#oh but in other other news I got an undercut! I’m like
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@teomuchstuff Enid gets a new haircut 🩷🖤
Enid sat nervously in the salon, her nails tapping anxiously against her bouncing knees. Divina was just finishing up her own trim and style, the siren rising from the chair with a trim and loose, beautiful curves. Yoko whistled at her girlfriend from her place beside Enid, the vampire rising from her seat to meet her girlfriend.
“Damn, Vina, you look so fuckin’ pretty,” she wrapped her arms around her and kissed her cheek, “Not like you don’t usually-”
Divina laughed, “Good save, babe.”
The siren paid for her service and waved Enid out of the seat, her stylist grinning from ear to ear as she gestured the nervous wolf back into her chair. Enid sighed as he sat down, swallowing thickly when the cape was draped around her, the buttons snapping at the back of her neck. The dresser chuckled and gently ran her hands through the soft, wavy blonde hair, smirking at Enid’s reflection in the mirror.
“Okay, what are we doing today?”
Enid swallowed again, her fingers twisting over themselves in her lap as she looked up at Brianna, a shaky smile pulling across her face.
“Something kinda… drastic.”
Brianna laughed and nodded, dropping her hand to Enid’s shoulder and squeezing gently, “I’m all ears.”
++++++++
Enid flushed at her reflection once she was finished nearly two hours later, her eyes carefully studying her reflection in the mirror across from her. She smiled slowly as she took in the faint pink color of her hair, the wavy length virtually the same but the sides shaved underneath, the wolf running her hands over the buzzed hair. Enid turned and looked back at Brianna, chuckling at the smug look on the stylist’s face.
“Well?”
“Oh my god, I love it. The shaved parts feel SO cool.”
The woman laughed and gestured Enid up and out of her chair, the wolf’s face faintly red in nervous anticipation as she walked to meet her friends, Yoko already baring her fangs in a wide smile.
“Holy SHIT, you got an undercut?? Damn, you look fucking cool as hell. LOVE the pink, nice touch.”
Enid self-consciously rubbed down the back of her buzzed head, her face reddening at the blatant praise.
“Thanks, Yoko. It feels so cool, wanna feel it?”
She snickered and went to meet her, running her fingers across the newly shaved head, humming in appreciation at the soft feeling, “Nice.”
Divina joined them, nodding her head in just the same approval, “No, for real though, it looks SO good.”
Enid smiled more, her shoulders loosening as she nodded in thanks, “I know it’s drastic, but I’m a werewolf, so it’ll grow back super fast anyway,” she exhaled a shaky breath, absently twirling the ends of her pink hair around her fingers, “Do you think Wednesday will like it?”
Yoko snorted out a laugh and crossed her arms, smug as she leaned over into Divina, “Wednesday would like you if you were bald. I think she’s gonna dig the shave, though, definitely."
The wolf preened at the comment before quickly paying and tipping Bri, the three of them finally leaving out of the salon, and heading back to the shuttle for Nevermore. They touched down on campus not thirty minutes later, the small group dispersing as the other girls wandered off, Enid already following her nose as it lead her straight to Wednesday. Enid smiled at the compliments along the way, several students stopping to marvel at the decidedly new look, the wolf’s face red at all the extra attention. She skipped up the stairs to their dorm room, her hands shaking as she fumbled for her key, quickly unlocking the door, and ducking inside.
Wednesday was sitting at her typewriter, her fingers flying across the keys as she worked, not even sparing a glance up at her girlfriend.
“Hello, querida,” she greeted, her eyes following the letters as they stamped into the page.
“Hey, Wens,” Enid started, her hands fidgeting behind her back as she swayed toward her girlfriend, “Got a sec?”
Wednesday nodded, finally lifting her focus off her work as her eyes widened at the sight of her girlfriend, the seer immediately standing from her seat.
“You have gotten a haircut,” she muttered, dark eyes carefully surveying the new style.
“Yeah… do you like it? I know it’s different, but-“
Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt Wednesday’s fingers dance lightly across the side of her head and down the back of her neck, the cool fingers soothing her worry as she leaned instinctively closer to her girlfriend. Enid hummed contentedly as Wednesday lightly scratched her nails over her buzzing scalp, a faint smile curling at the corners of her mouth as her eyes slowly blinked open. Wednesday swallowed lightly, her face just the barest hint of pink as she nodded, her other hand rising to lightly brush through the newly pink hair.
“It suits you,” Wednesday breathed, leaning up for a quick kiss, her fingers hooking around the back of Enid’s neck, “You are beautiful to me, always.”
The wolf melted at the devotional whisper, her arms winding around the petite brunette in a grateful hug, smiling into the touch against her lips.
By the gods, she loved Wednesday Addams.
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silver underground. / chapter six.
Pairing: Levi Ackerman x F!Reader (Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin)
Word Count: 3.9K
Summary: Day 121 - Also known as the day you officially leave the cadets and join the Scouts.
Warnings: Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, Eventual Romance, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Flashbacks, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Nonbinary Hange Zoe, Touch Starved Idiots
( Read on AO3 )
Previous Chapter. / Next Chapter. | Masterlist.
CHAPTER SIX.
“Are you ready to head out?”
A perky voice breaks you from your fixated attempt at dragging the remaining pesky leather straps up your left thigh. You’d been rearranging your uniform for what feels like hours — taking it off, putting it back on, staring at your wavering reflection in a bucket of fresh water in the barracks to see if maybe you look out of place.
You certainly feel like you are, as the cadet that joined for three-something weeks only to disappear, plucked up by the Scouts at a moment's notice. An anomaly.
What you're wearing isn’t your old uniform, not exactly — that one’s cut up, bloodied and destroyed in a pile of ashes with all the other discarded jackets and trousers — so you’ll have to get used to the one they’ve given you.
At least the Wings of Freedom reside once more between your shoulder blades.
(A gift from Commander Erwin, who could not attend this momentous departure from the training camps to the real deal.)
“Hey, Petra,” you call back to her, dropping a boot onto the wooden floor. She watches you with budding excitement. “Are we leaving now?”
“Just about!” she exclaims. “Eld is finalizing supplies, but we’re ready when you are.”
“Great.” You hold both arms out as you walk to the doorway. “So?”
It takes her a minute, but her eyes finally connect with the white and blue emblem. “Oh, finally, you got your jacket back!”
“Erwin apparently sent a new one over with Hange,” you tell her as you follow her leisurely pace towards the front of the cadet training camp.
“Are you feeling good about this?”
“About coming back to the Scouts?” you ask. She nods in confirmation. “I’m a little nervous but yeah, I feel good.”
“Don’t be nervous. We’re like a little family.” Petra pauses, making a face at the sight in the near distance: a man with dark hair waves his hand beside worn wooden wagon, where several people and horses wait their departure. “...a bit of a weird family but a family nonetheless.”
“Oi! Is that her?” the man shouts across the way, standing on his toes to wave harder — like Petra doesn’t see him.
“Yep!” Petra calls, murmuring low to add, “That’s Gunther Schultz. You always kicked his ass in spars. He's never not been bitter about it.” She chirps again to him in her sweet, peppy voice. “It’s her!”
“A-ha! Alright, awesome!” Gunther replies, dropping his hands to his hips.
From here you can see the silhouette of a tall person with a high ponytail sitting at a spot at the head of the wagon, body facing you — Hange. On their left sits a man on a horse with a mop of dirty blond hair — probably Moblit — holding two additional reigns. A smaller, black-haired person sits to the right edge of the wagon with his arms stretched along the back, his one leg folded over the other. You immediately recognize that it's Captain Levi.
At the mouth of the wagon, two other people await your arrival. Petra gives you the quiet catch-up as you walk together: the man with long blonde hair is Eld Jinn, the squad’s second-in-command (she’s quick to divulge that you pull rank, in technicality) and last is the disinterested looking individual with curly hair and an undercut — Oluo Bozado, a skilled asset to the squad who won’t hesitate to brag about his high titan kill count at any chance he gets.
So this was it.
These were the people you spent your life with.
“She doesn’t look injured,” greets Oluo as he crosses his arms over his chest.
“Memory loss doesn’t look like anything, Oluo,” Gunther hisses, before perking up at your arrival. “Hey, Lieutenant. How’s it going?”
“Fine, I think,” you greet pleasantly enough, reaching to shake his outstretched hand. “Thanks for letting me come back.”
“The decision was unanimous,” Eld tells you, hopping into the wagon. He spins on a heel to help Petra up first, and she takes her spot across from Captain Levi. Then he holds his hand out to you, smile vacant but there for comradery’s sake.
You accept his help, pulling up to the wagon to sit beside Petra. Gunther rounds the cart to take the right-hand side horse. From your peripheral, you can feel Levi and Hange watching your interactions with the remainder of the team.
“That’s good to hear," you reply. "Petra went through the roll call, but if you wanna introduce yourselves…”
“We heard you remembered Moblit on sight,” Oluo interrupts gruffly, hopping into the wagon once Eld is settled at the head of the group with his hands on the reins. He plops beside Levi, taking up a corner seat.
“Ha, she totally did,” Hange beams with a grin, and you can see Moblit sigh under his breath. “It was kind of crazy to witness in person. She remembered some things with me, too.”
"She did?" Petra asks, awed.
Eld whistles sharply, and the wagon jerks.
You’re leaving.
Sharply you turn to watch the camp grow smaller, its gates closing shut once the Scouts are out of range.
(You’re actually doing this.)
You blink away from it to look ahead. Immediately your eyes connect with Levi's as he stares directly at you.
Your face grows hot at the unspoken energy settling at your boots.
Hange continues, addressing the group. “Our hypothesis will really come into play once we reach the old headquarters. Our objective is to regroup, train with James so she can refamiliarize herself with Commander Erwin’s strategy before the next expedition. Once we're certain she's caught up, then we'll plan to make our way towards the northeast quadrant of Wall Maria. We've yet to explore that part of the walls, and we're certain we can capture new titans for experiments."
"Capturing more?" Petra asks with the smallest of squeaks. "The last two weren't enough?"
"Yes, but that's only part two of the overall plan. Right now, we're focused on rehabilitation James.” They fix their glasses between a pinched thumb and index finger. “The more we spend time with her, the better her memory will get. The better her memory gets, the easier our expeditions will become.”
“As if I want her to remember all the damn dirt she used to have on me,” sours Gunther, laced with a hint of amusement as he rides alongside the cart.
You look over at him, running your tongue against the seam of your lips. “What? Like when I used to kick your ass all the time?”
Gunther gasps, causing Oluo to break out into a surprised laugh.
“Petra told you about that!” Gunther protests.
You shrug a casual shoulder. “Did she?”
You blink back to Levi, who has his head bowed.
(You swear you see the corner of his lip lifted.)
“Oh — c’mon, you didn’t give her any shit about the rest of them? Petra!”
“What?! It felt like pertinent information,” Petra argues back with a giggle. “She just spent a couple of weeks fighting all of the new hopefuls.”
“And how’d that go?” Oluo asks, shifting his weight in his seat to mirror Levi’s casual body language in the cart — he reaches back, draping his arms over the edge of the wagon.
“Yeah, how did you do with combat training, James?” Eld Jinn asks from the front perch.
You shrug. “Well enough, why?”
The blonde snorts, turning his chin over his shoulder. “Because I’d kill to see if you can still go toe-to-toe with the Captain like you used to.”
“Eld,” Petra warns under her breath.
“What?” he squawks.
One by one, you see the remaining pairs of eyes in the cart turn to the conversation to focus on what may come next. Petra’s ginger hair bobs when she leans forward to chastise him.
“That’s inappropriate to request,” Petra argues.
“How’s it inappropriate?” Eld retorts, raising an elbow as he makes the horses turn out onto a main dirt road. “That’s all they did back in the day was fight. It’s been months!”
“We’re not about to haze her.”
“Why not?”
“I could.”
Hange’s eyebrows fly up their forehead, transparent in surprise at the sound of Levi finally speaking up since the wagon’s departure from camp.
You turn your chin to look his way. The captain’s brow raises a tick as his eyes connect with yours.
The wagon goes silent. The only sounds surrounding the Special Ops squad are grunts of horses and the light dips of the wheels against rogue pebbles in the dirt road.
Unable to look away from Levi, a slow smile creeps up your lips. “Is that something we used to do?”
“All the time,” Gunther confirms to the side of the cart while Petra shushes him.
“He’s right,” Levi agrees. “We did.”
Warm spreads through your chest and makes your heart soar. Levi not shutting down Eld’s idea is… good. Great, even. It’s a step in the right direction — right?
Levi said he wouldn’t spell things out for you, but he didn’t discourage others doing it for him. A loophole. You can’t help but widen your smile.
“I’ve spent so much time fighting kids who don’t even know how to hold a proper fist,” you tell him, dropping your hands into your lap to squeeze them together. “Captain: would you be interested, then, to spar when we reach the castle? Be my first real fight.”
A first, even when it’s anything but.
Levi keeps a neutral expression in front of your anticipated comrades.
All eyes shift in tandem from your face to the captain.
“Couldn’t hurt to welcome you properly,” he replies, legs still crossed and arms draped, chest straps on display under his stretched jacket.
“Oh, hell yeah,” Gunther breathes under his breath with a grin. “The Special Ops are back.”
.
.
.
.
The trek to the castle takes a few hours, but you spend it occupied enough. Between Gunther and Oluo’s constant questions (What was the next group of cadets like? How does memory loss feel? Do you remember when we—?) and Petra’s combative defensiveness to keep you protected from overexertion, the wagon ride back is promising.
Exciting.
Your blood is buzzing with the very real possibility of fighting Levi Ackerman once the group is settled at headquarters.
Anxiety should be hitting you once you reach the familiar sight of the run-down castle, but all you can feel is exhilaration. Anticipation. Like you finally have a worthy opponent who may give little mercy despite your situation.
