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bellofthemeadow · 4 months

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Dawn ends the Night

Aemond Targaryen x Dayne!Reader

Rating: M for Mature (18 + no minors allowed)

Word Count: 2.8K

Warning: All warnings on the Series Masterlist, will update if necessary (Re-iterating, no minors allowed! Thank you)

Chapter Summary: As a newly woman grown, you learn of your fate as a woman in a men's world.

Notes: Guess who's back? Back again?! I AM BACK (again)!

Hello everyone, I'm thrilled to announce that I'm back! 🎉 After a brief hiatus due to my final undergraduate semester (which I just completed this past Monday – yay!), and amidst the hustle of graduate school applications, I'm finally able to return to writing.

I'm incredibly excited to embark on a brand-new series with you all. I've recently tumbled down the HOTD rabbit hole, and my obsession with Aemond Targaryen knows no bounds! 🐉 I assure you, my other fanfictions haven't been forgotten. I'm currently working on them and, with the festive season around the corner, I look forward to dedicating more time to writing and establishing a more consistent posting schedule.

Your support means the world to me and I love you all so so much💖 Feel free to reach out if you have any special requests, ideas, or if you'd just like to chat. I'm always so happy to connect with mutuals!!! Love you all

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Prologue - The Ghost of Starfall

All your life, your father had assured you that you would marry into the Martel family, destined to reign over Dorne like the ancient Dayne kings of the Torentine. But these plans shifted when Quoren Martell welcomed his daughter, Aliandra, who was destined to become the future Princess of Dorne and Lady of Sunspear. And although the Dornish were much more unrestrained than their counterparts on the continent, you were quite certain that they would not accept you becoming the princess’ consort. Two women officially ruling Dorne? Even that would be a bit too radical for the love-loving Dornishmen.

After his plans to make you the future ruling princess of Dorne fell through, your father started to envision a different future for you. You could still vividly recall nights spent perched on his knee, gazing up at the starlit sky. The cool desert breeze caressing your skin as you looked on in awe, your father's voice weaving tales of the grand life awaiting you as the Lady of Starfall. Those few precious moments, however, faded into memory with the arrival of your 13th birthday and the birth of Gerris. That misty morning marked a shift in everything when your brother came into the world screaming his little lungs out marked the end of your future as the Lady of the Dawn. As although Dorne's inheritance laws, shaped by Nymeria and the Roynar, endorsed absolute primogeniture, the stony Dornish your kin, those with deep roots in the First Men and the Andals, still favored the firstborn son. Technically, you knew you could challenge this tradition. You had the right, the means, and perhaps even the support of Qoren Martell to retain your birthright.

Yet, as you watched your father, his eyes brimming with wonder and joy at the sight of his newborn son, a decision settled quietly within 13 years old you. And with a heavy heart but resolute spirit, you chose to step aside. You withdrew silently, without protest or fanfare, setting aside your claim for the love of your family. And as the years passed you by, you found yourself amid whispers and wishes for Gerris who was still but a babe, to inherit the revered honor of your house — the title of “Sword of the Morning," a symbol of unmatched valor and prestige among your kin, that only the braves and more chivalrous could inherit. Each mention from the courtiers was a poignant reminder of your own path, not as a son of House Dayne, but as its daughter. Not as the lady of the castle, but as its ghost, a ghost of better times, simpler times. But in quieter moments, you tried to find solace in the belief that there were other, perhaps more subtle, ways to serve and honor your family. You had read all that there was to read about rulership, about history and about philosophy and you knew that true power could manifest in a myriad of forms, not solely in the strength of arms. As you gaze upon the intricate tapestry of your family's history, you knew that your role was no less significant and that you would radiate with your own bright light.

But for you, whispers of Dawn or grand destinies were absent, their echoes replaced by a more pragmatic reality. In place of tales of great adventures beyond the narrow sea, the halls of Starfall began to fill with a different kind of anticipation. The noble houses of Blackmont, Toland, Uller, and even the Yronwood sent their envoys and heirs. This cavalcade of suitors, a stark contrast to the dreams of your future before Gerris’ birth solidified your new role within the walls of your father’s castle. It was a shift, subtle yet profound, marking both an end and a beginning. You were no longer the future ruling Lady of House Dayne; you were now a key figure in its political future.

Duty became a familiar companion, yet melancholia was your closest confidante, a shadow that dimmed the brightest of days. This deep-seated wistfulness made entertaining suitors an arduous task and instead, you found solace gazing from the high castle walls, eyes wandering over the sandy mounds and the winding Torentine, over the stony mountains that cradled Starfall away from the continent's heart.

There, atop those ancient walls, you would lose yourself in dreams, wrapped in the embrace of solitude. It was in these moments of quiet reflection that you yearned to be something more, something beyond the expectations set upon you. They began to call you the 'Ghost of Starfall'. An ethereal presence, haunting the corridors and ramparts, a spirit adrift in her own thoughts, her dreams unfulfilled and stretching endlessly before her.

But to your astonishment, your father never sanctioned any betrothals. Representatives from Yronwood, Blackmont, and Uller came and went, each departing without a pledge from the enigmatic ghost of Starfall. You refrained from asking why, harboring a fear that your inquiry might prompt your father to reconsider, possibly sending you away from your beloved star-gazing haven to the austere castles of Uller or the strict Yronwood.

After your father's latest refusal of a suitor — a young, landed knight from the Reach, his brown curls soft and eyes a mesmerizing blend of green flecked with gold — you looked at your father, filled with uncertainty. “He seemed kind father.” you softly whispered. You could imagine yourself marrying this man, with long lazy days spent gazing into his warm eyes. In response, your father rose from his starry throne and approached you, placing a gentle kiss on your brow. "My little star deserves more than a mere knight," he said softly. "I will find you a suitor worthy of the starry heavens, my sweet love." After this declaration, suitors ceased to arrive.

Until this morning.

In the dim pre-dawn light, your mother gently roused you, her movements quiet in the stillness before the castle stirred to life. With tender hands, she dressed you, her fingers weaving your hair into an intricate half-up updo, the lower strands cascading in soft curls. Her touch was soothing, almost melodic, as she adorned you in a gown of white and purple samite. Its gauzy sleeves fluttered ethereally, transforming you into the very ghost of legend whispered in the halls of Starfall.

"Is it time?" you asked, a hint of apprehension in your voice, as she fastened a necklace around your neck, its purple stone shaped like a star glimmering softly.

In lieu of a direct answer, she pressed a kiss to your forehead, her lips whispering a silent prayer. "Come, my sweet girl," she murmured softly into your hair. "Today, you must be strong." Hand in hand, she led you towards your father’s personal solar, each step resonating into the stillness of the morning.

As you and your mother stepped into the solar, a sense of confusion washed over you. Before you, your father and Prince Qoren Martell stood in hushed, intense discussion, surrounded by a sea of scattered papers. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to notice your entrance, prompting a deliberate cough from your mother.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat pointedly, breaking their focus.

The two men spun around, their expressions shifting from concentration to surprise. Your mother regarded them with a mildly unimpressed gaze, her poise unshakable.

"My lords, a touch of gallantry, if you please," she chided lightly, gesturing towards you.

As their eyes found you, you executed a graceful curtsy, the fabric of your gown whispering against the floor. Prince Qoren's face broke into a broad smile at the sight.

"No need for such formality, my dear," he chuckled warmly. "Look at you, outshining the stars themselves! Fortunately, you've inherited your mother's beauty and not your father's," he teased, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

A blush crept across your cheeks at his words. "Thank you, Prince Qoren," you replied shyly, "Your flattery is most kind."

"It's not flattery if it's the truth, my dear," Prince Qoren Martell retorted with a playful wink. A heavy silence then descended upon the room, enveloping your parents and your distinguished guest, the great prince of the lands you called home. You felt like an unwitting participant in a jest whose punchline you didn't know, the unwitting fool in an unspoken joke. Yet, no laughter broke the silence. Compelled by your uneasy curiosity, you posed the question that hung unspoken in the air.

"The journey from Sunspear must have been arduous, my Prince. We are honored by your visit," you began, your voice steady. "May I inquire as to the urgency of your need for me this early, and why the esteemed Prince of Dorne would grace us with his presence?"

"Your wit matches your beauty, Lady," Prince Qoren replied with a sincere smile. "I've traveled from my home to discuss a certain missive, one that concerns both your father, yourself and the future of Dorne."

"I gather this missive must be of great import to summon me before even the servants begin their day," you ventured, a hint of steel in your voice. "It seems a matter of secrecy."

"Indeed, my daughter," your father interjected. "We've received a proposal regarding your hand in marriage."

"And who might this suitor be, that his proposal warrants Prince Qoren's personal involvement?" you asked, your eyebrow arching with skepticism.

"As your father's dear friend and as someone who has always taken a keen interest in your future, my Lady, all of Dorne has its eyes on you," the prince answered, meeting your gaze.

Your skepticism remained. "So much so that it necessitates a journey from Sunspear?"

Your mother, sensing the rising tension, interjected softly, "Come, sit with us, my dear." As you took your seat, your father tenderly grasped your hands, planting a soft kiss upon your knuckles. "The Dragons have expressed interest in you," he revealed, his voice laced with a mixture of pride and concern.

