#apollo Very Much Doing Both: wait is this fucking song about me

[cubedmango]

klapollo week day 1 - confessions

a love song in disguise

#klavier gavin #apollo justice #ema skye #trucy wright #klapollo #ace attorney #klapolloweek2023 #my art #concept for this spiraled Really hard from my og idea but anyway- #klav knowing apollo wouldnt listen to his songs or attend his concerts: its free pining estate #apollo Very Much Doing Both: wait is this fucking song about me

[carefulfears]

https://www.tumblr.com/waiting-for-the-day/724638324438024192/taking-her-to-the-liberty-bell-after-she

well you have to talk about the way mulder loves now!! it can be very subtle but also so intense (thinking about the way he looks at scully, wants to know what she thinks, when he gives her his undivided attention...)

(x) (xx) well, yes! where scully's love is very contradictory, mulder's is contemplative, i think. he's a lot more aware than people realize. but you have to get it. like you have to get what it all means. blink and you'll miss it.

a superstars of the superbowl VHS tape, an apollo 11 keychain, creepy dolls, whatever the hell was in that christmas present. everything means something. it’s like that incrementum line:

Beside him on the couch, she rips into hers with abandon - Mulder's rare gifts are always puzzling, always a challenge, more of an experience than a thing in itself. They're extensions of him and all of his complexity, like little pieces of his soul.

everything means something, and scully loves to figure it out.

he says “i didn’t know it was your birthday, scully!” with a wrapped gift in his pocket, a sparkler and song in front of her. he says “i stole these from a guy with a broken leg down the hall, he won’t be able to catch me” about flowers we watched him come through the front doors holding, always prepared with a smile and an excuse. (they both really love to adore each other, when they can get away with it).

he notices everything. he remembers everything. he’s interested, he asks questions. have you ever been to san diego? have you ever seen the liberty bell? are you gonna see that guy again? how was the wedding? if you could take out 5 people from beyond the grave, who would they be? if you could be someone else for a day, who would you be?

he can quote her senior thesis verbatim, years after reading it. references it for decades. he always wants her input, values it. it’s that moment in ice when hodge (whose partner says she feels treated like his “assistant”) yells at scully that she’s wrong, and mulder just comes and asks what she found. when they find the parasite, the first thing he does is move away from the microscope and tell scully to look.

there’s an essay in deny all knowledge about this (what do you think? by rhonda wilcox and j.p. williams); in the x-files, love is respect, and respect is curiosity. valuing what someone has to say. to her peers and superiors, she’s “mrs. spooky.” to him, she’ll be head of the bureau someday.

(and always. he tells her not to take on his flagrant plans because he doesn’t want her to jeopardize her career, have a note in her file. he fucks off to alaska alone so that she won’t risk anything. he tells her to “go be a doctor.” seven years in, both of them teary in a motel room, he tells her that there is so much more for her in her life. “there is so much more than this.” she was never just an asset to “his” quest: she’s valuable to anything, whatever she wants, whatever she sets her mind to.)

i’ve talked about this before but i think the biggest misconception when it comes to mulder and love is that nothing comes before the crusade, but the crusade is love. it’s love for samantha, yes, but the only difference between samantha’s experience and scully’s is that scully lived. it’s for samantha. it’s for scully. it’s for everyone who came before and after them both. but by nature of having survived, having returned, having come back: there’s something hallowed and fragile about scully’s spot. he would walk away from all of the rest.

when she’s gone, he signs it all away. standing on a bridge, he would trade everything. when he holds every answer that he has ever sought, he gives it up, for no deeper reason than that scully would be able to see her sister one last time. (scully by missy’s bed, crying that her sister will never know that she’s sorry. mulder whispering “oh, she knows. she knows.” and leaning up from his spot on the floor to hold her. there is no deeper conversation than that, because what matters more than that?)

when he walks into a room that holds everything that’s ever been taken from him, everything that he’s lost, everything that he���s tried to find salvation in: he keeps walking. all that he needs is one vial marked with one name.

it’s ahab and starbuck, it’s a mad captain and a devoted follower, sure: but mostly it’s a cycle. mostly it’s a snake eating its own tail.

he can’t say “no” to her for anything. he’s world’s best baby daddy because she pouted at him (because she believes he could be). complete with presents wrapped in baby paper and going to birthing classes with her and tips he learned watching oprah. bugging her about finding out the sex 😭😭 he’s worse than her mother. (“this isn't about the x-files, scully. it is only about you.“)

she feels that she failed him for the rest of her life, he never stops meeting her with absolution. he barely speaks in ghouli except to say “you have nothing to apologize for” and hug her. the original line in the the truth script, before she says that she felt he would never forgive her, is “i’m so sorry about william. i can’t imagine what you must’ve gone through. i missed you so much.”

