddie blinks at him. “A med bag? That’s—no, we need to call an ambulance, get rescue out here with equipment, and an ambulance to get him to the hospital.”

Buck grimaces. “Yeah, so, that’s not really possible.”

Eddie shakes his head. “I know this is in the middle of nowhere, but someone will come. We can keep him comfortable until then.”

“No, Eddie, you don’t understand, I can’t go call for help. You had to have noticed you drove through town three times while driving in a straight line.”

Eddie snaps his mouth shut, because, yeah. But that’s not how the world works, that’s the stuff of cheap horror novels. “I just kept missing the turn is all. Must’ve been a switchback road, and the curve was so gradual I didn’t notice I was circling back around.”

Buck’s eyes crinkle with so much compassion that Eddie wants to puke. “Yeah, that’s what I figured too.”

“What the fuck are you saying?” Eddie demands, but before Buck can answer there’s the sound of someone coming through the woods.

“Buck?” A voice calls, and Buck stands, moving back into the cab.

“We’re in here, Albert!” Buck calls.

There’s the sound of someone climbing up on the side of the RV, and then Buck steps back for a young Korean man to climb down, a med bag thrown over his shoulder.

“Where’s Athena?” Buck asks, taking the med bag and dropping to his knees on Christopher’s other side.

“She’s coming, she said she had to get something. Buck—” Albert cuts himself off and both Eddie and Buck look up at him expectantly and he sighs. “It’s going to be dark soon.”

Eddie doesn’t miss the way Buck pointedly doesn’t look at him when he answers, “I know, Albert.”

Buck digs through the med bag and produces a small pouch. He pulls out a syringe and a vial, holding it up so Eddie can see that it’s a sedative. Eddie nods, and Buck fills the syringe with the appropriate amount.

“Hey, buddy, I’m going to give you a little shot that’s going to help you feel better, ok?”

Christopher’s face screws up, unhappy, but u fortunately the kid is already far too accustomed to needles for someone so young. “Ok,” he answers, and squeezes Eddie’s hand as Buck administers the shot.

There’s the sound of someone else approaching, and Albert scrambles up out of the RV to help a small but imposing Black woman climb down. He assumes she must be Athena.

“It’s getting dark, Buck,” she says, and Eddie watches as his shoulders tighten.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” he asks, but that just makes Buck’s shoulders tighten further.

“These woods get dangerous at night,” Athena says, but Eddie knows they’re all hiding something, and although he’d found himself wanting to trust Buck from the moment he saw him, he feels like he’s on the defensive now.

But he buttons down his distrust. These people are clearly hiding something, but they do seem like they want to help. And he’s currently in desperate need of it.

“Can we move him? Get him to the clinic and deal with his leg there?” Athena asks, observing the scene.

Buck shakes his head. “No. The debris is pinning him to the wall of the RV, and it’s not as simple as just lifting him off it and carrying him out. Even without femoral damage we don’t want to risk that kind of bleeding.”

Athena nods. “Alright. What’s the timeframe then?”

“It won’t be done until well after dark,” he says, and Eddie watches as he and Athena seem to exchange some sort of silent communication. Athena sighs, and digs something out of her pocket.

“Guess you’ll be needing this then,” she says, letting the item drop from her hand. It’s a talisman of some sort, and it hangs by a piece of string from her middle finger.

Albert’s eye widen. “Will that work here?”

Buck grimaces, but accepts the charm from Athena. “No way to know but to do it. You two better go home.” Buck finally looks at Eddie again, meeting his gaze head on. “You need to go with them.”

Eddie can’t help it, he laughs. “Yeah, like hell.”

“Eddie, Athena’s serious. You don’t want to be out here at night if you can help it.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows. “You think hearing that will make me be willing to leave my injured son? With a stranger? Over my dead body.”

Buck looks like he wants to argue but Athena just says, “Buck,” and shakes her head when he cuts a look at her.

“I’ll stay too,” Albert says, and Athena barely gets out a snort before Buck’s arguing.

“No, you absolutely are not.”

“What if the talisman doesn’t work, Buck? I could help.”

“No you can’t, and you know it. Chimney’s probably going to be at the clinic tonight with the woman from the Mercedes, so you can help by staying with Maddie. But do not tell her where I am. The last thing we need is her storming off in the middle of the night to try to drag me home.”

Albert scoffs. “Like she won’t figure it out when I show up instead of you.”

“Then you’ll just have to make sure she stays put, won’t you?”

Albert looks like he wants to keep fighting, but it’s clear even to Eddie that it’s a lost battle, and Albert’s shoulders slump in defeat. “Fine.”

“Glad that’s settled,” Athena says. “But let’s get the windows covered before we go.”

“Good plan. Eddie, do you have any camping lanterns?”

——

Buck can read the helplessness written all over Eddie’s face. He’d told Buck where to find the lanterns and had sat, silent and stony faced, holding Christopher’s hand as Albert and Athena had stripped the bed for sheets and blankets to cover the windows with. He’d remained quiet as Albert had climbed out, as Athena had pulled him aside in the cab to squeeze his shoulder and mutter a quiet be careful, Buckaroo, and make sure he is too before hanging the talisman on the tree and accepting Albert’s hand to climb out.

It’s only once they’re gone, and Buck has returned to kneel at Christopher’s side, that Eddie speaks again.

“We have to focus on getting this thing out of my son’s leg. But once we have, you’re going to talk, and you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on in this place.”

Buck meets his eyes, reads the determination there and knows there’s no getting out of it. Besides, Eddie probably hasn’t caught on yet, but they’re not leaving this RV until morning. There will be plenty of time to talk.

“Let’s get to work then,” Buck says, so they do.

It’s rough, and time consuming. The sedative Buck gave Christopher isn’t anesthesia, so he isn’t saved from the worst of the pain. More than once he sees Eddie wiping his own tears away seconds after wiping away Christopher’s.

Buck can tell it’s killing Eddie that he can’t be much help, but Buck takes on look at Eddie’s purpling wrist, on his dominant hand, of course, because why wouldn’t it be, and vetoes Eddie providing much more than moral support and occasional instruction.

It’s unfortunate, because as a former army medic Eddie most likely has experience with injuries like this, and while Buck did have to have emt certification to be a firefighter in Los Angeles, he’d only been on the job for two weeks before he’d gotten a call from Pennsylvania that had culminated in being stuck here.

But, eventually, it’s done. It’ll most likely need to be cleaned again in the morning when they can get to the clinic, and he’ll need antibiotics, but the obstruction is removed and the wound closed and wrapped. Buck sits back and wipes the sweat off his brow, glancing at the tiny gap in the sheets where the tree made it impossible to block the windshield entirely and is met with pitch black darkness.

“We’re not leaving until daylight, are we?” Eddie asks as he carefully arranges Christopher in his lap, the boy curling against his dad’s chest.

“We wouldn’t make it ten feet out of this RV,” Buck answers, gaze automatically finding the talisman. He hasn’t heard them yet, but he knows they’re out there. They’re always out there, once it’s dark.

“What is it? Bears? Wolves?”

Buck can’t help the bitter laugh. “Bears and wolves are survivable. No, this is something–something else,” he shrugs. “I know you want answers, and I’ll tell you what I know, but the first thing you need to understand is there are no answers. Least not any we know.”

Eddie’s jaw works for a moment. “Ok. Tell me what you know then.”

So Buck talks. He starts with his own story, how two years ago he’d just started as a firefighter in Los Angeles when his sister had called him from Pennsylvania, needing help. He leaves out the details of that, but he talks about how he went, loaded her up in his Jeep, and set out for California, when maybe twenty miles past the Pennsylvania state line, there had been a tree in the road.

“We detoured because of a downed tree too,” Eddie says, and Buck nods.

“We all did. Did you see the crows too?” Eddie hesitates, and then gives a jerky nod. “We all saw those too. And we all turn around, and we all drive through this tiny town. And then we all drive through it again.”

“When you say all…”

“I mean all. No one is from here, we’re all from somewhere else.”

“None of this is possible. You said you were just outside of Pennsylvania? I was in Colorado.”

“And Albert and his brother Chimney were in Oregon. Athena and her family were in Arizona. Everyone here was somewhere different when we drove into this town and never left.”

Eddie shakes his head. “That’s impossible,” he repeats.

Buck shrugs. “Yes, it is. But it’s also true.”

“Say I believe you about that. What’s with the talisman? What’s in the woods?”

Buck takes a deep breath. This is the hard part. If Eddie’s having a hard enough time believing him about the town at large, he’s not going to believe this next part at all. But he’ll have proof soon enough, because Buck knows it’s just a matter of time until they start circling the RV, it’s a wonder they haven’t already.

“There are things out there that only come out at night. We don’t know for sure what they are, only that they look like us, but they aren’t. These talismans keep us safe, keep them from coming into our homes unless we open the door for them.”

“Why would anyone do that?”

“Because they talk, Eddie, and they ask us to. And it can be pretty fucking hard not to listen.”

“You know what you’re describing sounds an awful lot like vampires.”

Buck nods. “Don’t say that in town though, makes people jumpy. I don’t know if that’s what they are, but they’re definitely similar. But if they catch you out after dark you’re not going to have two little mosquito bites on the side of your neck. They’ll tear your ribcage open and eat your heart.”

“Jesus.”

“I’m not saying any of this to scare you. You need to know, because you’re stuck here like the rest of us now.”

Eddie looks down at the child sleeping on his chest. “I don’t believe in shit like this.”

“I didn’t either, not really. You learn to adapt.”

Eddie looks past Buck at the talisman. “What happens if it doesn’t work for an RV?”

Buck doesn’t respond for a moment, weighing the repercussions of honesty here. But he can tell Eddie needs the truth, and can handle it, so he says, “We pray it’s quick.”

——

Eddie is awoken by the sound of nails scraping against metal. He doesn’t remember falling asleep, but the crick in his neck tells him it’s been a while.

He sits up, careful to not dislodge Christopher. Buck had turned off all the lights but one, but it’s enough light to see Buck standing a few feet away, crowbar clutched in a white knuckle grip.

“Is it—” he cuts himself off when Buck holds a finger up to his lips and nods.

The scratching moves along the side of the RV, and Eddie is all too aware that he can’t hear the sound of footsteps on the dry leaves, despite everyone else’s approach being announced by the crunch.

“Eddie.”

He jumps, because that wasn’t Buck’s voice.

#fuck it Friday

[pigeonwit]

hullo pidge!

ive got three for you: ✄ , ✦, ♡. i already forgot what each of them means, but i trust that you can check the list and know. (for the one thats about comments u can choose what fic its for xx)

also notre dame by paris paloma as vice vermin virtue is so accurate literally everytime i hear that song i think of triple v

sneep you really feed my need to just talk about things all the time and i love it thank you so much for feeding my inane ramblings.

✄ what’s your editing process?

