#[ in case anyone missed my posts over the years telling y'all to fuck off: here it is again!!! ]

[properbastard]

[ just in case it isn't clear: TER.FS, raci.sts, and whi.te sup.rema.cists are NOT WELCOME HERE. Fuck all the way off my blog forever.

#; mun speaks #; IMPORTANT #[ choke and die ❤️❤️❤️ ] #[ i dont want you here!!! get out of my notifications!!!!!! get out of my tags!!!!!! PERISH!!!!!!! ] #[ in case anyone missed my posts over the years telling y'all to fuck off: here it is again!!! ]

[tunasundays]

Sunday April 7

hehe hi,

I recently rewatched Mtvs Awkward and remembered how much I loved having a little blog when I was 13. I got lonely tonight and had so many thoughts and I was distraught when I have no one to throw my thoughts at. So here I am typing to the void of the internet. This little blog is just gonna be a collection of thoughts classic diary style! I just wanna be able to post little entries of the different thoughts. I know it must be somewhat of a common experience for us ex Tumblr girlies that miss that random connection with people you don't know that have the same interest as you. I also just have so many fun sexy stories to tell and no one to tell them too.

lets dive in

starting with music

I am listening to The Last Dinner Party and I just am feeling the energy I felt when I watched YellowJackets. Is this a shared experience??? dying to know.I just listened to the Prelude to Ecstasy I really enjoyed it and will have more thoughts once I give it a second listen through. I yearn to have friends who watch and listen to the exact things I listen to. I want to be able to discuss these things! -- Chappell Roan is my everything and I just can not stop listening to her. I adore what she has to offer to the world of pop.-- I just now realized how much Luke Bryan I listened to in my first country phase. Like DAmn this man had a lot of bangers on the Crash My Party Album.

Lets talk tv bitches

the invincible season final had me gagged. I couldn't speak and that is rare for me. I am a chatter box but I did not have words! wow! from what I have been reading on twitter I should read the comic for all the extra context and action. I am very excited for the next season and hope it comes at least in the next year.

The Real shit

Fuck y'all. I finally got out of the two month long hookup drought. y'all I am baffled by the audacity of men. I am aware its not too surprising but god damnit!!!!!!!! This was supposed to be my redemption arc but I am very discouraged. Over the weekend I had two suitors (both from the dating apps) boy #1 had the stamina of a fucking horse on steroids. that being said there was no foreplay! but I was touch starved that I didn't give a fuck! lmao. so we go FOUR rounds. He gets off every time and I got off slightly once.The whole experience was just not uncomfortable in a non consent way but in a way it was just not my cup of tea. I am down to try everything once and this showed me I don't love or hate my toes being sucked on. wtf! I am a socks during sex type of girly and it kinda through me off guard but it wasn't the craziest part of this experience. This man fully used his jizz as a massage oil on my back and I was so taken a back! he asked me "has anyone ever done that before" my befuddled self just said No?!?! lmao! its so silly I wasn't that grossed out by it I was planning on taking a shower after he left but like what? I'm not gonna yuck someones yum but I didn't know that was a thing???? Okay boy #2 we have been talking on the snapchat for a while and went for drinks awhile back. The talks over snap have gotten spicy a couple times and we were both pretty excited to get together in person. I was excited because this man talked up his game in a very believable and respectable way. It was SO awkward and I know I am a silly person but usually I can keep a conversation going. That was not the case. So at a very random point in conversation he kisses me and It was just not good and that's a terrible start! like whaaaaaat where are your lips! You are just giving me your tongue and do not get me wrong I love a good French kiss but let me feel your lips first! so things start and I end up getting this man off two times in 15 minutes at the most. the entire experience from kissing to his double completion was 25 minutes. Which would be fine if he would of taken the time to get me off like he said he would in these past two weeks of snapchat. He is now distant and I have a feeling its because he knows he didn't provide anything exciting for me. Dating is so damn hard. The thing is I don't even want a boyfriend. I could be a perfect FWB for some very lucky attractive sex god but I can't find him!! I stupidly thought moving to the big apple would provide a better pond but damn its just not going well. That being said I'm gonna keep on trying for the plot because although its bad sex its funny stories. one day I will find a sexy person to have fun casual sex with on a regular basis. that's not too much too ask for! this is getting messy lmao its late I'm wine tipsy. haha goodnight whores xox

[alirhi]

10 Sebastian roles as boyfriends

Because... I'm bored and I feel like it. 😂 Probably some spoilers for, like... everything? So yeah... That.

Putting it under here for easy scrolling:

10: Chase Collins

Who doesn't love a goofball? In the first half of the movie, Chase is basically perfect. He's sweet, funny, not all caught up in his ego, and actually pays attention to what the girls around him are saying, not just to what he wants to hear. If not for the whole... it was all an act to get close to Caleb and try to steal his magic thing, Chase would actually be a damn good high school boyfriend. He's adorable and would be a fun date, but he's also only 18 so best not to start making long-term plans lol. Also, y'know... the whole psycho revenge/power grab thing.

9 Jack Benjamin

Y'all. Y'all. Words cannot describe how much I love Jack. Pretty sure I've made this clear. As a person/character in general, he's absolutely in my Top 3 - not just of Sebastian's characters, but any character ever. ❤ But as a boyfriend? Boy's got baggage. It's what makes me so protective of him, but seeing as how he's trapped in the closet thanks to his overbearing homophobic family and the insane expectations heaped on him, as the show left him, he can't handle an honest relationship. He's too easily influenced by all the wrong people, poor babe.

8 Chris (Destroyer)

On paper, undercover cop sounds cool and exciting, but even if you ignore the fact that he, y'know, dies... Chris got in too deep and kinda lost the mission, so to speak. Best case scenario, you're his sexy partner and in on it all with him and end up on the lam for the rest of your lives. Worst case, this man lies for a living, so can you even trust him? And... yeah. The whole dead thing. Chris is hot af but getting involved with him is a recipe for disaster.

7 Ben

Min and Hathor have mercy, I love Ben! He's smart, he's snarky, he's caring and loyal... he's an absolute disaster. He's another one who seems allergic to honesty, until his lying and avoiding nearly kill his girlfriend. Not exactly relationship goals lol. Everything before totally was, though! Ben's adorable, and I love how he stayed up all night to protect his girlfriend (from a ghost/demon thing... with a baseball bat. I said he was smart, not perfect, okay? XD points for effort lol)

6 Mickey Henry

I. LOVE. MICKEY. Oml I love Mickey. He's a spazz and - even more so than Ben - an absolute disaster of a human being, but I love him. Pros for dating Mickey Henry: he's fun, he's carefree, he'll cook for you even though he's kinda bad at it lol, he loves his son and wants to be a good dad, he wants his partner to be happy and to love life as much as he does. Cons, and the reason he's not higher on the list: He's a pushover; easily influenced by the toxic people in his life, and it gets him into a lot of trouble. Being easily influenced by toxic dumpster fire of a human being Chloe almost lost him the partial custody of his son that he barely even had. He's an absolute sweetheart, but he's a complete man-child, and dating him would often feel more like raising him.

5 Frank "Suffer Buddy"

Come on! You know he and Mickey had to be back-to-back - they're practically the same character! 😂 Frank is Mickey... slightly more grown up. He's still a disaster, but he's respectful of boundaries, he's caring, he's funny in a dry, witty way that I just adore, and hoo lordy that man is a giver! 🥴🥵 Honestly, if he didn't smoke and didn't ditch Daphne in the middle of a party hours away from everything familiar to her surrounded by strangers to go do drugs, I'd call Frank perfect. He listened, he respected her wishes, he tried to keep some distance between them when he found out she'd gone on a date with his best friend (it failed utterly and brought us to the "damn that man's good with his mouth" portion of the movie lmao but still)... I don't have a whole lot of experience with men who actually give a shit, okay? So Frank is like a goddamn unicorn to me lmao. But that drug thing... That keeps him at the bottom of the Top 5 for me. Sorry, bb

4 Bucky

I can already hear everyone on here raging at me for placing Bucky so low on this list, but hear me out: I love this man. I love all four iterations of this man. Flirty 40s Bucky was a doll (fun date, not commitment material). Post-POW camp 40s Bucky had a fire to him that set me on fire. The Winter Soldier can choke me any damn day. Unf. And TFATWS Bucky... Oh, lady above, 2023 Bucky is a gem! He's sweet, snarky, and broken. He feels utterly, wretchedly alone in the world, and everyone around him, including his only friend, is telling him to "man up" and "make amends" for shit that was never his fault to begin with, rather than helping him come to terms with all that he's suffered and all that he's survived. Bucky needs and deserves love. A relationship with him would be so solid, if he found the right person... But it would take a fuck ton of work. He needs someone strong, patient, and more stubborn than he is to prod him until he finds a better therapist and actually opens up, and to keep him on track because even good therapy comes with homework. He does have to "do the work," Sam was right about that much, but he was way off base with what that "work" is. Bucky needs help and understanding, and he would be an amazing boyfriend... if he found someone with the strength to help him weather his nightmares and flashbacks, and help pull him out of this PTSD pit he's been in since 1943.

3 Chris Beck

Big brains turn me on, okay? 😂This man is an astronaut and a surgeon! Yes, please! Come here, you sexy genius! He's smart, he's funny - pretty sure Sebastian is incapable of playing anyone who's not delightfully snarky lol. He's pragmatic when he needs to be but there's also nothing he wouldn't do or risk for the ones he loves. This man is husband material and I cannot be convinced otherwise! So why isn't he #1? Cuz of the whole... spending years in space, thing. Super cool job and I'd be his biggest fan on the ground, but god damn, I would miss him while he's away!

2 TJ Hammond

Look, I'm gender fluid and he's a little bit bi 😂😂😂 Let me have my fantasy, okay? TJ's definitely got a lot of shit to work through, but love brings out the best in him. Before that fucking closeted shitbag broke his heart and stomped on it for good measure, TJ was clean and sober for months, he was happy, he was playing piano again, he was pulling himself together. Not only would he be an amazing boyfriend, but his partner would get the extra joy of getting to watch their love and devotion to him be the thing that saves this beautiful man's life. It's not healthy overall to tie your self worth and will to live to a relationship, but if he found the right person who would be there for him through all of life's shit and stick it out, I think he'd be okay. Even after his lowest point and without the support of his family, TJ still had a dream and he still chased it. He's not just the sweetest person to ever grace our screens, but he's ambitious and business-savvy, too. Keep him off drugs and watch this man take over the world, I'm telling you!

So why is TJ only #2? Well, besides the fact that he's like 99% gay and I have no bits he'd be interested in lmao, there's also the fact that this guy owns my heart:

1 Will Franklyn

And not just because we get to see him wet and mostly naked lol. Will is fucking perfect. I would die for this man... because he's already shown that he would die for his love. He almost fucking did, and they weren't even together yet! He's smart and very aware, he's a writer so we'd get to bond/geek out over books together, he's not all full of himself (self-deprecating humor ftw!) and he's willing to help a total stranger despite actual mortal peril, just because it's the right thing to do. Fierce, intelligent, sassy, strong-willed, and a flawless moral compass? YESYESYESYESYES! Forget boyfriend - let me MARRY this man! 😍🥰

#sebastian stan #chase collins #the covenant #jack benjamin #kings 2009 #chris destroyer #ben the apparition #mickey henry #monday 2021 #monday movie #frank suffer buddy #endings beginnings #bucky barnes #sgt james buchanan barnes #the winter soldier #mcu #captain america #the first avenger #civil war #avengers #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #tfatws critical #the martian #chris beck #tj hammond #political animals #will franklyn #labyrinth 2012 #i fucking love all of these men

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

Snowed In

Y'all, the quarantine hit hard. This fic is 100% self serving but I'm posting it in case it makes anyone else feel better? To add some spicy self loathing to my day? who knows. 

No legit pairings, a tiny bit of hinting angstiness, for the sake of form, Geralt x fem!reader

Warnings: defs big warning for anxiety and depression. I don't think there's anything else? Lmk if there is and I'll edit this.

__________

“Snowed in?” you repeated, having just packed everything up and saddled both Roach and your horse Beau. 

Geralt nodded grimly, “We’ll just have to hope Jaskier hears of the weather before he tries to make it here. The mail carrier is refusing to ride the pass.”

You heaved your saddlebags down with a slightly over dramatic grunt before turning to face him, “Is it a passing storm or do they think it’s headed for us?”

He shrugged and began untacking Roach, “You’ll have to ask the innkeeper. I just heard from someone who was turned back.” 

You both finished putting the horses back in their stalls, throwing a little extra hay over the side in case you didn’t want to face the cold after dinner. The innkeeper looked frantic, attempting to deal with about five angry customers, so you headed for the connected tavern instead. In your experience, bartenders knew more scuttlebutt anyway. 

Surprisingly you two were the only ones in the bar. The pretty blonde poured the two of you a beer and slapped a loaf of bread down between you before you could utter a word of request. Something rather unusual since traveling with Geralt. 

“How long do you think this will last?” you asked, handing the woman a couple of gold coins. 

She shrugged, “Last year it was mild. Just a week I think? But the year before that the town was stuck for almost a month.”

“Hm- huh? What day is it?” you mumbled as Geralt shook you awake. 

“Twenty-three. Get up.” He ordered. The process had become routine. The two of you were stuck in a rather small room together due to overcrowding and you weren’t handling the idle time very well. 

Geralt seemed completely content to meditate by the fire and meticulously repair his armor for the rest of eternity. While you had quickly become catatonic. 

You sat up only because you knew he would lift you out of the bed completely if you didn’t do it yourself, “Ah yes, what a beautiful day to feed the horses and drink our weight in ale.” 

The sarcasm dripping from your voice only earned a stern look from your roommate. The inn had run out of the drinkable stuff last week and they were rationing little the piss water they had left.

You scratched at your hair, your hand recoiling at the feel of grease. There was nothing to do, the floor space between the bed and the fire was barely big enough for Geralt to sit cross-legged, let alone for you to do any sort of exercise to keep your mood up. Not that you would if you could anyway. Any motivation to keep some sort of normalcy had left your body around day ten. The innkeeper had let some guests spar in the lobby around day six but everyone scattered when you had attempted to join. Something about ‘the witcher’s girl’ and how ‘she might gut you out of habit’. People could be stupid, you weren’t a witcher any more than they were and even so, Geralt was calmer and more restrained than all of them combined.  

So, embracing the numbness, you stayed in bed well into the afternoon and long after Geralt had left his side of the bed.

“Did I miss breakfast again?” you asked, not making a move to get any farther from your warm blankets.

Geralt nodded, pointing to the small table near the door where some bread,  cheese, and dried meat sat waiting. 

You picked at it for his benefit, though you hadn’t really been hungry for a few days now. The storm raging outside was just about as strong as the one raging through your hollow insides. This inaction, the unknowing, the vulnerability was killing you. 

“Y/N, you need to eat more than the crumbs.” Geralt urged, moving to sit in the chair opposite to you. 

“I tried.” You sighed, “Can’t I just lay back down?”

He shook his head, “No. You’re letting this consume you. You’re tougher than this.”

You scowled at him, wanting to throw the bread in his face, “Fuck you. Nothing bothers you.”

“Your behavior is bothering me.” he countered, staring at you with a mix of worry and annoyance.

“Well isn’t that touching.” You sighed in mock flattery. Abandoning any idea of food, you got up to sit by the fire,  poking at it aggressively with an iron rod and making a point to face away from him. 

“What in the spheres is your problem?” He growled.

“Being stuck here with nothing to do?” you offered, your tone reminiscent of the young spoiled princess the two of you had saved from a wraith a few months back. 

“That’s not it. I know when you’re lying Y/N”

Your limbs felt like they might float away into the air if you didn’t curl up into a ball, “I don’t want to talk about it Geralt. I’m sorry for snapping. I just need a couple of minutes.”

“You’ve needed ‘a couple of minutes’ for the past two weeks. Time to talk.” he argued. 

You snorted, “That’s rich coming from you. You didn’t tell me you’d been stabbed until right before you passed out in Temeria.”

“I’ve tried learning from my mistakes.” his tone was one of convincing the both of you, “What's bothering you? Really.”

“I don’t fucking know Geralt.” you hissed, getting very tired of his prying.

You heard him sit back and cross his arms, “Not good enough.”

You felt the words leave your throat before you could think of their meaning, spewing out with vitriol and fire, “I’m fucking tired. I’m tired of you telling me what to do. I’m tired of watching snow pile up out the damn window. I’m tired of the stupid couple that fucks all night next door. I’m tired of this worry that feels like it will rip me apart at any fucking moment from just not fucking knowing. I’m tired of worrying about Jaskier. I’m tired of worrying about the horses getting stocked up when there’s nothing I can do to help them. I’m tired of the glares from the other guests. I’m tired of feeling powerless. I’m tired of having no decent outlet for this anxious energy I’m stuck with. I’m tired of not knowing when this feeling will go away. And I’m absolutely fucking exhausted by the thought that it’s only been twenty-fucking-three days yet I feel I’ve been trapped here for a god-damned-eternity.” 

The last sentence broke your resolve to stay angry. Upon pushing the last words from your lungs, you heaved a deep breath and let the sobs tear your chest apart, giving in to the hopelessness that had been building for weeks now. 

You heard a shuffling that registered in the back of your mind as Geralt sitting behind you, but even so, you flinched when a hand rested on your shoulders. He scooped one hand under your knees and pulled you onto his lap, pulling a blanket from the bed and wrapping it around the two of you. He let you sob until the sobs turned to whimpers.

“I didn’t realize, I’m sorry Y/N” he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on the top of your hair, sending a flood of warmth to your cheeks.

“You don’t need to be.” you croaked, leaning into his affection.

“I didn’t need to pry either.” He argued.

You just hummed in reply, too much of your energy spent on purging your system of those hideous sobs. You did make a noise of protest when he lifted you from his lap and set you beside him on the floor. 

“Stay by the fire, I’ll be back.” He instructed, the tenderness of his voice surprising you. 

Minutes later, as you were beginning to pull yourself back together, he returned with a terry cloth robe and what smelled like fresh jasmine soap. Without a word, he hoisted you into his arms and carried you across the room to the bathroom. He set you on your feet and handed you the robe and soap before turning his attention to the lever pump hanging over the ceramic tub. 

“A bath?” You tried to bring your usual playful tone back to life and failed miserably.

“Does it make you uncomfortable?” 

You shook your head, “I’m just…” slightly disoriented? you finished the sentence in your head, not sure how to phrase it.

“Not used to anyone accommodating your emotions.” he finished, a knowing look in his eyes reminding you just how much he knew of isolation and pain. 

As you nodded you had to mentally remind yourself you have to let people help you, that it’s okay to let people help you.

You didn’t bother waiting for him to leave before you peeled off your riding breeches. Melitele only knows how long you’d gone without changing them. You had more trouble unlacing the cinched waist blouse you’d been wearing the last four days. The restless tossing and turning you’d done instead of sleeping had it knotted four times over. When you’d finally rid yourself of every last thread the tub was full. 

Geralt traced a sign in the water, sending ripples over the surface and steam up in the air, “Shouldn’t be too hot, but test it first.” He mumbled, making an effort not to stare at you too long. 

It was rather hot but you had exposed yourself enough for one day. You took the hand he offered for balance and sank into the nearly scalding water without hesitation.

He knelt next to you, “If you wish to be alone-”

“No.” You interrupted, not having the courage to look up at him, “Please don’t go.” The words barely escaped your mouth, but Geralt heard them perfectly fine.

