#the point is i was just very overwhelmed in the last 15 hours

[azucarmorena97]

Money Ties (Jungkook Love Story || Pt.3)

Pt.2 || Pt.4

Your parents have worked hard to get to the top and have made sure to teach you everything you need to know to be successful in this business: from tough but lucrative financial decisions, down to the right ball gown for any given banquet. A promising and extravagant future awaits you- that is, if you agree to one teensy detail...

Son of Mr.Jeon Sr. and heir to June Company, Jeon Jungkook is an immature playboy with nothing to offer a woman but good looks and a crap ton of money, and he stands to inherit much MUCH more, so long as you both enter into the arranged marriage contract that was drawn up before the pair of you were even born.

You're more than willing to try, but you're not sure you'll be able to stand each other long enough to inherit a single penny...

Series Warnings: There will be smut in the near future and I will label those chapters as such. As I say before most of my pieces- I do not endorse any themes, ideas, or behaviors in this series. This is all purely fiction/fantasy! Feel free to inbox me suggestions/ideas/what you'd like to see in this series and I'll see what I can do! Enjoy <3

Recap: "I hope you know you didn't ruin anything. My husband and I feel very strongly, even more so now, that you're the perfect fit fr our family." Your heartbeat picks up in your chest; you were sure you blew your chance to bits, but here she is, offering it all on a silver platter for you.

On your way back to your suite, you try calling your dad three different times, and each time the calls go straight to voicemail. For the most part, you've gotten used to getting his voicemail and can even recite it word for word- but right now, him being here for you is crucial. Even though your mom couldn't make the time to actually be here, at least she shows she cares, even if it is through blowing up your phone every hour; at least it's something. She even helped pick out the gifts for the Jeons: gold cuff links for Mr.Jeon, a lovely pair of jade earrings for Mrs.Jeon, and a silver chain with a medallion fo Jungkook. All your life, your dad said he couldn't wait to be there for when you would finally sign the agreement that they'd spent years tailoring and planning, only to cancel last minute because of work. Well, if he wants to leave you out in the cold to figure this out by yourself, then you're gonna do it your way.

Once inside the suite, you peel off the pretty little outfit you'd carefully put together for tea and toss it onto the bed, switching into a pair of baggy sweats and an oversized sweater, and the warmest socks you packed. You're finally going to dive into the manila envelope. You plop yourself into bed and take out everything, ignoring the initial feeling of being overwhelmed at the sight of the busy papers, looking past the legal jargon to find the bare bones of it all. In a matter of twenty minutes, you're completely locked in; you highlight, circle, annotate, even cross out some parts. You slowly realize how little your parents are settling for in this "partnership", as your dad likes to call it. According to this contract, their precious daughter is only worth 15% of the 'Jeon Empire', while Jeon Jungkook will be the majority owner of June Company, including hotels, restaurants, as well as owning shares in your parents' company and other smaller endeavors. Well, that just won't do. If you're going to be committing yourself to a marriage, it's for the long haul. All of your adolescent and teenage years were spent avoiding boys like the plague for fear of getting too attached and ruining your parents' dream for your life. Even your college years have been all about work and climbing up the ladder to get to this point- 15% is horse shit.

After three agonizingly long hours, the contract looks like a Frankensteined version of itself; torn apart and put back together. You hold it up in triumph- you almost want to take a picture just for the memories. "Proud of you," B/f/n says through a loud yawn. You had to call her about an hour in for moral support. "No, don't be tired. You can't be tired. It's still early!" "Hun, it's 3AM here." "Oh right..." You sigh, stuffing the contract back in the envelope, "I forgot about the time difference... ugh, I'm just so bored here. I have nothing to do." "Girl, you're at a whole luxurious hotel, all expenses paid- if I were you, I'd be doing a spa day, visiting the restaurants, drinking up all their liquor- you just don't like being alone." You roll your eyes. She's right, of course, but you're not gonna give her any validation. "I guess I'll just try to get some sleep...I have a big day tomorrow." "What time are you meeting them?" "We're meeting for brunch at 11." "First it was 'high tea' and now Brunch," She echoes with a sleepy smile, "How classy." You roll your eyes, "Good night, B/f/n," You laugh. She waves lazily and then you hang up the phone. "Well, since this is an all expenses paid hotel..." You bite your lip and look over at the door, "...I'm gonna go use their copier."

AT 6AM, your alarm goes off scaring you violently awake. It had taken you hours to finally fall asleep in the first place. You'd tried to close your eyes after your face time, but ended up tossing and turning until 2AM. This jet lag is something else. Or maybe it was stress for today; I mean, you are preparing to sign a contract to marry a man you hardly know (and also kinda hate), which was essentially created when you weren't even a thought in your parents' mind yet, which will, in turn, lead to lifelong stability for you and your family as well as further growth for your family's businesses so everything is kind of on your shoulders and will all fall apart if you don't do your respective part- oh God, you might have a panic attack and you haven't even gotten out of bed yet.

You speed through your morning routine so that you can look over your edits again, though as soon as you sit down, your phone begins to buzz with all your incoming notifications. You scroll through, ignoring some texts, answering a few emails- and then you come across one from your dad from an hour ago. You take a sip of your coffee as you open up the message and, when you do, you almost spit the coffee out against the pretty clean white hotel wall. Staring at you is the "finalized contract" (or so it's entitled) that your dad made 'edits' on for you to print out and sign. You look over the entire thing and with every sentence you read, you feel the anger rising in you. The "edits" he made didn't even make the deal that much better for you, not to mention, how can your dad flake on you in regards to coming on this trip, ignore your calls and texts, but still have the nerve to send me this shitty contract at the asscrack of dawn on the DAY OF the supposed signing? Fuck that. You're gonna send them your draft and your parents can cry about it. You're done doing things their way. You open up your laptop and quickly go to your saved files, opening up YOUR finalized version that you'd scanned and re-typed. You cue it up in a message and type in Mr. and Mrs.Jeon's email addresses, along with their lawyer's email. For a moment, you hesitate, letting the mouse hover over the 'send' button, but then you count how many times your parents have made you feel completely alone in just the duration of this trip, plus every time you've had to make yourself small for others to be big- "Fuck it." You hit send and then close your laptop to put your outfit together for brunch.

Brunch is held on the balcony at their hotel restaurant, Juniper. The vibe is definitely upper class, and you see it's bustling with guests. "Hello, Miss; will you be dining alone?" The hostess asks. You shake your head, "No, actually- I'm with the Jeon party." Her eyes widen for a second before she bows, "Oh yes, Ms.L/n, allow me to show you to your table. You smile and bow in return, feeling slightly embarrassed that she clearly felt the urge to kiss your ass a little extra just for being associated with the Jeons. She leads you around the corner to a wall of windows, much like the ones on the roof top when you'd gone for tea. As she opens the double doors, you see Mr. and Mrs.Jeon sat at a table straight ahead, Jungkook's back facing you. Your heart starts beating rapidly in your chest; it's happening. This is it. The entire ride here, you were psyching yourself up saying you'd be confident and strong and that if they didn't like the changes you'd made to the contract, they could kiss your ass- but right now, you feel your legs might turn to Jello. "Y/n!" Mrs.Jeon calls out excitedly, getting out of her seat and running over to you. Mr.Jeon and Jungkook look over in your direction; one giving you a big smile and the other...with a rather unreadable expression on his face. You smile and bow, "Good morning everyone." She politely dismisses the hostess and guides you to the table, where Mr.Jeon and Jungkook are standing to greet you. "Annyeonghasimnikka," You bow again. "So polite, isn't she Jungkook?" Mr.Jeon says, lightly hitting Jungkook's shoulder. You bow slightly, "Hello, Jungkook." He nods, "Hey." "Please, sit," Mrs.Jeon says. You immediately notice that Mr.Jeon is wearing the cuff links you'd gotten him, and Mrs.Jeon is wearing the earrings; Jungkook seemed to be the only one not wearing his gift. Figures. "We haven't ordered just yet so you have some time to think about what you want." "Oh that's okay, I'll take whatever you recommend." "Oh, I love that. I'm getting you my favorite- the praline french toast is so good paired with the fritata and...the eggs benedict with salmong." "Sounds good," You laugh, finding it endearing how excited she is. You wonder if she ever chews Jungkook out like your mom does to you You spend most of the time talking to Mr. and Mrs.Jeon; basic chit chat about life, how the food was, and other pleasantries- until Mr.Jeon receives a call and excuses himself from the table for a moment. Then, Mrs.Jeon says she wants to check in with the chef about something really quickly, leaving you and Jungkook at the table alone. You take a sip on your mimosa and then turn to him, "How are you, Jungkook?" He straightens up a bit and clears his throat, "I'm fine. How about yourself?" "I'm good...I- I'm hopeful that today's meeting goes well." He nods slowly, seeming deeply pensive about what you've said, "Well, it should be quite lucrative for you if it does." His tone is almost bitter-sounding. You furrow your brows, not liking how he's making it seem that you'd be the only one benefiting. "Well, according to the contract, it should be quite beneficial for the both of us, wouldn't you say?" "Oh, please. What are pennies to bills," He scoffs. "I mean, considering you can't even get a penny of mommy and daddy's money unless you get married, I'd say we're in the same boat," You lean back, deciding you're done with the niceties. He wants to be a jerk? Two can play. He glares at you, knowing you're right but, of course, refusing to admit it. "Don't you ever get tired?" "Of what?" He asks, face scrunching in annoyance. "Of the stick up your ass?" You smirk, crossing one leg over the other as your swirl your glass from the stem. "This whole thing is fucked and you know it," He says, throwing himself against the backrest of the chair in defeat. You nod slowly and thoughtfully, "Maybe, but as I always says, 'Anything worth having is worth fighting for.'" He rolls his eyes, "Whatever."

"Sorry, Kids. I just had to get that done before I forgot. Is your father still not back yet?" Mrs.Jeon asks, sitting back down at the table and looking around. "No, I guess he's still on the call," You say, "He sounds like my dad." Mrs.Jeon laughs, "Well, birds of a feather flock together." "I'm sorry everyone- Y/n, I just got off the phone with your father. Goodness, it's such a shame he couldn't come," Mr.Jeon says, a big smile on his face as he sits down. "You- you spoke to my dad?" "I sure did. I'd called him this morning about the finalized contract he'd sent me last night but he didn't get back to me until now since he was on the golf course." It takes everything in you to keep your eye from twitching. The golf course. Priorities. You plaster a fake smile on your face and clear your throat, "Actually, Mr.Jeon, the one he sent you is not the finalized version." He looks up confused, "No?" You shake your head and reach into your purse for the crisp new manila envelope, "I had to make some edits of my own." They all look at each other and then back at you, "Oh- alright," Mr.Jeon takes the envelope and he and Mrs.Jeon look over it together. You can practically see the gears in their heads turning, meanwhile, Jungkook is looking at you with his eyes narrowed wondering what it is you're up to. "Y/n," Mr.Jeon laughs nervously, "This is...substantially more than what your father and I had previously discussed." You nod, "Oh yes. 40% more, to be exact." "Mhm..." Mr.Jeon hands the paper to Mrs.Jeon who continues reading. "I believe the 15% we'd originally agreed upon was quite generous as even a fraction of the money we receive from the various businesses would be quite a profit for you." You purse your lips as you listen, trying your best to be as respectful as possible, "Yes, that's true. It would be quite a lot, however, I think it's reasonable to divide assets 50/50 between spouses, seeing as how I'll not only be a part of June Company itself but also be behind the scenes as a wife. Not to mention, when I have kids, there is no longer incentive for Jungkook to stay married to me, is there?" Mr.Jeon looks at his wife, who is looking back at him with the same concerned expression. "Y/n, our motivation for having you marry our son isn't to...produce an heir," Mr.Jeon says, "It's to help him mature and give him something to work for." "Dad, I don't need to get married to mature. I'm capable and I'm ready to run the company. Please, just let me show-" "You shut your mouth. With all the debt you've gotten me in with your incessant partying, the charges in property damage-" Mr.Jeon's face is turning more and more red, while Jungkook just looks away. He's completely quiet as he his father continues hurling criticisms and but Mrs.Jeon puts her hand on his chest to keep him from saying any more. "Mr.Jeon, I want to be able to help all of you- but I think both I and Jungkook are sacrificing a lot, and a large portion of that sacrifice is on yours and my parents' behalf. He and I will both be turning our lives around for the sake of our families. I just want to make sure we're both getting what we need from this." Jungkook turns slowly to look at you, his expression softening, along with his father's. Mr.Jeon is silent for a little while. "I understand if this is something you and your family cannot get behind and if that's the case, we can rip up this contract and put it all behind us, no harm done- but if you all want this as much as we do, these are my conditions," You say as gently as possible. You glance at Jungkook, whose eyes are fixed on you- causing for you to quickly look back at Mr. and Mrs.Jeon. "Well...I think we'll need some time to think this over. I'll have my lawyer look this over and we'll let you know what we've decided by tonight. How's that sound?" Mr.Jeon asks, giving you a tired smile. You nod, "That sounds just fine, Mr.Jeon. Take all the time you need."

You grab your bag and stand up and everyone else follows suit, "I had a lovely brunch. Thank you so much for putting it together for us to have this meeting." You turn to Jungkook, "I hope we're able to move forward together," You say with a bow and, for the first time, he bows in return. "Please have a good rest of your day," Mrs.Jeon says, stepping forward and hugging you goodbye. "And as always, please let us know if you need anything," Mr.Jeon says with a genuine expression. You nod, "I will."