,,, yknow i dont think i really have one? like for oneshots and stuff i just sort of write it all down and try to see if it all Works for the character's POV and the story i want to tell. i try to break it up into segments so i can look over it piece by piece instead of slogging through the whole thing afterwards (cause i hate that and hating it makes me rush through it and that's how i make mistakes) but that's kind of it - for oneshots at least. for stories that i intend to keep adding to i want to make sure everything's followable, like character motivations and mental states and etc etc, so i go scene by scene and REALLY scrape over it. i have a bit in rbr4 that i've revisited at least eight times now because it's just not QUITE getting davey's motivations down the way i want. and then once i'm done analysing all those sections and fitting them together, i normally go to @rebuke-me for beta-ing just to make sure everything's flowing in an understandable way. i don't really do first and second drafts because i've already been drafting every scene bit by bit, so when i'm all done i just proofread as best i can and send it off to jupes if she's not too busy. unfortunately i do occasionally make some little mistakes (repeating a word or phrase too much, mixing up my metaphors, some small grammar stuff, etc) and i have a PROBLEM of getting too bogged down in little details that don't matter, but fanfictions a hobby, not a profession, and treating it like a profession is always what ruins it for me, so i prefer my casual editing process. it's not perfect, but i wouldn't be enjoying myself if it was.

✦ what was your easiest fic to write & your hardest?

ayyy this is. hm. probably 'matches' since it was so short, and i had the idea just kind of pop into my head fully formed. it's literally just one snippet of jack and davey's lives so it was pretty easy to get down. and the hardest is absolutely 'run boy run'. it's every single davey thought i've ever had written into a loveletter to my own autistic experience, which is... taxing, and on top of that it's a bit of a struggle to keep davey's motivations and character clear without projecting too much of myself onto him. but it's my baby and i love it dearly, and even if i don't get it all out perfectly it's still going to be my most treasured fic.

♡ pick a fic and I’ll pick a comment that made me really happy

without a doubt this goes to the comment left by ao3 user 'tablesaltiv' on 'say you came on first (i think you came on fine)' - it's too long for me to feel comfortable putting it in this post, and honestly i'd feel a little vain even if i did, but it's probably the most reassuring comment i've ever gotten. i stopped writing fanfiction when i was around sixteen/seventeen due to a very VERY big personal spiral and didn't post any again until i was twenty. i was REALLY scared of posting 'say you came on first' because it was probably the most character-studyish thing i'd ever done before, and i was. very stupidly paranoid that i had completely misunderstood the characters and should just call it quits again - and then tablesaltiv left their very lovely comment saying that having seen the show live themselves, my fic felt entirely accurate. it was incredibly reassuring for me and filled me with a lot of confidence, and even though i know i'm never going to understand these characters FLAWLESSLY, i at least feel confident enough to think that i understand them well - and now i'm still here and writing a very ambitious fic that i'm worrying about a LOT, but i'm determined to finish anyways :) thank you tablesaltiv

(also - i know i can't REALLY count this since it's not on a fic like the ask game said but i have to say thank you to YOU, sneep, for saying that you think about one of my own silly little fanfics every time you listen to a song?? that's crazy to me. i can't believe that. that's so kind and meaningful in ways i can't put into words. like. holy shit my fic exists in your brain. i can't believe that. so yeah that made me extra happy too fshhs)

#sneep you are an incredibly encouraging person and hearing from you is wonderful :)) #newsies #ask #sneepsnoopboopideeboop #long post #fic thoughts

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Home Intrusion Pt 3

Lena is aware that she's moving. When she opens her eyes, her dark and cramped surroundings, paired with the rumble of an exhaust pipe and the faint pull of inertia tells her that she's in the trunk of a car.

There's no light, no safety features she can discern in the black. Not that she could reach them if they were there. Her hands are bound still, crossed behind her back and cinched tight. The plastic zip pinches at her skin, already beginning to rub raw.

Lena fades in and out of consciousness in her confinement, with no sense of how long they've been driving or how far they've gone. The next thing she knows is the trunk popping open and a blanket being thrown over her head and upper body.

Arms scoop her up and over another shoulder, blanket and all. She's more alert now, and counts the steps from where the car is parked, through a doorway her bearer ducks to step through, down a first flight of stairs, and then another. Twenty steps down a final corridor and she's carefully lowered onto a mattress.

When the blanket is pulled away, she winces against the bright white light that sears her retinas. She can only just make out the shape of a tall silhouette before it moves away, marked by the scuff of boots on bare cement.

Clenching her eyes shut, Lena twists her wrists experimentally, testing their give. There isn't much, but already her mind kicks into gear. Handcuffs are easier to pick than zipties, but she knows the mechanics. If she could only--

Footsteps return with heavy intent. Before Lena can even catch a glimpse, she feels another prick on her neck. No. No, no, no....

Within moments, awareness dims, and soon Lena slips once more into unconsciousness.

---

Kara arrives at CatCo on wooden legs. Her movements feel stiff and unnatural, but no one seems to notice a thing. Kara herself notices that Nia isn't there-- another rush of relief floods through her at the realization that Alex must have already mustered the team.

In the morning pitch meeting, William Dey steps up with a new idea he's already been working on: the lies of a leading tech developer promising to dispose of lithium batteries safely, but in fact dumping them in the Pacific.

Kara's blood runs cold. Acutely aware of the microphone hidden in her shirt, feeding audio of every conversation in a ten foot radius to the intruders still lingering in her home, she clears her throat.

"Don't you think the concept of a company overpromising is kind of.... tired?"

The room falls silent.

She knows how strange it must sound, hearing those words from her lips. She's developed a reputation for being a bit of a bleeding heart, leaning towards passionate pieces about environmental and humanitarian stories. Even Cat arches a brow at her comment, and Kara swallows in apprehension.

"I just mean," she tries to cover for herself, "it's been done. It's hardly news anymore."

"Not the over promise of quality of goods and services, no," William allows, "but the fact they're destroying entire vital ecosystems and scamming the entire country is."

Kara opens her mouth to offer a rebuttal, but before she can utter a word Cat cuts in with a sharp word.

"Danvers."

Kara freezes.

"Mr. Dey is correct: this is news. And it is everything my company stands for. I will not remain silent on a topic that threatens the health of our planet."

"But--"

"Dismissed." Cat ends the meeting abruptly, before pinning Kara with a hard stare. "My office, now."

Kara trails behind her as she follows her boss into the office that was once Lena's, the Andrea's, and is now Cat's once again. It has regained the style Cat always favored, but elements of the intervening years still linger. Kara's eyes catch on the crystal scotch glasses on the credenza against the wall-- a remnant of Lena's tenure, though it's now more likely to fill with candy than with liquor.

"What's wrong?" Cat demands, pivoting to face Kara as soon as they reach the massive desk at the head of the room.

Kara ducks her chin. "Wrong?! Nothing-- nothing's wrong. W-why do you ask?"

"Because Kara "think of the pelicans" Danvers would never shoot down a piece like that so quickly. Especially not from Dey."

"Well, I... I just thought CatCo had already done enough in that vein. Don't you think it's time to shake things up? Let the world know that Cat Grant is back in town?"

Cat eyes her. "Dey's story is exactly the story that will remind the world that not only is Cat Grant back in town-- it's an all new Cat Grant."

Kara doesn't know what to say to that. She's run out of lies already, but Lena... Lena.

"I just think--"

"How's the Kaznia story coming along?"

Kara blinks. "... what?"

There is no Kaznia story that she's aware of, let alone one she's working on herself. As she stares, Cat slides a report folder across the desk towards her with a pointed look.

Stiffly, Kara picks it up, and nearly drops it when she opens the folder to find an earpiece tucked amongst the pages inside.

"One of your sources stopped by to deliver some paperwork for you," Cat explains coolly. "Mentioned it was in regards to something unfolding in Kaznia."

Kara blinks up at her, and finds an understanding gaze levelled back at her. The softness of Cat's rare compassion nearly does Kara in. Blinking away the tears that rise to her eyes, Kara covers a sniff by clearing her throat.

"Right. Well, we've run into a snag with one of our sources, but I'm confident we'll work it out."

Cat nods. "With my best people on it, I have no doubt."

With that, the queen takes a seat at her throne, back to business.

"The tech story runs unless you find something better to replace it," Cat declares firmly. "Now go. Chop chop."

Kara leaves quickly, tucking the small comm device into her device as she steps through the glass doors to the bullpen. As soon as it's in her ear, she hears Alex's voice.

"Don't respond."

Taking a deep breath, Kara heads for her own office as calmly as she can.

"Cat has agreed to help stall. I don't think I need to tell you that we need to find Lena before you give these guys what they want. If not, Lena loses her value, and becomes a liability."

Kara closes the door behind her. In the privacy it gives her, her legs shake, trembling as though she's forgotten how to walk. She struggles to breathe past the panic tightening her chest.

"Hey. All of us are already at the Tower. As soon as we find anything, we'll let you know.

Hearing the reassurance in her sister's voice, the knot in Kara's chest eases, just a little.

"We've got you. I promise."

#supercorp #home invasion au #angst #wrote this before i remembered william dey died in the finale #so we're just gonna ignore that #especially since the whole murder of william dey thing was dumb and served no purpose #but yeah #cat grant for the win!!! #lena will get more to do soon #i promise

[misteria247]

Okay— so!

I like the Oroku sibs thing you have going on it's just so sweet and aofnoenfoent

Idk if i havent seen it but is Raph the leader instead? Since i think it would fall on him without leo being there. What would his leadership be like? Wr know how his time being the leader ended up with, so how does he cope?

And if there's no leader, i just think they work together, with Raph callong the shots when it comes to fighting, Donnie caing the shots when it comes to important science stuff, and mikey calling the shots when it comes to interacting with new people.

ALSO ALSO SORRY FOR ASKING A LOT BUT

Would Karai still be a snake? Would Leo be thrown in the mutagen with her?

And What would the space arc look like? Would karai join in?

That's all, sorry if the asks the a lot rkfjt

Hello my friend! First off don't apologize for all the questions! I like answering them whenever I can and it's always nice to interact with everyone!! Second off sgsgsfsfsfsf I'm glad you're enjoying the Oroku siblings, they're literally are becoming my children at this point and it's just such a fun concept to play around with and knowing that others like em as well makes me super happy!! Now onwards to your questions-!!!!

Hmmm to be completely honest with you I've actually been thinking about the whole leader thing for this au and one of those thoughts for a possible leader was surprisingly enough Donnie. While I adore Raph to bits and pieces and he'd make a great leader, I also know that my boy is a passionate turtle who sometimes goes head first into things without really planning. And Mikey, while talented and a prodigy, can also be a bit spaced out and off the ball sometimes when it comes to leadership. Donnie on the other hand likes to plan things and when he's not completely stressed out he's pretty good in the strategy department. So going based on this logic if anything plus thinking about how Splinter chose Leo in the original series because of his quick thinking, he'd probably go with Donnie. That and personally I think it'd be an interesting idea to play around with since we've already seen Raph be the leader in Rise and in that one episode of 12. But I'm also thinking about just making all the boys have a say in leadership as well. Honestly it's got so many things that it could go and I'm just playing around with what would fit best! As for how he'd cope Raph would probably be very much like he was in the show only instead he'll be much more willing to intervene in Donnie's leadership role whenever he feels like something's not done right or he feels like his little brother is in need of guidance or assistance.

