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lost-in-sokovia · 2 months

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close to my heart, never to part

AN: hey team!! so, it’s quite apparent that i haven’t written anything on here in ages!! tbh since early 2023 it’s been difficult for me to enjoy writing fanfic style and therefore it’s been fucking forever since i’ve done it!! however, i’ve started writing again but in a completely different style of writing, and my friends and even a few of my professors at school have been really supportive and so it’s given me more confidence. so, i wrote this little piece over a span of two nights. it’s not proofread, it all came to me on a whim from a thought that stemmed in the shower one night. as some of you might know, lullabies are incredibly important to me. my parents always sang “you are my sunshine” to me so that’s the one i grew up on, i still listen to lullabies, and giving my babies lullabies is something so important to me. so i was thinking what joel’s lullaby for sarah would be, and i remembered that nico parker was in the live action “dumbo” movie that i actually saw in theaters with my sister when i was younger. so, obviously i had to take that connection and translate it, and this idea hit. so, without further ado, here is something i wrote that im incredibly nervous to post because i haven’t posted an original writing since literally 2022 and i need to do a masterlist cleanse of all my old shit spanning back to when i was like 14/15 whatever and here’s something i wrote for joel miller who i am not an expert on tlou fandom girlies please be gentle with me😭

tw: alcohol consumption, language, angst, pre-/no! breakout joel, sarah is a baaaaby🤍, no use of y/n, this isn’t even an x reader fic😭

(if you want to listen to my favorite rendition of “baby mine” that helped inspire this, here it is!!)

it wasn’t like he was sleeping, anyway.

joel miller was sitting on his couch in the dead of night, slouched over with heavy, glossed over eyes mindlessly staring at whatever the fuck had come on the tv at this point.

it was the first night without his wife, without the mother of his infant daughter.

the austin air was quiet that night, and seemingly all that existed (or didn’t exist, joel was still debating) was joel, his couch, his beer, and his tv.

joel had been slowly nursing a beer all night. just one, he had told himself, because he couldn’t be drunk and alone with his daughter.

however, as the hours passed on, joel had forgotten about the existence of his peacefully sleeping daughter in her nursery, and yet he still held the same amber glass bottle tiredly between his fingers as it rested on his knee.

still in jeans and a t-shirt, joel’s heavy eyelids fluttered open and closed, the obnoxious bright light of the television piercing his pupils when opened and nearly provoking a headache. he was hopelessly fighting the sleep that could take him away from all his problems for a short time. his eyes dry and salty from the tears he’d shed earlier in the night were losing the battle of exhaustion as his head slowly began to fall back against the leather couch.

not even moments later, small hiccuped cries began to erupt from sarah’s nursery. joel jerked awake and looked around through squinting eyes as he ran a hand over his face and through his hair. the cries of his daughter intensified and joel let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

what was he supposed to do? taking care of sarah in the night wasn’t new to him, but doing it alone was.

what if he couldn’t get her to stop?

what if she wanted her mother? that’s a thing babies usually cry for, right?

joel pushed down the fresh set of tears that pricked at his eyelids and forced himself to get up, his stomach churning with dread (and the nausea provoked by drinking a beer after eating almost nothing all day).

it took everything in him to climb the stairs to reach the nursery. his legs dragged with exhaustion and his willpower to take care of whatever the issue was was close to nothing, despite the fact his baby daughter’s cries intensified the longer she was up there alone.

when joel finally reached her nursery, the sound of her cries pounded in his head.

“oh, oh oh,” he cooed as gently as he could, voice gruff with sleep. he carefully lifted sarah out of her crib, bouncing her lightly as he held her to his chest. “why’re we cryin’, babygirl? what’s wrong?”

sarah’s little fists were beside her face that was scrunched unhappily, her mouth stretched wide as she wailed. joel cooed and continued to bounce her, trying to get her to calm down.

he lifted her higher to do a smell-check of her diaper to see if that was the problem. nope, the scent of baby powder still penetrated his nose.

he held a finger in front of her mouth to see if she’d try to suck it, a sign she may be hungry.

nothing, just a bit of spit from her tiny mouth sprayed his finger as she cried.

“sarah, darlin’, work with me here,” joel pleaded helplessly. he walked around in a small circle as he bounced her, looking around her nursery; light blue walls with quilted decor of the alphabet above her crib, sheer curtains patterned with lively little polka dots, a rocking chair, a nightlight, a changing table, a little bookshelf, toys and stuffed animals set nicely in a corner…

each and every piece of furniture and decor laced with memories of sarah’s mom.

joel wasn’t sure how many times he’d made the same circle, and he had gotten used to the sound of sarah’s cries by now. his eyelids were heavy and his head had the dullest ache.

he felt like he could cry too. he was completely drained and at a loss. was this what every night for the next year was going to look like? how the hell was he supposed to raise his daughter right without her mother in the picture? what was he going to do about work? who was going to watch her? who—

joel didn’t realize tears were sliding down his cheeks until sarah let out an absolute guttural cry.

“i’m sorry, babygirl, ‘m sorry…” joel apologized, using his thumb to try and gently wipe the mix of his and her tears off her soft baby cheek. he stared at his daughter in the dark, weakly whispering continued apologies.

he was sorry for letting his tears drop onto her. he was sorry she was crying. he was sorry for however the rest of her life was about to be.

he was sorry he wasn’t her mother.

joel’s last and final resort hit after he had taken a few deep breaths. he remembered singing.

sarah’s mom wasn’t one for full-on singing for her daughter, but joel, who had wanted to be a singer, was. he’d gently lay sarah’s tiny body on top of his blanket-covered guitar and play soft lullabies for her, singing into her little ear. a popular song with her had been “baby mine” from the movie “dumbo.” before sarah was born, joel and her mother had collected as many vhs tapes of movies that she would hopefully enjoy from second-hand sales. among that pile was the movie of the elephant with the big ears, who when flying made sarah laugh and squeal.

joel cleared his throat as quietly as possible, sarah’s cries and whines still persisting.

“baby mine, don’t you cry,” joel began softly, voice a bit scratchy. “baby mine, dry your eyes. rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine.”

cries subsided into little whines.

“little one, when you play…”

little fists unclenched.

“don’t you mind what they say…”

sarah’s tiny tensed body relaxed.

“l-let those eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, baby of mine…”

joel cradled her and rocked her slowly back and forth, watching his daughter fall asleep once more. though emotion flooded up in his chest, he knew he couldn’t stop now.

“if they knew sweet little you, they’d end up lovin’ you too… all those same people who scold you, what they’d g-give just for the right to hold you…”

joel wasn’t sure if he could finish. his voice was choked up and more tears slid down his cheeks as he admired his peacefully sleeping daughter, calm just from the sound of her father’s voice.

he took a shaky breath before forcing himself to finish out the song.

“from your head t’your toes, you’re not much, goodness knows—“

with a small crack in his voice, he finished out the rest of the lullaby in a whisper.

“but you’re so precious t’me… cute as can be… baby of mine…”

#joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x y/n #joel miller tlou #the last of us #joel tlou #joel the last of us #pedro pascal #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #joel miller angst #sarah miller #sarah miller tlou #pedro pascal the last of us #pedro pascal tlou #Spotify

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iam93percentstardust · 4 months

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Welp it's been almost an entire year since the last hate comment in my inbox, so I figured I was due for another one (and trust me, dear nonnie, you have nothing on the three months of targeted bullying and hate I went through at the end of 2022/beginning of 2023). But I think this is a good time to spend some time talking about authorial intent. Now, don't get me wrong, I think there are many, many things wrong with this comment, but their complete misunderstanding of what I wanted to accomplish with this fic is indicative of a wider problem that I'm seeing in fandom at the moment, so we're gonna talk a bit about critical thinking and authorial intent.

So I could point out that this comment sucks because the fic they're complaining about is a gift fic and the giftee loved the fic so anyone else's opinion doesn't matter, and thinking that your opinion matters more than the giftee's is the height of entitlement (but let's face it, being called entitled doesn't matter to this person).

Or I could point out that this fic was tagged with "Infidelity" so they had to have known what they were getting into when they first opened the fic and shouldn't be so horrified that the cheating fic contained cheating (but let's face it, we all know that they didn't read the tags, and I'm not even sure they read the fic since both characters were cheating, not just Tony).

But what I really want to focus on is how badly this person misunderstood what I was writing. This is a smut fic masquerading as a breaking up & making up fic. I wrote this fic specifically so I could write 6 sex scenes (which was the original prompt anyway). I didn't really want to focus on the feelings. They're there, they're present, they get mentioned to set the stage for the sex, but I don't spend thousands and thousands of words talking about the feelings and mental states of Steve and Tony.

Which means that for the parts where Steve and Tony are being "toxic" and "shitty," I don't go into a whole lot of detail as to why they're being toxic and shitty. I have a personal headcanon as to why they're acting like this, but it doesn't actually matter. What matters is that I made a deliberate choice not to include the justification for their actions so I could write the smut instead. I knew that I was writing Steve and Tony as toxic and shitty because that was the entire point.

Now, let's be honest here, this commenter doesn't care about any of this. "Disgusting" and "grossness" are a deliberately inflammatory word choice, and as my friend pointed out, they're being puritanical and moralistic. In other words, they're like any other of the growing number of pearl-clutching members of fandom I see these days.

But this post isn't really for them. This post is for everyone who's only reading fic through their own lens and forgetting that the author also had a purpose when they wrote the fic in the first place.

This isn't the first time someone has completely misunderstood what I was trying to do with a fic. It's one of the meanest, but it's not the first time. It happened with the professor/student fic I wrote in 2022 where I argued that just because two people were wrong for each other when they were younger that doesn't mean they're still a mismatch when they're older. The pining Tony/serial one-night stand Steve where almost all of the early comments were about how it should be switched and missed that that was the entire point (that Steve is the obvious choice for pining, and I wanted to explore what would switch that dynamic). The Christmas fic in 2021 where someone straight up told me I tagged it wrong just based on the summary.

So here's the thing: death of the author is only one interpretation of literary criticism, but it's by no means the only. Authorial intent is a perfectly valid way to interpret a fic, and in this case, it's arguably more valid than looking at it through the lens of death of the author because if the reader isn't considering my reasoning behind why I wrote the fic the way I did, then the point of it will go right over their head. Getting so hung up on my intentions, my background, my style of writing not mattering, on only their interpretation mattering, means that they only read the surface level of this fic. And that works just fine in other fics, but it doesn't work here. At all. Because the entire point of this fic is my intentions. I intended to write a smut fic that glossed over the feelings of the two characters involved. I intended for it to look like a toxic relationship from an outsider's perspective. I intended to write the prompt I saw for the person who prompted it.

And if you're not looking at it through what I intended, then all you're going to end up with is dissatisfaction and the belief that I made a mistake somewhere instead of realizing that I achieved exactly what I set out to do.

#alle talks #writing #fandom #bad comments

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dejablonde · 3 months

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So I had to write a personal narrative for composition class. I wrote about post-ritual depression leading to a career change, and I thought ghumblr might enjoy. It's only 763 words (after padding it out with some extra academic phrasing) but I don't want to clog your feeds too much so it's below the cut.

"Have you ever like something so much that it rewired your brain?"

Have you ever liked something so much that it rewired your brain? I can’t pinpoint exactly when I first heard the band called “Ghost,” but it was most likely sometime in 2022. I think the first video (from whichever of the dozen algorithms we get our content from today) pushed to my feed was their performance on Jimmy Kimmel, where they played their song Call Me Little Sunshine. I was taken aback by their theatrical look and sound. I listened to a few more songs, became a casual listener, and even bought their latest album when I came across it at Josey Records. What I can pinpoint, however, is the day I turned feral: April 9, 2023, Easter Sunday.

