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rose-tea-and-strawberries · 28 days

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To Catch A Falling Star (Idia Shroud x Reader)

Inspired by a scene from Criminal Minds

Masterlist

Reader is intended to be female

If Idia had to describe you in one word it was unexpected.

He still remembers the day he met the magicless prefect who appeared out of nowhere in a fiery blaze of glory like some leveled up shounen protagonist about to fight the final boss, how Ortho had directed you into his room before he could stop him. And instead of being repulsed by the many, many posters, figurines and merch he had scattered around his room, you were in fact…elated?

“You’re an otaku as well?” you beamed at him, your starry-eyed gaze of awe rendering him speechless before he flinches as you yell, pumping your fists in the air, “Finally! A worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!”

Yeah, he does not have the energy to unpack that.

Anyway, he never expected you to appear in his world, and he never expected to find himself comfortable with you, his new gaming buddy and fellow animanga enthusiast. You never judge him for his tastes or his behaviour or less than ideal personality. You were someone he could genuinely call a friend andabsolutelynothingmoreOrthoIloveyoubutpleasebequiet.

And having you around a lot, both because of you just barging into his room or by Ortho’s multitude of invites, just felt natural, your chatter being something that he could call soothing. Which is how he found himself absolutely dominating his current multiplayer playthrough with you doing your own thing by his side.

After his team had won the game, he turned to you, ready to receive your subsequent praise, only to find that your attention was diverted towards a wooden toy thing, your face scrunched up in concentration as your fingers fiddled with its many vertices.

“What are you doing?” he asked and you paused your twiddling, looking up at him.

“Oh I got this star puzzle in Sam’s shop earlier. It reminded me a lot of this thing we have back in my world so I thought that I’d try it out,” you look back down and resume playing with it, “it’s practically impossible to figure out. You’ve got to put all of these pieces together to form a perfect star. It’s a bit of a headache really but it’s got a really sweet backstory.”

“So that thing’s got lore?” Idia raised his eyebrows and held out his hand. You gently toss it into his open palm.

“Well, you see it’s this romantic story where a young prince wanted to win the heart of the fairest maiden in the land, so he climbed up to the top of the tallest tower in the kingdom and caught a falling star for her. But, since he was so excited to give it to her, he dropped it and it smashed into all of these small pieces. So he frantically put it back together again to prove his undying love to her and he succeeded and they lived happily ever after.”

“What a load of normie nonsense,” Idia scoffed.

“Excuse me?!”

“You can’t catch a falling star,” he deadpanned, “it would burn up in the atmosphere.”

“Really?” you ask, unimpressed, “you live in a world that has flying broomsticks and magic mirrors and plants that can yell loud enough to kill someone - I really don’t think you can argue about the concept of reality when there are children here who are capable of breaking the laws of physics on the regular.”

“But still, it’s stupid,” he grumbles, “why does catching a star make you a shoujo manga male lead.”

“It’s romantic,” you argue, “he loves her so much that he would do the impossible for her. Besides, the point is that it’s impossible to do because you have to take all of these pieces and fit them exactly into the shape of a -”

You trail off, dumbfounded, when Idia smugly presents to you the completed puzzle, a small brown star sitting idly in his hand.

“You were saying,” he smirked at your flabbergasted expression, preening slightly when it shifted to annoyed, “it doesn’t seem all that hard to me.”

“Why do you have to be like this,” you lamented, pouting as you grumbled about ‘high and mighty otakus who think they’re so cool just because they’ve beaten you in every one-v-one you’ve played’.

“Just take the L,” he said, not without a hint of condescension, as he turned back to his screen. Thankfully you were too busy wallowing to notice the magenta glowing along the edges of his hair. Why do you have to be so cute? You’re dangerous, you know.

Yeah, you’re a pretty unpredictable person. But that doesn’t mean that he can’t pull any epic gamer moves of his own.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #idia shroud x reader #fem reader

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wingedcupcaketimemachine · 10 months

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Heyyyy, I saw your requests open and wanna ask for oneshot Zuko x GN!Reader(who is really-really sweet for a firebender), but they're childhood friends(and Zuko had a crush on them) and reader ran away to Earth Kingdom. Then they meet in some village where Reader lives and make something romantic there!

Please and thank you!

Zuko Reuniting With Childhood Friend

Pairing: Zuko x Firebender!GN!Reader

Summary: You and Zuko are childhood friends who grew up together in the Fire Nation.

Warnings: Contain spoilers for some of Zuko's backstory if you haven't seen the show. Also contains badly written kiss scene

Type: Romantic ❤️

A/N: I decided to give the reader a bit of backstory to explain why they fled to the Earth Kingdom. The one shot takes place during season 2 episode 14, "Tales of Ba Sing Se." Hope you enjoy <3

Oneshot starts below cut

Avatar: The Last Airbender Masterlist

Main Masterlist

You had been friends with Zuko back when you still lived in the Fire Nation. You had grown up alongside him and his sister, Azula, as your father was on of the Firelord's more trusted generals.

As a young child, you were never very interested in playing games with Azula and her friends. You preferred spending quiet time with Zuko around the palace.

Zuko never understood how he felt about you.. Of course he liked you. The two of you were friends, best friends even. But, did best friends make a fiery red blush rise from your face to the tops of your ears? Did a best friends cause your heart to stop beating every time you got lost in their eyes?

Even now, as his golden eyes met yours, his heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest. He carefully studied you as you sat in the corner of the tea shop. You had changed. Your hair was different, maybe a bit longer than he remembered, and you had swapped out your red Fire Nation clothes for a simple green dress -- an Earth Nation staple. Most notably, your bright eyes had remained the same.

You studied him as well. This Zuko was much different than the boy you knew as a child. His hair was much shorter, and his once warm golden eyes had grown dull. You wondered, how had he ended up in a Ba Sing Se tea shop of all places? After his banishment from the Fire Nation, you weren't sure if you would ever see him again.

"Uncle, we have a problem," said Zuko as he approached his uncle behind the front counter, "Don't look now, but over in the corner table, it's (Y/N)."

Iroh swiftly turned to glance at your table. He recognized you in an instant. His mind was flooded with the memories of you and Zuko growing uo together in the palace.

"Uncle!" Zuko scolds, "Didn't I say don't look? Now they're gonna know that we're onto them."

Before Iroh could respond, you walked up to the counter with a small bag of coins in hand.

"Thank you for the tea, Zuko," you said politely, "And you too general Iroh."

Zuko felt heat rise to his ears. He had always though you were pretty, and seeing you up close was starting to make him a but flustered. "But why?" he thought to himself. Were friends supposed to think of each other that way?

"You're welcome," said Zuko with red checks, "But you can't call us that here. I go by Lee. And my uncle is called Mushi"

"Sorry!" you said quickly, as your face flushed with embarrassment, "I didn't even think that you would go by different names here. Speaking of which, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Well," Zuko said, "It's not really something we can discuss here."

"My nephew is right!" Iroh said, jumping back into the conversation, "Why don't the two of you go out tonight and discuss how both of you came to be in Ba Sing Se?"

At Iroh's suggestion, Zuko turned even redder, if possible.

"I like that idea," you said shyly before turning back to Zuko, "I know a restaurant in the city if you'd like to go there."

"Yeah..that sounds...nice," Zuko said quietly, "I can meet you in front of the tea shop tonight."

"Yeah," you said with a grin, "See you tonight."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After it had gotten dark, you stood outside of the tea shop waiting for Zuko. As you waited, you began to hear muffled voices from inside the shop.

"i'm not so sure about this, Uncle," said Zuko hesitantly "What if they end up hating me after I tell them. I don't want to lose them again."

"Do not worry Zuko. They have a god heart, and so do you. Now get going. You're going to be late."

"Hi," you said as Zuko walked out of the tea shop, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," said Zuko, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Lead the way."

The two of you walked in an uncomfortable silence. The tension between you could be cut with a knife. After a brief walk, which somehow felt so much longer than the short 10 minutes, you came to a stop outside of a small restaurant.

"This is it," you said awkwardly, "Do you wanna go find a table?"

"Sure," said Zuko, before you fell into another uncomfortable silence.

"So," you said after you had settled in your seats, "What are you doing here in Ba Sing Se anyway? I thought you were looking for the avatar."

"I am!" Zuko said quickly, "But Uncle and I got a bit sidetracked. Azula's after us."

Your eyes widened in shock.

"Azula? But what could she want from you? She's already next in line to become firelord."

"My father," said Zuko quietly, "He sent her after me and the avatar. He doesn't seem to think my efforts to capture him are good enough."

"Of course," you said in a rare burst of anger, "I should have known your father would do anything to prevent you from returning to the Fire Nation. That's part of the reason I left, you know."

"Really?" said Zuko curiously.

He had always wondered what made you leave the Fire Nation. Although he had already been banished at that time, he had heard through letters from the Fire Nation that you had run away shortly after his father sent him to find the avatar. Selfishly, he couldn't help but think that you had left for him.

"I never really agreed with the Fire Nation's teachings," you said honestly, "I always wondered why we were taught that our way of life was better than everyone else, when, truly, each one of us should be seen as equals. But when your own father challenged you to an Agni Kai, I realized that we really weren't the heroes the Fire Nation said we were. We were the villains. I came out here to try and make a difference. I can't just stand by while our people destroy the world and everyone in it."

Zuko's gaze met you eyes and he saw the many emotions swirling inside of them. Most importantly the fiery determination that he hadn't seen since childhood. As your words sank in, he though about how he and his uncle had ended up in the city. Unlike you, who, through your unwavering need to help others, had worked the make life easier for the people whose life had been torn apart by the Fire Nation, he had spent the better part of a month terrorizing innocent towns on his hunt for the avatar.

"I always wished I could be more like you, you know," Zuko said ashamed, "I always thought I was doing the right thing by tracking down the avatar, but after seeing all the damage the Fire Nation has caused, maybe I've been doing a lot more harm than good."

You smiled at him before softly cupping his face.

"You're not a bad person, Zuko," you said quietly, "I know there's good in you. You just need someone to help you find it."

You felt Zuko's skin burn under your touch, as you look into his golden eyes, which are filled with hesitation. As you leaned closer, you could hear Zuko's breath hitch as his breath caught in his throat. Zuko began to lean in, hoping you couldn't hear his heart beating at a thousand miles an hour.