Hopping off the wagon without the help of Oluo’s hand, you shrug off your Scout jacket and hand it to him to hold instead. He makes a disappointed noise in the back of his throat, tossing the item of clothing over his shoulder.
Levi hops out without help, light on his feet and graceful as he steps around the wagon to walk with you.
“We doing this right now?” he asks, tone bored, offering a sidelong glance to you.
“Absolutely.”
“Are you sure about sparring so soon?” he asks, lower this time.
(If you didn’t know any better, then you would believe his question hits a note of concerned.)
“What, are you afraid I’m going to beat your ass in front of the squad?”
“No,” he answers, matter of fact. “The opposite.”
Eld whistles low when you turn on a heel, walking backwards to grin at Levi. Levi doesn’t return the same excitement nor does he remove his jacket or cravat, but he doesn’t let you out of his sight.
He stalks you to a clearing right in front of the castle, a lopsided circle patch of dirt and weeds.
“Don’t cream your pants,” Levi crudely quips about your growing smile, his fists rising to rest in a defensive stance at his face. “I don't plan to go easy on you.”
“Oh fuck off,” you reply with equal-parts unprofessionalism, prepping your own fists to your face as your right boot shifting, forming the start of a semi-circle in the dirt. “If you did, I’d be mad at you.”
"Hmm."
Your other boot follows, stalking to find your opening.
Where you can strike.
“You got this, James!” Petra chirps from the sidelines where the Special Operations squad awaits, breath baited and muscles tense.
You do.
You’ll take him and show everyone you’re only just a couple steps behind.
You send a sharp right punch to see where it can land, but Levi juts his chin back at a supernatural speed to avoid it.
He could take a counterstrike, but he holds back.
(He’s lying. He’s going easy on you.)
Petra gasps from the sidelines when you throw a combination of a jab and left hook, but Levi ducks and recovers fast. He throws a fist at your gut, but you manage to slide away before his fist can land. There is a gleam of acknowledgement in his eye as you glide past one another. He throws another, but you lean back and avoid the blow.
It’s a dance choreographed and rehearsed so many times that your brain must have lost count, but your body holds its memory in a vice grip.
In truth, you know — know exactly where he’s going to step next, or the exact direction he favors to dip, and the knowledge delights you. Excites you, even, that this feels so…
Natural.
Like you’ve dissected Levi Ackerman until his movements are your own, mirrored and fluid.
Except you get so caught up in the revelation that he manages to land a sharp jab to your arm. You abruptly dip from the painful hit, teeth grit, but you’re light on your feet and quickly avoid additional attacks. You both strike, arms entangling and locking, to the point where you're mere centimeters from the other's face.
“C’mon, James,” he growls under his breath, and you can’t help but smile.
"Banking on an easy win?" you quip, pushing him away with force and ducking a counterattack.
"This isn't a challenge," he assures, stepping around the invisible circle for a reset.
"You sure?" you ask, catching your breath. Your hands flex before curling back into fists. "Pretty sure I see sweat."
"Little shit." He huffs. “If you say so.”
He strikes, but you counter with precision and manage an uppercut straight to his jaw. Levi’s head snaps back, boots faltering on the ground for a brief second.
You feel it: the whites of your eyes alight with pride.
The hit landed.
You can keep up with Captain Levi.
“I do say so,” you coo belatedly, and Levi rubs his jaw.
“Huh,” he hums. “Lucky shot.”
“Are you giving up that ea— shit!”
If he was holding back earlier, then he isn’t doing so now. Levi comes at you with a flurry of limbs, forcing you to expend all your energy to block his advancements. He is lightning fast, focused on you and you alone, and punches with the intent to land.
To win.
Less cocky than before, you dodge his incoming punches and duck at his swings, holding him back but not enough to land hits of your own.
Shit.
He’s going to win.
If you just keep his arms at bay and—
Wait.
From the corner of your eye, you see it: the smirk on his face when he knows he has you wide open at the legs, and when your mouth opens to gasp, he switches technique and sweeps your legs out from under you.
Suddenly you lose balance and become airborne.
“Do you think we’ll ever get to go up there?”
Right in front of your eyes, the sun turns black.
Your back connects with the ground, and it’s as though you’re transported to another world: one that’s dark, devoid of the warmth of the sun.
Overhead you see Levi smirking down at you, but his Scout uniform is nowhere to be found. He greets you with a billowing white shirt cinched at his torso in a burnt orange vest, hair just as floppy but eyes less vacant.
They’re… warm. Amused.
The lines of his war-worn face are all but gone. His eyes still have dark circles, but they’re less prominent. If you didn’t know any better, then you’d call it a near-youthful glow.
(As much as one can get from being a child of the Underground.)
“Gonna stay down there forever?” he asks you, his translucent hand leaving his side to hold a lifeline for you to take.
All it takes is for your hands to connect for the world to shift, transform, and everything echoes.
“Do you think we’ll ever get to go up there?”
“Up there?” It’s Levi’s voice.
He sits in the dirt beside you, dropping unceremoniously to your side with a grunt of discomfort. You're lying in the dirt, wearing an unassuming maroon long-sleeved shirt and dark trousers. You sit up to meet him, stretching your legs out to cross them at the ankles. Without a rhythm, your boots sway.
“You’re worried about going up there?” Levi adds.
“Who isn’t?” you ask him, dropping your chin to your shoulder as you regard him from the side. Scents of damp Earth and leaking cobblestone invade your nostrils. “You can’t really want to spend the rest of your life down here, right?”
"It's a pipe dream, James."
"So? Dream with me for a second."
"You're starting to sound like Isa."
"Is that such a bad thing?" you inquiry. "She wants a chance on the surface as much as the rest of us. Hell, she's been to the staircase. That's further than I've ever gotten."
“They’ll call us freaks,” he bluntly tells you, hooking his skinny wrist between the loop of his thumb and index finger when he drags his knees to his chest. “I’m not exactly keen on going.”
“But we’d eat a lot of amazing food and get a lot of sun — maybe even a tan.” You gasp childishly, leaning in to bump his shoulder with yours. Levi stays put, immobilized by your words. “Imagine us with sunburn? How crazy would that be?”
“So your dream... is to become a tomato?” he flatly asks.
You grin, holding off on a laugh until you can’t stand it. It starts breathy and low so as not to alert the chatter in the cobblestone house behind you, but it bubbles and breaks the seal to a full-blown giggle.
Levi shakes his head, the floppy hair in his face following a delayed second.
“Fucking ridiculous.”
You grin towards him. “What?”
“You. You’re fucking ridiculous,” he interrupts, but something miraculous happens:
His eyes crinkle. His lips curve to a smile.
Suddenly the dream of the sun doesn’t feel as beautiful when you’re looking at him.
“James.”
Levi Ackerman dissolves at your side, and you feel weightless all over again.
Darkness; you want to reach towards the sunlight, but a billowing cloud rushes towards you and knocks you back to the dirt once again.
You cough at the dust clouds around your head, disoriented and confused, until a nonchalant boot digs into your side.
“Get up.”
“But I was just up,” you mumble in protest.
“No, you weren’t.”
When you blink up, you’re met again with the sight of Levi hovering over you. He still wears the same loose white shirt and vest, legs covered in dark trousers and boots, but he looks… even younger than before.
Whereas he could pass as a young adult in his early twenties just a short few minutes ago, he now looks as youthful as a teenager.
You grit your teeth, counting down the seconds. “Actually, I kinda dig it down here.”
“Seriously—?”
You get an idea. A bad one, but an idea nonetheless.
The question that trails in disbelief earns you enough time to reset your approach to fighting him, your hand quick to wrap around his ankle. Pulling as hard as you possibly can, you use your core and sweep his leg so that Ackerman goes airborne.
When his body hits the ground in a nasty thud, you hurry to scramble over him. The bone of your forearm presses into the boy’s neck, causing Levi to grunt with discomfort.
You grin above him as he grimaces.
“Dirty trick,” he spits, but he doesn’t fight it.
In fact, he doesn’t try to escape at all.
You shrug a shoulder, pressing harder onto his windpipe. He sputters, but his face remains just as neutral as ever.
“What’s got you so pissy today?”
“What?” Levi asks from beneath you. His hands curl around your elbow and fist, but he doesn’t push your forearm away just yet.
“You’re moody.” The correction has you laughing gently under your breath, and the sight beneath you? It’s one to behold.
His dark hair frames his face messily, splayed across dirt and gravel. His teeth continue to grind, growl bubbling in his chest, but when he decides to push against your arm, all you do is push harder into his throat. He coughs with a curse.
“I’m — fuck — not.”
“Are too.”
He narrows his eyes. “And I’m letting you win.”
“Are not.”
“Wanna bet?”
Easing up on his windpipe, you crawl off of him and extend a hand to help pull him up to a seated position. Levi begrudgingly takes it, hoisting himself up on the flat of his palm. He angles closer to you, voice low with a feigned warning.
“Thought we didn’t do draws,” he states.
Your forehead drops to his shoulder, lost in a belly laugh when all you want to say is—
“James!”
When you come back to the world, the sun is blocked by a face. Levi barks your name with an intensity that frightens you out of your dreams of the Underground and into the reality of the old headquarters.
Hange hovers over his shoulder. Their glasses are pushed into their hairline where concern etches over every line of their curious face. The uncertain murmurs of the rest of the squad are somewhere behind your head where they observe from a distance.
"Are you alright?" Levi asks with less fervor.
“I’m fine,” you breathe, rolling your neck to look up at Hange.
“Are you? Because you disappeared on us for a second, kid,” Hange tells you, but something squeezes your arm to the point of hurting.
You blink down to the source — Levi white-knuckles a hand around your forearm, holding it steady to the ground. When you meet his eyes once more, he lets go like your body is the temperature of a steaming titan.
"We're not doing that again," he decides for the both of you.
"Wait."
Sitting up on your forearms, the warmth of the sun brings unbridled joy back into your stomach.
"We have to."
"Excuse me?" Levi snaps, eyes narrowing for a split second until it hits — his expression releases built-up tension. "...did you...?"
At first you can only grin, delirious and overjoyed. "...dream of becoming a tomato, one day?"
His face slacks with dumbfounded surprise.
"Is that an inside joke?" Hange whispers in a hiss over his head. "Is tomato code for something?"
"In a way," you reply, but your attention isn't on Hange. You're too busy beaming over at a crouching Levi, who looks at you in way you've never seen before.
He's warworn and childlike, an oxymoron of your own muddled mind, but he knows.
You know he knows, too.
Because you might have finally figured out a plan to — quite literally — knock some sense into you.
Author's Note: Gosh, your theories have been so fun to read! And we only get brief moments with the Scouts, so I sort of took some liberties with their personalities. Your likes, comments, & reblogs have been wonderful! My inbox is open anytime xo
tag list: @lazylizzy3
#attack on titan#levi ackerman#snk#levi ackerman x female reader#levi ackerman x reader#levi ackerman x you#attack on titan fanfic#attack on titan fanfiction#snk fanfiction#shingeki no kyoujin#shingeki no kyoujin fanfiction#wip series#aot#aot fanfic#aot fanfiction#amywritesthings#fic: silver underground.#silver underground
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TBB S3 Ep 12 Thoughts!!
Gotta remember to look up what the title means
But starting off with rainy Tantiss and dark music
Setting the tone and I’m here for it!!
Ah yes
There he is
hemcock
I guess this joke is getting old but at this point I refuse to spell his name correctly
Yanno bitch really showed up with an undercut and an eyebrow slit right from the get go, like some well payed criminal
I never noticed that tbh
Ey yo Tech don’t shove your sister like that
The eye contact between omega and Emerie right of the bat got me like 👀
Girls are cooking
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re save.”
Right.
Damn occupied pabu hurts my heart
But hey batcher and hunter are okay
Crosshairs hand tremor acting up in a stressful convo with his bros
🥺🥺🥺🥺
my heart
Crosshair having potential info on Tantiss and not sharing it is… complicated. On the one hand he had the option to save his brothers and actively chose not to. On the other hand it is very clear that Crosshair suffers from PTSD as a result of the trauma he sustained there. Trauma is rarely something that allows you to act based on logic or even your own morals. It puts you in survival mode, not because you’re not strong enough to withstand it, but because it’s necessary. That’s why it’s called survival mode. Very likely every instinct within him told him not to return there and that can be hard to overcome. But he’s willing to take that step for Omega. Severe and unyielding, indeed.
Also, Omega not having that issue, not being scared to return to Tantiss isn’t a show of her strength or Crosshair’s weakness. They had different experiences and have different brains, therefore they process and deal differently. Crosshair is not the weaker link because he was unable to muster up the courage to return before now. He’s simply in a different place than she is.
PHEE AND AZI!!!
“Tech told me all about your sparkeling personality.”
PARDONNE MOI???
I BEG YOUR BIGGEST PARDON
JUST TECH???
NOT “YOUR BROTHERS TOLD ME ALL ABOUT…”???
NO JUST TECH HUH??
SPENT SOME ALONE TIME WITH HIM DID YA PHEE???
Also Phee and Cross bickering hihihehe
They have good sibling energy already (sister in law vibes huh)
Why did Hunter sound like Rex during the briefing?
Like he just put his “man in charge” hat on for the first time
Phee just straight up turning the ship off to get in undetected is such a Tech thing tbh
Obsessed
Gotta watch that again
Beautiful
Oh wait fuck RAMPART is WORKING THERE???
Serves him right
I love seeing this trio work together tbh
Hunter, Cross and Wrecker bring such a different vibe without Echo, Tech and/or Omega there and idk why or how to describe it but I am here for it
“Anything?”
“Yup.” *clocks him* “Clear.”
Baby <3
“You remembered. How touching.”
Queen💅😪✨
“Are you here to kill me?”