Being only a casual listener still, I was curious as to what was going on when I saw that Ghost was trending on Tumblr. As I scrolled through the tag, it became more and more clear that, not only had they had dropped new music, but a new music video to match, almost entirely without warning: a cover of Phil Collins’ Jesus He Knows Me. Of course, I had to listen. From the driving intro into the first verse, to the poppy chorus, to the lyrics addressing hypocrisy from the church and its leaders, it was almost like twenty-eight years of religious trauma were healed in four minutes and five seconds, as if it were that easy. I wasn’t cured, but they certainly made a dent. I listened to it on repeat and branched into the rest of their discography. After two weeks, I finally caved and bought myself a pit ticket to their upcoming Dallas tour date.

When the day finally came, five months later, I could barely contain myself. I felt if I could leap hard enough, I would jump right out of my skin. I had taken advantage of the fact that I had the previous day off from work and pretended that I was taking a small trip for Labor Day. This allowed me the day off for the concert. My employers already think I’m strange enough; I didn’t see any need to make it worse by asking for time off to line up for a concert by a Satanic rock band hours early on a Tuesday. Despite the 103-degree weather that day, I made it to the general admission line around noon. I chatted with my new line buddies over the next several hours about the band, how we got into them, and a little bit about our lives in general over the water that the venue security provided. For the first time in a while, I was surrounded by people like me.

They say that concerts can be a religious experience. I’m not sure I agree, but they’re not exactly wrong. It really is overwhelming, or at least can be. Many aspects are similar, if not the same. Between the community and camaraderie with your fellow “congregants” and the feeling of the music all the way down to your bones, there’s certainly something that happens internally. This concert (or ritual, as Ghost fans lovingly call them) was no exception. After all, when you’re a stone’s throw away from your obsession, bathed in light and confetti, you can’t help but feel a little changed.

Post-concert depression is a very real and powerful force. It’s even stronger when you come back to work after finally feeling happy and rested only to be met with snideness not even fifteen minutes into the day. I was already dealing with years of declining morale. I wanted to be happy again, like I was the night before. I started looking at job postings immediately. I nearly got one in the same field but interviewed poorly. Eventually, I decided to make up for lost time and try to make a move into what my high-school-aged-self wanted. Or at least something close. Unfortunately, even though apprenticeship-type situations are common in the music industry, it’s very hard to break in without any kind of provable experience. I looked into some recording technology schools but didn’t really feel the need to go into debt on a loan for them. I was about to lose hope, but then I had a lightbulb moment and found that Dallas College has a program for Recording Technology. My application and registration were late in the game, but I was able to squeeze in before the start of this semester. Now, I’m finally doing something I want to do, and it’s all thanks to a funky little Swede in black and white makeup.

#the band ghost #papa emeritus iv #papa emeritus iii #papa emeritus ii #papa emeritus i #nameless ghouls #nameless ghoulettes #tobias forge #toblerone fudge #tender father #post-concert depression #DejaBlonde #my writing

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 4 months

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This left a mark: Christian Dior & Saks partnered for Light up the NYC Night for Christmas 2023

youtube

No doubt "DIOR Contract" was at the top of the 2017 RMM- DIANA 2.0 vision board & megxit manifesto. In other words: Sparry's 'honey do' for MeMe list: Meet Beyonce (on yellow carpet)✔ Disney (princess) gig✔. oh to be a fly on a Cali wall after that Dior ANNOUNCEMENT: guttural moans & tears for weeks! 😬

Dior in 2018: MEgain's inappropriate Dior cocktail dress w/pinwheel headpiece for 1st balcony appearance. She also appeared to lose a tooth during the reception.

2019-"Christening"

2021 & 2022 New York City

2022 Jubilee as Wallis Simpson & 2023 Sparry

A word to the wise and to the Meghans: The REAL Santa knows whose on the MARKLED List.

Play stupid games and MARKLE yourselves!

I'll buy that Jill Smoller (formerly Gina) badgered Dior on behalf of MEgain, but no way would Dior sully their brand with the toxic, mentally unstable, over seas royals who can't be bothered to iron 🙄

"Oh & I took FRENCH for 8 years in high school or was it 4 years?" 😉

"...but but I'm not a model, I'm just a mom. Thankfully Sparry was here to coach me that I can be both. I wonder how he became so wise?" Variety 2022

Please follow the link to subscribe to "Woman Behind Kate" & LIKE👍

Princess Diana 2.0 caught in the act

youtube

Sparry, YOU MARKLED yourselves. Stop blaming the BRF for your failures to launch.

Princess Diana 2.0 Tom Bower

The Sun: What is the history between Dior and the royal family?

December 12, 2023 || Born in 1905, Christian Dior, the fashion designer, climbed the ranks of several Parisian fashion houses before establishing his own establishment in 1946.

One of the early royal admirers of the designer was Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II.

She became a client of the fashion house and one of Dior's most famous designs, the "Margaret Dress," was named after her.

Queen Elizabeth II also shared a close connection with Dior.

She appointed Doir to design her Coronation gown for the crowning ceremony in 1953.

The gown, famously called the "Hartnell Dress," was a collaboration between Dior and British couturier Sir Norman Hartnell.

Over the years, various royal family members have continued to wear Dior creations for public appearances.

Dior dressed Prince Harry for King Charles' coronation in May 2023 - as the royal forwent wearing a military uniform.

Shortly after the coronation ceremony, Dior took to its social media to reveal Kim Jones was the designer behind the suit.

"Tailoring fit for royalty. Dior is honoured to have dressed Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, for the coronation of King Charles III in a custom design by Kim Jones," the brand wrote on Instagram.

"Seen arriving at Westminster Abbey, gain an insight into the savoir-faire of his three-piece suit next," it added.

Why was it speculated that Meghan Markle would have a deal with Dior?

In June 2023, it was reported that Meghan was in talks about taking on a deal with Dior.

Following the cancellation of her Spotify podcast after just one season, there was widespread speculation that the Duchess of Sussex was poised for a new role with the French fashion house.

Meghan has worn Dior several times throughout her time as a working royal, including at the late Queen Elizabeth's funeral in September 2022.

However, sources close to the Royals said no contract had been inked.

Dior also expressed its surprise and confusion when the idea of a deal was initially brought up.

A source told the Telegraph: "The Duchess of Sussex is not in talks to sign a deal with Dior.

"There is no truth to the claims that she will partner with the French fashion house,"

A Dior insider said its team was "nonplussed as to how the story came about".

Who became 'the Duchess of Dior' in 2023?

Meghan lost out on the opportunity of a lucrative Dior job to a Kate Middleton actress.

It was revealed in November 2023, that Meg Bellamy, 21, who plays a young Kate Middleton in season six of the hit royal drama The Crown is to be the new face of Dior.

An insider told The Daily Mail: "They have been queuing up for Meg, she is playing the most famous woman in the world in a globally famous television drama, so many labels and brands want some of that.

"She is a total unknown, but she is being treated like Kate, an A-list princess."

What deals and contracts does Meghan Markle have?

After leaving the royal family and their royal duties, Prince Harry and Meghan vowed to become financially independent.

It was reported that the couple would support themselves through Prince Harry's $10 million inheritance from his mother, Princess Diana.

With the world eager to know their story, lucrative million-dollar deals started rolling in from AppleTV, Netflix, and Spotify.

The couple signed a deal with Netflix through their production company, Archewell Productions, with a hefty payment of $100 million for multiple projects.

They have since released one documentary, Harry and Meghan.

Their upcoming documentary series titled, Heart of Invictus, is in the works.

While their third documentary is to be shot in South Africa, the Sussexes are also planning to delve into the rom-com genre with the streaming giant

In June 2023, the couple made headlines when it was reported that their 25-million-dollar deal with Spotify had ended.

According to Rolling Stone, the couple would pay back a portion of their deal money and look for another company to produce podcasts with.

In a joint statement, they said: "Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together."

Royal biographer Tom Bower believes that the couple's "joint ventures are falling apart" and that Meghan is finding it difficult to sell her brand.

"They're beginning to taste the medicine that they handed out after the Oprah interview and they're finding it very very hard to keep their brand reputable," Bower told new magazine.

"They're constantly having to defend themselves and grasping at opportunities that don't exist anymore."

#christian dior #2023 Losers #megxit #Duchess of Narsussex #markled #rejected #tom bower #kinsey schofield #fashion influencer #saks fifth avenue #christmas 2023 #Woman Behind Kate #TheWorking Team #guttural #French #nyc #Princess Diana 2.0 #Youtube

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hillbilly---man · 5 months

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A list of my works on AO3

(they're all Saiki K fics at the moment but I'll add fandom categories to this post if I ever get a new interest lol)

It doesn't fit my plans; it's something I don't understand

Published July 11, 2021

Summary: Saiki is fascinated by Satou Hiroshi, and the people around him start to see that this might be more than just a platonic curiosity.

What is this feeling called love?

[Notes: Bittersweet ending. Nobody gets together. My insistence on theming these early fics after songs is pretty embarrassing now. I'm not proud of my writing here but the story is ok. I might rewrite it someday. Not bad for my first fic since like 2003 though]

Something Changed

Published August 11, 2021

Summary: Aiura wrote a letter to her soulmate the night before they were supposed to meet.

She's predicted a lot of things... how could she have gotten this one wrong?

[Notes: Another sad ending. The format of this is almost entirely an excited letter about the future Aiura imagined that would never come to pass. Not really much of a story happening here tbh]

Won't it be strange when we're all fully grown?

Published August 28, 2021 (INCOMPLETE)

Summary: With graduation quickly approaching, the psychics of PK Academy (and Akechi) worry that they'll drift apart. Luckily, they come up with an idea.

"Let's all meet up in the year 2030!"

A lot can change in a decade.

[Notes: Kind of like a psychicker class reunion where they're all adults with jobs and everything catching up. Future chapters were going to have almost a Scooby Doo vibe (with a twist reveal at the end about Aiura's husband!) I abandoned it because I posted some art and someone called my art creepy and it made the whole fic feel bad to think about. Maybe I'll get back to it someday. It's cool to see how quickly my writing improved. I was also super proud of how well I wrote Akechi's dialogue here]

Hotel Valentine

Published September 24, 2021

Summary: Toritsuka Reita is a pretty lucky guy. He somehow managed to not get expelled from PK Academy, he graduated, and he's avoided creeping on any living girls for a few months. To celebrate, the PK Psychics paid for a one-night stay in the fanciest hotel in Tokyo so Reita can creep on the ghost girl of his dreams. Pretty lucky, right?

Too bad things aren't going his way. He's being ignored by the staff, he's bored out of his mind, and he can't find the ghost girl anywhere. Some vacation, huh?

[Notes: Spoiler: Toritsuka's a ghost stuck in a nice hotel. This is based on a concept album that most of you have never heard but hear me out! It really has nothing to do with the Cibo Matto album of the same title except that the chapters are named after the songs and there are fun Easter eggs for fans of the album. Another slightly sad ending but not too bad]

Coffee & TV

Published August 27th, 2022

Summary: The new silence in her house felt heavy on Kumi's shoulders. Everything reminded her of Kumagoro... especially her grandson Kusuo, who has been coming to visit more often than ever before.

[Notes: this is my least popular finished fic and I understand why. It's about grief and the loss of a grandparent. It's about the unique pain that a psychic would have after failing to prevent that death. There's a sad twist that TBH I think I was a little too subtle with. One of my favorites]

Friendly Fire

Published January 8, 2023

Summary: Being an adult is great until the Problems start. Good grief.

30-year-old Kusuo's psychic powers have been pretty well controlled for over a decade. Why are things starting to go haywire all of a sudden?

[Notes: Friendly Fire my fucking beloved!! In this fic, Saiki gets essentially psychic multiple sclerosis and has to deal with some complicated emotions. I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything but it was cathartic to write and I'm in love with the versions of these characters that I wrote here. So much so that I'm writing a sequel just so I can write more of them. Also, FINALLY a happy ending!!]

Ramen Ikouze?