Of course, not two hours since your brunch with the Jeons, and your dad was already blowing up your phone. How interesting the way that works, isn't it? Your dad only calls when you don't do things exactly as he asks. You sent every single call to voicemail until they stopped coming in altogether- though he'll most likely call right before bed. You'd spent the rest of the day out and about near the hotel; something you thought you wouldn't get a chance to do this time around. It helped to get your mind off things for a minute. You'd even gone to a cute little cafe and answered some of your work emails (you can't ever completely disconnect, though it doesn't hurt to at least have a change of scenery).

By the time you come back to your suite, it's already 8PM, though of course you're not even a bit tired, so you decide to bother B/f/n for a bit. "Mm...hello?" "Hello," You practically sing into the phone, "did I wake you?" "Mhm..." "Well, wake up- I gotta tell you what happened today." "Y/n, look, I promise I'm interested but I do not have the mental capacity to receive any new information right now..." "You're no fun." "Hey, I already told you, you have other options for entertainment." "The spa's closed right now, I've already gone to the eateries inside this hotel, I've used the free wifi and even the copier. I've done everything, there's nothing left, B/f/n," You whine. "Not everything..." She says, sleepily eyeing you. You instantly know whatb she means and you violently shake your head. "Nope. Uh-uh. I am NOT getting a drink by myself." "Oh come on, if you wear one of those skimpy little dresses you packed, I promise you won't be alone for long." You narrow your eyes at her, "How do you know I packed skimpy dresses?" "You just told me," She smirks. How does she do that? "And what am I supposed to do if a man walks up to me and offers me a drink thinking he's gonna get some?" "Oh come on, you're not even engaged yet. Live a little." You roll your eyes, "Clearly, you're very sleep deprived and that's why you're talking crazy. Call me when you're rested." "Sounds like a plan," She says before abruptly hanging up the call.

You sit and look over at your suitcase, contemplating your next move... "I guess a drink won't hurt."

The hotel bar is nicely tucked away on the first floor, a small ways away from the lobby. It's decorated with gold trim and pretty golden flowers along the cherry-wood walls. The vibe is definitely dark and sultry- you suppose you dressed appropriately: off the shoulder a-line mini dress and some simple strappy heels. You put a lot of effort into looking effortless tonight. It's not as packed as you expected, though it's definitely not empty; people are sat at various tables, holding conversations, the occasional stray laugh reaching your ears over the soft music. You'd hyped yourself up before coming down, saying you weren't gonna worry about who was or wasn't looking at you; you were just going down to have a drink and then go right back up- but when you realize the room is full of mostly men, you hesitate to take a seat. "Welcome in- can I get you anything, Miss?" The bartender, a kind-looking older gentleman, asks when he sees the lost puppy look on your face. "I-uhm, yes. I'll take an espresso martini, please?" "Of course." You set your clutch down on the bar and then take a seat. "Meeting anyone?" The bartender asks. You laugh sheepishly, "No, just...wanted to get out of my room." "I suppose that's a good thing," He says. You furrow your brows, wondering if he's gonna take the opportunity to be creepy, "And why is that?" "Because that young man over there has been watching you since you walked in," He says, nodding behind you. Your heart flutters a bit, and you feel flattered by the possibility of someone actually checking you out.

You turn slowly to where he'd nodded and scan for a moment before finally seeing him. How did I not notice him before? "That's the hotel owner's son, you know," The bartender adds. Jungkook's expression is a bit unreadable, but he's definitely looking at you. His eyes are completely fixed. You turn around quickly and bite your lip. You can't leave now, he'll know it was because of him and you can't stand the idea of him feeling like he drove you out of that bar. No way. You straighten out your back, forcing your body to relax as much as possible- or at least have the appearance of relaxation. The man puts your drink in front of you, and you gingerly take your first sip. "How can you drink those things?" Jungkook's unmistakeable voice says from right behind you, causing you to choke and spit some of your drink back into the glass. Your eyes widen in horror. "Bless you," He smirks. He looks over at the bar tender and signals holding up two fingers, to which the man nods. "Jungkook," His name feels so strange on your tongue; up until this trip, you've just refered to him as 'the Jeon's son', and using his name still feels so...intimate, somehow. He leans back in his seat, looking at you as though he's sizing you up, "And who, might I ask, did you dress up for tonight?" "Myself." You say, side-eyeing him. He's very brazen for someone you've only just met again after so many years. "Hm." "Hm, what?"

"Oh nothing...it's just, well, humans are performative beings, you know? Everything we do, whether consciously or not, is to attract." "Oh? And you're saying this to imply that I'm trying to attract someone?" You take another sip of your drink, trying to hide your unexpected nervousness. He shrugs, a cocky smile spreading across his face. "And who do you think I'm trying to attract, Jungkook? You?" You scoff. "Hey, you said it." You blush slightly and look down at your drink, your fingertip running up and down the stem of the glass. He definitely smells like he's been drinking- a lot- but you also catch hints of musk and wood- even burnt cinnamon. Shitty men shouldn't smell this damn good. You glance down at his neck and squint your eyes; is that-? "You're wearing the necklace?" He furrows his brows for a second in confusion before the realization sets in, "Oh- yeah. I look good, don't I?" His lips turn up into a coy smile. You clear your throat and shrug, "I think I'm just good at picking out jewelry." He chuckles and shakes his head, "Your disdain for me is quite amusing." "Almost as amusing as your insistence on flirting with me." "Well, don't get too flattered, you might fall in love." "Ha," You scoff. The bartender sets two shots down in front of Jungkook, who then slides one over to you. "What's this for?" You ask, immediately suspicious. "To celebrate." "Celebrate what?" "Us, of course." "Oh please," You roll your eyes, "Just the other day you were yelling at me and accusing me of attacking you, then you implied that I was some sort of gold digger and was just trying to mooch off of you." He nods thoughtfully, "Yes, that's true, I said some pretty...crass things. I suppose I should apologize for that. As far as the shot, well- I've decided to accept it." "Accept...what?" "The fact that this train is leaving with or without our 'yes', so we may as well enjoy the ride along the way, right?" As he says this, his eyes fall slightly, and only for a moment. You almost wonder if you'd seen it at all. "And what's caused this change of heart?" "Truthfully...this entire arrangement has been hanging over my head all my life. It felt like a noose slowly getting tighter and tighter. But seeing my father so stunned by your demands...it felt like my first deep breath in a while." You're surprised at how genuine Jungkook is being right now, though before you're able to respond to what he's just said, your phone buzzes in your clutch. "Excuse me," You say. It's a text message from Mr.Jeon. You quickly swipe it open and your mouth drops in shock. 𝙼𝚛.𝙹𝚎𝚘𝚗: 𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘, 𝚈/𝚗- 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚆𝚎'𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝚆𝚎'𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝟷𝟸𝙿𝙼 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚠𝚢𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝.

You look up back up at Jungkook, who simply picks up the shot and holds it up in the air, "To the ride." Your shocked expression turns into a smile, and all you can think to do is pick your shot up as well. "To the ride."

#bts #jungkook #suga #jin #namjoon #jhope #jimin #bts imagine #bangtan sonyeondan #angst #jungkook x reader #bts slow burn #bts enemies to lovers #bts arranged marriage #jungkook arranged marriage

[booksteaandtoomuchtv]

Galaxy Con 2023: Colin O'Donoghue

My experience at Galaxy Con 2023 in Raleigh, which will be entirely Colin O'Donoghue-focused since meeting him was the only reason I dragged my entire family to Raleigh for the hottest and most humid weekend of our year.

We arrived at Colin's booth at 10 on Saturday and secured the second position in his autograph line. Someone asked the Galaxy Con volunteer when Colin would arrive, but she hadn't met him or talked to him yet. She just noted that his photo ops were scheduled for 12:15 and some of the talent did not arrive until their photo op time. A few of us got nervous about which queue we should remain in as time ticked by ever so slowly.

I got to chat with some lovely Colin fans and their spouses while my kiddos grew tired of waiting. After about an hour and fifteen minutes, the kiddos had it and were taken to a children's museum with their cousins by my spouse. As his luck would have it, that is when Colin arrived. Around 11:25, Colin's agent arrives at the booth and sets up the booth with Hook photos (like the one below) and discusses the flow with the Galaxy Con Volunteer. At this point, Colin's queue is three or four rows deep in front of the booth, wraps around the corner, snakes around to a larger aisle and seems to be rivalling the "headliners" that Galaxy Con heavily advertised.

Colin arrives, following quickly behind his agent and weaving through the crowd. He looks a bit overwhelmed and fairly exhausted. When he approaches there is a mix of awe and cheers and clapping, but as he settles and everyone realises that he is there, a louder cheer follows. It makes him bush. It endears him to you even further.

As he settles in, still absorbing his queue and saying apologies directed to no one in particular because he had a late flight, he looks to the Galaxy Con volunteer that will be working with him and flashes a brilliant smile, greets her warmly, and introduces himself to her. She jokes that everyone is jealous of her and has been trying to trade her jobs.

His face is complete and honest confusion when he asks her why. And, she has the fun task of explaining to Colin that he is Colin. His face turns a deeper red as he settles into his chair to start his long day of signing autographs and making memories for each person he speaks to that day.

Colin clearly takes that part of the con very seriously. He gives every fan his full attention, listening intently, graciously accepting gifts, greeting them and chatting with them so that each person is allowed their moment with him. Again, you cannot help but find yourself more endeared with him as you watch him consciously make an effort to make every single encounter special.

When I handed him the picture my daughter drew of him as Hook last year to sign, he listened so kindly to the whole story. When I was finished, he asked if he could draw her a hook when he signed. It struck me as such an incredibly sweet question. (Of course, I said "Absolutely. You can do whatever you want! She'll LOVE it.") Then, I got a selfie with him...well, after my shaking hands remembered how to operate the camera on my phone.

Photo Ops

The photo ops were incredibly quick. You got just a few seconds with him as they hurried everyone along. In that time, the time to walk up to him, look at the camera and smile, he still put forth the effort to greet and thank everyone as they passed through. It was just lovely to see the extraordinary amount of effort Colin put in to make every moment that you get with him meaningful. It is so striking against the backdrop of a convention that was clearly focused on getting as many people through as possible to capitalise on profits.

Colin Panel and Q&A

Colin's panel fills up quickly. Six minutes before the panel is slated to begin, the room is standing room only. With the SAG strike ongoing, the rules are set forth that we cannot discuss that thing he was in with the thing on his hand but we can discuss stage productions and animated series he has been in.

When Colin walks out to the stage, he is very clearly shocked at how full the room is for his panel.

The moderator starts the conversation with pretty standard questions and some general background - when did you get into acting, etc. We learn that Colin has over thirty guitars, one owned by Ringo, and an amp that Rory Gallagher (his hero, btw) used while he toured. He also dismissed the title of "musician" that the moderator used a few times, saying he was no longer a musician. When asked what his perfect day would be, he gave the answer spending time with his kids since his career means that there are periods that he goes without seeing them for a while. And while the answer is undoubtedly sweet, it also broke my heart for him.

Then, they opened the floor for questions so long as you avoided BTS questions about that thing he did with the thing on his hand. There were times that he danced around exact shows or roles and he was genuinely terrified of saying something that would get him in trouble. The moderator was very, very good at guiding him or the questions to protect him from misstepping.

Over the course of the panel, Colin may have revealed that he enjoys cooking. He stated that one of his favourite holiday traditions is cooking the Christmas Dinner (there is turkey, Brussel sprouts, Christmas pudding, amongst other things) and he likes to add a bit of prosciutto and thyme to his pineapple pizza. He has tried jellyfish- "It was weird." And, he likes pistachio and real vanilla ice cream. He must have been starving at this point (his panel was over lunch), because they gave him a blue sour candy and a green sour treat for answering that he'd be Batman if he were a superhero from comic books and the Joker if he were a supervillain and he clearly disliked the candy and still ate the second one just moments later. He didn't like it any better.

He was interesting enough to hold a two-year-old and a four-year-old captive for the entire duration of his panel. They loved seeing "Captain Hook with a Hand" in person and Caden said "Caden Hello" to him almost audibly when I made it to the microphone to ask my question. The little smile that Colin gave my kiddos when they reached the mic was the sweetest and most wonderful thing.

Quick replay:

He likes sour and salty things, crisps are one of his favourite foods.

Yes, he would support his kids if they wanted to go into the film industry. He would want to ensure they really wanted to do it though.

He is always touched to know his work has touched people or gotten them through difficult times. He loves that the show with the thing has brought people together and created a community for so many of them.

He is afraid of absolutely nothing. No fears. Except for panels, which he thinks is obvious by what he said during the panel.

He would be a black labrador x retriever cross. His character from that one thing with the leather thing would have a black labrador cross. If he had a pet mythical creature it would be Cyberus, the three-headed dog, the Hell hound. All three of the heads would be black labrador cross and it would be extremely friendly.

His mum gave him the best life advice that he has ever had. You should put 100% into everything that you do and you should always be kind.

He would be Douxie out of all his characters since Douxie has magic. "Who doesn't want to be a wizard?"

He likes to read everything, especially a good mystery like Stephen King. His favourite fantasy novel is Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Star Wars is his favourite film.

As a child, his favourite show was the original Ghostbuster cartoons (he had all the action figures) and Duck Tales (his kids love the reboot).

He hates the beard. But, he does have a new role and he is working on something new.

He does like to do prep work. On the one that he only had three days to prepare, he'd read the book. So, that helped him prepare. He doesn't have to prepare too much for accents because he loves accents and talks to himself in different accents all the time. (And, he did as a kid.) He thinks American comes to him easily because he consumed so much American television while growing up. He was particularly proud that a couple from Oklahoma told him his accent in the thing he only had three days to prepare for was a good Oklahoma accent.