Your lips finally connected, for a brief second, before you pulled apart, faces flushed.

"You, know," Zuko said quietly, "I missed you a lot after I left the Fire Nation."

You smiled softly.

"So did I," you said before gently pulling him into another kiss.

#zuko #zuko imagine #zuko x reader #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla imagine #atla zuko #avatar zuko #prince zuko #zuko fluff #prince zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n

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cowgurrrl · 1 month

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The Palace in Flames

Pairing: Javier Peña x CIA!reader

Author's note: okay two things 1) fuck it we ball on this timeline 2) i don't love how this turned out but I need to finish it otherwise I'm gonna stare at it for god knows how long so enjoy anyways

Summary: "I'm not a violet dog. I don't know why I bite." [3.8k]

Warnings: canonical violence and language, alcohol, a little bit of backstory, discussion of PTSD like symptoms, a touch of misogyny, canon events but slightly canon divergent timing i think

There's not a lot you can do at the scene of the car bombing. You and Javi talk to local police and take witness statements from frightened neighbors and anybody else willing to come forward with information while Steve takes pictures. From what you can tell, it looks like it was a crude C4 bomb, one of the easiest to make and detonate. All it takes is the right amount of pressure, and boom. A few unfortunate souls died right beside Jorge as they walked past, unaware of the explosion to come. A hit for one quickly turned into a hit for five.

You're good enough at your job to recognize the fact that Steve and Javi went poking around for information about the person who ratted on you, and then a few hours later, he's dead, not even ten minutes outside of your neighborhood. Medellín is a big place. It could've been a coincidence, but you're almost certain it's not. You really hope you don't have to make good on your promise to return to the US if they go after you again.

You, Javi, and a handful of other police officers finish with the witnesses and join Steve by the truck. All files and statements will need to go through the proper channels tomorrow, and it's too late to do anything else. You'll start fresh in the morning: follow through on the plan to send out CENTRA SPIKE to see what they can find, monitor movement, and stay vigilant. But tonight, you deserve to get a drink with your two self-appointed bodyguards.

The great thing about working at the Embassy is that everyone touts interagency cooperation and work, but in reality, you rarely want to see each other in the same place. DEA will hang out at one specific bar while CIA will go to another. You don't even want to know where soldiers and higher-ups go once the clock hits six o'clock. Every agency thinks another agency is fucking them over or doing their job wrong. Everybody wants a medal for being in Medellín and fighting the narcos and communists but rarely wants to work together. You like to think your agencies have the upper hand with the three of you being friendly and sharing information without going through official, classified paperwork. It's not the most recommended or legal way to go about it. But, you've been able to pass on valuable information Javi let slip in between rounds and shared cigarettes under the guise of a Confidential Informant.

You were friends with Javi first. He came to Colombia around the same time you did, and you worked the same hours. You did him favors, and he returned them. You learned not to ask each other too many questions and to take what you're given and hope it leads somewhere. You've gotten little victories here and there: guerillas extradited, kidnapping victims recovered safely, witnesses given protection and visas in other countries. It was nice to have someone you could rely on and bounce theories off of when the office was empty, and you two were puffing your way through a pack of cigarettes. The lines got blurry about six months in. It happened fast and without warning, and you swore it was a one-time thing. And then it happened again. And again. And again. Then, it just made sense to keep doing what you were doing instead of going through the cycle of fighting about it and giving each other the cold shoulder, only to end up fucking in his apartment before the end of the day.

Steve, however, got stuck with you. When he became Javi's partner, he was forced to know your name and seek you out in the office when he needed something. At first, he wasn't super keen about the idea of having to rely on CIA for things— something to do with that DEA machismo of not needing anything from anyone— and then he realized how good you are at your job. Once you helped them get an especially important collar, he opened up. He told you about the killing of his last partner and a little bit about his career up until this point. He practically begged you to talk to Connie when she started getting homesick and having doubts, and you came to care for her. Now, you're an inseparable trio (quartet if you count the nights Connie makes her way from the communa clinic and into the bar).

You think Noonan knew that when she asked Steve and Javi to join the Colombian police on your recon. Something about friendly faces in an unfriendly territory. She was right. You stuck to Javi the entire ambulance ride to the hospital, and they each took turns at your bedside. Even Connie showed up to take care of you during those long few nights in the hospital. You were less willing to accept help once you were discharged, but Steve would knock on your apartment door every night and leave a covered dish on your doormat while Javi bought you groceries. You owe them a lot, though they'll never let you admit it.

Javi buys the first round to celebrate your reinstatement. He gives a brief, flattering toast to your work, and you roll your eyes but clink your glasses together anyway. You avoid talking about theories and leads in the bar, even though you probably could talk about those things in English and get away with it. Everybody already knows you work for the American Embassy. No reason to give anybody anything to report back. Instead, you talk about stupid things like Steve being unable to speak Spanish.

"I can understand a little," he tries to defend himself, and you and Javi share a knowing look. He definitely doesn't understand enough to quantify it as a little. He might pick up every tenth word and know enough commands to dole them out when he's in the field, but that southern accent anglicizes every single syllable he utters. "Alright, y'all can go fuck yourselves." He says at your silence, making you laugh.

"Don't worry about it, Murphy. Couple more years and you'll be running circles around Javi."

"I don't know about all that, but she's right. You'll get better," Javi takes a sip of his drink. "Eventually."

Over two more rounds, you talk about things back home, tell stupid stories, and whatever else you could think of. It's nice to see Steve and Javi acting like they kinda like each other outside of work. Lord knows they're at each other's throats most of the time. You enjoy hanging out with them, and even though you know you can handle yourself, you like feeling protected by them. Years of CIA training and undercover work don't mean shit when all people see is a woman alone at night.

"Alright, I've gotta get home," Steve says as he drinks the rest of his whiskey and puts his cigarette out. He probably should've been home hours ago, but that's none of your business.

"Tell Connie I said hi." You say, and he smiles, nodding and mumbling a quiet "yes, ma'am." He loves her so much, even just the mention of her makes him light up. Your thought from earlier creeps up. A good man. And yet he's here, doing the same shit you and Javi are. It's a little funny how squeamish he still is about things, but you figure that's the last sign of his humanity. God, please let that linger for as long as possible. Javi takes a drag from his cigarette and blows the smoke away from your face.

"Yeah, give her a kiss for me." He says. Before Steve can even open his mouth, you smack the back of Javi's head and groan.

"Ay, Javier," you scold. "Malo, malo, malo." Javi smiles, a rare sight reserved for moments like this, as Steve bids you goodnight again and leaves the bar. The second he's out of sight, you reach over, snatch the cigarette from Javi's hands, and bring it to your lips.

"Get your own," he grumbles, but there's no heat behind it. You roll your eyes and exhale.

"Stealing from you is so much cheaper, though," you shrug as you hand it back to him. "You think he got suspicious when we showed up at the same time?"

"We live down the road from each other and got the call around the same time. Even if he figured it out, he wouldn't say anything. Plus, I think your little attitude at work throws him off." He says, and you raise your eyebrows at him.

"My little attitude?" You ask. You know he said it just to piss you off, and you hate that it's working. He smirks and you shove his shoulder, stealing the cigarette back from him. "Pinche cabrón." You mumble, and he laughs. He gets a new cigarette from his pack and lights up. A comfortable silence falls over you as you sit there, his hand finding a home on your thigh under the table.

"So, how're you doing?" Javi asks, seemingly out of nowhere. You shrug and ash your cigarette into the half-full tray in front of you.

"'M fine." You say, and he hums. He takes a long drag of his cigarette and glances around like he's looking for something you can't see. He blows smoke away from you and leans in.

"So, waking up screaming is fine for you?" He asks. You didn't want to talk about it when you woke up, and you especially don't want to talk about it now. You poke your tongue into your cheek in annoyance.

"If you thought I wasn't okay, why'd you push for Noonan to clear me?"

"I didn't say I didn't think you're okay."

"Then, drop it."

"Look, I know you wanna go all in again, but maybe you should take it slow—at least for a little while," he says, and you scoff.

"Give me a fuckin' break, Javi. Did you take it slow when you got shot?" You ask.

"Getting shot and getting kidnapped are two completely different things."

"And yet we both survived," you say, gesturing between you as proof of your survival. "The doctors wouldn't have cleared me to come back if they didn't think I was ready."

"Yeah? How much you pay 'em off for that signature?" He asks. You sigh and bite the inside of your cheek. You're not going to dignify him with a response but you so easily could. "C'mon, just... let your feet get wet again. Everyone knows you've already got the lay of the land, but they don't know that you won't freak the fuck out once you're fully back in the field. I think some of them are waitin' for it," he says. It would explain why everyone's treating you like you're a time bomb. "If you won't do it for yourself, at least do it because I'm asking you."

"And are you asking me as a coworker or a friend?" You ask. He's staring at you in his weird Javi way: hardened brown eyes softening just enough to bring your guard down. It's not something he learned from years at the Academy or in the field. That's all him.

"Would it make a difference?" He asks quietly. Answering a question with a question. What a cop.

"Not really." You say, and he sighs. He scrubs a hand down his face and picks up his drink, a cigarette lingering between his fingers.

"I'm asking as someone who saw what they did to you." He says before taking a big gulp of whiskey. You haven't talked about it. Not about what he saw and knew before finding you or what exactly happened in that room over those few days. You spent hours upon hours repeating the story for doctors, depositions, agency paperwork, and even to the court-appointed psychiatrist who had to screen you before they could even let you back in the building. So, you weren't necessarily gunning for the opportunity to repeat it again when Javi asked you about it. There are only so many sympathetic looks and half-hearted reassurances one person can take.

Even though you relied on him to tether you back to earth during those first few days, he took the brunt of your emotions. You refused to answer his questions and pushed him away. "I'm just trying to help," he told you when he tried to take care of you. "Where was your fucking help when they grabbed me from the street, huh?" You snapped, exhausted and sore and a little out of your mind. It was mean and unfair. You know how hard everyone worked to find you. You know how he blames himself. You know how scared they were to find your body.

When he puts his empty glass down, you look at him and nod. You can't take back what you said, but you can soften it a little. You put your hand over his and trace the contours of his knuckles. They're a little bruised and cracked, but still a part of him. You take a deep breath and rub your thumb against his skin.

"Okay," you concede quietly. "I'll slow down for a little while, but the second we have good intel, I'm all in again." He lets out a relieved sigh and squeezes your thigh.