Published April 28, 2023

Summary: After being dragged to get ramen with Nendou every week, Kusuo starts to realize that it's not so bad after all.

[Notes: I love Nendou, he's so good. This fic is very cute and about their friendship. A couple of fun twists]

Saiki has Plans?

Published May 2, 2023

Summary: Saiki mentions having plans after school, and the overactive imaginations at PK Academy work themselves into a fuss trying to imagine what he could be doing.

[Notes: This fic follows around a bunch of Saiki's classmates as they gossip and snoop to find out what he's up to. It's my most popular fic for some reason]

A Bright Flash

Published May 13, 2023

Summary: Saiki develops an annoying new ability, and through some comedy series logic is forced to tell Teruhashi about it. She tries to be a good ally to her "newly psychic" crush.

[Notes: Teruhashi accidentally finds out about Saiki's new power and he's like "fine. I'm a psychic. But it's just this one power and nothing else."]

Heat Wave

Published June 6, 2023

Summary: There's a historic heat wave in Hidariwakibara, and some of our favorite PK Academy students end up running into each other while taking refuge from the hot weather.

A series of four standalone (but connected) stories taking place at the same time:

Aiura has a vision of disaster, and she and Nendou try to stop it

Yumehara gives Toritsuka some advice to improve his game

Akechi meets Teruhashi's brother

Saiki really wants some shaved ice from the kakigori stand where Mera is working

[Notes: The summary explains it well but also I weaved so many connections between the chapters (that are all happening at roughly the same time). It was also a lot of fun writing interactions between characters that didn't get much in canon. Also you can tell it was hot as hell when I wrote it because I definitely gave Saiki some kind of psychic heat intolerance lol]

Immunity

Published July 6, 2023

Summary: She didn't know why, but Kokomi was finally able to see the truth.

Why Saiki seemed to appear and disappear without explanation. Why it seemed like he always knew what she was planning. Why he wore those weird hairpins.

It was all so obvious now.

Saiki had psychic powers.

[Notes: The veil is lifted suddenly and all the truths that Saiki kept locked behind his mind control were revealed to Teruhashi. He and Aiura have a chat with her about it. Also this was the first fic of mine that an IRL friend read (to my knowledge) and his comment was something like "I don't know anything about your boy but he sounds autistic and gnc" and I took that as a fucking compliment! You know you've written Saiki right when people can see that shit from space]

The Disastrous Financial Situation of Saiki K

Published August 9, 2023 (IN PROGRESS)

Summary: Adjusting to his new limitations has been annoying, and now Kusuo (age 31) needs a car to get around.

Unfortunately, taking time off work has drained his savings.

How is he going to get the money for a car now?

[Notes: This is my sequel to Friendly Fire but it's a lot lighter in nature. 100-Yen-Man goes around doing stuff for Saiki's friends. There are mentions of his disability from Friendly Fire and it's plot relevant but I think you can catch on even if you didn't read the original. I haven't updated in a while but I am actively working on it!! A Yumehara and Makino chapter next and then a Toritsuka chapter after that. TBH this isn't my best work and it's pretty unpopular but I'm having fun and that's all that counts)

#i got my work done so as i promised.. this is my reward #this is for organization purposes and to get me thinking about the things I've written again #my fics #saiki

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foxes-that-run · 5 months

Note

That timeline makes me wonder where HS fit into it all or if he even did during those years outside of writing songs about each other.

I don't think they seemed that close in the 2021 and 2023 grammys. To me, the interaction looked like they hadn't talked in a long time but that's just the feeling I got from it.

I also remember when he wore the midnights coded outfit I think the same night she wore the midnights dress during the 2022 VMA's afterparty. Not sure if that was a coincidence or if they had gotten in contact around that time.

The most confusing thing was what happened once her breakup became public. He was single then and instead she got with MH? With them both being available for the first time in years, you would've thought they would've jumped at the opportunity based on all the songs written throughout the years.

Hi Anon

That timeline is about her break up with Joe, Harry stuff is in this timeline. I don't think she left Joe for Harry, or that they even dated in 2021.

My pure speculation is that 'The 1' and 'Late Night Talking' did happen while they were both in LA in the pandemic. She didn't want to break up with Joe, so H went back to Europe. In California Harry refers to a 'Summer's death left to breath'. Love of my Life is about letting her go, it was written early 2021.

He approached her, in public, at the 2021 Grammys, (which is unlike him) it was maybe an olive branch and it was the first time they spoke in public since 2012 - who could blame them for being tense.

In May 2021 they were both at the Brits, no photos together, Joe was in Belfast. Seems like nothing - were it not for for Glitch.

By October 2021 he made heart eyes high in the crowd in Nashville, changed that setlist to include TBSL. It was the day after one of their anniversaries. She was in Nashville. While there, he wrote Satellite at Cave Studio - the song says 'I can see you're lonely, don't you know that I am right here'. Then matching outfits for re-records started.

Then 'You're losing me' written in December. HH came out in March 2022, Joe interacts stopped. I also assume she was at the NY ONO show, she was in NY. H touring and dating OW until October 2022. Midnights has songs on it that imply they had spent time together.

The 2023 Grammys was even more public because it was a full audience, she came over to him, knowing it would be on the internet. They touched, fist bumped, hugged, held eye contact. He touched the bare skin on her back. Which.... he 'should think about the consequence of touching her hand in a darkened room'.

That timeline has Matt Healy on it too. .... Taylor and Tree would have had the Joever announcement well planned, Invisible String on the setlist and all, and considered who she publicly dates first after. People were really invested in Joe, that announcement was for the fans, not Taylor.

Again speculation, but I think they think of each other as End Game and maybe aren't ready for that. But if they were, she wouldn't go public with a very famous, very divisive relationship lightly, quickly or as the first after Joe. Although I do think think in 1989 vaults and media have given them an updated fan temperature on it.

#haylor

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kenzies-love-stories · 1 year

Text

The way She doesn't look at him pt. 2 out of 3 (Regulus Black x Potter! Reader)

A/n: So I tried to post this last night as a send-off to 2022 but it was not showing up in the tags so I had to take it down and repost it as a whole new post. I am so glad that my last Regulus imagine got so much love I just had to start part two as soon as possible. Writing for Regulus was a refreshing challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed. I do apologize that we are not to the Yule Ball...yet but that is alright because everything that happened in this part needed to for the story I was trying to tell. I love Ballroom scenes since the one I had wrote foe Alec Volturi.

Part 1

Pairing: Regulus Black X reader

Word Count:7,087

Date posted: January 2st, 2023

Warning: Angst, fluff, Narcissa

Y/n Pov

"Ay Mini Potter what are you doing this weekend!?!" Sirius asks while walking over to the Ravenclaw table where I am sitting.

"Sirius must you yell this early in the morning it's not even time for breakfast yet," I state tiredly not meeting his gaze that I can feel on my face.

"My apologies princess," He says in a much quieter tone, "So what are you doing this weekend?" he asks again as he plops down next to me.

I still don't meet his gaze that is lingering on my face, "Well, Sirius, if you know I am going shopping for my Yule ball dress with my friends," I say dismissively answering a potions' question simultaneously.

"I thought you were not going to the Yule Ball?" he asks "And since when do you have friends outside of the boys?"

"No, Sirius I said that I wasn't going with you," I pause to look up at his face to see the look of slight shock before he relaxes his face, "And who my friends are is none of your business now if you excuse me, I have to meet Jane in the library," I state getting up and walking out of the common room.

I only half lied to Sirius, I do have to meet someone but it's not Jane and it certainly isn't in the library. Ever since Regulus had confessed to me in the empty classroom and let the detail slip about Sirius seeing me in a romantic way. I have been extra careful, watching Sirius's movements around me like a hawk. It has gotten easier for Regulus and I to sneak around since the map was confiscated by Filch. I was told that Severus had tipped him off about James' wrongdoings which also played out in my favor so I'm not mad about it all.

Since I had rejected Sirius' offer to the ball he has made it his mission to try and get into my favor, little does he know it is never going to work. Sirius is simply not my type, he's loud, a bully, and most times he is a pain in my ass. I can't deny that I adore most of my brother's friends but Sirius has always gotten on my nerves. It has only gotten worse as the years have gone on.

To make sure I am not being followed I make my way back to the Ravenclaw Common room, from there I will take a secret passage that will lead me to the hallway the room of requirement is. Regulus and I have been dating for about two weeks and it has been a blast. He has since introduced me to his friends, His cousin Narcissa is actually who I am going dress shopping with. I have yet to share this piece of information with Reg yet.

Since Regulus introduced me to Narcissa she had welcomed me with open arms. I am not going to lie it was very surprising, she has been beyond kind to me. She has some of the best jokes and I am very glad we get along so well.

I walk into the room of requirement with a smile when to see Regulus near the fire reading a book. "My love you are late," he states flipping his page and not looking at me.

"I'm sorry Reg, but your brother was being a bit bothersome," I state walking further into the room.

This causes regulus to close his book quickly before he stands and walks over to me. He places a warm hand on one of my cheeks, "What did my idiot older brother do now?"

I look up into his eyes and can't help but kiss him softly on the corner of his mouth before I allowed myself to respond, "I took care of it love, nothing you need to worry about."

He looks at me questionably for a second before he brings me into a kiss, when we pull apart he rests his forehead on mine with our eyes still closed for a moment just basking in the presence of each other. I break the silence first, "Narcissa invited me to go dress shopping with her this weekend, I quite like her so think I am going to go."

"How odd Lucius invited me to go suit shopping this weekend. I did want to go dress shopping with you but I guess they want it to be a surprise. I will give you money for your dress." he states as we both sit down by the fire cuddling.

"Reg you don't need to give me money I can buy my dress for the ball," I stated softly.

"Nonsense I want to buy your dress so just let me spoil you, please."

"Fine but only because you are so cute." I give in to him.

Time skip

It is now the weekend and Narcissa and I are going to go to Hogsmeade to go dress shopping. I know I won't run into anyone else I know as they are all staying back at the castle. The ride with Narcissa was fun and filled with light-hearted jokes. "Hey, Reg told me to give this to you," Narcissa states tossing a small pouch in my direction.

I quickly catch the pouch and curiously open it. "What's inside of it Cissa?"

"I don't know he just told me to give it to you." She says

I look inside the pouch and my eyes slightly widen at its contents, he gave me money, more than enough money to get my dress. "Cissa he's buying my dress." I quickly say.

"Awe that's so cute, Regulus is such a sweetheart, I'm glad you two are finally together," she states with a smile.

"Thank you, Cissa, for inviting me to dress shopping today," I state with a smile.

"Of course, it is nice to hang out with another girl." she muses as we walk into the dress shop.

"What color of dress are you planning to wear y/n/n?" She asks looking at the back of the store towards the black dresses.

I walk up behind her giving my input on the dresses she inquires about, "Regulus and I wear planning on wearing green to the yule ball."

"Oh, how cute, I love how you two are matching." Narcissa has me holding a few dresses in my arms as she browses the aisle.

"Okay I think I will try these on and get your opinion then we will pick one. After we find mine, we will get yours taken care of." She says before she goes into the dressing room to try on her first dress.

we find the perfect dress for her to wear in no time. Now she is picking all different styles of green dresses. Some of the dresses she chooses with be a definite no on my part but others could be bearable.

The one that really catches my eye is this emerald green dress that has a slit that goes up one side and it is slightly off the shoulder. I have tried on three dresses before this one but this is the one I like the most. "Narcissa I really like this dress." I muse as I walk out of the dressing room for her to see me.

I see her gasp with a big smile, "y/n/n that is the one you need to get Regulus will absolutely adore the way you look in it." She states putting the other dresses back where they belong.

I smile back brightly, "Okay I will change back into my clothes then we can buy our dresses."

I change back into my clothes quickly and then I carefully put the dress back on its hanger before exiting the fitting room. I met Narcissa who is waiting for me outside with her dress in her hands. we walk to the front dress to see an older woman, "Ahh are you dearies getting your dresses for the yule ball."