Ah yes Snake Karai! Honestly she'll still get turned into a snake mutant! It'll just be under different circumstances than the original ones in the show! I just have to figure it out better. I've got an idea of Karai getting caught by the Shredder to be used as a pawning chip to lure both Leo and Splinter out of hiding, only for it to not go according to his plans. I've got to plan it out more for it to make sense lol. It'd basically be an opening for Leo to bond with his original family and clan on a one on one type of ordeal, plus give him a chance to grow to be his own person away from Karai somewhat. Since Leo his entire life has been trained to be her bodyguard and in a way doesn't really feel like he has a sense of purpose other than to protect his older sister. Which is something that drives Karai nuts because she wants him to be able to feel like he has a choice in what his destiny should be instead of the lessons their ex master and father Shredder had drilled into him. Plus Karai's character growth would take place in the five months her little brother is in his coma since she's always been by her little brother's side since she was five and he was four.

As for the Space arc yes most definitely Karai would be joining the Hamato kids, April and Casey on their journey. Mainly to help protect Leo and her new little brothers as well as trying to save their father and planet. Basically wherever Leo goes, Karai is sure to follow and vice versa. It's one of the reasons why they're called the Princess of the Foot clan and the Shadow of the Foot clan because they're rarely seen without the other attached to their hip. And if it's something as dangerous as a journey to outer space with a android and several new alien species out there, you can bet that Big Sister Karai is definitely going to be tagging along with her little brother who seems to be a magnet for trouble on a good day. (That and the thought of letting Leo go alone on a journey like this fills Karai with a shit ton of anxiety. Because the last times Leo had been left alone without her had been when he was about six years old and had been seen by a villager who attacked him with field equipment giving him a nasty scar on his arm, and when he was about fifteen years old when the Shredder had beaten him to death and tried to drown him, resulting in a ruined knee, a wicked cracked scar on the back of his shell, a scarred and ruined throat and vocal chords and a five month coma. So she's pretty paranoid about leaving him alone during dangerous missions.)

#oli talks #ooc #muns ramblings #mindless ramblings of a madman #asks #ask and you shall receive #my writing #writers on tumblr #writers on ao3 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2k12 #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #tmnt leo #tmnt karai #tmnt raph #tmnt donnie #tmnt mikey #tmnt splinter #tmnt shredder #tmnt april #tmnt casey #Oroku siblings #please don't ever think that you're asking too many questions my friend lol i don't mind it at all

[sherlollyandspoilers]

We're worth it, Chapter 22, January 6th and 9th

Chapters 1 through 21 of We’re worth it can be found here. Here be Dragons is the original fic that this fic is a companion piece for - HBD timeline: beginning of Chapter 18

A couple days later, January 6th

Molly’s phone chimed.

Baker Street 630 – S

You really want to celebrate your birthday at Baker Street? - M

Yes – S

630 – S

Molly stood at the bottom of the stairs, cursing herself for hesitating. All of the moments of when she had been here before flooded through her mind. The night she had come looking for answers, the day she had called him a junkie, and a year ago when she thought it would be the last time they were together. She hadn’t been back since. The guilt and shame she felt about those days were still overwhelming at times but they were working on it.

Snapping out of her head she noticed a note was tapped to the banister, Sherlock’s writing scrawled across it.

Stop over thinking. It’s my birthday.

She shook her head, smiling at how well he knew her. Tucking the note in her bag she hurried up the stairs.

He guided her over to the chair and helped her sit down as he knelt in front of her. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about everything that you have said to me here, in this room...the good and the bad.” She swallowed hard, the guilt and shame threatening to swim back in again. “I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about everything that I have done to make you say those things….I once said to you that I wanted to be better. I had no clue then what it would take but I’m working on it now. You have given me a reason to be better.” Reaching into his pocket he pulled out her ring box. “I’m not perfect, but neither are you and while I could list everything that I adore about you, that is the thing that I love the most.” 

Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at him. Of everything she had been anticipating for tonight, this had not been it.

“Before you say anything else,” she interrupted, “I need to say this…I never expected you.” She placed a hand on his cheek. “What I had imagined for my life never came close to this…if someone had told me that I would love someone, care for someone, like I do for you, like I crave you, I wouldn’t have been able to believe them.” She rubbed her thumb across his lips. “Sherlock Holmes, what I feel for you…this is a once in a lifetime thing and I don’t want to miss a second of it again.”

“Molly Hooper,” he smiled before opening the box, “will you marry me?”

“Yes, of course, yes!”

--

January 9th

“This has been a long time coming for you both.” June smiled as Molly showed her the engagement ring. “Anything either of you feel you want to discuss with this?” They both gave her confused looks. “Don’t give me those looks…you know how you two are.”

Molly considered this for a moment, before nodding in agreement. “Right before you forgave me for keeping my pregnancy a secret, I asked you when I was getting my ring back.” She turned to Sherlock and he waited for her to go on. “You told me that you still had things to do before you deserved to see it on my hand…do you mind sharing what those things were?”

He gave her a curt nod. “I had felt like a failure as a father to Willamina and even to Greyson before he was born along with feeling like a failure as your partner…and while I still question almost every move I make, I can feel your trust and I know that you see the changes I am making to be better for us…I knew I wanted to give you the ring back after we discussed the kids staying home with me.”

June nodded. “You are starting to see yourself the way Molly sees you.”

Sherlock gave her a skeptical look. “I don’t know that I would go as far as to say that…sometimes I still think she is making a mistake being with me.” Molly scoffed, offended by the idea.

June rolled her eyes at him, “You two really just want to make sure that I have a job for a long time, don’t you?”

@simplyshelbs16xoxo here you go! I have two more chapters already written - just need time to edit :)

#kate writes #sherlolly #isb

[ramblingdisaster73]

I loved your latest fic! I love that you had Nancy express basically the conclusions you came to about this all messy situation, and that you had her be such a great helpful friend like she'd been to Carlos last season when Tarlos were broken up.

I said in the tags that probably they wouldn't have them talk next episode since there's already a lot that needs to happen, and I stand by it, but it would be nice if they showed even a little bit of something like it in the scene where TK talks to everyone worried about Carlos (that's assuming that's what the scene is about of course).

As I said anyway, that conversation between tk and Nancy is now canon for me

That scene of Nancy, Mateo, Paul, and Marjan sitting in the loft, waiting with TK for Carlos to get home, seeing how sad TK was just spoke to me. I love the way that both Nancy and Carlos are able to speak to TK in a way where he has to look at things from a different perspective.

Just like in 2x07 (which honestly feels like a million years ago now) when Carlos talked TK off the ledge of thinking that Nancy hated him, Nancy was doing something similar in 4x02 when TK was talking to her about the Iris situation.

I have loved the TK/Nancy dynamic since 2x07 – I like the way they tease and bicker like siblings, but are also supportive of each other. Nancy in 3x08, being so concerned about TK, the potential of him relapsing because of his mom, her going to Tommy out of concern, but feeling so guilty about it, was just something that I have irl experience with, so having her be the one that stays, the one to get through to TK, stop his spiral seemed like a natural conclusion for me.

Writing has always been my outlet – and holy hell has this whole storyline/arc given me so much to write about.

Now, while I don’t think we are going to get much of a resolution to the arc scene, I think we may get something else. We just might have to watch the whole season to see it clearly.

*Season 3 started out with them broken up & let’s be honest, season 3 was more about TK’s pov.

*Season 4 is starting out with them together but with obstacles to their happily ever after & will be more from Carlos’ pov.

While I think that we will get plenty of TK this season, I think (and the articles/interviews kind of suggest as well) that this is Carlos’ season – the time when we see things more from his pov, while not completely losing sight of TK’s. We will get glimpses into TK’s head (the actors have vastly different contracts – so I think Ronen is contracted for all eps, while Rafa isn’t.)

We have been watching mostly from TK’s pov, we saw him realize his mistake with the break up, we saw him go through some shit, we also saw him figure out how to open up about his addiction and the issues it causes for him to Carlos, we saw him put his fears to the side for love.

Now, I think we are going to see a similar thing, only from Carlos’ pov. We are going to see him acknowledge the things that are holding him back from the life he wants/needs. We are going to see him at his worst (to him at least – a Carlos with no control would be him at his worst.). Then we get to see how he comes back from it. We will see if he starts opening up more about his past, his choices. We are getting the pieces slowly, just like we did with TK last year – we were left bread crumbs throughout the season, culminating in the beautiful proposal scene. I think there is a good chance this season ends with a beautiful wedding scene, but with Carlos finally being 100% himself, flaws and all.

I do think we will see Carlos say something on screen – whether it is in a fever dream, therapy session (OG does them, why not LS – besides I would think that the job would require therapy before being able to return to work anyway), or a talk to the wall – that man needs to verbally acknowledge what holds him back & down.

I really love this show – I am also loving how much it is making me think & the inspiration for a ton for fics!

I really enjoyed writing this one – it literally just flowed out – it feels real to me, so thank you!

#valrileygreen #911 lone star season 4 #911 lone star spoilers #911 lone star speculation #fic discussion #tk strand #carlos reyes #nancy gillian

[blueeyedheizer]

❝ROAD TO SUCCESS❞

pairing: Matt x Reader

summary: Matt gets insecure over his songwriting skills and questions the future of his band. || wc : 0,8k

content warning: none

a/n: still very much in love with this guy

(gif: mattsredjacket)

Matt ripped a page from his notebook, swearing under his breath as he crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it across the room. You jumped as it landed right above your head, the impact making you look up from your book.

"Wow. What was that for?"

"There's no point in any of this, I'm done." he continued, dropping back against his chair. You frowned at his vague response then moved from the bed to pick up the piece of paper, unfolding it.

It was a lyrics sheet, but most of them were unfinished or roughly scribbled over. You could make out a few alternate titles for the song Matt was trying to write but he didn't seem satisfied with those either since they were crossed out as well.

You quickly read through the scribbled lyrics, frowning as you did so.

"They're not bad, Matt. Why'd you throw them away?" Matt scoffed, shaking his head.

"They're rubbish." he mumbled. "I can't even make words rhyme. Nothing fits right. I don’t understand how this comes so naturally to Javed." he sighed, burying his face in his hands. "We're going nowhere, I give up."

"Don't say that." you cooed, walking over to him and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm just pointing out facts, Y/N. This won't take me anywhere. I can't write my own songs, we don't have enough money to record a full album. This is a waste of time and energy."

"Hey." you crouched in front of him, resting your hands on his knees. "Success isn't something that just falls into your lap. It takes time, hard work and determination. You're not 'going nowhere', Matt. People love your music. Besides, you've already had two gigs in Germany and France, I don't think many small bands can say that."

"This doesn't change a thing, Y/N. Those lyrics I sing, they aren't mine. People love them, but those aren't my songs. They're Javed's." he sighed. "I just want to be able to do something that I can actually be proud of. Something that comes from me."