"Thank you." He mumbles. To anyone walking by, you two would look like a couple having a drink after a long day of work before going to your shared home and sleeping it off. You indulge in the thought for a second longer than you meant to before you retract your hand and reach for your drink.

"You're gettin' soft on me, Peña." You accuse, and he chuckles.

"God forbid I wanna see you make it outta here alive." He says, and you hum as you finish the rest of your drink. His eyes stick to the corner of your lips where a few drops of tequila spilled, his thumb twitching as he stops himself from wiping them away. "What're you doing for the rest of the night?" He asks. It's an opening. An invitation to finish what he started earlier. What happened with Alemán earlier in the day must've wound him up, made him tense and in need of release. Unfortunately for him, there are few things you like more than making him sweat.

"Well, I've got a dinner I need to pack away in the fridge and dishes to clean."

"I can help."

"I don't think you can," you say as you stand and grab your jacket from the back of your chair. "Besides, I'm supposed to be taking it easy. I should probably get some rest before my first actual day back, right?" He rolls his eyes as you throw a couple of bills down on the table for your share of the drinks, and you smirk. "I'll let you walk me home, though."

"You'll let me?" He asks, but he's already standing and pulling his own jacket over his shoulder. Like clockwork, you think.

"Figured it's the least I could do." You say, and he scoffs, swatting at your ass when he passes behind you.

"Vámonos princesa."

You get a warm welcome back to the office by immediately getting thrown into the chaos of the CIA. A corkboard with all known names of M-19 and other communist group members looks like a serial killer's wet dream with all the notes and grainy photos that stare you down as you talk about recent developments in the jungle. Honestly, you don't care what a group of kids are doing or planning to do, but everyone else in the CIA seems to think it's the most pressing matter.

Despite what the Agency and Reagan want you to believe, you know communists are not the most dangerous group in Colombia right now. Narcos are practically running the country and ruining countless lives with their rampant murder and exploitation. So even though Lou wants to sink a billion dollars of American taxpayer money into fighting guerillas in the jungle, you have one eye on the situation with the narcos. You're just waiting for the message to come down through the ranks that it's all hands on deck for taking down Escobar. Lou knows about your indifference and exacerbates it every chance he gets.

"Agent, I want you to work with Mil Group on tracking their movement to see if there are any patterns. I want to know where they're going and what they're planning." He says, pointing to you. You give him a look and cross your arms over your chest. You hate working with Mil Group. It's a group of guys with sticks up their asses and, somehow, never see the outside of an office. You catch Javi and Steve walking by through the windows, obviously going somewhere, and you lose whatever patience you have.

"All due respect, Colonel, but Ambassador Noonan took me off of desk duty effective immediately. I think I could be of more help in another area concerning M-19." You say, and he raises his eyebrows at you. You're also not fucking boss, you think.

"I'm sure we can find the time for you to show us how big and bad you are another time, sweetheart, but right now, this is where you're ordered to go." The nickname is abrasive in your ears, and you want to correct him, demanding your title as Agent, but Javi's words ring in your ears. They're waiting for you to freak out so they can send you home. They're waiting for you to blow up on somebody for a small thing. They want you to fail. You sigh and bite your tongue.

"Yes, sir." You say before making your way to the Jarheads.

For being off of desk duty, you still feel like you're doing mind-numbing work. All you're doing is plotting points on a map where satellite phones have pinged off of cell towers in an attempt to triangulate where they might be hiding out. Considering how there are barely any cell towers that reach that deep into the jungle, and even if they did, the calls drop after about thirty seconds, you don't have a ton of riveting information to work with. You listen to the recorded, half-legible calls and translate what you can to another agent, but nothing suggests they're planning anything. If they are, they're keeping it off your radar.

After wasting a stupid amount of time doing that, Lou draws up a bigger map and makes you replot all the points down with an estimate of where they might be. You're not CENTRA SPIKE or well-versed in how triangulation even works, and he knows this. It's a fool's errand at best, but he demands it by the end of the day. "So I can give it to the tech analysis guys." He says. You're about one more pointless task away from bashing your head into a wall, but you start on the map anyway.

You're about halfway through when you hear Murphy calling your name, and you turn to see him and Javi walking through the crowded Mil Group office.

"You're working with the Army now?" He asks, and you sigh.

"For the day. Lou is on everyone's ass about this M-19 shit and thinks I'm the best person for the job, apparently," you say. "Please tell me you have something better than this."

"We just got a sicario's son off the street. Dumbass was distributing in broad daylight in front of a cop." Javi says, and you furrow your eyebrows.

"We both know that's not a good enough reason for a cop to pick up a sicario's kid. What're you holding out on me?"

"Apparently, the cop heard him bragging about rigging a car with a bomb. He said something along the lines of, 'That's what happens to rats,' and then said something about going after La Golondrina next." Steve supplies. So this sicario's kid rigged the bomb to kill the informant who sniffed you out, said he also had a bomb for you, and now he's sitting somewhere in DEA custody? If Escobar's men weren't going after you before, they definitely are now.

"Do you think he even knows anything? He might just be daddy's errand boy."

"He asked for a deal," Steve says.

"Wheeling and dealing might not be grounds for extradition, but threatening to blow up a United States CIA agent just might be," Javi says. Something shifts in his eyes just enough for you to catch it, and you know it has to do with the conversation you had at the bar. You shake your head and break eye contact with him to look at Steve.

"Right, but you know how Wysession and Jones are. If it doesn't involve communist groups, they don't even want to look at it."

"The kid told us that some of Escobar's men have been talking with one of the leaders of M-19." Bingo. You throw down your marker, stand from the desk Wysession relegated you to, and all but march into his office with Steve and Javi close behind you.

"How's that plotting coming along, honey?" Lou asks as he looks up from his paperwork, his face falling at the sight of the two men behind you. Lou might not like you, but he dislikes Javi and Steve more.

"Agents Peña and Murphy have intel that Pablo is communicating with M-19 guerillas," you say. "That means there could be a joint attack coming, which means we can't keep separating the communist and narcos task forces."

"Has this information gone through Noonan?" He asks.

"No, sir. We wanted to relay the information to our Agent here first since the intel involves her kidnapping." Steve speaks up, using your actual title, and you have to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from smirking.

"Is your intel good?" Lou asks Steve, ignoring you and Javi, and Steve gives him a look.

"You think we'd be wastin' your time if it wasn't?"

"Well, then, you better get a move on and go tell her." He says like he doesn't actually like the idea, but he can't think of anything else to say. You, Javi, and Steve quickly leave his office and start the trek to Noonan's office when Steve gets a call on his sat phone. He looks like he's about to ignore it before remembering it could be Connie, and even though she's supposed to be at work, he doesn't take any chances and answers it. You're close enough to him to hear her frantic chattering on the phone and saying something about M-19 and Escobar. The walk to Noonan's office turns into a run, but it doesn't matter. By the time you get there, thousands upon thousands of pages of evidence against Pablo Escobar are burning on the TV as M-19 takes over the Palace of Justice.

This isn't just a singular agency fight anymore. You doubt it ever was. You know that the Palace of Justice Siege will change everything for better or worse, and you have to be ready for it. Promises made over glasses of scotch be damned.

TAGLIST:@abbyhaslongshorts@kiwiharrykiwi@sumsworldz@myloveistoolittle@anavatazes @marantha @cosmoscoffeee @shyminnie07 @beezusvreeland @eddiemunsonsbedroom @harriedandharassed @doodlebob-mp3 @ignorethisplz2004 @buckyispunk @d1lf-loverrr @vee-bees-blog @moel-jiller @anoverwhelmingdin @casssiopeia @space-zaddy-din-djarin @rainy-darling (let me know if you don't wanna be tagged for this series!)

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izloveshorses · 2 months

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I saw a post complaining about musical Dimitri so I want to know what is your favourite things about him in the musical?

sigh... musical dmitry... giggling kicking my feet twirling my hair thinking about him. i'm always daydreaming about him. if you saw me on the street irl i almost guarantee you'd catch me lost in some variation of musical dmitry thoughts.

there are so many things i could say here, anon. his redemption arc™ from a selfish liar to the most noble and self-sacrificing slavic sadboy i've ever seen? his angsty daddy issues backstory? his bewitching silly goose ways? how he lets One Woman completely change the trajectory of his life? how he falls into an emotional spiral about it? the way he Knows Who He Is and is very self assured in his identity, and helps anya do the same? how his identity is so intertwined with his home? his role as a Storyteller™? etc????

but for this ask today i'm going to focus on how gentle he is. i don't think gentleness is something that comes very easy to this dmitry. he lost his father at a young age, as we know. he was alone on the streets and had to fight to stay alive. he cons people for a living. by the time we meet him he's very cynical about the world and doesn't really trust anyone, other than vlad. mostly he just relies on himself and can't really count on anyone else. when he meets anya, a cryptic girl who is a bit off but in need of help, his first response is to scoff and send her away, since unstable people are too risky to deal with. he's capable of being charming, but he uses this skill to get what he wants.

a lesser character with an identical backstory would be gruff and unfeeling, but... this dmitry isn't. in spite of it all, he's so hopeful, though he buries it deep. his most treasured story is about a girl he met at a parade. he is known as the 'prince of petersburg,' has a relationship with everyone on the streets. in the hartford production he calls an older woman in the ensemble 'little mother.' he rescues vlad, a complete stranger, from a firing squad. and though he turns her down at first, he agrees to get anya to paris. he protects what's his own.

you can tell it takes him a while to learn gentleness. whether it's physical or verbal, especially around anya, he is still always on the defensive for a while. fight first, think later. she's really jumpy and skittish but he doesn't start changing his behavior until they fight the ruffians together. he flags all of his movements around her, making sure she knows his intentions first. he talks about his father. he gives her a music box because he thinks it'll make her smile. because she 'earned it.' when she's crying after a nightmare he tells her a sweet, simple story from his childhood.

the train scene is the best example of this shift-- when she cowers after the gunshot goes off, he is completely lost about what to do. 'calm her down,' vlad tells him, but how is he supposed to do that? she's sobbing into his shoulder and he's frozen, panicking, because what is he supposed to do here??? but he shushes her and holds her anyway. he does his best. and it works. in such a tense situation where they very well could be shot next he is so so gentle and patient with her. and by the time we reach iacot in paris, he knows exactly how to comfort her. he learned how to hold her gently and speak in a soft voice. how softness can ground someone in need.

to summarize: musical dmitry is... really soft? and softness/gentleness isn't really something you see in the conman archetype very often. he is so special.