He trusts writers have written the best ending for the shows they are writing. (This was specifically about the Tales of Arcadia series, but he answered generally and specifically.) He said it was valid to disagree with the ending or to dislike because everyone thinks things should end a certain way and that is as valid as the actual ending. He thinks that endings are particularly difficult because people don't actually like when things end.

He isn't a prankster but his friend out there in the world, Josh Dallas, is a prankster. He had a fart machine in a fictional forest that he would set off at opportune times.

NO! (playfully), he is not friends with anyone from that one thing he did. He did see Gen and Josh when he was in LA in January and keeps in close touch with Sean.

He supports Manchester United.

His scent as a candle would be pina colada.

He got to use his Irish accent in Luck and he did heighten it a bit, really leaning into it where he could. In the animation booth, you have to almost overact and overdo it so they can animate it well.

His favourite city that he has worked in/travelled to is Vancouver. It is too far away from his home, but it is where his kids were born and he loved his time there. It felt like home, but his family and real home were too far away.

He got accepted into university for special effects and such. He'd probably have ended up doing that if he wasn't acting.

And, when I asked what song he would play he was to have theme music that played in his life every time he entered a room...he told us about the time he would play INXS' "Need You Tonight" and strut out and do a very fun hip wiggle that is more effective with the leather and eyeliner. (But, he sampled it for us and it was still effective. :) )

I will treasure these memories and this experience. Thanks to all the hard work Colin put into this weekend and to his willingness to spend a weekend being entirely too hot and sweaty with us in Raleigh.

#galaxy con raleigh 2023 #colin o'donoghue #galaxy con raleigh #galaxy con

[finkinthisfrew]

Anything (Pt.40)

cw: jokingly territorial-Matty

"No, that one's too sexy," Matty called to me from across my bedroom where he stood propped up against the jewelry box that sat on the dresser in my bedroom.

I turned to frown at the perfect image on my phone, but faltered slightly, enamoured by his handsome face. I tried to ignore how cute he looked, his chin propped up on his hand attentively with his brow furrowed in concentration as he watched me pull on a simple black tube top.

"You said that about the last fifteen tops!" I yelled back to him from where I stood in my closet.

"Too sexy!!" he repeated himself. His little scowl made my stomach flip flop, he looked so unbearably cute. 

He was sitting on the balcony of his new hotel room waiting for the car to come pick him and the rest of the band up for the concert tonight. He sat on the wrought-iron patio set in a tank top and I relished the way his strong, broad shoulders looked in the light of the setting sun. His hair was slicked back, a single curl which escaped from the dozen times Matty had run his fingers through his hair since he'd finished gelling it 15 minutes ago dangled perfectly across his forehead. I sighed loud enough for him to hear before pulling off the top and diving back into the closet for another option.

I knew I didn't have to keep changing- that Matty was just being funny and complimentary, but I was enjoying the bit, and I was determined at this point to find something that met his approval. 

I pulled on a very cute tie-dye long-sleeve mock neck that I loved- I bought it on sale years ago at my favourite vintage shop back home and it still fit me like a glove. I turned around in the door of my closet to show Matty, raising my eyebrows along with my hands in question.

"Hmmm..." Matty hummed thoughtfully. "Yup. Too sexy."

I couldn't help but laugh at his unreasonableness.

"I'm starting to think it doesn't matter what I wear, you're gonna think I'm too sexy regardless," I retorted as I yanked off the shirt and turned back to my closet. 

"Someone's starting to catch on."

I whipped my head back to find Matty grinning cheekily from ear to ear at me. I ran over to grab my phone and flopped onto my bed, pointing a finger at him sternly.

"You are insufferable!" I whined as a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I propped my own chin up on my hand to match him and he only smiled wider at me.

"Correction- I am suffering. You are insufferable," his eyes danced playfully on my phone screen. 

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Why am I insufferable?"

"You look gorgeous in everything you wear- it's too much! I can't bear it half the time!" Matty complained.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes as my cheeks flushed, overwhelmed by his candid compliments.

"I guess I'll just have to stay in and hang out with you before and after your show," I said in fake disappointment as I shrugged my shoulders. 

When Matty first Facetimed me after sound check earlier, we spent the first half hour of our call debating whether I should go out tonight or not. Matty was team 'going out' and I was team 'not'. Eventually, he won, but I still wasn't completely convinced.

"Oh no way," he scoffed. "There's no way you're not going out and getting nice and drunk with the girls tonight." Matty looked up at the sky wistfully, "I'm weak in the knees just thinking about what your drunk texts will be like- don't take that away from me!"

"Well I can't go if you reject every item of clothing I own, Matty," I complained playfully as I rolled off the bed and propped my phone back up on my dresser before walking back to the closet. "Unless you'd rather me go completely naked?" I teased over my shoulder.

"Oh you love me getting feral, I forgot," I heard him say darkly in the distance. I didn't turn around, but I could hear the smirk on his face, the lust in his voice sending a shiver down my back.

"Why is it that I can't be slutty but you can?" I changed the subject as I rifled through my closet once again.

"What do you mean, love?" Matty asked.

"According to you, I can't wear a silly little tube top to a bar without you, yet you're literally about to wear a tank top in front of thousands of girls who scream your name in bed. How is that not a double standard?" I asked sassily as I shut my closet and returned to the dresser to search its contents for the perfect option, sneaking a glance at Matty who was shaking his head.

"You North Americans are bonkers. Why can't you just call it a vest like the rest of us? Tank top sounds so silly," he said with another frown.

"Matty. You literally just said the word bonkers. I think we can have tank top," I replied reasonably. 

"Actually no. You cannot have a tank top, sorry," he pouted, "too sexy."

I opened my mouth to protest, but was interrupted by my own swooning as Matty smiled at me cheekily, then winked, those crinkles around his eyes in full effect. 

I dove back into the drawer and continued to rifle through my shirt options when a brand new top I'd stuffed in the back of the drawer out of sight caught my eye. 

"Oh hell yeah. I have just the thing," I said proudly, holding up the shirt out of sight from Matty.

"What is it? Let me seeee," Matty whined. I only smiled in response before stepping out of the frame.

I pulled the t-shirt on over my head and grabbed a pair of dark blue straight-leg jeans, tucking the front of my shirt into them as I ignored the string of complaints emitting from my phone. I snuck a pair of simple silver hoop earrings out of my jewelry box and put them on, then glanced in the full-length mirror by my bed, making sure to pull out the necklace Matty had gifted me so it hung over my shirt before stepping back into Matty's view. His jaw dropped when he saw me.

"You did not!" Matty said in astonishment.

"I did," I smiled smugly back at him.

The shirt was oversized, all black, with simple white text on the front. 

'lol ur not matt healy' it read. 

The day after Matty first played for me in his living room, I'd Googled the 1975 and was immediately intrigued by their website. When I'd seen the shirt on their merch page, I ordered it, then stashed it away so Matty wouldn't find it, saving it for a special occasion to surprise him with. Waiting had paid off.

I watched him intently, his face slowly revealing his growing desire for me as his eyes drank me in. I savoured the way Matty bit his lip in indecision.

"...I can't decide whether to tell you how over the moon I am to see you in that or to scold you!" he said, his teeth letting go of his lower lip briefly to speak.

"Scold me?" I repeated.

He nodded deliberately. 

"Yes. For two reasons: first, you don't need to buy that stuff! I can get you whatever you want for free- I don't need you spending your money on my merch," he explained guiltily.

"What's the second reason?" I asked.

"Well, you're wearing my merch while you're on the other side of the world... And I'm just supposed to sit here and be okay with not being able to do anything to you?" he said, his voice turning husky as his eyes drooped slightly with lust. "You know what seeing you in my merch does to me..."

I blushed at the thought of what he would do, but before I could reply, he shook the lust from his voice and looked at me with gentle eyes.

"You know that I'm just being funny about the tops, right? That I don't actually care and you can wear whatever you want?" Matty asked lightly, his voice tentative.

"Of course, Matty," I responded warmly. "I know you'd never try to control me or anything," I reassured him.

"Good," he said, his voice tinged with relief. "Because even though I do mean it- that you look too sexy in everything- that's something I accepted early on in our relationship," he continued as he shut his eyes proudly, "that you're simply a sex goddess who's intolerably gorgeous and beautiful in everything she wears, and I just have to bear it."

"Matty, I'm literally wearing a giant t-shirt and jeans!" I replied loudly in exasperation, gesturing down at my baggy outfit.

"And you look fit. as. fuck!" he replied seriously. "And no yelling! I'm the victim over here, with my sex goddess girlfriend taunting me over there in that filthily promiscuous shirt." I couldn't help but laugh as he continued to rant, "I haven't demanded you board a flight and come back here even once- not once! Considering the misery you've caused me, I'd say I'm much more worthy of some sympathy here." 

I giggled bashfully at his now wide puppy dog eyes. 

"Poor you," I cooed, watching his chest puff up in validation. "That sounds like a rough life, being the boyfriend of a sex goddess," I said sympathetically.

Matty nodded sadly, speaking earnestly.

"It's a big sacrifice, but I'm willing to make it," he said gravely as I giggled to myself. He knew just how to make me laugh while also feeling incredibly special and wildly beautiful. 

I took a deep breath in and sighed quietly to myself, careful to make sure it wasn't audible to Matty. I really did wish I was spending the night in with him- my heart ached with the pain of missing him so much. I felt so lucky to be able to miss someone as special as Matty.

"Now," Matty started, interrupting my train of thought, "Stand still for me so I can take a billion screenshots and decide which one to make my new phone background tonight while I wait for you to text me about how big of a crush you have on me," he said as he smiled at me cheekily, winking away any remnants of sadness.

#matty healy #at their very best #matty the 1975 #bfiafl #love #tender #the 1975 #lovers #fanfiction #fanfic #matty 1975 #matty #matty healy smut #matty x reader #the 1975 fanfic

[bidoofenergy]

This is me humbly requesting some Jimmy and Joel/Grian interactions from your dance floor au🙏

Additionally I would kill for a d&d au that genuinely sounds so fun as someone who played dnd years ago (unf the group was not fun to play with, I feel bad for our dm)

hungry busy people

also on AO3 sequel to let's ditch the dance floor (4048 words)

“Friday night,” Joel sarcastically cheers, under his breath. “Living the dream," Jimmy refuses to pay attention to him. He’s got his planner, his Google Calendar, and all his course websites open in front of him, but he still feels like he’s forgetting something. He goes down this weekend's to do list for the third time, comparing it to upcoming deadlines.

“Class signup starts next week right?” he asks, whipping up to look at Joel, across the table. Joel pauses his lamenting on missing on date night with Lizzie.

“Registration isn’t for another two weeks.” Joel says slowly. Jimmy flips to two weeks out and, sure enough, there it is on Thursday in capital letters: “CLASS SIGNUP 8 AM!!” Jimmy groans.

“Are you forgetting something?” Joel asks, barely hiding his amusement.

“Tell me you know what I’m forgetting.” Jimmy leans over his open notebooks and half the table to beg properly.

Joel leans away from Jimmy’s hands and smirks. “How should I know what you’ve forgotten?” He reaches for his phone as he speaks and starts typing without breaking eye contact.

“If you’re texting Grian to make fun of me—” Jimmy starts, in his best attempt at threatening. It isn’t very good, given how Joel’s smirk just grows.

“Do your homework Jim.” Joel pats the top of his hand. “It’ll come to you; probably when you least expect it.” Joel sounds too happy about this for Jimmy’s taste. He sighs and sits back. Joel has decided to be unhelpful and there’s no changing his mind. Jimmy hates him a little.

“I hate you a lot.” He tells Joel. Joel is not bothered by this.

Truthfully, Jimmy can only hate Joel a little today. Joel agreed to go to the vet school library with him on a Friday night, even though it’s a good 15 minute bus ride from their dorm, because Jimmy focuses better here than at the library on main campus. Jimmy needs to be at the library on a Friday night because, at some point this semester, his workload went from substantial to overwhelming. And on top of that, there’s… something else. Something is happening this weekend and that means Jimmy has to get as much work done today as possible.

To start: this godforsaken discussion post that’s due at midnight. He switches windows back to the week’s reading and continues skimming it, hoping for something to jump out at him. He just needs to find something vaguely interesting to write 150 words about and then he can tell two random classmates they “brought up some very intriguing points, I hadn't considered that” and be done with the class—at least until next Friday’s discussion post.

It’s on his fourth reread of the same sentence (so much for skimming) that Jimmy feels a presence behind him. He freezes and considers. Joel is still in front of him, intently focused on his laptop screen. There’s only one other person Jimmy knows who would stand behind him and silently wait like this, but he’s an hour drive—this is the thing Jimmy forgot!

Jimmy whirls around, his suspicions immediately confirmed when he nearly smacks Grian in the stomach in his excitement. “Grian!” he exclaims and immediately winces at his volume.

“Hey Tim,” Grian grins. “Took you long enough to notice.” He ruffles Jimmy’s hair before sitting down.

“He’s been here for seven minutes.” Joel says as he reaches across the table to bump fists in greeting. “I timed it.”

“You’re getting sloppy Tim.” Grian shakes his head.

“Shut up.” Jimmy whines. “Where’s your stuff man?” He cannot believe he forgot Grian was staying the weekend; it’s not like their plans were what got him through the last few weeks.