“Tempting. But, no.”
FUCK ME.
KING SHIT 👑
Rampart is still a whore then, huh?
“Oh, please. You’re not going to kill me.”
“Not yet.”
GO OFF
“We’re in this together.”
Yo buddy saying shit like that seems like a nice way to loose some teeth
“This is your new home.”
The fact that they left us on THAT line
OW
Fr most of my thoughts on this are Crosshair brain rot and if I wasn’t so busy today you’d get to read it. (No u probably PROBABLY won’t get it another time bc I am adhd and I either forget or don’t have the motivation later so… lots of good thoughts get lost in the void unfortunately)
#cross is really making a run for the pedestal I put rex on huh#still low-key disappointed that he and echo weren’t there today but seeing as this is headed to an attack on Tantiss I can’t imagine we’re#far from that happening#star wars#the bad batch#tbb#tbb hunter#tbb wrecker#tbb crosshair#tbb omega#tbb echo#captain rex#tbb spoilers#tbb s3#tbb s3 spoilers#star wars the bad batch
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You have such a good perspective on canon!levi, how do you do it!! 🥰🤩 the cold weather has made me think fluffy thoughts... sooooo....
What are your thoughts on post-war levi needing some help with cutting his hair? He can manage, but it's probably harder to do, right? Does he even keep the undercut? Uh-oh, maybe the top grows out enough for a bun. Is this the first time he lets someone other than his mother cut it for him? Does it mean something to him, or does he just not like other people messing with it? If he needed help, he probably wouldn't ask, you'd just have to get in there and do it... and then it would just be a part of your routine together. I need to hear your thoughts!!
Also happy new year 😘😘
xoxo
happy new year!! idk how this post got so srs but here we are.... i promise... its fluffy towards the end...
//internalized ableism, mentioned suicidal ideation, some minor manga spoilers + hinted ch132 spoiler | wc: 1.0k
He didn’t get to cut his hair (I bet) for that month he was in the forest with Zeke. And then after the final battle, he’s in the hospital for some long months while his face heals (did you know that face wounds heal super well compared to other flesh wounds?), he gets multiple surgeries on his knee, and treated for the internal bleeding caused by the explosion (remember when he coughs up blood in the manga?), etc. The point is, he’s in the worst shape of his life.
And in all that time, his bangs grow to fall over his eyes all the time. They don’t like to stay pushed back over his forehead, either, and the prickly stubbled part of his undercut gains length. The longer tail in the back has creeped down his nape.
This is one more thing to constantly unsettle him. Routinely he’s always cut his hair every two weeks on the dot if he can, and he’s never let it get bad enough to grow out this much, not since he was a little kid.
He’s always cut his hair himself, too. At this point he’s firm in the belief that he’s the only one who can get it right, and on top of Levi’s stubborn independence and his newly realized weaknesses, means he’s defiant to letting even you (who has stuck to his side since he was admitted) trim it. You can count on one hand how many times he let you help with it in the past.
“I’ll cut it for you,” you offer out of the blue, for the hundredth time.
He, who’d been half-dozing in his hospital bed, grunts to show his distaste. The majority of the bandages are off his face, except for the white wrappings hugging one of his eyes. Unfortunately, Hange’s stitches had been removed, and restitched. Levi got extremely irate with the doctor who explained to him that the work done was shoddy, like whoever that’d done it seemed to be in a rush.
Either way, it still feels strange to talk with the cleft in his lips. “You’ve done enough for me.”
You stroke his uninjured hand. The other is still bandaged. Recently, he went through another small surgery to get them properly amputated to the second knuckle to prevent nerve damage and infection. (I’m so fucking sad.)
“The most I’ve done is just be here,” you say meaningfully. “Please let me help, ‘Vi.”
For the most part, Levi has been completely numb since the war ended. Maybe he’s still in shock, like the professionals say, but he has had the suspicion that he’s broken... That is until you beg him so genuinely. A familiar affection for you pulls in him. It reminds him. Not broken.
He blinks at you, and sighs deeply through his nose. “Only if… it’s not too much trouble.”
“Never. I already asked for the proper tools.”
He deadpans a little, affection growing. “Fine.”
Smiling, you give him a kiss.
Levi huffs. He’s stronger than he was since being admitted. With a few pillows fluffed up behind him, he sits up with relative ease. His socked feet brush the floor, where he stares down, deliberating.
“You shouldn’t—”
“If you get that fucking chair, forget it.” He raises his head and glares defiantly at you. “I’m not a shitty baby. I can fucking walk.”
You never said he was, never even implied it, but you understand why he’s lashing out. So you compromise by sitting down beside him, and sliding your arm around his waist. He hooks one of his over your shoulders, saying nothing as you together maneuver to stand. The bathroom is a few paces away, but to Levi it feels like miles as he heavily favors his good leg, causing him to hobble.
His cheeks burn in humiliation. Not because you’re helping him, but the fact that he needs help in the first place. He doesn’t even let the nurses do this.
In the same way, all the meaning of this favor to him isn’t in you cutting his hair. It touches him that you’d go out of your way (in his mind) yet again for him, as difficult as he knows he’s being. Has been.
He hates that his body’s this way now. Mangled beyond recognition of how it used to be, how it used to work. He’s left broken parts. Damaged. He’s permanently useless forever, he thinks. The resulting burden makes him think at his darkest moments that it would’ve been easier on himself and everyone else if he just died after killing Zeke. His duty was done. It would’ve taken long enough.
This occasional slew of dark thoughts have grown more common since he’s had time to do more or less nothing but think. When he remembers that everyone he fought beside, including and especially you, were thrilled that he was recovering, he feels a horrible stab of guilt. He should be grateful. The Titans are gone. He should be at peace, overjoyed. He doesn’t deserve to feel this much pain considering everyone else who lost their lives. Everyone close to him is dead. But, except you. Except you.
(I need to get back on topic.)
In the bathroom, he braces himself using the counter, his bad leg raised as you drag a regular chair inside.
“Same as always?”
“Yeah.”
He thought he’d feel even more pathetic that he can’t even do this with two less fingers and his eyesight, but he finds himself… relaxed for the first time in ages. More placated whenever your fingers card through his hair, occasionally scratching affectionately as you go about trimming, then buzzing his hair way down near the base of his skull and around his ears.
You’re slow and careful about it, and Levi finds himself holding onto that.
When his hair is fixed, the style as he always had it, he feels a shred better. Your eyes meet through the reflection.
“Thank you,” he mumbles.
Later in the future, when Levi is out of the hospital (which he leaves on crutches), and enough time has passed to partway recover and re-establish a new routine in your lives, you still cut his hair the majority of the time. His eyesight messes with his field of view—it’s a task to land kisses to your lips, let alone cut his hair straight. So even though he’s ambidextrous, that doesn’t mean much.
Every two weeks, same as always, you stand behind him with a towel laid out for the stray hairs, and wordlessly set about doing it for him. He could grow it out, but he much rather prefers a few things staying the same as they’ve always been. Including his hair. Especially you.
🏷: @ms-longbeach | @sparkywrites25 | @notgoodforlife | @ackermendick | @mrsackermannx | @youre-ackermine | @lovolee3 | @spouse-of-the-rulers-of-hell | @yoongiluuvr | @the-milk-anon | @belovedackerman | @imkumichan | @sckerman | @nao-vel | @happybird16 | @promethiumcloud | @dstrong-18 | +link to sign up
#aot drabbles#levi ackerman drabble#levi x reader#levi x you#levi ackerman headcanons#levi ackerman angst#aot spoilers#snk x reader#levi ackerman x you
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Step by Step Ep 12 (Finale) Stray Thoughts
Last week on HR violations, Jeng faced the weight of the homophobia on the board of the company and apologized for inconveniencing them with his queerness. He convinced Pat to stick around and commit to the proposed test of their project and joined the new bubble at work of all of the people who know about them and support them. Though they were required to complete this ad campaign with no money, they used Ying’s skills as a fic writer and Pat’s former relationship with Put to pull off the campaign. Put was also forced to essentially closet himself and play up his fake relationship with his costar. Jaab and Jen are a hot mess, because now Jen is all the way in Japan. Unfortunately, Jeng blew it and used his own money for ads, undercutting Pat’s success. Pat, understandably furious, has broken up with Jeng and left Jian Group. Jeng fell right into his dad’s trap.
Two years later? The girlies are going to riot.
Okay, I love that they formed their own team, and also that the Wi-Fi password is so easily compromised.
So Pat, Ae, and Chot run a successful ad company together, and are about to compete with Jian Group for the Fjord contract. I am excited.
New Intro song in the finale??
I’m with Chot. I don’t care about all this other gay drama. I wanna qiqi with my former work besties if we are at an event together.
I love Chot and Nan so much it makes me feel silly. Chot has to rush off because he knows Pat and Jeng are gonna mess each other up again.
I know meeting Jeng is a stressful situation, but Pat didn’t wash his hands!!!
I get Pat’s stress. The entire problem with Jeng was about Jeng flirting through work. I’m totally with Pat on not accepting overtures that are tied to work.
Damn, Jaab ain’t have to cut his brother like that, comparing his behavior with Pat to their dad’s with Jeng.
I’m enjoying the cross-cutting on the different pitches.
Oh shit, Pat is bitter bitter.
Okay, I’m with Tae. He extended the correct professional courtesy by offering the karaoke night ad campaign to Pat’s company. It’s not his fault that Pat always suspects Jeng of trying to manipulate them into contact.
My man is eating sad noodles and chicken!!!
Chot realized things were bad enough that he called in Pat’s dad.
Ying is now a successful BL writer. OMG.
I feel so bad for Pat. He’s right that Jeng’s presence brings into question any accomplishments he had. Sure they got the Forge account, but Pat can’t be sure that Jeng wasn’t involved somehow. It’s really sad that Jeng perverts acts of service as a love language.
I am still with Tae. My dude said he is tired of these two sucking all the life out of the room. They need to grill this beef and eat it.
My current sexuality is Pat in these blue jeans and this oversized black shirt with a slutty amount of chest showing.
I love when people write and delete messages in modern dramas. That’s so real.
I just know Up suggested he dance.
GOOD NEWS! Chot and his man are still together!
Shrimp nuggets?? I’m gonna McFuckinLoseIt.
Up Poompat is so goddamn pretty. Holy shit.
Sometimes the only person who can really kick you out of your romantic shit is your ex.
Karaoke emotional processing? Bracing.
I’m feeling a bit mixed on the kitchen reconciliation. I don’t think Pat should apologize about being irrational, but I can accept that ghosting Jeng may have felt like too much. Overall, I’m okay with them recognizing that they’re still stuck on each other and want to sort that out. Im okay with them taking it slowly.
I respect the dad for leaving to give them space to work this out.
Jeng traveled with that porridge. How is it so hot? Or did they just throw it in a microwave?
Oh, roleplaying a new first meeting is kind of cute.
He wore all blue to quit his job. I’m so glad this man finally quit his job.
I want some green curry now, too.
Very excited to meet Jeng’s mom. She has two queer sons. She has stories.
So if Pat started this show at 25, turned 26, broke up with Jeng, and now it’s been two years, Pat should be 29, right?
I am with Pat. It hurts to be called your partner’s friend, especially when they know.
So they really had Jeng cover his lips in white icing and then kiss Pat.
Okay so the rest of that was wind down.
Final Verdict: 7.5, Recommend for Fans of Queer Cinema. Despite how much I enjoy the characters and the performances, none of the elements of this show fully connect for me into something greater than the sum of their parts, and I feel like we had to work far too hard to understand the intent of much of it. In many ways it has the opposite problem of A Boss and a Babe, which cared more about character moments than big thematic ideas. This show cares a lot about its ideas about queer people in the workplace, but struggled to use its queer characters to elegantly express them.
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I’ve been trying to get these thoughts out for days but basically I feel like the unifying theory of s16 (as I see it) is a conscious exploration of the dichotomy between sunny as a classically bold and brash pee pee poo poo comedy and sunny as a thoughtful, nuanced and subtle show about flawed people and also about itself, at times (by that I mean the meta isn’t always about macdennis or the other characters but about sunny itself - win an award, clip show, big mo, etc). the trailer actually captures this dichotomy well through the dialogue clips and animations, as well as the pinned comment which said “get ready for a whole lot of subtlety.” it’s still so baffling to me that sunny can simultaneously read as one of the most loud, obnoxious, unsubtle shows ever on television, OR it can be so subtle and allegorical in the writing of later seasons that most viewers would think people like us are crazy for reading so much into it even though we’re really not. this kind of self-reflective flavor is another product of the rewatch/podcast project which has been almost universally agreed to have had a very positive effect on the writing.
anyway having said that, I want to just share my notes on the first two episodes without trying to edit them too much. I’m bolding the points that I personally haven’t seen anyone else mention yet and putting a 😎 next to ones that evoke a Classic Sunny VibeTM because that’s important to the experiment of this season.
the gang inflates
macden fun/domestic/DUMB again 😎
something something never committing to the couch when it was absurd not to and it ended up costing them so much macdennis blah blah
dennis hanging up on dee was so funny to me oops 😎
and the WHOLE dee (as a character and specifically the female character) thing about being minimized to an absurd degree. I like to think the bog was a turning point for dee and the show is gonna do better by her now hopefully by recognizing her plight in a more serious way, like the way the guys have been doing?
are mac and dennis…… you know…… like for real??? as many have said, it could totally be revealed kind of retroactively to undercut the shock and be like “honestly we’re surprised you didn’t notice sooner” I feel like that is something rcg would do. suggestive clues:
“I don’t wanna talk to you about–” “a TON”
or is dennis like well that’s news to me jealous vibes??
“I figured you were man” ??