"Yes, ma'am we are buying our dresses for the ball," I state with a smile as she rings out my dress.

I pass her the correct amount of money putting the rest of the pouch away in my bag. I plan on giving the rest of the money back to Regulus as I don't need to keep it. After we have both paid for our dresses we decided to get lunch at The Three Broomsticks Inn before heading back to the school.

We ate our lunch and decided we needed shoes to wear that matched our dresses. So we walk around Hogsmeade to window shop and make casual conversation before I stop in my tracks, "Cissa, how about those ones to go with your dress?" I ask with a nod toward the shoes.

"Oh I absolutely love those, Let's see if we can find a pair in my size."She smiles before walking into the shop with me following her lead.

We walk to the shelves where the shoes are lined up and we find the style that the pair we are looking for. Narcissa then squats down to check the sizes on the box until she reaches up to pull the box she needed. She opens the box and takes the right shoe out and pulls the heel she was wearing off the said foot to try on the new heel.

She smiles up wide at me, "I love them y/n/n these were a great find. Now let's try and find some for you now. " She puts the shoes in the box and smiles before getting up to walk further down the isles of heels in all different shapes, sizes, and styles. "So do you want silver heels or green ones to match your dress?" she ponders.

"Hmm, I haven't really thought about that, to be honest," I state before going over the thought in my head. On the one hand heels in a watching green would be very pretty but the sliver ones would make my outfit fall in accordance with Regulus' house colors. That would make James' and Sirius's head spin so that makes making up my mind a whole lot easier.

"I think we should look for some sliver heels of some sort," I state as we walk to the section where they are located.

I am almost to the end of the aisle and I was starting to lose hope until a pair at the end caught my eye. They were silver with different-sized rhinestones that covered the shoes.

They were beautiful, I bend down to see that there are only two boxes left. I start to feel anxious until I realized that they have my size. I grab the box and sit down on the bench that is at the end of the aisle. Narcissa comes over to me and watches me as I take off my shoes and put on the heels out of the box to try them on. I clip in the straps with a smile and I carefully take a few unsteady steps. "Have you ever walked in heels y/n/n?" Narcissa asks me amused.

"um No, but these seem like the ones that I can make it through the night in," I say sitting back down to take the heels off to put my sneakers back on.

"Oh now I'm so excited, you are going to look so beautiful. Regulus isn't going to know what to do with himself. If he hurts you in any way I will personally have his head; you are such a kind pure person."

"Awe thank you Cissa, I really appreciate it. you are going to look so stunning in your dress." I state as we walk up to the cashier to buy our shoes for the ball.

Once we pay we bid the old man at the front goodbye as we exit the small hole-in-the-wall shop. we then decided to take the Hogwarts Express back to the castle gates. we enjoy our train ride before we part ways at the castle gates as we are going to different sides of the castle.

I make my way back to my common room with my dress and shoes in my enchanted bag that can hold various different sizes of things. It was a gift that has been passed down to the women in my family. I throw a small greeting to the first years that are hanging out in the common room before heading towards the way of my dorm room that I share with Jane.

Once I close the door I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding in. I put the bag on my bed and open it, with a blind hand I reached in to pull out my dress. I grab a hanger and gently up the dress onto it. once my dress in safely put away I reach back into the bag on my bed to grab my box of shoes. I put the shoe box into the same closet and close the closet door. I smile when I hear a knock on my door, I put my bag on the hook that is out in front of my closet as I yell out "Come in!"

I turn to see Jane, "Jane it is your room too, you don't need to knock."

"I know I just wanted to make sure that you were decent." She says in her soft voice.

"Oh well thank you for being considerate, How was your day," I state in a grateful tone.

"It was really good and relaxed, Um Regulus Black is looking for you by the way." Jane wiggles her eyebrows at me, "I want details y/n/n"

Jane is the only person I told about Regulus and I, as she is my roommate and my best friend. I truly trust Jane with my life. "Thank you, Jane." I smile widely before I grab my bag and walk out of my room.

Once I am out of the common room I start to make my way to the room of requirement that Reg and I always meet up in. I am not paying attention to exactly where I was going and of course as usual I ran right into someone. I look up and see Regulus, "well hello there Love." he says as he holds a hand out to help me up.

With a smile I put my hand in his and allow him to pull me up, "Hi Reg, I was just going to come to find you."

He holds onto my hand a second longer before he smiles and releases said hand because we are still very much in the middle of the hallway and we don't want to give away our secret. "So y/n do you want to work on our potions project in the library?" He asks loud enough for any prying ears.

"Of course, I have to go grab something from Slughorn but I can meet you there," I reply and wink subtly.

"sounds good y/n I will see you there." He says with a hint of a smile and walks off in the direction of the library.

of course, this is all a countermeasure in case there was anyone watching or trying to listen in. We do intend on making our relationship public but not until the Yule ball.

no pov

Little did the young couple know that there was a set of prying eyes after all. In the form of a rat, one that the young girl knew very well. However, said rat had been watching y/n for some time now as he was put up to it by someone very familiar.

"Oh come on Pettigrew, it's not like I am asking you to kill someone!" The young man with Black hair exclaims.

"w-well I guess you aren't but it's not right! What would Prongs say about this?" Peter

"Prongs is too busy with trying to get Lily, to even care what goes on with his sister," he states

"That may be true but w-what about Moony, he wouldn't like this," Peter argues.

"Then he just can't find out now can he?" The male asks rhetorically

"You will do this Pettigrew or I will tell the headmaster about how you sneak out after curfew in your rat form to steal food from the kitchens. you wouldn't want that now would you peter?" he asks tauntingly.

"Fine I will do it but I am not happy about this Sirius, If she catches me I am totally going to take you down with me. I will not have Y/n Potter hating me for something that you made me do!" Peter whisper yells at Sirius angrily.

"Good choice Peter, Now don't you have a certain Ravenclaw to watch." He asks dismissing the scared young man.

Peter Pettigrew shoots a glare at Sirius Black before asking, "Y/n is obviously not into you why can't you pick any other woman to obsess over."

"Because I want her, I have wanted her to be by my side since I had first laid my eyes on her, the want only grew when I formally met her." Sirius states

"She was 11 when you met her, Sirius you were 15 don't you see anything wrong with that?" Peter asks in distaste.

"Age is just a number Pettigrew, plus she's in the fifth year now, I wouldn't be weird." Sirius states

"Yeah and Azkaban is just a place, right?" Peter asks bitterly before shifting to his rat form and exiting the castle in search of y/n.

He knows that it is very wrong and he doesn't want to do this at all but a big part of him knows that Sirius is not one to bluff. Peter feels sick to his stomach at the thought of spying on his best friend's little sister, it was so wrong. And for what just so Sirius can be angry about why y/n doesn't want him. It all is a messed up sick joke that he wants nothing to do with.

Peter is brought out of his thoughts when he hears the familiar laughter of said girl. He watches her walk by with Narcissa Black? Why was she with Sirius' cousin? He follows behind them and listens to their conversation as best as he can.

"oh, Y/n/n I can not wait to see you in the dress we got today oh, and those shoes, you are going to look so good. All eyes are going to be on you, dear! You and my cousin are going to be quite the hot topic of the ball!"

"you really think so, I don't think James will be too happy about my choice of date but that's why I haven't said anything to anyone else only to you," Y/n responds with a shy smile.

Peter decided that he has enough evidence to report back to Sirius, so that is what he goes to do and on his way back he sees y/n again this time with Regulus Black. She had quite literally ran into him, they were too far away for him to hear what is being muttered between the two until Regulus mentions the library and a project from potions that they both need to work on. Then y/n starts to head toward the direction of the dungeons. Peter decides that he has watched her enough for today so he pops into an empty classroom to shift back into his human form.

Once he is back into his normal human form he walks out of the classroom to start in his search for Sirius Black. he enters Sirius's dorm room that he shares with James. He notices that Sirius is alone in the room hanging out on his bed. "That was quick Pettigrew, what do you have for me."

"Well I think she may be planning to ask you to the ball, I saw her with your cousin as they were coming off the train out front. They had gone dress shopping, and Y/n said something about how James would be mad about her choice of date. I am thinking that may be because you are James' best friend." Peter states not really thinking about what he is saying.

Sirius is too deep in his fantasy about the possibility of y/n and him being together that he didn't see any of the flaws in what peter had told him. "Ha, so the girl is only playing hard to get, well played love well played. I guess I will back off a bit so she won't feel intimidated asking me to be her date to the ball," he says with a smile

'You are free to go thank you, Peter."

Peter exits the room without another word. He needs to go come to terms with what he just had to do.

y/n pov

I finally make it to the room of requirement, I purposely had taken a different route just to be safe. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't followed by anyone. I walk in and I hear Regulus exclaim, "There is my beautiful girl, I missed you so much!"

"I am sorry I took longer than expected I wanted to take a different route," I say before sitting next to him pecking him on the lips.

Just as I go to pull away he puts his hand on my cheek guiding my lips back into a passionate kiss. I pull away to catch my breath as I do so I cuddle up into Reg's side to which he welcomes me with open arms, "Did you have fun shopping with my cousin my love?"

"Oh yes I had a blast with Narcissa, we both found what we were looking for. " I smile out, "And this is for you my love," I say and pull the pouch of coins out of my jacket before dropping it in his hand.

"Did you have enough money? Please tell me you used this to buy your dress." he starts to ramble, "Because the whole point of my giving this to you was so I could spoil you like the princess you deserve to be treated as." I place my pointer finger on his lips to stop him from talking.'

"Regulus Black, you gave me plenty. You paid for my whole day today this is just what is left over, you gave me more than enough. I bought my dress, lunch for Cissa and I, and a new pair of heels for the ball too." I muse.

Regulus smiles and tosses the coin pouch aside, "I am very glad babe, do I get to see said dress and shoes?"

"You will the night of the Yule ball," I state with a smile.

"But that is not fair and you know it," he whines out.

"Maybe so but that is just how it has to be, Cissa is making Lucius wait too," I inform him so he doesn't think that he isn't in the same boat.

"Fine, I think I can manage to wait one more week, Now come here." He says pulling me with him as he lays down on the couch, "I am feeling tired and I want cuddles; we will be fine napping in here no one will find us." He yawns wrapping one of his arms around my waist while the other pulls a blanket across from us. He then places his arm by my head so I could use it as a pillow.

I quietly snuggle into him as he starts to drift off and just before he does I hear him faintly whisper but I couldn't quite understand exactly what he muttered. I decide on to dwell on it too much and kiss his hand softly before I quickly start to feel myself drift off.

The next morning I woke up with a comforting arm around my waist and I feel a hand gently playing with my hair. I let out a slightly tired giggle as I try to gracefully turn around to face him. I take in the tired glow of my boyfriend. My eyes glide over his slightly messy hair, down to his glassy eyes still weighted with a sign of sleep, down further to his wrinkled sweater that he had spent the night in.

I feel his gaze on me so I look up to make eye contact with him and I smile. "Good morning gorgeous how did you sleep?" he asked voice slightly deeper with a rasp of tiredness.

"Good morning to you Reg, I sept the best I think I ever have." I gently move some of his hair off his face "How did you sleep?"

"That was the best sleep I have had in a very long time thank you." Regulus' smile widens before he adds, "We should do that more often."

"I agree," I state with a smile, the comfort, and innocence of the act of cuddling makes my soul feel closer to Regulus' as weird as it sounds but I believe it to be true.

I never want to leave the comfort of this room but the importance of what today stands for is too great. It would hurt James greatly if I miss Sunday breakfast like we used to have at home. This tradition started my first year at Hogwarts because it gave James and I both the comfort we needed to get through the week.

"Regulus as much as I never want to leave I am afraid that today is Sunday breakfast with my brother and I am not allowed to miss it," I state in a serious tone.