“In my car, which is by your dorm, because that’s where you told me you’d be.” Grian pokes Jimmy in the chest. “Joel had to coach me through your bus system by text!”

Joel smirks at Grian’s annoyance. “Sorry, not all of us have the cutting-edge infrastructure of HCU.”

“A functional, easy-to-understand bus system is not cutting-edge—”Grian starts, voice rising, before Joel and Jimmy shush him.

“Yes, yes, HCU rules, ESU drools.” Joel says mockingly, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t give us Scar’s public transportation rant, I have homework I need to finish.” Jimmy pleads. Grian splutters like he can’t decide what to be offended by first.

“It’s not a rant—It’s not Scar’s—” he squawks. Jimmy and Joel glance at each other and laugh.

“Hush, both of you,” Grian folds his arms. “You’re doing homework? I drove all the way here, rode your horrible bus, to watch you do homework?”

Jimmy can't help but laugh. He’s missed Grian so much.

“Don’t laugh!” Grian exclaims and Joel shushes him again, still laughing as he does.

“The grind doesn’t stop.” Jimmy shrugs. “Gotta finish this today so I’m free tomorrow.” At the mention of tomorrow, Grian brightens.

“Yes! I’m looking forward to your gym.” he enthuses and Joel groans. “You guys actually have more climbing space than HCU does.” Grian continues and Joel groans louder.

“You’re obsessed.” Joel complains.

“Alright, Mr. Thought of Baby Names Three Months in.” Grian scoffs.

“I did not—not three months—” Joel fumbles to defend himself, flushing. “I would never—I was totally cool and normal about Lizzie.” His flush deepens at the mention of his girlfriend, which doesn’t really help his case.

“So, we’re just lying now?” Jimmy asks Grian in a stage whisper and they grin at each other.

“Shut up,” Joel groans, head in his hands. “Do your homework Tim.”

Jimmy frowns, but before he can say anything, Grian pokes his arm. “Yeah Timmy,” he says teasingly, switching sides easily. “Finish your homework so we can get out of here.”

“Boo,” Jimmy mumbles and he and Joel start working again.

Grian leaves them alone for about ten minutes, entertaining himself with his phone, before getting bored and scooting his chair closer to Jimmy. He rests his chin on Jimmy’s shoulder and starts reading along. Jimmy, used to this, lets his shoulder drop a little so Grian is more comfortable.

“Jim,” Grian says after a moment.

“Hmm?”

“If you don’t pick a random quote and start writing—” Grian starts and Jimmy just laughs. Joel looks up at the two of them, an eyebrow raised. “He’s overthinking this.” Grian huffs, sounding personally offended.

“I’d never accuse Jimmy of thinking too much.” Joel smirks.

“Hey!” Jimmy exclaims. “I wasn’t sure where to start and—” Grian cuts him off.

“That doesn’t sound like ‘Thank you for the advice, Grian, I’ll get right to it!’”

Jimmy rolls his eyes. “Thank you for the advice, Grian, I’ll get right to it.” he parrots. Grian pats him on the head and sits back, looking smug.

The worst part is: Grian is right. Jimmy finds the sentence he had to read four times and starts writing, “A quote that I found particularly interesting…”

Grian watches him type for a few minutes before getting bored again and rolling over to watch Joel. “That doesn’t look like homework.” He remarks dryly. Jimmy looks up to see the familiar expression of Joel caught texting Lizzie something gross and cheesy and quickly looks back to his own laptop screen, happy to let Grian take care of that.

- - -

They’re at the library for a few more hours, until it’s almost 12:30. Jimmy finished his discussion post and the two replies and starts on his math homework (Grian immediately teases him for “taking a finance class, that’s not even real math!”). Joel, eventually, probably because she fell asleep, stops texting Lizzie and starts reading. It’s a lot of highlighting, mumbling to himself, and looking like the book in front of him insulted his mother. Grian steals Jimmy’s phone, gets the passcode right on the first try because Jimmy hasn’t bothered to change it since Grian first learned it in high school, and starts playing Angry Birds. Jimmy doesn’t even remember having Angry Birds on his phone.

Eventually, Jimmy’s mind feels like a thick soup and Grian has given up on Angry Birds in favor of spinning his chair worryingly fast. Joel, seeing the state of the two of them, snaps his book closed and says, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Finally!” Grian exclaims, jumping up to his feet. He sways and stumbles and Jimmy laughs as he packs up his stuff.

Grian is buzzing with energy as they leave the library and head to the bus stop. The night air is warm and heavy with humidity. The sidewalk is lit a hazy orange-yellow from the streetlights. There’s no one else at the bus stop. Jimmy stands by the sign and bounces on his toes. Grian squints at the bus stop bench, like he's grading it. For a moment, it’s quiet—only the sounds of distant traffic and bugs.

“I’m hungry.” Joel announces to the night air, startling Jimmy a little.

“Nothing’s open right now.” Jimmy frowns.

“Do you not have food in your room?” Grian asks. Neither Jimmy nor Joel dignify his question with a response.

“There’s gotta be something open.” Joel pulls out his phone and opens his map app, pinching and panning and zooming in on nearby streets. Both Jimmy and Grian crowd around, bumping their heads together.

“I really cannot believe ESU doesn’t have stuff nearby open past midnight.” Grian mumbles. Jimmy can’t believe HCU would.

“There’s a Waffle House not far from our dorm, which is good because this is the last bus.” Joel announces, zooming in on the Waffle House in question. He looks a little too excited about this. Jimmy glances at Grian, who looks more caught up on the idea that the buses are stopping now.

“I could eat,” Jimmy offers and, just like that, their plans have been made.

“Waffle House!” Joel cheers and switches over to stare at the bus tracker app.

- - -

The Waffle House isn’t very busy, unsurprising for it being nearly 1 am, only another group of five college students crammed in a booth and only two people working. The blond, middle-aged cook yells at them to “sit wherever!” when they enter and Grian picks a booth for them. Joel slides in next to Grian and drops his backpack on the opposite bench right as Jimmy’s about to sit. Jimmy rolls his eyes, pushes the bag further in, and accidentally kicks Joel as he’s getting settled. Joel, of course, immediately kicks him back, and things devolve from there.

“Boys!” Grian admonishes as the waiter comes up to the table, menus in hand. “Can’t take them anywhere.” he jokes, like he didn’t just kick Jimmy in the shins. The waiter, a tall, lanky guy about their age with a yellow sweater on underneath his Waffle House shirt, looks unimpressed and drops the menus on the table. Joel, noticing the waiter, straightens up.

The waiter says, “Yell for me when you're ready.” and leaves.

“Christ that dude is tall.” Joel remarks as soon as he’s gone.

“You’re just short.” Grian rolls his eyes and pulls the menu Jimmy was reaching for towards himself.

“Taller than you!” Joel says indignantly.

“Don't start,” Jimmy begs, head in his hands. Joel takes this as an opportunity to the remaining menu. Jimmy doesn’t react. They all know what they want anyway.

He twists around to wave the server over. He’s talking to the cook, who looks a little more stressed than Jimmy would like the person making his food to look, especially if they work at Waffle House. When the tall man notices, he pushes off the counter and heds over.

“What can I get you guys?” he asks, shoving his hands in his pockets. Jimmy catches his nametag: Wilbur.

“Double hashbrown, scattered and covered please.” Jimmy says, ignoring Grain’s responding gag. The server nods and turns to Joel, who’s puffing out his chest. Jimmy has to stare really hard at poor Wilbur’s beanie (red, a little dirty, definitely not in-uniform) to avoid Grian’s eye.

“All star breakfast, with bacon.” Joel replies and at least he’s not dropping his voice like he used to do in front of Lizzie all the time.

“Double waffles,” Grian says. “And we’ll all have orange juice.” Jimmy hates orange juice.

“It’s gonna be a while on those waffles.” Wilbur informs them. “We’ve only got one iron working at the moment and they”—he gestures behind him lazily to the other table— “all ordered waffles. That explains the cook’s expression. All three of them wince sympathetically.

“That’s fine.” Grian reassures him. Wilbur nods and leaves before Jimmy can remember he doesn’t like orange juice.

- - -

Their food comes fairly quickly, except for Grian and Joel’s waffles of course. “Yeah it’s gonna be about an hour.” the server tells them, faintly apologetic.

“Holy moly,” Jimmy breathes and Joel and Grian grimace in unison.

“We’ll wait,” Grian tells him.

“Waffle House welcomes you 24 hours a day.” Wilbur replies flatly before leaving, clearly quoting something from his training. Joel snorts into his food.

Jimmy slides his orange juice across the table to Grian. “Timmy, you've got to get your Vitamin C.” Grian says, taking a massive gulp of Jimmy’s orange juice. “What if you get scurvy or something?”

“I’m not getting scurvy.” Jimmy says and starts eating.

“You’re eating potatoes and cheese; that’s not exactly a balanced diet.”

“He does have a point.” Joel agrees, mouth full.

“You’re not any better!” Jimmy doesn’t exactly yell, and Joel and Grian both shush him.

- - -

Thirty minutes later, hashbrowns long gone, Jimmy has his head on the table, pillowed under his arms, half-asleep. Grian and Joel have been talking about this ghost-hunting video game for at least twenty minutes. While Jimmy plays it all the time with them, he barely knows the rules, nevermind the intricate strategies they’re discussing. Instead he lets their voices wash over him and, between them and the rain. He’s almost—

Jimmy sits bolt upright and blurts, “It’s raining?”

Grian and Joel pause to exaggeratedly glance between him, the window, and each other.

“Indeed it is, Timmy,” Grian claps mockingly. “Well done.” Jimmy groans.

“No, walking back is gonna be a pain.”

“Neither of you have an umbrella?” Grian asks, somehow surprised.

“I’m sure it’ll clear up soon.” Joel tells Jimmy. They both leave Grian's question unanswered.

- - -

Twenty minutes later, the rain hasn’t cleared up and, in fact, has gotten much worse. The water’s coming down in sheets angled by the wind. Jimmy was woken up by a loud crack of thunder and nearly jumped out of his seat, much to Joel and Grian’s amusement.

A little while later, Wilbur comes by with their waffles. “Sorry for the wait,” he says, not sounding sorry at all. “I’ll bring your bill in a moment, you guys paying separately or together?”

“Seperate,” Jimmy mumbles distractedly staring out the window at the storm. He can’t even see the streetlight by the bus stop.

The server pauses and adds, a little more sincerely this time, “You really are welcome to stay as long as you gotta.”

“Thanks,” Joel grins around a mouthful of waffle.

“Gross,” Grian groans around his own mouthful of waffle. Wilbur leaves, somehow looking both disgusted and disinterested.

Jimmy’s startled out of his storm-induced daze when every phone in the building goes off in quick succession. He scrambles to silence his, not even reading the warning displayed on the screen.

“Flood warning,” Joel reads. “No shit.” Flooding does indeed seem like a given as water streams down the sidewalk and starts to puddle over the one visible storm drain.

Jimmy drums his fingers on the table. His backpack is water resistant, but that doesnt mean much in a storm like this. None of them even have an umbrella or even jackets; it had been so warm that evening.

“I think we should wait.” He says.

“I’m not getting my laptop wet.” Joel agrees.

“Fine,” Grian sighs. It’s almost 2 am.

- - -

By 2:15, they’ve paid and their dishes sit in a neat stack next to a not insignificant cash tip that the three of them pooled together.

“For you and the poor man with only one waffle iron.” Grian tells Wilbur when he comes to collect their plates and raises an eyebrow at the bills. He actually laughs as he tucks it apron pocket.

When he leaves their table, they hear him yell, “Hey old man, tip for you!” and fall over each other trying not to laugh too loudly.

- - -

By 2:30, the rain has slowed enough that Jimmy can actually see through it. A couple, two college-aged women, had emerged suddenly into the yellow-white light of the Waffle House sign. Now, they stand by the counter, dripping.

“You can, like, walk but it sucked.” Jimmy hears one of them tell the cook, a little too casually for someone who was just out in the middle of a flood warning. The other apologizes profusely to Wilbur who’s brought over a mop.

Grian’s entertaining himself on Jimmy’s phone, so Jimmy looks over to Joel, who said he restarted his reading but is actually on his phone. Joel, as if sensing Jimmy’s gaze, looks up. “I don't wanna be stuck here all night with no sleep—we’re supposed to meet Lizzie for breakfast before work” he says a little sadly. Grian looks up from Angry Birds to glance between them.

Jimmy weighs his options. On the one hand, his laptop is out of warranty and he can’t afford to get it or his notes wet. On the other hand, Lizzie’s busy all weekend and the only chance she has to see Grian is at some cafe 20 minutes away tomorrow morning. At 8 am.

“It’s still pouring.” Grian complains. “Give it a bit.” They give it a bit.

- - -

By 2:45, the rain has barely slowed while Jimmy definitely has. He and Grian started stacking creamer pods and every so often Jimmy knocks them over and just stares, blinking, while Grian cackles.

He sets down the creamer he was about to stack and whines, “We can’t stay here any longer.”

Joel snaps his book closed and jumps up. “Right, let’s get going then so we can sleep and then wake up on time because I refuse to be late to meeting Lizzie.” He leans across the table, reaching for his bag, as he says this.

“Wait, wait, hang on a minute,” Grian says, still wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “Can we be smart about this please?”

Joel, practically laying on the table to reach his bag tucked against the window with one hand while balancing off Jimmy’s shoulder with the other, says, “I’m always smart.”

“Uh-huh,” Grian says, unconvinced, and slides out past Joel's legs to talk to the cook, who’s leaning against the counter looking half-asleep. Jimmy manages to escape from Joel to stand and laughs as Joel flounders, trying not to fall off the table.