#asks #Anonymous #anastasia #anastasia broadway #anastasia musical #dimya #dmitry sudayev #meta #sorry this got long alkshjdf #i took a long time to answer this bc i wanted to give u a good answer lol #thank u for letting me ramble about blorbo from my show <333

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ddwcaph-game · 2 months

Text

Hello everyone! The next update isn't close to being finished yet, since as usual I keep adding in new stuff, but before I respond to the asks for Roselyna's Matchmaking Service, I thought I'd update/recap everyone on all the big changes and new stuff that's coming:

New Nickname Changes/Options

MC's Pet Backstory

More Details about MC's Dad

Revamped Twin Fight Scene

New Secret About Julie & Maggie

JM's Mansion Sleepover Branch

Ancestry and Heritage Passives

Character Class, Trait, and Stat Adjustments

New Locket Stat and Intimidation Stat Rework

Missing Choices

Read below for more details:

New Nickname Changes/Options

You will now be able to change MC & Twin's nicknames anytime once you unlock the diary!

In addition, you will now also be able to choose/change the nickname you use for each F6E member (even if you aren't bestfriends), and change what you call Maggie/MC's Dad/Julie/Robert via the diary.

Speaking of nicknames, Wayne's diary entry will now mention that his middle name (and Mary's maiden name) is Hart! Of course, it's very much on brand for him to say that that's his middle name. 😄

MC's Pet Backstory

MC's pet will now have a prosthetic (I'm thinking one of their hind legs).

Okay, it's not an actual backstory, but this opens up new backstory opportunities (you'll know if you read IAC), about why Julie and Robert adopted them in the first place.

More Details about MC's Dad

In the next update, I will be updating the prologue to mention the job of MC's Dad, along with finally giving the option to choose where MC's Dad is from (if your MC is Half-Filipino).

Revamped Twin Fight Scene

I haven't actually played through DDWCaPH! since I finished Chapter 2, and when I finally did last month, I noticed a ton of typos, confusing lines, and awkward scenes, which I'll be working to address.

The twin fight scene in Chapter 1 is definitely a big offender, so I'll try to rewrite it so it has a bit more build up.

New Secret About Julie & Maggie

The last conversation you have with Paddy in Chapter 5 will have new details about Julie's laptop. Technically I've already kinda spoiled this secret before in one of the older versions, but here's a related hint featuring a new choice in Chapter 3:

I've also changed a few details in the conversation about how Tita Josie met Kuya Popoy, but you're not supposed to know that secret until Chapter 6 in the new branch. 😉 Speaking of...

JM's Mansion Sleepover Branch

Since I'll be skipping the Investigation Branch for now, I figured adding this branch is a good middle ground. It also lets me move the unfinished party conversation with Tita Steph/Yaya Connie/Kuya Popoy to that branch instead, since the party scene is overloaded already. Plus, it's also the only chance you'll have to visit his mansion.

Anyway, it looks like the majority want to have the sleepover at JM's instead! (Although I have a hunch that some of you are just more interested in having the chance to talk to B again 😛) I had a bit of trouble adapting some of the Chapter 6 scenes I've planned, but I figured it out eventually.

Ancestry and Heritage Passives

You will now be able to select your MC's Ancestry Trait regardless of your chosen favorite genre! You can check out this post for details about all the new passives.

Character Class, Trait, and Stat Adjustments

Character Class Buffs

Class Bonuses will be increased from 5/10/20% to 10/20/30% to make them more impactful. Class Passives will now also give +25/50/100% EXP from successful stat checks of the same stat as the Class Bonus (since the coding for it is already there).

Vocabulary Trait Changes

Someone pointed out that it's weird that inputting a custom swear word always censors it, so now I'm making it so that only the 🐤[Young at Heart] and 🐣[Child at Heart] Traits will censor your input and most of the swear words.

In addition, the above traits will now grant bonus EXP when increasing your Naive Personality, while the other two vocabulary traits 🦅[Mini-Adult] / 🦆[Childhood Graduate] will grant bonus EXP when increasing your Precocious Personality to make them a bit more immersive.

Gender Traits

As mentioned in the last poll, I was considering including the gender-related options (specifically Trans/Non-binary/Genderfluid/Questioning) to the list of Traits.

The majority seemed in agreement, so I'll go ahead with the change (unless someone has a good argument against it). I think adding it to the list of traits better communicates to the player that it's not just a cosmetic choice that gets forgotten.

Other Trait Adjustments

The 🥇[Top 5] and 🥈[Top 10] Trait Requirements have been lowered significantly (and now takes MC's Knowledge Stat into consideration). To make the EXP Penalty make more sense, it now only applies to EXP gained from Knowledge Stat checks.

This also applies to the 😎[Self-Confident] EXP Penalty (it now only applies to EXP gained from Charm Stat checks).

There are a bunch of other Trait adjustments, but these are the biggest ones.

New Locket Stat and Intimidation Stat Rework

Now that you've discovered one of your locket's powers, I've decided to add a new main stat alongside your HP. This will function like mana or energy in other games, and if you've read IAC, you probably have an idea of what this will be used for in the future. 😉

Your maximum HP will now also be increased to 1,000, and each point of Vigor will now increase it by 10. This was done to make chip damage (like being whacked with a stuffed toy) less threatening.

The Intimidation Stat will now be based on your Vigor Stat, and is increased by 50% of both of your Cold and Composed Personality Stats. Certain Traits/Passives will still increase/decrease Intimidation, but this makes the stat less dependent on your personality stats.

For example: A Tall MC with 30 Vigor, 70% Cold, and 50% Composed will have an Intimidation Stat of 54.

Missing Choices

This includes:

Valentine's Entry in Roselyna's Diary

Karaoke party scene with Paddy, Wayne, and Roselyna

Pinoy Henyo party scene with Lily, JM, Yaya Connie, Kuya Popoy, and Mayari

Sari-sari Store Trinket

Chapter 3 Bike Choice (This was already coded actually, I just forgot to make it selectable 😅)

The 3rd Phone Game (Honestly I procrastinated doing this one because I wanted to make the name different according to your favorite genre. Yup.)

I'm also aware that the background music isn't playing, so I'll try to fix that as well (no idea how that happened)

That's not everything in the next update, but yup, that's why it's taking so long again.

Feel free to ask me questions about the next update! I'm still currently deep in the coding mines, so apologies if it takes me a while to respond to the asks for Roselyna's Matchmaking Service!

#ddwcaph development #interactive fiction

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mylittleredgirl · 29 days

Text

previously on mylittleredgirl: [four seasons of m*a*s*h] [six weeks of screaming about margaret houlihan]

i have now finished season five disc one and a bullet point recap is due! [yeah there's more screaming in it]

bug out was a fucking DELIGHT

god i was so worried though when klinger had to trade all his dresses i was wailing internally. what if he just wears fatigues forever!?!??? but it's all okay!!!! that tassel mod dress he has on in "the abduction of margaret houlihan" healed me ten times over. his outfits have been 🔥 this season.

such a mix of really dumb slapstick comedy and "oh god the war is Right Here" drama and little character sweetness... love it.

and the family reunion happiness at the end!!!! god bless. i left my body for like thirty-six hours.

i really really love the tone they're striking with frank this season. they've walked back the cartoon villainy of late season four, so he's once again a relatively harmless clown. i breathed a huge sigh of relief. he's soooo much more fun this way.

margaret's engagement: bonkers. delightful. she's unbearable. there is so much wrong with her. i want to study her in a jar. i will never shut up again.

with this put together with some bits later in the disc (including that cut scene crayon joke lmao), did she somehow manage to trade DOWN from frank? is that even possible??? it's either that or this new dude is actually just The Exact Same Guy, but now she'll be the fool wife at home instead of the beloved mistress.

i mean personally if i were louise burns i'd be very happy for my dumbass husband to fuck around on the other side of the world for as long as possible while i enjoy the $35,000 house and two cars without him, but for someone like margaret who is far more interested in being wined and dined than running a household, this... may not be the field promotion she thinks it is.

hawkeye rising to frank's defense and him and b.j. enabling frank's little takedown of margaret at the end felt very real. sure, in the grand scheme of things, margaret is Annoying and frank tried to have hawkeye executed last season, but bros before hos.

okay how FUNNY would it be though if the "little redheaded nurse" frank planned to seduce was baker-from-the-nurses, because she would have scratched frank's eyes out for trying and not felt bad about it

and actually, that's a plausible backstory for the extra bad blood between her and margaret, too??? oh yeah. that definitely happened.

i actively missed frank/margaret as the disc went along though. maybe the show had stretched the tension of that relationship as tight as it could go, and it's nice that they get to do new things... but they're so funny and awful together and i miss them sharing scenes!!!

i really assumed - like frank did lol - that they would continue to rabbit around together, only now she would also get to string him along with the jealousy game, but...... well, i'm glad it's still hanging out in the background of the narrative, anyway. i live in hope that they will slip and fuck and it will be soooo messy.

FUCK is it possible i shipped that for real???? god. i don't know if my family name can bear this dishonor.

out of sight, out of mind...