"But it's your voice that people love. Your music." your reasoned, your thumb tracing along his cheekbone sweetly. Matt bowed his head, his gaze dropping to the floor as he shrugged. He had already shared some of his worries about his band with you in the past, but you had never seen him like this. He had never looked so defeated.

With a sad sigh, you got up so you could straddle his lap and be face to face with him, your hands coming to run softly over the back of his head and neck.

"When you see Jay, don't just ask for lyrics. Ask for advice. I'm sure he could give you some tips on where to start or where to get your inspiration from." you said. Matt shook his head.

"I know where he gets his inspiration from. He gets it from girlfriend. And I can't even find the words to write a song for mine." he mumbled, his voice wavering.

"Is that what this is about?" you cooed, guiding his jaw to try and meet his gaze. "You want to write me a song?" Matt nodded slowly.

"I've been trying to. This was merely just a draft." he said, mentioning to the crumpled paper that was now on his desk. "But it's not just this. I’ve been trying to write something for the band, but I just can't do it. I can't find the words. Everything's just wrong." he explained, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "And then Javed's songs about Eliza made me realize that maybe I should start with a love song because I thought I could find inspiration in our relationship, but I can't even do that." he paused, lips parting as he realized how bad this must have sounded. He huffed and ran a hand through his hair, tearing up. "Now you probably think I'm a shit boyfriend—"

"Hey. Hey, hey, Matt. Stop. " you cut him off, interrupting his rambling by cupping his face. "I would never be upset with you or doubt your feelings for me because you don't write songs about me." you huffed, shaking your head at how ridiculous that sounded. "I know you love me. You don't have to prove it to me."

He pouted, leaning for a kiss which you happily reciprocated.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I love you so much, baby. You're already giving me everything I want and more by being my boyfriend." you smiled, brushing some hair off his eyes. "I couldn't ask for anything better."

𝐃𝐂𝐂 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 : @whiskeylullllaby

— let me know if you want to be added to / removed from the tag list

#he's actually the fifth member of corroded coffin #I said what I said

[27emailsicantsend]

Set it Up: A Rina AU

Chapter Four

"So, how do you plan to make this work, Gina? Won't our bosses know we're up to something?" Ricky whispered over his ear piece. Although they were now in the same building, EJ had given Nini her own office on the floor above the studio. It had a few surrounding offices and a lounge, but they were for artists and a receptionist only. Since EJ only had Carlos, there was only one office occupied and no front desk, which Nini graciously forced Gina into taking.

Gina's desk was large, red and white, and completely surrounded her. It had two large screens, a lot of cubbies for organizing and storage, as well as some leftover manuals from the previous receptionist. It made Ricky's desk look like it came from a dollar store (which he made sure Gina knew... frequently).

"Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. How much do I have to reassure you?" Gina mocked. "You already know we will be fine. What we need is a meet-cute!"

"A what?"

"A meet-cute! It's in all the best movies! It's when the guy meets the girl and they have no idea that they will be around each other for the rest of the movie. But they do and-"

"-Like when I ran into you at the restaurant?" Ricky interjected.

Gina felt the blood rush quickly to her cheeks, making them very warm. That was not at all what she was expecting Ricky's response to be. She chose to ignore his question.

"A meet-cute is the way we'll get them to fall in love! We just need to think of a place first..." Gina contemplated as a flash of different locations scattered through her mind. She thought of restaurants, art galleries, piers, lookouts, and even Central Park nearby.

"Well, if they already met, then why do they need to meet again?" Ricky asked, struggling to follow Gina's lead.

"This is different, Ricky! It's meeting romantically for the first time. It's how we set them up!... What if we have them get trapped on an elevator?" Gina suggested, as she aimlessly began opening desk drawers, looking for nothing in particular.

"And have them get stuck in there with some sweaty guy? No, thank you. What if we just kind of wait and see what happens? Maybe they will give us an excuse to put them together?" Ricky started to click his pen as he tried to mentally devise more ideas.

"That feels lazy, Ricky," Gina sighed, now looking through what seemed to be an old "junk drawer". It had a sticky note pad, a couple of thumbtacks, and a pen with a broken clip.

"If you want me to help, trust the process," Ricky said before hanging up on Gina.

Gina looked at her cell phone, perplexed, before going back to Nini's office to work on her new schedule with her. Gina lightly tapped on Nini's door, hoping not to get an angry reaction for disturbing her afternoon. Nini was tapping away on her keyboard, not bothering to look up as she responded to Gina.

"What can I help you with?" Nini asked coolly. Gina sighed in relief- it wasn't the worst way Nini could have responded.

"...Well... as you know... it's time for us to go over your schedule...." Gina hesitated. "So... if you're ready...."

Nini peered blankly over her screen. Gina took her glance as "not a 'no'" and proceeded to sit in a chair.

"Not that chair. The cushion just got fluffed," Nini commanded. Gina awkwardly went to sit in the chair next to it's brother, across from Nini's desk.

"Do you want me to have two flat chairs?" Nini griped.

"No- I am so sorry," Gina cowered. She went to a metal chair tucked in the back corner of the room, barely in view of Nini. Nini continued to type, so Gina assumed she had chosen the right spot.

"So... as I was saying, I was wondering if you would like to go over your schedule for the rest of the week?" Gina prompted.

"Yes. I have a meeting with EJ later today at three," Nini began without a second thought. Gina tried not to wonder why she had to make Nini's schedule since she was so good at remembering it herself. "Tomorrow, I have vocal training with Carlos at ten and then a business lunch with him. Friday, I am meeting with EJ and his writers to work out some new ideas for a song. Saturday, I have two press interviews, one at eleven and three, as well as a dinner with my moms. You have Sunday off, but be on call in case I need anything. Monday's are my recording days, so I will be in the studio all day. Please write down any notes I have and don't get distracted with that Bowen boy-"

"-I barely know him!" Gina couldn't help but interrupt- the accusation made her feel defensive. Nini knew Gina would never get distracted in her presence, because she basically worships the ground Nini walks on. And to get distracted by Ricky? In her dreams.

"-I'm just saying, I need you focused," Nini continued, not phased by Gina's protest. "Tuesday, I have a business dinner with EJ and some of his production staff to discuss the tour I'd like to go on this fall. After that... I'm not sure. See me next Wednesday".

Gina nodded her head graciously and let herself out. She knew if she didn't, Nini would have found a way to boot her out. Gina learned this lesson fast her first couple of weeks working for Nini. She was absolutely in awe of Nini, which naturally caused Gina to want to impress her. So Gina did her best to be on top of every little thing Nini asked and sometimes even beyond that. However, Gina's plan backfired when Nini almost fired her for being too clingy.

Gina walked back out of her office and quickly glanced at the clock on her computer. 12:54 PM. She hollered back to Nini that she would be taking her lunch soon and sent a quick text to Ricky.

Meet me at the front door for lunch. Bring EJ's schedule. You haven't had lunch, have you?

He replied back:

Nope! I'm starving. And yes, sir!

The pair met about three minutes later by the front door. They chose to go to a nearby taco truck, that sold half-off tacos for "Taco Tuesday". After they ordered, they took seats at a nearby park bench. The weather was unusually warm for middle-to-late March.

"Whoa! Slow down! You're going to choke on your hard shell!" Ricky commented as Gina practically shoved an entire taco down her mouth.

"I'm sorry," she said, her cheeks full of meat and lettuce. Ricky thought about how she had the same essence of a squirrel prepping for hibernation. She wiped her mouth slightly with her hand before swallowing and speaking again.

"I only have a half-hour lunch break, so I've learned to eat fast".

"I know you can eat at your desk. Save some for later," Ricky suggested, smiling kindly at Gina.

Gina wasn't used to him being this... nice? Polite? She stared at him for a couple of seconds as she wondered where Ricky went. He looked different today. His face was a little more clean shaven and his curls looked tighter and more done. He even looked like he was wearing Chapstick, something Gina wasn't used to seeing on men.

"So, I have Nini's entire schedule for the next week. How about EJ's?" Gina refocused the conversation (and herself), pulling out her phone schedule.

"All right here!" Ricky confirmed, tapping his tablet. "Why did you ask me to bring it?"

"Because, if we're trying to get them together, it would be helpful to know their schedules. We could plan ahead of time how we plan on getting them together for their meet-cute!"

"I still don't get it since they already met? But yeah, let's plan the meet-cute," Ricky surrendered, ready to listen to Gina's plan.

Gina did another giddy dance, before instantly making herself serious again. She had to zone herself to think properly. Ricky couldn't help but laugh at how serious she was.

After some conversing, the pair devised a plan for Nini's 3 PM meeting with EJ later that day. Ricky was going to tell EJ that he overhead one of EJ's colleagues saying he was cute, as well as hinting that it was a girl he worked with.

Later that day, Gina and Nini walked into the studio lounge. EJ invited Nini into his office, while Gina and Ricky waited outside. It had been about fifteen minutes and Ricky could not help but anxiously check his watch repeatedly during that time.

"Ricky!" Gina snapped playfully in his face, as he looked at his watch for the fifth time in the last thirty seconds. "Watching water boil doesn't make it boil any faster".

"I'm sorry, but just sitting here waiting is killing me. Lily's opening night is two Saturday's from now. So if we can get them together within the next... week and a half that would be incredible".

"So... tell me about Lily. I haven't heard much about her," Gina asked, sliding herself onto Ricky's desk. She was intrigued by Lily, but also wanted to change the topic so Ricky would stop checking his watch relentlessly.

"Well... she's great. She's a star for Broadway-"

"-Broadway, Broadway?!" Gina exclaimed, feeling her heart practically leap out of her chest. She wondered if Lily was the answer to her dreams of being a Broadway star. If she was the key to Gina's success.

"Uhh... not exactly. Like, smaller, underground performances," Ricky admitted awkwardly.

"Well, I know about Broadway, even the small things. Anything I might have heard of?" Gina pressed, trying to understand more about the woman who fell in love with Ricky Bowen. She wondered if Lily had access to special clubs or special people that could get Gina into the field.

"You... probably haven't heard of them," Ricky veered out of the subject. "But, she's really gorgeous and has an amazing voice. She waits for me to get home... sometimes... when she feels like hanging out. She remembers to call me at least once every few days. Oh, and for my birthday, she bought me a shaving set".

Gina was waiting for descriptors like: kind, loving, hard working, his best friend... anything that didn't make her sound like every other average, blonde girl in the area.

"Oh!" Ricky blurted, not waiting for Gina to respond. "This is her calling now. See?"

Ricky held up his small phone screen to show a photo of a petite, blonde girl with large blue eyes. She was smiling, but it battled with her menacing countanence. Gina felt terrified of her immediately... but not in the bonded, loving way she feels about Nini. Gina conducted a secret theory in her head that Lily probably had an actual basement full of secrets. A basement that Ricky, oblivious and in love, probably had no idea about.

"Richie?? Richie? Are you there?" Lily whined over the phone.

Ricky's volume was up extremely loud, so much so that Gina couldn't help but think "grandpa" when she heard him answer the phone. And Lily's voice was childlike and whimpering at best, obnoxious at worst. Gina couldn't help but mouth "Richie?" to Ricky, who blatantly ignored her as he left the lounge to take his call.