Your breath hitched at the mention of 'Dragons.' There was only one house in all of Westeros and beyond that was associated with the winged fire breathing beasts. Starfall knew more than anyone else the dangers of their fire and of their wrath.

Prince Qoren clarified, "This request likely originated from Otto Hightower. Our spies from the capital suggest the Greens are maneuvering for the throne. With old Viserys nearing his end, they're placing their pieces on the cyvasse board. Hightower may be a contemptible leech, but his cunning is undeniable." He stroked his dark beard thoughtfully

But why would Otto Hightower want me?" you asked, your voice tinged with a mix of confusion and urgency. "Dorne isn't even part of their kingdom! We've aligned with the Triarchy and have been opposing the dragons since their arrival on our shores." The plea in your voice was evident as you looked over your parents and your prince, who stood unmoving yet deep in thoughts.

"That is precisely why Otto Hightower is interested – not just in you, but in Dorne," Qoren Martell explained gravely, looking into your eyes. "We Dornish have a history of standing against dragons. We've never bowed, broken, or bent the knee. We know how to fight them, and we know hot to kill them. Now, Hightower wants our alliance to counter Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen's claim when they make their move for the throne."

"But is Princess Rhaenyra not the legitimate heir? By Dornish law, she should be the future queen. If we were to engage in their politics, should we not we support the Blacks?" you questioned.

"We might have aligned with Princess Rhaenyra," Qoren admitted with a hint of regret, "if not for her union with Daemon Targaryen. Remember the Stepstones? That debacle alone shows why it's dangerous for Daemon to wield any real power. He's not just a rogue; he's a warmonger."

Qoren paused, weighing his words carefully. "Should Rhaenyra ascend the throne, Daemon would be right there, whispering in her ear. And let us be frank, he'd relish any excuse to launch an assault on Dorne, trying to conquer what Aegon the Conqueror couldn't. Whether it's for personal glory or just to satisfy his lust for war, it's a risk we cannot afford."

A shudder ran through you at the thought of Dorne, bloodied and broken. Determined to prevent such a fate for your people, you asked in a subdued tone, "What is expected of me?"

"Oh, my sweet girl," your mother murmured, enveloping you in a comforting embrace. "You are not obliged to do anything. If you wish, we will send Otto Hightower away with a message to shove his seven-pointed star straight up his arse, and we will stand against Daemon Targaryen if need be." she tearfully proclaim, her face in your hair.

"You won't be forced into anything you're not willing to embrace. As for Otto Hightower, trust isn't a luxury I afford him as my experience with this man has taught me to be wary of his machinations. He is adept at playing the long game, and his latest maneuver is quite telling. By extending this proposal to your father and deliberately excluding me, he seeks to sow seeds of discord, perhaps hoping to weaken the unity that has long been our strength.His intentions, I surmise, are to draw you into the Hightower fold through marriage. Such a union could potentially sway Dorne's allegiance in the looming conflict for the Iron Throne."

Pausing, Qoren looked out the window, then back at you with a solemn expression. "This is not merely a question of matrimony. It is a strategic move and our response will shape the future, not just for us, but for all of Dorne."

You furrowed your brow in contemplation. "Why would we even entertain his proposal if his intent is to divide us?" you questioned.

Prince Qoren's expression turned shrewd, cunning playing in his dark brown eyes"Precisely because we understand his motives. By accepting his offer on our terms, we control the game. It's like holding all the key pieces in cyvasse; we dictate the moves, and we can make the dragons dance to our tune."

Your mind whirled, grappling with the enormity of everything they were telling you.

"Consider carefully, my little star," your father said, "This decision rests in your hands. Whatever path you choose, know that we stand with you."

"If I agree, may I set my own terms?" you asked softly.

"Of course, my Lady," Qoren grants.

"Accept Otto Hightower’s offer of marriage, tell him that we will aid him in his future conflict against Daemon Targaryen and the Blacks, but it comes with a non-negotiable stipulation: Dorne's independence is sacrosanct. We shall not yield to Targaryen sovereignty. Instead, we shall stand as allies, lending our support whilst retaining our autonomy. This, of course, hinges on your approval, Prince Qoren."

Your mother's face registered shock. "But that would mean you'd be separating from Dorne, becoming part of their realm, no longer ours."

“If it spares Dorne from being shackled by dragons, then I am willing to pay that price," you declared, feeling a shiver trace its way down your spine. With those words, you realized all that you were giving up. No longer would you be a daughter of Dorne; gone would be the nights spent stargazing from the ramparts, where stars seemed close enough to touch. You would miss the long walks on the ancient, stony steps, each one etched from the history of your ancestors.

Gone, too, would be the fierce embrace of the desert sun in the mornings, its rays painting the sands in hues of gold and amber. You would yearn for the sweet scent of orange blossoms, a fragrance that always seemed to hold the very essence of your homeland. Instead, you would find yourself in the capital, and it would be there, in a place far from the lands that shaped you, that you would remain until the end of your days.

My brave girl, stronger than any man in this land. A true Nymeria reborn," your mother said, her voice tinged with pride and sorrow.

You mustered a smile, though it tasted bitter on your lips. "Nymeria was never bartered to a man she did not know. She carved her own destiny, fiercely and freely."

"My girl..." your mother began, but you cut her off gently.

"It's alright, Mother. I will fulfill my role to the end," you assured her, your voice steady, but your inside twisted uncomfortably. Who were you trying to convince, her or yourself? Your mother's breath hitched at your words, she closed her eyes holding you closer as if you would become a babe again, clutching at her skirts – not nearly a woman grown, ready to be delivered into the claws of the enemy.

"Rest assured," your father added sternly, "If the dragons dare mistreat you, we will not shy away from invoking Joffrey Dayne's legacy and we will burn their city like their cursed beasts!”

A pause hung in the air before you finally asked, "Who is it that Otto Hightower has in mind for me to marry?"

"The King's second son, Prince Aemond Targaryen... the one-eyed prince.”

Next chapter

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theneighborhoodwatch · 9 months

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How are we feeling about the Staff Only page???

a long time ago, i came up with a theory about how welcome home the show never actually existed. the gist of it is that there was a playfellow workshop once, and there was Extensive production work done for welcome home, but for whatever reason - interpersonal conflict, trouble with the studio or executives, both, etc. - it never made it to the air. think "paranoia agent episode 10." BUT its will to exist (or at the very least, wally's will to exist) was so strong that it manifested itself into reality anyway, even if in an incomplete form. at the time, i passed it off as a crack theory, something i came up with in the throes of hiatus brain. but when i was looking through the site again today, it was all i could think about.

in this context, welcome home is an aberration, yeah? it is specifically an Unwelcome change, and i think it's safe to say that the WHRP team knows this - at least, the ones we've seen breaking character. they can barely hold back their disgust at having to handle these materials, because they know on some base instinctual level that These Should Not Be Here, that they should not exist, despite everything else telling them that welcome home was a perfectly normal, universally beloved children's program.

is this a justified reaction on the part of the WHRP team? technically, they aren't wrong, but it doesn't seem that the neighbors are taking advantage or even aware of the fact that they're a collective anomaly. even wally seems more plainly desperate for connection rather than trying to hide an ulterior motive (although it remains to be seen if he's aware of how the WHRP team and their collaborators are being affected, or exactly How unwilling he is to accept that he's dealing with a very different audience than he was 50-ish years ago. he seems very insistent than we've seen him before.) many questions!

of course, it could also be that welcome home did air and was just subjected to some kind of antimemetic fuckery when/after it was cancelled, but that's not what the crack theory is about now is it.

#welcome home #wh speculation #ask #its ya gay boi luigi #this too is a haunting. i think.

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vague-bisexual-crimes · 3 months

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hiiii I wrote this at midnight last night and edited it like five minutes after I woke up so please be nice and forgive any grammatical errors 🙏

Description: almost 3k words of post-hiatus, pre-relationship Jimmy and Lister, ft. pining and background Frances and Rowan.

Rated: G

TWs: canon-typical anxiety, brief mentions of alcohol and drinking

Without any further ado my first (bicci) fanfic ever!

sleepless nights (as long as they’re with you)

Somewhere between Lister almost dying, drunk and alone in a river some short ways from Pierro’s and the release of The Ark’s first post-hiatus album, Jimmy realized something. Jimmy realized that maybe, just maybe, Lister wasn’t just objectively attractive, but, in fact, Jimmy was attracted to him. Jimmy tries to think back to when they were younger, or even just a few years ago to try to figure out if the attraction is recent or had always been there. Either way, the romantic feelings began to develop a few months after they’d brought Lister home from the hospital.

Rowan is gone visiting his not-girlfriend Frances Janvier, so it’s just Jimmy and Lister in their new-ish apartment. It’s just outside London, close enough for them to be in London on short notice, far enough that they can breathe.

None of the three boys have technically dated during or after the hiatus, but Rowan has been talking to Frances Janvier for a few months, since they’d met at a movie premiere and she had no idea who The Ark was aside from “that’s a band, isn’t it?”, and Rowan was immediately enamored. Jimmy and Lister had placed bets on how soon Rowan and Frances would get together that same night.