(she spent months afraid that he would never forgive her, that she would lose everything, and then the moment comes. and all he can do is hold her, and say “i am so sorry. you have been through so much. i have missed you so much.”)

he can “feel” her thinking. he tells her that he’ll curse god for awhile, so that she can sleep. he does not believe in god. it doesn’t matter, nothing is her burden alone. (“i might not believe in god, but i believe in you. i speak to him through you.”)

he “never saw [her] as a mother” until she spoke of herself that way. when she showed up at his door in her underwear the day they met, he wrapped her up and gave her the bed, sat on the floor. matched her vulnerability. seven years later, when she invited herself into his room, he took her shoes off and slept over the sheets.

he spends his life begging to be believed, but never at the cost of her integrity, or even her peace. when she asks what her ex’s stopped watch means, he tells her “it means whatever you want it to mean.” he tells her to believe only in what’s true, what’s true to her, even when she just wants him to be “pleased.” he tells her that he won’t hold it against her if she wants to go work with someone else (even if it’s someone who’s always degrading him).

he constantly lowers himself beneath her when it’s vulnerable. if she’s standing, he sits. if she’s sitting, he kneels. he looks up to her. (and a woman who salutes her father does not know how to look down to a man, but she has to learn).

he touches her very purposefully. it’s learned, it’s earned, it’s to communicate. a gentle hand on her shoulder to say: it’s not personal, we’re friends. a light touch to her back to say: i’m here, i’ve got you.

he says “dana” so softly and deliberately. “mulder” and “scully” are terms of endearment, it’s their secret language, it’s who she became next to him. but he says “dana” to speak to who she is beneath it all. in their annoyingly austenian email love letters, it’s “dearest dana,” but it has been “dearest dana” since the very first time.

he really really likes her. even before he trusts her, when they first met, he invites her out on his run. he doesn’t go anywhere without checking if she’d like to come too. she’s his best friend. they joke about porn and go out to eat barbecue. he gets so wide-eyed and awe-struck every time she talks about literally anything, just falls dead quiet listening to her. she’s the smartest person in the world.

but the hardest thing for mulder to learn is that it’s okay to come off the cross, that it’s okay to experience something other than punishment. so they maintain so much silence, and that snake eating its tail becomes a cycle of inadvertent denial. the best way that mulder ever loved scully is trading that impossible selflessness for movie nights and popcorn. being able to just be still, to sit with her, to be present. she used to cry every time. eventually, she’s giggling over sushi.

that quote i was on about on twitter earlier? “he had the awkward tenderness of someone who has never been loved and is forced to improvise.” (isabel allende).

that’s mulder. awkward tenderness, improvisation; something that you aren’t familiar with, but never giving up on trying.

#this is so long i literally could go on and on and on #about them both #asks

[tricobicoart]

tf2 mae also started off as a crossover where she got kidnapped/captured near the base by the mercs so here's some text & text exchanges abt it

ath: mae gets dropped into a universe & interrogated by likeable & eccentric people but who are Not her boyfriend & boyfriend's boyfriend: I will betray all of you when the opportunity arises.

THEY GIVE HER TRUTH SERUM AND SHE JUST STARTS VENTING ABT MUNDANE SHIT, OR SINING THE PRAISES OF DAN & APOLLO & ATLAS & AMBROSE BC THEY;RE SO COOL & SHE LOVES THEM SO MUCH, YOU GUYS

atlas: OH MY GOD???? I LOVE THAT ZHE GETS INJECTED AND JUST MAE JUST RAMBLING ABOUT ALL THE WAY SHE LOVES HER PARTNERS "YOU WANT THE TRUTH?? OKAY FINE MY BOYFRIEND AND MY BOYFRIENDS BOYFRIEND ARE BOTH COOL AS SHIT, ALSO I SECRETLY LOVE (insert random guilty pleasure here) HAHA"

ath: JG;LKSFJGKH LMAOOO YEAH SHE JUST SINGS LIKE. AN ENTIRE ALBUM'S WORTH OF WILL WOOD SONGS

atlas: YESSSSS "my boyfriend said my eyes are WEEZER BLUE!!! He also said I might have autism??"/ref

ath: KLFJDSJGHKLSJFH YEAH!!!

atlas: SHE JUST PURPOSEFULLY IS EXTRA OBNOXIOUS TO GET ON THEIR NERVES 😭

ath: JG;LSCHG LMAOOO YEA MAKES STUPID ASS MEME REFERENCES *one of soldier's raccoons bites her* WAS THAT THE BITE OF 87!?!? KEKEKEKEKEKEK

ath: if mae ever gets captured by the tf2 mercs again or the elites she just starts explaining fnaf lore to them & it feels like this, despite her being the one restrained in a chair lol https://www.reddit.com/r/GameTheorists/comments/gvptak/when_you_try_to_explain_the_fnaf_lore_but_it/

atlas: LMAO "please, for the love of God, I do not know what the bite of 87 is!!!" - soldier "Sounds like someone is uncultured." -mae