“I’m getting a little concerned about our nut”
“you truly have no reason to be sleeping with frank”
they specifically put a lil reaction shot of dennis after mac says “that’s a lotta blowin” a la the lil grin in gets romantic and, well, I just think that’s a choice that was made
“it’s not homophobic” is that so?????
when mac is like “you think we got rid of our furniture too soon/that the business plan won’t work” it’s kinda like no it’s not the committing to what they have, it’s that mac still has big denial problems and dennis can’t work with that… maybe? but so does dennis tbh
in a show-meta sense it’s like, we should be less worried about whether the gay gay-ass love story will alienate people and more worried about how these characters are too ridiculous to even let the love story play out effectively. they need mental health days if we are ever to have nice things
it’s possible mac denying his reaction to the allergy has to do with his body dysmorphia?
also it occurred to me that maybe part of why rob is clean-shaven this season is so they could do those prosthetics more easily?
those handprints though…. I hate everything
oh also just the bed scene. its existence
the zoomed in neck touch of course
“I’m not going to do it!” “..okay” dennis keepin his cool :)
mac’s shirt! COOLER HEADS PREVAIL
just the sheer silliness of inflatable furniture - is there some metaphor here lol?
in a general sense could inflates be taken to mean flanderizes? also maybe it’s just implied but I noticed I hadn’t actually seen anyone mention inflation as a sexual kink and like, that was part of the intention right? if so, 😎
charlie “uhhhhhhhh… yep.” poor charlie :( he doesn’t want to live in a maze (like a rat)
“well then you’re just like being a predator” :( so here for charlie calling out bullshit with frank and mrs. mac and even his own mom so far in these first two eps
charlie just giving up and yelling in frustration which is kinda what bonnie does in ep2 (and ep3 based on trailer)
the gross horny male objectifying thing 😎
rob put his whole pussy into this episode
charlie saying “I don’t get why he doesn’t take me seriously” and dee saying “that’s gotta be maddening” 🙃
cats in the alley my loves 😎
gluing dee a pillow on the wall <3
“consider it an offering” “of war??” this says so much. must everything be a conflict?
charlie’s hair looks so crazy and good in the sleepover scene and also he’s so smart
charlie asks frank to “return everything to the status quo” by the end of the episode, sitcom style. full reset, no progression. except charlie is asking that frank not endlessly take advantage of the fact that mac and den can’t figure their shit out, not totally push dee out just because it’s easy, not make light of the trauma charlie has from what happened to him. all that stuff IS the status quo! so what is he really asking for? this is one of the bits of writing that I think is also about the show as a show, and how they’ve approached these dynamics forever.
it’s funny that people are saying this season is such a return to form because it is, but it’s also so much more self-aware of what that form is/was and how deeper elements can coexist within it. they’re really walking with a foot in both worlds here and they’re doing it well. love this for them and for us, the people who know what it’s always sunny in philadelphia is REALLY about
“we’ll take you to the hospital, and they’ll have nuts. and you can– you can die there.” hahahah
#sunny#iasip#it's always sunny in philadelphia#S16#sunny meta#s16 meta#s16 e1#the gang inflates#macdennis#charlie#dee#I hate this show bc every time I'm like whoa this writing is so complex and then I immediately feel ridiculous for thinking that#even though I KNOW I'm right and you guys get it too..... I still feel like a tinhat :( I blame misogyny#well I'm exhausted goodnight
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✧ stalker-ish ✧
warnings: mentions of stalking, 18+ mdni, mention of fake users, instagram (LOL)
context: levi ackerman fem!reader - y/n having a huge thing for levi and stalking his instagram account but plot twist levi was stalking y/n too?!
a/n: I got my new keyboard its teal and white its so cuteee but anyways enjoy my loves!! <33
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and tea enveloped Y/N as she sat at her usual table in the corner of Rose Cafe. She peeked up from her book, heartbeat quickening when she spotted him strolling through the door right on schedule - 8am on the dot, like clockwork.
Levi Ackerman. Just the sight of him took Y/N's breath away. His piercing steel gray eyes that contrasted strikingly with his jet black undercut hair. The way he carried himself with an aura of mystery and magnetism.
Y/N yearned to talk to him, to unravel all his intriguing layers. But she could barely muster the courage to meet his gaze, intimidated by his brooding allure.
So instead, she had crafted a fake Instagram account - "tea_lover_89" using it to lurk and fawn over Levi's profile anonymously. Scrolling feverishly though artsy shots of graffiti murals, bookstore shelves, rainy city streets. Pausing on the occasional moody black and white selfie that left her pulse racing.
This morning, as always, Y/N pulled up Levi's page first thing, double-tapping his latest post a hazy nightscape of neon signs reflecting off wet pavement.
"Gorgeous shot," she typed out in the comments from her alter ego account before locking her phone and attempting to refocus on her book. But soon her eyes drifted up, irresistibly drawn back to the real-life version just a few tables away.
Little did Y/N know, Levi's eyes were also stolen glances when he thought she wasn't looking. He too felt inexplicably magnetized by this warm, bubbly girl who frequented his favorite cafe. Her chestnut hair shining in the sunlight, eyes crinkling adorably when she laughed. He was utterly smitten.
Levi never worked up the nerve to talk to Y/N directly either. Instead he created his own fake account - "wanderlust_photog" using it to follow her and fawn in private. Her feed was full of cozy book nook shots, delectable pastries, and radiant selfies that left Levi breathless.
This morning, Levi pulled up her latest selfie - smiling brightly with a dusting of flour on her cheek, captioned "Tried a new snickerdoodle recipe!" He double-tapped, leaving a quick comment: "Looks delicious!"
Then Levi forced himself to pocket his phone, sipping his black coffee while sneaking glances at the real girl behind the enchanting photos, completely enthralled...
It was a bustling morning at Rose Cafe as Y/N waited in line for her usual vanilla latte. Speakers played soothing acoustic music amidst the chatter and aroma of brewing coffee. Y/N scrolled through her phone, giggling at the latest silly meme her best friend sent her.
Suddenly she felt a gentle bump at her shoulder, nearly knocking the phone from her hand.
“Oh excuse me, I’m so sor—“ Y/N’s voice caught in her throat as she looked up into stormy gray eyes. Levi Ackerman stood before her, the very man she had been secretly admiring through a fake Instagram account.
Flustered, Y/N fumbled her phone, watching in horror as it slipped from her grasp toward the tiled floor. But before it could shatter, Levi’s cat-like reflexes kicked in and he caught it smoothly.
“T-thank you,” Y/N stuttered, mortified at her clumsiness.
“No problem.” Levi handed back her phone, but not before his eyes darted down, catching a glimpse of the Instagram app open to none other than tea_lover_89 – the very same account that had been liking and commenting on all his posts for weeks.
Y/N wanted to evaporate on the spot. But suddenly, the hint of a knowing smile formed on Levi’s lips.
“I should have known it was you…” he murmured.
Y/N blinked, confusion evident on her flushed face.
Levi leaned in slightly, voice low so only she could hear. “Did you really think I wouldn’t realize who wanderlust_photog was, constantly liking your posts?”
Y/N’s eyes widened. “Wait…that was YOU?”
Levi nodded, a slight smile breaking through now.
Flustered and elated all at once, Y/N laughed brightly. “Well, I guess neither of us were very subtle then!”
The barista called Y/N’s name, snapping her focus back. Levi insisted on paying for her drink. They sat together with shy smiles, all anonymous pretense gone.
Finally Y/N spoke sincerely. “I’m glad I don’t have to secretly admire you online anymore.”
Levi’s gaze was tender. “Oh but that makes it interesting"
At last they spoke freely together, fake accounts no longer needed when the genuine connection between them was everything they had each secretly dreamed of.
#attack on titan#levi ackerman#levi ackerman fanfiction#levi ackerman x y/n#levi ackerman x reader#levi ackerman x female reader#levi x reader#aot fanfiction#levi smut#aot x reader
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A Good Bad Hair Day
Summary: Simon tries a hairdressing spell and he accidentally switches hairstyles with Baz.
Notes: This is inspired by @artsyunderstudy‘s wonderful art with long haired Simon and short haired Baz and her additional art with more long haired Simon.
I was inspired and I came up with this in the Discord: “Watford era fic idea where a spell goes wrong and they swap hairstyles and Baz "Pining" Pitch is having a difficult time cause Simon is more attractive and Simon "I Don't Think" Snow has a "OH NO HES HOT" moment” and some people liked it. 40 minutes later... and here we are!
AO3
--
SIMON
I am staring at myself in the mirror. I don’t like using magic on myself, but I promised Penny I’d help her.
“Hairdressing is not a job,” I start my spell, “It’s a craft.”
I close my eyes and I feel my magic wash over me, but when I open my eyes, my hair is still the same. I frown. Why can’t I get this spell to work?
Penny said not to worry too much about it, but her hair has been changing colours in a rapid pace, it is distracting other students and she hates it. I cross Hairdressing is not a job, it’s a craft of my list of potential spells. I have an actual list, provided by Penny.
A part of me wants to ask Agatha. She’d be the kind of girl who knows about hair care. Her hair is always flawless. But we broke up and I’m not sure she’d be down to help me.
“A good hairstylist is a shear delight,” I say next. I repeat the process: I close my eyes, let my magic wash over me, and open my eyes only to be disappointed. Well. Another spell down the drain. (Where did Penny get these spells?)
I am so invested in this that I don’t hear the door open.
“Snow, what are-”
“If your hair looks good you can deal with anything.”
I close my eyes and I wait for my magic to-
Baz shrieks.
My eyes open instantly, but I can’t see anything. It’s as if my head is surrounded by fog and it makes my eyes burn. I cough and I try to wave this cloud away. After a few seconds, the air becomes lighter and I can see fog disappearing around Baz’s head too.
And then I see Baz’s head.
Baz.
He-
Baz looks at something behind me. I realise too late it’s the mirror. I definitely know it’s the mirror when Baz pins me against it.
“What did you do, Snow?”
BAZ
Honestly, it could’ve been worse.
Simon’s magic is unpredictable and it has led to unfavourable outcomes. But the moment I saw my reflection in the mirror, I wanted to weep. My hair. My beautiful hair. It is gone.
Well, not entirely. It’s short. It got very short. I think I may even have an undercut. I was so focused on being pissed off at Simon that I didn’t even notice that his hair is different too. Now that I have him up against the mirror, with his face close to mine, I see how long curls frame his gorgeous face.
He’s had longer curls before, often at the end of the year, but this is a whole new level. They reach his chin.
I can’t admire it for much longer, since Simon throws me off him.
“Anathema!” I snarl.
“You started it!”
I was upset and shocked, but I didn’t want to harm him. I never do. I think the Anathema knows this.
The two of us stare at each other, loss for words. I didn’t hear the full spell that Simon uttered, but I think he might have swapped our hairstyles. Again, not the weirdest magickal mishap that has happened in the life of Simon Snow, but this is…
This is not good.
Not only did I lose my luscious locks, but Simon has them now and he looks amazing. He shouldn’t look this good. He does not have the right to look this good and make me feel this… this…
Enchanted might be the right word.
I imagine sweeping the locks of his face. I wonder what it is like to play with his hair when his face is in my lap. I think about untangling the knots with my hand. I want to pull his hair when he’s hovering over me and he-
Okay, shit, I need to cool it down.
I do the most dignified thing that I can do. I turn around and run away.
SIMON
I blink in shock. At one moment Baz had me pinned against the mirror and the next, he was gone. I didn’t even have time to inspect the damage, but I think I know what is going on. I fucked up and I swapped our hairstyles.
Now that Baz is gone, I have time to properly look at myself in the mirror.
I look weird. Not bad weird. Not good weird. Just weird. I brush my fingers through my hair, trying to make it look decent. Baz always slicks his hair with gel, but the gel wasn’t transferred over, which is fine. I always prefer it when he doesn’t gel. I mean, not that I care, but objectively, I think it looks better.
This isn’t the result I wanted, but hey, at least the spell wasn’t completely useless and I managed to do something without blowing shit up.
“If your hair looks good you can deal with anything,” I cast again, but I wait for the fog to cloud my vision. Nothing happens. My hair is still the same.
I guess that is my cue to find Penny.
--
Penny is wearing her boater and she has her hair stuffed underneath it. She usually doesn’t want to wear hats, but even the hair that is sticking underneath her hat is giving me a headache. The colours are too much.
When she sees me, she lets out a gasp.
“Simon, what happened to you?”
I quickly explain what I did and she mutters something underneath her breath.
“What was that?” I ask.
“Oh Simon, I appreciate the help, but as I said, the spells aren’t tested!”
I don’t recall her saying that, which is probably my bad.
“We now know what this spell does,” I mutter, “But I can’t seem to reverse it.”
Penny frowns. She thinks for a small moment.
“Probably because you need Baz.”
“I don’t need Baz,” I instinctively say.
“In this case, you literally do,” Penny says with an eye roll, “You need him to swap back! So do what you do best, and stalk him!”
BAZ
Once I’m back in my room, I let out a sigh of relief. Simon isn’t in our room. I fall face down on my bed. Maybe it is a bit stupid to mourn my hair, but I looked amazing, okay?
Hm. Maybe I still do. I reluctantly shuffle towards the mirror to inspect the damage. Just like Simon, my sides are shaved. I brush my fingertips against it. It feels soft and my treacherous mind wonders if his shaved hair also feels this nice to the touch.
Ha. As if I can ever touch his hair. As if I can ever touch him.
My hair on top of my head is parted to the side. The spell also got rid of the hair products I use, but I actually don’t mind. I sweep some loose strands to the side.
Okay. I have to admit that I don’t hate it.
Just when I have that epiphany, the door flies open and the room is filled with Simon’s magic. It’s leaking out of him, but I’m used to it. It could’ve been worse, which seems like the mantra for today.