It’s getting to be late for Jimmy and Lister. A few weeks into the hiatus they had all begun to put in a genuine effort to get a solid 8 hours of sleep a night, but tomorrow is a day off, and tonight they just don’t care.

The two of them are laying on Jimmy’s bed while Brooklyn 99 episodes auto-play in the background, although they haven’t been watching for some time now.

Lister is ranting about the book series he’s just finished, one that Jimmy read a few years ago and remembers very little of, but is content to listen to Lister tell him the entire plot, along with all of his opinions.

That said, Jimmy is finding it difficult to pay attention to what Lister was saying. Lister’s sitting next to him, wearing Jimmy’s well-loved Black Parade hoodie that Jimmy pulled up from the floor after Lister kept complaining about being cold, but not wanting to get up. Something that should be known about Lister is that whenever he speaks enthusiastically about something, his hands and his arms move a lot. Normally, this is fine and not really notable to Jimmy, however tonight, every time Lister raises an arm, Jimmy’s hair-too-small hoodies rises up and a sliver of Lister’s bare stomach becomes visible.

You would think that when Lister had been laying in his bed shirtless, Jimmy would have been distracted, but Lister had so rarely ever worn anything more than boxers that the sight no longer phased Jimmy. But Lister was in Jimmy’s bed, in Jimmy’s hoodie, and Jimmy was struggling to not stare at his stomach.

“—and I despise love triangles, they’re entirely unnecessary and frankly annoying, but somehow this book did it well?” Lister says, sounding mildly distressed at his own statement.

“Yeah, it’s not like an Edward and Jacob love triangle at all.” Jimmy replies before Lister is rushing off on an entirely different tangent about Twilight.

Blame the Twilight talk, but now Jimmy can’t help but notice Lister’s newest tattoo, a floral piece on the side of his neck. It looks pretty—Lister looks pretty.

Lister looks healthier than Jimmy thinks he’s ever seen him. He’d stopped drinking and was beginning to put on a bit of muscle. But it’s not only that, he has this look in his eye that Jimmy hasn’t seen since The Ark finished recording their first EP Kill It. Like he’s really happy.

Jimmy shakes his head to himself, tears his eyes away from Lister’s neck, and his eyes land on the long forgotten television.

He got over you years ago. Jimmy reminds himself. It would be cruel to do this to him years after the fact. Lister doesn’t deserve that, and Jimmy isn’t going to do that to him.

“—Jim-jam?” Lister’s voice breaks through his thoughts.

Jimmy turns his eyes back to Lister, who seems mildly amused as he takes in Jimmy’s expression.

“Were you listening?” Lister asks, not upset but genuinely inquiring.

“Sorry, I got caught up in my head.” Jimmy replies, which is not technically untrue.

“Are you alright?” Lister asks, his expression shifting just so slightly from amusement to worry, now.

“Yeah, yeah, go on, I’m listening now.” Jimmy coaxes Lister to keep talking and forget his concern.

“Are you sure? You looked upset?” Lister asks. A good and bad thing from The Ark all getting some therapy during the hiatus was that Lister was keen to communicate now. Which was good most of the time, and bad right now.

Jimmy doesn’t say anything, he just looks at Lister. At his Black Parade hoodie, the sleeves fitted where they should be baggy, Lister’s hands no longer moving, but tucked into its pocket. At Lister’s floral tattoo on the side of his neck that Jimmy has wanted to kiss since Lister came home and showed Jimmy and Rowan the piece in the middle of their kitchen while Rowan was making tea and Jimmy was sitting on the counter listening to Rowan go on and on about Frances.

Jimmy’s eyes finally slid up to look at Lister’s face. At the lips he kissed once, in a bathroom, years ago, when Lister had been drunk, and Jimmy didn’t feel that way about him. Where Lister had profusely apologized and begged Jimmy not to hate him. It was an absurd statement then, and it still was. How could Jimmy hate Allister Bird?

Jimmy’s eyes find Lister’s. Lister’s gaze is unwavering and kind. Sometimes Jimmy wonders what his relationship would be to Lister if The Ark hadn’t become what it did.

“Jimmy?”

Therapy also means that Jimmy has learned how to properly communicate. Still, that doesn’t mean he wants to.

Jimmy can feel the panic start to actually build in his chest, the real panic, lively and nauseous, not the thought spiral that Lister had seen moments prior.

It’s now or never. Jimmy seems to realize all at once. He can tell Lister how he feels, potentially ruining the closest relationship he has ever had, that isn’t Rowan or Pierro and Joan, potentially distancing himself from one of the two people in the world who actually know him and understand his life, potentially ruining everything that they had spent the past six months building back up for the band, the band which had managed to have wildly unprecedented success after what their management had considered a far-too-long hiatus.

Or he can tell Lister how he feels and Lister could feel the same way and they can live happily-ever-after.

The latter seems too good to be true.

Lister has always been too good for Jimmy. He always will be. Jimmy is a mess. Even now, when he’s at the best place he has ever been with his mental health and The Ark is doing better than it ever has, what with the new album doing even better than Joan of Arc had at release, Jimmy is still a mess.

But Lister is still looking at him like that. Looking at him like he cares.

“I’m okay, Lister.” Jimmy puts on a weak smile to combat the lumb in his throat. “Do y’want some tea?” Jimmy asks, already halfway out of bed.

“I can do it, watch Brooklyn 99.” Lister says, his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder, gently coaxing him to sit back down.

“You didn’t want to get up—” Jimmy begins to protest.

“I don’t mind.” Lister says so simply that Jimmy nearly begins to cry.

Jimmy says a much-too-quiet “okay”, and Lister slips out into the hallway.

Jimmy tries for a brief moment to actually watch Brooklyn 99 and wait for Lister to get back so he can tell Jimmy about his books. It doesn’t work.

Jimmy sighs in frustration and puts his head between his knees like he can cure romantic feelings in the same way as motion sickness.

Lister either makes the quickest cup of tea known to man, or Jimmy doesn’t notice how long he’s been staring at his fitted sheet, his mind somewhere between a panic attack and a confession.

“Jimmy?” Jimmy wishes he would stop doing things to make his name sound so laced with concern every time it falls off Lister’s lips. “You alright?”

Jimmy sits up and quickly takes the cup of tea from Lister.

“You look like you're about to be sick.” Lister says. “Do you want me to hand you the bin?” Jimmy shakes his head. “Do y’want me to call Rowan?”

“Please, don’t.” Jimmy finally says. He takes a sip of tea if only to avoid this conversation for a moment longer. Chamomile vanilla. Jimmy’s favorite.

He looks up at Lister who’s still standing next to Jimmy’s bed watching him. “You know you can talk to me, yeah?” Lister says, and god there’s a tinge of hurt in his voice that Jimmy knows he didn’t intend to slip through.

“Of course,” Jimmy says, his voice more level than it’s been since the start of this evening. “I tell you everything.” Not necessarily true, but not a lie either. He tells Lister everything…except this.

Lister crawls over Jimmy to get to the other side of the bed, not spilling Jimmy’s tea by some miracle, and immediately wraps his arm around Jimmy. “I love you, you know that?” Lister says with his cheek pressed into Jimmy’s hair.

“I love you, too, Lister.” This doesn’t really feel like a lie. Jimmy, Rowan, and Lister had loved each other for as long as they’d been friends. They haven’t been so vocal about it until their early twenties, but that has never made it any less true.

Jimmy drinks his tea in silence, the only noise in the entire apartment being Jimmy’s TV, and the soft rhythm of Lister’s breath in his ear.

When Jimmy sets his mug on his bedside table, Lister asks, “Want to go to bed?”

It is properly late now and all of Jimmy’s panic has made him exhausted.

“Yeah,” Jimmy answers and Lister’s arm falls away from Jimmy and he begins to crawl out of bed.

Jimmy catches Lister’s arm, moving a bit too fast, and says. “You don’t need to get up. My bed’s big enough for both of us.”

“It’s okay,” Lister begins to slide his arm from Jimmy’s hand.

“Your bed isn’t even made and you’re already here.” Jimmy tries to shrug nonchalantly and sets the TV to turn off after an hour.

“Okay,” Lister says only a bit louder than a whisper.

Jimmy lays down and pulls the covers up and around him, pretending he isn’t aware of every move Lister makes as he sets his phone on the floor by the bed, takes off Jimmy’s Black Parade hoodie and crawls fully under the covers.

Jimmy wasn’t lying when he said his bed was big enough for both of them, there’s a solid foot of bed between them and they still have wiggle room on the other side.

It never takes Jimmy long to fall asleep whenever Lister is there.

***

Rowan comes home the next morning with the news that he’s officially going out with Frances Janvier and Lister slyly hands Jimmy a twenty under the table when Rowan isn’t looking.

“Is she gonna be coming ‘round then?” Jimmy asks between bites of cereal.

“She’ll be ‘round next week, but not for a while after that, she and Aled have some Universe City stuff to do.” Rowan replies.

“That’s great, Ro,” Lister says. “‘Bit jealous that you’re the first one of us to be in a relationship since the hiatus but still.”