Joel’s upright by the time Grian returns with a small trashbag. Jimmy squints at the trashbag, trying to understand. “Wha’s that for?” he asks after Grian fails to explain, clearly more amused by Jimmy’s sleepy confusion.

“Well if you put something in here, you can keep it dry.” Grian starts, condescending. Jimmy blinks, still catching up. “Gosh, Tim, you really need to sleep.” Grian laughs, breaking character. “Put your laptops in here and then in Tim’s bag.” He instructs Joel. Jimmy just moves away and lets Joel handle things, swaying where he stands.

“Jesus Tim, you big baby,” Grian complains, propping him up a little with his shoulder.

Joel straightens up from where he was rearranging their stuff and hands Jimmy his bag. “Let’s get this show on the road!” He says, clapping his hands together once they’re free.

“Thank you, have a good night!” Grian calls to the Waffle House employees as he none-too-gently herds Jimmy out the door.

“Stay dry!” Wilbur calls after them from where he’s leaned next to the grill, blowing vape smoke up the exhaust.

“Complete dumbasses,” Jimmy hears the cook laugh as the door closes behind them.

He’s immediately soaked, barely three steps out the door and much more awake. The wind has died down considerably, which Jimmy is grateful for. “Lucky it’s not as windy,” he remarks, though he’s practically yelling to be heard over the rainfall and water rushing down the street gutters.

“Lucky?” Joel repeats, indignant.

“Oh yeah, let’s talk about how lucky this weather is!” Grian yells. He’s leading them across the parking lot like he knows where he’s going. Water sluices across their shoes as they push uphill, flooding Jimmy’s sneakers.

“It absolutely could be worse!” Jimmy argues. As if on cue: a distant rumble of thunder.

“Shut it.” Joel says, pointing at Jimmy threateningly. “If we get struck by lighting and miss breakfast, Lizzie’ll kill me.” This is, of course, not the threat he wants it to be and Grian and Jimmy fall over each other with laughter. When they finally straighten up, Joel is ahead of them and they rush—Jimmy slipping and nearly falling—to catch up.

“Do you guys remember that episode of Mythbusters?” Jimmy asks, once he’s caught his footing—and his breath—a bit.

“Which episode?” Joel asks, not kindly. “They made a lot.”

“About running versus walking in the rain?” Grian asks.

“Yeah!” Jimmy exclaims. “You remember the conclusion? I don’t.”

“No,” Grian admits and Joel groans.

“Why’d you bring it up if you don't remember the conclusion?” he asks the sky, throwing his head back.

“I thought Grian might!” Jimmy protests but he’s drowned out by Joel making choking noises. They all stop immediately.

“I just swallowed so much rainwater.” Joel croaks, looking a little red but fine, and Jimmy has to laugh.

“Why would you look up when it’s raining?” Grian admonishes, but he’s rubbing the part of Joel’s back that isn’t covered by his bag.

“I wasn’t thinking.” Joel straightens up and Jimmy doubles over, laughing harder. “C’mon let’s keep moving.” He tugs Jimmy’s arm.

“He’s delirious.” Grian says, pushing Jimmy from behind.

Together, they push-pull Jimmy to the intersection before the campus entrance and, with barely a glance, decide to cross without waiting for the crosswalk light. There’s no traffic anyway and, unsurprisingly, no one else out as they make their way to Jimmy and Joel’s dorm.

They make one last turn and, as if on cue, the rain slows to a steady drizzle. Jimmy, too tired to be mad, tilts his head back to feel the rain across his face.

“This is fucking bullshit.” Joel gripes.

“You’re the one who wanted to leave right then.” Grian points out, his own tiredness removing the usual sharpness of his teasing edge.

“Oh I’m Grian and I can perfectly predict the weather.” Joel says mockingly, never too tired to be insulted.

Grian, of course, has to respond. “Oh, I’m Joel and I’m so worried my girlfriend’s gonna be mad at me I make my friends walk half a mile in the middle of a flood warning.”

Before Joel can reply, Jimmy steps between them and slings an arm over each of their shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here this weekend.” He says. He’s sleepy and a little too earnest and probably putting a little too much weight on his friends but he’s ridiculously happy to have his two best friends with him.

“Gross Tim,” Grian and Joel complain in unison, but neither of them move away.

By the time they’re squelching up the stairs and entering the dorm the rain has stopped completely. Joel and Jimmy’s room is illuminated by moonlight streaming in through the permanently broken blinds. Joel immediately starts spreading his notes out on the air conditioning unit to dry. Jimmy finds a pair of shorts and a t-shirt (that was probably Grian's to begin with) to give Grian to sleep in. He grabs his towel and slimy shower caddy and heads to the hall’s bathrooms.

When he gets back, there’s wet stuff everywhere and the room is starting to smell like wet dog and sweaty boys and old pennies. Whatever, that’s a problem for Monday Jimmy.

Jimmy pulls on the shorts and t-shirt he uses as pajamas and clambers onto his slightly too-tall bed. Grian’s already made himself comfortable and he squints, half-asleep, at Jimmy. “That’s my t-shirt,” he grumbles.

“Shush,” Jimmy replies, nudging Grian to the side so he can fully fit on his own bed. Grian, begrudgingly, accommodates him. Jimmy falls asleep tucked against Grian’s familiar frame, tired and happy and finally dry.

#life series #traffic smp #bad boys #limited life #jimmy solidarity #grian #smallishbeans #limited life smp #my fic #chaddex #lddf-verse

[isfjmel-phleg]

I timelined Grant's solo series, and it gets even worse if you realize how short a timeframe everything takes place within.

Damage #1-6 and #0 take place over about three days, probably not too far into the school year (September?). In this timeframe, Grant

starts at a new school,

discovers he has extremely destructive powers that he can't control,

accidentally explodes and destroys his school,

returns home to find his parents gone and almost gets kidnapped,

tries to rescue his parents only for them to betray him,

witnesses his parents' murder,

causes another explosion,

goes on the run,

gets in multiple fights,

finds out that the couple who raised him weren't really his parents,

gets sucked into the Zero Hour event in which he must create an explosion to restart the universe,

and finally gets so overwhelmed by mounting frustrations and emotions that he accidentally blows up downtown Atlanta and has to turn himself in to the authorities.

Within the last 48 hours of all this time, he is running on no sleep and almost no food. He's under tremendous stress, is having to handle everything pretty much on his own, and actually it's a wonder he holds up for as long as he does.

Damage #7, which deals with his trial for the destruction of Atlanta, confirms that it is indeed autumn and takes place after Grant has spent several weeks being scrutinized in a lab. Probably three weeks at most--any more and it would have been described as a month.

But it's probably only two weeks, since New Titans #0, in which Grant begins his first stint with the Titans, confirms that it's been about two weeks after Zero Hour. His subsequent adventures with them cover just a few days, but by the time he leaves to look for answers about his parentage in New Titans #119, it's January. Grant claims in Damage #8 that he discovered his powers only a few weeks ago, but even if ignoring the New Titans timeline, it doesn't quite fit into what's already been established in his solo. Therefore, assuming that he joins the Titans in October at the earliest, he is with them for about three months. Perhaps closer to two.

Grant's search for answers in Damage #8-12 lasts about a week, during which time he gets into a lot of fights, reunites with his uncle the supervillain and inadvertently frees him from prison, fails to save the life of a girl he has feelings for, and learns the identity of his real parents. A lot to process.

Two days later, in Damage #13, he gets into a fight with his teammates and destroys a friendship, attends Mandra's funeral, and starts to address his grief. Three days later in #14-15 he teams up with Ray to try to catch his uncle (unsuccessfully), tries to connect with the Justice League League Task Force, gets abducted by Vandal Savage, learns the truth about his having DNA from most of the original JLA and JSA, visits his biological parents' graves, and meets several of his genetic "fathers." At some point around this time, he turns seventeen, and the birthday goes unnoticed. He claims to Ray that they met "a couple months back" at Zero Hour, when it's been a bit longer than that, but that's easy to chalk up as his being imprecise.

By Damage #16, he's in space with the Titans for an unspecified but probably fairly brief amount of time, and within the next few days after that, he discovers that he can use his powers to fly, almost kills Rose Wilson by accident, has an unfortunately very televised public outburst in Damage #17, quits the Titans for good on very poor terms in New Titans #127, and proceeds to run away to Florida.

His time in Florida in Damage #18-20 lasts for about a day, which involves multiple intense fights, another catastrophic explosion, getting possessed by a telepathic virus, mentally willing himself to fight it off, and teaching himself how to expend an extreme amount of energy without causing any harm. Then a few days later, the series ends as he meets up with his real father's godson.

So the entire series takes place over the span of four or five months at the most, September or October through January or early February. Within just several months Grant goes from being the apparently ordinary (albeit friendless) child of apparently ordinary parents to having potentially lethal powers and no parents or guidance while on the run from the law for breaking the terms of his sentence--at age seventeen. He has almost no time to process all the horrific events that life keeps throwing at him--he even comments on this at one point!--and no choice but to keep going on.

He's on the run for an unspecified amount of time afterward, and when he joins the Titans again, it's once more only for a fairly short time. Titans 1999 #12 situates the narrative about four months after the group re-forms, and Grant leaves the team less than two weeks later in #19. No relatively stable situation lasts long for him, no relationships get longer than several months to cultivate until he has to move on. It's not unlike the constant moving his "family" did his entire life. No matter what happens, no matter what team he joins or friends he makes, Grant can never seem to find the lasting stability that he needs to thrive, and that's part of what makes his story so ultimately tragic. He neither asks for nor deserves any of this.

#comicsposting again #GE: what I do is who I am #I didn't have the patience to timeline Grant's JSA era but I'd bet it doesn't last that long either #he's probably no more than nineteen when he dies #goodness only knows what's going on with him in current continuity since no one is actually featuring his character in any meaningful way

[themuse-if]

How would the ROs react to a MC that been focusing on their major up to the point they been forgetting to take care of themselves?

This is a really good scenario! Very likely you'll see something like this in the IF. Ok so I'm gonna set this in the crush stage.

For context only the other freshmen and Silas (the RA) live on the same hall as the MC, so that's: Maxine, Roxanne/Robbie, Joleen/Johnny, Delphine/Desmond, Everly/Everett, Rina/Ren, and Silas of course.

Roxanne/Robbie: *knocks on MC's dorm, comes in and immediately starts pulling out MC's clothes* Oh yeah sorry. I was just looking for your fit for tonight. Of course we're going out. Wait...ARE YOU STUDYING!? nope. NOPE! Put. The. Book. Down. Looks like it's time for an intervention. So here it goes. Me you and the rest of the gang are going out. We're gonna listen to some good music and dance and rage and just have a fantastic night. I know for a fact that your grades are fine, no better than fine. A few nights of letting loose aren't gonna ruin that. So, get your ass up and put this on, then meet me in the common area in 15. *struts out*

Joleen/Johnny: *finds MC in the library* Hey MC. *smile* I haven't seen you around outside of here and classes. You look a little meh, still super cute, but just kinda down you know. When was the last time you got some fresh air? Mmm that long? *reaches over and grabs your hand* Do you want to go for a walk in the park with me? We can just walk around and find some open space to lay out and listen to some tunes. You're down? Ok lets head out. Maybe we should grab some snacks too. *rubs their stomach* I got hungry while looking for you. *sighs*

Delphine/Desmond: *cooking up a storm in the common room kitchen* *MC is drawn out by the intoxicating smell* Oh look who's here. *smirks* Yeah I'm making (MC's favorite food). Yeah I know. So what if you only told me once, I pay attention. *grins* Yeah everyone will probably be following the scent out here pretty soon. I noticed that you've been keeping to yourself a lot lately, so I wanted to try and incorporate you back into a normal social routine. No need to thank me. Just make sure to take time for yourself and your friends. We kind of like you. *chuckles*

Rina/Ren: *texts MC, hey could you come out to the common room* I Made some stuff for poke bowls but it's too much for me to eat alone. Do you want some? Yeah? Cool. *subtle smile* So how's it going? I haven't seen you around lately. Oh I see you've just been studying. Anything else? And going to your part time job. Well what about self care? You don't have time? Of course you do. You just need to get your schedule in proper order. You have classes, work studying, and club activities, just take a moment to look and see where there are gaps. Don't take up all of your free time with 6 hours of studying. Set aside some time each day for to rest, and when you have extra time try to do things you enjoy. *laughs to themself* Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like a self help book. We'll this was a good talk. Maybe we could hang out when you've got some extra free time.

Everly/Everett: *sees MC in the common room* Oh hey! Where are you heading? Oh back to your room to study. On a Friday night? Actually no. What do you mean, what do I mean? All I'm saying is that its Friday night and we are in the prime of our youth. You can't spend every spare second studying! There's this party later, you should come...with me... You're in ok cool. Meet me in the common room around 11. Yes P.M. *rolls there eyes and chuckles* Alright see you later.

Karla: *lightly taps on MC's door* So...I think we should have a chat. I know that your freshman year can be a bit overwhelming, it can be hard to organize your priorities. I just wanted to say that you shouldn't stretch yourself to thin. If you only focus on your studies then you're just gonna burn out super quick. And since your studying on a Saturday *gives you a pointed look of concern* I'd say you're in pretty deep. So cancel whatever you have planned for tomorrow *under their breath, "not much I assume"* We are going out for brunch and then we're gonna explore. Ok, I'll text you the details later.