Once again, the two of us stare at each other and fuck, Simon looks so good. He must’ve run here, because he looks messy, but he makes it work (as usual). His long hair is all over the place and it makes him look beautiful. I wonder what he’d look like with bed hair like this. In my stupid fantasies he’d sleep next to me and his hair will sprawl on the soft pillows and I-
Nope. I can’t think like that.
But I can’t help myself.
He is so beautiful.
I want to insult him, so that I don’t give him the wrong idea, but I can’t. I’m afraid to even speak. I don’t want to accidentally say what’s on my mind, namely that I want to push him against the door and kiss him and run my hands through his hair.
Damn Simon. He’s always perfect to the eye, but this hairstyle makes it even better.
Again, the way the curls frame his face. I want to cup his face and hold it.
I gulp. I need to focus. I need to say something. He came here with a mission, or so it seems, but he is also lost for words.
I pull myself together, sort of, and I open my mouth to speak, but then he strides towards me. My eyes widen as he puts his hand on my face and he stares at me intently. I wonder what is going on in his mind.
SIMON
I have no idea what is going on. I came back to our room, hoping to find him, so I could reverse the spell, but when I arrived I saw him checking himself out in the mirror.
He looks different. He looks hot. The short hair really makes it possible to see his cheekbones and when I was standing there, all I could think of was that I wanted to touch them. (I suppose that’s what I am doing now.)
“Snow,” Baz splutters out. Splutters. Baz. Spluttering.
My own heartbeat is racing. Has Baz always looked this good? I look at the top of his head. His hair is parted to the side and it shines in the sunlight that shines into our room. I never thought of Baz as someone who would rock this cut, but he does. In my defence, I’ve never seen him with short hair. Even when he was eleven years old, his hair was longer than most boys in our class.
I do miss his long hair. It always looks so marvellous on him. Baz always looked marvellous and put together and downright beautiful and- wait, what?
I scan his face. When did I start thinking about Baz like this?
But then I realise I have been thinking this for a while. After all, I miss his old hair. I miss his long locks, especially when they aren’t plastered to his head with gel, but even when it’s slicked back it still makes him look good. But it always looks good when it’s loose, like when I watch him sleep. I’ve always admired his looks. He’s a good looking guy. That is just another objective fact!
I never really think about my thoughts. I don’t have time to reflect on them, but now, standing here in my room with Baz, all my thoughts about him come back to me. And new thoughts also arise.
I think about how I wanted to sweep a lock from his forehead. I can’t do that now, but I don’t mind. Instead I want to see how he can part his hair. I want to touch the side of his head to see if the shaved sides are as soft as mine (well, back when I still had short hair). Fuck, I even want him to use gel to slick it back, because he’d make it look classy and hot as fuck.
This new look is different, in a good way, in a wonderful way.
“Baz,” I say. I put my other hand on his face as well and I tilt his head, so that I can see him better. I want to see him. I always want to see him.
“Simon,” he says back. He still sounds nervous.
There is a feeling inside my chest and I realise that it isn’t a new feeling.
Baz tentatively moves a hand to my hair as well and I let him. For a while, the two of us are just touching each other’s hair and faces, as if this is a usual thing. This isn’t normal. Nothing about this is normal. Usually he’d throw insults and I’d scowl at him, but now he’s brushing his fingers through my curls and it feels so good.
The next thing I know, I lean in and I kiss him.
BAZ
My hand goes still in his hair.
Because I am shocked. I am surprised. Simon is kissing me.
I recover quickly and I kiss back. He is still cupping my face and I grab the back of his head to pull him closer. My head gets tangled up in Simon’s new hair and I don’t mind. I use my other hand to grab his vest.
Simon is kissing me. I am being kissed by Simon Snow!
His lips are as soft as his curls.
Eventually he pulls away and I feel a small dent in my heart. This must be it. He must realise what he’s doing and he’ll push me off him. But instead he smiles at me and he leans his head on my chest. His hands are still on my face.
“Woah,” he says.
I nod. Woah indeed.
What does this mean? I am afraid to ask, but he’s still with me.
“Okay. I think I understand now.”
“Understand what?” I say. There’s no malice in my voice, even though it’d be so easy to say something hurtful now. But I am hopeful
He looks up to face me and he looks happy, but also a bit nervous.
“Understand why I was always so obsessed with you.”
Did I hear that correctly? Fuck, if he loves this new haircut so much, then I don’t mind losing my long hair at all. I should’ve cut it off sooner if it would’ve led to this.
“What-”
I can’t finish my sentence. He kisses me again.
SIMON
After we stopped kissing, we moved to the bed. Just to sit. And to let it all sink in. Baz is leaning against me and he has his hand in my hair and I have my arm around him.
So much just happened and I don’t mind. Neither does he. In fact, for the first time ever, he seems happy to see me. I wonder how long he wanted this. Heck, I wonder how long I wanted this. I can’t believe I needed a magickal haircut to get my head out of my arse and realise what was right in front of me.
Baz is playing with my hair and it feels so good, I wonder why I never grew my hair out like this.
I came back to reverse the spell, but I don’t think I will.
#snowbaz#carry on#simon snow series#2023#holy fuck I wrote#ficlet#yes i wrote this in like 40 minutes in one go and it is completely unbeta'd even by myself (i dont have a beta)
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Y’all are being subjected to my Sims 2 tests, so there
The other set of Vargases came over for a visit and Scriabin picked up Shmee and started talking to Scriabin through him. Very normal, very usual
I downloaded some circle-glasses recolours and hghghh they look so good! Closer every day to his final details! Getting ever closer!
Edgar too! I made him a custom hair with a lighter undercut - I’m mostly happy with it, probably could’ve shifted it a shade closer to his skintone but the texturing was weird no matter what :P And his stripey shirt! I wish Body Shop didn’t have that hands-on-hips pose lol, it looks so much better in-game, but that’s all the better :)
I got some new clothes for Todd as well! As soon as I saw this ‘fit I was like “Oh that’s 100% Todd there he is.” Scriadad hug ♥ So cute
Foot-dancing together stopp it’s so cute!!
The way he looks at them stoppp <3 <3 They kept doing this right up til they left for home haha, Todd’s giggles are the cutest
Used SimPE to save him to the Body Shop, I now have infinite copies of The Boyyyy ♪
Moved him in with his “parents” as just shadow people basically, they’re not gonna matter in a bit as long as I remember how to get the Social Worker/Adoption process to work properly. Get her Todd!!
Wanna play? :D
Menacing :(
Look, Todd, your new dads are here! Initially I wasn’t sure who I wanted to adopt him, got lots of options; the first passes, the married couple with their own Todd, Johnny?? He definitely doesn’t have the facilities for a child lol
But these are the ones that showed up on their own, so the married Vargases are the winners!
Scriabin cares more about him than his actual parents ;; A stranger off the street shows him more care! Not that it’s a high watermark
Look at him being a good dad!
Weh, he just wants friends ;; Poor baby
Best timeline, thank you
While we wait for CPS, let’s get some other interactions in! Nny is mean so he tended to prank the other two with a nose flick - mostly Edgar lol ♪ Now kiss
“Oh please don’t break all my bones~ :3” I love Todd looking up at them haha <3
Pffft, I think he was talking about the other Scriabin and just how attractive he is. Classic Scriabin. Alternatively, also funny to imagine him bragging himself up about how he’s just so handsome that Edgar can’t help but love him hahaha ♪
Allow me to tickle you with my KNIFE! >:D
Get a load of this guy lol
He ended up passing out at one point - I forgot which motives make CPS show up >.> - and completely 0%’d his comfort, but for some reason stargazing increased it?? It’s the same ground wh
Is two not enough to satisfy your butterfly bloodlust child?? He ended up with three, I had him release them before he was picked up by the Social Worker - success!
He rolled a new Want as soon as Todd was taken away - “Wants to see Ghost of Todd” Woah, dark! :0
And here he is on the married Vargases’ lot!! Success!! I did it right!! Heck yeah! :D Unfortunately they were uh, indisposed at the time. Good job guys pft
Goes right for Shmee, he really is Todd <3
#The Sims 2#My queue is too backlogged on main! And I /have/ been working on a lot of Vargas-specific Sims 2 retextures so it's fine lol#These are still tests - as said up top lol - so these events are ''non canon'' to what will eventually be my actual Vargas family#The beats will be similar tho! It's mostly just a lot of tweaking at this point to get everything just where I want before the domino falls#Edgar Nny and Todd are all so close to done - Scriabin still needs a bit more work lol of course he's the problem member ♪#It'll be worth it tho! >:3c Handsome lad <3#Did find out some interesting things with the Social Worker/Adoption process :0 Most importantly that adoption basically wipes everything#Wipes memories and family relations and changes the last name! So I'll have to go in with SimPE to change his name back once I'm there#I love SimPE haha ♪ I mean it's just an extension of how much I love TS2 but I just ughsjkhagf it's a good program!#It's extremely powerful and easy to get lost in if you don't know where to look but it's also incredibly user-friendly if you do know#Like - it's as easy as ''Open this sub-menu. Click this button. Rename this. You're all done'' it's just jdsflf Sims 2 my beloved <3 <3#I decided to cheat down the Casils' relationship with Todd before everything else - thus why his father is menacing him for the prank#I've seen Sims with not high enough friendship to not take a water balloon as a fun invitation but not between a parent and child!#It's subtle but the parent being mad and the kid cowering :( It's sadly appropriate for Todd#I stuck the Casils in a box to wait things out and they ended up glitching frozen in bed - they're effectively dead by Motive but can't move#So they can't die /or/ live - feels fitting#If you'd like to recreate CPS taking your child away without straight up torturing them! - Hunger. You just need hunger lol#Alternately you can also have them miss class if you'd prefer to feed them - both will result in being taken away after long enough#If I return to this save it's gonna be confusing since both Todds are identical and have the same names lol#I do have a bunch of new clothes! Second shopping trip :D#There's something oddly fitting for the Vargases to adopt twin/clones lol - fun shenaniganary until the Final Version comes to pass#Although now that I think of it I Could also give them a toddler!Todd hmmmmmm#It's an idea :)
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(I’m copying and pasting some stuff from a conversation on the Chapter 6 post with @whumpster-fire. The reason I’m doing a separate post is because WF did their research and therefore uncovered a, shall I say, “historical spoiler” in the Nobby-verse. It’s there for anyone to find, but I’m going to refrain from reblogging the conversation so that people can avoid the “spoiler” if they want to.
Though this post is also going to be mildly spoiler-y in a more general way for the series. Not, however, in a way that I think is relevant for regular readers of this blog or anyone who is up on some basic Furness Railway history.)
Oh, buddy. You are singing my song. This has occupied space in my brain for ages now, and you put words to it very well.
I've long been frustrated with the commentary on Gordon's family situation as if it were in any way uniquely awful because hello?? And while they all have massive griefs in varying ways, yes, I find something specially brutal in Edward's front-row seat for the slow but inexorable destruction, not only of his immediate family (bad enough, to be sure) but also of virtually all his first railway's fleet. Like a whole 20-year trickle of horrible news. And I also can't help but wonder... There was surely a time when picking up an assignment to Barrow was a treat, especially in the periods when Edward was getting bullied by the NWR main line—chance to see some friendly faces, catch up on the news from home... when did that change? When did the bad news become such a steady drip that he started to dread going back over-the-bridge? While undoubtedly carrying guilt even about so much as that, because in his secure position the least he can do is show up (it was the '30s in the UK; they hadn't discovered feelings yet).
I hate to continue to be a downer in this conversation, but no, I don't.
Not through the NWR, at least... even though it is technically canon-compliant (and makes a lot of sense) for the NWR to have scooped up lots of condemned LMS engines during this era!
But my gut says that it just doesn't fit the picture on an emotional or narrative level.
Donald and Douglas's achievement in rescuing even one of their own is presented as a watershed in the cultural history of the railway. I'm inclined to believe it really was—that it opened up a new vista for the engines. Edward having done something similar decades before just kind of undercuts that for me.
Christopher Awdry pretty obviously did not think there were a lot of Furness stock on Sodor (even though it would make sense). Not that he made an explicit statement, but the whole point of the Victoria and Edward story in TaV seems to be that they bonded over their pleasure in encountering another FR survivor. Thomas's driver didn't tell Victoria that she could look forward to meeting other FR stock on the island in general (even though, again—if he'd said that, it would have made a lot of sense!), he mentioned Edward specifically. And Edward went from a week of taking no notice of Victoria to trying to get her on his branch line within ten seconds—I'm not exaggerating—within ten seconds of discovering who she was.
It's hard to make narrative sense of why, if there was an ex-FR contingent on Sodor, Edward is the standout, the only one of the lot who is part of the famous eight. He doesn't have that strong personality to stand out of a group of his peers—he's a supporter, a lieutenant if you will. That's the role he fills among the known Sodor engines. If there was a smaller coterie that he was part of, he'd had served that role in that group. You know? But the whole tenor of canon is that he used to be very alone, and then he became indispensable to the 'famous eight' dynamic. None of that feels compatible with a 'little Furness' band on the island.
I mean, I love the big lugs, but let's just be blunt: Edward was so hard-up for friends that he got cozy with Gordon, Henry, and James. These were among his best options on the entire island. If he still had any of his original 'family', I just cannot see him caring quite that much what these idiots thought of him, not even so early as the strike, certainly not so late as the incident in 'Cows.'
In short: the dynamic I see between Edward and the rest of the NWR is that he went all-in on unstinting generosity with his second family. And this is probably due to the perspective of an engine who lost his first family completely.