What Regulus does next surprises me most he lets out a giggle, "Oh my gosh that is so cute, ok Love go and have a good breakfast, I will hang out with you later. I will miss you beautiful."

"I will miss you too handsome, Have such a great day we will definitely hang out later." I give him a hug and kiss him on the lip quickly. "I will see you soon!"

"Yes until then My Love." He whispers before kissing his index and middle finger to blow me a kiss.

I pretend to catch the kiss and put it in my pocket for later. I nod at him one more time before I exit the room. With a smile on my face, I walk down the corridor toward the direction of the common room where french toast will be served today.

I walk into the common room with an extra pep in my step as I make my way toward the table where my brother and his friends are sitting this morning. I see two seats open, the one between my brother and Remus and the open one that is located next to Sirius. I noticed that Peter still isn't up for the day yet. I decide to plop down in the seat next to Remus which is to the left of James' tired face.

"Good morning Jamie and Rem," I say with a smile as the food starts to appear on the table.

"Hey, looks who just in time, How'd you sleep sis?" James asks side-eyeing me.

"I slept fantastically! Thank you for asking, how did you sleep?" I ask

"It was alright." He states starting to put food on his plate.

"Aren't you gonna ask how I am love?" Sirius inquires as I put food on my plate.

I just glance up at him, "Well I actually kinda don't care Sirius." I shrug

"Damn pads what did you do for my sister to hate you today." James laughs.

"Hey, where is peter he normally is at breakfast?" I ask in confusion.

"He is not feeling well today so he's still sleeping," Sirius responds even though I am not looking at him.

I just nod in response before I look around the common room. just as my gaze hits the entrance I see Regulus walk in with Severus trailing behind him in his robes. I quickly look down with a small smile when reg meets my gaze and winks at me.

The rest of breakfast goes really well. Just as everyone starts to get up Remus gently puts a hand on my shoulder, "Hey is it okay if we can talk for a minute?" He asks concerned.

"Yes of Course Remus, is everything alright?" I ask sitting back down as everyone else started to filter out of the common room.

Remus doesn't utter a word until everyone is away from our table and out of the common room. He glances around once more to make sure there is no pry. Once he is sure it is completely safe he leans down to whisper, "Y/n/n I'm not going to be mad but I just have to know, Is there anything going on between you and Regulus Black?" '

I can't hold in the look of shock that washes over my face, "Remus did someone put you up to this?" I ask

"No, If you are I won't tell anyone I just want to make you are feeling comfortable, safe, and happy. If you don't want me to utter a word about it I won't tell a soul."

"Remus you cannot tell a soul, you must take this to the grave that you knew, but yes Regulus Black and I are together and the only reason I am telling you is that out of all James' friends you are the one I trust the most, plus you are the only person who knows on my side so if James finds out I know that you told him." I state

"Do, do you like him? Does he treat you well at least?" Remus asks in a hushed voice.

"Yes Remus I- I think I love him, He treats me very well. He gave me money so Narcissa and I could go hang out dress shopping yesterday. All his friends have been very kind to me." I state with a wide grin.

"Well as long as he makes you happy, protects you from danger, and doesn't let his friends pick on you then that's all I need to know. I am really glad you found someone even if it is Regulus Black." Remus says with a sincere tone.

"He is actually quite sweet Remus, he loves to read and is very funny. He always makes me a priority despite the fact that we are both busy." I brag to Remus because I could trust him.

" I am very glad to hear that, I promise that your secret is safe with me I won't tell a soul." He said

"I appreciate that very much Remus I know you won't tell anyone, I am going to go now." I say with a smile.

"Off to see Regulus." He teases in a very quite sing song voice as he gets up from the table.

I laugh and shake my head slightly, "Catch ya later moony."

"Catch you later small fry." Remus says before walking out of the common room.

I feel a bit of a weight lifted off my shoulders from being able to tell Remus about Regulus and I. I made me happy that he was very understanding and allowed me to explain myself before coming to conclusions like my older brother would. Hopefully when the time comes for them to know then maybe Remus will help me with making them understand the whole situation. I finally walk out of the common room.

As I am walking in a different direction that will take me to the room of requirement I am pulled into a empty classroom. I turn and look at the person who dragged me in here. Instead of it being Regulus whom I expect it to be the Grey eyes off Sirius Black at looking back at me. He has a smirk on his face that makes me feel a little uneasy.

"You know how absolutely mad you drive me." he takes a step closer to me to which I take an uneasy step back.

"Sirius stay back please, I'm not interested in you in that way." I state in a stern yet slightly fearful tone.

"See love you say but I don't believe you one bit." Sirius says continuing to walk forward as I take steps backward.

I reach in my pocket for my wand only to realize that I don't have my wand as I didn't sleep in my room last night. "Of bloody course." I mutter under my breath, the one time I need my wand I don't have it.

Sirius keep walking closer to me and places one arm on the wall by my head the other goes to touch my chin. I slap is hand away in discuss, "Sirius I bloody mean it back off."

"Stop playing hard to get, I know you see the way I look at you. I see the way you look at me too." He states trying to get closer to my body.

"Obivously you don't see the way I look at you because I am going to tell you right now it is not in the way you think. I don't have feelings for you and I would appreciate it if you would step back and let me leave before you do something you will regret." I state in a vemious tone.

He raises his hand and brushes my hair out of my face. To which I responded by pushing him as hard as I could on his chest so he will leave me alone. "Sirius I won't tell you again back off!" I exclaim in anger. My push doesn't shock him much but it gives me the opportunity to try and leave the room. Just as I am about to reach the door he grabs my right arm and turns me to face him.

As a response I raise my left hand and slap him really hard on the face. "Sirius Don't touch me!" I watch as his face turns to the side. I don't let him respond as I walk backwards towards the exit. I leave the room and tears fill up my eyes.

I make my way down to the duegons where I am hoping that Regulus is hanging out in. The closer I get the more my eyes start to leak the tears that are pooling in them. I am not focused on where I am walking when I walk into a woman, "Hey watch where- y/n/n are you all right sweetie?" I hear the voice of Narcissa as she puts one of her arms around my shoulders.

"I-I-I Whe-re is Regulus?" I ask in between hiccups.

"Oh sweetie, he is in his dorm. I will take you to him right now." Narcissa says in a soft tone as she leads me in to the Slytherin Common room and down to the boys dorms. She stops at a dorm room door that I can only assume is Regulus'.

She knocks on the door softly, "Hey Reg." she calls out gently rubbing my shoulder.

"What do you want Ciss-" He pauses when he opens the door and sees me, crying in Narcissa's arms. "My Love what happened? Narcissa what the bloody hell happened?" He demanded when he realized that I couldn't speak through my tears.

"I am not totally sure Reg I found her wandering the dungeons like this. She just wanted to see you." she says as she gently passes me off to Regulus.

Regulus gently pulls me to his chest and allows me to rest my head there and cry. "Thank you Cissa for bringing her to me, I got it from here." I hear him say before he closes the door after she leaves I assume.

He gently leads me to a soft bed and allows me to sit on the plush mattress before he lays back and allows me to lay on his chest and cry. "When ever you want to talk about what is making you so upset I will be here to listen."

I feel the last few tears slip down my cheek as I raise my head from his chest and wipe my eyes. "You have to promise you won't get made and y-you let me explain the whole situation." I say in a shakey tone.

He looks at me in understanding. "What happened after breakfast baby?" he asks softly.

"After breakfast, Remus asked me to stay behind to talk and he asked me about us and I came clean because it is Remus and I know that he wouldn't tell anyone. That's not the problem, it was after we both parted ways and I was dragged into a empty classroom. Sirius was the one would pulled me into the room and he started speaking this nonsense about how I was playing hard to get and when I told him that I didn't like him like that he started to corner me into the wall. Reg he was going to try to kiss me. I pushed him away and when I tired to leave he pulled me back I slapped him and ran out of the classroom. He's never acted like this before and it scared me." I state with a few hiccups in between.

I watch Regulus' actions go from, clam to angry very fast, "HE FUCKEN DID WHAT!?!" He voice bellowed out in anger as he got up from the bed and he starts pacing.

"Reg you promised you wouldn't get mad." I say.

"Baby I'm not mad at you I want to go kill my idiot brother." He seethes

"You can't kill him." I state.

"I won't but I am going to drop you off with Narcissa for a little bit, I will be back." He states leading me up off the bed and down to the girls dorm.

Narcissa opens the door rather quickly her face softens when she sees me and Regulus, "What's up guys are you okay?" she asks us.

"Can y/n/n hang out with you while I go have a stern talking to with my older brother." He asks in a bitter tone.

"Yes of course, Come on in dear we will have some girl bonding time." she smiles at me.

Regulus kisses my forehead softly, "I will be back soon Angel." before he leaves me with his cousin.

"Come on let's paint our nails." she says and guides me to her bed before she gets a small box that has various colors of nail polish. she places it down in front of me, "Here dear, pick whatever color you want, I will pain them for you."

"Thank you Cissa I really appreciate you." I smile and pick out this really pretty green color that she has, "I really like this color." I say picking up the bottle of nail polish.

"Oooo that is a great choice it will look really pretty on you." She says taking the bottle from my hands.

Regulus' POV

After I drop off y/n/n with Narcissa start on my mission of hunting down my brother whom I am very cross with right now. I find my way to the Gryffindor common room before I enter I a deep breath before I utter the password to the common room. The painted lady opened up and I march inside, when I am fully in the room I see James, Remus, and My target, Sirius.

"You!" I point at my brother with a vemomus finger, "Get up." I pulled him from his seat and I push him against the wall harshly, "If you EVER corner or touch her again I will cut off both of your hands and feed them to you!"

"Regulus what is this about?" James asks jumping up from his spot ready to come to Sirius aid.

"You didn't fucking tell him." I laugh angrily, "Well James,you dear friend Sirius cornered your baby sister, tried to kiss her. She denied his advances and he scared her to the point of a panic attack." I state bitterly.

"Sirius I won't tell you again STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM Y/N!" I yell.

"What's it to you? do you have feeling for her? You know she'd never pick you!" he states sharply from his spot on the wall.s

"That may be but She sure as hell isn't going to go for you either. So just do what is best and stay away i mean it. " I release my hold from his shirt, "James you have my permission to beat his ass." I say before I leave Gryffindor's common room to make my way back to my girlfriend.

I am very upset about what Sirius did and I want to beat him to a pulp but I am going to let James do that for me. I am sure he is just as mad about what happened as I am, as y/n/n is his little sister. I make my way back to Narcissa room, when I get there I knock on the door softly before entering the room. What I see makes me smile and I feel my anger start to leave my body.

y/n is painting Narcissa's nails and from the looks of it Narcissa must have painted y/n's as hers are now a pretty shade of green, "You two are looking like you both are having fun, Do you feel better baby?" I ask as I sit down next to her carefully so I don't accidentally cause her to smugde Narcissa's nails. I don't want her to have to repaint them.

"Did you know that when I was growing up, James would come home he used to let me paint his nails but the deal was that the next day he would get to remove it before he would go out to meet up with his friends. Some of his friends may not be the best but James has always been a pretty good big brother." Y/n states with a smile

She looks up at me with a wide smile, "Thank you Regulus. I appreciate you more then words can describe."

"You don't have to thank me Baby, it is my job to protect you and that is exactly what I intended to do. You let me know if Sirius ever come nears you again in a way that makes you uncomfortable. Through I do feel like he isn't going to come anywhere near you, James looked pretty pissed when I left the Gryffindor common room." I say nonchalantly "Sirius Honestly is so dense he didn't connect the dots that we were together."

"You told James?" She asks

"No they were the only ones in their common room, I just walked in there and threatened to cut off Sirius' hands if he ever touched you again. James has no idea about us but he also didn't know about the stunt that Sirius pulled towards you." I say as she finishes Cissa's nails.