He wet a washcloth and lathered it with soap before handing it off to you. With the rest of the bar, he began washing your hair. At first, his hands were hesitant, as if he was afraid to hurt you. He paused when you gave up scrubbing the sweat and dirt from behind your knees, but only for a moment. You leaned into his touch, closing your eyes. His nails scratched at the base of your skull, coaxing a sigh from your lips. As he massaged the soap through the tangled mess he took his time with the tension in your temples, then the pressure points behind your ears, even working out the knots in your neck. You did your best not to moan, but a couple of gasps and pleased grunts may have slipped out.  He rested a hand between your shoulders and guided you back, dipping your hair into the water to rid it of the froth he’d created. 

You peeked up at him through your lashes. If he noticed he didn’t show it. His face was relaxed, almost serene, as he raked his fingers through your hair, gently tugging on the bigger tangles. You hadn’t ever taken the time to look at his eyes before, he seemed uncomfortable over them when you’d met so you left him alone about it. Looking at them now, you regretted it. They were a beautiful mix of honey, sunflowers, and glittering gold. And they were so kind. The idea that people spat at him when they recognized his eyes made your heart ache. 

With a slight nudge from him, you sat back up, all the tension in your body having melted in the hot water or under his touch. You pulled your knees to your chest, resting your arms across them and your chin on your arms. The events of the day had you feeling like a child who’d gone too long without a nap being soothed back to sleep. If you were being honest with yourself you missed the feeling of safety that came with someone taking care of you. 

Geralt brushed your favorite oils through your hair, doing his best not to pull through knots too roughly, but it was in the same bun for about four days. 

You let your tired mind wander as you watched snow fall out the small port window above the tub. The comb had failed to detect any knots in your hair for some time but it seemed Geralt was just as lost in thought as you.

Eventually the water grew cold and you had to accept this couldn’t go on forever. 

“I think I might need to get out soon.” you mumbled, inspecting your pruney fingers. Everything in you was telling you to stay. Stay in this safe place with your gentle guardian. But you knew if you didn’t get out soon you’d never warm up, fire or not. Not to mention you knew you were taking Geralt’s actions more to heart than they were meant. He simply felt guilty for pushing you too far. 

That didn’t mean you wanted him gone though. You were more than happy to live the lie for a little while longer.

"I'll go check the horses." He offered, placing a towel and the robe within your reach. 

"Thank you, Geralt. For not… I don't know? Laughing at me?" You refused to look at him, being vulnerable enough as you already were. 

"Y/N…" he said your name like it meant something but you couldn't figure out what, "You never have to thank me. I owe you so much more than a hot bath and kind words." 

You turned your head to argue but when you saw his expression the words died on your tongue. All you could offer in response was a small smile.

It seemed to be enough for him and he nodded before disappearing through the door, leaving you to ponder what he'd meant. 

_________

Part 2 here!

#plz hit me with the feedback! even if it's just a hobby I always want to get better #geralt of rivia oneshot #geralt of rivia #geralt one shot #geralt x reader #can we consider this soft!geralt #the witcher #geralt comfort fic #the witcher netflix #the witcher novels #the witcher one shot #comfort fic #geralt of rivia comfort fic #the witcher fan fic #did i intend for this to simply be comforting and dancing on the edge of feelings territory? yes #did i expect to be very motivated to follow it up with some smutt? no #will i? #we'll see. #I've got shit loads of free time bc of the 'rona #and I'm house sitting so like no interruptions?

[nadja-chamack16]

Side With The Height

Authors note: lmao I was supposed to post this basically years ago :/ (more like a month ago) but I got so self conscious about it and wasn't going to finish it... so before I regret posting this lol just know I had fun writing and there are probably grammar mistakes. I truly don’t know if this is going to be a chaptered thing but enjoy anyway! If you have any questions please let me know! and if you wanna be tagged for some reason let me know(?)

words: 3861

pairings: Eventual prinxiety, eventual logicality, Platonic demus

summary: Virgil wakes up in washington heights, the place where he's lived as long as he can remember. He goes through his usual day and we see a glimpse into his mind.

warnings: A lot of Spanglish (mix in between Spanish and English) is used, let me know if I missed anything

“ Lights up on Washington Heights”

Up at the break of day ”

Virgil woke up a tad bit late, which mind you was something very rare,  still on time to open the bodega though he was almost always the first one up anyway. Watching the Barrio wake up after he was wide awake and ready to start his day,  it made him feel like he was seeing the world from an outsider perspective but for once being the outsider was something good.

“ I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away ”

He walked towards the bodega, one of the few things he still had from his parents and- Wait is that Remus? wait wait wait- is he about to spray paint the bodega?! His internal monologue was rudely interrupted, He bolted towards Remus, “what are the fuck are you doing?!” Remus wasn't a genius, but he could definitely tell that Virgil was pissed and he decide his best option was to run off to god knows where, he was a little worried that Virgil would run after him, but he still tried to look calm while leaving but was definitely failing miserably.

“ Pop the grate at the crack of dawn ”

Virgil knew how Remus was, he and Dee hung out a lot, (if it were up to Virgil he most definitely would not be, but he can’t monitor Dee all the time) But he never thought Remus would ever dare try to spray paint the bodega! “I guess you can’t trust people” he said under his breath while pulling up the metal grate covering his corner store.

“ Sing while I wipe down the awning

Hey y'all good morning ”

Virgil saw the piraguero, Emile, and had a short conversation with him. “Ice cold piragua. Parcha, china, cherry, strawberry, and just for today I got Mamey!” Emile said, he said it every morning so Virgil had most of it memorized by then and mouthed the words as he said them, “Oye piraguero Como esta? " Virgil asked, he didn't personally like small talk, but there was a few exceptions, “Como siempre señor Virgilio!” Emile winked. Virgil didn't hate his name or anything, his parents gave it to him and it had a story behind it, he just liked its “translation” into English a little better, when he was a kid, a few of his classmates had issues saying his name, and he didn't really like that, so he decided to use the name one of his teachers called him. He entered the store relaxed and involuntarily continued his internal monologue. Virgil enjoyed singing...when he was alone in the bodega...at an ungodly hour... before everyone was awake and bustling through the door, before anyone could judge him really, but deep down he knew nobody here would ever do that, everyone around him either saw him growing up or grew up with him, but anxiety won't stop pestering will it?

“ I am Usnavi and you prob'ly never heard my name

Reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated

Exacerbated by the fact that my syntax is highly complicated cause

I emigrated from the single greatest little place in the Caribbean

Dominican-

Republic ”

It didn't matter that Virgil was from this small tropical island in the Caribbean he still probably was the palest person in the barrio, and you couldn't really blame him, he was always working, trying to make ends meet, so he almost never went out, plus he moved to the barrio when he was a child, so he never got to really experience that Dominican heat, and those stunning sun beams crashing over one's skin through the palm trees while feeling the sand as he walked through one of its many beaches- anyway...he’s always lived in the barrio so, it’s not like he doesn’t have his culture with him, since there are other Latinos all around him, but he wants to one day experience all these things and not just day dream about experiencing his country with the only reference of that majestic place being stories Abuela had told him.

“ I love it

Jesus, I'm jealous of it

And beyond that

Ever since my folks passed on I haven't gone back

Goddamn,

I gotta get home then ”

In case you hadn’t noticed, Virgil Loved his country and culture very dearly, and he took pride in it, sometimes when Abuela Carmen told him stories about his home country, he got a weird feeling, He was most definitely grateful that Abuela took her time to tell him in detail all these stories, so he could imagine what living there must be like, but he couldn’t put a finger on what this feeling was, jealousy? Maybe. Longing? Probably. Resentment? Possibly. Desire? Who knows. He wasn’t sure, the only thing he knew for a fact was that this feeling made him wonder what would have happened if his parent just stayed in the sunny bliss that is his country, and having such a thought made him feel guilty so, he tried not to dawn it for too long, and told himself that one day he would have enough money to go and live there for the rest of his days (a few years maybe? No, he wanted this) and experience his country...but he could also come back settle down, help Dee, so he can fend for himself, and maybe start dating, he could always try to ask R-

“ I'm gonna test ya later

I'm getting tested times are tough on this bodega

Two months ago somebody bought Ortega's Our

Neighbors started packin' up and pickin' up

And ever since the rent's went up

It's gotten mad expensive

But we live with just enough”

He had to cut that train of thought quickly, he couldn't be day dreaming about impossible scenarios when rush hour was coming, and everyone would be awake heading for work and would pass through his bodega and get his world- well barrio famous café con leche, but he had no idea what he would do today since the fridge decided to stop working, and he had started to panic a little, thank god for Abuela because he would have gone into full panic mode if it weren’t for her walking in, “Mijo what's wrong? You look stressed.” she always knew when something was wrong, “Ay, abuela my fridge broke... I got café but no con leche” he tried not to sound too disheartened and worried as not to raise any worry, “try mother’s old recipe, one can of condensed milk!” that was all she had to say, and he was instantly calmer, but it wouldn’t be Abuela if she didn’t end it with “Paciencia Y Fe!” she said it as she exited the store. She may not be his real grandma, but he certainly loved her as if she was his grandmother, hell mother even! She practically raised him for god’s sake!

“ In the heights

I can't survive without café

I serve café

Cuz tonight seems like a million years away!

En Washington—”

Then and there the barrio came alive in a matter of milliseconds and everyone was rushing through the streets, and the cars were honking, and everything lit up as if from a scene in a movie. He liked how he always knew who to expect at what time, it was comforting to have routine, and he guessed other people agreed with him because they were always on time, First up was the Rosario’s, they run the cab company down the street, Even, so they struggle in the barrio, their son Patton is off to college and tuition is ridiculously expensive so, everything they get is mad cheap. Virgil always knew everyone's usual, and the Rosario’s were no exception, “Good Morning virgiiiiiil” Larry’s singsong voice sliced through his thoughts, he automatically started gathering his usual,“Pan caliente, Café con leche” he said as he put the items in the counter, “put twenty dollars on today’s lottery” Larry said with a smile on his face, before Virgil could do anything Dot’s voice came through “ one ticket that’s it!” she said with a stern tone, her eyes still pretty playful, “hey!, a man’s got a dream...” she rolled her eyes and turned to Virgil “don't mind him he's all excited ‘cuz Patton flew in at three am last night” she was smiling warmly while thinking of her son, Larry’s voice caught her attention, and she looked up “don’t look at me, this ones been cooking all week” he said while making a gesture with his thumb in her direction, she rolled her eyes, “Virgil come over for dinner there's plenty to eat!” they took the bag off the counter and left the store.

“ Me and my cousin runnin' just another

Dime-a-dozen

Mom-and-pop stop-and-shop

And, oh my god,

It's gotten too darn hot like my man Cole Porter said

People come

Through for a few cold waters and

A lottery ticket,

Just a part of the routine ”

He sees Dee trying to sneak past and obviously failing, “Dante you’re late” Virgil tries to say it in a stern voice, “chillax you know you love me.” Dee smirked and got to work, Virgil couldn't hold back the smile any longer, he just sighed and started warming up for the real rush hour coming, there was going to be multiple people talking to him at once and even if he finally had Dee to help, he knew the both wouldn't be enough, but after years of this being his job, he knows how to handle many people talking to him at once and keep in mind these are Latino people, which meant there was several people talking to him at once but at twice the speed of a normal human conversation, and if they were on a rush make it four times as fast.

“ Everybody's got a job;

Everybody's got a dream

They gossip,

As I sip my coffee and smirk

The first stop as people hop to work ”

The last people to come before rush hour were Remy and Valerie work on the salon next door, and as always Remy was telling Val about the new chisme, and Virgil couldn't help but eavesdrop, it was his bodega after all, so he had to have some sort of right to do so, plus it wasn't like he tried to hide the fact that he was listening, if something surprised him it, he wouldn't try to stifle a gasp, but he never got to hear the gossip from the beginning, so he had to try to piece it together and sometime he didn't even get to hear the end, he started preparing their usual orders as he listened, “so, then Yesenia walks in the room” “ah ha” she smells sex, and cheap perfume” “uh oh”, “it smells like one of those reeves that you hang from the rearview” Valerie didn't really add much to the story just her random reactions to show she was listening, “haha no!,” “its true! She screams ‘who's in there with you Julio!’ grabs a bat and quick in me’ door…” Virgil started piecing some things together, they were talking about Yesenia getting cheated on, Julio probably had cheated on her with some gir-” he's in bed with José from the liquor store!” well that was a twist! Virgil couldn't help what he said next, “No me diga!” he and Valerie said it in perfect sync, he hands them their respective coffees, and they both say a simple, “thanks Virgil!”

“ Bust it— I'm like— One dollar, two

Dollars, one fifty, one sixty-nine I got it

You want a box of condoms what kind?

That's two quarters Two quarter waters

The New York Times

You need a bag for that?

The tax is added ”

It was finally time, the long awaited rush hour, people were asking him the cost of things, where things were located, he even got some surprising questions, but he couldn't even stop and dawn on it for too long because he had a few people asking him questions, and he didn't want an angry mob of Latinos forming this early in the day, there was a few people here and there that came for only coffee but at this time people usually came to look for stuff that they needed like a few groceries or toiletries but this was for sure the most stressful part of the day, but it wasn't as bad as you might think.

“ Once you get some practice at it

You do rapid

Mathematics automatically

Sellin' maxipads and fuzzy dice for taxicabs and practically

Everybody's stressed, yes,

But they press through the mess

Bounce checks and wonder what's next ”

Virgil was used to this, he had this jump of adrenaline in his day-to-day life, and his need to make everyone complacent as they left his small bodega made him work extra hard, it was almost over though and the only way to truly know it was over was once Logan walked through that door, he and Dante would never tell Logan how happy, and relieved they were any time He walked in through the bodega door, Virgil was relieved when Logan entered the bodega? Yes, but was he happy? Kind of, since Logan and Dee would team up against him to poke fun at him, most of the time it had to do with Virgil’s love life but what can you do? The funniest thing was when Logan would try to beat Virgil to say what he usually got but Virgil was just faster and knew all of it by heart so, he always won, which frustrated Logan which in turn made him feel a little better when Logan and Dee bothered him about his love life, it wasn't something he liked to talk about so in turn he couldn't really argue with them about it, so he just tried to shut them up quickly especially since Roman was always the one to come after Logan, but he was usually distracted with something so even if they were talking about it, he wouldn't notice since Logan and Dante would shut up, and see what Virgil would do, now it was just time to wait for Logan to arrive, so he and Dee would be able to take a break.

“ In the heights I buy my coffee and I go

I buy my coffee and—

Set my sights

On only what I need to know

What I need to know—

In the heights Money is tight

But even so—

Even so—

When the lights go down I blast my radio!

En Washington “

The man of the hour walked through the door, Logan saw Virgil and Dante release A breath they were holding, he smirked, Virgil knew what that meant, his challenge for the day, try to beat Virgil to say what he wanted, mission impossible , Logan always tried to throw Virgil off guard with a tease, it never worked. “ you ain't got no skills!” Virgil smiled, this ought to be fun , “Logan!” virgil let logan start saying his order so then he could annoy Logan by interrupting him, “Yo, let me get a-” “milky way” he said as he put it on the counter, “ yeah, let me also get a-”, “daily news” virgil knew he was starting to get on his nerves once saw the way he looked at the paper on the counter, “ and a-” “post” virgil just smirked, logan’s smile was faltering, “And most important, my-” “ Boss’ second coffee, one cream-” LOgan always came for Mr. Rosario’s second coffee, he didn't really drink coffee from what virgil knew, “ five sugars” Logan tried to beat Virgil to saying it but they ended up saying it at the same time, dante just rolled his eyes, he knew Virgil would always win but he still cheered logan on. Once logan inevitably failed he tried to show his skills off to prove one day he might get to outsmart Virgil,“I'm the number one earner”, “what?!”, they both knew it was all in good fun,   “the fastest learner”

“what?!”, but sometimes virgil would irritate Logan and that's how they would end up with Logan teasing Virgil about him liking Roman, ,“my Boss can't keep me on the damn back burner!” “yes he can”  and Dante would be on LOgans team “i'm making moves, i’m making deals, but guess what” “what?” “you still ain't got no skills”, “hardee-har” virgil mocked, “ Yo, Roman Show up yet?” Virgil face was immediately up in flames, “shut up!” “hey little homie, don't get so upset” virgil know what to target on Logan but it was the same viceversa, “man..” he knew he couldn't stop this from happening anyway do he just kind of accepted it, “ Tell Roman how you feel, buy the boy a meal on the real, or you ain't got no skills-”

Logan was interrupted by someone coming in and virgil was thankful for it... until he looked up to see who it was, Roman distractedly talking to the phone so he probably didn't hear any of that (hopefully), “Nooo! No no nooo! No no nooo, no-no-no! Nooo, no-no-no! No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no, no-no-no-no-no!” well now virgil was curious to who he was talking to, Roman had always been someone extra and comfortable around everyone in the barrio but to just walk into the bodega while having an apparent important conversation was surprising nonetheless, “Mr. Johnson, I got the security deposit, It’s locked in a box in the bottom of my closet, It’s not reflected in my bank statement, But I’ve been savin’ to make a down payment and pay rent, No, no, I won’t let you down—” Roman made a pause to listen to the person on he other end of the call and Logan took this opportunity  to talk “ Yo, here’s your chance; ask him out right now!” Virgil pushed logan to shut him up because Roman was right there and he could hear him! “ I’ll see you later, we can look at that lease!” Roman seemed relieved and a small smile started creeping its way into his face, he still didn't seem fully calm but he looked more at ease.

“Do somethin’, make your move, don’t freeze!” His silent awe towards Roman  was interrupted as logan pushed him towards Roman just as he ended the call, so he had no way of escaping the situation, “Hey!”  “You owe me a bottle of cold champagne”! Virgil had almost forgotten completely about their bet, the first one to get out of the barrio has to get the other champagne, “ Are you moving?” virgil said it almost as if he were disappointed which was a surprise to himself, “Just a little credit check and I’m on that downtown train!” Roman said it with a smile lighting up his face, Virgil noticed he was staring, adn tried to act fast “ Well, your coffee’s on the house”, “okay!” Roman took the coffee and looked down in a shy way with a small smile , virgil had never seen him like that, “Usnavi, ask him out...” he heard Logan whisper shouting at him and he sincerely hoped that Roman hadn’t heard that, “No way!” Virgil heard Dante say to Benny and that comment kind of offended him, “I’ll see you later, so…” Roman said awkwardly and turned to leave the Bodega. “ Oooh... Smooth operator, aw, damn, there she goes! Yo, bro, take five, take a walk outside!  You look exhausted, lost, don’t let life slide! The whole hood is struggling, times are tight And you’re stuck to this corner like a streetlight!” after that Logan took his things and left the bodega.

“Yeah, I'm a streetlight,

Choking on the heat The world spins around while I'm frozen to my

Seat The people that I know all keep on rolling down the street But

Everyday is different so I'm switchin' up the beat Cuz my parents

Came with nothing They got a little more And sure, we're poor, but yo

At least we got the store And it's all about the legacy they left

With me, it's destiny And one day I'll be on a beach with Sonny

Writing checks                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

to me “

Virgil’s mood dropped as soon as those words came out of Logan’s mouth, he knew Logan didn't mean anything by it but that didn't stop his heart from dropping onto the Floor of his store, this was one of his fears to be stuck with his Bodega and be left behind by everyone else, everyone that cares for him or at least he thinks they- He stopped dead in his tracks, He couldn't be thinking like that, his parents did everything they could before they died to get this corner store and one day he's going to go back to his country just like him(?) and Abuela want  and Dante will have a stable life with the income he will get from the store and  his life will be bliss.

“ In the heights I hang my flag up on display We

Came to work and to live and we got a lot in

Common It reminds me that I came from miles away D

R., P

R., we are not stoppin'

In the heights

Every day, paciencia y fe

Until the day we go from poverty to stock options

In the heights I've got today

And today's all we got,

So we cannot stop This is our block In the heights I

Hang my flag up on display Lo le lo le lo lai lai lo le!