So, you seem to be referring to some of my old FC1 posts, and tbh I abjure them in part, but I still maintain that there is a slightly... weird dynamic between Edward and FC1. FC1 is consistently very kind to Edward when they do interact and seems to think a lot of him. Despite this, Edward does not seem to let himself rely on that very much... at all. FC1 does not appear to have been involved in Edward proving himself fit to rejoin the fleet. Edward, despite being Mr Deputation ("it's when engines tell the Fat Controller something's wrong") doesn't do this in the Thomas situation—he just intervenes on his own. He does confide in FC1 during the strike, but only after FC1 initiates the conversation; in other situations, I am struck more by Edward's slightly painful anxiety to please and to show a happy face. And, even more relevantly to this discussion: Trevor! Edward does not appear to think for a hot minute of going to FC1 with this problem. FC1, who presumably has a country estate. FC1, who has a ton of contacts. FC1, who despite my harsh analyses in the past I will now concede has established a fair record by this point. But nah. Doesn't occur to him. If Edward had ever brought up similar concerns in the past, and FC1 had proven willing and able to help in any way, then I feel like going to FC1 would be his first move here. But he didn't.
The above bullet point also feels like a pattern that makes a lot of sense if FC1 had been unwilling and/or unable to help when the ex-FR engines were steadily condemned. Because, as you say, I can at minimum definitely see Edward proposing they borrow, lease, or buy some over these years (even if, also as you say, he might have been reluctant to push too hard). If FC1 never went this route, it just seems to fit the overall dynamic very well. It needn't have been hard-heartedness on his part: During the Great Depression all his humanitarian principle was probably well-employed just in keeping his own engines safe, without the need or ability to take on more. And Edward probably understood this. But it would have fed into the sense that he may have developed as early as the shed confinement days that, when it comes to the things that cut him the most deeply, he'd better not look to FC1 for salvation. (1952: 'Oh I'm gonna be overhauled after all? Cool. I didn't dare ask.')
This is all to say, I agree with you that Edward would have tried to get the NWR to buy some of his old colleagues. But I don't believe it happened.
That leaves the possibility that he did participate in some more 'underground' rescues after the No-Where train. This I find more plausible. Maybe the F.R. rogues sent out a couple of engines through Tidmouth or Brendam harbors—where the L.M.S. would be less likely or able to look for them!
But I would still add some cautionary words. I don't think it could have gone down more than a few times. I don't think Edward initiated any of these—if they happened it would have to be a sort of deal like my Nobby-verse where Coppernob is masterminding the plan and giving everyone marching orders—and this is because of The Twin Engines and "Saved from Scrap." The whole tenor of the latter story suggests to me that Edward never rescued anyone from death before. It's 1952, and he has to fly solo; Nobby's nowhere around, and any allies from the old days are gone too; Edward is now the Old Guy who has to be the one to Do something if anything is going to be Done. It's also interesting because, unlike Nobby, Edward is not a schemer. His approach is just to go to well-off people who have the power to directly help, and then… ask them to help. Nobby’s smokebox is breaking even as I type those words. It’s such a naive, stupid thing to do! (But… is it?)
The contrast between the two approaches is so delicious, and it does resonate so well with canon, that I am inclined to explore that. Like, I do not believe the NWR ever purchased an FR engine post-Grouping, but I can believe that Edward was appointed deputation and successfully campaigned for the NWR to repair some engines who otherwise would have been sent to Horwich, where they were as likely to be scrapped on sight as to be mended. Or, better than appointed, a self-appointed deputation. I kinda want it to be 1932 and someone, maybe even Poppet, needs a part replaced and Nobby starts spinning his overly-elaborate webs but when it comes time to tell Edward what role he’s to play he’s just like “... right, I’m not doing all that. I’m just going to ask the Fat Director—it’s not an expensive repair and I’m pretty sure he’ll say yes.”
And then there’s a long silence. Everyone in the Strand is simultaneously thinking
1) Nobby will bloody well kill us if we go back to him and say that we let some ‘Gull just completely overturn his plan by SPILLING ALL THE TEA TO A DIRECTOR
and also
2) … but this does sound sooo much easier
Yeah, I do think there is unexplored potential for major angst in the background of Douglas bringing Oliver over the bridge. I don’t think so much with Edward, as his family has been gone so long and I think he’d have the best sense of perspective as to how the situation is different for Oliver than it was for anyone else. I think it might have hit more like a brick for engines whose loss was fresher, like Gordon. And… BoCo.
Who also spent ‘68-’69 in the same position we’re talking about: His siblings are getting scrapped, right over the bridge. They must have been close-knit. They were physically close. I have no doubt BoCo was hoping that “second spot” available on Sodor in '68 could go to one of his own, and then Oliver shows up. Not that I think BoCo would begrudge Oliver, but also… yeah. It's the same pattern we’ve been discussing with Edward in the ‘30s, except this time around there is a Fat Controller actively seeking to acquire engines. And still BoCo can't help anyone.
That’s something that keeps my brain up at night.
#ttte analysis#ttte headcanon#murder cw#death cw#ttte coppernob#ttte edward#the fat controller#ttte donald#ttte douglas#ttte boco#*oprah pointing to each engine at the sheds in turn* and YOU get some free therapy! — and YOU get some free therapy!
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Lavinia Reborn
I'm starting a new Skyrim file which means I've got a new Dragonborn but surprised it's actually going to be Lavinia. Also, she's not even the Dragonborn but oh well. Her story is a huge mess and I wanna revamp her and talk about her again. Her entire personality and backstory are going to be under major construction but I'm super excited! There's literally a changelog at the very end
Background:
Race: Bosmer
Birthplace: Skyrim
Childhood Home: Birth parents cabin in the rift (0-9), Honorhall Orphanage (9-10), Thieves Guild (10-?)
Current Home: Dawnstar Sanctuary
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Bisexual
Personality
Brash, Manipulative, Guarded, Secretive,
Appearance:
Hair: Ginger. Full undercut
Skin: #e09e6c (warm beige/tan with freckles)
Build: Lithe and agile but not without some muscle.
Factions:
Brotherhood
Thieves guild
Family:
Birth parents: Bosmer (Deceased)
Other family:
Brynjolf (Father Figure)
Nazir
Babette
Gabriella (Girlfriend) (Deceased)
Friends and Associates:
All Guild members (friends/associates)
Farkas
Elgrim (Alchemy master)
Aventus Arentino
Mjoll and Aerin
Backstory and further information under the cut (and bonus Changelog!)
Lavinia murders Grelod the kind upon learning of the abuse the children there are subject to, both for Aventus and out of guilt for not realizing sooner despite living in Riften. She is kidnapped 3 weeks later, and the events of the Dark Brotherhood plotline follow. She grows close to every member of the brotherhood, eventually falling in love with Gabriella. The two of them are nearly betrothed when the brotherhood begins falling apart. Her dedication to the brotherhood leads to her killing Cicero, and when Gabriella and most of the brotherhood are murdered she forms a bond with Babette and Nazir that is borderline codependent. Together they rebuild and regroup in Dawnstar and after a period of time get back on their feet. She becomes a devout follower of Sithis and leader of the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim.
Her assassinations are swift and unexpected, often acting as a barmaid and slipping undetectable poisons into bottles of ale. She remains somewhat of an honorary member and associate of the thieves guild though she is very rarely active in their work. She communicates between the two often and gives them tip-offs and information where she can, as well as taking over Delvin's role as the connection between the two groups, The only one aware of her position from the guild is Brynjolf.
Faction Relationships (By FNV faction standards):
Companions: Neutral
Blades: Neutral
College of Winterhold: Unpredictable
Dark Brotherhood: Idolized (leader)
Nightingales: Liked
Stormcloaks: Vilified
Imperial Legion: Unpredictable
Thalmor: Mixed
The Thieves Guild: Idolized (member of the leading council)
Favoured Holds:
Riften
Dawnstar
Whiterun
Hated holds:
Markarth
Winterhold
Falkreath
Changes to character with revamp:
Hair is simplified. More focused on being an undercut without trying to also be a mohawk.
Removed adoptive parents. Instead, I've moved the timeline back a bit, so she is taken into the Thieves guild earlier in her life.
Lavinia is now a master alchemist, with a decent knowledge of enchantment as well. In her teen years, she apprenticed under Elgrim. Her mother was an alchemist and it is one of the few connections she has to her birth family. She continues her studies until there is nothing more Elgrim can teach her, eventually working alongside Gabriella to create undetectable but deadly poisons. This is now her style for assassinations.
I made her a bit older when she starts the brotherhood questline (24) because now that I'm not 15 I realize there is no reason for her to be 18
Lavinia is no longer the dragonborn
Lavinia is no longer the guild master. Instead the duties of the guild master are shared between Karliah and Brynjolf, with Lavinia weighing in when she can. Her sole focus is now being the listener.
#Lavinia#tes#The Elder Scrolls#my OC#Skyrim#skyrim oc#my art#The theives guild#listener oc#the dark brotherhood
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I was warned about ep5 being not so good
So anyway episode five time!!
Millie asking Chris to stfu about her possibly being dishonest? Girl I was liking you. Don’t tell me you lied my girl Priya she didn’t deserve that. Neither did my beloved lauren :((
New intro is seeming less bad hmm
Damien complimenting Priya and then she gets all flustered? That is ADORABLE
although the way they show Priya’s blush seems… off. I dont think realistically it would be that saturated on her skin tone, or that light. The color isn’t quite right for the red shade of her blush I don’t think, but I’m obv not an expert and I still think it’s cute
ZEE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I hope he’s a merger
the way zee was drinking his soda after pricking the side of the can was so funny for literally no reason.
Wayne and Raj are so stupid and adorable and I love them so much
now I see why Julia specifically said beans. this is peak comedy /s
“Ew! Are flirting with me over my farts???” “Yes, I am😏” ripper that was the one funny thing you have contributed so far. Other than the alfalfa male thing that was funny too
“So you don’t get eaten by the raptors.” “THE BASKETBALL TEAM?!? “ raj you are so sweet
Does chase not realize not everybody is a total asshole or??
The raptors are a downgrade from the total drama bears :/ glasses bear my beloved
Zee is so great y’all
WAYNE IS SO PRECIOUS “I just thought of something!” “Rajie, you can tell me ANYTHING. Anything you need to get off your chest about your feelings or who you are or anything at all. I am here for you and I care for you. I will never judge you.” (Confessional: “He’s telling me! I’m so excited!!) “you got any hockey tape?” (“Nvm”)
I didn’t notice Emma’s undercut… hmm…
MK is a schemer. She’s everything noah could be. I love her and would die for her.
Emma has every right to hate chase. He’s awful. I hope she gets to commit a crime at him
“I KILLED ZEE 😭😭😭😭” “sup” “OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY ZEE 😭😭😭” “it’s fine bro idc”
Damien being a little bit of a nerd is so cute to me. I honestly love that for him
Ripper is so gross and not in the way that I can look past his brand of physical comedy and appreciate his character. it’s in the repulsive way
Then discussing how possible it would be for a raptor to open a door while one opens the door is a tiny bit funny
YOU TELL THAT RAPTOR JULIA READ IT TO FILTH JULES
Bowie and I are on the same page here
guys MK’s jaundice is back I think
Priya is so sweet I love her “DAMIEN! You’re the love of my life!” “I am????” “NO BUT I WANTED TO SAY THAT TO SOMEONE BEFORE I DIE”
Wow they just. Blew up the mess hall. Wowzers.
RAJ IS SO SWEET AND PURE I LOVE HIM OMGGG
Id ripper doesn’t leave this ep I will be SO upset
WHY ARE THERE LESS STUMPS TO SIT ON THAN BEFORE? WOULD IT KILL YOU TO HAVE SOME BASIC SET CONSISTENCY
If Damien gets eliminated I am going to cry
NOOOOOOOOO
okay but the reason is wholesome
not a good episode but at least I knew what I was getting myself into. I pity anyone who watches it without at least a warning of how awful it is
#total drama#tdi#total drama island 2023#total drama island#total drama spoilers#td#tdi 2023#tdi23#total drama reboot#td spoilers
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Well, well... let's start a new ask game with something PAINFUL! https://www.tumblr.com/frodo-with-glasses/699931081844162562/oh-no-details-are-under-the-cut-not-samfro No. 4, 15, 16 and 20, if that's not too much
Ohoho, you were always the one for angst, weren’t you, Maggie? ;-) Nice choice!
(Read the whole comic here!)
4. What part of this piece was the most difficult to draw?
Definitely Frodo’s pose in the first panel. I wanted to create this feeling that Frodo was towering over Sam—sort of hunched over him with this greedy, demanding, frightening presence—but it was really difficult to get that across and also keep him, ahem, decent. I ended up taking a lot of reference photos of myself in the mirror to try to get it right.
A close second is the pose where Frodo is snatching the Ring from Sam. I’m still not 100% happy with that one, but it works for what it is.
15. If you drew in color, what color would [x] be?
You didn’t specify which part of the drawing you’re curious about here, so I guess I’ll just describe the whole thing: Sam’s hair and vest are brown, his trousers tan, his cloak grey, and his skin slightly tanner than Frodo’s; Frodo’s hair is of course blonde with brown roots, but rather dirtied up at the moment, and his skin would be pale except for the red whiplash on his back and the greenish wound on his neck. The Ring, of course, is gold and shiny, and its chain is grey.
But since we’re in the Tower, and it’s dark, and the only light is the lantern overhead, we might actually get a color scheme that looks very similar to the one in Scarlet; all harsh blacks and reds. Very dramatic. Very bright red glint on the Ring when Frodo snatches it. And Frodo’s eyes might possibly look bloodshot in the last two panels.
16. If there is a song or quote associated with this drawing, why did you choose that song/quote?
The only quote associated with this drawing is its caption, “oh no”. I chose that caption because…well, I feel it’s a proper response. X-D Oftentimes I use the caption to add a second joke or something, but with the dramatic moments, I try to be a bit more frugal with my words so as not to undercut the emotions of the scene.