About fifteen minutes later, Ricky walked back, looking slightly distraught. He sat down in one of the lounge chairs across from where Gina had relocated herself. She was playing chess by herself. The chess board was located on a coffee table in the center of the two chairs and a red loveseat couch. The couch faced directly toward the sound booth.

"You look miserable... Richie," Gina joked, knocking a pawn over before sitting back in her chair.

"I'm just stressed about all of this. Lily just called to remind me about a dinner party she is having tonight and I highly doubt our superiors will be in love by that point. So, it looks like I have to let her down... again. Also, I literally hate that nickname," Ricky moaned, gesturing Gina to stop with his hand.

"Well then why do you let her call you that?" Gina responded, thoughtfully pondering her next move on the chess board.

"Because I understand that love is about sacrifice, Gina. And if I can't sacrifice my time, I can at least sacrifice my name. She's perfect, so it's worth it," Ricky justified.

"She sounds boring," Gina frankly admitted, leaning over to resume her game. She removed a pawn and replaced it one diagonal up.

"She's not boring... she's just sophisticated. And tell me what you know about love, Gina. Weren't you the one who keeps standing up that guy?... And here, let me help," Ricky commented, grabbing a pawn opposite Gina and moving it.

"Trying to win is not helping, Ricky. And his name is Jack. Jack is doing the same thing as Lily, waiting patiently for the right moment. But he is respectful and doesn't walk all over me," Gina bolstered before moving another one of her pawns, which then removed one more from Ricky's side.

"Lily doesn't walk all over me. She has standards and just wants me to meet them! Jack could learn from her. Don't you want someone who has boundaries? And is honest with you enough to tell you when you've crossed them?" Ricky remarked, now fully invested in trying to win the game against Gina. The speed of their comments rapidly picked up as the game got more intense.

"And you don't think Lily is crossing your boundaries? Like I said, you're a doormat for her, Ricky. You don't deserve that. She literally only remembers to call you every few days. At the very least, Jack texts me good morning, every morning!"

"That's because she is busy and I respect her time. And I am ok if that is the life we live together. Do you two have any goals for your future?" Pawn moved.

"Ricky, we hardly know each other. Of course we don't have goals yet. I need to meet him in person first to know if I like him. You know, spend time together. It sounds like you hang out with Lily on her terms only." Pawn moved.

"Well, it's only fair if it's on her terms, since I'm gone so much with work. I'd be annoyed too! I'm just saying if you have common goals, then you are with the right partner! How do you know if he's right if you haven't set goals yet?" Pawn down.

"And what are the goals, Ricky? You support everything she does and she does little in return? I'm just saying- I've seen these kinds of girls before and they can be shallow and mean. They totally take advantage of their boyfriends instead of being in a partnership".

"Then what would you call your situation? Because it doesn't seem fair to either of you: you constantly feel guilty and he still hasn't met you once". Pawn down.

"I would call it an 'opportunity for compromise'... like you said. One day, he and I should get the timing right. But I will never know what that looks like if we don't make this plan with our bosses work".

"We will," Ricky responded, making another move. "I wouldn't have agreed to doing it if I didn't believe in yo-it".

This gave Gina pause. When Ricky realized she didn't respond, he slowly moved his eyes towards Gina's. They remained in silence for a few moments as both sat forward, the silence burning over the chess board. This was the first time, in a long time, someone other than Kourtney showed appreciation for her capabilities.

"Just like I deserve someone to take their time out for me, you deserve someone who is honest with you," Ricky finally spoke again with carefulness in his words. His voice was not loud enough to crack the silence; the room remained still. He moved his king, his eyes not breaking contact with Gina's, as he succumbed to the inescapable, "check".

"Yeah," Gina responded quietly as she watched him, only glancing down for a second to knock his king over with her pawn. "Checkmate," she replied. She continued to ponder Ricky's words, watching his face in return.

"Gina," Nini's voice loudly interrupted the scene, causing the assistants to jump back, returning to reality.

Gina fumbled as she stood up, grabbing her laptop bag she had brought down. Some papers shoved inside of it had started to fall out, so she pressed the bag and papers close to her chest to hold them in. As Gina began to walk out, she paused for a moment to turn around and look over her shoulder at Ricky.

He was twirling the king around his fingertips, studying it carefully.

**********************************************************

Shortly after Gina and Nini went back to Nini's office, Ricky tapped a few times on EJ's door.

"What's up?" EJ asked, writing a few notes in a large binder. His attention did not pull from the binder to meet Ricky.

"Well, I was just wondering how the meeting with Nini went?... You know, in case I need to... write some notes down on it?..." Ricky grimaced. He knew that was a dumb excuse.

"Nope. Just a conversation about what the next week will look like. It was quick". EJ turned a page and continued to write, barely giving any attention toward the conversation. Ricky knew he needed to be more straightforward. He attempted again.

"Um... have you heard.... about the girl around here who likes you?"

"Go on?" This caught EJ's attention. He perked his head up, eyebrow raised, as he used his hand to hold his place in his now-closed binder.

"So, I may or may not have overheard that one of the ladies here thinks you're attractive. You actually talked to her today... And I know it's been awhile since Val... and you're not getting any younger..."

"Ricky-" EJ warned, his manner reminding Ricky of his father scolding him as a boy.

"Right. Too far. Anyway, she's single. You're single. What do you say... champ?" Ricky jokingly reached over the desk and fist bumped EJ's arm.

"Don't do that," Ej sternly replied, giving Ricky's hand a disgusted look.

"Right, sorry," Ricky stammered, wiping his hand off on his shirt.

"But... maybe you're right. I think I know exactly who you're talking about".

"You do??" Ricky exclaimed. He felt a flutter of anticipation at the thought of telling Gina their plan probably worked. They might actually be getting their lives back. Maybe even sooner than they thought.

"Yup. I'll ask her out tonight. Thanks, Ricky". EJ responded so nonchalantly, it caught Ricky off guard. He had never once heard an ounce of appreciation from EJ. Even off-handed, it felt really unexpected. Ricky wondered if this was what his life was going to start to look like. Ricky knew he looked confused, but he couldn't hide it.

"Anything the matter?" EJ prodded, now matching Ricky's expression.

"No... uh... nothing. Just... let me know how it goes..." Ricky trailed off, slowly backing out of EJ's office. Once he made his way out, he used his hand to swing himself around the corner of the door and run to his desk. Thrilled, he sent Gina a celebratory text.

I think we did it! EJ is going to ask her out!

********************************************

The next day, Ricky and Gina were sitting outside the sound booth as Nini practiced some vocals with Carlos. EJ was manning the sound board while Carlos' writer precisely took notes. Ricky sat at his desk and Gina sat in the lounge chair opposite Ricky. Both of them were pretending to work on their computer and laptop, but were actually messaging each other while they waited.

Ricky: So, did Nini say anything?

Gina looked over at Nini, who had her arms crossed in irritation because Carlos has the audacity to suggest a lyric change. Carlos argued with Nini as he insisted it was going to modify the tone of the song entirely. But Gina knew that because Carlos didn't see Nini's "creative vision", she wasn't going to budge.

Gina: Not that I know of. She doesn't seem any less miserable than she did yesterday.

Ricky: Honestly, I think it's Carlos who is miserable... and weren't they supposed to be doing vocal training? With Carlos directing it?

Gina: That's Nini for you. She takes charge. If there is something in her life she doesn't like, she will make something else happen. A trait I've been trying to learn for years.

Ricky: And yet you don't.

Gina didn't feel like rehashing the conversation from yesterday.

Gina: Yeah. Anyway, when is EJ asking Nini out?

Ricky: Last I checked, he did last night? He told me he asked her out and they were having lunch together today.

Gina paused as she read Ricky's screen. Something seemed off. Then she remembered what Nini told her when she was originally planning her schedule.

Gina: No... Nini is having lunch with Carlos today. She said it was a business lunch.

Ricky leaned around his computer to peer at Gina. He gave her a puzzled look, which she replied with an even more confused shrug back, before Ricky started typing again.

Ricky: Maybe he is joining in on the business lunch?

Gina: Ricky, that wouldn't make sense. Why would he want Carlos to be on the date with him? I think something is wrong. Nini hasn't once asked me to change her schedule...

Nini was now arguing with Carlos, trying to prove herself and her musical abilities. Gina, feeling like Nini wouldn't be a two-time Grammy winner without her musical capabilities, quietly sided with her as she listened to the two hash it out. She also noted EJ, who was rubbing his forehead in frustration. With Nini not on her best behavior and EJ annoyed with Nini, Gina could sense there had been a miscommunication between EJ and Ricky the night before.

As if on cue, Gina then heard the high-heeled footsteps. A tall, skinny blonde in a tight business skirt and puffy white blouse made her way into the office. She rested her body against the sound board and set her hand delicately on EJ's shoulder. Smiling at him, she asked "are you ready?" in a loosely seductive tone.

"Just a minute-" EJ turned to push some buttons, but the lady grabbed his tie, giggling. He gave a flirty chuckle back before placing a hand on her knee.

Gina: Who is that??

Ricky's eyes widened at his screen. He recognized the women as one of EJ's accounting agents. EJ and she barely talked, but they had had a meeting yesterday before Nini and EJ met up. Ricky felt his heart freefall in his body.

Ricky: Uhh.... I may not have been clear enough yesterday. He met with her too, right before Nini. But it's fine though, right? Now EJ will be in love! Wasn't that the plan?

Gina: Oh yeah, the plan for you! But that does me absolutely no good with Nini. We were in this together. Operation Cobra, remember?

Ricky felt bad. He knew that Gina deserved some peace too, but he had no idea how to fix the massive mistake he made. He watched that same massive mistake walk out the door to lunch; her hand clutching EJ's arm with a death grip.

Nini, Carlos, and the writer followed suit after. Nini told Gina she was good not to attend the lunch, as there "might not be one". Gina knew Nini felt a little threatened by Carlos, so the best way for her to feel powerful was to threaten him back. It had absolutely no bearing though, because the three (Nini, Carlos, and the writer) still ended up at lunch together that day.

Once Gina heard the door close, she immediately snapped her laptop shut. Both Ricky and she stood up, and walked briskly toward the other until they were standing together in the center of the room.

"What was that?!" Gina reprimanded, her arms flailing to the sides.

"I-I don't know. I'm so sorry, Gina. I promise, I will fix this. M-maybe this was just a fluke thing?" Ricky stuttered unconvincingly.

"Ugh," Gina sighed, rolling her eyes in frustration.

************************************************

Over the next few days, any attempts Ricky and Gina made to get Nini and EJ together proved futile. EJ immediately went on another date with the blonde accountant on Friday. On Saturday, Nini had her press conferences, so she was extra hostile from the stress. Gina made sure to stay on her best behavior that day, so scheming had to to take a rest. Sunday was Ricky and Gina's day off- Gina spent it looking at wedding flowers with Kourtney and Jet, while Ricky was able to finally get a lunch date with Lily (after begging for her forgiveness for missing the dinner earlier that week). By the time Monday rolled around, Ricky was pretty heavy into panic mode.