It reminds me that I came from miles away! “

Virgil can practically hear people's thoughts and dreams circling through the air but to be honest Virgil didn't really hear them...he felt the electric buzzing that came with the streets of the place he was raised. It was one of the many things he liked about his barrio at a quick glance it isn't much just a little place in New York filled with immigrants that have bigger dreams, bigger than themselves and everyone around them… its as if You cant walk through these streets without bumping into somebody's dream.

“ I Hang my flag up on display Lo le lo le lo lai lai lo le!

It reminds me that I came from miles away!

My family came from miles away— In the heights It gets more expensive

Every day Every day And tonight is so far away—

But as for mañana, mi pana Ya gotta just keep watchin'

You'll see the Late nights You'll taste Beans and rice The syrups and

Shaved ice I ain't gonna Say it twice ”  

They all knew were they came from, the sunniest places a person could ever go to. They all know the situation that is happening in the barrio , how no one is really here to stay, how this is just a stepping stool towards a bigger dream...but they didn't care. They all will know soon enough what is to come but for now…

“ Turn up the stage lights

We're takin' a flight To a couple

Of days In the life of what it's like

En Washington Heights! ”

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

@malaya-is-a-hoe​ I did it sis 

#ts prinxiety #logicality #ts logicality #platonic demus #ts roman #ts logan #ts patton #ts virgil #tw virgil #tw deceit #tw roman #tw remus #ts creativity #ts morality #ts logic #ts anxiety #ts deceit #ts demus #ts remus #its really late #im so gonna regret this #prinxiety #demus

[dear--charlie]

Dear Charlie,

Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2019 Time: 11:56 pm

I’m curious. Does anyone look forward to reading my letters? -calls out- “Anyone?” -dead silence emits so deafening, I stop talking-

So.. I was reading letters I have sent you. And, shit. The people who take the time to read these letters must think I am selfish.

All I talk about are men, my attraction to men, my desire to have a girlfriend, or whatever.

Which, if y'all know me, you KNOW, I’m going to get back to it.

But for a short bit, let’s talk about things that aren’t guys or girls.

Here are a number of facts about me you, Charlie, and other people reading this may not know about…

I’m very unsatisfied with my weight. I weigh about 195 pounds, and am working to drop to 120 pounds. I don’t feel attractive in my skin. I can’t see my vag anymore.

I haven’t orgasmed ever. I am 24 fucking years old. Why the fuck haven’t I cum yet? God..

Happier topics, Mare. Okay. There is this app I use called SLOWLY, where you create a username, and bio about yourself. You can start sending letters to people across the world. I’ve had letters coming in from China, India especially, the U.K., Australia, Taiwan, Russia, Portugal, tip of Africa. So many letters. And, you do get standard. ‘Yo baby. Send me nudes.’ This one guy got clever and asked me for nudes in Morse Code. I kindly sent him back to go fuck himself. The only person who gets to see my beautiful breasts is me, and the barren vag, cause I swear to myself, I never ever see Nic. (<– Sorry. No talk of guys for the next few paragraphs). The issue is.. like, there is an option where you can send three letters at a time. With an intro letter. One night, I thought it would he fun (WORST. MISTAKE. EVER.) to send 15 letters. (Keep in mind about 4 of the many letters I have sent, do I keep up a regular correspondence with. So, add 15 potential regular friends, and you have a recipe for disaster). Omgosh, Charlie + readers: I never have time to respond to these letters. Damnit, me. Why the fuck did you do that?

Okay. I started a new job. Yeah. You heard right. The ever so fucking afflicted depressed, intoroverted, frustrated, book crazy, bisexual who cant hold down a job, found a new one. Through a temp agency. I work with ______ _____ ____, at _____ _____, which is just 10 minutes from my house. The job is way better than the piece of shit I put up with for 6 mths. I love the different calls we get. But the mother fucking training at this call centre was mother flipping shit. There are so many 'processes’ you have to remember when helping a 'guest’ with a request that I want to cry. (I hope I keep at the job). Please fucking pray for me.

Did you know I didn’t always used to curse the way I do? Throughout high school, I would only curse when I would get hurt (like for example that time an anvil crushed my toe. Lol. This totally didnt happen. Though, this one time. I cut myself on this chunk of thick glass from a broken lamp at 12 urs old, that I was taking to the dumpster. It sliced my thigh, blood was gushing out I imagine. I started screaming. My mom, uncle, and cousin freaked the fuck out. I obviously lived to tell the tale. Y'all should see the scar.) And then I was influenced by boys (since I only hung out with guys through the last two years of high school) to curse. And now, I can’t seem to stop.

I make weird posts on Whisper. My username is ______ For anyone who wants to chat with me about my crazy life, follow me on ____ at @_______. Lol. (I hope y'all know when I include the blanks I’m being funny).

What other facts to share.. I made a friend on Slowly, but work really got me busy, plus I am always freaking tired. I didn’t respond for nine days with a letter, and I noticed she deactivated her account. It really hurt. Her name was Becca. She was trans, but didn’t tell her crazy conservative family. 19, super sweet. Liked video games and Eminem for a bit. I seriously miss her.

Other facts.. Did I mention (no, of course you didn’t mention Mare. All you ever talk about are failed relationships, current relationships, or almost relationships), I’m looking to learn Italian AND Spanish? Of course! Why the hell wouldn’t I try to influence my American self with my Mexican self? (Totally Hispanic in case y'all cohldn’t guess. My mom says I speak Spanish like a white girl. Well, shit… Time to go to Mexico and get ridiculed for being too white and not knowing Spanish or customs) Joking aside, I’m looking forward to teaching myself Spanish and Italian. (Don’t tell the family, but I prefer Italy over Mexico).

Y'all ready to get to the real reason why y'all stick through my letters?

Nic doesn’t want me to explore my bi side. Ken hasn’t been on Skype for a month. I miss him.. (Great, conflicted Mary is back again). Did I mention that today is my 3rd year anniversary with the Nicholas? Totally is. What did we do to celebrate? I woke up at 5 in the morning, waited for him to show up at 6, and ate tacos in my apartment parking lot. Then, I went to work, and he went home to sleep. We are going to Bastrop for the weekend which is just 20 minutes from my grandparents. Maybe I should go visit. (Why the hell don’t I call my family? Am I really that fucking self absorbed? Family trumps dudes any fucking day..) and I hope the trip is nice. I just texted him like 45 min ago of us drifting apart. Because… he will talk about things that seriously, Charlie, I could give two fucks about, then we will talk about ice cream, for example, and he goes off on a tangent about something little do with ice cream. Sometimes, I feel like I guilty stay with him because I do fucking love him, but I could be holding myself back from experiencing new things.

I want to write more. Bare with me for a moment, Charlie. Okay, I’m back. (That was a second break, in real time in case y'all were wondering)

My thoughts aren’t flowing as well. I wish I knew a friend who was bi or a lesbian who would like to explore with me. And not have it change things.

So, I have a shit sleep schedule. I’ll come home at 5 ish in the evening. I’ll sit in traffic for twenty min. Come home. Eat something. Fall asleep by 7. Wake up at 10, and stay awak indefinitely. Then wake up at 6, and start over. (What is wrong with me?)

Oh. More breaks from relationship shit. I saw a therapist. Three visits. It was nice. His name is Tim. (Had to stop because I literally have no fucking time to see a dr anymore psychologist or medical, because my schedule is a fucking bitch). He graduated from Harvard! That is awesome. His attire was well groomed, always. I never told him he intimidated me because of that. But he was a nice guy. Time to go to psychologytoday.com to look for weekend available therapists who take my insurance. I hope if I am to become a psychologist, that I’m a tiny better than Tim. He was lovely, I was just unnerved by someone focusing such time on me. But, that is kind of what he is paid for? So….

Oh. Have I mentioned at all to you, Charlie about how I want to start a YouTube channel? I want to read stories I find on the internet. Annnd, I’m pretty excited. I get my mic maybe with next weeks paycheck.

I feel like there is more to add. For anyone you may have lost touch with over the years, Charlie, does the thought of that person and the memories you shared together ever make you cry? I found a CD an old friend left to me for my birthday. And it broke my heart that we aren’t close anymore. I feel like I .. let my true relationships go in my worst state of mind.. And, I miss her so much. It really really hurts. I’m crying just thinking about it.

Also, I’m not sure if I mentioned, there are rare cases where I will laugh so hard at something I found to be funny, that I make others worried or uncomfortable. But the laughter turns to sobbing (sobbing such as my mom dying, or my brother getting hit by a car, or someone killing me) just as severe. I tried asking like crazy, and no one seems to know. That is, until a month ago, a friend from the meetings I go to (please tell me I’m not so vapid that I forgot to tell you I go to Monday meetings with DBSA for my depression) showed me what I have.. which I forgot the name of. But it is a treatable condition. Something to do with sensitivity.

I can’t hear well out of my right ear. I need to see a doctor.

Thanks to those who stayed with me this far.

I hope to have more news on my relationship status.

I seriously have like two friends on Tumblr. Why do I use this app again?

I love you, Charlie

Always,

Mary

#dear charlie #Mary

[until-theend-oftheline]

Kari’s Marvelous 2k Writing Challenge

Thank you so much, guys. I honestly didn’t expect this blog to grow the way it has when I started it. I love this fandom and I love reading for these characters as much as I love writing for them, so let’s celebrate with a challenge, shall we?

Since I reached the milestone before my 1 year anniversary I will as open up drabble requests using a prompts list - I’ll make a post about that as soon as I can.

Also, check out and please participate in my Spread the Love event for my 1 year anniversary.

This challenge is for you guys to have fun with. I set the due date a few months in the future to make sure you got plenty of time to complete it.

The prompts for this challenge are all dialogue prompts. They are all a little odd and a little sassy. Cause well I am a little odd and sassy ;) On to the rules and have fun Y'all!

Due Date: June 1st, 2019

Word min: 500 words

Word Max: 6k words

Style: It can be a drabble, one shot or beginning of a series. Do not put in in the middle of an ongoing series since I plan on reading them and don’t want to read 10 parts of something to understand the entry.

Fandom: MCU - mostly

Will you read and reblog my fic?

You betcha :D I am behind on reading for previous challenges so patience is a virtue here

When Do I Post?

Right now. Sign Ups start now and end when there are no more prompts or when the due date rolls around

Genre: Anything you want. You have to be over 18 if you write smut and you always have to warn accordingly! Fluff, angst, AUs, and crack are all welcome.

Limits on what you can write: No Mommy/daddy kinks, no non/dub con, no A/B/O, no merpeople. No half animal anything, please. No mobster aus. No monster porn (this counts Venom and Hulk) No glorification on cheating (it’s okay as a plot device but use it with thought), no wife, s/o (even exes) or actor hate in rpfs! - if you got any questions at any time feel free to send me an ask,

NO BDSM INVOLVING BUCKY - NEITHER IN SHIPS OR READER INSERTS! PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL OF HIS PTSD! DON’T TURN HIS ARM INTO A KINK FOR ANYONE - IT’S A DISABILITY AND CONNECTED TO GREAT TRAUMA. 

Format: State in your A/N that it is for my (until-theend-oftheline) Kari’s Marvelous 2K Challenge. And use the # Kari’s Marvelous 2K Challenge in the first 5 tags.

Pairing and word count also have to be easy to spot in your header!

Submit: After you posted on Tumblr you have to add yourself and your fic to this doc.  If you don’t do this you will not be added to the masterlist I create when the challenge is over. If you got questions - just ask :D

Doc link it case Tumblr is an ass: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16FmPbXuA6oF23M5qiR5jRCSiUpaW_RiDIPUHG_LziBk/edit?usp=sharing

How do I join?

You pick a prompt and a pairing off the list. Send me the prompt number along with a backup just in case and your pairing of choice. ASKS ONLY!! REPLIES, REBLOGS AND IMS WILL BE IGNORED!

There are no limits on the pairings but I only allow 2 people per prompt so think before you sign up. If you don’t think you will be doing it then don’t take the spot from someone else. For now, 1 person can sign up 3 times (one prompt per story). 

Prompts and people are under the cut.

Pairings

No male readers - gender neutral are fine otherwise female.

General Fics - character or rpf are both fine.

All genders, skin tones etc. OCs are welcome as well.

Sister/daughter/romantic/friendship reader pairings for following are all fine - just let me know which (I prefer romantic or friendship but no pressure):

Actors

Sebastian Stan

Chris Evans

Bradley Cooper

Chris Hemsworth

Robert Downey Jr.

Tom Hiddleston

Elizabeth Olsen

Tom Hardy

Characters

Bucky Barnes

Steve Rogers

Thor Odinson

Tony Stark

Wanda Maximoff

Sam Wilson

Brunnhilde/Valkyrie

Natasha Romanoff

Clint Barton*

Wade Wilson

Eddie Brock (no monster porn please!)*

Ships (all are allowed as poly with reader too):

Stucky*

Winterwitch*

Winterwidow

Winterhawk*

Winterfalcon*

Sam x Clint (I don’t know their ship name)

Clintasha

Steggy

Thundershield

Thor x Valkyrie (also forgot the ship name)

Prompts

1 “I’ve never been so insulted!” - “You don’t listen much do you?” @jewelswrites-ish (Chris Evans x Reader) / @avengerscompound (Winterhawk)

2 “On a scale of one to Australia. How dangerous are we talking?” @avengerscompound (clintasha) /

3 “When did you become so smart, oh wise one?” - “Since I stopped listening to you.” @writing-mermaid (Tony x sister!reader) /

4 “Seven billion people in the world and you are overreacting because we killed one man.” - “But…” - “Seven billion people! Now shut up and drink your smoothie!” @queen-of-the-avengers (Tony x Reader) /

5 “Oh God. I think I am in love” - “For your sake, I wouldn’t tell her/him that” @docharleythegeekqueen (Winterhawk x Reader) /

6 “Don’t trust him” - “Funny that’s exactly what he said about you” @readitandweepfics (Steve x Reader) /

7 “Children shouldn’t play with guns” - “Who said I was playing”

8 “On a scale of one to ten how bad do you think it would be if….” - “At least twenty” @fangirlfiction (Stucky x Reader) / @queen-of-the-avengers (Tony x Reader)

9 “What’s our exit strategy?” - “Our what?” - “Ohmygod we’re going to die” @acreativelydifferentlove (Steve Rogers x Reader) /

10 “I taught you how to pick locks and this is how you are using that skill?” @messy-random-bitch (Clint Barton) /

11 “What’s the little blinking light mean?” - “It means…. Wait? Blinking?!”

12 “Right now I don’t know if I want to kiss you or push you off the cliff!” - “Can I pick?”  @sweeetmonstrosity  (Sam Wilson x Reader) / @averyrogers83  (winterfalcon x reader)

13 “This is what the third time I crashed my own funeral” - “Fifth” - “Really? That many?”

14 “Bring them home. All of them.” - “But…” - “All. Of. Them.” - “Fine!”

15 “I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you!” - “And I am subtly trying to avoid it.”

16 “What’s with the face?” - “Small fire! I said to set a small fire. Small was important!” @queen-of-the-avengers (Natascha Romanoff x Reader) /

17 “What the hell kinda noise was that?” - “I sneezed.” - “That was NOT a sneeze!” @jewels2876 (Chris Evans x Reader) /

18 “You got blood on your knees. No one goes nowhere and gets blood on their knees.”

19 “Is that blood?” - “No?” - “That’s not a question you’re supposed to answer with another question!” @nekoannie-chan (Steve Rogers x Reader) / @becs-bunker (Stucky x Reader)

20 “Obviously I’ve been gone for way too long. You managed to kill all the houseplants” @awkwardfangirl2014 (Bucky Barnes x Reader) / @queen-of-the-avengers (Tom Hiddleston x Reader)

21 “Don’t you know who I am?” - “Yup. I just don’t care.” @queen-of-the-avengers (Elizabeth Olsen x Reader) /

22 “You’re going to break his heart if you pull a stunt like this” - “He has a heart?”  @keepgrindingwaywardsoul (Bucky Barnes x Reader) /  @yougetkilled-walkitoff (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

23 “Sorry I got a cold and feverish assassin on my lap. I’ll call you back when I convinced him a cold doesn’t mean he is dying.” @keepgrindingwaywardsoul (Bucky Barnes x Reader) /  @acreativelydifferentlove (Steve Rogers x Reader) 

24 “I hate you” - “Why? I’m lovely” @barnesrogersvstheworld (Bucky Barnes x Reader) / @queen-of-the-avengers (Natascha Romanoff x Reader)

25 “You’re one insult away from starting a war” - “That’s presumptuous of you. It already started”

26 “What are you doing in the chandelier?” - “You know. Just hanging out”

27 “Can we please try not to kill anyone today?” - “Well you are no fun”  @kentuckybarnes (Bucky Barnes x Reader) /

28 “You missed!” - “I never m… FUCK!”

29 “You nearly took my head off!” - “I told you to dug didn’t I?!” @raqnorok (Bucky Barnes x Reader) / 

30 “If you weren’t so goddamn annoying I would kiss you right now” - “Well if you weren’t such a pain in the ass…. Wait what?”  @tranquil—heart (Steve Rogers x Reader) / @awkwardfangirl2014  (Chris Evans x Reader)

MCU WRITING CHALLENGES 

@ifyougetkilled-walk-it-off @captain-rogers-beard @dolphinpink310 @grace-for-sale @docharleythegeekqueen @rebelslicious @thorne93 @hillywooddestiel @peterman-parker @queen-of-deans-booty @acreativelydifferentlove @emilyevanston @blacktithe7 @becs-bunker @roxyspearing @blacktithe7 @cassiefanfic @readitandweepfics @kayla-of-shield @fangirlextraordinaire @thatfanficstuff @danijimenezv @hopes-archer @marvel_madam08 @averyrogers83 @thelookingglassalice @slowlywithfreedom @awkwardfangirl2014

And a few others cause I love their writing

@jewels2876 @becs-bunker @roxyspearing @barnesrogersvstheworld @sebs-potato @moonbeambucky @tropicalcap @softlybarnes @bucky-at-bedtime @evanstarff @fangirlfiction @i-dont-do-rpfs @avengerscompound 

#kari's marvelous 2k challenge #2k celebration #marvel writing challenge #mcu writing challenge

[brownjet-archive]

to all the wip's I should've completed

rules: post your favorite parts of 3-7 fics that have been sitting abandoned in your drafts for ages. (for extra shame, throw in when you last worked on each thing.) tag 5 other writers to reflect on their life choices. 

(this was based off of @startofamoment​‘s challenge so I figured I would do it so y'all would shame me into completing them......I'ma post all of them in intervals from longest ago to most recent and tagging anyone who wants to do it!!)

tagging: whomstever the fuck wants to be shamed like this

a peter parker fic that i honestly don’t remember where it was going (last edited in like july of 2017 right after homecoming came out)

You groaned in annoyance, rolling your eyes at the enthusiastic, puppy-like Peter Parker. You heard him continue talking, at this point checking out of the conversation, knowing you could for a few minutes before having to tune back in. Peter was a sweet enough kid, but his optimism got on your nerves like no other.

He babbled on for a bit longer, you growing more and more frustrated, before rolling your eyes and yelling at him. “Are you here to train or work out?”

You instantly felt bad, his large brown eyes

a peter parker fic (title is gonna be something like subways & pajamas) about meeting peter on the metro (last edited august 16, 2017 idk how to finish it)

The loud blaring from your alarm clock woke you up. Groaning you opened your eyes slightly, to see the obnoxiously bright red letters read 6:00am, before groaning once more, turning over, your arm reaching behind you, blindly attempting to hit the snooze button on your clock. After a few minutes of struggling, you finally hit it, the incessant blaring finally stopping. You sighed happily in relief, your eyes shutting again, feeling the warmth embrace of sleep return to you. Mere seconds after your eyes had fluttered shut, your alarm rang again, only for you to scrunch up your face in anger and annoyance, before turning back to face the alarm, and unplugging the goddamn thing. You grumbled angrily, before reaching for your fully charged phone, opening it up, squinting at the brightness that it held. How you hated the winter months. Getting up before the sun was up to get to school was a motherfucking nightmare.