Now, if you’re trying to ask why I chose to draw this scene in particular—well. Because pain, that’s why. >:-D
20. Quick! Random fun fact!
Okay so the reason this took me so long to answer is because I couldn’t think of a fun fact to put here—but finally, I think I’ve got something!
In many other comics, I use nice neat squares and rectangles as the panel shapes. It’s just easy to work with. Here, however, the comic is structured as four large triangles, with tinier trapezoids in sort of a pyramid shape within the second big triangle.
This definitely made the comic a huge pain to plan (lol), but it serves a purpose: the slanted lines and irregular shapes makes everything feel “off-kilter”, slightly “wrong”, a reflection of how Frodo isn’t quite himself in this moment because of the Ring (and in a way, the same is true for Sam!). Everything from the shape and size of the panels to the way they’re battling for real estate on the page reflects the confusion and conflict of this moment.
I especially like the contrast between Sam’s quiet, tiny, “I could share it with you, maybe?” versus the huge visual BANG! of Frodo tearing the Ring away from him in that enormous panel. It’s like a sucker-punch in the gut, which is exactly how I imagine it would’ve felt for Sam >:-3
ARTIST COMMENTARY ASK GAME!
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Neighbor!Levi Ackerman x Reader Rated TV-14: cursing
You yawned, stretching your arms back above your head. “Oh, Jacques, I think I’m losing my mind,” you told your goldfish sadly. “I need a break from this paper.”
Jacques bubbled contentedly.
Thump.
You sat up, startled. That sounded like something heavy landing in front of your door—but you weren’t expecting a package. You got up, poked your head out, and saw a slumped body on the doormat.
“Holy shit!” you yelped, throwing open the door and getting your unexpected guest into your arms. He wasn’t as heavy as you expected, for his size—he was probably dehydrated and hungry. You carried him to the couch and set him down.
Walking back to your kitchen table, and your unfinished essay and goldfish, you said aloud, “What the hell, Jacques?”
When Jacques didn’t offer advice, you fumbled for water and some crackers for the poor man on your couch. When you came back, he was still out cold, and you looked him over. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes and a somewhat shaggy black undercut. His face was loose, tiredness smoothed away, but you figured he had to be exhausted to have passed out like that.
You turned away, walking back to the kitchen to feed Jacques, when a ragged sound halfway between a breath and a cry came from behind you. Rushing back to the couch, you found your dark-haired guest sitting up. His eyes wide and disoriented, he stared at you suspiciously.
“Where am I?” he rasped hoarsely.
“You passed out on my doormat,” you said slowly, so I brought you in. I’ve got water and salty crackers—which I think maybe you could use?”
Hesitantly, he reached for the water, his hand shaking slightly. Without thinking, you held the cup to his lips. He flushed pink, finally getting some color in his cheeks, but he wrapped his hand around yours and the cup and drank thirstily.
“Slow down,” you warned. “You don’t want to pass out again.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” he said, adding, “brat.” Only the quirked corner of his lips told you he was joking.
“I assumed you wouldn’t want to stay here with me and my deadly bodyguard,” you bantered. His eyebrow ticked up. God, that was hot.
“Your boyfriend?” he guessed dryly.
“My goldfish,” you grinned. “More crackers and water before you go, sir.”
He snorted.
“Levi. Call me sir again, brat, and I’ll eat your whole damn pantry.”
You laughed.
“Levi it is.”
Levi ended up staying the better part of three hours. First it was because you wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to topple over again on his way home, and then it was because you had noticed how his stomach rumbled and you were insistent that he stay for dinner. And then you started talking, and found that Levi was kind and thoughtful, under the sarcasm and deadpan humor. You were a nursing student; his friend was a medical student a few years ahead of you. Levi was apparently used to running himself ragged, and having Erwin chew him out later, but passing out halfway to his apartment was new. Levi loved plants, but was slow to admit that, and he made tea for both of you after dinner.
“I haven’t smiled so much in a long time,” you said, grinning over your teacup.
Levi snorted, but his eyes were soft.
“Me either, brat.”
That was more of a term of endearment than an insult that time, you thought. And then: wow, he’s really pretty.
“You—do you want to maybe do this again?” you stammered.
“Tch.” He sipped his cup, holding it oddly yet never dropping it or wavering. “Without the crippling exhaustion.”
You couldn’t tell if he was kidding, so when he showed up next Friday with tea in one hand and a few white flowers in the other, you almost cried.
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Eighteen (Crazy) Chapter 5
read the other chapters here
--- --- ---
“So do we get context now, or what?” Pidge asks as they return to the bridge. “Not that I didn’t love blowing some shit up, but. Y’know.”
Lance, who is currently so energetic that he stops every few steps to do a cartwheel, does not hesitate to answer. “I got a call from Future Me! He had a cool undercut! He gave me a list of places I was to avoid under any circumstance, so I’ve been visiting them all!”
Shiro and Pidge blink, expecting a lot of things, but certainly not that. (Keith, however, seems to have no trouble rolling with the new information. It’s not that surprising, though – next to Hunk and maybe Coran, Keith spends the most time with Lance and as such is very used to his shenanigans. Also, he’s explained on several occasions that since they both have ADHD, it’s way easier to communicate.)
“Oh, cool,” Keith says, casually sidestepping to avoid Lance’s foot to the face, “did you see anyone else?”
“I guess we’re just brushing past that,” Shiro mutters, shaking his head.
“No, there was no one else! He did mention Pidge, though.” Lance turns around to face her, sending her a wink. “He said you’re still a major smarty-pants.”
Pidge rolls her eyes, but can’t help the pleased flush. Ugh. Stupid big brothers and their stupid meaningful compliments.
God. She would kill a bitch for Lance, wouldn’t she?
What a butthead.
“Of course I’m a smarty-pants,” she says loudly, trying to Change The Subject™. “I’m me. Anyways. Why are you visiting these seemingly dangerous locations?” She pauses for a second, realising what she just said. “Actually, scratch that. Of course you’re visiting these locations. Hunk, why are you letting him?”
Hunk shrugs, ignoring Lance’s petulant ‘hey!’. “The locations have been safe so far, so I don’t think it’s a big deal. Also, he started doing it before I could stop him, so.”
“Where have the locations been?”
“Time dilation beach planet, dragon’s den, piercing parlour, supernova, and a tattoo parlour,” Lance lists, counting off his fingers.
Pidge gasps. “Is that why you have a lisp? You finally got that tongue piercing?”
Lance nods excitedly, sticking out his tongue to show it off. Pidge hears Keith’s sharp inhale beside her, and can’t even summon the strength to dunk on him, because all she can feel is betrayed.
“You went without me?! You bitch!”
Lance pouts at her, brown eyes all big and doe-like. “Aw, c’mon, Pidge. You were asleep. What was I supposed to do, wait?”
“Yes!”
“Aw, I’m sorry, Pidgeon.” He backtracks over to her, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her hair with an exaggerated ‘mwah’ sound. “We can maybe go back later?”
“I don’t know about that, Pidge,” Shiro interjects hesitantly. “Aren’t you a little young for a tongue piercing?.
Pidge turns her glare towards him. “I am sixteen years old!”
“Jesus shit, are you really?” Shiro blinks, and he’s not the only one who looks a little surprised. “I guess you’re beyond old enough then, damn. Are you really sixteen whole years old? Since when?”
Lance giggles as the rest of the team stares at her with various different expressions of ‘gobsmacked’. “That’s the life of the youngest of many,” Lance whispers. “Veronica thought I was 8 for three years.”
She huffs a laugh, and lets him pull her by the hand to the bridge, gushing all the while about his various birthday adventures.
“Oh, happy birthday, by the way,” she says. “I forgot to say it earlier.”
Shiro and Keith echo the sentiment.
“Thank you!” Lance chirps. He walks over to his station, rummaging through a big bag. “Look at all this cool stuff I got at the first location!”
He wobbles over to everyone else, a precarious stack of shells in his arms. He hands them out one by one, rattling off the special reasons for each.
“I got the sparkly pink shell for Allura, obviously, ‘cause it’s almost as wonderfully sparkly as she is. Hunk gets this big and smooth one because when I run my hands over it I feel calm, like Hunk makes me feel. Coran, I got you this shell because it looks like it has a moustache, just like you! See? And I got you this one, Pidgey, because it’s small like you but crazy sharp and I almost brained myself on it and died when I was trying to get it, haha.”
Pidge closes her hand gently around the small shell, careful of the spikes. Lance grins at her before moving on to give everyone else their presents, as if it’s not literally his birthday.
Man, Pidge really does love this loser. So much. (And she’s not the only one feeling this way – everyone is looking at Lance with the softest expressions imaginable, smiles lighting up their faces.)
“I got this one for you, Shiro,” Lance continues, “because it’s supporting a bunch of smaller shells! See? Just like you support us.”
Shiro does not even attempt to hide the tears running down his face. It’s not even, like, gentle crying. The man is full on blubbering, looking at the shell like it holds all the answers to life.
Pidge rolls her eyes fondly. She can’t believe she thought this geek-ass, ‘best-pilot-out-of-the-Garrison’ was cool, or anything. Thank God Keith told her all those embarrassing stories.
Speaking of Keith.
“And this one –” for the first time, Lance falters. His cheeks go a little red, and he looks at the floor. “This one’s for you, Keith,” he says quietly. “It, um. It reminds me of your eyes. The same shade of purple, almost. But, uh. Not quite.”
Keith looks at Lance with a sort of awe in his eyes, ears going pink. He reaches out slowly, wrapping his hand around the shell that Lance is still holding. Lance looks up quickly, wide eyes meeting Keith’s.
“Thank you,” Keith whispers. He smiles, crooked and small, and Lance smiles back, ducking his head back down and tucking his hair behind his ear.
Pidge exchanges a disgusted look with Allura.
“Really?” she demands. “Are we really going to be this gay this early in the morning?”
“Shut up, Pidge,” both boys snap simultaneously. Pidge sniggers at them.
Losers.
“Why don’t we move on to our next location?” Hunk suggests diplomatically, although there’s a twinkle in his eye that suggests to Pidge that he’s enjoying the teasing as much as she is.
“Actually… I’m not sure,” Shiro hedges, sniffling and wiping his eyes. “I mean, maybe your future self warned you against these places for a reason, right?”
“I think we’re good, actually,” Hunk argues lightly. “I mean, Future Lance has the means to send messages to the past, yeah?”
“...Yes.”
“So I think that means that it’s probably fine. He would have come to stop us if it was that bad, right?”
“Unless we fuck up so bad that Future Lance ceases to exist,” Pidge supplies, unhelpfully.
Hunk blinks. “I did not think of that.”
“Hm,” Allura says, gently plucking the coordinates list from Lance’s hands. She’s got her super-smart analyst face on, hell yes. “Lance, do you remember that time you explained to me what a ‘bucket list’ was?”
Lance’s face lights up, and understanding dawns on Pidge as well.
“Oh, you’re right! Everything I’ve done so far has been on my bucket list! Space ocean, dragons, tongue piercing, seeing a supernova in real life, tattoo, cartoon-style dynamite, check check check!”
Allura smiles. “I think, then, Keith might have been right – this entire adventure may very well be your birthday gift to yourself.”
Keith snorts, nudging Lance in the side. “Glad to know that you’re still a dork in the future.”
Lance nudges him back, but there’s no animosity or offense in the motion. “Acting as if you’re not just as embarrassing. Should I cut this adventure short, then?”
“Is there more adventure?” Shiro asks. “Or was the dynamite the end of the list?”
“There are still a couple more locations!” Lance assures.
“Well, then, what are we waiting for?” Allura glances at the coordinate list again, nodding to herself, and then strides over to the control podium. She sets her hands on the control, closing her eyes, and when she opens them again they are glowing.
“Ready, everyone?”
Everyone scrambles to their stations, buckling in.
“Ready!”
Pidge closes her eyes as the wormhole sends the Castle rushing forward. She opens them again, when everything has stilled, and her jaw drops.
She’d recognise that fucking planet anywhere.
“Is that fucking Tatooine?” she shouts.
“I have written here that the planet is called XF-4FSW-3,” Coran responds.
“No, that’s Tatooine,” Hunk insists.
The rest of the human paladins offer various noises of agreement. (No one pursues higher education about space without being either a massive Star Wars fan or a Trekkie. The paladins are no exception, each having consumed every iota of media in the franchises ad nauseum.)
“Tatooine it is, then,” Coran concedes easily.
“Self esteem issues fixed. My future self fucking rocks.” Before anyone can comment on that (or, honestly, laugh. Like, yes, Pidge is as worried about Lance’s insecurities as anyone else, but Lance is also a very funny guy and that was a funny joke. Pidge is gonna laugh. Sorry.), Lance is out the door, whooping the whole way to Blue’s hangar.
“Fucking Tatooine!”
There’s the briefest moment of hesitation, before everyone clambers after him, clumsy in their excitement (well, clumsier in Allura’s case, heh).
“Wait for us!” Keith calls, running faster than everyone else. Pidge is certain it’s 20% because he’s as much of a Star Wars geek as the rest of them, and 80% sure it’s because he just wants to be near Lance again. She shares as much with Shiro, who snickers.
Finally they all catch up, following Lance up the ramp that leads to Blue’s cockpit.
“Took you guys long enough,” Lance teases, and he doesn’t even wait for them to be settled before taking off, cackling as they rush out of the hangar.
“We’re going to fucking Tatooine!” Lance shouts as Blue shoots out of the Castle, and the rest of the team cheers just as excitedly. Even the Alteans, who have no idea what Tatooine is, but are riding on the energy.
Just as they are about to touch down on a stretch of uninhabited desert, Pidge remembers something.
“Wait. Isn’t Tatooine kind of a lawless wasteland?”
Lance exhales, catching onto her train of thought. “And my precious girl Blue is a hot commodity.”