Rowan rolls his eyes but his smile doesn’t waver. Rowan and Lister’s relationship has massively improved over the past few years. Partially from Rowan learning that he doesn’t need to take care of Lister all the time, partially because Lister has learned to take care of himself.

“You could date anyone.” Rowan says.

“Of course I could, have you considered none of them are good enough for Allister Bird?” Lister replies instantly.

“Yes, that’s the problem,” Rowan says.

“I’m with Lister on this one, Rowan, how come you’re the one who always ends up in good, long-term relationships?” Jimmy says as he puts his empty bowl in the dishwasher.

“I dated Bliss for two years and I haven’t even been dating Frances for 24 hours.”

“That’s longer term than Jimmy and I for like five years running.” Lister points out.

“That’s a lie! I dated that guy for three weeks when I was 16.” Jimmy protests.

“Relationships from when you were 16 don’t count.” Lister shrugs as though it’s law. “And you can’t even remember his name, can you?”

Jimmy ignores the last part. “You’re counting Bliss!”

“Because they dated while Rowan was also 17 and 18.”

“Impeccable logic as always, Bird.” Rowan says with a pat on Lister’s shoulder. Lister grins smugly at Jimmy.

“Rowan agrees with me.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Rowan says and then they’re all laughing.

***

Frances comes round the week later to stay for two nights. Jimmy and Lister gleefully tease Rowan about having a girlfriend (although they maintain that they’re perfectly nice and civil to Frances, who is lovely), but eventually the novelty begins to wear off and Jimmy and Lister decide to leave Rowan and Frances alone and retreat to Jimmy’s bedroom.

Watching Brooklyn 99 in Jimmy’s room has become something of a routine of theirs lately. Some nights they watch a few episodes until they actually feel tired and Lister will go to his own room to sleep, other nights he sleeps in Jimmy’s room.

Jimmy prefers the nights where Lister sleeps in Jimmy’s room. He can always sleep when Lister is there, despite the background anxiety about his feelings for Lister, he feels safe with him.

Tonight neither of them are really watching the show, instead they’re scrolling through their respective personal social media accounts that the fans somehow have yet to find. It’s a content silence and Jimmy is perfectly happy to continue to watch Brooklyn 99 and scroll through his phone until he falls asleep, but then Lister says,

“Tell me to shut up if I’ve got the wrong idea, but,” Lister pauses and takes a breath. “you seemed genuinely very stressed about something the other night, and you don’t have to tell me, but you haven’t seemed that stressed in so long and I’m worried about you.” Lister looks at him.

Jimmy means to say more, but all that comes out is, “Lister…”

“You don’t have to tell me just…I’m here for you, for anything. I need you to know that.”

Jimmy opens his mouth to speak and closes it.

“Do you remember when you were drunk and you kissed me?” It’s not at all what Jimmy means to say and as soon as it’s out of his mouth he feels shit for bringing it up.

“I—yeah,” Lister looks embarrassed and slightly pained at the memory.

“And I told you, more or less, that I didn’t feel that way about you,” Jimmy continues slowly.

“Jimmy, you don’t have to reject me again. I got it the first time, haha.” It’s the saddest laugh Jimmy’s ever heard and for a moment his entire train of thought derails.

“What?” Jimmy asks.

“I didn’t think I was being that obvious. God, I’m sorry, Jimmy, you must’ve been so uncomfortable.” Lister explains and he looks like he might start crying.

“D’you still like me?” Jimmy’s voice is soft.

“It feels a bit juvenile to say it that way but…but yeah…” Lister thinks for a moment. “What’d’you mean, did you not know?” Jimmy can see Lister trying to work out what the hell is happening and coming up more confused than before.

“No, no, Lister…” the words are still stuck in his throat. It’s now or never.

Jimmy turns to properly face Lister and puts his hands on his cheeks, the tips of his fingers brush against Lister’s soft blond hair. Lister leans in slightly to the touch, but confusion dances across his face.

Slowly, with plenty of time for Lister to stop him, Jimmy leans in. He stops a breath from Lister’s lips and presses his forehead against Lister’s. Lister’s hands come up to rest on Jimmy’s biceps, his breath quickens and seemingly against his will, his eyes flutter shut.

“Can I kiss you?” Jimmy whispers.

“God, please,” Lister whispers and then Jimmy’s lips meet Lister’s and this time it feels right.

Lister’s hands move from Jimmy’s arms to his waist, pulling him gently so that he’s sat in Lister’s lap. Jimmy’s thumbs stroke Lister’s cheeks as they kiss, every anxiety he’d had about telling Lister how he felt washing away with each brush of his lips against Lister’s.

After a moment their lips part from the other’s and Jimmy presses his forehead to Lister’s again as they breathe.

“That’s what you were having anxiety about?” Lister whispers, his breath fanning across Jimmy’s face.

Jimmy nods and slides his arms around Lister’s neck to rest on his shoulders.

Lister kisses him, once, chaste, before burying his face in the crook of Jimmy’s neck. Lister’s arms tighten around Jimmy’s waist and they hold each other for god-knows how long before they hear Frances and Rowan laughing at something in the living room.

They pull back just enough to see each other’s faces. Jimmy runs his fingers through Lister’s hair, pushing it out of his eyes and then kisses him.

“Stay with me tonight?” Jimmy asks.

“Always.” Lister replies and kisses him again.

#iwbft #i was born for this #the ark #jimmy kaga ricci #lister bird #rowan omondi #frances janvier #alice oseman #iwbft fanfic #bicci #Lister x Jimmy #minor Frances x Rowan

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spicyicetea · 6 months

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Ah, my happy little lawyer game where I get irrationally angry it’s not a dating sim half the time. I have such an adoration for the Phoenix Wright games in all honesty. As much as it may be a tad embarrassing, I’m literally going to law school because of it (currently still in college but have already applied and visited multiple across the area I live near). I’ve recently been playing the trilogy on the switch and am so excited for the Apollo trilogy to be coming soon somewhere I can actually play it. I’m probably going to go on a bit of an hiatus when it comes out and pull many all nighters completing the trilogy. But onto the point of this post.

Where my Ace attorney hoes at! I desperately want to do stuff in relation to ace attorney. I’m open to most the games (although characters unique to the first Apollo game onwards I may know about but have no experience writing about nor do I know their character too well) I also will write for fem, gn and masc readers, although it may be strange as I never have… SFW, nsfw (depends on character and which game ofc) and will write for all characters. Any characters under age will have to be platonic requests but in situation like Maya where in some games she is technically an adult I am ok writing more adult themes then and only then. If there’s any confusion feel free to message me to clear it up. Even though my blog focused on Yanderes doesn’t mean these have to be yandere requests. Well I’ll prob be writing some general head cannons soon just for fun, but until then I’ll be replaying the trilogy during my breaks of HW. Can’t wait to replay the third game- Godot is such a smash, like honestly give me a bite of this coffee addict- GIMME-

#x reader #yandere x reader #phoenix wright #ace attorney #ace attorney x reader #phoenix wright x reader #yandere phoenix wright #yandere ace attorney

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moonshine-nightlight · 4 months

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2024 Writing - Plans

similar to last year, i wanted to post a little look forward at my plans for writing this year are. the necessary disclaimer: this is 100% high level, optimistic, ideal situation and subject to change but i still like thinking about it and posting for anyone who's interested. see this post for last years!

so, i like separating things out it mini goals/sections so see below:

Nothing's Wrong with Dale: with DSM self-published under my belt, I'd like to focus on the NWWD publishing journey next! The main obstacles/costs are time and money. Hiring an editor and a cover artist are the pricey-est part of the process but my own edit (first to convert everything from 2nd POV to 3rd POV and then another high-level edit/revise once i've got it in the right POV) will take the most time and needs to be done before i hand it over to an editor. Then after the editor takes their time (and NWWD is much longer than DSM), and finally i need to process all of their edits as well. And i need to do all of this while i do my day job lol.

i've already converted the first 11 chapters to 3rd POV (i hav some IRL friends/betas who only read that version, so if u feel like the tumblr version took a lot of time lol). the timing of being able to publish this year will all end up depending on how quickly i can do all that and kick off the part of the process that depends on outside parties. Even if i manage to self-publish in this year, i don't expect it to come out until lik December and even that's ideal, super best case scenario.

Long Stories: I want to outline both A Perfectly Ordinary Research Position and Shadow Diplomacy and then pick one to be the new long story on here. I do what i call a chapter outline and a scene outline, which is confusing to not!me because the scene = a chapter on here. i should probably rename that process lol. (NWWD was 11 'chapters' and 35 'scenes' for reference).

once i pick a project, i just hope to post as many chapters as i can. Since this will be new, long, and likely just building steam, i actually think it'll be my lower priority after the Short Stories and NWWD publishing, but we'll see. i'd like to start putting that up in June, according to my tentative 2024 schedule.

Short Stories: Since i didn't get as many of these done in 2023 and they've been haunting my brain longer, i want to for sure get some of these shorter stories done. learning from last years overestimation lol, i plan to post 3 short stories: Courtship Confusion, Feral, and finish Free Piano: Haunted, in that order. i'm excited about all these stories and will let me cover 3 different types of pairings (although technically all are Reader) which is fun. All have been outlined and have parts and pieces written. I wish Feral and FPH could both happen in the fall but the timing just doesnt work out so summers gonna b a little spooky lol.