"I appreciate that you did that for me." she states before kissing me gently.

#regulus black scenario #regulus black imagine #regulus x reader #regulus black x reader #regulus black imagines #regulus x y/n #regulus black series #marauder era imagine #marauder era imagines #marauder era x reader #marauder imagine #harry potter imagine #harry potter imagines #harry potter scenarios

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preet-01 · 7 days

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In 2023, I wrote We've Never Hooked Up during the Lewis/Merc contract negotiations and a reporter asked if Lewis and Toto had hooked up about the contract. Now, what was originally a one-shot is a story told in three parts. This is part 2 and part 3 will be out in about a week

Word Count: 1555

The plans to spend the summer break together fall through before early July.

It isn’t because Lewis is annoyed by how bad the car was and how no matter what he did the team barely seemed interested in listening to his feedback. And it wasn’t due to the continued fights they’d been having about his contract – or how Toto refused to advocate for him with the team in Germany. They’d agreed ages ago to not let work interfere with their relationship.

Not to mention that Toto has meetings that he should focus on. The German headquarters business didn’t stop just because Formula One was on a summer break. As CEO, Toto needed to work and Lewis didn’t want to spend the few weeks he had off fighting for some time with Toto.

So Lewis decides to make his own plans.

Maybe he’ll do some traveling with Miles, Spinz, and all the others. They had talked about a trip to Brazil. Or he could go island hopping with Daniel, chasing the warm sun and sandy shores. He had been meaning to spend more one-on-one time with Daniel after everything that had happened last year – it was bad when both Seb and Fernando were concerned. Maybe he could take up Seb on his offer to visit him in Switzerland and see his animals named after drivers. As great as his current friendship was with Fernando, he did miss seeing Seb every weekend and bitching about all things FIA-related.

“Will you be attending Google Camp this year?” John asks. The older man had offered him a ride to England on his private jet after the Austrian Grand Prix and with most of the Mercedes team leaving Sunday night, Lewis had taken him up on the offer without hesitation. He hadn’t had time to catch up with John in a long time, so it was as good an opportunity as any. Just the two of them and their respective security on the private jet — Seb would probably chastise him about it.

“I hadn’t intended on attending,” Lewis replies – he had declined the invitation weeks ago when the plan had been to be on some remote island with just Toto and a skeleton staff as company. “I already declined the invite before my original plans fell through,” he adds.

‘Hhm,” John nods, “come with me. I have a plus one and those events tend to be dreadful without good company.”

Lewis can’t help the laugh that escapes him. John had been downright miserable at Google Camp the year they had met. Stuck in some pissing contest conversation between Zuckerberg and Musk, John had jumped at the opportunity to pull him into a separate conversation when their eyes met across the ruins.

Google Camp hadn’t happened in 2020 for obvious reasons. Lewis didn’t know about 2021, but he’d been busy with other stuff. And in 2022, he’d gotten a few calls from John about the event. Most of them complaining about the lack of good company with a mind for racing beyond just “fast cars go vroom.”

He doesn’t commit to going but does tell John that he’ll think about it.

It wouldn’t be the worst way to spend the summer break. Lewis quite liked John’s company and he liked Sicily. They’d had a grand old time during the few days they’d spent at Google Camp together in 2019.

____

He goes to Sicily.

Of course, he goes to Sicily.

He goes and he lets John plan their entire trip. He lets the control slip out of his own hands and into John’s — trusting that he wouldn’t be a disaster at planning.

They have a private villa at the Verdura Resort that is probably much too big for just two people, but it has a pool and is one of the more beautiful places he’s stayed at during his life so far. There’s of course a lineup of Ferraris there just for their use and private chefs well versed in cooking vegan food.

Google Camp is well not so different from how Lewis remembers it and it quickly turns into an Italian vacation with John taking him to places Lewis had never thought of visiting before. Whisking him away from Sicily in one of the many Ferraris until they reach the harbor where a boat awaits to take them to mainland Italy.

He doesn’t think of the missed calls between himself and Toto or the short messages exchanged. Neither of them seemed to catch the other at an opportune time. Instead, he focuses on John and attempts to tell the man that there are better ways to have a sweater hanging from one’s shoulders than how John tends to have them. However, he does admit that it is an endearing idiosyncrasy.

And in the coming months, he does his best to not think about the promises that John had whispered in his ear as they lay under the blazing Italian sun. Or the taste of fermented grapes and ripe strawberries as a million stars shined down on them. Or how he’d laughed more in those few days with John than he had with Toto in the past few years. No, he doesn’t think of that at all…

Lewis ignores it the best that he can, for as long as he can — he’d always been very good at compartmentalizing and pushing forward.

Just as plans for the summer break spent on some remote island fall through, so do the plans for winter break. They don’t go to Toto’s home in the Austrian countryside or visit the Christmas markets. Well, Lewis doesn’t go, Toto does.

Lewis instead flies out to Brazil with Miles, Spinz, and all his other friends. None of them mention that the private jet they use isn’t the one that Lewis would usually rent or the one he’d occasionally borrow from Toto, but borrowed from one John Elkann.

Brazil is everything he’d needed after the season, after fighting with his car time and time again. It’s a necessary break that he had needed to decompress and just think.

It’s an eye-opening vacation, to say the least.

Things need to change because as Lewis had told Toto months ago, he didn’t have years and years to keep fighting.

Just as he’s about to call Toto so they can talk through everything like they normally do, a different billionaire is calling him.

“Hi,” Lewis answers, unable to help the smile that breaks out when he answers John’s call.

“Hello, Lewis,” John replies, “how is Brazil?”

Lewis goes into the details about the vacation. Everything that they have done so far and everything that they plan to do in the coming days. John, ever so attentive, makes his own recommendations and tells Lewis about the places that he loved growing up. “You lived in Brazil?” Lewis questions, he had not been aware of that. How it hadn’t come up in their many conversations, he doesn’t know. Just as he’d thought that he’d learned everything about John, the man reveals something new – some new avenue to take their already hours-long conversations.

“Briefly when I was young. I attended primary school in England and then Brazil before we moved to Paris when I was in my teenage years,” John answers. “But it has always been somewhat of a home as many of my earliest memories are from there and I have gone back to explore the country many times since,” he explains.

“Tell me more,” Lewis says, getting comfortable on his bed as all thoughts of Toto and his future fly out the window.

If Lewis spends the rest of the day on the phone with John, just talking and definitely not flirting, then that’s no one’s business except his own. And he certainly doesn’t invite John to join him in Brazil. He just so happens to have business in Brazil obviously, nothing to do with Lewis.

As John Elkann makes declarations of unconditional devotion and presses kisses onto the most intimate parts of Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff is in the company of his other driver.

It is a far cry from how Toto had expected to spend his winter months ago when Lewis had joked about the two of them never hooking up during a press conference. Then he’d imagined a shorter man with tattoos on dark skin and a gap-toothed smile in his bed. He’d imagined Lewis curled up around him as they sought relief from the cold Austrian winter. He’d imagined a quiet vacation spent in one another’s company and visiting the Christmas markets that Lewis had fallen in love with.

Instead, his winter is spent in the company of George who is nothing like Lewis. Instead of a private vacation with visits to Christmas markets, he’s at karting tracks, ski charity events, and public places where people easily recognize them both. Instead, his winter is spent with someone who is still not fully sure of his position with Toto.

George is still staying at his place in Oxford when Lewis finally calls him about their usual pre-season coffee. Toto doesn’t kick him out, can’t find it in himself to do so. Not when George had looked so lovely and had taken so long to get comfortable.

No, George has an event to go to that morning anyway. It would be fine.

#lewis/john elkann #lewis/toto #elkilton

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m7z · 4 months

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In memoriam

I spent the last 30 minutes or so skimming through my Tumblr archive from 2011-2012 trying to find a post I know I wrote about my paternal grandparents’ love story, but I couldn’t find it. I probably moved it to another blog at some point and deleted it here. Along the way though I found all these other memories from my early 20s, such as my coming out/confession letter to a best friend from high school, many reblogs of sappy quotes/graphics/book snippets/lyrics, reblogs of photos of places I wanted to visit (many of which I’ve now been to), songs I liked, tech news from the era (like the death of Steve Jobs), political news from the era (like marriage equality, and Barack Obama’s reelection), many reblogs about Glee, my own photos from my early days of living in San Francisco (and interning at Twitter)… All of which is to say, it captured this whole era of my life from ~10 years ago that, in retrospect, was quite pivotal.

The reason I went looking for that post is because I found out yesterday that my grandpa passed away. My dad texted me and tried to call when I was in the middle of a work meeting. I registered the text but didn’t respond, and then called back after. It was the middle of the night in China at the time (around 2am), and he learned the news earlier when my aunt had called him, and she’d been notified by the staff at the seniors home where my grandpa had been living.

As I processed the news and decided on my plans, I told people the context that he had suffered a series of strokes and had been on the decline since last summer, so this news didn’t come as a shock. This is in contrast to my paternal grandma’s passing in January 2022 (also January) from a heart attack which was sudden, quick, and utterly shocking. As the matriarch of our family, her death had hit everyone really hard then.

At his passing, my grandpa was in his late 80s, possibly 87 or 88. Which is objectively quite a remarkable achievement for someone born into the chaos of 1930s war torn China to a poor rural/farming family. He joined the communist army as an accountant/admin, and then the local police after the war, and then worked at the state hemp/cotton company until retirement. He and my grandma met in their 20s, fell in love and got married despite oppositions (this is the story I had posted about that I was looking for), had 2 kids and 2 grandkids (one of which is me), traveled, had health issues and took care of each other, and grew old together.

I realized yesterday that I wasn’t reacting as emotionally as I did to my grandma’s passing — one because he’d been on the decline, and my dad/aunt thought he almost wasn’t going to make it after his last severe stroke in July. I think I had emotionally prepared for this back then, and so expected this to happen at some point. The other reason is that his quality of life in this last year, after these strokes, had become quite poor. He couldn’t eat or talk or walk, and had become reduced to almost just skin and bones. It had become painful to see him in this state, and I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore.

However, at the same time I still feel sad and regretful because I was hoping to see him at least one more time. Even though he hasn’t been able to speak since July, and he didn’t really recognize anyone anymore… even so, I was hoping he'd hang on until I visited again.

When my grandma passed in 2022, the pandemic, travel restrictions, and lack of flight options had made it virtually impossible to travel back. The last time I visited China was October 2019. Since then, in the last few years when we called, they’d almost always ask when I can go back again. My grandpa did this all the way up until his last stroke in July when he couldn’t speak anymore. When the pandemic largely ended in 2022, I’d always say “soon”, even knowing it was impractical with the Chinese government's onerous visa policies. When they finally reinstated the pre-pandemic visitor visa policies in March 2023, I started to say that I'll go back during the summer, then the fall, then the winter, then the spring. One reason is that the flight options were both expensive and inconvenient, but the larger reason is that I prioritized other plans in my life. I'm not sure where I could've squeezed it in, but I do regret that I didn’t try harder to visit sooner.

Circling back on the whole “eras of my life” thread — I always felt like as long as my grandparents were around, I still feel like a kid in some way. They treated me like one, still babied me whenever I visited or called, and would remind me of funny anecdotes from my childhood. I know I’m pretty lucky to have gotten 30+ years with almost all 4 grandparents in my life. I also know I’m lucky that they loved me as much as they did — because not all of my friends had the kind of close relationships I did/do with their grandparents.

Growing up, I was always pretty close to my grandparents, more so to my grandma who I genuinely enjoyed talking to and would call regularly, but I have many fond memories with my grandpa too.

I recall when my family first immigrated to Canada, I would cry about missing them. Later when I went back to visit as a teenager, I would cry on the flight back to Canada.

My grandpa liked to write simple rhyming poems after he retired, liked to drink and smoke and only quit in his 60s, and liked to sing Chinese opera. One year for my birthday, he wrote a “hidden message” poem where the first word of each verse added together would say “happy birthday <my Chinese name>”.