Ricky called Gina that morning on her work phone, minutes before Nini and she were going to head downstairs so Nini could record.

"Gina, what are we going to do? I need to have Saturday off. I am actually on a time crunch here. Especially after missing dinner last week. I can't miss Lily's show too," Ricky fretted.

"We will think of something, don't worry. Just message me when I get down there. Nini told me I wasn't allowed to talk to you on recording days," Gina stated matter-of-factly.

Ricky couldn't help but laugh though. "You can't talk to me? What are we, her preschoolers?"

"Well, we won't be once we get Ni- Nini is very clear! She will not do any ads for less than ten grand a post! And do not ask again!" Gina scolded into the phone. She had to switch up her conversation when she saw Nini walk by. Nini looked pleased at Gina's combativeness. She signaled to Gina that it was time for them to go downstairs, so Gina quickly hung up on Ricky.

This left a very bemused Ricky on the other end of the phone. Minutes later, he saw Nini and Gina come in through the elevator. Gina was wearing a pair of light blue overalls and a red cropped shirt with a yellow flower print. She had on a pair of white tennis shoes to match. Ricky felt himself staring, but quickly turned his focus back to his computer.

As soon as Nini entered the sound booth, Gina took a spot on the red loveseat, and began to type meticulously as she listened to Nini's never ending list of music commands. Every once in awhile, she thought she had seen Ricky look at her in her peripherals, but when she would turn her head, he was looking elsewhere. It started to make her feel like she was going a little crazy. The entire situation made her feel like she was going a little crazy.

Ricky: Are you having fun yet?

Gina: I would be having fun if I could actually leave this place.

Ricky: Well, sometimes when I'm bored here, I like to make up what I think the people in the sound booth are saying. Like, look at Nini and EJ for instance.

Ricky: "Oh, EJ! I thought you were in love with me! How could you have ever thought about wanting another woman?"

Gina had to put a hand over her mouth to muffle her giggle.

Gina: "But I am a strong manly, man. You should have known there was only one person for me".

Ricky: "I'm offended! I thought I was your person!"

Gina: "It is you! You are my person!"

Ricky and Gina watched Nini whack EJ across the arm and continue to ridicule him.

Ricky: "Don't lie to me! Prove it!"

Gina: "Isn't me yelling enough to prove it?"

The pair watched EJ walk angrily out of the booth and take a couple of grounding breaths. Before he returned to the sound booth, he took a moment to go to a nearby mirror and fix his hair.

Gina: "And if only she loved me as much as I love my hair!"

Ricky couldn't hold back his laugh. EJ quickly shot around to look at Ricky who shook his head and mouthed "it's nothing". EJ took back his seat at the sound table and began to give Nini directions for recording again.

Ricky: You got me in trouble!

Gina: It was worth it to see EJ give you that look.

Amused, Gina looked over at Ricky and smirked. She closed the chat window for a moment as she returned to her work. Ricky tried to get back to his tasks for the day, but was feeling exceptionally antsy about the main goal at hand.

Ricky: I don't think EJ is having lunch with that lady today. What if we try to get the four of us together for a company lunch?

Gina: Do you seriously not know her name yet?

Ricky: I do. I just don't like saying it. It puts it into the universe that they're actually together.

Gina: Ok, well, we've got some time to kill before I can ask. Let's just get back to work for now.

Ricky: Right.

A few moments later, Gina received an online chess game notification from Ricky. He was proving to be her greatest distraction yet.

Gina: I thought we were getting back to work?

Ricky: Exactly. We need to start enjoying the free time we have at work. Now it's my turn to win.

The two of them played chess for the next hour, with Ricky losing horrendously to Gina both times. At lunchtime, Nini walked out of the sound booth, immediately giving Gina a command.

"Gina. Lunch. I'm starving," she said, not halting her walk as she talked. Gina stood up quickly, jogging her way to Nini to try and get her to stop her way to the elevator.

"Hey! I was actually thinking, wouldn't it be fun for the four of us to go to lunch together?"

"The four of us?" Nini questioned, continuing her swift pace.

"Yeah! You... me... Ricky... EJ..." Gina hinted, which pulled Nini to a full stop.

Nini looked square into Gina's eyes before saying, "I would rather put my fingers through a cheese grater than spend any unnecessary time with EJ".

Gina huffed in frustration as she watched Nini walk away- again. Defeated, Gina made her way to Ricky's desk.

"No luck?" He said, his face apprehensive.

"No," Gina replied, leaning her weight against Ricky's desk. She propped herself up by holding the edge with her hands. Looking back down at Ricky, she continued, "I have an idea. But you are going to think I'm insane. We could get in a lot of trouble if this doesn't go well..."

Ricky leaned in, intrigued. "Gina, everything we're doing already could get us in a lot of trouble. Might as well keep going. I'm listening".

Gina began to expand upon her idea and as soon as Ricky heard it, he was all in.

********************************************************

Nini and EJ had plans Tuesday night to go out with some higher ups in EJ's production staff to start discussing Nini's next tour. It was one of the biggest meetings of the year that she was going to have, but it was also an excellent opportunity to get Nini and EJ alone. For Gina and Ricky, the best part was the dinner was happening at an incredibly expensive restaurant. Well lit and very romantic to set the stage for their bosses.

Gina knew that Nini was a very "I'm in as long as I need to be and then I'm out" type of person, so there would be no time to get Nini and EJ together outside of the dinner. That was when Gina decided Ricky and she needed to find a way to get them alone while they were at the restaraunt.

They were going to have to lie.

Ricky and Gina decided they needed the production staff to not only not show up to the dinner, but also needed to not be on their phones that night (in case Nini or EJ called asking where they were). They also knew that if the plan worked how they thought it would, it would get Nini and EJ so distracted, they (hopefully) they wouldn't be as upset as usual with everyone not showing up to such an important event.

Gina and Ricky waited until just after EJ and Nini left for work on Tuesday to send out text messages to the production staff. They texted everyone telling them they were all going to get free movie tickets (for that night only) to do a movie night as a thank you for their hard work. The meeting would actually be happening the next night, Wednesday, and for them to enjoy their night off. Every person on the staff, thankfully, were incredibly grateful for the gift and excited for their night out. Gina and Ricky ended up using a small portion of their paychecks to cover the cost of the movies.

Once the text messages with the tickets were sent out, Gina and Ricky met each other outside the studio to get a taxi to the restaurant, which was just a few blocks down. Ricky was about to get into the taxi when Gina swooped in under his arm saying, "ladies first". This got a vexed look from Ricky, before he made his way into the car following Gina.

Once the pair arrived at the restaurant, they were able to peek into the main window to see Nini and EJ, waiting at a large table, reading menus. They were sitting on opposite ends, avoiding about as much interaction as possible with each other. Ricky and Gina could see the two of them impatiently checking their phones and watches, probably waiting for an apology message from the production staff.

Ricky and Gina were stationed right below the restaurant window, where the bottom of it met their eye level. The building was slightly elevated, so there was a small staircase that led to the front door of the building. On the other side of Ricky and Gina, a large dumpster sat. And just beyond that, a small alleyway.

About fifteen minutes past when everyone was supposed to show up, Gina saw Nini pick up her phone. Causing a jump scare to Gina, she heard her own phone ring loudly. She saw Nini look over at the window as though she saw something, which caused Gina to shove Ricky down hastily with her.

"Ow?!" Ricky complained, rubbing his shoulder.

"Shh! Nini's calling!" Gina loudly whispered, Ricky's eyes widening at the phone. Gina could feel her heart rate increase as she answered.

"Gina, where is EJ's staff? They were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago". Nini sounded beyond irritated, because Gina knew almost nothing made Nini more angry than people disrespecting her time.

"I-I'm... so... sorry-" Gina hesitated, trying to think quickly of an excuse. She didn't even consider that Nini or EJ might call one of their assistants when nobody showed up. Thankfully, her fight or flight must have activated, because she was able to come up with a clever response.

"The dinner was tonight?" Gina tried to sound confused, but she knew her voice aired more on the side of dishonesty. "I-I thought I had scheduled it for tonight? Let me check my schedule..."

Gina snapped her fingers at Ricky. She gestured for him to do or say something, hopefully related to typing. He opted for trying to make a typing noise, which involved a tongue roll that sounded a lot more like a cat purring.

Gina mouthed at him, "what was that?!"

When Ricky mouthed back, "I don't know!" before Gina pushed him out of the way to think. Ricky was beginning to feel a little bit like a rag doll that night. But, surprisingly, he didn't mind it that much.

"Uh... yeah.. anyway..." Gina continued, her expression making it obvious she was trying to concoct an excuse. "I am so sorry, Nini. Ricky told me-"

"-Hey!" Ricky defended himself. Gina gave him a stern look that shut him back up.

"-He told me that we were doing Wednesday night. When I tried to tell him that it was Tuesday, because you know how great of a memory I have-," Gina started, watching Ricky pout.

Ricky whispered something along the lines of, "that's my thing! I'm the one with the good memory", before Gina shushed him again, putting a finger to her mouth.

Gina continued, "-he couldn't let it go that he thought it was Wednesday. So, I started to believe him and must have accidentally wrote Wednesday. I am so, so sorry",

"Don't let it happen again," Nini warned, hanging up her phone.

"You know I'm the one with the good memory!" Ricky stated, feeling offended.

"But I needed to make an excuse that softened the blow on both of us!" Gina argued back.

"How in the world did that make it better for me?"

"Because now EJ won't be calling and yelling at you since it sounded like I got it confused too. And Nini thinks it was your guys' fault, which it usually is-"

"-really?!"

"Yes! You're men, of course it is! So, now we're both-"

"Sh, sh, sh!" It was Ricky's turn to hush Gina up. He placed his hand on her shoulder and crouched her back down. "I think I hear them coming!"

"Ricky, do something!" Gina pleaded, feeling more uneasy by the second.

Letting go of her shoulder, Ricky heroically bolted around the corner of the dumpster and into the alleyway. Seconds later, he arrived with a dirty outdoor broom. Ricky was able to sprint back just in time to crouch below the stairs, then angle the broom just enough so it would trip one of them. The victim ended up being Nini, who about took a nose dive as Ricky quickly pulled back the broom.

Gina and Ricky were now fully standing as they watched Nini begin to lose her balance and EJ catch her in the most picturesque way. They watched as Nini softly said, "you caught me" while locking eye contact with EJ. Ricky and Gina wrapped their arms around each other tight, rocking back and forth in a celebratory fashion. However, when they went to hug, Ricky accidentally dropped the broom on the ground.

"Did you hear something?" Nini asked, EJ helping her stand back up.

Ricky and Gina swiftly halted their excitement to back themselves against the wall of the staircase. They tried to hold their breath in, slowing it down so the rest of them remained motionless. The next few seconds seemed to tick loudly in the air, each one louder than the previous.

What was only seconds later, but felt like days to Ricky and Gina, EJ finally said, "maybe it was a stray cat or something. Let me call you a cab?"