The schedule i worked out makes it so all this will be possible, but also basically has no breaks in sunday postings after my haitus which is beyond optimistic but i lik to start overly confident lol

Hiatus: this is also your reminder that my work has a specific Busy Season which honestly started already (lucky me) and i will b beyond busy Jan-March at a minimum. i hav more projects than ever with my promotion, a lot to learn, and a lot to juggle so minimum 6 day work weeks will be the name of the game - but hopefully all goes well and i'll get a nice bonus i can feed directly to my editors lol

anyway, that's where i'm at right now and I'm looking forward to all the exciting writing and publishing to come in 2024!

Feel free to send in any asks about upcoming/current stories!

Thanks again for all your support in 2023 and Happy New Year!

#my writing #writing status #2024 plans #yearly overview #story status #nothing's wrong with dale #courtship confusion #feral #free piano: haunted #self-publishing #editing #lov to shoot high lol #rly rly thank you for all the support you've given these past few years #i'm still so excited to be doing so much with my original works #:D

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tangledbea · 3 months

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Personally, I think Cassandra's villain arc was misunderstood. I believe the Gothel thing was meant to be the straw that broke the camels back, but a lot of people acted as if it was the only reason. It was a major factor, sure, but people seemed to ignore Waiting in the Wings, how Cass pretty much put her life on pause to help Rapunzel on her quest, the hand thing, how Cassandra felt like Rapunzel didn't listen to her anymore, and just the unequal power dynamic with Cassandra technically being Rapunzels servant. Not to mention the play scene in Once a Handmaiden, where its acknowledged that Cass and Rapunzel didn't work their feelings out the best. There were many reasons contributing to why Cass did what she did. It wasn't just the Gothel thing. Although I do agree that Varians arc was much better written.

P.s. This doesn't have much to do with my main point, but I think the reason many people were underwhelmed by the reason for Cassandra's turn might be because there was the hiatus after season 2. We were left questioning why Cass took the moonstone for months, and the hiatus gave us time to forget some of the stuff from S2 I mentioned above. When we got our answer in that controversial plot twist, some people's reactions may have been "Seriously!? That's why?"

The thing is, they show acted like Gothel being her mother was her main deciding factor. Yes, there were a lot of other things along the way (none of which I personally felt would be reasonably concluded with, "And so I betrayed my best friend and decided to take over her kingdom, and if I kill her in the process, that's fine"), but the show itself threw the rest of it out the window as soon as the Gothel reveal happened. From my understanding, the showrunner literally said that her burnt arm didn't matter anymore after it had served its purpose, and that's why she was able to physical therapy it back into use on the road and why it didn't factor in at all once she got the black rock armor.

The writers did their best to wrangle her arc back on track, but CS literally just wanted her to be Gothel's daughter, and for that to be the main reason she turned on Rapunzel, because villainy is hereditary, apparently. With all the other little things that added up, it could have been a very good villain arc, but they used the Gothel thing as the straw that broke the camel's back, then had her site that over and over, drew parallels between them, did their best to make it the most important reason.

As for me, I was loudly and adamantly against the idea of Cassandra being Gothel's daughter, which had been speculated upon since Tangled Before Ever After aired. In fact, I was so opposed to the concept that multiple people asked me if I was alright after "Rapunzel's Return" aired, because they knew that it becoming canon was going to upset me. And it did. I was so disgusted by that choice that it has forever tainted my view of Cassandra.

You're entitled to your opinion, but please don't be under the impression that I don't take other things into consideration.

#Tangled #Tangled the Series #Cassandra #TTS #Answered

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drifloonz · 1 year

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*Cough*

*Coughhhh*

Strangle Red(Steven) cuddle headcanons for the simp n single plzz.

i was gunna go on hiatus and close requests temporarily bc theyve just been piling up but Ehhhhhhhhhh. This ones easy i might as well dripfeed people content. got nothin' else 2 do!

anyways

steven cuddling headcanons <3

____

♡ man's got a grip on him. due to his extreme self-isolation and therefore under socialization, he doesn't really remember... how to like... hug well. he knows how to do it, but it's been years and he also isn't exactly aware of his own strength, y'know? this means he'll usually hug you really tight, more than he means to but he doesn't notice it's too tight, usually.

♡ due to this if you ask for cuddles, the first few times it may be kind of awkward because he's not really aware that he's squeezing you too tight unless you make it obvious ( eg making noise or looking really visibly uncomfortable )

♡ he's perceptive though, and he'll eventually notice this and loosen up a lot. he's a very good cuddler once this happens... he's almost definitely way taller*, bigger, and built* than you, so it's like cuddling with a big comfy teddybear. he's warm and nice.

*( i personally hc him as 6'5 or taller to a mostly unnatural/uncommon degree like idk 6'9+ ),

*( if you like your stevens more muscly or dad-bod-esk, which i HC his body being like that in his later adult life anyways. although he was very skinny, weak, scrawny and underate in his teenage after-incident years due to not taking care of himself in my own personal headcanons cuz' i mean. makes sense. checks out. depression and spiralling does a lot of that to a mf. )

♡ when you cuddle while he's asleep, his hugs loosen up a lot because he's genuinely happy and calm around you, especially when he's asleep. although, if he's having a nightmare or is visibly stressed he'll be squeezing you as if you were dying in his arms and he wasn't ready to have you go... huh. Might be related to that nightmare. And also the general fear of losing people he loves. #lol

♡ he loves making you feel safe, and if cuddles do that for you he's going to take almost every opportunity to let you do that with him. he especially finds it cute when you nuzzle into the space between his neck and shoulder, or lay your head on his chest. it feels... nice.

♡ he also makes small snores and huffs and mumbles when he sleeps. his chest is very rumbly and the vibrations feel nice against your body. probably the type to sorta sleeptalk. maybe even sleepwalk but that ones arguable, although i see him doing it. horrible mental image of him somehow sleepwalking while still cuddling you, so he's just carrying you while he groggily walks around his own house.

♡ speaking of sleeptalking, this definitely isn't me projecting a headcanon i got from a character.ai rp, but he'll often sleeptalk about you, or when he's having particularly good dreams he'll be reminiscing on his nostalgic days with miki, and audibly saying and doing the things he's doing in his dream. this leads to him awkwardly petting you in real life thinking you're miki and not being aware of it unless you mention it to him, in which he'll get embarrassed but try to play it cool and also ask if you liked it. it's a little cute, though.

♡ speaking of, miki sleeps at the foot of you two's bed and takes up half of the bed /hj

♡ technically related, he sometimes hugs you in public ( if you somehow get him outside in the public eye ) if he's jealous, but it's moreso "putting a protective arm over your shoulder" type gesture. he'll also just do it as a protective measure even if nobody's making him jealous. he's a little paranoid of you replacing him or finding someone better, because to him it probably isn't that hard. Bpd moment.

♡ he will not tell you this outright but he really likes the feeling of your hands running through his messy, tangled hair when you two cuddle. it's nice. if he could purr He Would. he does make little rumbly chest vibrations with his noises sometimes which, close enough ig

♡ if you snore or make any noises or sleeptalk or do anything like that, he finds it very cute and endearing. if you sleeptalk especially he might quietly respond back just to see if your very unconscious brain replies to him. he's curious. and finds it cute to tease you even in that state.

♡ if you two are a little further in your relationship, he'll often give you some slow, chaste kisses when you two cuddle. he doesn't do this earlier mostly because he's sort of bad at knowing when the right time to do that would've been, or if you'd like it... so he still doesn't do it often, unless you initiate it a lot. then he gains that confidence back and teases and kisses you a lot more often.

♡ you will Not escape his arms if he doesn't want you to. they're big and he's strong. if he wants 5 more minutes when you two wake up, you are HAVING 5 more minutes. unless he feels particularly merciful and lets you go, or if you get out of his arms when they're loose ( aka when he's sleeping, since they loosen up a decent amount if he's comfortable and asleep )

♡ steven's almost always the big spoon due to him enjoying it a decent chunk more since he likes being protective and holding you, but in most cuddling hcs i like to think the both of you are facing each other when you cuddle anyways. equal amount of attention and cuddling. that's how steven likes it as well, i'd think.

♡ speaking of which he is very clingy with you and cuddles and hugs indulge him. he can just keep you there if he wants. he's usually nice enough and will let you go if you complain enough or really need to do something ( eat, go to the bathroom, shower, whatever )... but he finds it funny to keep you there sometimes. he'll never genuinely not let you go unless he's feeling extremely overprotective or had a really bad nightmare and wants your comfort but is too afraid to directly ask.

...or he's afraid of you getting hurt like how miki and also mike but steven doesn't want to think about mike did when he let his guard down, and then becomes overprotective due to that, since he's afraid of leaving you alone without him and thinks you'll get hurt.