...has taught us the very important lesson that hawkeye is 9000x more annoying without something to do (annoying to everyone else i mean!! not to me. i will happily watch him annoy everyone.)

him asking b.j. to visit him a million times a day 🥺

i'm almost satisfied now by the "doctor-experiences-the-role-of-patient" theme that i didn't get in "hawkeye." i suppose hurt/comfort fic can take it from here.

however i'm totally satisfied by how sweet it was to see everyone taking care of him!! and how much they love him!!

lt. radar o'reilly... devastating. i mean funny and delightful but it's mean!! so glad that boy is back in stripes. however they could have at least promoted him a little for his trouble. sergeant o'reilly???

i have already said more about the nurses (post here) than ever needed to be said. and yet. i'm quite sure i could say more if pressed

the abduction of margaret houlihan

........ will i never be free of colonel flagg episodes 😞

i love the continuing evidence that she has invested time in learning korean, and i really really really love the slow expansion of our perspective to include like oh yeah. there's a village where people live full time and it's literally right here.

imagine if after the war she becomes an ob nurse...

on the one hand, how do they not make frank do gun handling training. on the other hand they probably don't because it always ends with stitches and an accident report.

i sometimes wonder if mash was like jury duty for asian actors in the 70s. you probably won't get to say anything but they call you up and you just have to go.

dear sigmund!!!!!! this is another episode where people were staring at me through the window so i'll comment a little more:

the fandom's favorite guy sidney freedman deserves that crown. what a weirdo. talk about a busman's holiday for a psychiatrist to come to the 4077 for a vacation and psychoanalyze everyone. but for fun!

i really don't have a proper sense of the geography at play here because he really does like. just come by to play cards once a week. and drives through a war zone i guess to do it? he has probably sacked out in the swamp before when the air raid situation changes but this time he just... doesn't leave.

and aaaa!! margaret took her very special episode about How To Make Friends to heart!!!! she joined the poker game!!!

she had plenty of time to work on that lesson though because the jeremy bearimy time shenanigans are in full swing here at the 4077. we went from midsummer in 'the nurses' to a bitter cold march two episodes later.

i always kind of assumed the mash weather was loosely inspired by real human weather, but no, in fact the actors just have to randomly suffer in parkas or getting sprayed in the face to look sweaty in alternating weeks regardless of the surrounding conditions.

SUFFERING for their ART

also jfc b.j.!!!! dunking frank in cold water in freezing temperatures is a serious health and safety concern my dude!!!!

i'm afraid b.j. is still not beating the little brother allegations, he has just aged up from innocent baby to fucking gremlin

(i should confess that my little brother diagnosis is guided by the fact that in my complex family and housing history i only ever lived with "brothers" younger than me, and never older ones. but the innocent baby and prank gremlin stages are real.)

i made a note here of "margaret randomly drinking gin in the swamp now!!?!??" like the poker game was one thing, people could strong-arm her into that while she feigns protest, but ma'am WHO are you and what have you done with— and then the next note is "oh good she's still insane"

potter named his horse sophie <3 also he's collecting granddaughters, i think the count is up to 3 now. or baby sherry is experiencing a temporal anomaly of her own!

the letter radar wrote to the dead guy's parents and potter reading it... fucking ended me. please let harry morgan do serious bits more often, it's outstanding and far too rare.

it's not surprising that frank's wife changing (wearing pants! doing activities!) would stress him out, and not just because he's a dick. any of them would struggle with their families growing without them, because that means they can Never Go Home to the life they left!! (e.g. trapper losing it because his girls were getting older.) but it is kind of fascinating that he loves both his wife and margaret, and even said mid-fever that he wanted them to be friends, but he also wants them to be NOTHING alike.

all in all it's understandable that sidney would check in to the no boundaries motel to have his poker buddies shake it out of him, but he could also have taken his leave somewhere with indoor heat. so he's as crazy as the rest of them. <3

also they're not his patients he's just observing them like zoo animals so forget confidentiality he's absolutely gonna write a book about them someday.

mulcahy's war: i don't know why i have been misspelling his name with an 'e' the whole time because it was literally in the end credits of almost every episode for four seasons.

oh god he's so precious i don't talk about it enough. playing poker for orphans. feeling like he doesn't do enough while potter thinks he has the hardest job. that unrelenting positive regard for everyone. always with that little grin.

that little grin in FULL PLAY as he sneaks out of the house to go off to war when dad's not looking

radar should never be sent on a mission where people are bleeding when will they LEARN

corporal cupcake deserves every medal he gets!!!!

frank's foot fetish becoming his one true medical specialty is just. i don't know what to do with this. good for him??? do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life???

speaking of unrelenting positive regard, margaret's policy of nurses never talking back to the doctors in the operating room sure has taken a hit. i realize this is about frank being an intolerable ex, but i choose to believe that the detente between margaret and her nurses has turned the O.R. into a pvp zone. the next time hawkeye tries to seduce a nurse over an open body, he's gonna get wrecked and margaret's just going to shrug pretty and look the other way.

in conclusion: season five is soooo gooooooood!!!!! can't wait for disc two!

#mashblogging #it's about time i watched mash #if you read all this you get a medal 🏅

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terezis · 1 year

Text

ok. ok. ok. eleventh hour #thots

spoilers obviously

really well and truly i have the zoomies. i feel so motivated to work on some fuckinnnnnnnnnng fanfiction right now

i'm high off that last scene with taakitz right now just bc it is most recent in my heart. can you believe it. CAN I MAKE YOU DINNER??? CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???

while i'm sad that a lot of my favorite bits from this arc got cut they kept the most important one (to me) in. well we need to talk don't we...... because you boys have added quite a bit to your death count, haven't you...............

AND THEY REALLY FUCKING HAVE DIED. A LOT. WAY MORE THAN IN CANON, HUH??? eleventh hour arc more like the fuckin... eleven hundredth hour arc...ba dum tiss

anyways yeah despite me saying that thing up there ^ about them cutting stuff (they changed SO MUCH??? WOW) i actually think the way it was edited from podcast into graphic novel form is really FUCKING good, like they just keep getting better at it with every fucking book

obviously the death montage was great, like great use of space, but i also LOVED how they spliced the lunar interlude into flashbacks between loops...

and when they got the chalice??? with the memories and then meeting chalice!june??? that fucked so hard. that was really fuckin good

honestly overall i rly rly loved it. i mean /obviously/ but god it's so good huh. fuck. i do think some parts of the podcast hit harder (splicing ren's subplot into the banking thing was smart but i do prefer the magic lessons for diamonds bit... ren i was watching the whole time) but then some parts of the gn eleventh hour also really fucking own.

like the DEATHS, OBVIOUSLY, but that first one... the first loop... i rly felt it. the bank and the fire and the town collapsing!!! THEY WOULDA DIED IF IT WASN'T A TIME LOOP!!! it was for srs. i think it hits harder to see it visually?

also about taako. taako is so much nicer in the books its kinda funny. sincerely telling a victim of a fire that they were going to be okay... in podcast that would be the time for Taako Lies... asking magnus and merle if they're alright....

i think i prefer podcast taako bc i like him Mean With Brief Snatches of Good Underneath. LOL. in the gn he's so sincere. who is this boy. i get what they're goin for but wow

anyways brief notes before i go meme

rly liked the addition of cassidy's backstory, thought it was v sweet

LOVED the convo between merle and cretia

PHILLIPPE? WHOMST?

PHILIPPE???? LMAO

baby boys? BABY BOYS? BOYS AS BABIES? THE BOYS? KIDS?

TAAKO'S AUNT??????? IOETJFDG;LKSDJF AUNTIE???

taako so delightedly robbing the bank is so funny to me bc the thing that got me into taz was that one animatic where taako's like WE CAN'T ROB A BANK. PEOPLE DO BUSINESS HERE! so lmao

also missed TAAKO GETS THE GOLD!!! but i get why it was changed

oh yeah i ry liked magnus's interlude with carey...... took out all the awkward and just made it sweet. loved that

ISTUS???

JULIA???

BARRY??? BAORLD???

#AH.#taz #taz gn #taz balance #taz gn spoilers #taz spoilers

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griefabyss69 · 4 months

Note

Back again! 💜😊

How about some of that: leatherworking for gay sex

Yesss!!! This was from a conversation with a friend - MONTHS AGO, back when I knew like two people in this fandom! (Which means the writing is fairly old and I haven't picked thru and edited it in months also) This is also a fic that created a new backstory in both of my usual versions of Steve and Eddie - Eddie knows basic sewing/mending and Steve is curious about it but never had the chance to learn. (If you read my NNN fic - Constrained, the library scene alludes to this) Steve's helping Eddie with things around the house while he recovers from the vecna hell dimension injuries and that kind of starts something new for him. First as a surprise for Eddie, but he finds out he really likes doing it! This one is plotted out to the end (it's very simple), so hopefully one day soon I pick it back up and finish it! It's over halfway done anyway Excerpt!!!: ( Contains: The tail end of a long healing process, Steve Likes To Be Useful, honestly this one is just sweet so far, rated G??)

It starts like this:

Eddie's hands are fucked, at least for now.

And Steve's hands are working just fine, so he sits at Eddie's kitchen table in the Munson's new double-wide trailer, fixing the ripped stitches in Eddie's oldest battle vest. Jacket. Whatever.

There's no music playing because Eddie's writing something that has his forehead crinkling with concentration, his hand shaking with the thickest pen he could find wrapped in his aching fingers, but the quiet is nice. He likes to listen to Eddie breathe even if sometimes it still has a bit of a rough edge to it, his breath catching on the way in. He's here, you know?

Steve finishes with the patch pretty quickly - Eddie's hand hasn't even given out on him yet.

He only recently learned how to sew, with Eddie handing him a battered book from like the 40's and showing him which pages to follow in order to learn the simple stitch he needed. Given how Eddie's been well enough to not need help with literally everything, he's been enjoying finding things to do that he probably wouldn't have gotten around to even if he had made it out of the Upside Down unscathed.

There's a warmth that cradles Steve's heart when he gets to do shit like this, like right now as he looks over the vest to find another patch that could use some TLC, working slowly and carefully as he secures it.

He's got the vest folded and set on the table, starting to put supplies away, when Eddie sighs, tossing his pen onto the table.

"Alright, I'm calling it," he says, shutting his notebook with a heavy thud.

"Cool, you want to go for a drive?"

Another way Steve gets to take care of Eddie. He gets him out of the house and onto the roads, even if it's not the same as racing his van around the dusty streets.

Steve's back at Eddie's kitchen table, sitting across from him while he tries to resist the urge to kick out and nudge his legs just to be annoying.

The peace and quiet is nice here, but Eddie's frowning at his page and has been slowly gripping the pen tighter and tighter the deeper the furrow between his eyebrows gets. Steve's not necessarily worried but he thinks Eddie's hand is going to hurt a lot sooner if he doesn't loosen up his grip.

"Want to take a break with me?" He asks, setting down the book of crossword puzzles he'd brought in from the break room at work.

Eddie blinks up at him, slowly leaking tension like a wool sweater unraveling, eyebrows unpinching and his hand ungripping until he lets the pen fall to the table. Like he forgot Steve was here, instead lost in a miasma of whatever misery that had been dredged up from the sewers of his mind.

"I…" Eddie looks down at his notebook, shuts it slowly as he takes a breath. "Yeah, we should."