"Actually... I only live a little bit away from here. Walk me home?" Nini suggested. Gina thought it almost sounded a bit like flirting.

Ricky and Gina turned their heads to look at each other, their terrified expressions fading into joyful smiles. They knew that they did it. They finally set up EJ and Nini.

In the distance they heard EJ ask Nini what she thought tripped her. She replied with, "I don't know? A rock? Maybe it was the door hinge?..."

As their voices trailed off, Ricky and Gina peeled themselves from the wall. Again, they resumed their celebrating by tightly squeezing the other. After a few seconds of hugging, Gina pulled back, Ricky still holding onto her arms.

"We did it! We can get our lives back, Gina! No more late work hours-"

"Or having to answer their every whim-"

"And best of all, we get to see Lily and Jack!" Ricky exclaimed, shaking Gina's arms a little.

"Yeah... I guess we do," Gina replied, feeling a little less enthusiastic.

Ricky's face dropped slightly at her response. He asked Gina, "Is everything ok?"

Gina thought she would be more excited for this. That it would be so nice to finally be free of Nini's shackles, but something inside of her felt off. She wondered if this meant she would have less time with Ricky. As much as she hated to admit it, she enjoyed some of the time they had spent together. It was nice to have a friend at work and all of their strategizing kept her mind preoccupied from Jack, as well as Kourtney and Jet's wedding. Life was feeling... colorful again.

But, when she saw how enthusiastic Ricky was, she decided to shake off her disappointment. The deal was always meant to be temporary and at some point life was going to have to return to normalcy (albeit, with extra free time on the weekdays).

So, mustering up a large smile (that was somewhat fake), Gina responded to Ricky with "Yeah, everything's fine. I was just thinking of my first thing I'm going to do when I get home. Now go! Go see Lily!"

Ricky paused for a moment uncomfortably, about to make another comment, but decided to hold off. He said goodbye as he parted ways with her, not knowing she spent the entire walk home convincing herself not to be sad.

What Gina didn't know, was that Ricky spent his entire walk home convincing himself not to feel the same thing, too.

#rina #ricky x gina #ricky bowen #gina porter #hsmtmts #high school musical the musical the series #set it up #charlie x harper

[piedpiperslists]

KSJ: Christmas / Holiday Season AU

List of all Seokjin fics under 'Christmas / Holiday Season' AU:

* ¹ - one shot s - contains smut

* Last updated: 26/11/2023

D R A B B L E S

[drabble] by versigny strangers to lovers Summary: “I know it’s Christmas Eve and I know you’re almost closed but I really need to buy this.”

And Again by starlostjimin friends to lovers Summary: It's time for your annual Christmas get together with your best friend Jin. It's a Christmas like no other.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside by btsqualityy s established relationship Summary: It’s the morning of Jin’s birthday and it’s also freezing in your house. Read to find out just how the two of you decide to….warm up.

Blue Memories by justasparkwritings angst, post breakup au Summary: Seokjin recounts the 2.5 Christmases you spent together.

Close by btsqualityy established relationship, idol au Summary: It’s your first Christmas in Korea and you’re feeling a little lonely. Good thing you have Jin to fix that for you.

Cuddling by the Fireplace by breadoffoxy established relationship, idol au

Day 12 by minisugakoobies s established relationship Summary: Giving your fiancé his present in the early hours of Christmas morning.

“Dough my goodness!” by joon-ipersgirl established relationship Summary: Just a fluffy Seokjin piece about baking with his s/o.

“I can’t believe you hurt yourself putting up the Christmas Decorations.” by dreamescapeswriting established relationship

New Year's Cheer by hamsterclaw s bartender!reader, strangers au Summary: The man who walks into your bar on New Year's eve seems like he wants to celebrate with you.

* New Year’s Kiss by seoulnotes neighbors au Summary: Jin and Y/N are neighbors and spend a New Year’s Eve evening together and kinda share a New Year’s kiss.

Of Equine Considerations by bubmyg CEO!Seokjin, established relationship Summary: What the hell do you get the best thing to ever happen to you who’ve you’ve already given everything you can think of or where Seokjin runs into you in a boutique down the block from his office looking at the exact same teddy bear figurine he’d been coming after.

Pining for You by dulce-pjm established relationship Summary: Your Christmas isn’t going exactly as planned, but you can say for sure that nowhere feels more right to celebrate than wrapped up in Jin’s arms. You just hope Jin knows that.

Secret Santa by athenathesharkwrites coworkers au Summary: I get your name during secret santa at work and use the same wrapping paper for my gift to my friend, so…sorry about all the sex toys.

Silent Night by bangtanstanst established relationship, college au Summary: It’s one of those nights where you can’t quite concentrate on the school work you really should be doing and, as an experienced student, you’ll manage to find a way to procrastinate.

“Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is – OKAY, THAT’S IT.” by kpopfanfictrash established relationship

Time’s A Wastin’ by vopegist established relationship Summary: Christmas week is supposed to be one of the jolliest times of the year. Not for you, though, no, you are having an awful time. Left alone with a messy kitchen and a boyfriend that refuses to shut up, you bring up the best efforts in making this Christmas a merry one.

Unexpectedly spending the holidays together by breadoffoxy brother's best friend

“Well this has gone terribly wrong.” by chloefran established relationship

Your Love is All I Need by justasparkwritings s established relationship, PWP Summary: A surprise after Seokjin’s Bachelor Party brings him all the love he needs.

O N E S H O T S

All I Don't Want for Christmas Is You! by minisugakoobies s wc~23.7k / enemies to lovers, coworkers au Summary: The holidays are here! But instead of celebrating, you're trapped in a town called Christmas with your office nemesis, Kim Motherfucking Seokjin, and an unruly band of clients. Can you survive the trip and secure the promotion your boss has promised? Or will Jin take you down?

Chirstmas Under Wraps by joheunsaram s wc~12k / nurse!Seokjin, doctor!reader, fantasy au Summary: You always wanted to work in a small town, and when you finally got matched to a small hospital in Alaska for your one year sabbatical you never would’ve thought you’d be in a place where everyone believed Santa was real. Mass hysteria or magic? Only time will tell.

Christmas Warfare by gimmethatagustd s wc~14.5k / exes to lovers Summary: You will win the neighborhood’s “Best Christmas Decorations” contest and rub it in your ex-boyfriend’s face, by any means necessary. Or Jin will win your heart back, even if it means surrendering his crown as King of Christmas Decorations.

Copy Room Christmas by feliix s wc~4.3k / CEO!Seokjin, boss au, PWP Summary: After waking up hungover after your office party, you struggle to remember the details of the previous night. The pieces of the puzzle all come together once you find yourself tangled in the bedsheets of your boss, Kim Seokjin.

Half-Baked Holiday by ddaenggtan s wc~12.6k / friends to lovers Summary: That Seokjin, don’t get me started on him. He’s worked hard to open and run that bakery of his, you know, and I’m so proud that it’s so successful now. Wish he would find a nice person to settle down with, though, he deserves it, as long as he’s been on his own. Well, I guess you can’t really call it alone when he’s got that grump of a best friend always hanging around him. He really should be paying her, what with all the time she spends at the bakery with him. She’s always waking up on the wrong side of the bed, but she’s not so bad when she brings me some of those cookies of his, or just around Seokjin in general, if I’m honest. Too distracted by staring at that pretty face of his, I suppose, though who can blame her?

How to Win at Christmas in 7 Easy Steps by btsmosphere wc~2.6k / neighbors au Summary: How to win at Christmas… and maybe meet someone along the way. The story of how Jin ended up crawling through your hedge dressed as santa on Christmas eve. And how you were totally not heading to his house for the very same reason.

Just Say Goodnight and Go by vanaera wc~4.2k / college au, neighbors au Summary: The spirit of Christmas is yet to be felt as a blackout on a chilly December night becomes the icing on the cake of your horribly shitty day. You just really want to sleep tonight but your neighbor seems to have lost his mind again when he comes knocking on your door to demand for an uncalled sleepover. Said neighbor is Kim Seokjin, the famed crush of the university, and no, he’s not your friend. He’s most definitely not your crush and he’s absolutely not the reason why warmth invades your chest when it’s not even summer.

Last Christmas by xjoonchildx s wc~9k / exes to lovers Summary: It was bound to happen, eventually. After months of near misses at barbecues and birthdays, there’s no avoiding your ex-husband at Hoseok’s annual Christmas bash. But it’s fine, totally fine, because you’re both adults – and you’ve both brought dates and booze. What could go wrong?

Misanthropy & Mistletoe by shediot wc~55k / single dad!Seokjin, strangers to lovers Summary: Known as the Scrooge of your town, you spend the majority of your life isolated from others. Yet, when the child of a brother you never knew you had winds up on your doorstep in the dead of winter with nowhere else to go, you find yourself reluctantly opening your home to her. And perhaps, with the help of the townsfolk you’ve spent your life avoiding, you can open your heart, too.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy by fantasybangtan wc~15k / enemies to lovers, doctors au Summary: Working a twenty-four hour shift at the hospital was pretty low on the list of things you’d hoped to be doing on Christmas eve. Fortunately for you, doctor Kim - golden boy of the ward and, coincidentally, your arch nemesis - is around to keep things interesting.

Start Anew by gukyi wc~11k / exes au Summary: It’s been five years since you left your hometown, vowing never to return, but a simple invitation to a Christmas party and a yearning to know whether or not you’re truly over the heartbreak you left behind has you wondering if, maybe, the christmas spirit and promise of a new beginning can change your mind.

Strings by dawnagustd s wc~5k / CEO!Seokjin, strangers to lovers Summary: After getting ditched by your friends at a New Year’s Eve party, you and Seokjin decide it’s best to stick together—since neither of you are in the partying mood. You two may be from different worlds, but you have at least one thing in common. It’s been ages since you’ve had a decent hook up, so why not bring in the new year putting an end to your dry spell? There is one rule, however. When the morning comes, you both have to go separate ways—and carry on as if it never happened.

Stuck With You by taleasnewastime s wc~29.6k / strangers to lovers Summary: It’s the first Christmas since your dad passed away. You, your mum and sister are going to his favourite place to do his favourite thing, skiing. And yet you’re not there. Stuck. Stranded. Trapped. In seemingly the single hottest place in the world. Your transfer flight cancelled so you’re now stuck between home and your family. A snowstorm that causes all flights to be cancelled, heat that just seems wrong at Christmas, your sister crying and shouting down the phone at you, and to top it off, the most annoying man in the world who’s in the same position as you and seems to think you’re friends because of that fact. Merry Christmas to you.

Sweater Weather by bookyeom wc~5.4k / friends to lovers Summary: In which her mom knits her and Jin matching couples' Christmas sweaters, which comes with only one problem - they're not a couple.

Swiss Miss by here4kpopfics s wc~8.9k / ft KNJ, boyfriend!Namjoon Summary: Your boyfriend, Namjoon, takes you on a Christmas vacation. Your present, however, is his best friend. The man you had a crush on for years before meeting Namjoon.