You opened your phone, keeping an eye on the little time at the top of the screen, before opening up the first notification, it being snapchat, and completing your streaks. Your phone was right above you, and as you took a picture of the ceiling, the keyboard popping up for you to write your messages, your grip loosened, causing your phone to fall right on your face. You muttered a small “ow” before picking up your phone and angrily typing in the word “streaks” before sending them to your list of friends. You shut your phone, before reopennig it, checking the weather, muttering angrily when you realized that it might snow. You had nothing against snow, but you were upset that they didn’t think to cancel school, because even though it probably wasn’t going to snow, when it did snow it was always a lot.

You glanced warily at the time on the screen, realizing that you definitely had to get out of bed or you were going to be late, not wanting to leave the warm confines of your covers. You resigned as almost 5 minutes passed with you telling yourself to get up, before you finally did, your bare feet freezing on the floor. You walked out of your room, into the bathroom, before brushing your teeth, glad to get rid of morning breath, and doing your morning routine. You trudged back to your room, grabbing your fuzzy socks, and putting them on immediately, before throwing on sweatpants and a long sleeve pajama shirt, not caring that it had a ridiculously large kitten on it that said “you’re purrrfect” and pulling on your favorite sweater, before putting on your beanie and hood. You grabbed your backpack, put on your sneakers, put in your earbuds, and grabbed a juicebox before walking out the door, exiting your apartment building, carelessly opening your juice, cursing under your breath as you got outside, realizing that you didn’t have gloves.

The taste of apple juice was obnoxious, seeing as how the minty flavor of your toothpaste hadn’t quite receded, but you didn’t complain. You quickly threw the emptied box into the nearest trash can, before sticking your hands into your pockets, trying to warm them up as best as you could. You walked through the crowded streets of New York City, people walking past you as speedily as you were walking, nobody looking at the bustle around the neighborhood. Entering the train station, you sighed happily, your hands coming out of your pocket and reaching for your metro card, stuffed in your phone case, entering the bustling train station, glad to not have missed your train.

As the train came whistling into the stations, the windows whizzing past you, the inside of the train filled with hoards of people, as the train slowed down, finally halting. You walked about two feet towards the nearest doors, waiting for the obnoxious amount of people to pour out of the train, before being able to slowly enter, and to your disappointment, but expectance, having to stand up, close to the door you had entered on.

You looked at your phone, mindlessly going through the same few apps, waiting for your stop, the number of people on the train slowly dwindling down. About two stops before your school, there was finally enough breathing room, and you moved slightly back, glad to have the extra space. You closed your phone and placed it in your pocket, bobbing your head slightly to the music blaring in your ears. You closed your eyes, allowing yourself to be transported, dancing around slightly, not caring if people were watching you. You were only stopped when someone walked behind you, shoving you forward, yourself being rammed into another person.

You felt your cheeks flush slightly, noticed the rather short boy you had bumped into, no older than yourself, somewhat scrawny looking, but from what you had felt, was in no means scrawny.

“Sorry.” You told him, an awkward smile finding its way on your face as your embarrassment took over.  

He offered you a warm smile, before pulling out one of his earbuds, yourself doing the same. “Hmm?” He asked, a little unaware and slightly confused.

“Sorry.” You repeated. You cleared your throat slightly, feeling the awkwardness inside of you take over. “For bumping into you.” You clarified, though it sounded more like an afterthought.

“Oh, it’s really no problem.” He replied, stuttering slightly, looking around the train car, feeling the awkwardness in himself come out as well. “Besides, it probably wasn’t even your fault.” He cleared his throat, a slight rosiness appearing on his cheeks. “One person gets shoved and everyone else does too.”

“Yep, the domino effect.” You blurted out, mentally cursing yourself at your choice of wording, even if it was accurate.

The boy laughed slightly. “It really is. I wish I didn’t have to take public transportation ever.”

You laughed at that. “I’m pretty sure the whole city wishes they never had to.”

“Oh god, can you imagine how much worse traffic would be if there was no metro?”

“It would be a complete nightmare. Honestly, like, if there was no metro I would have to wake up at freaking 4 in the morning to get to school on time.”

“Tell me about it. Walking to school everyday would be a nightmare.”

“Where do you go?” You asked the boy, trying to see if you might recognize him. But then again, you may not; there were over 1000 students at your school, about 400 in your grade alone.

“Midtown High. You?” He asked, motioning slightly with his head.

“Same, dude.” You say, the two of you exchanging a sly smile. “(Y/F/N).” You offered, with a smile.

“Um, Peter Parker.” He said back, his initial awkwardness seeming to return.

“Well, Parker. What grade are you in? I haven’t ever seen you around.”

“Sophmore.”

“Same.” You reply, nodding, your awkwardness slowly coming back. You’re eyes lit up in realization, before looking back at Peter. “You’re Penis Parker!” You blurted out, only to realize how awful that sounded. “I’m sorry, I just never met you, and I always here that douche, Flash, yell in the hallway, ‘Penis Parker,’ so I swear I didn’t know, oh my god, I’m a walking human disaster, howhaveInotdiedyet?” You said rapidly, trying your best to profusely apologize.

“Hey, it’s fine. I mean, at least I’m not the girl who walks around in pajama shirts all the time.” He said, throwing you a smug look, proud of the shade he had just thrown.

You open your mouth indignantly, mock gasping, acting offended. “Why I never.”

The two of you burst into laughter, before talking the rest of the way to school, deciding to try to find each other in the library during your free periods. And if you didn’t, at least you had each others snapchats. You walked into first period, confident that you had made a new friend.

peter parker fic that i think i remember where it was going (ned was gonna set y’all up) (last edited: late august, 2017)

Groaning, you lifted your head up and glanced at the clock realizing you only had 10 minutes left till the first weekend of the school year. You groaned again, slamming your head back onto the desk, not even caring enough to use your arms as a pillow. 10 minutes felt like an eternity. It seemed miraculous that you had managed to survive the first week of school, although it would be more of a miracle if you survived the last 10 minutes of the unholiness of school. Time seemed to slow down as the anticipation of the weekend came, each second seeming to tick slower than the one before it. As time seemed to slow, you seemed to accelerate, your fingers tapping idly on the desk, your knee starting to bounce Your mind started racing about your weekend plans, the most prominent one to go home and take a nice long soak in the tub, then binge watch Parks and Rec or High School Musical, whichever you were feeling, with your most comfortable sweats and a tub of ice cream.

You yawned slightly, rubbing your eyes, trying to fight the sleep that was threatening to overtake you, before glancing at the clock again, seeing that you still had another seven minutes. You looked up at the ceiling, trying to contain your frustration, doing the best not to yell out, boredom taking its hold over you. You didn’t even have your stuff to put away to distract you from the boredom, having put it away a few minutes ago.

You glanced at the clock again, not even a minute had passed and this time you could not suppress your groan of frustration. You shot a death glare at the only person who dared to look at you, only afterwards feeling bad for Ned. Slamming your head onto the table in frustration, you closed your eyes, feeling tempted to stab them. You felt a wad of paper hit your head from the side, and you turned to look at the perpetrator, sticking your tongue out at Michelle as she she you her drawing of you “in crisis”, too lazy to flip her off.  

You grabbed your backpack from its place on the ground next to your chair and you set it on your lap, looking around the classroom to see that nobody else was paying attention, and the lack of caring on the teachers face. It was, after all, only the first week back and everyone was craving summer.

You opened your backpack, pulling out whatever book was in there, most likely one that you had already read. To your surprise and delight, you saw that you had forgotten to take out a Harry Potter book, so you opened it up and started from your favorite spot, chuckling to yourself silently at the antics of the characters.

Not only tree minutes after reading, you felt a piece of paper hit you, and you turned to glare back at Michelle, only to realize that this paper had letters written on it. You unfurled it, revealing the messy handwriting of the resident web-slinger, Peter Parker.

“Wanna hang out with Ned and me!?!?”  

Smiling goofily, you grabbed your pen and scribbled, “Yes.”

a peter maximoff film that i tried writing about a dream i had (last edited: maybe february of 2018?? a little earlier)(warning it makes no fucking sense,,,,,,,cause i was trying to recreate a dream)

You honestly had no idea how you had gotten into this situation. Sure, skiing was fun, and yeah, you wanted to spend some time with your friends, but it wasn’t something on the top of your priorities. Honestly, looking back on it, it seemed like it was a dream, having no real recollection of why or how, or even when you guys had decided to go. All you knew was that you were more excited than you had originally anticipated. It was also great that you were actually really good at skiing, despite not having skied for a few years.

Once the few of you had gotten to the small ski slope, you tucked your phone into your jacket, zipping up the pocket, difficultly slipping into the ski boots, silently cursing already at how tight they were. You were ready a few minutes before your friends, silently proud of your achievement, pulling out your phone to check the time, seeing that it was still relatively early. You smiled, glad to have the extra time to get a few runs in, putting on your skis and getting in line for the lift with one of your friends, chatting happily about nothing in particular.

Honestly, there should’ve been something sketchy about the fact that there was a “pick up a snowball and throw it while skiing” challenge, but you really had no idea about why in the world you had decided that it would be a fun thing to do. And the fact that part of the challenge was based on not being tagged by too-gorgeous-to-be-human girls, made the challenge even weirder. Again, you had no idea how you had been roped into this. Maybe it was something that had to do with the fact that you seemed to have been standing in an active volcano range what felt like a few moments before? Probably.

Somehow, everyone else was failing, and honestly you had no idea how they possibly could’ve been. It was so simple, and honestly you were ready to beat their asses. When it came to your turn, you felt the a

a gertchase x reader fic about sitting on the couch and loving your bf and gf (last edited: january of 2018)

“Dating is so heteronormative.” Gert spoke, earning an amused eyeroll from you as you flipped the page of your book, not even bothering to look up knowing the playfully hurt look that would be on Chase’s face, a hand over his heart in mock hurt.

“Thanks babe.” You had replied sarcastically, looking up only when you heard a gasp of over-exaggerated offense, reminding you of a shady grandma, snorting slightly as your mind produced the image of Chase wearing an apron and mary-jane shoes, a smirk making its way onto your face as you looked at him.

“I happen to be heterosexual, and seem to be doing perfectly find. Punching would-be rapists, anyway.” He listed off, his tone of voice being rather proud, but his face darkened at the mention of his old friends, his jaw tightening and his hands beginning to form fists.

You sighed slightly, bookmarking your page, moving your legs off the couch, scooching to the other side of it, draping an arm loosely around Chase’s frame, your feet dangling slightly off the couch.

“You happen to be the exception.” Gert spoke, slightly understanding that the tone of the conversation had changed, trying to keep it light, in her own way.

“You’re not.” You had spoke, going back to reading, your fingers comfortably intertwined with Chase’s, Chase patting the place on the floor next to him, encouraging Gert to sit down next to him.

the climax to the part of a jack thompson series where i haven’t even started the second chapter (last edited: february of 2018) (warnings: graphic violence)

It started slowly. A gradual numbing sensation slowly crawling up your body, before it started ti burn, the flickering sensation of pain engaging your every nerve. The pain flickered, seeming to engulf your entire body, seeming almost suffocating as you tried to scream out in pain and desperation though your muscles would not allow you to move. Your entire body seemed to tighten, biting down harshly on your tongue to keep from crying out as your arm slowly raised, the higher your arm moved, the more your body seemed to burn, and you could almost feel your flesh begin to burn, a smell of singed flesh overwhelming you as your arm continued to move higher and higher, the weight in your hand feeling unnatural despite the constant weight of the item which you normally grasped so easily. Bile seemed to form in your mouth, feeling sweat form, your skin pricking at the feeling of uneasiness which settled in your stomach, time seeming to stand even more still as you did your best to avoid the blue eyes which stared back at you, the fear apparent seeming to pierce through you as you closed your eyes tightly, breathing shakily, before opening them, pulling the trigger instantly, the sound of a muffled gunshot, the body hitting the floor. You shut your eyes once more, feeling the uneasiness return as you stared at him, blood pouring from his body, spilling onto the floor. 

a flashback scene that i was initially gonna use in my prologue for long live the king (last edited: i think literally a year ago, today; february 23, 2018)

“This is pointless!” He yelled angrily at his uncle, removing the mask from his face, panting heavily, the club in his hand as his cousin slightly nodded next to him, though far more subtle about his dislike for the intense sparring regiment. 

“It is not!” Was the angry reply from T’Chaka, articulating his statement with an slam of his spear, staring down his rather testy teenage nephew.

“Why the hell isn’t it?” Was the angry reply from Erik, as he stepped closer to his uncle who, glaring at him angrily.

“You are to be T’Challa’s right hand man when I am gone, meaning you must be able to protect yourself!” He said, getting louder as he spoke, standing up to glare at his defiant nephew.

“Why the hell do I have to defend myself? Everyone in this country has it made, and y’all never wage war on anyone, so why the hell do I have to know to fight?” He yelled angrily, feeling his hand form fists, feeling ready to hit the stubborn old man, but knowing that he actually wouldn’t.

“Uh, guys….” T’Challa whispered softly, trying to avoid another scene between his father and his cousin, stepping closer to them at the ready, not knowing how either of their pride would blow up.

“You must know!”

“Why, so I can kill my family?”

The air seemed to still, the words seeming to halt anymore that would come out of T’Chaka’s mouth, anger coursing through both their bodies.

“How dare you!”

“How dare I? I don’t go around killing my brother!”

“You think I wanted to kill him? I loved my brother! I loved him!”

“That don’t change the fact that you fucking murdered my father!”

“My loyalty is to my people! More than my loyalty to my own blood.”

“Yeah, really stellar parenting right there. Maybe that’s why Shuri and T’Challa are so close, cause Auntie is the one that actually takes care of them rather than parading around the whole world!”

T’Challa rolled his eyes, tuning out slightly while they argued some more, studying their body language, both of them relaxed enough that nothing would go too far.

“Why the hell don’t you care about your own people? Our people are out there dying because you’re so stuck in the past!”

“You sound like your father.”

“Better him than a murderer!”

“Enough!” T’Challa yelled, piercing through the heavy silence which fell over them.

#peter parker x reader #peter parker #peter maximof x reader #peter maximoff #gertchase x reader #chase stein x reader #gert yorkes x reader #gertchase #chase stein #gert yorkes #jack thompson x reader #jack thompson #erik killmonger x reader #erik killmonger #just realized all are from the mcu (-pm which i just consider to make it easier) #pls shame me into finishing these #i have some more that i will post later but shame me into writing these now #also: if yall have ideas for how to finish them; i would love that and pls let me know!! #mira writes #y'all don't have to read all of them but it would be cool if yall did!!

[felicityb-reviews]

Review Roundup - Week 1 January 2018

Hello babies!! Welcome to your debut Review Roundup for Week 1 of January 2018!!! I'm really excited to launch this series, because while I do love doing reviews, sometimes the only thing I can say about a song is "I like it, it was good". I also wanted a place I could spotlight releases from less popular acts (or even less conspicuous releases, sometimes) who don't exactly have 2309342 million fandom pages. This is a great way to combine that, I guess.

Before we begin, some ~rules~

For a song to eligible, it has to have an official video. Even if it's basically some shit an intern made in Final Cut Pro in five seconds, before uploading it. I just need to know that it's an ~official~ release.

No OSTs!! 90% of them are dry ass ballads, and I do not have the time, sis!! No OSTs!! /Edna Mode voice

And on that note, I might choose to skip a certain release, because I have nothing to say about it. Or nothing nice that isn't constructive criticism.

Yes, each video has a Rating™. Do not get hung up on said Rating, cause it's basically meaningless; it's just an arbitrary number based on how much I liked the particle song, mixed with how well I thought the song was written.

Just like with my Feature Spotlights, the blurbs here are just my opinion, sis. Please do not get hung up on what some gay bitch on the Internet has to say about your fave. I'm hella arrogant, but my words are not of God.

So now that we got that out of the way (Even though I'm 90% sure some bitch is gonna try my ass), our list begins with...

Grown Up (Soyou)

Grown Up is pretty standard fare for a Starship ballad. The company has always submerged themselves in RnB and Gospel sensibilities, and it shows here. Miss Soyou takes us to church with Grown Up. A very nice song which I appreciate, but will probably not listen to much, unless I'm in a Ballad Bitch™ mood.

Rating - 3.5/5

TRCNG - Wolf Baby

"Ooh bitch... You mighta just did something there"

That was my first reaction to Wolf Baby, fam. I was ready and willing to write the song off, because the teaser did not show it off in the best light (it sounded like a demo of Hyosung's Into You, according to a friend) and the visual was more of the boys showing off their dance skill. Which is never a bad thing... Except when it's literally the same shit we've seen 20 million times from similar boy bands. But Wolf Baby delivers in full. Unlike the God awful Spectrum which takes after B.A.P in the worst of ways, Wolf Baby sounds and feels more like a Secret song (which sounds a lot better than you think it would). Wolf Baby shows that these boys have personality that can translate to the music, and Lord knows we need more of that in K-pop boy bands. I'm so tired of being charmed by these boys in variety, but utterly bored by their music.

Rating - 4/5

Think about (Seo Ji An featuring KLANG)

Lissen... Whoever wrote this song needs to give me a refund. That intro had me thinking this was gonna a bombastic radio ballad. Like, they were about to hit me with that Ryan Tedder throwback shit. But instead, all I got was soft falsetto and a limp piano line.

Talk about a boner killer, sis.

But once I got over myself (and the song started to pick up), I realized that it was actually pretty nice. Nothing I'd put into heavy rotation, but this would be good shuffle bait.

(Sidenote - if anyone can find me anything on the female vocalist, KLANG, I will give you a hug and a cookie, because I really liked her voice)

Rating - 3/5

XOXO (Soyeon of LABOUM x Park Jae Jung)

We're getting a jump start on the Springtime love duets, I see. I can't say I'm entirely mad, tho. XOXO, like Seo Ji An's Think about, falls within a category of songs I like to call shuffle bait. They're not terrible songs, but they're also not ones I feel obligated to put on heavy rotation. They're good for those days when you don't know what you wanna listen to or need some soft background sounds, so you put your music on shuffle. Not a category one should aspire to be in, but not one to be mad at for falling into, either.

I'm very happy that Global H made this a duet, cause Soyeon's overly bright tone could have tired out the ears very easily if she had to sing this by herself. And not only that, but Park Jae Jung provides a nice foil to Soyeon's voice with his smooth tone. All in all, a very nice song.

Rating - 3.5/5

Honey Tea (OOHYO)

Miss OOHYO is givin us a little Bassa Nova in her Honey Tea, you guise!!

Honey Tea is another shuffle bait song that almost makes it in the Heavy Rotation camp with it's interesting choice of instrumental interludes; but alas, she doesn't quite make the cut. There's something about the production here that doesn't quite mesh right; the song elements don't meld into one another like they should, especially with such ~agreeable~ (for lack of a better word) elements as these. This song is really nice for what it is (the melancholic atmosphere nice for those days when you just wanna brood like an angsty teenager), but I needed just a little bit more.

Rating - 2.5/5

Like Paradise (Kriesha Chu)

Something tells me that Future Bass is going to be everywhere in Kpop this year like Tropical House was last year, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. On one hand, you have Svt's Don't Wanna Cry and LONG:D x Kim Doyeon's All Night that are masterfully made songs. But then you have BTS's Best of Me and Kriesha Chu's Like Paradise, both of which are so fucking beige it makes me wanna slam my face into a wall. And it's really sad because, unlike Best of Me, Like Paradise starts out with a great verse. But then the prechorus goes right into generic territory with a chorus that's so anybody, it's almost frightening.