♡ anyways! on a lighter note he's so big that you could probably sleep on top of his body and he wouldn't mind, probably. he sort of likes the weight. you Are his weighted blanket that he needs so desperately but is too lazy to order off of éBay ( get it. é. like the pokémon é. god i should make a pokemon irl blog with my sona or something some day. anyways. )

♡ semirelated by technicality in the sense that its about touching him, please god massage steven. specifically his spine and his back. his borderline scoliosis quickly became Regular Scoliosis after the incident and it's only ever gotten worse. he will appreciate it. he also will do the same if you also have back problems which tbh if you're reading this, you probably have back problems. [ PROJECTS MY ISSUES ]

♡ very good cuddler but he is clingy sometimes and very strong overall very good 5/5 star review on yelp ( i dont know why i end every request with this it's sort of hard to end requests in general )(*&^ )

thank you for requesting !

#wispy writes #steven strangled red #steven x reader #steven strangled red x reader #pokepasta #sorry for the main tags i am extremely flippant with when i do or dont use them. amen

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clairelsonao3 · 1 year

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Blog and WIP Intro

Hi, I'm Claire. I'm an adult woman and professional writer of many things, but my first love (and my MFA degree) is fiction, which I've been writing for quite some time.

My writing

I discovered the whump community in early 2023, and although my work isn't strictly or exclusively whump, I'm happily discovering a lot of writers and readers who share my tastes here. That said, this is not a whump-exclusive blog.

I enjoy almost any genre if it's well-written, especially romance, historical fiction, and mysteries/thrillers. These days, you'll primarily find me writing contemporary romance (set either in our universe or an alternate version of it) with whump, humor, and probably some thrills mixed in.

I now have a detailed intro post about my writing and the elements, whumpy and otherwise, you're likely to find in it, as well as the kinds of things I like to read. It's a living document and subject to change!

WIPs

At the moment, I have two main WIPs I'll be discussing/referencing on this blog. Click on the title for the WIP intro pages!

Good Slaves Never Break the Rules

An adult, NSFW, whumpy, alternate-history slavery forbidden romance that I'm posting in installments on Ao3.

Short Summary: A naive girl from a rich but disintegrating family determined to finish university and make it on her own. A gifted and charming slave who will do anything and use anyone to find his missing sister.

In a modern world where slavery is institutionalized, they're forbidden from touching or even looking at each other. But when her father buys him and assigns him as her chemistry tutor, it's only a matter of time before they collide -- and maybe just light their entire world on fire.

Note:

No abuse or noncon takes place between the MCs in this story. In fact, I like to think of this as a slavefic that has much more in common with mainstream romance than it does with most slavefics you might have come across. (In other words, it's a slavefic for people who think they don't like slavefic.)

WIP Intro

Do stories about slavery make you uncomfortable?

Me, too -- they're supposed to. Here's a great explanation of why writers like me are drawn to the topic, exactly what slavefic is, and what it is not. If you're at all curious (or if you're thinking of sending me a nasty anon), I highly recommend giving it a read.

The Adored

A young adult, whumpy, romantic thriller, currently on hiatus from agent submissions as I revise.

Short Summary: When an up-and-coming teen rock star falls off a yacht and drowns right before his first album drops, his bandmate (still mourning her hopeless crush) suspects his spoiled girlfriend and/or his charismatic young manager of murder. And she's determined to prove it no matter the cost.

WIP Intro

Untitled Silly Prison Whump Non-Story

A sweet, clever, naive 18-year-old guy from a respectable background falls on hard times, gets roped into helping with what he thinks is a nonviolent art heist, fucked over by the rest of the gang, and gets sentenced to 10 years in a totally cartoonish, unrealistic, hard-labor-galore prison. He unsurprisingly has a very bad time of it until the warden asks him to be his assistant, at which point it gets better ... or does it? I wrote this purely to entertain myself (but then again that's how GSNBTR started, too). I'm posting it on another site where I don't know anyone because I'm too embarrassed to post it here, but parts of it have found their way over to Tumblr. Maybe more will, too, someday.

Whumptober 2023

These stories are technically prequels to GSNBTR, but they both stand alone!

From the Moment I Could Talk, I Was Ordered to Listen (Whumptober Day 26)

A renowned professor of chemical physics visits a discount slave auction, looking for something very specific. But what he finds there is not quite what he had in mind.

With a Guarantee of Company (Whumptober Day 30)

A slave girl is caught in a compromising position with her master's daughter's crush and is forced to pay the price for it.

What you'll find on this blog

Posts about my writing and others' writing, both whumpy and otherwise. Tags and asks (I try to get to all of them eventually!) Posts and reblogs with prompts, memes, etc. about whumpy writing and general writing.

Other Writing

I have four complete novels, some of which have been published under pseudonyms (which, for various uninteresting reasons, I won't be discussing or linking to on this blog).

Audience

For now, my writing will be hosted (except for perhaps some very occasional bonus content) exclusively on Ao3 (hence the username) since I started over there, and prefer not to split my audience. This may change in the future, however.

Although my ongoing WIP on Ao3 is NSFW and intended only for ages 18 and over, this blog should be generally SFW. Anything that's not, I'll strive to tag and put under a cut. That said, just in case, I'm trying to avoid knowingly following or interacting with minors and I don't encourage them to follow me.

I'm trying very hard to stay away from posting anything real-world controversial or political, but sometimes I can't help myself, sorry!

My inbox is always open to comments and questions! I love tag games, though sometimes I develop quite a backlog. Basically, I welcome any kind of positive interaction. After all, that's what I'm here for!

Tags

Sideblog(s):

tropium-addict: A repository for Tumblr fiction I either have read or want to read.

season-of-trope: Memes, quotes, mental health, opinions on things political and otherwise, personal development, pretty pictures ... everything else, really.

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ask-sonata-dusk · 2 months

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February/March 2024 Update: Extended Hiatus

Hey guys!

So, ASD’s hiatus might be a bit longer than I expected…

You see, I think my life is starting to take a bit more of a different direction than it originally did, with the main reason is me considering making my first Visual Novel (which is based on a canon series that I know). So of course, it's going to require a lot of practice, watching tutorial videos, time, effort, and dedication. However, I am uncertain about the exact amount of time it will take. While I would like to believe that I can manage both a VN and ASD simultaneously, the truth is that it won't be easy. Therefore, I have decided to focus solely on my visual novel project as it would be more manageable for me.

I hate to make this decision, but as I’ve said countless times before (sorry 😅), the truth is that ASD is based on a story that has ended long ago. Although I don't want to let go of ASD yet, I want to focus on developing this new Visual Novel, in which I plan to work on alone also as an indie developer. This project may take a few months to a year, or even longer. Therefore, I must be honest and say that I don't know exactly when I'll be back (or if I am coming back). I want to come back, but it will take longer than one month. So, I'm technically going on an indefinite hiatus, but I hope to return to ASD in the future.

You are still allowed to send asks, but this blog might be inactive for quite a while, or at least the story itself will take a break. Maybe I’ll come back within time to post some EQG & ASD-related art from time to time. Now, do I recommend that you unfollow me? No, I don’t. I mean, I wouldn’t want you to. However, it wouldn’t be right to hold you here either 😅 So the choice is solely yours.

If your still looking for some Sonata Dusk askblog content, I recommend @sunsets-serenade. It’s the only MLP/EQG blog that I know it’s still active at this point. So all in all, the Ask Sonata Dusk story is on a semi-indefitnite hiatus, but it might post from time to time for art. I’ll let you guys know when I’ll return to continue the story!

Thank you everyone for following Ask Sonata Dusk for all these years. I hope to return soon one day!

- @ask-sonata-dusk Moderator

If you to reach me, contact or follow @misssakurapetal27

Please take care everyone 💖

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shaidow · 12 days

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𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎 𝐎𝐑 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍?

Uncover the truth about Sonic's arch-rival... Shadow.

Hello, & welcome to my writing roleplay blog, which if not already obvious, features the iconic anti-hero; Shadow the hedgehog. He is, technically, my first character I've ever written as. At the ripe, little age of eight years old. I usually wrote cringe fan fictions of he & I becoming friends (I was that kid.) & eventually transitioned to forum rp around twelve. Soon after, to Instagram between the ages of fourteen and eighteen... the, I brought him to Tumblr in late 2014. I apologize for such a wild introduction, Shadow is just a very near & dear character to me; with that being said, I do tend to pick apart what I portray him with. Even fan media of the franchise, were it to inspire me & give me room to expand Shadow's ever changing story!

I'd like it to be made apparent first & foremost, this is primarily a Villain ending Shadow the hedgehog. With a basis from his (sort-kinda glitchy & rushed) stand alone video game, ShTH 2005. I tend to write post-apocalyptic; which means it's a few years into the Villain Arc. I have a small summary of it, you can find it within my Carrd. Of course, I feature a neutral (anti-hero) path & heroic path! For those that may be a little less than comfortable writing with a full-fledged villain Shadow.

I am 100% alright with duplicates, as multiverse exists, & Shadow has dozens of imperfect android clones of himself walking around. This can be fun to play around in, so if you come across my blog, being a Shadow writer yourself, feel free to stop bye in my Dms & let me know if you'd like to create something together. <- Adding to this, I just ask you do not use any personalized headcanons I make up for Shadow to fit my own world & vision. I find that disrespectful & rude.