One really special memory of him I have is when I was in kindergarten, and during afternoon nap time (which I hated) he showed up unexpectedly and took me out of school. We didn’t live in the same city but he was in my city for a work trip, and he’d decided to take me out of kindergarten early that day so we could spend time together. I remember it feeling so unexpectedly awesome — one because I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to (skip school) but also because of the surprise visit itself.

The only time I felt emotional yesterday was when my mom told me how, even though I won’t be able to attend the funeral, I could pay my respects at both of my grandparents’ gravesites when I visit. The thought made me emotional because… they can finally be reunited again, or at least not be separated by death.

Didn’t really know what I was going to write when I started this, and the words kept pouring out, but I’m glad I did.

#my stuff #family #reflection #a real blog post

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fluffypotatey · 16 days

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OK SO! the tommyinnit 101. technically this isn't really tied to an smp though.

so first we must start at the very beginning. the dream smp. in late 2020-early 2021, the dream smp was at the height of its popularity, and tommyinnit played one of its most prominent characters (tommy, henceforth referred to as c!tommy). now the thing about c!tommy is that both he and cc!tommy (idk if i've talked about the c! vs cc! divide before but that is its own 101) were under 18 at the time, and therefore if you shipped his character with anyone about 70% of the fandom would tear you apart.

honestly dsmp isn't too relevant here, though, except to introduce tommy and tubbo. you see, in a world of straight men using their little block guys to flirt with one another, tommy was Very vocal about loving women. being Straight was part of his Bit in the same way that being Annoying and playing the able sisters music from animal crossing was.

anyways in late 2022 he uploaded a vlog of him and tubbo getting married, tubbo mostly against his will. they pulled out all the stops- got an ordained minister (their friend scott, who you may recognize from the life series 101s) to do a little ceremony, had a lot of their friends acting as different members of the wedding party, even signed and filed real paperwork!

yep. that's right. they signed legal fucking paperwork. i've heard that tubbo didn't even know it was a marriage certificate, he thought it was a waiver for being in the video or smth. that's right, known straight man tommyinnit tricked his best friend into getting Real Life Legally Married to him, presumably just for shits and giggles.

This fact went unnoticed until mid-late 2023. tubbo was playing on the QSMP with some other people (i know FitMC, not sure who else), and was joking about going to Vegas and getting married to Fit. and then tubbo realized he was still married to tommy.

also, around that time, tommy wrote and published (to wattpad) a rpf crack fic called Tommy x Tubbo Love Triangle, where tommy leaves his Real Life Girlfriend molly for tubbo (molly dies directly afterwards because it was so romantic) and then he and tubbo kiss without tongue. tubbo was not consulted during the production of this fanfiction.

after learning about the marriage, tubbo started working to get a Real Life Divorce from his Real Life Friend Tom. tommy refused to sign the paperwork. if any of this ever goes to court tubbo fully intends to livestream the whole thing.

around 2 months ago, tommy did a parody of "I'm Just Ken" called "I'm Just Tom," in which he begs tubbo not to divorce him. it must be seen to be believed. idk if the link will work in an ask but i need you to see it https://youtu.be/laAPXcxjDlI?si=wPQM3ZJHBIv11Cfr

also if you're wondering how molly, tommy's Real Life Girlfriend, feels about all of this? she thinks it's hilarious. for the past month or two-ish (?), tommy's been doing a stand-up comedy tour in america (because they are all british), and at the same time tubbo's been doing a subathon (aka tubbathon bc it's tubbo) (a subathon is a twitch stream with a timer on it. the stream ends when the timer finishes out, and whenever someone subscribes to the streamer's channel more time is added) (the tubbathon is still going btw and isn't slowing down anytime soon). at one point molly came onto the tubbathon, and tubbo bought her a new phone bc hers was shit. (directly afterwards tommy posted a vlog about it, saying he felt like he was being cucked by his gay husband)

fans have dubbed these three the nightmare polycule, and it's not hard to see why.

and then, finally, this morning (last night in england time), tommy and tubbo were on a phone call. tubbo (gay) encouraged tommy to "say the f slur!" and tommy said, and i quote, "I'm bicurious, so I guess I could say like a fifth of it. [Tochat] Hear that, ya -ggots?"

i needed to tell you all of this so that you would understand the full insanity of all of this. there are some bits that don't really translate unless you were a dsmp fan in the 2020-2021 era, but i need you to see the ongoing insanity this man creates. he had been planning to use that joke for his live comedy show

ok uh

wow

i some pointers on his singing voice (a bit too belty there, that'll damage the throat later, some vowels need rounding)

hilarious that he rhymed Tom with arm

reading this was like a fever dream

molly is me tbh this is the most hilarious drama i have ever read

his comedic timing is beautiful

what the fuck

#chaotic man indeed #asks #smp 101 with gumy #smp adjacent

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twistofstory · 10 days

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Rose-colored glasses (1/4)

(Oh this one is very old, from 2022, but this is a great introduction to some of my main characters, so here we go) This is one out of four (last one's unfinished) drawings I did for a theme challenge. I wrote this tiny story back in 2023 and looking at it now... Well, I think my english has improved a bit 😅 Anyway, meet Littleowl, or Owl for short! She's an adult now, but she sure does has some stuff to remember from childhood

Lovers Truthseer and Talonfang didn't want to raise dragonets in starvation on the NightWing island, so one day they disappeared. After some time, a couple of never seen in this parts nightwings settled in the caves not far from the Possibility, in which a dragonet hatched - she was called Littleowl. Owl spent her entire childhood in caves in the middle of a forest, immersed in stories from scrolls and doing various arts, and it seemed that nothing could destroy her ideal picture of the world. Well, at least that's what her parents told about it, because they never agreed to take long walks outside the cozy little cave. Littleowl was a very obedient dragonet, and even her curiosity couldn’t make her break the strict rules of her parents, but with age she began to pay attention to inconsistencies in her mom and dad’s stories. Why she can play outside only at night and only under their supervision? Why do they move from time to time to another cave? Why did her mother returned one day with burns on her wings? In her early years, she, not knowing another life, wasn’t seeing anything strange in this, but the dragonets from her scrolls took walks mostly during the day, played with other peers and, if you think about it, lived in a completely different way. Owl noticed how her parents got nervous when she started asking questions about the outside world, and this only fueled her suspicions. At the age of 4, her father returned home with traces of frostbreath on his shoulders, and Owl's patience was overwhelmed - she was finally able to drive her parents into a corner and find out the truth about the world, the war and the nightwings.

#wings of fire #wof oc #nightwing #illustration #markers #glasses are figurative #littleowl the nightwing #sal owl and friends

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louisupdates · 9 months

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Louis Tomlinson in New Jersey. Finally.

Alyssa Rasp | August 4, 2023

To any Louis Tomlinson fans, it’s not news that he has phenomenal music taste. Andrew Cushin, a singer-songwriter from across the pond in Newcastle, is no exception. Andrew joined Louis for almost the entirety of the North American leg of the Faith In The Future World Tour – and the fans loved him.

Last Friday, the tour stopped at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, New Jersey. A show that is basically on the beach? Who could complain? Andrew took to the stage in a pair of sunnies with a guitar in hand to the sound of 3,000 screaming fans. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a concert where the crowd shows as much love to the support acts as they do for the headliner, but after hearing Andrew play, I totally get why (and I missed that sound).

His voice is incredible with so much power and a beautiful tone. The narrative he is able to get across in his lyrics are one of the best parts of his music. New fans and old fans agree, because much of the audience knew every single word to his songs, including his latest single, “Wor Flags.”

Despite the 95º heat this night, the energy never dipped. The following act, supporting act Giant Rooks, were up next and brought the sound of Berlin to New Jersey. The alternative rock band were dancing all over the stage throughout their entire set and hyping up the crowd. Frontman Fred Rabe even showed off his percussion skills with a tambourine and floor tom in addition to his usual guitar.

Again, the fans who came out were showing so much love. They knew lyrics, had posters, and were dancing along even in the scorching weather. (It was the perfect set up for the headliner and their own single that dropped just a few days later: “Somebody Like You.”)

When Louis Tomlinson hit the stage, the crowd was electric. Many of his fans have been around since his early days in One Direction, but it was clear that a lot of the crowd were solo Louis fans through-and-through. Following his debut album Walls (which was one of our Top Albums of 2020), the English artist grew further into his own with the release of Faith In The Future. (This sophomore record of his also ranked on our year-end favorite albums, even with its late 2022 release date.) The singer-songwriter has officially found the rock sound that he has been striving for. I love it. We love it. The fans love it.

Full of big guitars and intense drums, his live show is insanely good and so much fun. His touring band is incredibly talented, but it’s no question that he surrounds himself with the best. Listening to the record before this night in Asbury Park and then hearing the songs in person, it’s clear that Louis wrote them for a live setting. Even with a pared down stage setting (this was the smallest stage he played on during this amphitheater run), he still put on an amazing show. It’s so obvious that this Brit-rock star loves performing.

Delivering reimagined rock versions of One Direction classics “Night Changes” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?” on top of deep cuts of his own beloved originals, he made sure to pay homage to his single era of 2017 with “Back To You,” which featured Bebe Rexha. Those moments prove that his musical instincts are still there and are able to adapt to his current style while also showing love to fan favorites. Louis Tomlinson is truly an artist to keep an eye on if you’re not already. One of the best shows I’ve ever been to from start to finish. Although he’s off to tour the rest of the world after a short break, we are looking forward to the next time he’s back in town.

Louis Tomlinson, FITFWT23: Asbury Park, 28.7.2023

#fitfwt23: asbury park #louis tomlinson #28.7.2023 #louis press #maison mihara yasuhiro

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lcatala · 4 months

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My top 6 movies discovered in 2023

I watched 52 new-to-me movies in 2023. Not nearly enough , as I could only find 6 movies that stood out sufficiently to be worthy of a personal top, in what was otherwise a pretty meh year — yes I'm a picky watcher — and yeah The Boy and The Heron didn't make the top, you can read the long rambling I wrote about it if you want to know why; I haven't watched Barbie, Oppenheimer or the Super Mario Bros. Movie, and haven't watched any Marvel-related movie since 2015.

6: Nimona (2023)

I didn't really expect to like the animated adaptation of N. D. Stevenson's comic, and I went in reluctantly, only because a lot of people who seemed trustworthy recommended it. Despite having some of the flaws I've come to expect in modern 3D animation, this was a very good surprise. You can read my detailed review here.

5: Suzume (2022)

The plot of Suzume stays very much within the bounds of the "modern artsy anime film", with a rather predictable 3+1 acts structure and an exploration of themes and human interactions which has some subtlety and nuance but overall stays very safe and on-the-surface. Nothing offensive, but nothing truly groundbreaking either.

But.

Suzume had, by far, the best animation of any movie I've seen this year. This movie is an absoluteely beautiful, every-frame-a-painting kind of deal. If I was to rank every animated I've ever seen solely by the quality of their animation, Suzume would easily be in the top 10.

4: Cape Fear (1962)

American cinema achieved maturity during the New Hollywood era that started in the late 1960s, marking a shift toward more naturalistic and more adult filmmaking and themes. But there were a few notable precursors before that.

The most famous of those is of course Psycho (altho tellingly, it was from a British director). But Cape Fear followed close behind, and is another example of an early 60s movie which you don't expect to be this dark and this raw, starring an absolutely get-under-your-skin-terrifying Robert Mitchum — if you thought he was creepy in The Night of the Hunter, you haven't seen nothing yet…

3: The Outwaters (2022)

This was the biggest surprise of the year, watched the same day it was recommended to me, having heard absolutely nothing about it before that (I didn't even know this movie existed). I got treated to a no-budget yet beautifully-shot found-footage horror movie — in fact the best found-footage movie I have ever seen, with a lot of attention put toward making the gimmick plausible, making the characters realistic and likeable, making this look like the kind of actual footage you'd find on a personal camera — while also having amazingly beautiful cinematography — all while slowly building up the tension.