Kriesha Chu exploded onto the scene with a familiar formula in Trouble, but she did enough to make it her bitch, so idk what happened here. A friend mentioned that she feels as though she's heard this melody fifteen times, and I wouldn't be surprised if she has. This song isn't bad, but it don't got no soul. Which is a shame, because Miss Kriesha Chu has plenty to go around.

Rating - 2/5

Blah (Planetarium Case #1)

Now this is a song that took me by surprise. I was not expecting that Tropical style beat to kick in when the verse started, but I mean... Y'all know how I am with anything and everything Tropical inspired. And then they had the nerve to combine that heaux with RnB style instrumation?!?!!

Bitch...

I wanna be mad at how much I like this song. I really do. I wanna care about how the vocalist's voice is a touch too bright and whiny for that kind of vocal processing (it's faint, but it's there). I wanna feel some type of way about how that kind of vocal processing isn't really suited to this type of song. I would like to have some kind of critique here, but everything just slots together in a way that I can ignore the little things I don't care for.

Sis, idk how these underground labels know me well enough to make such targeted attacks against me like this, but I'm not mad. In fact, I'm very okay with that if I get to walk away with songs like Blah. Can we get more of this, instead of Future Bass or whatever other kooky trends are gonna rule K-pop this year?!?!!

Rating - 4/5

Foresight Dream (Younha)

Hello, Miss Younha!! It's nice to see you giving us something other than classical ballads like some kind of Baek JiYoung knockoff.

...was that mean?!?!!? Okay yeah, that was mean. Oh whatever, it isn't like other people weren't thinking it.

Copious amounts of shade aside, I'm been very here for what Younha has been doing, musically, since Get It. She's swapped out the ballads for a more RnB/Pop sound that's very in line with what the K-RnB World has been doing lately, and I couldn't be happier. Foresight Dream is a dreamy piano driven song that's a bit too downtempo in groove to qualify as an Acoustic Coffee Shop RnB Midtempo, but still has enough drive to feel like it's actually going somewhere. And Younha's voice sounds amazing. She's got a voice very similar to Alice from HV's, but Younha has more depth to her tone. All in all, a very magical experience.

One critique I have (and it's not even of the music) is that I'd have liked if Younha had released Foresight Dream before the GroovyRoom produced Parade. With the way Parade followed the ph-1 assisted Hello, I had assumed that she was done releasing songs. But with Foresight Dream coming after those two, it kind feels like it dampens her momentum. Idk, I'm just being a picky bitch.

Rating - 4/5

wewantourmoneyback (Giriboy)

*sigh*

This nigga talmbout how he want his money back, but I want my fucking time back from listening to this hot mess.

Okay, let me roll back the shade for a second. This song really isn't that bad. I've heard F A R worse from the likes Jay Park, Zico, and Dok2. But dude, this is a touch too fucking generic for a winter release. You couldn't have saved this for summer?!?!? When niggas is actually trynna shake they ass to generic trap beats?!?!

To be honestly, I'm tired of hearing these kinds of songs in K-HipHop. Especially from dudes who have tones like Giriboy. Their voices are whiny as fuck all, and these kinds of beats usually have a lot of higher tones in the mix (for those who are too bougie to listen to trap, producers typically use high, tinny synths as the main instrument in trap beats), so it's just a headache in the making. It's already hard enough to make a trap song without it sounding too repetitive, but these fools have truly tired me out with this genre. I can't even think of something to say about this song, cause it's just so generic.

Rating - 1/5

Paint Me (Mamamoo)

I'm sorry... MamaWHOMST?!?!?!!

Jokes aside, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this song. Mamamoo is a group that I once loved, but all that went sour when they decided to do blackface in concert (and then post a BTS video of getting into costume for said stage a week after posting an apology). And if I'm being honest here, their only good songs are You're The Best and Piano Man. I stanned for their other tracks for the culture; I liked what they did with the songs live. I didn't really listen to them, but tis the life of a K-Pop stan.

In retrospect, it's quite interesting how Mamawhomst Mamamoo haven't promoted a big power ballad like Paint Me before. The instrumentation is basic as all fuck, but it allows emphasis to be put on their vocals. Which are half the reason Mamawhomst Mamamoo survived Nugudom, in the first place. But as great as their voices are in this song, it just doesn't go anywhere. It throws you from one extreme to the other, and then ends. It's hella polarizing, and not something I really wanna put myself through with repeated listens.

Rating - 2.5/5

A Day I Want To Love (HEYDAY featuring Lim Eun Young)

A Day I Want To Love is a very typical classical ballad, and while that usually has me running for the hills, I decided to give it a chance. And I mean, this isn't a song that I'd put into Heavy Rotation, but it'd fit in very nicely with all the songs I download to use as shuffle bait. I'd also quite like to hear this sung live. Idk, I just feel like it'd come off better that way.

Rating - 3/5

OGZ (Jo Woochan x Park Hyunjin x Achillo)

I don't understand this song.

That's not to say that it's bad. The beat reminds me of wewantourmoneyback, but GroovyRoom decided to make a more interesting remix of it. And the boys all hand in amazing verses. But idk, yo. This song just feels weird as all fuck.

Rating - 4/5

Missing You (VOISPER)

How fitting that this is the song that closes out the main list week. Missing You is another lowtempo shuffle bait track (the mood for this week, apparently), but this time around, we get some horns in the mix. Which I greatly appreciate, because without them, this song would have been extremely boring. VOISPER have nice voices, but their technique is kind of sloppy. And I don't usually sweat shit like that, but it's really noticeable here.

Rating - 3/5

The Fabulous Five

So... You've made it to the end of the post (thank you, btw), and are now wondering what in the actual fuck a Fabulous Five are. Well, it's simply a fancy title (because your bitch is hella dramatic) for my favorite songs of the week. In fact, if you payed any mind to the (badly made) gifs at the top of the post, you'd notice they're from the following videos. Anyway, there's no real metric for what goes here, just songs that I stan a lot.

5. Lower (f(Amber+Luna))

MY WIG!!

MY QUEENS!!

M Y W I G!!

Lower is God tier, sis. I've read a few people's reviews of the song, and the one thread of commonality between them all is that Lower is generic and not worthy of the f(x) brand. And while I'm not gonna sit here and act like Lower isn't something I'd expect to hear at a European gay club (or any gay club for that matter), I really like what Amber and Luna did with this song.

I also think that Lower should be considered a performance piece above all. I view EXO's Monster this way - I don't care for the song by itself, but I'm hype as fuck when there's an accompanying visual. Amber and Luna could have made this beat their bitch (Luna certainly has the vocal chops for it, and Amber could have done ha thing with a lil rappy rap), but the main focus of the song is the breakdown. And they dance for their fucking lives to said breakdown.

I can't tell you if I'd have liked this song so much from another duo in K-Pop or if I'd have liked it if it didn't come with a video, but the reality is that like it.

Me Likey Likey a lot!!

I'm really hoping that SM sees how well of a unit these two make, and decides to debut them, officially. Cause God only knows we aren't getting any new material from f(x) anytime soon. Victoria is too busy livin ha best life in China, and Krystal is too busy looking fed up for no reason with Jessica, whilst people throw money at BLANC & ECLARE.

Rating - 3/5

4. Hot Potato (N.FLYING)

Before I start in on my review of this song, I just wanna ask what the fuck is up with idol bands being filled with beautiful ass humans?!?! Like?!?!?! Anytime I watch anything with Day6, I can't help but wanna cry at how hot they are. And watching N.FLYING's Music Core comeback stages, I got the same feeling. I could barely pay attention to the songs. Am I really just that thirsty?!?!?

Nobody fucking answer that, I know I'm thirsty heaux. I don't need you shady bitches dragging me for it.

Existential crisis aside, Hot Potato is a banger. I'm really hoping 2018 is the year idol bands start thriving, because I need more songs like these in my life. The verses are pure octane fun, while the choruses are power pop crack. I dare one of you to tell me you wouldn't sing along to that chorus if you knew Korean. I fuckin D A R E you!! And whoever's idea it was to add Yoo Hweseung from Produce 101, I wanna kiss you silly. His chemistry with Lee Seunghyub is ridiculous!! And in addition to that, an added vocalist allows them added flexibility with with N.Flying's rap/sing vocal style. I'm just so happy with this song, especially with how little love I had for The Real. It's great, sis.

Rating - 5/5

3. Her (Drug Restaurant)

Raise your hand if you had no idea that Jung Joon Young's band changed their name to Drug Resturaunt!?!?!?

...

Oh that was just me, not paying attention to anything?!?! Okay...

The first time I heard Her, I was immediately mesmerized by that opening chord progression. Some part of my musically trained brain knows how overused that progression is, but the rest of me is too busy blissing out to it to care (to be fair, most chord progressions in popular music are overused, because there's only so many that actually sound good to our ears). Her is no one trick pony, tho; she may come back to the oddly dissonant and melancholic texture of the intro now and again, but she always makes sure to give you something new with it.

The rest of the song is pretty great, too. Jung Joon Young has a very smooth texture to his baritone, very similar to BTS's Kim Taehyung (and if y'all know anything about my gay ass, y'all know I'm a H E A U X for baritones), and it's a great contrast to the grit of the instrumental.

Her is a very nice intro (err... reintrduction) to a great band. I keep telling myself I'll get back into rock like I was in middle school (the only good thing about being a weeb is J-rock and VISUAL KEI, I will fight you if you say otherwise), and it looks like God decided to help a girl out.

Rating - 4.5/5

2. Twenty Something (Alice featuring Yooyoung of HELLOVENUS)

Hello?!?!? Fantagio?!?!?! Starship Entertainment called; they want their Acoustic Coffee Shop RnB Midtempo back.

Yes, I realize I'm not that funny, but it's not gonna stop me from cracking jokes

So... If you don't know what an Acoustic Coffee Shop RnB Midtempo is, it's basically the RnB version of an acoustic midtempo ballad (hence the acoustic coffee shop bit). They're usually not acoustic at all, but they still have the same feeling as an acoustic ballad, if that makes sense.

And can I make a bold statement here?!?!!? Fantagio just declared a turf war against Starship with this song. Yes babies, it's that fucking good. Starship is usually my go to for Acoustic Coffee Shop RnB Midtempos, but it looks like Fantagio wants to throw their hat in the ring for consideration.

Alice has the right amount of grit to her voice to really hook you in, but a decent amount of brightness to help uplift the track. And Yooyoung's rap is just... Oh my God, it's so good!! I wanted it to be longer, sis. A++ content!!! She provides a nice texture change that makes Alice's voice pop when she takes over the track again. And the instrumentation just makes my brain happy tingle. God, I'm just so in love with this song!!

My only complaint is about that flat ass, limp ass, needs to be put out of it's misery ass high shriek Alice does over the final chorus. Guys, I am so tired of my ears being accosted by these singers trying to belt. Most of K-Pop's vocalists are sopranos with bright ass tones and absolutely no power behind their voices. This obsession with high belted notes at the end of songs is just so weird, and if y'all are gonna continue to do it, I need y'all to integrate that shit into the song better. Don't just have a vocalist do their best "OH MY GOD, THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL ME" shriek. It's so irritating!!

And apparently, this is the first of a monthly song single campaign Fantagio is doing for 2018?!?!!? Someone at that company wants me to die, sis. First, they inflict Ong Seungwoo and Park Jinwoo on my ass, and now this.

Rating - 4.5/5

1. Bboom Boom (MOMOLAND)

First of all, can we give S. Tiger a round of applause for throwing it back to EXID's Nyam Nyam Jeop Jeop?!?!?!? That is a top five favorite b side of mines, so the second I heard the guitar in the teaser, I fucking Knew™ my edges were about to get snatched right off my face.

Secondly, Queen JooE is outchea livin ha best life, and I'm just so here for it. People love to talk shit about girl groups cause they only do cutesy and sexy concepts (nevermind the fact that boy bands do the same shit, but I guess y'all not trynna hear that), but anytime girl groups give you something different, y'all not trynna stan. So, I'm so fucking here for JooE serving you basics Unapologetic Joy™ in the New Year.

Hallelujah, Thank You Jesus!!

For those of you who can't tell (although it's position in the Fab Five should've tipped you off), I fucking love Bboom Bboom. I was ready for Bboom Bboom the second the teasers started rolling in, and my excitement hit an all time peak with the Great! highlight medley showing that the entire mini was Banger Central™. My only complaint about the song is that the transition from the trap beat to the regular beat in the second verse was so throwed together and clunky. Did y'all run out of time to really integrate that right, cause?!?!?!?! I love that section, but that it could have been handled way better.

Still my favorite song of the week.

Rating - 4.5/5

And that's that, folks!! Tune in next week at 6pm EST to see my round up of this week's new releases. And don't forget about Friday's Feature Splotlight at 6pm EST!! There's been a little (Okay, it's a pretty big ) change to the schedule. Wanna know what it is?!?!?! Be sure to check it out!!!

#Felicity B #Review Roundup #Review #MOMOLAND #f(x) #f(Ambe+Luna) #Hello Venus #Alice #Yooyoung #Amber #Luna #Drug Restaurant #N.Flying

[redditnosleep]

I'm A Search And Rescue Officer For The US Forest Service, I Have Some Stories To Tell

by searchandrescuewoods.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 (Final)

It's been way too long since I posted an update, and I'm sorry about that. There's also been some confusion about the new formatting requirements on the board, which I've cleared up. So these next few stories are going to be posted a little differently! They'll be in chronological order, and I'll do my best to tie them into each other as much as I can so it doesn't skip around too much.

When I started out as a rookie, no one had told me a lot about the job in terms of weird things that could happen. I'm assuming this was largely to prevent me from freaking out and abandoning the park. But a few months into my service, when I was still a rookie, a friend and I were drunk at a party, and he opened up a bit: "Yeah, it can get a little crazy out there, I guess. I think the worst are the ones where people die when they just shouldn't, you know? Or when we find 'em dead like ten minutes after someone says they saw them last. 'They were fine when I passed them on the switchback, I swear!' That sort of shit. Like, take this guy who I found one spring out on a really popular trail. Someone comes into the VC freaking about about some guy who's lying in the middle of the path in this giant pool of blood. So we run out there, and we find this guy dead as a doornail. Which he absolutely should be, because the back of his head is like mashed potatoes. The skull is decimated, brains are leaking out like custard filling, and they guy's old so you figure yeah, he probably fell and hit his head. Old people fall all the time, it's no big deal. Except that this area where he fell doesn't HAVE any big rocks. There's not even any stumps or big branches. And on top of that, there's no blood trail, so he clearly died where he dropped. Now that's when you'd turn to murder, but there were people just out of line of sight with the guy. If someone came up behind him and murdered him, there's no way someone wouldn't have heard. And again, even if someone had, there'd be a blood trail, spatter all over the place. But everyone on the scene said it looked exactly like he'd fallen and smashed his head on a rock. So what the fuck did he hit his head on? And then there was this lady I found in a different park about five years ago, back when I was upstate. We found her in the middle of a stand of big junipers, curled around the trunk, like she was huggin' it. We pick her up to move her, and a fucking waterfall comes out of her mouth, splashes all over my shoes. Her clothes are dry, and her hair is dry, but the amount of water in her lungs and stomach was phenomenal. Unreal, man. Coroners report? Says the cause of death was drowning. Her lungs were completely full of water. This, even though we're in the middle of the high desert, and there isn't a body of water for miles. No puddles, no nothing. No signs of anyone else being out there. I mean yeah, it's possible they were murdered. But why go out of the way to do it like that? Why not just stab 'em and be done with it? I dunno, it just sits weird with me."

Now of course, that freaked me out a little. But we were wasted, and I guess I sort of wrote it off as a fluke. I also assumed there was exaggeration there, since, you know, we were wasted.

Now, I don't like talking about this next case very much. It was an awful one that I've done my best to forget about, but of course that's easier said than done. This happened about six months after the conversation with my friend at the bar, and up until that point I hadn't had a lot of really weird shit go down. A few things here and there, and of course the stairs, but it's amazingly easy to get used to stuff like that when it's treated as if it's normal. This case was a little different.

A guy with Down's Syndrome in his 20s went missing after his family lost sight of him on a major path. That was odd in and of itself, because this guy never left his mom's side. She was absolutely convinced he'd been kidnapped, and unfortunately a Ranger who isn't with the park anymore insinuated that no one was going to kidnap someone... well, with that kind of disability. Not very tactful, to say the least. We wasted a lot of time trying to calm her down enough to get information about him, and then we put out an official missing persons call. Because of the urgency of the situation, him being mostly unable to function alone, we had local police come in and help us. We didn't find him the first night, which was heartbreaking. None of us wanted to think of him being alone out there. We assumed he'd just kept wandering, and was staying ahead of us. We brought out helis the next day, and they spotted him in a little canyon. I helped bring him back up, but he was in bad shape, and I think we all knew he wasn't gonna make it. He'd fallen and broken his spine, and couldn't feel his lower half. He'd also broken both his legs, one at the femur, and he'd lost a lot of blood. He was confused and scared while he was alone, so he'd probably exacerbated the injuries by dragging himself a little ways. I know it sounds awful, but while I was riding in the copter with him, I asked him why he'd wandered off. I just wanted something to tell his mother, to let her know it wasn't her fault, because he was fading fast and I didn't think she'd get to ask him herself. He was crying, and he said something about how 'the little sad boy' had wanted him to come play. He said the little boy wanted to 'trade' so he could 'go home'. Then he closed his eyes, and when he woke up again, he was in the canyon. I'm not sure that's exactly what he said, but it was what I thought the gist of it was. He kept crying, asking where his mommy was, and I held his hand and tried my best to keep him calm. 'It was cold out there.' He kept saying that. 'It was cold out there. My legs was frozen. It was cold out there. It's cold in me.' He was getting even weaker, so he eventually stopped talking, and he closed his eyes for a while. Then, when we were about five minutes from the hospital, he looked right at me, with these big tears running down his face, and he said 'Mama won't see me no more. Love mama, wish she was here.' And he closed his eyes and he just... never woke up. It was horrible, and I don't like talking about it. That case was one of the first ones that really rattled me badly.

Because of how badly it affected me, I reached out to a senior Ranger, and who ended up helping me through it. As time went on, and we got to know each other better, he ended up sharing one of his own stories with me. It was disturbing, but it helped to know that I wasn't the only one affected by the things going on out there. "I think this must have happened before you got here, because I think if it had happened while you were here you'd have remembered it. I know it didn't end up in the news, for some reason, but I think most people who've been here long enough know about it. The park sold off a portion of land to a logging company, and it was a really controversial thing. But it wasn't that large or old of a plot, and it was right after the recession, so we needed cash bad. Anyway, they were felling this plot of land, and we get a call that we need to get our supervisors out right away. I don't know why, but they ended up sending me and a few other guys along with the heads, I guess for power in numbers, to see what was up. We got there, and all these guys are crowded around a tree that they've just cut down. They're all pissed off and freaking out and the foreman comes over and says he wants to know what we think we're up to. "What the hell y'all think this is, some kinda sick joke? You've got a lot of fuckin' nerve pulling this shit, we bought this land fair and square!" Well we don't know what the hell he's talking about, so he brings us over to this felled tree and points at it and tells us that when they cut it down, it was just like this, and they'll be damned if they put it there. The inside of the tree was all rotted out and hollow in one spot, and when they'd cut it down it had exposed that chamber, and inside it is a hand. Like a perfectly severed hand. And looks like it's actually fused with the inside of the tree. Well now we think THEY'RE pulling a joke, so we tell them that we don't like being fucked with, and we start to leave, but they tell us they've already called the cops, and that they'll go right to the media if we don't stick around. Well that gets the heads' attention, so they stick around and talk to the police about it. Everyone is denying that they put the hand in there, and besides, how would anyone have even done it? It's clearly a real hand, but it's not mummified or skeletal. It's brand new, probably not even a day old. And it is definitely fused with the wood, you can see that it's coming right out of it. The loggers, they insist that they didn't put it there. Somehow, this fresh human hand ended up fused to the inside of this living tree. The cops have them cut up that section of tree into a movable chunk. Then they take the hand away, and the area is closed off. There was a pretty big investigation, but I know they didn't find get any answers. Now it's become this legend, and as far as I know we haven't sold any more property for logging."