“I mean, I installed that cloaking device on Blue yesterday. And Blue has a forcefield, and you’re connected to her mentally. I think it’ll be okay.”
Lance turns to Allura, brow raised. “You’re the boss. This’ll be fun, sure, but not if it’s unsafe. What do you think?”
“I think it will be fine,” Allura says after a moment of consideration. “As Pidge said, Blue is well-protected. I think it’s time for us to have some fun!”
Everyone whoops as Lance hesitates no further, shoving the thrusters forward and rushing down to the surface. They exit Blue and make it to the nearest cluster of buildings – a city, by the looks of it – in less than twenty minutes.
The first thing Pidge notices is the buzzing excitement in the atmosphere. She’s been to her fair share of cities. She may not have grown up in one, but she knows what feels normal, and the borderline electrifying feeling she’s getting is not it.
“What do you think’s going on?” she whispers to Hunk, who shrugs.
“I dunno, but it’s weird, right?”
“Totally weird. Hey, Lance.”
“Hm?”
“Why do you think all the locals are so excited?”
“Ooooh, good question. I’ll ask.”
Before she can stop him – seriously, why are extroverts like this – he taps the nearest person on the shoulder.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he asks. “How come everyone’s so twitchy?”
“The pod races are going to start!” they say eagerly. “The Electrifier has dominated every match for the last year, and everyone is excited to see them dominate again.”
At the word ‘race’, Keith is summoned immediately from his conversation with Allura. He steps over to the local immediately, eyes as bright as Lance’s, and just as mischievous.
“Pod races?”
“Oh, yes,” the local confirms, “if you’re interested, there may be a couple pods and spaces still open, but not many so close to the race.”
“And where would this race happen to be?” Lance asks, rocking back on his heels.
“Just down this road, first alleyway on your left, go down the stairs, follow the hallway. Then go back up the stairs with the bloodstain at the base, and when you get all the way up you’ll meet Toydarian. He’s in charge of the races.”
Keith and Lance, who’s combined social graces don’t fill a teaspoon, rush off immediately without another word.
“Thank you,” Hunk says on their behalf, and then the rest of the team is rushing after them.
They do their best to follow the local’s instructions, although there’s no sight of the disaster duo until they finally make it to Toydarian’s office.
Well. ‘Office’.
“– why would I let two foreigners compete in my race?”
“Because we’re charming and pretty?” Lance suggests.
“Because we’ll bring you insane amounts of money if we win? Underdogs, and all,” Keith tries.
Toydarian gives them a hard look, exhaling noisily through his snout. He glares at Keith thoughtfully, considering, and grins salaciously as he looks Lance up and down.
Pidge feels hot rage light up her veins as she watches Lance shift, uncomfortable, grabbing onto Keith’s protective arm in front of him.
Toydarian leers at the Blue Paladin, undeterred, and Pidge snarls.
“Creep,” she says, and she’s loud enough for Toydarian to hear her, and he turns his attention towards the rest of the team.
“I only have two ships left. The rest of you cannot race. Only pretty boy and his little bodyguard.”
“That’s fine,” Keith says, voice hard.
Toydarian snorts, handing the two of them keys and shooing them out. “The rest of you, out. too,” he insists. “I have a race to run.”
Shiro ushers everyone out as Keith and Lance jog towards the garage. They sit in the highest seats they can manage, so they can see everything as it happens.
“I mean, it ended okay for Anakin,” Pidge says hesitantly, if only to break the tense silence that’s fallen over the group.
Hunk, luckily, snorts. “He did win his race, didn’t he?”
“Who’s Anakin?” Allura asks, and that sets them all off. The humans go off on a tangent, building on each other’s sentences, explaining the whole universe in meticulous detail. The Alteans look intrigued.
“So, what did the –”
Whatever Coran was going to say is interrupted by a deafening horn, and all at once – no announcements or nothing – they pods shoot off, speeding off almost faster than their eyes can track them.
“Look, that one’s Keith’s!” Shiro yells, barely audible over the roaring engines and screaming crowds. He points to a very strangely-shaped racer – round on one end, a perfect circle, likely where the driver sits, but with a long, thin arm reaching out one side. Like a circle with a line sticking out one side.
“And that one’s Lance’s!” Hunk shouts, pointing to a ship that’s nearly identical to Keith’s, only reversed – the arm sticks out the other side. The racers are fast, but so is every other racer. Keith and Lance have no advantage there. In fact, their ships are such an odd shape that it only really puts them at a disadvantage – every other time a ship rams into one of theirs (which is frequently, with how dirty everyone seems to be playing – Pidge shouldn’t be surprised, but somehow she still jumps every time it happens), they spin out, losing precious time. At this rate, they’re gonna lose, and lose badly.
“It’s fine if they lose, right?” Hunk asks nervously. “I mean, it’s not like they made an official bet or anything. They can just lose and ditch, it’ll be fine.”
“Something tells me Toydarian isn���t the type to just let them go,” Shiro says grimly.
Allura nods. “And with the way he was looking at Lance…”
“...they better get their shit together,” Pidge finishes.
The team watches in an even tenser silence as Keith and Lance continue to get hit and spun out. They’re both last, now, not even coming close to the top three.
Pidge is suddenly glad she’s brought her laptop, and whips it out of her bag, typing rapidly. If she can just… so long as their comms are on…
“Aha!” She shifts slightly, angling her laptop screen so everyone else can see. They all crowd around her.
“Is that them?” Shiro asks.
Pidge nods. “Just let me turn the audio on.”
“...no way we can keep doing this, Keith!” comes the tail-end of Lance’s yell.
“I know!” Keith responds. “We got the dumbest fucking racers in that goddamn garage, even though there were leagues more to choose from. Stupid fucking creepy prick. I should have decked him when I had the chance.”
Lance snorts, although his breathing sounds a little laborious. “Right in his stupid snout.”
“Yeah.”
There are a few more minutes of heavy breathing, and the occasional grunt as one of them attempts to manoeuvre around an opponent.
“Hey, Keith,” Lance starts, and Keith laughs brightly.
“Oh, that’s your planning voice, Sharpshooter. Hit me.”
Pidge can hear the pleased flush in Lance’s voice. “How good’s your sideways piloting?”
“...Decent, I think. I don’t think I could do it for the whole track, though.”
“If we can just get in front for a second… I think our ships are actually one ship. I think that weird device at the end of the arms is an electromagnetic connector. You see the switch to your left?”
“Lance, you’re a goddamn genius.”
Lance laughs, and then the two of them flip their ships over at the same time, gunning it as fast as they can go and rapidly approaching the racers leading the pack. There’s a lot of heckling from the crowd, the announcer of the race talking shit about the ‘upstart foreigners’, but team Voltron doesn’t care, gladly drawing stares as they stand on their seats and cheer with all their might.
“Rapidly approaching the top racer!” Keith calls. “You ready, Sharpshooter?”
“I’m ready, Samurai. Turn ninety degrees in 3…2…1!”
Both ships flip rapidly, cutting off the first place racer – the Electrifier, if Pidge is remembering correctly – much to the rage of the crowd.
“Electromagnets on!” Lance screams.
There’s a zip! noise so loud it’s audible even in the very back row, and the two ships stick together with a clang, cutting off the rest of the racers. Now, instead of two poorly-designed ships, they’re one ship. designed especially to be an impossible-to-cross bar that pushes back everything behind them.
The Electrifier is not happy. They show immediately where they got their name, charging up a huge blast and aiming it at Keith and Lance.
“Watch out!” Pidge screams, even though it’s futile.
The blast hits them, full force, bright blue pulses of electricity snaking its way around the ships.
“Fuck yes!” Lance screams.
Wait.
“Fuck yes?” Hunk asks. “How the fuck is that a good thing? They just lost power to their – oh, I get it.”
As their ship powers down, the barricade they created by connecting their arms creates a massive hurdle for the rest of the racers, causing each and every one of them to crash into each other in a massive pileup.
“Backup generators, Keith, quickly!” Lance orders, and in seconds they’re off again, racing towards the end of the track. Undefeated. Unstoppable. Unchallenged –
“Oh, that hardy motherfucker!” Shiro curses.
The Electrifier, it seems, is not so easily felled. They’re gaining on Keith and Lance, and rapidly at that.
“Fuck!” Lance exclaims. “I’m out of ideas!”
“I’m not! Lance, get ready to turn sideways again!”
“Use your words, Samurai! What’s the plan?”
“Only one of us can win, right?”
“...Kogane, you better not be thinking something stupid.”
Keith’s voice seems to soften. “It’ll be fine, Lance. We’re gonna flip sideways again, you closer to the end. I’ll transfer my power to you at the same time I turn off the EMs – that’ll rocket you right past the finish line.”
“What about the Electrifier? He’ll crash right into you!”
“Not if I evade! I’ll use that moved I smoked you with last week during training.”
Lance laughs, bright and a little manic. Pidge feels a strong hand grip hers, and turns to shoot a smile Hunk’s way.
“They’ll be fine,” she whispers.
“I know,” he whispers back.
“Okay, you crazy nut! Let’s go!” Lance yells.
Without so much as a countdown, they flip the ship one last time, and before Pidge can blink, Lance’s half of the ship is ricocheting forward, right past the finish line.
Pidge holds her breath. It’s not over yet.
As Lance predicted, the Electrifier turns his ship to Keith’s immediately, abandoning all pretense of caring about the race. It’s clear, at this point, that their only goal is to crush their opponents, by any means necessary.
And Keith is the only opponent left to crush.
The Electrifier charges right towards Keith, full throttle, and Keith stops his ship completely.
“C’mon, you little dumbass, what are you doing,” Shiro mutters.
Hunk’s hand tightens on Pidge’s as the Electrifier’s racer gets closer, and closer, and closer –
Right before Keith meets his fiery end, he spins out of the way, going so fast his ship becomes blurry. The arm of his ship catches on the underside of the Electrifier’s, whipping the ship to the side, and Keith makes a speedy getaway immediately, crossing the finish line in second. As soon as his ship stops running, he hops out, running towards a waiting Lance and twirling him in the air, the two of them whooping and hollering.
Team Voltron scrambles out of their seats, pushing and shoving angry crowd members out of the way, making it down the stands in record time.
“You did it!” Allura screams. “You won!”
Keith and Lance raise their fists in response, jumping and hopping around.
“Fuck yeah!”
Pidge sees Toydarian out of the corner of her eye. He huffs, rolling his droopy eyes, but brightens considerably as he catches sight of the amount of money he just made from the championship of his two underdogs.
Pidge turns back towards her team, who are steal cheering and yelling and hopping around in glee. She smiles.
She had to hand it to Future Lance. He had some dope-ass birthday ideas, that was for damn certain.
#vld#voltron#lance#lance mcclain#pidge#pidge & lance#keith#keith kogane#klance#pre klance#pining keith#pining lance#flirting#shiro#takashi shirogane#broganes#allura#coran#hunk#hunk garret#julance 2022#autistic lance#lance has adhd#pidge holt#bamf lance#bamf keith#my writing#fic#longpost
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Obligatory life update: I’ve been working on a lot of things but also I’ve been doing nothing lol. I’m just vibing :]
I have some interesting things to say, though. I’ve recently been experimenting with my art style!! I’ve done a few coloring experiments since I want my art to look more colourful and so far it’s helped a ton. I figured out a better way to blend colours and I’m also trying out different shading techniques. Still have no clue how lighting works though but shhh
I’ve also been working on V’s redesign and I’ve got his face and hair done. He officially has black hair now and his hairstyle’s a really messy undercut that he can tie up in a ponytail or bun. His face is still the same, but his eyes look more tired and he’s got softer features. Also, he’s got more piercings. I really liked the first draft of him with shark bite piercings so I kept that in
…I’ve always wanted shark bite piercings but I know damn well my mom (and grandma) would say no if I asked :’)
His outfits are still works in progress. I got the general idea down for his main outfit, I just need to figure out which elements I want to keep and what colour palette I want. I’ll mostly keep his colour palette monotone probably. So far the only thing I’ve decided is that I want him to have a fur collar jacket and a pair of headphones around his neck…
It’s very difficult for me to make a new persona design. I enjoy so many things and I want to convey that but it’s almost impossible. My tastes in fashion can be contradictory, my fixations/interests change frequently, and I still have a bad case of depersonalization due to gender dysphoria. Like, it’s so hard to try to imagine what I look like in my head. Sometimes it’s a complete blur but ever since I drew drafts of the new V, I feel more connected(?) with who I am.
I honestly just want a sona that looks good in emo clothes but also rocks pink, girly clothes lol. I wanna present more femininely someday like my beloved Rei without feeling bad ;w;
And, this is a lot more niche, I’ve been reworking some of my Roblox assets (specifically face/makeup decals for RK2) and wow it’s a pain in the ass. Like what the hell. I got banned for a day because Roblox thought Rei’s smiling face was sexual. Am I allowed to say this is homophobic and transphobic of them to do?—
Oh… and I’ve been playing a lot of Bee Swarm Simulator. I dunno, man, it passes the time and it’s the only grindy game I enjoy.
Other than that, I have nothing else to talk about. I mean, I DO have videos in the works. Like that Gacha video, oh and a new art video, as well as a video about Roblox’s shitty moderation system, and— You get what I mean. I also have a ton of art ideas I wanna do and the list so far is:
Redrawing that one scene of Howl and Sophie as Lawrence and Rei
A lot of miscellaneous art ideas of Rei. Like a lot. I have two dress designs for him in mind and the drafts are adorable 🥺
Possibly a mini-comic of Rei and Lawrence... I won’t spoil it though
New social media layout as soon as I figure out V’s outfits
And there’s more but this post is so long already so I’ll talk about more things in the next life update. Good night
#꒰ v’s rambling ꒱#btw I’ll be on break for a couple more weeks#Like 2-3#maybe more I have no clue#never rush a genius with their work fellas
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