Steve gets up and stretches, letting out a hearty groan as he reaches for the ceiling, peeking out of the corner of the eye to watch Eddie watch the hemline of his shirt. It makes his stomach swoop and he tries to stretch a little further, see if he can bare another inch of skin.

"Let's sit outside," he says, heading for the door.

A quiet fifteen minutes on the porch, soaking in the warmth from the pre-summer sun, and Eddie seems to be back to normal, poking at Steve and teasing him for something or other - it kind of slips through his ears as he watches his mouth.

"So, what's got you stressed? Like, right now in particular," Steve asks, picking up his crossword book again as they settle in. He's not having much luck with it today, the answers just not coming to mind, but he's doing it in pen because he's decided not to care.

"It's stupid," Eddie sighs, leaning back in his seat to give him a bland look. Like he's too done with his own shit to even roll his eyes. "I broke my bracelet."

He lifts his hand to show off his naked wrist, wiggling it for emphasis that yeah, it really is a nude wrist, no bracelet to be found.

Steve tries to think about the bracelet instead of about nudity.

"How'd it break? Can I take a look at it?"

He finds himself with a new kind of puzzle, one that might be a lot easier than the mess he's created trying to find answers to facts in such unforgiving constraints.

Eddie's leather bracelet - the one that catches Steve's eye because it's also got a metal chain attached, and chains and Eddie are a combination that does something nice to his blood whenever he thinks about them for too long - is sitting injured in front of him on the table, with the Munson's toolbox on the chair beside him, open and picked through for something that could be useful.

"It's okay if you can't get it, I can probably find a new one or take it to a shop or something," Eddie's saying, like he's not fucking miserable without the weight of the thing.

Steve knows something about routines and pressure, thinks about how he always buys the same kind of jeans in the same size so he has consistency, and if he weren't sober he'd probably reach out and circle his fingers around Eddie's wrist to see if that helps.

"Yeah, just lemme try," he says, examining where one the snap had come out of the leather. Eddie had worn this through hell and then through literal hell, but otherwise it seemed like it was in good condition. The snap just was a point of failure that had gone through too much.

#griefabyss69 writing #fun things #chats from the abyss

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theminecraftbee · 4 months

Note

i also knew that particular spoiler before i read it like ten years ago and for better or worse i can promise you that knowing doesn’t take away from the scene at all. godspeed soldier

but yeah One Piece is so much fun! the best/worst thing about it is it’s exactly as good as all its obnoxious obsessed fans say it is (i say as one of those obnoxious obsessed fans) so i’m so glad you’re enjoying it. it’s really funny and charming and stays funny and charming even in the most depressing or upsetting of arcs (as im sure you’re learning, being at impel down)

the worldbuilding tho. god it’s so fun. genuinely ill never get over how the world constantly feels so vast and rich and lived in. the spirit of adventure present in the series wouldn’t work half as well if the world weren’t so fun to explore and learn more about but it adds so much to the heart of the series for it to live i such a big and amazing world

(mcyt fanon flexibility reminds me so much of One Piece world, i have half an essay about this somewhere but ill spare your ask box LMAO)

also, i gotta know since you said you haven’t talked about it much on here before—any favorite characters or scenes or arcs so far?

- liloinkoink cuz i guess ill just keep signing these

yeah man the way oda manages to make the story funny and lighthearted but still make the really heavy bits hit so well is SO IMPRESSIVE.

as for favorite characters/scenes/arcs... this is a HARD DECISION. i like everyone so much! i think so far water 7/enies lobby might be my favorite arc and nico robin's entire story was fantastic, i love her, she's very cool. i might also say usopp or maybe luffy himself are some of my other favorites? also brook's backstory got me HARD, man, and the fact it brought back the goddamn whale from the very beginning of their journey on the grand line kills me.

actually so many things in this series that are like. surprise, here is a thing you thought was a one-off bit from 200 chapters ago! it is now Vitally Important! have fun!

anyway yes that,

#answered #liloinkoink

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not-so-rosyyy · 9 months

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[TCR Episode 9]

had to check if this really was the second to the last episode of this show. because it felt like all hope is lost here, and if hope is gone, is there even anything worth looking forward to?

all those 50+ minutes of Episode 9 were devastating in its entirety. you spent the past eight episodes empathizing with this kid, learning about what broke him, who failed him--all in flashbacks. and at some point, you start thinking, at least it's not happenning to him now. he finally has people on his side and the chance to get the help he needs.

except you're wrong. and this time, you see it actually transpire: how everybody keeps failing him. again. and again. and again.

and you feel sick just thinking about how it must feel to be in his shoes. when everything and everyone has failed you, who would you even turn to for help?

anyway, I'm just very curious now about how they intend to wrap this up by Episode 10, especially how they'd pivot to a triumphant end. or will there even be any kind of triumph for Danny to begin with?

some random notes:

because the focus shifted away a bit from Danny, the other characters got to shine this episode. all A+ performances delivered by Emmy, Amanda, Christopher, Will and Carmen. WHAT. A. BRILLIANT. CAST.

which is why it's pretty disappointing that we only got to explore their characters now. I think the show could've benefited from expanded storylines for all of them (apart from Marlin, maybe). learning more about their backstories would've given us insight not only into their motivations but also into how they see and relate to or why they find it easy/hard to empathize with Danny. it could've also driven the "we're all responsible for each other" message further home.

for example, in that blink-and-you'll-miss-it frame showing Stan's fridge, we got to learn that he's apparently a veteran. which means he might've had PTSD, resulting in his failed marriage and his heavy reliance on alcohol and pills. the question is how does this affect his view of Danny and his condition? or his overall opinion on mental health? I think it's interesting to dive deeper into that.

with that said, I wish there were more episodes to do this. or at the very least, I wish the actual trial started at least 1-2 episodes before.

that montage of Candy, Stan and Danny coupled with Rya's monologue in the background about asking for help is a bit...contrived, ngl. the dialogue is a little...hnngg. although, I think it would've packed more emotional punch if, again, we'd already known and empathized with Candy and Stan a bit more before this episode.

the scene with Rya and Candy in that diner/bar was one of the highlights, imo. it was fucking heartbreaking, I literally had to pause because I was sobbing a little too hard. it was powerful in itself, but I think it got to me on a personal level because I'm also an only child born from a single mother who I'm very close with (much like Candy and Danny were when he was little, at least)

finally, I think talking about Candy's behavior especially what she did at the end should be more nuanced and should be treated with compassion. that is what the show is asking of the viewer, tbh. she was a victim, too. and I hope everyone who watches this episode remembers that.

#the crowded room #tcr #tcr spoilers #tom holland #amanda seyfriend #emmy rossum #post-episode brainfart

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jadetheblueartist · 8 hours

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IM SO SORRY I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED YOUR TEGAN ASK

I feel so bad :( you said it took you three hours and also I had written a huge response and now it’s gone ;-;

Okay so I’m going to rewrite my response but I’m really sorry if I get things wrong since now I can’t review what you sent ;-;

————

I LOVE THE IDEA SO MUCH!!!! And I would love to hear more about their training and life on the ship!

I may be obsessing over Talon and Megan a tad bit…

I love all the possibilities of how they passed the time in the car so much. It would be so awkward at the start and I’m all here for it!! I imagine Talon carried most of the conversation from the beginning until after they really got to know each other. I feel like at the start Talon would just awkwardly try to tell her what has happened to the earth while she was gone in hopes of starting some conversation. I’m imagining the parking lot picnic with them just drinking slushees and eating whatever gas station food seemed good (I’m assuming everything is kind of run down?)

Car karaoke. Oh it would be amazing. Talon trying to find songs Megan likes and trying to get her to sing along, windows rolled down, it’d be such a vibe.

With the race scene I can’t stop picturing the scene from princess bride where they both are rolling down the hill XD

Their relationship is so great, two strangers bonding in a long car ride… oh wait they already knew each other? They were already in love from book one? But Megan’s memory was wiped- WAIT NO THEY WERE IN LOVE AND HER MEMORY WAS WIPED!?!? Okay, okay, it’s fine at least they became close again, just a fresh start nothing to worry about… HER MEMORY WAS WIPED A SECOND TIME!?!? TALON THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD!?!?!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (this is so tragic but I love it so much)

Talon nooooo why the tragic backstory ;-; (I love it very much)

Oh and the art? I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! I love Talon’s design!!!!!! The drawing of him saying happy birthday to himself makes me so sad ;-;

Also question time!

Do you have designs for the sci fi ppl? Are they like aliens or just advanced humans chilling in space? Does Talon hide his tattoo? (I love that type of angst so much mhm hidden scars [in this case a tattoo tho]) and you said there was an image limit… could I see those drawing you couldn’t show? Also why is it called Tegan (is it bc Talon + Megan = Tegan…)? That should be all of my questions…

Anyway I absolutely love this story and please feel free to tell me more whenever! (I’d love to hear a lil more about Ivan too)

Again really sorry abt deleting the ask ;-; I hope you have an amazing day though!!

(I feel like I’m forgetting things I wanted to mention but idk)

Oh my I wrote out this whole thing and it deleted it for me hahaha let’s try this again

No worries about deleting the ask it happens hahaha and it doesn’t look like you got anything wrong so yay!

I’m gonna answer this paragraph by paragraph

-IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT and I’m pretty sure I have either the original google doc or a “Megan’s POV” doc that I can look into to give you those details :)

-I’m so glad you’re obsessing so we can be in the same boat

-I’ve been mulling over that car scene for years and somehow you managed to squeeze out even more serotonin for me to devour I thank thee. And I think it’s run down ish, like people are still there but WW3 is kind of happening/ just happened soooo you know

-it would be the vibiest ^^

-I’m so glad you said that bc I couldn’t connect the dots as to what that scene reminded me of but yeah that’s amazing

-IKR the mind wiping rocked my world. My friend was at the point where she was writing the post separation explosion and we were on face time and she casually mentioned “oh you know the cars weren’t the first time they met, right?” I went feral trying to get all the info out of her hahaha

-yes his backstory makes me so sad…

-I’m glad you like the design! It was our group’s “hot guy” design hahaha I’ve tried to make it more individualized to him over the years tho, and that happy birthday one gets me every time (especially since that’s probably how he spent most his birthdays…)

Yay Question Time!