As you all know, I went to a training seminar recently, and heard some amazing and horrible things there. One of the guys I talked to while I was there told me a story when we were all around the campfire one night. We were both pretty drunk, you'll see a pattern here, and we were swapping stories. He told me this one: "Me and another guy were out on a field search because some campers reported screaming noises at night. So we head out there to look for whatever fucking mountain lion has wandered into the area, and I'm pissed. We've had three of them show up in the camping areas that year alone and I'm getting tired as hell of constantly having to deal with them. Plus, I just don't like them anyway. They're a pain in the ass and they're loud and they scare the shit out of me. Fuckin' cats. Pieces of shit. I'm groanin' about it to the guy I'm with and he thinks it's a real fuckin' riot. So we're seeing all these broken branches and what look like dens and we're pretty sure we know where this thing is. I call in and they tell me to confirm if possible, which you know just means they want to you to step in a big pile of shit and use that as proof. I'm not seeing any, though, so I basically just tell 'em to shove it, I'm done. We know that damn thing's out here somewhere, even if I'm not stepping in its shit or inside its mouth or whatever. Guy I'm with wanders off to take a piss or whatever, and I stay behind watching this little burrow under a tree to see if maybe a fox or somethin' is living under it, 'cause I love foxes, man. They're cute as hell. But anyway, I'm watching this tree and I start hearing branches crackling and it's coming from the direction my partner went opposite of. Now I've got my pistol, but you and I both know that's not gonna do shit against a cat. I cock it and holler for my partner to get his dumb ass back, but he's too far and he can't hear me. I stand up and get my sights on where the thing is approaching, and I shit you not, man, I just about peed myself. This guy is coming toward me, and he's back-flipping through the fucking woods. Like, instead of walking, he's doing these crazy fucking back-flips, and I swear to God he cleared every fucking log and bush in his path, it was like he knew right where he was going. I yell at the guy to stop right where he is, that I'm pointing a gun right at him, but he keeps coming, and I just kinda lost it. I shot at the ground in front of him, and it was a dumb fuckin' thing to do, but man I didn't want this guy anywhere near me. When I fired, he was about fifty yards from me, and as soon as the gun goes off, he whirls around and goes off, back-flipping back into the woods. My partner hears my gun go off and runs back and asks what's up, and I tell him there's some fucking weirdo out here hopped up on God knows what, and we need to get the hell out of Dodge. I let the cops know what happened, and I didn't get in any trouble for firing, but man, I don't know what that motherfucker was on but I've never seen anything like that before. Shit was absolutely butt-fuck crazy."

I think we can agree that there's stuff going on out here in the woods, and while I'm not going to spout off about what it could be, or offer any theories, what I want people to take away from all of this is that it is so damn important to be safe when you're out there. I know a lot of you think you're invincible, but the fact is that you CAN die out there, or be hurt, or go missing. It's easier than you'd ever imagine.

I apologize for this relatively short update, guys, I will do my absolute best to continue this series as soon as possible. Thanks for all your continuing support, it means the world to me!

#search and rescue series #creepy #horror story #series

[luccie-eclair]

Dear Fellow KPop Fans,

I'm going to go ahead and put this disclaimer here: if what I'm saying doesn't apply to you, then don't worry about it. However, if you know that you've been an absolute ass to other fans and even the idols themselves, then sit on down and let me tell you what you're not about to do to these wonderful, hardworking people or their fanbase.

Therefore, I don't want to hear crap about "Well, not EVERYONE from [x] fandom is like that". Guess what? I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the bad apples that ruin the name of your fandom when you're just trying to have a good time.

WARNING: I'm about to be hella salty. Don't mind me 🤗

1) These fan wars need to stop. It's pathetic. What are you? 12? No, wait. There are 12 year olds more mature than this. Not only is it unnecessary, but some of things you say to each other is just hurtful. I know we have a freedom of speech, but some of y'all really abuse that. What's sad is that the people doing it will never, and I mean NEVER, have the balls to say it to anyone's face. Do you honestly think that you're cool or funny hiding behind a fake name and fake age? You're not. You're telling everyone who has access to the internet "Hey, guys! I'm an ass who doesn't deserve friends because I treat people like shit! Make sure you block me!" You, yes you, have created a bad name for your fandom. So if you're ever wondering why someone says "Oh, ONCE's are so immature and rude" (that was an example, so chill because I'm a ONCE myself), it's probably because they've had to deal with jerks like you. Congrats. You played yourself. Oh! And chances are, the group whose fans you're being rude to is probably friends with your bias group. If they can be cordial and polite with drama, so can you. Grow up.

2) This whole "[x group] can't sing" argument has got to go. It's a weak argument and no one is falling for it anymore. Just to let you know, and anyone who was previously a trainee can confirm or deny this, you have to have some kind of talent in singing to even BECOME a trainee!??! Meaning! They have to stand out above the crowd. There is something about their voice that sets them apart for that company to even consider taking them under their wings. Even then, you probably have still have to go through another 2 auditions to be a trainee. If it's that hard to be a trainee, then think about how hard it is to get into a debuting group. Just think. Got an idea? Okay, now take that "can't sing" argument and throw in the trash. "Oh, but they lip sync", you mean like most musicians?!?!? In case you haven't noticed, not EVERYONE is built to be able to sing perfectly and still master dancing and being out of breathe. Sorry, honey, but even Queen Beyonce (while doing very well) doesn't get every single note correct while dancing under hot ass lights and running low on breathe. Doesn't mean she's less of a performer.

3) These rating members lists, "[x] idol is too fat despite being at a considerably healthy", "[x] idol (normally male) looks like a child", and "[x] idol (female with short hair) is too manly" also needs to go. Actually, insulting these idols as if they aren't people, as if they don't have emotions, as if they're supposed to just brush it off despite it being hurtful. NEEDS. TO. STOP. These people work their asses off all the time, sometimes having to stay up for over 48 hours to finish their long schedule with few breaks. You can rent a movie theatre and take several seats. You sit there and call yourself a fan and yet bash them???? Excuse me???? Don't even get me started on the ones that PAY MONEY to go to their fansignings and yet treat them like dirt, demand shit, hit them, and throw things at them. That is a new form of low.

4) PERSONAL SPACE!!!! Why does anyone even need to say that?!?!?! It's one thing if you calmly walk up to an idol (Bow first, please. They are Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc. Respect is a big thing) "Hello, my name is [x]. I like your work. Can I trouble you for a photo or autograph?" If they say they're busy, bow and say thanks for letting you meet them. If they consent, finish up, bow, say thanks, and leave. DO NOT: crowd them to the point where they can't breathe or move, grab or touch them (believe it or not, you're a stranger to them), start flashing pictures and recording them, or screaming in their ears. AND: if they ask for you to leave them alone and let them be on their way, step off! You can argue "Well, they're celebrities. What do they expect?" THEY expect to be treated like people??????? Not animals???????? I'm confused with the logic. Because someone is famous, they no longer have basic human rights anymore? Is that what you're saying? That they're objects meant only for entertainment? Because I see a person. But maybe it's me. Maybe I'm the crazy one.

5) If you don't like a group, that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. Everyone is entitled to an opinion whether someone else agrees or not, but it's how you express it. Don't know what I'm talking about? Let's draw a picture (these are purely examples, so chill). Bob doesn't like BTS (again, example), he calmly and politely states that and gives good, legitimate reasons "Their concept doesn't suit them, lacks passion, the choreography isn't great, etc". Okay, Bob, while I don't agree with you, I see what you're saying and thanks for being respectful. Meanwhile, Jane doesn't like BTS and decides to go in the BTS tags on Tumblr to bash them and their fans, posts nasty comments on their videos, and even goes as far posting rude stuff on their V-Lives. This is obsession and this is not okay. There's disagreeing and there's being a jerk. Bottom line: Don't be Jane.

6) Who an idol dates is none of our business. They're their own person. They are consenting adults. Leave them alone. I'm sorry to crush your dreams, but they don't know you. Realistically, your chances of scoring a date with your idol is very low. I'm sorry, but that's life. You will find someone else. I promise. I'll even help you, but leave these people alone.

7) Example: Umji from Gfriend decides to do a stream with just her and Sowon. Please don't come on their stream and proceed state that you'd rather see SinB or Eunha. That is so rude and I can only imagine how they feel. It's called being empathetic i.e putting yourself in someone else's position and understanding their plight. We should all try it sometime.

8) This isn't a don't per se... eh, whatever. It's kind of irking when groups are compared to one another. Like, they may have similar concepts, but the size is different, the members are different so everyone has a different voice, the overall sound is different. I just don't find it... fair to compare them, but that's life, so I won't worry about it too much. Disregard!

I know that I probably missed a few more, but the bottom line is be a decent fucking person. It really isn't hard. You know phrase "do unto others"? Try it. It will get you far. Trust me, I know posting about this is pointless given that every fandom on this website is pure cancer because of a few bad eggs. But there comes a time when you just need to speak up against it. I'm kind of new to the Kpop scene and I'm already sick of a lot of these people. Also, if you see someone from your fandom being an ass, please say something because this behavior is not okay.

#kpop #kpop fandom #twice #gfriend #bts #red velvet #k.a.r.d #exo #nct #nct 127 #oh my girl #snsd #girls generation #super junior #got7 #seventeen #wonder girls #shinee #and any other kpop grouo that i missed #seriously stop #be a good person #please #youre ruining it for everyone #wsjn #mammoo

[wraithwolf]

so let’s talk about Shieda fucking Kayn——

first off, I actually want to give props to Riot because as much as I change shit around I'm genuinely glad we're continuing to receive lore that intertwines with other pieces rather than having a bunch of standalones that generally fail (and subsequently receive harsher criticism) solely because they have nothing to lean on. as expected some (most) people are unhappy with it but if nothing else I'm glad Kayn has lore beyond his little intro paragraph because y'all know they very well could've just gave us that and left it. (I'm not here to complain about the comm tho that's a separate post) basically, I'm Pleased and there's a lot to think about.

Initially, the decision to make Kayn a Noxian threw me for a Big Ass Loop™ because I was convinced the Order was exclusively for Ionians (more specifically, Ionians proved worthy by Zed) and while Kayn was still chosen by Zed there’s an underlying irony in this choice. We’re deep into the Ionian/Noxian war by the time Kayn is forced into it, and while Zed isn’t exactly the most Merciful or #Relatable person, imagine the intrigue a person such as himself had in seeing a poor, Noxian child with the drive and the anger of that of a seasoned warrior not only still holding on (considering Zed and co. didn’t arrive to the scene for two days after Kayn was dispatched) throughout all of the carnage that surely followed, but finding the strength to take up his weapon once again. For what it’s worth, Kayn was determined to fight for his life or literally die trying no matter who challenged him. We know Kayn didn’t know who was standing over him, but he was willing to fight anyway. I imagine Zed to have found it admirable, but at the same time beneficial: being able to change this boy and harness his rage, then unleash it against the same people that otherwise would’ve let him die at the Epool. The same people that sought to slay his own. I’m 50/50 about this because I speculated Zed had a reason for taking Kayn under his wing, but I didn’t expect the Noxian angle at all.

The thing is, there’s a lot more irony to this beyond Zed taking in a Noxian to use against other Noxians, as we can obviously see. Kayn resembles Zed in many ways— a familiar, stubborn arrogance alongside the same hungry determination that inevitably consumes him to be more than what he is, going as far as to seek an advantage through outside means - just like Zed in seeking out the Box to surpass Shen, Kayn seeks out Rhaast; only it’s safe to say Kayn is far more ambitious in his reasons for doing so, as in Kayn wants control of the fucking Order itself where Zed... wasn’t so bold, at the time.

It’s interesting to think about how an endgame for Kayn (and also Zed, since at least in Zed’s case we have to consider his current (????) involvement with Shen in an attempt to stop Jhin all over again and then add Kayn to the mix) would play out as it is almost entirely dependent on Zed and Kayn’s will alone. Should Kayn succumb to Rhaast, (which now seems a little more plausible with Kayn’s cockiness running amok through everything he does) I imagine the dynamic would change entirely as it goes beyond controlling Kayn as best as Zed can (I use control loosely because while I imagine Zed to run the Order as he sees fit, to make it a total dictatorship still seems like a little bit of a stretch to me if only because we don’t know how Zed reacted to Kayn returning with the Darkin scythe in hand and word that he Literally Killed Nakuri in order to bring it back) to having to deal with him without risking the rest of the Order and all of Ionia itself. They’ve already got Jhin running around, for gods sake, they don’t need a fucking Darkin along with him.

Ultimately, a lot like with champs such as Zed and Jhin, a real endgame is left up to the writer of said character and the overall interpretation itself. The way I see it, Zed isn’t going to be pleased with Kayn’s decisions to not only kill another member of the Order but also to voluntarily give part of himself to Rhaast in order to ‘control’ him; but again we return to Zed’s somewhat Ulterior Motive as to why he brought Kayn in in the first place. It’s not hard to tell that Kayn is confident, though overbearingly so--and from the looks of it, Zed isn’t The Happiest about Kayn’s behavior nor his choices but there are fragments of Kayn that Zed can recall in himself that might just allow certain things... to an extent. I’m in no way saying Zed just “o ok u just killed one of my students and defied my orders and also want The Order from me, Cool” because I’m laughing imagining the lecture/punishment Kayn actually receives after he returns with Rhaast and Kayn just scowling and grumbling the entire time but! I can see him allowing few aspects of Kayn solely because if he can convince Kayn that his strength comes from him, not Rhaast, Kayn can overcome Rhaast, and Zed can continue to shape him.

Also, let me add right now that while I don’t think Zed would risk much for him, (I’ve never supported 100% Evil Zed but I’m not a “Zed Did Nothing Wrong” stan either) I also don’t agree with the idea that Zed wants Kayn to lose himself to Rhaast, that Zed would send Kayn to deal with Jhin, or that Zed would even involve him in it. The risk, in all of these scenarios is vastly higher than the reward. Again, a Literal Darkin running around slaughtering everyone would mean further disaster for Ionia, and inevitably word would get around who brought Kayn (and Rhaast by relation) into the nation, and while Zed isn’t exactly a secret to all, I doubt he’d want to bring himself and his actions front and center. Kayn is still extremely young (eighteen-nineteen??) and while he’s in no way weak or stupid (s/o to Mint for mentioning this entire point to me i love u big hug) Jhin has years of experience on him. It wouldn’t be difficult for Jhin to take advantage of Kayn and either kill him on the spot or put him through worse knowing it was a stronger way to get to Zed especially if we can assume Kayn would completely underestimate him. For what it’s worth... my interpretation, specifically, has yet to know of Jhin at all. Whether or not he later on learns and what happens thereafter is to be decided. (*aggressively chinhands*)

Furthermore, in regards to the “wow he is so cliche” “wow he is so edgy” arguments that plague his Entire Fucking Existence and tag right now... yes. It was obvious he was going to be a little edgy and a little bit of a cliche. That doesn’t (and it shouldn’t) take away from the potential he has to further flesh out the lore as a whole. You gotta realize now more than ever that Kayn is young, one of the youngest champions (?) to have a fairly deep involvement with some larger scale issues going on within the overall story. I can name a few other champs that follow a similar path and are edgy in their own respects, but I’m not going to. The lore has disproved many things, one of them being that Kayn isn’t Just Edgy for the sake of being edgy. It’s very likely that as he grows and matures, a lot of his current mannerisms will fade/vanish entirely depending on what happens to him in the future. In a nutshell, being edgy doesn’t make him a joke, and he’s clearly not an unconditional, rampant Zed fanboi uguu kouhai xDdD like a lot of people were using at the forefront of their argument as to why they dislike him. 💁

TO CONCLUDE ... I like Kayn, I like his lore, and I’m really liking the possibilities for building him and taking him in a direction entirely my own. (and that’s just for main verse, let alone the possible skin aus, modern verse, what have you) Of course, it wouldn’t be a Blog by Hina™ without some divergence, but I’ll be figuring that out as I go. I already have some specific ideas pertaining to my interpretation exclusively, but they need to be tested/written down before I can really apply them. I am Happy, and I’m looking forward to keeping this going.

some additional stuff I noted/had confirmed to cover later but still want to mention:

nakuri calls kayn brother! the order is (at least somewhat) familial! miss me with that ‘nobody cares abt each other in the order’ shit

is it safe to say kayn’s abilities covered in the lore/in game (the wall walking and the ability to literally enter bodies for a short time especially) are things zed is also capable of? he couldn’t have learned them from anyone but zed, right?

A Big Old Confirmation that when kayn enters another body, he can see (and subsequently feel) just as the person would be for that moment. i’d like to think that eventually, kayn can fine tune this ability and utilize it for longer durations, however i imagine there will always be a risk from it and the victim will most likely always suffer afterwards. more on that Eventually™

another Big Confirm that rhaast’s control leaves both physical and mental effects on the body (however it happens a lot faster than i originally anticipated) and the longer the usage, the more this shows in the form of carapace. i’ll also be covering this at Some Point but even in kayn’s shadow assassin form, we see that the carapace is Gone (?) but in its place are dark dark marks, implying that even once rhaast is purged, remnants of him are still there most likely because of how long he was allowed to manifest. i’m still debating if this actually would hinder kayn’s eyesight / usage of his arm for a while should he overcome rhaast.

rhaast can be heard by more than just his wielder, which is something i wasn’t thinking was possible. however, this could be a conditional thing to where either rhaast can choose who hears him or the only ones that do hear him are those susceptible to his control. either? or? the world is yet to know.

#jsyk this is 1780 words. #i'm not... particularly expecting this to be read LOL #but i had a lot of thoughts and so i wanted to voice them. #this isn't a hc post really #more like a general opinions / a few possible plans for my interpretation #but.... #idk. i just love kayn. #i love my son. #out of character. │ i'm kind of fragile.

[loveiscosmicsin]

Memory Lane Pastries

@letshareapapou wrote this with me. I must always credit the bae without fail XD Concept surrounding the pastries because I can never forgive for the poor execution of them in the game. I will write about these damn desserts forever. I can write about how Noctis looks at Ignis like he’s a Tenebraen pastry forever. FFXV Spoilers, just in case, but entirely different ending. When can I stop tagging stuff as spoilers? Posted on Ao3.

-

“Once this is over…”

“One thing at a time.”

“Fair enough.”

- Ignis Scientia to Noctis Lucis Caelum, circa World of Ruin

-

Ignis chuckled over the barrage of lectures Noctis received.

The King of Light had restored balance to Eos, fulfilled the prophecy, defied fate, and he received a tongue-lashing for his trouble the minute the four heroes arrived at Hammerhead. He survived to live another day or perhaps the gods deemed that this consequence was a suitable compromise for reclaiming his birthright.

The discourse handed over by Cid and Cidney wasn’t covering the fact that Noctis had gone to sleep for ten years nor he didn’t inform them of his return. No, the two master mechanics found the Regalia in Gralea, damaged beyond repair. It was clear that the Regalia was a small sacrifice in getting in Niflheim territory. Gladiolus and Prompto were fortunate to sneak away before they too, suffered an earful, and figured that they should head over to Lestallum to deliver the announcement that everyone could return to their homes.