Due to Shadow's nature, along with the story molding him into who/what he is, some heavy topics will be featured here. Such as, but not limited to: Death, PTSD, Suicide mentions, heavy depression, descriptive blood/gore, mature language, artistic nudity & descriptive sexual encounters. <- Shadow is over 21 years of age, & an immortal being. However, anything sexual in nature will be reserved for people I am fully comfortable with, such as those who are my 'affiliates'. This offside mature jokes are alright to throw Shadow's way, although he will more than likely brush it off or find your character annoying.

More on mains/exclusives/affiliates: At this moment, I do not accept other 'affiliates', mains, or exclusives aside from Yuri & S. They are also my main writing partners, which means: They take priority in my replies, my plotting energy, etc.

Regarding relationships in the romance department: Shadow is multiship. I mention this briefly in my Carrd, despite this being my route for Shadow, he does have a canon romance with Yuri's Rouge the bat. While she is on indefinite hiatus with this character, her portrayal of Rouge & the story we've built with the two are going to remain. However, this will not apply to other Rouge blogs; Shadow sees those versions of Rouge as either a co-worker, or an enemy. Depending on how we collaborate on their interactions.. So, please do not worry about my headcanons or myself pressuring you into a romantic ship with my Shadow.

Regarding relationships in the romance department part ii: Every relationship would be heavily slow burned. Meaning, achieving such a status with Shadow can take months, to even over a year. Were each party invested enough - although, there will not always be a guarantee that Shadow catches feelings for your character, despite how long they're in a slow burn. Sometimes it doesn't work out, & that's okay. It doesn't mean anything, other than that our characters are incompatible. They can remain coworkers, frienemies, or acquaintances... Whichever the flow of things takes us, really. Please don't take it personal if it doesn't work out with Shadow- I assure you, it's not that deep.

A note on blocking/soft blocking/unfollowing: I don't just unfollow or softblock, I always out right block. I don't like being questioned on it, as my reasoning for doing so is such a long list. However, it's almost never personal... If I don't vibe with you anymore, don't enjoy your tone of speaking, overly aggro in your own guidelines pages, try to police people on how they write or what they write (i.e.; saying they should end their life over something fictional... yeah, no.) I will block, too, if you are overly dramatic, meaning, you like to stir the pot for no other reason than to do it & get clout. If you share callouts, or try to tell me who I can & can't talk to. I'm pro-free mind, as in not following the crowd on harassing someone over a callout. I block if you're a person who genuinely believes what media someone likes is a direct reflection on their own views & morals... grow up. I will also block, if I'm just simply not interested in your blog or character.

I think that's all, so here's a little bit about me: My name is Archeon, "Ark", 1995 is my birth year. I've been together with Yuri 6 years as of May 2024... She is my everything. My favorite color is red, my favorite Pokemon are Gengar & Umbreon. I also write a few characters, mostly known for Makima, Dame Aylin, Mei Raiden & Dante... Currently, I am learning Chinese along with going through a weight loss journey - as of typing this, I'm 5 months in!

Special notes** i. I am against users who create art or feed writing/roleplay responses with the use of AI, or artificial intelligence. Please refer to this post for further info -> ii. blog edits: (c) | icon border/banner edits: me.

Thanks for checking out my links & reading this far, I look forward to writing & chatting together.

#guide*#it's long but needed lol

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isfjmel-phleg · 5 months

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Most of Grant's solo is motivated by his need to learn who his real parents were. But even though he does find out the truth, his relationship with the parents he never got to meet (or rather with the idea of them, with what could have been) never quite gets resolved, and I would love to see this revisited now that he's alive again in recent comics.

After a lot of dead ends and red herrings, Grant finally learns from Vandal Savage, who was responsible for the experimentation done on Grant and for placing him with the Emersons, that his real parents were Al Pratt (the Atom) and his wife Mary James.

Mary was murdered shortly after giving birth, her baby was taken away to be experimented upon, and Al had no idea that any of this had happened. He died in the Zero Hour event, about twelve hours before Grant got dragged in to save the day. They so narrowly missed each other!

Grant, like most of us, isn't well-informed about every obscure Golden Age JSA hero, so this revelation doesn't have any context for him. He knows his parents' names, but feeling actually connected to them...? Not so much.

(Damage #12)

It gets even more complicated with the additional reveal that although the Pratts were his biological parents, he was injected with the DNA of many other superheroes. The primary donor of these was J'onn J'onzz (Martian Manhunter), but Grant is also genetically related to

Barry Allen (Flash)

Johnny Chambers (Johnny Quick)

Arthur Curry (Aquaman)

Joan Dale-Trevor (Miss America)

Jay Garrick (Flash)

Ted Grant (Wildcat)

Carter Hall (Hawkman)

Shiera Hall (Hawkgirl)

Hal Jordan (Green Lantern)

Ted Knight (Starman)

Dinah Drake Lance (Black Canary)

Dinah Laurel Lance (Black Canary)

Libby Lawrence (Liberty Belle)

Charles McNider (Doctor Mid-Nite)

Alan Scott (Green Lantern)

Rex Tyler (Hourman)

So not only does Grant have parents whom he knows nothing about, but he also has eighteen other "parents," some living, some dead, whose combined DNA has contributed to the powers he's still trying to adjust to. So many good people whose child he could technically be considered, and yet he still ended up raised by the abusive Emersons, who had no real connection to him. It's a lot to process. He is overwhelmed and confused--but he still wants to make contact with his real parents in the only way he can now.

He asks to be taken to their graves.

(Damage #15)

Several of his JSA "fathers" (Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, Ted Grant, and Ted Knight) come to the cemetery to meet him and try to make some sense of the situation. This information is just as new to them as it is to Grant, but they do seem willing to accept him and bring him into the JSA legacy.

This would have been an interesting direction to take the story: having the entire JSA take on Grant as their collective child. He used to have no real family, and now he's part of many families! But this is a dynamic that never gets to happen, for whatever reason. Although Grant does picture something like it in an illusory sequence. It's what he wants: acceptance into a family.

(JLA Titans #2)

But by the end of his solo, he's on his own, although he makes a point of seeking out Albert Rothstein, his father's godson, for information about his father--which we can assume Albert was only too happy to give. He and Al were very close.

We don't get to see here how hearing about how someone else got to have a warm, quasi-parental relationship with the father Grant never got to meet might have affected Grant, but remember this for later.

(Damage #20)

During Grant's hiatus from the Titans, he and Jesse Quick have an encounter with some malevolent beings who impersonate people from their past. Grant sees his parents and hears something from his father that he probably has always wanted to hear.

(Titans 1999 #45)

But he's still enough in possession of his faculties to question it with the painful truth. His father never met him. Never knew about him. Couldn't have cared about him. And what does that leave him with? His foster parents and their "love" that came with abuse.

His real parents died before they could know him. His foster parents failed him. His JSA parents either are dead or haven't done much to actually support him after his time with the Titans and the fight that scarred his face. By the time Grant is a young adult and has joined the JSA (who all seem to have forgotten that they're technically related to him), he's harboring a lot of bitterness toward his father.

(Justice Society of America 2007 #3)

He insists he's not following in his father's footsteps, and he is adamant about not taking up his father's mantle. He is Damage.

There's some inconsistency in this panel (Grant knew nothing whatsoever about Al Pratt before finding out they were related), but it's made clear that the bitterness comes from feeling abandoned and disconnected.

(Justice Society of America 2007 #16)

This resentment comes to a head after Grant has joined the cult of a villain who restored his face. This change in loyalties has caused a lot of trouble for the JSA. Albert tries to do the brotherly thing and talk some sense into Grant by reconnecting him to his father.

(JSA Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom #1)

Which is something that should have happened a long time ago! Grant should have gotten the opportunity to see his parents' house and artifacts. It would have been a way to connect, especially at a time when he was more open to that, but for whatever reason that didn't happen, and he's in no frame of mind to accept this as a kindness.

Instead he projects his own jealousy onto Albert, destroys his father's belongings, uses a term for his father that is both very rude and inaccurate, and deliberately blows up the entire house.

(JSA Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom #1)

This level of maliciousness is not normal for him, and of course it's exacerbated by the influence of the villain he's currently following, but still...he's way out of line. This is him at his absolute worst. Accidental destruction has left him with a lot of guilt before. But how does he feel knowing that he let his anger get so out of hand that he obliterated so many physical ties to his father's memory--things that meant something, if not to him, then to his almost-brother?

Well, it's never directly addressed. But he does seem to have some guilt when faced with a memorial to his father.

(Blackest Night #1)

During the Blackest Night event, when Grant encounters the Black Lantern version of his father (basically an evil zombie), "Al" spouts all of Grant's frustrations with him.

And Grant responds with what Albert tried to remind him of. His father didn't know about him. It wasn't his fault. This is some small progress.

(Blackest Night #4)

In fact, if Al had known about Grant, things would have been incredibly different. The Pratts were evidently desperate to have children, since they were still trying for one so late in life (Grant would have been born in the late 1970s, and the Pratts would have been in their fifties by then if they were college-age in the early 1940s, which doesn't make a lot of sense for the established timeline, but whatever the case, the point still stands: older-than-usual first-time parents).

Before Al even married, he was already eager to find out if he and Mary would have kids and his reaction to learning that they'd have "at least one" is excitement.