Faye: *texts MC: Hey! meet me outside of your building. I've got a surprise! 🤗* Hey! *gives MC a big hug, pulls back and lifts up picnic basket* Look what I have! You've been holed up in your room or at the library, and it's feel like I haven't seen you outside in forever. So I took it upon my self to prepare a super special picnic just for you. *locks arms with MC* Let's get going! I want to show you one of my favorite spots while it's still light out!

Sebastien: *knocks on door* Hello! It's me, Sebastien! Can I com in! *opens door* I come with food! *sets down your new favorite Chinese takeout* Oh you look busy. Maybe you could take a quick break. We could have dinner and watch a show. Remember you said you would show me your favorite shows? Ok, you will, oh thank god. *relieved sigh* I don't know what I would have done with all this food if you said no. *starts laying everything out* Ok you go ahead and pick a show I'll set up the food.

Maxine: *storms into MC's room and snatches their book away* Ok, let's go. Me, you, and some extra buttery popcorn are gonna see (insert title movie here) then we're going to stuff our faces, and then we're gonna lounge around the dorm with some face masks on. You've been doing nothing but studying and now its time for some fun! I miss you! It's no fun having a bookish zombie for a best friend. Grades are important but you don't have to overwork yourself.

Silas: *knocks on MC's door, opens door and stays in doorway* Hey MC, I just wanted to check in. I haven't seen you at any hall events lately. I see your hitting the books pretty hard. *points to the ominous stack of books* When was the last time you went out with some friends? Wow. That long? Ok not to sound like your RA or anything *laughs at his own dry joke* but you need to get out more, actually enjoy your collegiate experience. We're having a game night later, I hope to see you there. *sends a cheeky grin MC's way*

#interactive fiction #interactive if #twine if #twine interactive fiction #if: themuse #themuse if #extras

[fatalfangirl]

15 Questions | 15 People

Rules: Answer these 15 Questions, then Tag 15 People 

Thank you @facewithoutheart, @cutestkilla, @larkral, @technetiumai, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @shrekgogurt, @artsyunderstudy, @aristocratic-otter, and @theearlgreymage for the tags 💕

1. Are you named after anyone? 

Only my middle name, which I shared with my dad until I lost it in a rushed, lunch-hour courthouse wedding ceremony.

2. When was the last time you cried? 

I teared up several times recently over fandom things I read/listened to and while watching Derry Girls, but the last time I full on cried I can't recall... the only thing that jumps to mind is when I was overwhelmed on a trip last month.

3. Do you have kids? 

No.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? 

Not at all. I actively avoid it.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? 

Their general attitude and energy level. Physically, it's typically what they're wearing.

6. What’s your eye color? 

Blue.

7. Scary movies or happy ending? 

If I am watching a movie (which is a rare thing on it's own), it will not be anything even remotely scary. I get nightmares over the stupidest shit.

8. Any special talents? 

Related to the above nightmares point, I can wake myself from dreams pretty easily. I can write a solid creative brief. I am decent at public speaking.

9. Where were you born? 

New York (and not the cool part)

10. What are your hobbies? 

Writing, complaining about writing, playing video games (which is really only Genshin Impact at this point), hiking, consuming copious amounts of BL web comics, reading (manga), watching tv (anime).

11. Do you have any pets? 

Yes. A 15 year old tuxedo cat who is lazy and lovely and wants stomach rubs all the time.

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

Soccer (mostly outdoor, but I played indoor on and off too) until I got too injured. Growing up I also did track and field - 100m hurdles, 4x100, triple jump. Closest I am to sports these days is hiking and running. I like going to all types of games though, I grew up in a very sports forward home.

13. How tall are you?

5'7"

14. Favorite subject at school?

I was never very fond of classes at school in general. I powered through college a year early so I could just be done 😅. Maybe math in high school because it was straightforward. Do the thing, get the result. But I went to school for writing because I had this dream of being a tortured artist or something. I always imagined myself as this cool, detached writer wearing a beret. (I did end up in a writing field and I did happen to wear a beret today but I am not even remotely detached. I am decidedly too attached.)

15. Dream job? 

Not working 😂 I took a year off from working for reasons and I did not get bored. I filled my days, I was happy, it was lovely. But if I have to work, I think doing what I am now is sort of the dream. I work in an industry I'm personally passionate about. What I do brings people joy. I am comfortable and experienced enough that I'm able to dodge imposter syndrome. Plus, I can turn it off when the day is done. What more could you want?

Alright tagging folks who I apology to if you've already done this. @moodandmist, @bookish-bogwitch, @martsonmars, @chen-chen-chen-again-chen, @palimpsessed, @stardustasincocaine, @mostlymaudlin, @captain-aralias, @skeedelvee, and @raenestee.

#i don't know what to label this as #probably as too much info for someone who is weird about internet security

[rahleeyah]

I get where you're coming from regarding reviews that only ask for more content but it would also be nice if you acknowledged the reviews you get. I genuinely love your writing and I've commented plenty on your stories and heard nothing back. A simple thank you will do to show commenter that they're not speaking into a void. It's fine if you don't answer this publicly, I'm not trying to stir up drama.

I am actually really glad you said this, bc it gives me a chance to say why I don't:

It is completely overwhelming to me.

It feels daunting. It feels impossible. Even though there aren't that many, compared to other fandoms that are much bigger, the thought of responding to every single one makes me so anxious that I can't.

I want, very much, to write. I don't necessarily want to be a social media manager. And you have to be, on that level, bc this fandom is full of big opinions and I have seen so many people eaten alive over the last two years that I remain terrified, frightened that if I so much as express a thought everyone will immediately stop reading my work and I will be left alone with no one to share these stories with. Why do you think I don't tweet my thoughts? I am debilitatingly anxious.

A lot of comments say things like "I love this"; to which I can only say thank you. How many times can I say thank you before it makes me look trite and dismissive? No matter how much I mean it, how performative, how patronizing do those multiple thank yous start to look? Especially when I'm updating every day pretty much? I am asking this in full seriousness, if I said thank you in response to one of your comments, and you looked and saw fourteen other variations of "thank you" all in a row in the comments, would you actually feel that I had been gracious or would I look like a dick? Genuinely, sincerely, I do not say "thank you" every time bc I feel like that would make me look like a pretentious asshole. I have landed where I have bc I really thought no answer was better than a perfunctory, rote answer repeated over and over multiple times a week.

Some comments ask questions I can't answer without spoiling the story. Some comments come from perspectives I disagree with. Some comments bug me but were well intentioned. If I am to respond to every single one I have to carefully think my way through every word I say, don't give too much away, don't offend this person, don't express too much of an opinion bc then people will stop reading. There's 15 comments on last night's chapter; am I supposed to do this 15 times, every day, as a service? Haven't I already provided the service by writing? I wrote, someone commented, we have both ticked our boxes and performed our function in the ecosystem have we not?

Or am I supposed to write, and edit, and post, and provide links on multiple platforms, and then parse thru all of these comments and try to appease everyone and make sure that every single reader gets a response tailored made to them, and do this every single day (we're talking at least an extra hour's worth of work, every time I post, when I have already put hours in); is it my job to do all of that, in return for one comment? How much exactly is expected of me here, and is that exchange equitable?

I do respond to some comments. I responded to one last night, to clarify a point someone had asked about, and I do that when questions crop up, questions that can be answered without spoiling the story for others bc AO3 comments are public. I responded to people on in the blood who shared their own adoption stories with me, bc those statements were profound and I wanted them to know how deeply I appreciated them.

I am not a monster. I'm just anxious, and very tired.

#anonymous

[dougrobyngoold]

Last Morning in France, Late Flight to Porto - Bordeaux, France & Porto, Portugal

We had a late afternoon flight to Porto, Portugal today and we had to be out of our Airbnb in Bordeaux by 11:00. So we packed up and spent a few hours exploring a bit more of Bordeaux. Click on the ALT to get descriptions of the pictures!

We finished our time in Bordeaux with a cold beer at a Scottish pub! I think we were "wined out". We would definitely come back for another visit to this beautiful city - there is a lot to see and do. Also, the people we met were very friendly and welcoming.

Our experience flying out of Bordeaux was a bit of an adventure. We arrived at the airport and needed to check in. The check-in board told us to go to check-in desk #59 - we only saw numbers going up to 24 and no signs that told us where the other desks were. We finally got in line at an Iberia desk (not the airline we were flying, but they had the shortest luggage-drop line) and the guy told us that we had to go to the Bilbi building to check in. So we followed the Bilbi signs and finally got to the right location and checked in without any problems. The clerk there told us that we had to go back to the main terminal to get to our gate. We headed back and went through the security point - what a mess that was! You had to take all electronics out of your bags AND they were making EVERYONE re-bag their liquids into a zip-lock bag that they provided. That took a minute! Adding to the confusion and back-up, every other person going through the scanner was setting it off. So they had a line of people that were waiting to be patted down by the security personnel, who had to wait on the non-screened side of the scanner, as well as the line of people waiting to go through the scanner. On top of that, it was extremely hot in the security area - we were very happy to finally make our way through all of that. We then had to walk a ways out to our gate, only to find that area to have no seating area - people were laid out on the floor everywhere! They finally started letting people board, but what they really did was just move us all into another area inside the terminal. After another 15 minutes of waiting, they finally let us get on the airplane. Good grief! It seems that the volume of people flying in and out of Bordeaux has overwhelmed their airport! On to Porto!

We arrived safely to our Airbnb in Porto, always an adventure to navigate the public transportation when all the information/signs are in another language! We checked in to our Airbnb, dumped off our backpacks, and made a quick trip to the local market for food and wine. We enjoyed a little wine, cheese, and bread on our rooftop terrace. We then watched the sun set over Porto - ready to do a little exploring tomorrow.

#bordeaux #france #porto #portugal

[nothingneverforever]

Stuff I’ve just watched and almost completely did not enjoy

First, Superstore (2015-2021): I watched this show mostly while getting ready for work in the morning or brushing my teeth at night, really just moments where I’m not focusing much and needing to wind up/down, but there were probably only 5 minutes of all the six seasons that I enjoyed even remotely. I know it seems to be a sitcom must-have but really, does every character have to be unlikable? Is that really the only way to depict realness? And I don’t think they were intended to all be insufferable but then again, how could the characters not intentionally have been written that way? Were we actually supposed to feel endeared to their irritating qualities? Which never changed from start to end btw

Did I cry from being utterly moved in the last 10 minutes of the very last episode of the sixth season, yes. Does that mean anything, absolutely not omfg in fact as I’m typing this I’m reminded more and more of how irritating this shit was… and why do Americans only know how to write about or talk about or involve themselves in sex? Can fucking grow up or not seriously

Ok fuck this shit too I’m sorry I am not anywhere near invested enough to find a better or more effective or astute way of conveying this complaint. When this film first showed up on my home page, I was okayishly-interested since I find Gabrielle Union likeable enough (also thinking of her makes me think of her husband who makes me think of LeBron which is an ever-pleasant experience naturally) but also the male lead Keith Powers is someone who bring such nostalgia, I remember being in my teens and following the fashion world quite closely for whatever nonsense reason and specifically keeping up with the models and runway shows for the sake of saving the pictures as inspiration for my then-“art” creation (OGs remember howmanybrothers…). Anyway, I remember Keith from this era so well : https://black-boys.tumblr.com/post/89627223362/keith-powers-calvin-klein-ss-15/amp

And of course, I excused or perhaps even allowed the ridiculous age gap the leads have (IRL as well as in the show which is about 20 years) because ummmm feminismmsms and reverse sexism ain’t real right gang 😂😅 but anyway yes obviously I was entering into my viewing ready to enjoy a joke of an experience but

Bruh

Fuck this disgusting shit dude

Yes, the leads are talking about sex and yes, the male character wants to ruin and destroy and demolish the female character in this context …. Shocking!!!!!!!!!

We really can’t have one single fucking romance movie that isn’t pornified in language or imagery or reference huh

Anyway I stopped the movie at that point obviously cos I fucking died

And then again obviously I continued about 3 hours later when I’d run out of cat videos to watch and I need constant constant feed of media input lest I pause and think about work or the rest of my life and add to my alter act overwhelming amount of stress….

And the movie got worse guys she got preggers and they stayed together also she is his mom’s age in the show and they are long-time nemeses so yea 😂😂😂 this is the society liberals want?!!!??!!!??

May my next Netflix watch be something lovely and warm and real and no freaking stupid idiot sex references or scene or whatever boring unimaginative shiat pls…

Anyway I rewatched Haunting of Hill House recently and it was the best ever hehe!

[agatablogging]

Arctic Monkeys Concert

Last weekend, I went to the Arctic Monkeys concert in London at the Emirates stadium. It being my first ever concert, I found myself slightly overwhelmed, which was followed by travelling in London through the Underground, also something that I wasn't very familiar with. Once all the stress was put behind me, I found myself surrounded by thousands of people enjoying the same things that I did.

It took hours for the stadium to fill up, as thousands of seats became covered in people flashing the torches on their phones. Almost not noticeable if not for the blinding light, followed by screams of excitement.

Due to it being my first time at a concert, I made the foolish and naive mistake of not realising when the concert actually began. Originally, I had thought that the concert would begin at 5, as that's what the ticket said. I read online that the Arctic Monkeys act took 90 minutes, so I assumed I'd be out by 7pm. Little did I know, I was let into the concert at 5:30, only to be seated. It was quite the mistake to make, as I had friends waiting for me in London... still unaware that they would be waiting till roughly midnight when we arrived in London for around 11 in the morning.