The Heart of Winter by yeoldontknow wc~4.9k / coworkers au Summary: One year after Jin almost kissed you at your company’s New Years Eve party, you try to make him jealous, only to find out the best way to solve problems is by talking.

‘Tis the Damn Season [AO3] by goodsoop s wc~2.8k / enemies to lovers, coworkers au Summary: When your arch nemesis at work brings you a cup of hot chocolate in peace offering. You didn’t expect it to lead to you bent over your desk with the office holiday party in full swing just floors below.

Ugly Sweater Weather by army-author wc~4.2k / strangers to lovers Summary: Kim Seokjin is the most popular boy at your school. You think he’s stuck up and entitled, until you run into him at the clothing store you work at, and find him purchasing an unholy amount of ugly Christmas sweaters…

Very Punny by army-author wc~7.6k / college au Summary: You sign up for a Christmas pen pal project to keep the boredom at bay over the holidays… but your pen pal partner might be a lot closer to you than you think…

Winter Solace by floralseokjin s wc~27k / strangers to lovers, neighbors au Summary: After a difficult few months (and years), a fresh start in a new city is both equal parts thrilling and terrifying, but you’re determined to make it work. It’s just you and your dog-sized cat Nox, ready to take on the world. Of course along the way there are ups, and there are downs. The main down being you’re short on cash after the big move, unable to spend Christmas with your family. The main up is your kind and thoughtful neighbour who offers to celebrate the holiday with you, despite not being a fan of it himself…

Wrapped Up in You [AO3] by goodsoop s wc~2.9k / friends to lovers, idol au Summary: Jin shows up at the last minute, interrupting your solo masturbation session and asks for help wrapping his gifts…somehow one of you also ends up tied up.

T W O S H O T S / S E R I E S

Final Sleigh ¹ [drabbles] by floralseokjin s enemies to lovers, office au Summary: You took an (almost) immediate dislike to Seokjin during his first week at the office and six months later that distaste is not only still going strong, but also mutual. Working in sales, you view one another as competition, so what happens when you’re forced to organise the Christmas office party together? It’s a recipe for disaster, but one thing’s for sure, it doesn’t end the way you imagined it… (Spoiler alert: you don’t wind up murdering him.)

#ksj list #seokjin fic

[girlbosstom]

1 5 8 15 19 30 for the succ ask 🥺

AAHHHHHH!! Thanks for so many i'm having a blast with these <3

favorite pairing (that could actually work if they got their shit together)

IDK if anyone could actually work if they got their shit together. Tomgreg is my favorite pairing. But they're gonna rest in pieces.

5. who do you think will take over wr?

I'm stupid I'm very stupid i was like. Writers room? Jesse Armstrong's still on top is he not? But this means waystar I see I see. I have a theory for how the show is going to end that involves each of the siblings trying and failing in quick succession, but idk who I see taking over at the end.

Writing-wise I can see the benefits to a lot of people. Even though he's literally ancient, I think Ewan would be cool because it would show he's a fucking hypocrite. Maybe Marcia. IDK how i'd feel about any of the siblings getting it.

A lot of people think Greg's going to take over but I think a lot of those people approach succession like it's game of thrones. Greg would have a LOT of development to go through in one or two seasons to make that even remotely satisfying.

I mean, I can also see Mattson taking the company for good. Or maybe Waystar crumbles. Gets bought out and dissected by various streaming services and tech companies who (surprise surprise) have a similar culture. Maybe after one of the sibs drives it in to the ground. I'd really love logan to die at the end of season 4 and have season 5 focus on the aftermath. Also less brian cox.

8. how do you think the show will end?

I want them to continue with their roman history comparisons! After the fall of Nero, it triggered the "Year of Four Emporers" This fall could have something to do with Tom, or it could be logan dying or something.

The year of four emperors saw a time of turmoil in the empire where four emperors ruled in quick succession (all the sibs!) and each of them were like, horrible at it. I just love the idea of all four of them getting the opportunity to do what they've been working for this whole time and it falling apart completely :)

No idea how it'll "end end" like what a last episode will look like. It'll probably be at a wedding. Or a funeral. Or maybe even just a birthday.

15. Lore you want unpacked

I already answered this with Greg's dad, which is 1000% true. But there's plenty else to say. Honestly. I just want anything to do with Shiv's backstory in any regard.

19. cringiest scene

The roman dick pick moment sent me into the S T R A T O S P H E R E

30. a headcanon of no importance (eg, connor prefers milk chocolate and shiv prefers dark)

Shiv pretends to like her coffee black but she doesn't.

#mine #asks

[worldrevoked]

what is world revoked

wr is about countries playing SBURB.

in wr clays/countries occupy a weird epistemology where their actions are predestined by material forces. they're quite literally the reification of the idea of countries, with a heaping bullshit pile of weird biology and worldbuilding to make itso, and they're powered by Relevance (a qualitative union of both poli-economic power and socio-cultural significance) and human belief (homestuck hopey-style bullshit related to Relevance).

clays simultaneously have no true agency and have all of the agency in the world. their set of choices is predetermined and also free. which is pretty much any person in existence is both constrained by their material environment and yet the potential for collective human development and transformation is endless and a matter of free agency within the constraints you are given. two contradicting conditions coexist, that of obligations and free agency. just like normal people but most humans arent like, embodiments of Countries.

the clays only get free will once they leave the earth and enter SBURB/SBIRD, which basically completely severs clays (superstructures) from their material base (human society and humans). all other times their agency is very limited by geopolitics. in wr humans are basically funny little critters to clays who are also dictating their actions. so imagine if your choices were actually controlled by various small bugs around you or like. you own an ant farm and whatever the ant farm wants is what you want. you still have some matter of deciding how to be a person but also you must fulfill the antfarm obligation. also the fact that modern countries (as opposed to kingdoms or other societies formed around individual dynasties) is also handwaved in wr as both part of clay evolution and also you get gaslit into having had a childhood sometimes.

wr is about communism. and imperialism.

part of world revoked is going from that transition to existing as a signifier for abstract concepts to becoming the signified. i.e. turning into a real person. communism is still important in SBIRD, but also it's working in a completely different configuration wrt to new planets, etc. the main antagonistic force is still american hegemony/western imperialism but also there's room to negotiate the aftereffects of imperialism (and other forms of dominion, not just western-capitalist: cultural hegemony and historical baggage, resource/power differentials) in terms of like. using the interpersonal trauma as metaphor for societal trauma. and like. the histories of these countries do inform how they interact with their consorts and their lands in SBIRD. which i dont have to spell out but the drive towards automation and efficiency with SBIRD-specific systems. well it turns what's already The Minecraft Problem with SBURB into something even worse.

anyways sburb for clays is ripping away your environment and asking: can a blank slate of a person, acting mechanically and bound by the simple necessities, grow a personality from a script given to them once the director is out of the picture? also relevant: how do you deal with Memory and Legacy and also dialectics. oh yeah and then there's the aspect gods, operating as something even more powerful than the most powerful countries, yet not gods that are invincible. it's not only the gods themselves but the entire classpect system as a way to categorize and earmark people for success or failure that's in question. metaclasspecting, multiclasspecting. classpecthopping. weird meta bullshit from a handful of eldritch entities all having their fingies in the pie.

in summary:

world revoked is about communism but it's also about transgender and it's also about trying to piece together a livable life from the wreckage of things done to you that you had no control over and it's also about cruel gods and namelessness and being hyperaware of the machinations around you that you have no choice in. but it's also about love, a lot of love. it's also about a guy who gets so so sad he irreversibly changes the multiverse across all timelines. wr is about transgender communism.

#world revoked #text #mspfa #sburbventure #fanventure #wr is also about melons. 🍉

[loversandcousins]

in conversation

with Neeta 💕

In late May, I said to Neeta, oh let me show you my secret blog, and then she said I have one too– What a good thing, what a revelation, how sweet it's been to read her secret blog. 

First of all, it's beautiful: http://neeta.works/blog/

I want to float in that yellow-green-blue. The blog used to be light green on dark green, like a tennis court, and before that it was purple. like an artificially flavored italian ice. Mmm. 

Hmm. Neeta writes about tennis, running, coding, and writing. Most of all she seems to write about process. The repetition, the sounds of it. Returning to the thing, whatever it is, again and again and again. Her posts from this past August 11 and August 13 are my favorite in this vein. 

On August 11 she celebrated the completion of her 4th notebook of "unpublished tweets." This is her practice of writing 140 character journal entries, mimicking the form of the old Twitter (each Tweet was 140 characters), an afterlife of the many years that she posted on Twitter. Anyone who keeps a journal knows the excitement of finishing an entire notebook. Neeta looks back at her notebooks and comes up with life-affirming self analysis: it is "a record of my self in flux." She gives space to her doubts, though. She wonders if she is narcissistic, if drawing the delineating squares on each page is neurotic, if she needs to kill her darling. These doubts  crowd the penultimate paragraph, like they are squirrely and alive, rushing to fill up a possible opening. She slams the door in their face with the last line, "I am just trying to stay alive." No one does this shit for any less of a good reason. But isn't it a trip, doing something over and over and over again? 

Two days later she writes again about transformation and repetition, but in a different language, the way that footsteps talk. After running on a treadmill one morning, she writes:: "...thump thum pthump thump thump thump tump thump thump thumpthmp thumpthump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump…" 

The onomatopoeia gradually transforms into the word runner, or "runr." What does it sound like to be a runner? To listen to yourself slowly become a runner with the thump of each step? What does it feel like to listen to yourself listening, and then go home and put words on a page to get that sound out of your head? 

Neeta's got range, so she also writes sentences like "I’m generally interested in making works in series, and for this piece I want to exploit the reproductive capacity possible in the printshop." (15 April 2022). And so, it's exciting when the secret blog is a window into her studio, and we glimpse the things she makes. My absolute favorite of this flavor of post is where we see the posters she designed and printed for graduate student workers at Yale University who are campaigning to win a union. The posters are beautiful, and the choice to use a Riso machine is especially satisfying. I personally have fond memories of using a Riso machine. You can really see the ink drying on the page and the way that it brings CMYK to life is exciting.

During the April rally, grad workers had already won a majority vote in support of unionizing through Unite Here Local 33, but the university officials were refusing to recognize the union. From an article in the Yale Daily News published mid October, it looks like the university is still refusing to recognize the union, and has escalated their union busting tactics, while nonetheless even more folks came out to the latest (rainy and cold!) rally in support of the union. An update from two days ago, Oct 25, shows that the grad student workers had submitted union authorization cards to the NLRB and the university has 2 weeks to respond. Well, I hope grad workers at Yale keep their foot on the gas, and that organizers at Unite Here consider the most aggressive tactics possible. Maybe Neeta will make more posters..

I've meandered, which of course she would understand. 

I've been wanting to write about Neeta's blog for a while, and possibly write about other friends' work as part of a "series" (ah!). Reading Neeta's blog gives me so much inspiration and courage to blog my own blogg, and I salute her!! Read my blog, read Neeta's blog, blog blog blog bloggi blogg, stay alive, seek inspiration…