Ignis decided to stay behind at the Hammerhead with Noctis to provide support. For someone as energetic and cheerful as Cidney, Ignis was thrown off by the blonde’s incoherent wails. Cid’s reprimands were beyond a roar, penetrating, there was still life within the crotchety elder yet and it wasn’t just over seafood. Nobody said a word to Ignis directly, it must’ve been the seafood cuisine he catered for those years. The advisor could chalk it up to the unspoken rule of not upsetting the chef.

But he didn’t intervene on the king’s behalf nor did he interject. He wouldn’t stoop that low but it also wasn’t Noctis’ fault for his unprecedented absence. However, some part deep inside Ignis felt that a little humility wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Noctis was king, to hear the common folk’s complaints and input would be advantageous until he’s able to sit on his throne once more.

He knew Noctis looked to him for aid, but Ignis ignored it. Talcott promised to help the king rectify for the misdeeds and imagined crimes he had caused. The advisor decided he should prepare a meal, it did no good for everyone to argue on an empty stomach.

Takka’s kitchen would do. The man was always a character who was easily startled, unlike what you could expect from a reformed thief, but elated to point Ignis in the right direction to the ingredients he needed or provide a helping hand in preparing meals. He had honestly helped Ignis in the beginning. After the Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus reconvened to Hammerhead after Noctis’ disappearance, they banded up as active Daemon Hunters. This arrangement didn’t last long, the three split up, it was too painful to be together while Noctis was gone.

Gladiolus drifted off into the night first, ready as ever to fight. He was a bastion and a cyclone, determined to protect but feared putting his friends at risk. He had Iris to consider after all, and Ignis didn’t need him anymore. Prompto was a bit more reluctant to leave his blind companion behind. Ignis firmly reminded the blond to follow his heart and not to worry about him, knowing he wished to pursue after the Shield. Saying farewell to his last friend had been hard, but Ignis did it how he did everything else: deliberate, pride was the most powerful emotion that often worked against him.

Cidney had found him drunk later, it wasn’t the brightest moment to be caught in, but when he sobered up Ignis found himself ready to face the darkness. It was a slow process though, Ignis was hard-pressed to admit that to anyone even when his assignments coincided with his dear friends’s objectives at times. Between his desires to fight, to breathe, to survive, the darkness of the real world seemed minuscule compared to his own. Try as he might, some nights did caught up to him and wallowing in self-pity and contempt.

Then one day, he drifted back to Hammerhead and found himself in the diner, cooking. It was so close to Insomnia, so close to home that it was easy. And so fucking hard. But Takka had helped him. A steady hand in the kitchen. It was what Ignis needed and he got better.

After a while, Ignis moved towards the sea. Maybe because it was the furthest thing from Insomnia, from everything. The sea salt in the air was comforting. Seafood became his best and rarest dishes. But now that Noctis, his king, was home, Ignis could go back to what he knew. It was all right to remember because he wasn’t hanging on memories. Noctis was as real as anything. He was here. Ignis wasn’t being pulled towards the sea anymore. He wasn’t drowning and trying to get lost in the abyss of nothingness.

Takka’s voice was as enthusiastic as ever. “Need a hand?”

Ignis smiled, “Certainly.”

“‘Fraid we don’t have much in the pantry for something huge. Had to give rations to the folks who left in a pitch.” The aged man groaned and his voice sounded much closer as he rummaged through food items. “Hope they get back all right and aren’t too down when they see what’s left…”

Ignis paused. Crown City citizens weren’t the only ones eager to depart to Insomnia and even if they were discouraged of their haste, nobody would stop them. Lestallum had been overpopulated due to the waves of refugees seeking sanctuary. Deplorable conditions also dwindled humanity and morale during that time. No doubt many would remain and others would find their ways back home.

“It’s to be expected, but there’ll be time to mend wounds and discuss reconstruction. All this altruism won’t go to waste now.”

“Suppose you’re right. It’s only day one, after all.” Takka scratched at the patch of a beard on his jaw. “What’s on the menu today, son?”

“There’s a pastry I’d like to bake. It’s been years but I think…” Ignis inhaled deeply. “I’m ready.”

He’d hardly tried desserts in general since Altissia but now felt right. Honestly he was probably still soaring on their victory, it was hard not to. He’d never felt so free.

“Need a hand?” A voice called, familiar yet foreign but it the best sound Ignis had heard in years. The advisor turned toward it. Noctis always had a deep voice but the ten years rolled it low in his throat and it sent a pleasant slide down Ignis’ spine.

“Hold your chocobos!”

“Uh-oh.” Noctis gasped.

“If ya’ll think I’m gonna let you skedaddle from making amends, ya’ll got 'nother thing comin’!” Cidney’s furious heels hammered the diner’s floor and Noctis let out a cry. “Sorry for the trouble, boys! Carry on.” The head mechanic commanded as she dragged the Lucian king out, ignoring his pleas to release his ear.

“Hell hath no fury…” Takka drawled. He jumped when Ignis chortled suddenly.

“Apologies,” Ignis cleared his throat, making his way to retrieve an apron from hook. “Do we have Ulwaat berries? These confections also call for a flaky texture so if we don’t carry flour, I’ll make do with substitutions, say spelt.”

Ingredients were indeed difficult to obtain during the decade. Hunters were assigned to delivery shifts for the basic necessities and resources. Ignis ended up teaching others on making simple, but filling meals with what was on hand. Many of his disciples lamented over fresh eggs and milk. It forced him to be creative and the textures were unexpected, and sometimes experimentation took a turn for the better. He was certain that everyone wouldn’t mind his take on these Tenebraen desserts. They may be intertwined with canned goods or preservatives since Ignis lacked the access to a palace’s kitchen. Would Noctis mind?

“Don’t worry,” A hand settled on his shoulder and squeezed. “He’s going to like them.”

Ignis was positive he allowed himself to be an open book. He turned away to reach for a bowl and cleared his throat, “Ah, that obvious, am I?”

Takka snorted. “Boy, you are so besotted with him. Y'all have to be the dimmest lightbulb in the shed to not see it. But you know… he looks at you the same way. Like you’re a kupoberry cheesecake.”

Ignis swallowed and struggled to keep his face composed. An interesting analogy, but one that he won’t inquire about. “I wish I could see it.”

“It’s the same since the day you boys first showed up here in Hammerhead. You didn’t see it then, but he watched you just as much as you watched him. The only difference now is time. You don’t need eyes to know how he feels.”

-

Ignis stepped out of the diner carrying a large paper bag full of pastries and a thermos of Ebony coffee. The pastries were baked to perfection despite some last minute alterations. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough Ulwaat berry preserves for the thirty sweets baked. Some of them contained banana jam and others raspberry and chocolate in lieu of the Ulwaat fillings. Takka attested that the raspberry and chocolate ones were the best of the batch and Ignis took his word for it. However, he wanted to hear Noctis’ opinion on the matter.

“Ignis,” Noctis greeted with a groan and metal grated against one another. Bones cracked and the king dusted off his hands. “Ugh, I can’t believe Cidney. I tried telling her what happened to the Regalia wasn’t my fault.”

Ignis made a noise expressing mock exasperation, “Wouldn’t listen to a tale you’ve spun? I’m amazed.” Noctis almost always managed to talk himself out of a tangled situation or at least narrated a grand story that brought the advisor enough time to bail him out.

“One order after another. Without a break, too. Now that’s criminal. If it wasn’t for Talcott, I wouldn’t be alive right now and we both know how crushing that’ll be.”

“Your Majesty, you shouldn’t upset Miss Cidney.” A young voice called out from below, Talcott’s, the tone sounded normal as the man rose to his feet. “She didn’t say those things for her benefit. Your idea of putting the car in the museum was a terrible one.”

“My bad.” Noctis grumbled, “Like grandfather, like grandkid.”

“I believe the two of you deserve a break for your hard work. These are still warm from the oven.” Ignis announced, holding up the paper bag. “I took the liberties of divvying portions for the both of you.”

“Knew I could count on you, Specs.” Noctis patted Ignis’ shoulder enthusiastically.

“Perhaps we could eat them together?” The advisor was hopeful as he turned to the youngest man.

“Um,” Talcott was hesitant. “I think I left the monkey wretch in the garage. Yeah. You know how Cid gets with missing tools.” The young man laughed nervously and the bag rustled as he retrieved his portion. “Thanks for the food. Bet it’s awesome like everything else you made, Ignis.” He left the two older men in a hurry.

Ignis was stunned by the man’s behavior. “He left without so much of an explanation. How pellicular.”

“What explanation do you need? Poor kid needs therapy after what we went through.” The king released the advisor’s shoulder. “So that’s for me. You’re a sweetheart. Got coffee, too?”

Ignis smiled, knowing that coffee paired off nicely with the sweet confections though he recalled how Noctis took his. With lots of sugar and cream, more sweeteners than coffee. Utterly unpalatable in the advisor’s opinion, but a certain prince favored it highly. “But of course.”

Noctis guided Ignis to a bench and a warm, nostalgic scent wafted around the two men as they sat down. The bag rustled and Noctis pressed the warm contents against Ignis’ arm, signaling him to grab a sweet for himself.

Ignis took one gently, a piece of the buttery crust flaked off onto his palm as he pulled the dessert to his chest. There was the sound of a lid being pulled back and a light thump as Noctis sat the thermos on the table. Ignis leaned towards him, just a bit, it went unnoticeable by his friend, and listened.

The sound of teeth connecting into his creation gave him goosebumps, he held his breath.

“So, how is it?”

“Could use a bit of work.” Noctis supplied with a lukewarm response.

Ignis leaned away with a grimace, trying hard not to show his disappointment. He bit into his own, bitterness overtaking him. Honestly, he should hardly surprised, it’d be years and even then, his skills were subpar from what they had once been. His mouth twitched, maybe he should cease with these silly attempts altogether, he was getting old.

Ignis used to detest baking. He was self-taught, having spent many hours in the kitchen since he was ten years old watching the chefs prepare meals as if everyday was a feast. When Noctis returned to Lucis from Tenebrae all those years ago, he went through drastic changes that a boy should never experience. The only thing that brought a smile to his face was talking about a mysterious pastry he was fond of but couldn’t recall what was in it. Ignis wanted to see that smile return and did all he could to recreate the foreign pastry.  

“Too sweet”, “not flaky enough”, “not quite”, “close”, and so on became indicators to inform the advisor that he just had to try harder next time. But not once did Noctis not finish the pastry and he always sent his compliments to the chef. Not once did Noctis sent a letter to Lady Lunafreya requesting the recipe, he let Ignis have free reign in this never-ending quest.

But Ignis never got the chance to perfect the recipe. He learned of the ingredients that were used, but never got around to baking. Then he lost confidence in his culinary skills the same time his vision left him.

A finger stroked his lower lip and Ignis’ knees hit beneath the table.

“You got… cream on your lips.” Noctis said quietly, it sounded husky in how the advisor registered it. Ignis didn’t adhere to reason, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Surrendering the pastries was one thing, but…

I cannot give you up, he thought desperately and leaned it, guided by the sound of the king’s voice. They both made a noise of surprise when their lips met. It wasn’t like he imagined it would be. Ignis imagined their first kiss being more delicate and graceful. Here, he felt clumsy outlining the king’s lips with his own, tripping in dark. Noctis’ lips were dry and cracked. Motor oil and sweat assaulted the air around them. The combined taste of the berries and sickeningly sweet Ebony were heavy on the advisor’s tongue, but his eyes fluttered anyway because it was Noctis.

He was kissing Noctis.

As if the king knew what he wanted, he ran his tougue over the older man’s lips. Ignis scarcely heard the pastry fall from his hand and on the table. They were still close enough for Ignis to feel it over his and the advisor made a sound low in his throat at the motion. He felt Noctis grin before a hand was on the back of his neck and they were together again. Noctis breathed into him and sighed, beard scrapping over Ignis’ clean-shaven chin as the younger man tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Ignis followed like a fire drawn to a hurricane, only the flame didn’t extinguish but fostered into a warmth that spread across his chest.

Noctis pulled back with a laugh, “You taste so much better than those fucking pastries.” He laughed breathily as he leaned his forehead aganist Ignis’, “Which, by the way, you’ve always made perfect, you dork.”

“Perfect?” Ignis echoed, nuzzling weakly against Noctis. Intoxicated by their first kisses, the advisor’s thoughts were muddled. He now understood what Takka meant about the cheesecake metaphor, that embrace was heavenly and the advisor may dare describe, bold, on both efforts. “I could’ve sworn that all my attempts have been unsuccessful.” He frowned, certain that this batch was a failure because fresh ingredients were severely limited. The younger man always was curt in his compliments, it was never in his style to be excessive but what did it mean now?

Noctis’ hand curled over the advisor’s. “I said they’re perfect, didn’t I?”

That’s when it dawned on Ignis. “I never got the recipe down, did I?” Perhaps it was time to concede in the apron. Ignis deemed that he needn’t hear it in Noctis’ words. “It’s all right,” the advisor assured, minding to keep the disappointment to a minimum. “Baking was never my strongest suit.”

Noctis squeezed his hand. “Never stop baking.” He asserted softly, “I’ll never find desserts the way you made them in this damn world if you quit. You made them just for us.”

At that, this time Noctis initiated the kiss, moving close to Ignis and catching his mouth. He worked up a slow-burn of a tempo with his parted lips. Fingers slid up the brunet’s chest and over his collarbone before resting on the sides of his neck. Ignis hummed as the rough pad of Noctis’ thumb ran over his pulse. He pulled back and his hand dragged up to cradle Ignis’ face before he teased the older man’s lips.

“I love you, Ignis.” He whispered softly.

Ignis smiled weakly as he kissed his king’s fingers gently. “I love you too, Noctis.” I have for a very long time, he wanted to add. Ignis flinched as Noctis’ forehead fell on his chest.

“It feels… good to say now that the cat’s out of the bag.” Noctis exhaled as he dropped his hand. “All those years wasted when I should’ve had you.” Vulnerability made his confession raw. “I can’t believe I was headed off to die without telling you…”

Ignis blinked. A moment later he heard the telltale moan and smiled. Noctis shoving his face full of food to silence himself was a bit childish but made the advisor all the more enamored. The king made his point clear and the advisor welcomed any attempts made even if they were incomplete thoughts. He raised his hand to Noctis’ face. “May I?” he asked, hand steady. Noctis snorted but Ignis’ fingers found a cheekbone.

“Only you.” Noctis’ chuckled, and Ignis felt the skin under his fingers flex as the king continued eating.

Ignis carefully brought his other hand and together they mapped out a picture, puzzle pieces clicking into place. His fingers swept over the king’s brow, along his jawline, danced around his nose, traveled to the outskirts of long strands of hair framing Noctis’ gaunt face. The time trapped in the Crystal hadn’t been kind to him. His hair was a little oily, but surprisingly soft unlike the coarse beard he sported. Ignis wished to see the windows of Noctis’ soul, observe the same tranquility and maturity he demonstrated as a king back in Insomnia.

“Forgot what I look like?” Noctis joked, tilting his head up when Ignis touched his eyelids.

“Yes…” Ignis’ hands froze as he delivered the truth. There was only so much information he could gather from his fingertips. He concluded that Noctis was handsome, a tad malnourished but the advisor would see to rectifying that in due time. “It was inevitable.”

Noctis’ face contorted in animated awareness at his callous comment. He swallowed deeply and a stifled apology was lodged in his throat, “Ignis…”

“No, let me finish. I’m not proud to admit it, but human memory is a faulty, fragile thing. I recall…” The advisor commemorated the king’s defined features with each caress. “The imagination of you quite vividly, but not your face.”

Memory has a limited threshold but even before the degradation, it’s malleable, subject to other factors like manipulation and falsehoods. Ignis fought to retain the details of his memories, but they slipped away from reach over the years. Every moment became too precious to be discarded. Intricate concepts and visceral sentiments exist in the brunet’s mind, his disability would never rob those away from him. It was some consolation that he could form stronger and substantial memories through his other senses.

“I won’t forget you this time around.” Ignis said with great certainty. If the forces of the universe leave Noctis be, Ignis would keep his promise to commit the man to memory. Noctis was silent and the brunet feared he had overstepped boundaries, but the king spoke before Ignis could remove himself.

“Ignis, is this what you wanted?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The 'once this is over’ thing you said. Back in Insomnia. The pastries, that kiss… This.”

“Who can say? It feels like a distant memory.” Ignis smiled, blatant lies when Noctis informed everyone the purpose of his destiny and demands of his bloodline. He rather not think back on that time. “But… Not as distant as the first time I cooked for you. A certain young prince flashed a marvelous smile that left quite an impression on me. Good to see His Majesty’s smile is still here.” He declared proudly, tapping his finger on the center of the king’s lips. Noctis smiled and Ignis decided it had to be the same one bestowed to him that fateful day.

Buttermilk pancakes drizzled with brown sugar and cinnamon syrup, plenty of whipped cream on top and sliced peaches on the side, a simple but delectable entrée, but the first meal Ignis made for Noctis. Noctis doesn’t remember, had expressed certainty that he must’ve loved it, and Ignis could verify that he most definitely did. A recalcitrant prince begged the young chamberlain constantly to make them, refusing to eat anything else for a time.

“I get it,” Noctis nodded. “Takes you back down memory lane, huh?”

“Our past forms the foundation of our present. We mustn’t forget that which made us what we are today.”

“Then let’s pave new memories for now on.” The king smirked before adding, “Maybe come up with new recipes along the way.”

“You’re impossible.” Ignis leaned in until the tip of his nose touched the king’s and gave his lips a quick peck. “Of course, we’ll take it one day at a time, Noct.”