When the supporting acts began, not all the seats were taken still. Many people waited for the "real" start of the show, when the Arctic Monkeys arrived. I didn't see the point in not being there from start to finish, especially as I arrived an hour before we were even let inside the stadium. If I was going to pay so much money to see an artist I love, I will get every second I possibly can from this experience.

The supporting acts weren't anyone I ever heard of, but I suppose I do live under a rock when it comes to discovering new artists. The acts were enjoyable, as the loud music and sounds began to quickly deafen me. For the concert, I was seated in the upper isle, giving me perfect view of the stage, and the mosh pit beneath me- which quickly began acting wild.

People began dancing, singing, and doing everything they wanted. For quite some time, I observed something that looked like a fight, which was broken apart quickly. People without shirts on began pushing each other around, which I can only assume was their form of fun due to the smiles that I could see on their faces. Nevertheless, as quickly as it was broken apart, it still occurred often at the concert, always in the same place.

After one support act, came the other, clearly much more experienced, and charismatic. With loud rock music blaring from the speakers, people only grew louder, wanting more validation for their screams.

Outside the stadium, I noticed some very fancy looking apartment blocks, which I can only imagine must have been either a blessing or torture having to hear concerts none stop. I suppose it must depend on your style in music, as I can definitely say with certainty that the entire local area heard this concert due to how loud it was.

Turning 8pm, I looked at my friend in horror as we realised on how wrong I actually was. My other friends in London were stranded with their phones near 0% with most shops closing, as we weren't any closer to being finished. My phone was on 15%, realising that I would need to pay for the underground I quickly turned my data off, and began to enjoy the main act of the show.

The stage was impressively designed, with a massive wheel in the middle - which I assumed was meant to resemble a car wheel due to the concert being a tour of their new album: The Car. Just before the concert began, on the huge monitors it displayed the little car icons such as the engine icon, which I felt was a nice touch.

Once the act finally started, the wheel began showcasing different camera angles of the band members- which looked glorious on the large screens. Smoke and lights surrounded the stage, followed by music louder than before. It was something extraordinary, as the stadium was now full, with everyone singing, screaming, and clapping.

As the darkness surrounded the sky, the brightly coloured lights on the stage surrounded the area. When the songs began, everyone joined in unison to sing along. It was something that put a smile on my face, as for years I used to be insecure about my music taste, and now so many people were experiencing their favourite artist in the same place as me, and they were happy.

I joined in with the singing and clapping, to the point that my hands and thighs turned sore. Ignoring the pain and numbness, I kept going, deciding that this was an experience more important than the pain, something that changed my life forever. The songs kept going, which only made the crowd grow more insane. Some people had canisters of pink smoke that they opened anytime their favourite song played, while others waves a yellow banana inflatable. It was a bizarre experience when I would reach for my drink, and I would feel vibrations inside the cup, and inside my stomach. It like as if I was swallowing sounds, rather than liquid.

When the clock reached 10pm, it was all over. All that excitement and joy finally left people as they began turning drunk from the cheap beer they had bought at the stadium. Leaving the loud concert hall, I found myself partially deaf, having to scream into his ear to say the simplest things. Naturally, this was something I should have expected but I did go into the concert with a "vibes only" mindset and didn't know what I was getting myself into.

We quickly made our way out the stadium, and to the Underground. While all seemed well, we made our way to the station ever-so quickly, there was one mistake we didn't factor in. This station was closed, and we were roughly 20 minutes away from the next one. Swiftly turning around, we used our phones which were 5% and 20% and found our way to the station. The streets now overran with drunk people, we decided we had to run to the station to make it in time and try to overtake everyone.

It was the first time in a very long time that I had actually ran, and it was the first time in such a stressful situation that I felt no stress whatsoever. When I look back at the experience now, I see myself as an idiot, but in the moment, it was so much fun.

When we were close to the next station, we ran into the crowd who was also heading there. Everyone was singing and vibing, with half the crowd definitely being intoxicated. We were left with two options, stay in the back or try to navigate through. Choosing the latter, we zigzagged past people, constantly looking back to ensure we didn't lose each other in the crowd of hands.

Almost falling over a plant pot, we made it to the station. Not being educated on the underground, we had a choice to go left or go right, as no signs told us where to go. We went left, and luckily made the right decision as it was exactly where our tube was. We jumped on and found seats not long after. It was now 11pm, before my friends' phones died, we were texted that the last tube to Richmond left Kings cross at 11:30, which gave us very little time to get the tube that we needed, or we would need to find alternative ways to travel to the Richmond carpark.

Finally leaving the tube, we rushed our way to our next station. Laughing at the situation, we had to run up the stairs, to not miss our next tube. It was now 11:40 at our next station, and I almost fell down the stairs as I jumped up every 2 steps. I do not recommend doing that after only having 3 hours of sleep the night before.

As soon as we ran up the stairs, our tube arrived and left 30 seconds later. If we never jumped up those stairs, we wouldn't have gotten on the tube in time. We made it, we could relax and head to Richmond. Our friends no longer had any charge in their phones, so it was impossible to communicate, we weren't certain whether they were waiting at our next station or at the car.

After almost falling asleep on the tube, we finally came off and reunited with our friends. They had been waiting for us for hours and saw many other people in Arctic Monkeys merch arrive before us. We were roughly 2 hours late, as we arrived at Richmond at midnight.

The drive home was roughly 2 hours, and I think I passed out on the couch as soon as I got home.

Lesson learned: Read more about events.

#arctic monkeys #concert #arctic monkeys concert #arctic monkeys the car #arctic monkeys 2023 #writing #blog #blogging #author #experience #2023 #london #underground #tube #story time #concert 2023

[keikigoodbetter]

....howdy, everyone! Looooong time no see 😅😅

I’m sitting in my room right now, waiting as a friend drives over to spend the last few hours of 2022 with me, and I thought I’d try to put down a few of my thoughts as I reflect on the year. It’s been a while since I checked in for real with y’all and for that I am very sorry. (fwiw I dropped contact with quite a few folks irl too, so it wasn’t just you lol)

2022 repeatedly hit my blindside and hit it HARD. I spent a lot of the year in reaction-mode as surprises both good and bad kept coming at me fast; this year had some of the worst lows of my life, but also some of the best highs. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

At the risk of being too personal, here’s an overview of some of My Notable 2022 Moments:

Start the year about 8 months into a really good headspace, to the point where my psychiatrist agrees that if I’m still A-ok by springtime then I can likely step off my antidepressants!!

Help move my Grandma out of her home and into a memory care facility

Have surgery

May 7: Go dancing with friends I haven’t seen in years, to celebrate being alive and together and that I’ve finally finished my degree

May 10: Find out my parents have filed for divorce and will be selling my childhood home, that our family build by hand, by the end of the summer

May 14: GRADUATE COLLEGE!

May 15: One of my best friends goes in for surgery because her pain-management implant is no longer functional. There are complications and she needs 3 more surgeries before the month is over

Return to martial arts after years away

Help babysit the very sweet toddler-age child of someone I went to gradeschool with. (Have an existential breakdown about how old I suddenly am and how unlikely it is at this point that I’ll get to be a mom)

All summer: help clear out my Grandma’s things from her house, move my dad’s things to his new house, move the rest of our family’s things to my mom’s new house, and do repairs and cleaning at our old house

Have to start reminding myself again to get out of bed and eat and not walk into traffic

A best friend flies in from out-of-state to go with me to a disco night

See the Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup Championship Parade!

Make a great costume and go to the Renaissance Festival in drag

Officially move out of our house; August and September are time soup

A friend from college that I’ve dearly missed moves back to Colorado

SEE MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE LIVE

My brother gets injured

Our house sells

TWO of my job applications that I was really excited for pan out and I’m asked to interview for both of them. The one I like better calls and offers me the position within 3 days! I’m going to start part-time at the local library in January!!! 😭😆

I spend an amazing afternoon with a friend on a maybe-a-date... 👀

I see many friends and family and have a wonderful holiday season

  ....Realize I might feel ok again soon

 (and, as usual, I also saw a lot of great concerts this year!)

....WHEW. Like I said, it was A Lot All The Time. Sorry to overshare 😅  but I just - idk - I feel like I need to write it down somewhere so there’s a record of all the shit that I experienced in the last 12 months. And I feel like some of you are my legit friends and might care about some of these developments? lol idk 😅 sorry if that’s presumptuous.

Anyways, all this to say that I know I’m not particularly an outlier and that most people have crazy things happen all the time. That’s life! But I hope that if you had a rough year (like me), that things turn around for you soon (also like me?). There is always the promise of something wonderful happening just as much as there is the risk of something terrible; and I think growing up is learning to balance the threat of those two extremes without falling down for too long when a new circumstance hits you.

I grew so much in the last year and for the first time in a long time I’m actually excited about what the future might look like for me! 2023 will be hard and full of new challenges, but I think I’ll be ok. And I think you all will be, too.

💖💖💖

All of my love, forever and ever,

C.

#howdy everybody #I did miss talking to you and I promise to be better next year!! #Also if you ever want to chat pls just let me know I'm ALWAYS lurking even if I'm not posting #Anyways happy New Years and blessings to all of you for the year ahead <3 #My life #2022 #Happy New Year

[basalamander-corner]

Camp NaNoWriMo Week 3 Progress

The first two weeks went by smoothly, and I reached the halfway point of my goal yesterday, which is awesome! Unfortunately, I didn't finish part 2 yet, as it's shaping up to be a bit longer than I expected it to. Regardless, progress is still progress!

Project Name: The Shifting Tides (side blog is @the-shifting-tides-wip)

Goal: 30k words

Tagline: Sometimes we must fight for a future we ourselves cannot see.

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT+, Romance, Adventure, Young Adult

Week 3 progress under the cut!

Day 15

Words typed: 533

Total words: 15,796

Times updated: 2

Although I updated twice today, I didn't write very much. Regardless, I'm still at my word count goal for today! The voyage has finally brought Saran and co. to the island, and hopefully in a few chapters we'll get to the main plot!

Day 16

Words typed: 1,177

Total words: 16,973

Times updated: 1

Woohoo! I skipped around a little from here (because that's my writing process, lol) and got to one of the more pivotal events of this draft. Specifically, the following line:

And in a single, fluid motion, the lepinl surged forward, skewering Saran with their massive horns.

I'll go back to write part 2 at a later date. Maybe not this month, but I'll have to finish it eventually.

Day 17

Words typed: 999

Total words: 17,972

Times updated: 1

Yo! I typed a pretty cool number today, exactly one away from 1k! I probably could have made it into 1k if I really wanted to, but honestly I was getting tired. I started writing at 10:30pm and finished just before midnight, so I honestly needed the break!

Day 18

Words typed: 181

Total words: 18,153

Times updated: 1

I'm hoping this will be the lowest number I type for this project. I've been really burnt out even though we're so close to being done! I think it has more to do with my recital coming up and the fact that I'm overwhelmed with schoolwork more than my draft, though.

Day 19

Words typed: 1,149

Total words: 19,302

Times updated: 1

I thought yesterday was a fluke, and it looks like I was right! I managed to write over 1k words in one sitting today (and that sitting lasted about an hour), so I feel really good about it. I just finished one of the most heartbreaking scenes in this draft so far, and I'm loving how much I've tortured Saran. This next scene will help move forward his relationship with Viridian, and I'm hoping to get to their first "awkwardly romantic" scene at some point!

Day 20

Words typed: 989

Total words: 20,291

Times updated: 1

Viridian and Saran's relationship is very rocky at the moment. Viridian has discovered that Saran is actually a holindal, and he's not sure how to feel! He thinks Saran is about to kill him, although Saran tries to convince him he won't actually do that. It's going to take a little while before they can learn to trust each other...

Day 21

Words typed: 1,124

Total words: 21,415

Times updated: 2

Although it won't be this way on the NaNo website, I actually updated twice today! Once during class (I know, I should have been focusing!) and once later at night. I did skip around a little because the inspiration for the current chapter wasn't hitting me, but that doesn't matter!

There's only 9 days left, a little over a week! I can't believe I've made it this far, and I hope I can continue updating daily!

@the-wip-project

#camp nanowrimo #camp nano 2023 #nanowrimo #ms: campers of 04 2023 #writeblr #writers on tumblr #creative writing #queer black writers #queer writers #queer fantasy #pirate fantasy #black writeblr #black writers #fantasy writing

[killerandhealerqueen]

for the fanfic end of the year asks, #7-16?

7. longest completed fic you wrote this year

Probably my fic S.C.I. 谜案集. However, it's a fic that carried over from last year, but I think it still counts. I completed it with 227,913 words. Longest fic that I wrote (or rewrote) this year would be In Too Deep with 62,178 words. Second longest completed fic that I wrote this year would be The Demon and the Angel with 53,869 words

8. shortest completed fic you wrote this year

Okay, my definition of short is like...not like others. But my short fic completed this year was Welcome Home with 1,210 words

9. longest wip of the year

My baby, 恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer. It's the Killer and Healer drama rewrite and so far we're at 172,474 words and 96 chapters

10. shortest wip of the year

None of my wips are short, anon...I don't really do short. So far, my other wips, 灵魂档案 | The Spirit Files and SPY x FAMILY are both about 36-37K (37,502 for The Spirit Files and 36,927 for SPY X FAMILY). The Spirit Files has 23 chapters so far and SPY X FAMILY has 18 chapters.

11. fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year

I always, always, always enjoy writing for the Killer and Healer fandom (I currently have the most fics written for said fandom and there will be more once I answer these prompts in my ask box). But I found that I also enjoyed writing for the Under the Skin fandom. The dynamic of the two leads is very similar to Killer and Healer and I think that's why I enjoyed writing for it as much as I did

12. favorite character to write about this year

I always enjoy writing about Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi (for me, they're kind of like a packaged deal)

13. favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

That's really hard to pick...I can write to pretty much whatever, so I don't have a specific song that I listen to when I write

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write

Can't Lose You for the Devil Judge fandom. I stopped writing for them mainly because I got overwhelmed with the amount of prompts that were coming in (I think I had like 80 asks in my ask box at one point and majority of them were TDJ prompts) but I had gotten a very nice anon requesting for the fic and because they were so nice about it/worded it so politely, I decided to write it.

15. something you learned this year

Something I learned this year is that I have no idea what my readers will like/will gravitate towards. Some fics I put a lot of time and effort into don't get that many kudos and another fic that was also good but not something that I spent like hours outlining and writing gets more kudos and bookmarks. It's very odd, but I don't blame my readers. I just think it's interesting

16. fic(s) you completed this year

Oh, this is gonna get long (because I wrote a lot), so I'm gonna just pop a "keep reading" here. But we'll be going by fandom for this. (Also, if you see a fic repeated in two different fandoms, that's because it's a crossover/has two fandoms in it)

Chimera (Korea TV)

I Missed You (4,220 words)

S.C.I.谜案集 | S.C.I. Mystery (TV)

Hypnotize Me (3,799 words)

Manhunter (13,726 words)

Cross Jurisdiction (8,194 words)

Happy Birthday, Cat (2,283 words)

"Z" for Zhan (9,431 words)

Burn the World to the Ground for You (4,274 words)

Release the Beast (3,971 words)

Yin and Yang (3,161 words)

双面神探 | Master Wait A Moment (TV)

Can't Lose You (2,892 words)

���宅猎人 | Psych-Hunter (TV)

Drunken Mistake (Sort Of) (1,872 words)

恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer (TV)

S.C.I. 谜案集 (227,913 words)

In Too Deep (62,178 words)

路人甲 | Passerby (50,954 words)

The Demon and the Angel (53,869 words)

Into the Woods (43,614 words)

圣痕 | Stigmata (24,479 words)

Beast & Feast (16,974 words)

The Detective and the Assassin (23,598 words)

Undercover (6,984 words)

Fever (5,071 words)

Safe and Sound (13,008 words)

Chen Yuzhi is MINE (6,360 words)

Cross Jurisdiction (8,194 words)

Miscommunication, My Beloved (3,800 words)

Burn the World to the Ground for You (4,274 words)

Don't Touch Jiang Yuelou's Doctor (5,798 words)

新年快乐 | Happy New Year (5,212 words)

The Demon of Jing City (14,095 words)

Sunshine and Pomegranates (10,438 words)

The Doctor's Bodyguard (11,509 words)

Ready for War (8,479 words)

Red Lipstick (2,645 words)

The Doctor and the Demon (9,409 words)

Pandora's Box (2,803 words)

Fate Led Me to You (6,078 words)

My Everything (3,995 words)

Sing For Me (7,326 words)

You're Safe Now (8,574 words)

Pretty Eyes, Pretty Knives (11,770 words)

A Beautiful Day with the Man I Love (3,225 words)

You're a Good Father, Jiang Yuelou (7,464 words)

Prettiest Flower in Town (5,902 words)

Asking Permission (2,998 words)

Hand in Bloody Hand (17,323 words)

Stake Me Through the Heart (7,292 words)

Two Heads are Better than One (2,897 words)

So This Is What Love Feels Like (1,833 words)

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries and Roses (3,213 words)

Good Kitty (2,487 words)

Sleep Well (1,678 words)

My Pirate, My Prince (8,144 words)

托斯卡的狗 | Dogs of Tosca (14,929 words)

心弦 | Heart Strings (12,194 words)

The Revolution (11,353 words)

死神 | The Grim Reapers (8,319 words)

Villain and Healer (7,720 words)

Tattoo on My Arm and In My Heart (2,355 words)

成化十四年 | The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty (TV)

Don't Touch My Family (2,835 words)

Two Heads are Better than One (2,897 words)

Welcome Home (1,210 words)

猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin (TV 2022)

Always Be There For You (4,514 words)

Walk You Home (4,505 words)

Golden Retriever, Black Cat (2,887 words)

Manhunter (13,726 words)

You're Not Alone (2,090 words)

Sink or Swim (1,863 words)

阴阳师 | Yīn Yáng Shī | The Yin-yang Master (Movies - Guo Jingming)

Bathed in Blood (3,787 words)

악마판사 | The Devil Judge (TV)

Family Surrounding Me (6,154 words)

My Judge (1,830 words)

Sweet Dreams (1,321 words)

Through the Eyes of Another (1,541 words)

Kang Yohan's Bodyguard (And Sugar Baby) (3,227 words)

Lullaby (2,151 words)

Bubble Tea and Guns (4,110 words)

Good Boy (4,767 words)

Oh Jinjoo's Keen Observation (2,797 words)

I'll Watch Over You (4,297 words)

Take a Bullet for You (4,610 words)

Indebted to You (5,325 words)

Can't Lose You (3,485 words)

Welcome Home (2,267 words)

fanfic end of the year asks | send me asks

#sass answers #anon edition #fanfic end of the year asks

[iron-parkr]

Hi, y'all.

Not sure if anyone'll see this or if anyone cares tbh. That's not me trying to get pity points or anything, I just know I've been gone for a hot second. I didn't mean to disappear for so long. This little hiatus was very much unplanned and unintentional but is not permanent. I'll explain under the cut.

You don't have to read all of this but long story short, the last couple of months have been A Lot.

Content warning up ahead for vague mental health stuff, animal death, medical stuff, broken bones, and religion (if anyone needs a warning for that)

I originally probably stepped away from Tumblr for a minute by accident because I got overwhelmed by the March OC Bingo stuff on top of my school stuff and whatnot. I'm hoping to maybe retroactively fill my Bingo card, but I honestly can't make any promises. The next few weeks are really busy, but I'll get to that in a second.

A big reason I accidentally pulled away is that my family had to make the incredibly difficult decision to put my dog to sleep in April. We'd had my dog for about 11 years and he literally felt like a third brother to me. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I was incredibly lucky that I was away at school and surrounded by friends on the actual day it happened, but I won't lie, it was fucking awful. My mental health was absolute shit. I got extra lucky that day because I was on a spiritual retreat that weekend and it helped guide me toward rekindling my relationship with God, which brought me a lot of peace exactly when I needed it. I'm by no means religious, even after the retreat, and I would never ever try to shove my nebulous beliefs down anyone's throat, but I personally have begun to find comfort in God again after years of struggling with faith in the wake of religious scandals and difficulties with organized religion, and I attribute that with keeping me sane after that weekend.

Reason #2: A little under two weeks ago, I had a little accident and ended up fracturing a bone in my foot and spraining my ankle (on the same leg). I was on crutches for a few days, but luckily I'm able to put weight on it in a boot, so I'm more mobile now. Overall, it's been genuinely one of the most frustrating things I've ever experienced. Not only are the broken foot and sprained ankle physically painful beyond belief, but it's just mentally and emotionally draining because I'm the type of person who hates having to ask for help and I've had to force myself to suck it up and ask for help so many times. I have no idea how long I have to wear the boot, and there's a chance I might need to do physical therapy after I'm cleared to take the boot off, it's all kind of up in the air.

Reason #3 is a bit more exciting - I'm graduating college! I finished my last semester of classes and exams this week and tomorrow (Saturday) I'll be graduating from my university summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA in both semesters of my senior year (hopefully, still waiting on a couple grades but it's looking good) and making the Dean's List all 8 semesters of undergrad. So, yeah, the last few weeks have been hectic with senior events, finishing up classes, and getting ready for graduation. It honestly still doesn't feel real. When I was 15, in high school, I swore up and down I wasn't going to go to college because the future seemed so overwhelming and terrifying, and now I'm only a few hours away from graduating. It's just... absolutely insane and I can only hope 15 y/o me would be proud of 22 y/o me.

Even though I haven't been posting or creating any edits on Tumblr, I've continued to write this whole time. I created an OC for Dragon Ball Z because it's my current hyperfixation and I'm currently working on the first draft of her second chapter. I've also been spending a lot of time on Kate Winchester, my Supernatural OC, rewriting the chapters I'd previously written and outlining a roadmap for the portion of the story that takes place before Supernatural begins. And I finally started looking at and working on Maggie Stark's next chapter, which feels really good considering I have a better idea of how to connect the cliffhanger from Chapter 5 (which was unplanned, surprisingly enough) to the plan/roadmap I already had. As an aside, I have a feeling that I'll also end up semi-hyperfixated on HP and Aquila, Liza, and Gracie once I get down to Florida and visit HP World at Universal Studios, so that's another fun thing to keep an eye out for.

I'm hoping to ease back into posting here on Tumblr, but I can't guarantee that I'll have pretty edits and gifsets out the wazoo. The next month or so is hectic but really exciting. I'm home next week, then I'll be in Spain and Rome on a pilgrimage trip until the beginning of June. After I come home, it'll be prep time because I'm supposed to start my Disney College Program at Disney World in mid-June. The broken foot may throw a wrench in those plans, which is a definite worry, but I won't know for sure until I see the doctor next week.

All that to say, I'm sorry for disappearing. You know life, it kinda sucks sometimes. And if you made it this far, thanks for reading and caring. But I'm hoping once I'm finished with school, and then once I get settled into life as a Disney World cast member, I'll be able to be more present on here <3

#this got so long i'm so sorry #just wanted to be transparent #it's been. A Lot to deal with #but here's hoping i can be more present and post more going forward #let's not reblog this if that's okay #unless you have to bc i know people are being shadowbanned #kate talks

[pathfinderunlocked]

First World Responder - CR9 Fey

This is the worst pun in any of these monster names yet (though the Funeralligator comes close).

Artwork by Ariimaw on Twitter.

A first world responder is a fey creature that specializes in medicine, and can often be found aiding other fey in dangerous situations where they would need a combat medic.  Most first world responders care very little for humanoids, considering them a disease that should be wiped out before they can destroy any more of the natural world.

In battle, they have the ability to fly simply by hovering.  They spend most of their turns healing their allies, and tend to flee if they’re left alone.  Their syringe attack is unlikely to hit, so they only use it against a vulnerable opponent.

Applying the Ability Focus feat to a disease probably isn’t technically legal, but I did it anyway, because making a whole post just for a homebrew Disease Focus feat would be absurd.

First World Responder - CR 9

The fluffily dressed nurse is holding a giant, glowing syringe full of bubbling pink liquid.

XP 6,400 CN Medium fey Init +3 Senses low-light vision; Perception +15

DEFENSE

AC 24, touch 18, flat-footed 21 (+5 deflection, +3 Dex, +6 natural) hp 115 (11d6+77); fast healing 10 Fort +15, Ref +10, Will +10 Immune poison, disease Weakness cold iron

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (good) Melee syringe +10 (1d2 piercing plus deadly syringe) Special Attacks deadly syringe, life drain

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th; concentration +15)      At will—cure serious wounds      3/day—heal, remove disease, break enchantment

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 17, Con 24, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 21 Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 23 Feats Ability Focus (Bog Rot), Ability Focus (Red Ache), Combat Casting, Skill Focus (Heal), Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (syringe) Skills Bluff +19, Diplomacy +19, Fly +21, Heal +23, Knowledge (nature) +12, Perception +17, Sense Motive +17 Languages Celestial, Sylvan SQ transfer life, unearthly grace Gear syringe (value 140 gp)

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Life Drain (Su) A first world responder can attempt to steal life energy from a target within 30 feet.  The target takes 6d6 damage; a DC 22 Fortitude save halves this damage.  The first world responder gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the damage dealt.  These temporary hit points last 24 hours.  The save DC is Constitution-based.

Transfer Life (Su) As a swift action, if a first world responder has any temporary HP that it gained from Life Drain, it can transfer that temporary HP to an ally within 5 feet.

Deadly Syringe (Ex) A first world responder's syringe attack is considered a masterwork piercing weapon that deals 1d2 damage, which the first world responder is proficient with.  A target struck by a deadly syringe wielded by a first world responder must succeed on a DC 22 Fortitude save or be overwhelmed for 1d3 rounds.  The save DC is Constitution-based.

An overwhelmed creature is staggered and cannot concentrate.  If an overwhelmed creature attacks or casts a spell, it falls prone and becomes helpless until the beginning of its next turn after doing so.  Effects that would remove or prevent the paralyzed or nauseated conditions also remove or prevent the overwhelmed condition.

Additionally, a target struck by a deadly syringe wielded by a first world responder is subjected to two poisons and two diseases:      Hag Spit Poison (save Fort DC 16; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; initial effect blindness for 1d10 rounds; secondary effect 1d4 Wis damage; cure 2 saves)      Giant Wasp Poison (save Fort DC 18, frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex damage; cure 1 save)      Bog Rot (save Fort DC 18; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d6 Str, Dex, Con or Cha (determine randomly using 1d4) damage; cure —)      Red Ache (save Fort DC 17; onset 1d3 days; frequency 1/day; effect 1d6 Str damage; cure 2 consecutive saves)

In the hands of any other creature, the syringe is considered an improvised weapon that deals 1d2 piercing damage, and has no other effects.

Unearthly Grace (Su) A first world responder adds its Charisma modifier as a racial bonus to its Fortitude saving throws and as a deflection bonus to its AC.

Cold Iron Weakness (Su) A cold iron weapon deals 1.5x the normal amount of damage to a first world responder.

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