-I believe I could at least get the designs for those people sometime soon. They are just random people who decided to work for big bad (aka the voice, bc they only heard his voice through speakers at first). The voice decided he could make some good money abducting children and forcing them to be assassins so he did that. The government doesn’t know about them bc they hide in space. The few organizations trying to take them down are the only ones who really know about it

-talon has a few different tattoos, the one he got initiated with is a tattoo/ permanent burn so it has to stay covered to protect it, the other is just on his neck and he leaves that one in the open (I can point it out in the pics below)

-and yes! Tegan is the ship name for Talon and Megan (it was that or Melon hahaha)

-Ivan didn’t really have much personality in the oh other than he was angry bc the scientist that snuck into the escape ship was dating his crush, I’ve made some personal modifications to him in my head though making him more protective rather than just angry (he’s also Megan’s cousin) and I just remembered I have a drawing of him? So cue the picture section :)

Picturesssss

Here’s Ivan, the permanent third wheel (he doesn’t know tho)

The first ever drawings of Talon and Megan 😬

Moving on… idk which of these are repeats so lemme know if they are and I could probably substitute them for new pics

And now the og Megan design vs the much needed redraw

Ughhhh the one on the left still haunts me…

I was struck by the limit again so I might reblog this with a few more, idk hahaha

But reading through this ask made me so happy you have no idea (insert the “I don’t normally feel things but that one got through” donnie gif)

Thank you so much and I’ll look into the daily life on the ship and the sci fi guy designs :)

#Tegan #oc #oc story #story lore #lore #oc lore #oc art #jadetheblueposts

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no-1-rosalind-lang-apologist · 5 months

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Underrated scenes from each ss book

These aren't all scenes and I think the flf section just turned into a highlight reel of things i love about flf but here.

TVD

The scene where Roma picks up tiny Alisa because she was climbing inside of his walls and she's like hey don't rip my shirt it's new :( when her shirt his very obviously extremely old.

Not a scene but just the fact that the White Flower's used to have a golden retriever named Tsarina.

Idk if it's underrated exactly but that scene where Rosalind waits for Juliette in her room for three hours to tell her about the monster attack hits me like a truck every time I remember it.

"What is a Montague? It sounds Italian."

The scene where Benedikt holds Tyler at gunpoint after he threatens Marshall because he knows Marshall wouldn't have had the impulse control to not shoot

Roma beating the shit out of Dimitri

Celia coming up with her fake backstory for a Communist meeting and saying, "My mother is dead. My father is dead to me."

Juliette calling Roma a "wet blanket"

Juliette taking responsibility for Celia when she accidentally knocked Amethyst out

OVE

Juliette Cai says healthcare for all

Alisa being mad at Roma because he hasn't taught her how to catch a knife

Marshall styling Juliette's hair

Juliette making fun of newsboy cap guy

The Marshall flashback to when he met Benedikt

Roma and Juliette getting tailed by the the French White Flower guy who ends up being one of the monsters and Roma saying idk maybe he thinks I'm hotter than you when Juliette asks him why the guy looks like he wants to kill Roma

Benedikt knocking Roma out before trying to kill Juliette because holy shit

When Alisa realizes that Roma agreed to a duel to get her back

When Rosalind had Roma at gunpoint

"I would rather the two of you not burn the world down each time you choose each other."

The paragraphs where Celia starts really being Celia are just so,,,

Somehow I forgot that Alisa was already officially a Communist spy in the OVE epilogue?

fhh spoilers

FLF

Celia forcing Rosalind out of bed to go to Lourens when she wanted to die

Orion calling Dao Feng "Old Man"

Rosalind immediately making tranquilizers right when Orion moves in because she doesn't want to put up with his shit

Silas writing and publishing a fucking op-ed at 14 immediately after getting home from London (iconic)

The implication that Silas has tried to confess to Phoebe before which I call bullshit on.

Not a scene but when Orion shows back up in the morning before their first day at Seagreen, I am convinced that the red stuff on his neck was blood not lipstick.

I NEED TO KNOW IF JIEMIN'S CROSS WAS A SIGN OF ALLEGIANCE TO PRIEST?????

"Who's stealing Silas from you? You're the notorious boyfriend stealer not me." because what exactly are we implying help-

Rosalind remembering hearing Silas's parents brag about him

Phoebe "spying" on Seagreen while she has Silas wait in the car

Lao Lao instantly adopting Orion

I think a lot of the olivercelia stuff in flf is a bit underrated because a lot of us were too busy being haters for a while but the necklace knife scene!

"My little ego can always stand being snapped at by you, sweetheart."

Oliver being really really freaked out in the warehouse hit different now that we have more context ughhhh

Orion thinking that his dad might have done something to his mom. What the fuck. And also being in that house with them alone for years jesus christ

Alisa covering her walls in drawings from Benedikt

Rosalind killing Zilin

Silas taking on Orion's assignments when his headaches were really bad

The fact that Lord and Lady Hong probably knew that Oliver was onto something when Orion told Lord Hong about Oliver breaking in

The cards that Zilin had in his pocket were a spade and a diamond (spade = aroace and diamond = demi)

Rosalind and Orion's argument after the Peach Lily Palace incident

Celia being like stfu Oliver (i like telling him what to do. teehee. aNYWAY)

Ik the nation over everything quote gets talked about a lot but I think people seem to forget how pissed Celia was after he said that. Because "You're so damn selfish. Have you ever stopped to consider that I value your life just as much? If you want to protect me, don't you think that I want to protect you, too?" And then the way that Oliver is absolutely baffled by this. Ack.

Rosalind flinching when Orion pretended to kiss her forehead towards the start of flf vs her casually noting it when he actually kissed her temple midway through flf

Alisa casually having Russian classic literature at her desk despite the fact that she probably stopped receiving formal school at about 13. Slay queen.

The domestic spat. I don't think we've talked about it in a bit I'm so disappointed in us.

Alisa seeing Rosalind and Dimitri together and never saying anything about it

Silas immediately hanging up when Lord Hong picked up when he was trying to call Phoebe

Also who were Gray and Archer??? I thought they were going to be important but oh well

"She doesn't bite." "Yes, I do." like geez ok Rosalind thank you for sharing

"Phoebe walked a small circle around the hospital corridor. Silas, his eyes tracking her absently, stood with his chin propped in one palm." Yeah ok.

Then the scene after Orion sees Rosalind's scars where they're both lying on her bed together and talk for a little bit. I don't know if it's underrated exactly, but I have a very clear image of it in my mind and it is very parallely and nice I like this scene

Alisa drinking orange juice out of a coffee mug. Why? Because.

Tiny detail but Orion telling Phoebe to stop answering the phone in English because he's afraid of gossip

Phoebe immediately going DO I GET TO SEDUCE PRETTY WOMAN???? when Orion tells her he needs her help and him being absolutely exhausted by her

"You warn me for control." "I don't need your warning." I want to kiss Rosalind on the mouth.

Ok sorry but I do not interpret the scene where Orion steals the Frenchwoman's necklace as him flirting with her I think he just put on a really exaggerated twink voice because it's funnier that way

Silas knocking out a guard by holding a cloth with sedatives to his face when he and Phoebe broke Alisa out of jail.

Also just Silas trying to signal to Alisa that he's totally definitely a double agent in the process of betraying everyone because Alisa knows that he's aligned with the Communists somehow while Phoebe is Priest is so insane.

Silas fixing Phoebe's hair then Phoebe noticing that he shifted maybe half and inch away from her going hmm no that's not allowed and shifting closer to him. Especially since there's not very much emotion in her internal monologue in flf since you're not really getting her pov you're just getting a front.

"Are you keeping any other secrets from me, Janie Mead?" "One. But I don't want to tell you yet."

Orion faking a nosebleed

"His proximity was supposed to be some sort of tactic to make her flustered, she guessed, but she was only concentrating on the fact that Orion had missed a sport right by his jaw." Rosalind you absolute genius (I am so obsessed with her)

Phoebe entering Silas's house then immediately going hihihihihihi pay attention to meeeeeeeeeee without telling him that she was planning on coming over

Probably not underrated but. "Phoebe's scowl was immediate, taken aback as to who was in his bedroom, but she realized seconds later that the voice was too grainy and distant to be a visitor." Just something about Phoebe not recognizing it as her own voice and being jealous of a part of herself that she doesn't really recognize as herself is just. so. ahhhh.

aDmIrAtIoN

Not underrated but. The scene where Rosalind is like. Orion put his head on my lap to annoy me. His hair looks dumb. I am going to yoink it. To bother him. Then just. Starts playing with his hair.

A random guy selling flowers seeing a boy and a girl in a car together and thinking ah yes. customers. then fearing for his life and running away after watching phoebe yoink Silas out of his car

Phoebe conning Silas into thinking she wanted him to drive her around so she could observe architecture. Damn he is easy to trick

"'Can't I convince you to partake in a different outing instead?' Silas pleaded. 'I'll buy you cake. Or pastries? You like pastries.' 'No! We have to do this.' Phoebe separated her clasped hands, clutching at her skirts instead. 'Do you want to watch me beg?' 'pHOEBE-' 'So help me, I'll get on my knees right in the middle of the street, and then you will have to answer for my virtue-' 'Fine, fine,' Silas hurried to say, unable to withstand her theatrics. There were two red blots deepening on his cheeks." .......................ok.

Alisa purposely freaking Silas out by telling him that he has to handle the explosives. Then they end up being firecrackers she bought from a middle schooler.

Phoebe making the 🥺🥺🥺 face and Silas covering her eyes

Alisa faking a middle aged man voice

Rosalind looking at Orion and being like hmm he's really pretty it kind of looks like he's wearing mascara. Anyway.

To be continued because I'm hitting the word limit oops

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cartoon-cass · 9 months

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So decided to take an in depth look at the new teaser trailer and share what I found.

We start at the elevator we saw in the last teaser image we got, just not with the ominous yellow light. it seems like there's blood or oil on the carpeted floor, and slashes on the walls. Where the seemingly natural light is coming from doesn't fit the architecture of the rest of the hallway, looking industrial, honestly though the hallway is the one that looks out of place, looking more like something that belongs to the Elliot Manor, not sure what that means for the episode but thought it important to mention.

Pulling out a bit further we see disassembled disassembly drones, specifically the male body type (or what most people call the male body type we can't exactly be sure with only 3 disassembly drones). there is something on the tv but for the life of me I can't read that tiny red text. Turning back on the architect it seems to follow the manor look with some industrial bits peaking out.