(The New Golden Age #1)

Was it confidence in this prophecy that kept the Pratts trying for a baby for so long?

If Al's relationship with Albert is any indication of what he would have been like as a father, he would have been a good one. And he would have been outraged if he knew what the Emersons did to his son. If editorial mandate had not ensured that Zero Hour went the way it did, there could have been an eventual father-son reunion that would have taken Grant's solo in a completely different direction.

But that didn't happen, and Al is still dead in the current continuity. Grant, however, was last seen in the company of one of the newly restored lost children. Is he going to adopt a mentor role now? Will that require him to reconsider his own relationships with all the father-figures he had/could have had?

At any rate, a good step for him might be to address his name. After finding out about his complicated parentage, he felt that Damage was the only name he had left. But that's not true.

What if he dropped "Emerson," the name of the people who abused him, a symbol of all that painful baggage he's been carrying around? What if he instead chose to proudly use his birth name: Grant Albert Pratt?

#comicsposting again #GE: what I do is who I am #this is simultaneously a lengthy story time and an attempt to put some pieces together thank you for bearing with me

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thoustve · 1 month

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i wish "earned" badges spanned across all blogs under an account sdkfds. it feels weird to me that badges dont (i guess i KINDA get the bought ones although its still kinda weird even then) but i can't earn the boop badges or any earned badges on this blog!!! because it's technically a side blog even though its the main one i use but theres no way to shift mains without creating a whole new account under a new email and im too deep in to do that lmao. however, i will still enjoy them on my actual "main" even if that blog is on an indefinite hiatus. since it's what shows up for likes and everything, at least they're still there

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chirpsythismorning · 2 years

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Rewatching s1 and… just being full serious for a second, I used to ship milkvan, like I thought I loved them in s1-2. Then when s3 happened I sorta lost interest. And in between the long hiatus between s3-4, I discovered the theories about the ending of s3 and byler and started to watch the show differently. Since then it’s just been a transition from thinking Mike and El were cute romantically, to being indifferent about it, and to just being sort of off put by it entirely by this point. Especially after all the analysis about Mike and him seeing her as a superhero with what we got in s4 in canon, it’s sort of ruined their dynamic for me.

If you guys thought the parallels between Brenner and Mike in s4 were bad, holy shit it somehow manages to be worse in s1.

There were literal scenes of Brenner forcing El to find someone for him, followed scenes of Mike, Dustin and Lucas basically doing the exact same thing to find Will.

Don’t get me wrong. I do think Mike did genuinely care for her as a person who was vulnerable and needed someone to protect her, because she was literally in danger.

But when she started lying to them about leading them to the gate, and hearing Lucas’ comment about how she was only doing what they asked because she needed a roof over her head, etc., technically, that wasn’t far off…

She doesn’t know Will, therefore she has no obligation to keep hurting herself in order to please Mike and prove herself worthy to Lucas and Dustin, by finding Will, just so that she can stay.

Do I think that makes them or her inherently bad? No. I just think that there was an obvious miscommunication here, where El wanted to be cared for, and to have someone to depend on, and she thought that in exchange she had to do these things to get it, ie. Find Will.

I don’t think Mike genuinely even felt like her only value was finding Will, but the circumstances were pretty bizarre. His best friend goes missing only for Superman to land on his doorstep and say that he’s alive. While it might not be his intention to use her, he is giving that impression and that’s undeniable watching s1.

What makes her sacrifice so sad at the end of the season, is that Mike had just gotten to a point where he was starting to see her as a person and not just a girl with superpowers. And right at that moment, she sacrifices herself to save them. A selfless act of the many she’s been doing all season. And now Mike feels awful. Because he’s realized that he used her for his benefit, to find Will. And at that point, they didn’t even find Will yet. So at the moment, her sacrifice was for nothing.

Whenever she wasn’t successful, he lashed out and pushed her away. And yet in the end she practically killed herself for him and his friends. I feel like if Mike had empathy and regretted his behavior, then his literal reaction in the end, to her ‘death’, does make sense and fits pretty well with someone experiencing survivors guilt.

Because although he’s got his best friend back, and that’s what he’s most focused on, he’s simultaneously feeling this immense sense of wrong doing on his part. He feels indebted to her now, in the same way she may have felt indebted to him for helping her and putting himself in danger to do so.

So I think s4 is just a part of this cycle, of Mike not understanding that he’s wronging her until its said and done.

So, more than anything tbh, I just want her soooooo badly to lash out at him in s5… and not in a dramatic way, but in a necessary way that I feel like is required for them to go from romantic to platonic without any bitterness.

I remember reading someone say that they hoped that we got a scene that paralleled Mike to El in season 1, when he said “You hurt me. Do you understand? What you did sucks!” And I don’t need or expect it to be word for word exactly like that, but something along those lines. Where as soon as El starts speaking and telling Mike how she truly feels, about their relationship and everything that they’ve been through, no bullshit, I just know as soon as it gets real, as soon as she calls out his idolization of her and his obsession with her powers, and how she hates that and she’s been through that enough, I honestly think it’s gonna click for Mike and he’s gonna listen and accept it and take responsibility for not being fully honest with her.

I am a byler truther forever atp, but it’s also really important to me that Mike and El end things in a way that feels true to what they both deserve out of it, in terms of closure. Especially El!

Which means that they’re both honest about everything from the beginning. And I think once we get that (if we hopefully get that), it’s going to give the audience closure too.

#byler #elmike #stranger things #mike wheeler #el hopper #will byers #stranger things theory #mike wheeler i know what you are #stranger things meta

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borderlinemediocre · 1 year

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My Maynard & Trent Manifesto:

I’ve been wanting to put this all together for a while. Basically, in my mind, there’s a hidden love story between these two and it’s complicated and messy and angsty.

First, they met in the mid-90s when Billy Howerdel introduced them at Trent’s New Orleans studio:

They clearly vibed because they’re both so hard working and technical and not afraid to get their hands dirty. Sweet.

They pretty much immediately started making music together, under the name Tapeworm, along with Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser, and eventually Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder. Although when Maynard talks about the project he only talks about Trent. So that’s a thing.

These Tapeworm pics are from 2002:

They definitely made a lot of music up until 2004 when Trent announced the end of the project. Interestingly that’s also when APC went on a 6 year hiatus. Tapeworm never officially released anything.

Trent says it’s because the music was “mediocre”. He says the whole project was just a distraction to “waste time” because he was afraid to write another NIN record.

Maynard says no one in Tapeworm was “ready” to make music together and that everyone had big egos that “polluted” the project.

So Trent totally abandoned the music they made, but Maynard didn’t. He started to play a Tapeworm track, “Vacant”, live with APC in 2000. Trent was kind of pissy about it, especially since Maynard was extra ballsy and debuted it while on tour with NIN.

Speaking of that tour, before playing 3 Libras in Phoenix, Maynard said that “2 of the 3 Libras are here tonight. If this song sounds bitter, it’s because it is, and I am.” Like??? He’s so directly calling out Trent here and letting it be known that he’s still angry about not getting to be with him. Also makes me think he debuted Vacant to purposely piss Trent off. And 3 Libras is bitter, and sad:

Maynard eventually released a reworked version of Vacant, called “Passive”, with APC in 2004, right before their hiatus.

He also recorded “Potions” with Puscifer and gave it to Trent as a wedding present in 2009 before releasing it on the Puscifer album that year. Which seems like a sweet gesture until you look at the lyrics:

He chose this song to give to him on his wedding day for… reasons, I’m sure. Wholesome friendship reasons.

Then after Trent had his first kid in 2010, Maynard changed the lyrics to “Passive” during a live set (this is the worst sound quality in the world but you get the point) to “Trent just had a baby/ the doctor tells me/ but I just can’t believe him”. So. Upset that Trent is moving on? Or just him being supportive? Who knows? (We know)

Earlier this year, Maynard did an interview with Rick Beato and mentioned Trent’s influence on his music, while dragging him at the same time:

“Trent on The Fragile; he’s stealing shit all over that album, but I’m stealing from his stolen goods.”

“Weak and Powerless is like a metronome right through your head. Again, stolen from Trent. Shh. Don’t tell him. Don’t watch this, Trent. Prick.”

And having Trent on his mind while he wrote this is certainly a thought:

So clearly, 22 years after he said he was bitter, he still is. But, I think he’s done some moving on as well. He just released a reworked version of “Potions” with Puscifer but with one small yet impactful lyric change- instead of “I want you”, it’s “I don’t want you.”

He’s said that he won’t keep singing songs about things he’s moved past (like the song Prison Sex with Tool, that they haven’t played in over 20 years). So when I saw that he rereleased Potions I was like Ohhhh he’s still not over Trent. But with this lyric change, maybe he is? Maybe he wanted to tie up a loose end that’s been hanging out there. Maybe he gave the new version to Trent beforehand.

I want to end with a quote from Maynard himself: “No one is gayer than I am, but some come dangerously close.”

🫡🙏🏻

#thank you to my friends who have had to hear this in pieces #you’re the true heroes #and to my husband who gave me like half this info #the gay we need #trent reznor #maynard james keenan #nine inch nails #tool band

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