#IgNoct #Ignis Scientia #Noctis Lucis Caelum #FFXV Spoilers #ffxv #ff15 #ff #canon divergence #Ignis Stupeo Scientia #Noctis/Ignis #Ignis/Noctis #Cidney Aurum #Cindy Aurum #Cid Sophiar #Takka #talcott hester #final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy

[topicprinter]

I saw there was a post on this recently, and after reading the comments saw there was some good advice, and some bad. In today’s world online and social media marketing are becoming not only important, but actual tools to increase revenue and profit. There’s a bunch of ways to grow an IG account, and a bunch of ways to tank one. This will be a long post, so I’ll try and break into bits. Apologies for mobileSorry guys, I know I'm super late on this, I've just been really busy the past couple months. Here you go, and please don't hesitate to reach out for specific help or advice. Also I'm sure I missed some points, so feel free to add your experience. Just be very careful about using suggestions. Saw some advice in the comments on my last post that was good, and some that was bad. Do your research, and be careful. Have at it​UNDERSTANDING THE AUDIENCE​It really doesn't matter all that much what you're using your IG account for, whether it's to sell a product, to increase brand awareness, to create connections, or just to generate hype, if you don't understand your audience. Know the consumers you're trying to target and what kind of things they like and follow. Do your research, google searches, ask random people on the street, ask friends and family what they think and how would they feel. As with all things marketing, the most important step is to put yourself into their shoes and think strategically the best way to engage with themTHE IMPORTANT THING IS TO COME AT IT WITH A STRATEGY. Each post is an opportunity to gain followers. Your waves of followers will come from quality posts, so make sure you attack each post with a strategy and a hungry mentality. If you're on this sub, y'all are fucking sharks. Be a shark.​THE ALGORITHM​In all honesty, we don’t really know what the algorithm is, but understanding how it works is far more important. Basically, like Facebook, Instagram has a formula that ranks its content (posts) in the feed and in the explore page (more on the explore page later). It has variables such as time of post, total likes and comments, hashtags, location, details on the account that posted, and even includes software to recognize what is in each post, and boost or demote it that way. Therefore, if you tend to only like pictures that have luxury cars in them, IG will boost those pictures in your feed. If you only pics of food or dogs, IG will boost pics of food or dogs in your feed and explore page. Each account has a slightly different algorithm in this regard.This is why it’s important first of all to understand your target audience, and get in their shoes, not yours. So if your product is a technology that primarily benefits middle aged woman, but you only post pictures of the technology, you won’t do as well as if you posted pictures that were applicable and likeable by middle aged woman. Like and comments are your direct assessment of your post. If your audience like it, they’ll engage with you. If not, they won’t.Also the algorithm changes every few months, so what worked last year or even last quarter, probably won't work the exact same way now.​POST FREQUENCY​Some of the comments on the previous post touched on this, but gave some poor advice. Do NOT listen to anyone who tells you you have to post as frequently as you can or post twice a day no exceptions. This is shit advice. Anyone who makes a sweeping rule is clearly not a real entrepreneur, or at least not a very good one. Theres more than way to skin a cat.In general, posting twice a day is a safe option. Once a day, isn't bad either, 3x a day can work. I've had success with even posting 3x a week. I would say somewhere between 3-20x a week. But make sure you aren't oversaturating your feed. You can easily bother your followers by making too many low quality posts. Quality over quantity every time. I know this probably sounds vague, but the important thing to remember is each account is different and unique. Please feel free to ask questions specific to you in the comments and I bet as a community we can really give some good advice.​TIME OF POST​Pretty simple here. 12-9pm EST tends to be best. 12, 3, and 9 specifically. This is when most people tend to be on IG. Sorry if you're international, but I would suggest a quick google search looking for best times to post on IG. Generally speaking, Sunday tends to be the least engaging day of the week, but I've still found plenty of success these days.​CONTENT​Quality content is so important to have. There are three types of posts you can make on Instagram. Just a regular picture, a video, or a gallery post, meaning multiple selections where the user has to swipe in order to see the full post. Generally speaking, videos that are 10-30 second long will perform best, but this is absolutely not a rule of thumb. All posts that have a clear resolution, aren't cropped weird, and are professional are capable of performing well. People are forgoing their websites to only use an Instagram page for their business. Therefore, you have to use professional and quality content on your page. I've only had one post that was blurry that performed well, and it was in the middle of a good week (all other posts were getting thousands, and some tens of thousands of likes and engagements). IG boosts accounts that show consistent positive results.I know that it can be hard to find quality content to post, so if you have questions in this regard specific to your account or business, let me know in the comments.Otherwise, there are a couple apps that let you pull down other profile's posts off the app. I like Grab the best, but it is a bit clunky to use. Buffer lets you do reposts, but I've had a lot of bad experience with Buffer, but one of my mentors has really loved it, so you can try it out and decide for yourself.Always tag people in your posts as well. Instagram lets you tag up to 20 accounts in one post, and you can now tag in videos too! this is awesome. So find influencers in your niche and tag them. Find big accounts related to your niche, and tag them. Find pages your audience follows, and tag them.We also need to discuss the concept of a powerlike. A powerlike is when someone with a big following likes your picture and engages with you. Your post is then much more likely to be displayed in their followers feeds and explore pages. Certain accounts likes have more value than others, so use this to your advantage.​EXPLORE PAGE​Your ultimate goal through organic growth is to consistently get on the explore page and get promoted this way. The explore page is the page you access through the little magnifying glass at the bottom of the mobile app, or the compass when using desktop (don't use desktop, IG's desktop sucks). It shows suggestions to you based on your previous likes and comments and who you follow. This is a great way to utilize OUTSIDE ENGAGEMENT, which I'll get to later.​HASHTAGS​Probably the best improvement you can make on your content is the correct use of hashtags. Each post can have up to 30, so use 30. I also suggest “hiding” them in the comments section by posting them as a comment, but there’s no evidence to support that this truly makes a difference. Use hashtags relevant to your niche. If you’re niche is in to cars, but your using hashtags like #hairstylistlove or #cutedogsoninstagram, IG will actually tank you for incorrectly “gaming” the algorithm.There’s a couple of strategies you can use. 10/10/10 is a good start. Basically, there are big hashtags (over 500,000 posts), medium hashtags (50k-500k posts), and small hashtags (under 50k). You’ll see these ranges vary depending on who you ask, but for 10/10/10, I like these ranges. 10/10/10 basically means to use 10 big hashtags, 10 small, and 10 medium sized ones to properly market your post. Pretty simple. There’s also 25/5, and all smalls. In this case I’d use 25 hashtags under 100,000 and 5 over, or all hashtags under 100,000.The important thing with hashtags is to keep experimenting and find what works. Not all posts are going to do well in a good set of hashtags, and not all good posts require a good set of hashtags to do well. Ik that sounds confusing and tricky, but if you take the time, and put effort into making quality content, Instagram will reward you. They want people to USE the app, to SPEND TIME using their product. The more you use it the more you’ll gain.Geotagging is using a hashtag specifically related to your area. So for example #beverlyhills90210 or #minneapolisweather. These can be great if you're specifically trying to grow your brand in an area.Tagstealing is a term I use, but basically, it means going into the explore page and searching a hashtag relevant to your niche. Find a post that performs well compared to that profile's usual posts. So if someone posts a picture and it gets 500 likes when all their other posts get 50, use the hashtags that they did. They already gamed the algorithm and did the hard part for you.​SHADOWBANNING​This is a widely misunderstood concept and its important that we cover it in its own section. Shadowbanning is where Instagram bans certain hashtags from showing your posts in the explore page. usually these hashtags are porn related or can be porn related. So for example, #petite is banned and won't show results when searched. You can just Google banned hashtags checker and find free online tools that determine whether or not something is banned.​Shadowbanning is NOT however, Instagram demoting your posts for whatever reason. it is strictly related to hashtags​CAPTIONS​Captions are the voice of your posts. It gives you an opportunity to share your opinion, connect with your audience, drive engagement, or really determine the direction of your post. I almost always recommend having a call to action ("let me know what you think in the comments below") to help drive engagement on your posts. Encourage people to want to interact with you, but don't be desperate. That shit turns people off. Some people have long winded, winding stories as captions, while others have maybe a sentence at most. It really depends on you and who you are. Be genuine and real with your audience, and they'll respond to that. Never try to do something just for the likes, always attack IG with the mindset of being yourself and putting your best content and effort into the page.You can use hashtags here, or you can post them in the comments section. I like utilizing the comments method because it "tricks" the algorithm by showing your post as having an extra comment right away.​LOCATION​This is a tricky one but can greatly be used to your benefit. This mainly affects the explore page. Basically, you want to use a location that garners a lot of activity, and more importantly, people on their phones. Stadiums, famous malls, public monuments, or popular Instagram spots are good locations to use. I’ve had mixed results when using restaurants. If you’re trying to grow in a specific city this is wonderful. But make sure you get a little more specific, if you’re just going to do a certain city. Use a neighborhood instead, i.e. Brooklyn not New York, Beverly Hill not Los Angeles.​OTHER TOOLS BESIDES POSTS​This is going to be things like Stories, Live, IGTV. Instagram wants you to use the app, so that they can make more money off of ads. Therefore, they're going to boost you for using the other aspects of the app. Post stories once a day or 5x a week, as a general rule of thumb. An easy strategy with stories is to just do reposts on similar accounts and encourage them to engage with you. Minimal effort for decent reward. also turning the camera around and showing you, talking into the camera, showing your workspace, or you in the field is great as well. More effort, but also probably more reward. Live feed maybe once or twice a week, or more, if you have the content/activity. Things like talks, lectures, videos, lessons etc. Sometimes you can do giveaways exclusive for your live viewers. This encourages viewers to come back consistently and engage in your live stream. IGTV is the newest tool here, but I've best seen it used and used it in the form of interviews, similar to a podcast, or in lectures or announcements. Amanda Bucci has a really great use of stories, live, and IGTV, so check her out for inspiration. These are now so much more important for gaining followers. Make sure you're using hashtags and tagging people in your stories etc as well.​OUTSIDE ENGAGEMENT​This is where you'll really separate your account and make huge strides in growth. I grew an account from 3k followers to 10k in 3 months throug this. You should be spending 30 mins to an hour a day, going out and liking and commenting on other people's posts, to help drive engagement to your page. If you haven't noticed by now, the key word in IG is engagement, and you have to give if you wanna get. You can open a post in the explore page, like it, leave a comment that opens/starts a conversation, and move on in literally less than 10 seconds. Great, swipe right, and do it again. and again. and again and again and again for 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after each post. I've seen this strategy work, but also doing this multiple times throughout the day. Experiment and find what works for you. Each account is different and unique. Each method is going to be different and unique. More than one way to skin a cat.Also make sure that youre replying to all your comments on your posts. This will not only increase loyalty and motivation among your followers, but also trick the algorithm. if you get three comments on a post, and reply to all of them, you now have 6 instead of 3. Always be engaging and active with your followers, and try to reach out to other accounts in your niche and bring them in.I saw a question about bots and stuff, there are plenty of bots on instagram. If they leave a comment, then leave a generous reply, and ignore, unless they respond and seem to be more than just automated. Bots are another follow, but having a group of loyal active followers will grow your account much faster than a bunch of bots who don't engage.​DONTs​Don't buy followers. Most of them tend to be bots, or the wrong type of followers, and won't engage with you at all. Instagram tries to ban these accounts, which could negatively affect yours. Organic growth is infinitely more valuable than buying followers.Don't forget about it or give up. Stay consistent. IG rewards consistency. If you keep at it, you'll eventually break through. Ik trust me, it is very tough and difficult, but can be very rewarding as well.Don't post just to post. Make sure each post has care and effort. Think of it like a new baby each time. You are shaping and raising your baby to give it the best possible opportunity to succeed. If you have a kid just to have a kid and don't put care into, it's going to turn out like shit. Be diligent​DOS​Consider paying to boost your posts. Get a couple of posts to perform really well, and consider spending 10 or 15 bucks on each post. This can easily bring you a thousand or more followers, depending on your account and history.Do consider reaching out to influencers, asking for help, or a shoutout. This is a livelihood for a lot of people, and they will want to gain off your following as well. Most of the time, it's win win.Engage engage engage. If you come away with one thing from this, it's that engagement is key in Instagram, and you need to find ways to drive engagement on your page. Experiment, try new things, have multiple accounts and cross promote.​That sums up the generals guys, but I know that I missed plenty. Please please don't hesitate to bring up any issue or question you have, through either comments or PM. Im super busy right now, but will try to get to all of them. I've worked with single person accounts in past and helped people grow over 100k followers. Currently, I'm working as CMO at a startup, and have experience in all things marketing and sales. I'm looking to get into coaching/consulting, and would love to use you as a guinea pig.​Take care, and best wishes

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

[cstesttaken]

The Expendables: The Social Media Debate Surrounding the Missing D.C. Girls

By Brian Richards | News Stories | March 28, 2017 |

Back in 2009, I went to visit my cousins in the faraway land of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (home of Drake, Scott Pilgrim, and that show 1 Girl, 5 Gays that used to air on LOGO) in order to attend a wedding over the weekend. As I was talking to and hanging out with my youngest cousin, who I’ll just call K (and no, she’s not a member of the Men In Black), the topic of Chris Brown and Rihanna came up, which made sense considering that the incident in which Rihanna’s physical assault at the hands of Brown had recently happened. In short, K was a lot more forgiving of Chris Brown because of him being so good-looking, and able to sing well, and because he could dance. Which made me roll my eyes so hard that I had to ask K to fetch me a crowbar so I could pry them loose from my forehead. I responded that all of that didn’t matter because he attacked his girlfriend and expressed little to no remorse for it. I then asked her if she would be so forgiving of what Chris Brown had done if he was just a regular dude who worked as a teller down at ScotiaBank (for American readers who have never crossed the border and immediately went “Huh?!,” ScotiaBank is basically Canada’s version of Chase Bank) and wasn’t famous. And of course, K didn’t really have an answer to that and blew it off. (When I saw K again a couple of years later and the topic of Chris Brown came up, she pretty much indicated that she was no longer a fan or supporter of his. I don’t remember what else was said after that, but it probably had something to do with my surprise and amazement over the fact that milk in Canada is sold in bags. Or something.)

I say all of that because I’m once again reminded of how so many others, whether they’re part of the legal system or not, were and are willing to give a free pass to men who commit heinous acts just because they have a talent or skill that makes audiences go “Oooh!” and “Ahhh!” And also that the lives of women mean little to nothing to far too many of the men who reside on this planet. The most recent example of this being Brazilian football player Bruno Fernandes de Souza, who was offered a two-year contract to play for the Brazilian football organization Boa Esporte. Despite the fact that he was just released from jail on a technicality after only serving nearly four years of a twenty-two-year sentence for, along with his wife and several of his friends, murdering Eliza Samudio, his former girlfriend, and then dismembering her and feeding her remains to his pet Rottweilers in order to dispose of the evidence. His reason for doing this? Samudio had been demanding child support payments for their four-month-old son.

You would think that all of this would make a football organization, any football organization show disgust and anger toward de Souza and refuse to touch him with a 39 1/2-foot pole. But then again, we have our own football organization in this country that will welcome a player with open arms after he beats the living daylights out of his wife or girlfriend (unless it’s caught on camera and makes that organization look bad, and then they fire that player), and then turn around and refuse to piss on another player if he were on fire for having the audacity to speak out against police abuse and misconduct. So yeah, it didn���t take long for de Souza to be offered a two-year contract upon his release, despite numerous protestations from those who wondered how they’d feel if it were their daughters or their mothers who suffered the same fate as Samudio. Boa Esporte’s response to that, as is usually the response from men who don’t give anything resembling a shit about the overall well-being of women, regardless of who they are:

Fans and sponsors of the Brazilian second-division side quickly denounced the move but so far Boa Esporte isn’t backing down. In a lengthy post on its Facebook page, Boa Esporte’s president, Rone Moraes da Costa, says the team isn’t committing any crimes by signing the 32-year-old who formerly played for one of Brazil’s most famous clubs — Flamengo — and was tipped to line up for the national team at the 2014 World Cup on home soil. He could be back in action within a month and a half.

“Esporte Clube was not responsible for the release and freedom of the athlete Bruno,” da Costa said, adding that the club was “giving work to those who intend to recover.”

Bruno “deserves a new opportunity as a professional,” the team said in a separate post. “The club has no relation with Bruno’s personal actions, nor with his past, having hired only the professional.”

And on to much happier and life-affirming news…This past month, many people on Twitter pointed out the increasing number of disappearances involving young Black and Latinx girls in the Washington, D.C. area and how there seemed to be nothing being done about it, along with the fact that such a large number of disappearances and possible kidnappings were receiving little to no news media coverage. (For a list of names and photos of many of the young girls who have been missing, read here.) Especially compared to the news media coverage being given to the all-important, time-consuming case of Tom Brady’s jersey going missing and having to be tracked down and retrieved outside of the United States. Yes, you did read that correctly.

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/XZX9jxour6

— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) March 25, 2017

lol y'all still trying to find a white woman from 19 years ago but no postings about the 30+ young girls missing in DC AMERICA IS A JOKE https://t.co/kLQ8VXW2F2

— shia laCunt (@fuzzycuntkins) March 24, 2017

it's not always as blatant as someone getting snatched & thrown in a van. They're luring ppl in. Talk to your siblings. pic.twitter.com/5qrrMhAANs

— #PineappleExpress (@tbrownmedia) March 24, 2017

💔One child missing is too many. Whether it's a stolen child or one running away from unsafe homes, they deserve help.#BRINGBACKOURGIRLSDC pic.twitter.com/IeW0xQpqzx

— Simone Missick (@SimoneMissick) March 24, 2017

The thought of so many young Black and Latinx girls going missing and possibly being led to unspeakable fates resulted in many a heated debate and conversation on Twitter…

There were those who found it downright hypocritical for Black and Latinx people to spend so many months criticizing police officers for their abuse and misconduct towards them, and then expect them to go out and find their kids. (Yes, it was from a real tweet and unless it was actually a troll/White supremacist using the Twitter avi of a Black person to conceal their identity, yes..it was a Black woman who actually said that.)

There were those who called that person out on her bullshit, and pretty much reminded her that 1) you pretty much have to be a fucking idiot to find something wrong in police officers having to be told to stop abusing and murdering Black people and 2) finding children and adults who have gone missing and are possibly being held in captivity is part of what police officers are paid and trained and expected to do.

There were those who saw this as another reason to call out White feminists on their supposed bullshit, considering that many of them just came from participating in the Women’s March on Washington and coming together in solidarity to stand up and speak out against those who do and would treat them as if they aren’t deserving of anything resembling respect. To let everyone know that their lives and their voices matter.

And yet…

If you went to the #womensmarch, are you planning a return trip to draw attention to the missing Black & Latinx girls or nah? pic.twitter.com/xjNce6x1JE

— Nyasha Junior (@NyashaJunior) March 24, 2017

Photos from the D.C. town hall meeting about DC's missing girls this morning. A room full of African-Americans but #AllLivesMatter right? pic.twitter.com/OjHWGQTyTd

— DC Maryland Virginia (@DMVFollowers) March 23, 2017

White feminism shook DC's foundations wearing pink hats. But they sure are quiet as Black women disappear from the same city.

— Benjamin YoungSavage (@benjancewicz) March 24, 2017

White people feel nothing but a sense of relief when Black people disappear, so long as it doesn't affect them financially.

— Benjamin YoungSavage (@benjancewicz) March 24, 2017

If white feminists raised a fuss on Black women disappearing in Washington DC… I don't even know what would happen. It's never happened.

— Benjamin YoungSavage (@benjancewicz) March 24, 2017

Meanwhile, Black women have have been the strongest supporters ALL women's rights. They've fought tooth and nail, whip and lash for it.

— Benjamin YoungSavage (@benjancewicz) March 24, 2017

Black women won't leave ANYONE behind. When they rise, they drag everything up with them. And yet get left behind like no one else.

— Benjamin YoungSavage (@benjancewicz) March 24, 2017

And then there was this statement from the police in Washington, D.C. stating that many of the girls who have disappeared haven’t done so because of kidnapping and sex trafficking, they’ve disappeared because they’re runaways. Don’t bother asking how or why that’s supposed to be even more comforting or how this doesn’t come off at all like victim-blaming, but there it is.

The Washington D.C. girls who have gone missing are not crime victims … they’ve just fled their homes, according to Washington D.C. officials.

There’s been a call for an investigation into the disappearances, but a police spokesperson says the numbers are not alarming … they’re in line with missing persons stats.

There are currently 38 open cases of missing persons in D.C. We did some checking … 12 disappeared in the last 5 months. Nine of the girls are 18 or under. Ten are black and 2 Hispanic.

A police spokesperson says they believe all are runaways based on the circumstances of their disappearance, however, they say they cannot be certain.

The police and Mayor’s office tell TMZ, they handle thousands of missing persons cases every year, and virtually everyone is located.

We spoke with police Chief Peter Newsham who says with almost every case, those missing have a history of leaving home. He says the number missing is similar to years before, it’s just been brought to the light with the use of social media and other platforms to help locate missing people. Newsham says his department’s goal is to get to the root of the problem to determine just what causes these kids to leave their homes.

There is so much more that needs to be said and discussed when it comes to this, but it’s obviously not about to be done in just this one post alone. Whether the attention that social media has brought to these young girls from Washington D.C. who keep disappearing will result in something being done to stop this and find out who or what is responsible are questions that have yet to be answered. All we can do is continue to hope and demand that young girls and women are given fewer reasons to worry about their overall well-being (especially in the D.C. area), all because everyone else around them sees how much they are continuously made to suffer and their only response continues to be:

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