Moving up a level we seemingly end up in a receptionist room for JCJenson, it doesn't have the IN SPAAAAACEE!!!! though. In the background disassembly drones, seemingly the "female" ones though, and something I just noticed while writing they all seem to be missing heads, I couldn't see any heads anywhere. and writing on the walls, saying "don't look down" or "don't don't look", along with claw scratches.

Up one more we get an office cubicle with a computer open on it's desktop. we also see a computer mouse and a spiral notebook with something on it, maybe a mug or a can? Nothing scary I can see other then the horror that is cubicle farms.

Yet an other cubicle farm with the sound effect of a crying baby of all things? Uzi backstory maybe? Anyway we see 2 Camp 98.7 drones both with loading icons on their visors, which I believe we've never seen before other then when Uzi was talking to N and V in episode 2 but that was only in the corner and her eyes were still on. There seems to be oil on the ground too.

So this is the scene most people are freaking out about. A dinosaur looking thing, while it looks mostly organic from the shadow it does have 2 wires from the back of it's head to it's neck and 2 wires from under the chin to it's neck. There seems to be blood or oil on the ground here too. Also anyone else getting jurassic park vibes from this scene?

I think these 2 scenes are in the same room, also someone is laughing in this scene as well. It seems to be a some sort of observation room mix with an operation room, given the discarded worker drone limbs I don't imagine these "operation" were very ethical. There is a box in the back with some text on it but all I can read is "parts :)".

Presumably this is the hole our main trio were looking at in the first teaser, at the very least we can tell it's open to the air because snow is falling down there, I just noticed how there is not nearly enough snow on everything for a planet that's constantly snowing but I guess I probably shouldn't ask too much realism from this show about murderous drones. On a more worrying note where are Tessa, J and Doll? I hope they are fine but just out of shot.

Last but not least the thumb nail for the video has the weird drone hand that if I had to guess is from that dinosaur drone, I have no evidence other then a gut feeling. Also massive thanks for @magmythedevil for pointing this out but the claw matches the one in episode 4.

#Murder Drones #Murder Drones theory

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rebouks · 1 year

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Hello! Do you have any suggestion for someone who wants to start storytelling on simblr? Thank you <3

Hiii nonny! I'm a lil honoured you'd ask me this ngl 😳 Have some rambling advice ❤ (using the word advice lightly here - please believe me when I say I'm winging it)

General writing advice:

DO THE THING! Seriously, just start!

Tell your story because you enjoy it. If you're not enjoying it, think about why n' switch it up.

Try and avoid comparing yourself to others. Easier said than done, but it'll only lead to self doubt and demotivation, so quit it!

Personally, I'm not a planner.. but it can be useful to have something set out to begin with, even if it's as simple as an idea or a basic beginning/middle/end kinda deal.

Any writing advice you come across out there is simply that, advice. Take it with a grain of salt and just do you.

Give your characters depth. No one's perfect, and we're certainly not black and white. We all make questionable decisions sometimes, but we're not defined by singular actions. A villain and a hero are equally boring without a decent backstory. Maybe it's not your thing, or it's boring.. but digging into psychology can really help with this one. I kinda find it interesting anyway ¯\(°_o)/¯

Regarding the above and backstories, don't bore everyone by spelling it out at the beginning.. we probably don't need to know. Drip feed us it bit by bit so we can figure out the why and the how behind every character slowly, it's way more interesting and engaging. No one needs to know all the facts from the get go.

Think about the why behind everything. Say someone steals some money, why did they do it? Did they have no choice? Was it to feed their family, or their drug habit? How does that make them feel? Were they bullied or forced into doing it? Did they do it for the thrill, if so.. why do they need that rush? So and so hates the snow, why? Do they just prefer warm weather? Does it make it harder for them to do what they enjoy? A bad experience? Why why why, all the time!

This one's gonna sound a bit weird, but bare with me here. Try and think in terms of but and consequently, instead of and then. For example.. X happens, consequently Y happens. Or your character was gonna do X but Y happened so consequently they've gotta do Z instead. It makes for a more interesting set up rather than a bunch of scenes with little correlation. A happens and then B and then C etc etc.. boring! Consequences have actions!

Similarly to the above, don't rush! Sometimes X and Y have to happen before we get to Z. Take romance for example, we all love a good slow burn. Those big pay off scenes are worth a little patience.

If you're having trouble piecing things together, try and keep the above two points in mind. If you need to get to Z but don't know how, just think about what has to happen before you can get there.. aka X/Y. I do this one all the time because I don't plan much.. so I'll get an idea but I'll have to piece together a bunch of other shit happening in the background first before it makes sense to end up there, y'know?

Split your story up into chapters/arcs, especially if it's a big 'un! It'll make it easier to plan/manage.

Don't worry about plot holes too much. Planning can help you avoid 'em but meh, you can always figure out a way to explain or cover 'em up later.

General Tumblr advice:

Okay, so first things first (I know, I know.. it's been said a million times and it's bleh but) you've gotta do it for you. Make a story YOU want to tell in YOUR way. Screenies and dialogue, sure! No dialogue? Sure! A few screenies and a bunch of prose underneath, sure! Comic/manga style? SURE! Do whatever you want, it's your hobby. It's SO important that you're enjoying yourself, whatever you decide to do.

DO THE THING! (again ahaa) Try not to hesitate or worry about what people may or may not think. I know it's hard putting your shit out there and you might be insecure, but take the leap! It'll be worth it.

If you want engagement (ew - I hate this word lmaoo but this is social media after all) you've gotta give what you take. Other people enjoy you interacting with their stories and characters just as much as you do.

Notes matter.. we wouldn't be putting our shit out here if they didn't, but try not too get to hung up on them, especially not at first. You might be shouting into the void for a while; it can take time for people to find your stuff (that's where the above comes in ⚆_⚆) Also take quality over quantity, it's always nice to have a few avid readers/commenters/mutuals.. and they will come!

Have fun and be awesome!

#ranswers #whew that turned into an essay LOL #writing advice #?#I GUESS #ahaha #pls.. we're winging it here believe me

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youhideastar · 7 months

Text

Fit for Purpose Deleted Scenes VI: Wangxian

Today's deleted scenes from Fit for Purpose are all Wangxian, all the time, including their happy ever after! Other deleted scenes posts are linked in the masterpost. I hope you enjoy!

There aren’t very many deleted Wangxian scenes specifically, because the way I pared down this fic was to delete all the stuff that wasn’t Wangxian. 🤣 But when I was planning to cover the backstory in more detail, I did write this version of their first meeting:

The first time Wei Wuxian meets Lan Wangji, the Second Jade of Gusu Lan, they almost come to blows. Wei Wuxian can’t let a-Cheng and Jiejie—especially Jiejie, with her health—spend the night in the woods, and if Lan-er-gongzi were at all reasonable, he would just let them in… but no. Wei Wuxian tries reasoned argument. He tries indicating—delicately, of course—that he’d be very grateful if Lan-er-gongzi made an exception.

It’s like talking to a wall.

How can someone so beautiful be so obnoxious?

The second time they meet, after Wei Wuxian has flown all the way back to Caiyi for the invitation, they do come to blows.

I also enjoy this little snippet of teenage WWX not at all understanding his own attraction to LWJ:

It’s a little bit of an odd feeling, because Wei Wuxian has never tried to get someone to fuck him before. Alphas and omegas come to him. Not the other way around. And of course, he can’t ask – he can only offer, and tease, and provoke, and make absolutely sure that Lan Wangji knows Wei Wuxian is… available.

But he just can’t stop thinking about it. About how good he could make it for Lan Wangji. About what it would be like to take him to bed.

He can’t shake the feeling, despite how rigid and boring and pedantic Lan Wangji is, that sharing his bed would be fun. Lan Wangji is so fun to tease and banter with and prod for a reaction – wouldn’t that hold true in bed? That’s the conclusion Wei Wuxian comes to, anyway, when he thinks about it. Which is often.

Then there are a few snippets from the “present-day” timeline.

Sometimes, at the oddest times, he remembers Lan Zhan saying, What would Wei Ying do, if someone were in love with him?

It’s—he can’t even imagine. Obviously. Or—he can start to imagine, but of course, it never goes anywhere.

After all, if he’d been an omega (and he never thinks about why his mind always goes there and not if I’d been an alpha), then he’d never have come home with Jiang-shushu from Yiling. Meaning he’d have been mauled by dogs or starved to death or sold to a procurer and that would have been the end of it. He’d never even have met Lan Zhan.

That’s enough to shut up the Lan Zhan in his head. For a while, anyway.

We could all use a Lan Zhan in our heads, no?

This next conversation turned out not to be necessary, but a line from it became the “I do not want to be to Wei Ying what others have been” line that is, to me, the core of the present-day storyline.

Wei Wuxian works up his courage. “Lan Zhan, was it—bad? The time before?”

Lan Zhan looks quizzical.

“The… when I helped you out, you know.” Still no comprehension. “When you kissed me,” he tries, and yes, the light goes on.

“It was not bad,” Lan Zhan says swiftly. So that’s something, anyway.

“But did I do something wrong? To make you—not want it again?”

Lan Zhan shakes his head. He kisses Wei Wuxian’s forehead. “Wei Ying did nothing wrong,” he murmurs. Beat. “I understand that others have been interested in being… serviced. I am not.”

“Oh.” That still sounds like he didn’t like it. But maybe that’s for reasons that don’t have to do with Wei Wuxian.

Finally, this next bit is so cute and it killed me to cut it, but there just wasn’t a place for it. Just imagine that this scene takes place after the fic ends, okay? This is their happy ever after. ❤️

Lan Zhan smiles every time he comes in the door of the Jingshi and finds Wei Wuxian there.

Wei Wuxian asks him, one day. “Why are you smiling, ah?”

“Wei Ying is here.”

“That can’t be all,” Wei Wuxian says, rolling his eyes.

Beat.

“For sixteen years. I walked through this door, and Wei Ying was not here.” Beat. “Now, he is.” Beat. “That is all.”

I hope you enjoyed! Tomorrow, the final batch of deleted scenes will be a grab bag of stuff that didn't fit any particular theme, featuring Jin Guangshan, Xue Yang, and WWX's feelings about his resurrection.

#the untamed #my writing #wangxian #deleted scene #cql fic #fit for purpose

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