Because that's just the first half.

Oh yeah, it's one of these horror movies in which you think you know where the story is going, and then second half just explodes in your face and becomes completely, utterly batshit insane. This is on par with Men (2022) for how weird and fucked up the climax is. Don't expect any kind of explanation or closure here, the second half of this movie turns into one of the most fucked up and bizzare horror movies you'll ever see.

2: Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Yeah so this one was a surprise late-year hit for everyone, not just me. First live-action Japanese Godzilla film in 7 years, with rather tempered expectations — we all knew that Shin Godzilla was an odd one out, that the average Japanese Godzilla movie is not like that, that we shouldn't expect this kind of quality on a regular basis.

Well we played ourselves.

This was incredibly well made as a blockbuster — Japanese cinema has completely caught up on American cinema, for a fraction of the budgets — one of the best Godzilla movies ever made from an action and visuals point of view, and a reminder that Godzilla, as a character, can also be scary, a terrifying incarnation of destruction and disaster.

But somehow this also managed to be a powerful and well filmed drama — no lazy endless shot/reverse shot dialogues here, a lot effort is put into framing choices, blocking… — a movie that actually touches on difficult questions and goes against the message of many other war or action blockbusters.

When so many stories glorify the idea of sacrifying your life for a greater cause, here's one movie that says "hey maybe expecting people to sacrifice their life for your cause is actually pretty fucked up, and maybe it's actually better to choose to live for the sake of your loved ones than to die for the sake of your own pride". Yeah a Japanese movie is saying that, a Godzilla movie is saying that.

1: Skinamarink (2022)

So, speaking of low-budget independent horror, back in 2022 I had foolishly overlooked Skinamarink. I had vaguely heard that it was good, but no particular detail was mentioned that would have picked my interest, and the poster looked fairly generic, so I skipped it, even tho I should have been more intrigued — 2022 was already shaping up to be a really good year for horror films…

Skinamarink was a tough proposition from the get go, in the "experimental" kind of tough: an entire film made in the analog horror genre — usually short videos made to ressemble old media from the 80s and 90s, advertisements, warning messages, weather channels, documentaries and informercials, with a disturbing twist; a format usually made of short segments. Trying to tell a film-length story in that fashion is an entirely different exercise, but that's fine, I've sat thru Begotten (1989), I can do this.

Right away, this is not framed like a movie: it's more as if someone had negligently left an old camera on the floor — but this is not even found-footage, there is no camera in-story, we just happen to be seeing this world thru stolen, furtive points of view. The image is grainy, the sound is bad quality (subtitles are provided), the frames are often askew, you never even see the actors' faces. We get no narration, no exposition, just a succession of disjointed scenes that slowly form a story.

This shouldn't work. And for many people, this will not work. Most will turn this off not even 5 minutes in. But if you're among the exceptions, then howdy does it work. The format is not a gimmick at all — it's completely in service of the story. The grainy image, the low quality sound prey on your pattern recognition, never quite certain if something is there or not; the framing by a "forgotten" camera contributes to make the atmosphere hyper-real in its intimacy, yet alienating and uncanny.

The director of Skinamarink deals with one very specific topic: nightmares. Not the idea of nightmares, not the heightened nightmares of fiction, but the literal nightmares that real people have; he started by making short videos representing common nightmares that people would tell him about. When it came time to make a full-length feature film, he kept the same approach. Skinamarink doesn't really use any of the classic themes or structures of horror movies; it largely ignores that folklore and instead focuses on deep childhood fears, the kind of stuff your mind used to conjure up long ago and that you have forgotten but not erased from your brain.

If you manage to enter into this very peculiar format, this very unusual and seemingly disjointed way to tell a story, and if you identify with the kind of fear material the movie is drawing on, this is a truly scary experience. Not really in a jump scare or suspense way, more like a deeply haunting and unsettling atmosphere, a strong ambient uncanniness where things are almost normal but just broken enough to give you a constant feeling of unpleasantness, of wanting to run the hell out of here while being trapped, a sense of horrible lurking threat while having nothing concrete to fight against or protect yourself from.

Of course, this isn't exactly a fun experience. This is very, very intense, I'm talking Antichrist-levels of playing with your nerves, and the story, as simple as it is, is tragically harrowing and cruel — you're essentially watching two young children getting psychologically (and eventually physically) tortured by a sadistic, unseen entity for a hundred minutes.

It's hard to recommend, and yet recommendations is how this movie ended up grossing 2 millions on a 15k budget — promotion included ! Most people actually didn't like the movie, but those who liked it liked it so much they can't shut up about it (case in point!) It's one of those horror movies that completely break the boundaries of the genre and do something truly new and unique. It's what horror should be for: imagination gone wild, format-breaking fantasy, and realism thrown out of the window.

#skinamarink #godzilla minus one #the outwaters #cape fear #suzume #nimona #2023 in films #top movies #movie review

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 month

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Stephen Brodner

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 18, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAR 19, 2024

It seems to me that the news tends to be slow on weekends during the Biden administration, while Mondays are a firehose. (In contrast, Trump’s people tended to dump news in the middle of the night, after Fox News Channel personality Sean Hannity’s show was over, which may or may not have been a coincidence.)

So, lots going on today as the Biden administration continues to make the case that a democratic government can work for ordinary Americans while Trump and his supporters insist that a country run by such an administration is an apocalyptic nightmare.

First, economic analyst Steven Rattner reported today that according to The Economist, since the end of 2019 the American economy has grown about 8%, while the European Union has grown about 3%, Japan 1%, and Britain not at all. Rattner and economist Brendan Duke reported that entrepreneurship in the U.S. is booming, with 5.2 million “likely employer” business applications filed between January 2021 and December 2023, more than a 33% increase over those filed between 2017 and 2019.

Economists Justin Wolfers and Arin Dube noted that, as Wolfers wrote, “[f]or the first time in forever, real wage gains are going to those who need them most.” Wages have gone up for all but the top 20% of Americans, whose wages have fallen, reducing inequality.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) head Lina Khan announced that after the FTC challenged a set of AstraZeneca inhaler patents last September as being improperly listed, today AstraZeneca said it would cap patients’ out-of-pocket costs for its inhalers at $35, down from hundreds. Earlier this month, Boehringer Ingelheim did the same.

The Environmental Protection Agency today announced it was banning asbestos, which is linked to more than 40,000 deaths a year in the U.S. and was already partly banned, but which is still used in a few products. More than 50 other countries already ban it.

Also today, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to advance women’s health research to integrate women’s health into federal research initiatives, strengthening data collection and making funding available for research in a comprehensive effort to equalize attention to men’s and women’s health across their lifespans. The federal government did not require women’s health to be included in federally funded medical research until 1993. In a speech today, First Lady Jill Biden recalled that in the early 1970s, researchers studying estrogen’s effect in preventing heart attacks selected 8,341 people for the study. All of them were men.

Last month, First Lady Biden announced $100 million in funding for research into women’s health, and last Thursday Vice President Kamala Harris visited a Planned Parenthood clinic that provides abortion care in addition to breast cancer screening, fibroid care, and contraceptive care. She noted that women’s reproductive health has been in crisis since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, with women in some states unable to access the care they need.

Former president Trump, who is now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, prompted some of the economic reporting I noted above when he tried to spark attacks on President Joe Biden by asking on social media if people feel better off now than they were four years ago. This was perhaps a mistaken message, since four years ago we were in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Supermarket shelves were empty, toilet paper was hard to find, healthcare professionals were wearing garbage bags and reusing masks because the Trump administration had permitted the strategic stockpile to run low, deaths were mounting, the stock market had crashed, and the economy had ground to a halt.

On this day four years ago, I recorded that “more than 80 national security professionals broke with their tradition of non-partisanship to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden for president, saying that while they were from all parties and disagreed with each other about pretty much everything else, they had come together to stand against Trump.”

Here in the present, Trump appears to be getting more desperate as his problems, including his apparent growing difficulty speaking and connecting with his audience, mount. Last week, in an interview, he echoed Republican lawmakers and pundits when he suggested he was open to cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, something Republican lawmakers try to avoid saying to general audiences because it is hugely unpopular. Trump has since tried to repair that damage, for example, when he insisted on Saturday that it was he, rather than Biden, who would protect those programs. (In fact, Biden has called for expanding the social safety net, not contracting it, and last year forced Republicans to back off from proposed cuts.)

Saturday’s speech illustrated the degree to which Trump’s rhetoric has become more profane and apocalyptic as he vows revenge on those he sees as his enemies. Campaigning in Vandalia, Ohio, for his chosen Senate candidate, Trump suggested that certain migrants “are not people.” Then he said he would put tariffs of 100% on cars manufactured in Mexico by Chinese companies for sale in the U.S., “if I get elected. Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole—that's going to be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country.”

By Sunday, Trump’s embrace of the word “bloodbath” had created a firestorm. Surrogates insisted that he was talking about the auto industry alone, but as scholar of rhetoric Jen Mercieca and legal commentator Asha Rangappa note, Trump is a master at giving himself enough plausible deniability for his supporters to claim that, as Rangappa put it, “he wasn’t saying what he was saying. I know what he meant. He knows what he meant. You know what he meant.” In the same speech Saturday, Trump called those convicted of violence on January 6, 2021, “hostages” and “patriots,” and has said he would pardon them, appearing to endorse violence to return him to power.

This morning, Trump’s lawyers told a court that Trump cannot come up with either the money or a bond for the $454 million plus interest he owes in penalties and disgorgement after he and the Trump Organization were found guilty of fraud in a Manhattan court earlier this year. The lawyers say they have approached 30 different companies to back the bond, and they have all declined. They will not issue a bond without cash or stock behind it. Trump's real estate holdings, which are likely highly leveraged, aren’t enough.

Last year, Trump said under oath that he had “substantially in excess of 400 million in cash,” and that amount was “going up very substantially every month.” Apparently, that statement was a lie, or the money has evaporated, or Trump doesn’t want to use it to pay this court-ordered judgment on top of the $91.6 million bond he posted earlier this month in the second E. Jean Carroll case.

Timothy O’Brien of Bloomberg notes that Trump’s desperate need for cash makes him even more of a national security threat than his retention of classified documents made it clear he already was. “[T]he going is likely to get rough for Trump as this plays out,” O’Brien writes, “and he’s likely to become more financially desperate with each passing day,” making him “easy prey for interested lenders—and an easy mark for overseas interests eager to influence US policy.”

This morning, Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post reported that Trump is turning to his 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort to advise him in 2024. Dawsey notes that the campaign’s focus appears to be on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July, which suggests Trump’s people are concerned that his nomination will be contested. Manafort has been known as a “convention fixer” since 1976.

Manafort is also the key link between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian operatives. Manafort worked for many years for Ukrainian politician Viktor Yanukovich, who was closely tied to Russian president Vladimir Putin. When Ukrainians threw Yanukovich out of office in 2014, Manafort was left with large debts to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. In 2016, Manafort began to work for Trump’s campaign. An investigation by a Republican-dominated Senate Intelligence Committee into the links between Trump’s campaign and Russia determined that Manafort had shared polling data from the Trump camp with his partner, Konstantin Kilimnik, who the senators assessed was a Russian operative.

In 2018, as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Manafort was found guilty of hiding millions of dollars he had received for lobbying on behalf of Yanukovych and his pro-Russian political party, then getting loans through false financial records when Yanukovych lost power. A judge sentenced him to more than seven years in prison.

Trump pardoned Manafort in December 2020, shortly after losing the presidential election.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters from An American #Heather Cox Richardson #normalizing pathology #Election 2024 #Manafort #Stephen Brodner #bloodbath #economic news #social safety net #american foreign policy #TFG's money woes

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