ath: FLDHGJKDF LMAOOOO sniper: *bites a dude* mae: WAS THAT THE BITE OF 87!? entire tf2 team: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UUUUPP

atlas: LMAOOO Apollo, appearing next to zer: I'm sorry, do you wanna repeat that? Did you just tell zer to shut up??? Mercs: HAHA NOOO OF COURSE NOT * TOTALLY NOT ALL SCARED OF APOLLO*

ath: JFSLK;SGH;LDFJ LMAOOO AND THEY JUST LET THE TWO WALK OUT SAFELY mae, talking to apollo on the way out: anyways, that's why i think michael is the older brother. because it's funny. apollo: of course, honey

atlas: AGKHSHLKDFJKDDGJJFF every time Apollo reminds them all that he exists, they start internally shitting themselves

ath: HAJSJGSJS YEAH The only one the least scared of him is sniper, & that's bc the dude knows not to fuck w ppl more powerful than him Once Apollo meets him while he's in the middle of nowhere being high & they become like. Friendly acquaintances

atlas: Do you think they'd have to play rock paper scissors on who has to face him/LH YEAH ACJK THEY JUST RUN INTO EACH OTHER WHILE THEY'RE BOTH SMOKING AND APOLLO SILENTLY OFFERS HIM A JOINT

ath: JAHDGDJ ABSOLUTELY THEY DO. THEY GET IN FIGHTS OVER IT JAJDGDJJD AND HE VEEERRY CAUTIOUSLY TAKES IT BC IF HE SPYCHECKS THE MAN HE MIGHT KILL OR MAIM HIM

atlas: "I had to take him out last time!!! He blew up my head!!" "Well, don't look at ME!!! He broke my bones last time!!!!" Heavy finally offers to do it 😭

ADJKHDFJJFD AND APOLLO JUST LIGHTS A JOINT OF HIS OWN AND THEY KINDA JUST STAND THERE SMOKING IN SILENCE

ath: FJDSLKJGHSLFGJ LMAOOOO JUST "You make baby men very nervous. Can you leave? They're annoying."

SPY CATCHES A GLIMPSE OF THEM SMOKING & TELLS EVERYONE BUT THEY SAY HE MUST HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN BC SNIPER DOES HIS BEST TO AVOID HIM

atlas: "Do I make you nervous?" "….No." "Liar." AND HE JUST SHOWS UP WHERE THE MERCS WERE ARGUING AND THEY ALL SCATTER

YESSSSSSSSSS AND IT JUST BECOMES A THING THAT THEY DO

ath: FKSHDGLJFH LIEK CATS CONFRONTED WITH A CAT MASK and bc apollo is gone heavy can show relief that they've left him jhdksg

YESSS AND THEY START AHVING CASUAL CONVERSATIONS ABT WEED STRAINS & EDIBLES & THEN WHATEVER KILLS THEY GOT OR DIDN'T GET THAT DAY

atlas: THATS SO CURSED I LOVE THAT "WAIT, WAIT WAIT WAIT, I WANNA STRIKE A DEAL WITH YOU IDIOTS." and Medic perks up "Stop kidnapping my partner and I'll help you in fights or something."

HEHEHEHE YESSSS AND APOLLO BRINGS HIM SHIT HES NEVER TRIED BEFORE

ath: FH;SDFHJD MEDIC, THE DEAL-MAKING EXPERT after hammering out like a dozen details medic agrees pffffft what if mae accidentally made friends with pyro while captured & zhe just like. tries to sneak out one night to "accidentally" get kidnapped & see 'em bc she misses 'em

BROOOO "THIS EDIBLE AIN'T SHI--" BUT WITH SNIPER KDHFKJL apollo just "oh yea i forgot humans have different weed tolerances. uh. whoops"

atlas: AFKKDDHKJS SCOUT IS IN THE BG THE ENTIRE TIME SAYING HOW BAD OF AN IDEA THIS IS BUT ITS TOO LATE ZHKVDGMK MAE NO!!! Apollo and Mae just running into each other sneaking out "Where are you going…?" "Out. Where are YOU going?" "….Same here." "Cool, cool." And Apollo just slowlyyyyy walks off while staring at Mae

AGKKDFKJD LITERALLY!!!!! Apollo has to carry Sniper back to the base 😭

ath: SLKG;J;DLJFGHLKDJ LMAOOOO AND THEY BOTH GLANCE AT EACH OTHER BY THE BASE LIKE

#tf2 mae #chaos trio #danvs chaos trio #technically bc apollo shows up #tf2

[5uptic]

crewfu: fanfic spotlight!

We work together by Anonymous (5up & DK, unrated, gen | 248 words)

Summary: One likes plants and baking, the other loves to create and design video games. They stay up and create monstrosities together, it's their fun, it's their favourite game. Aka a 5up and Dk roommate au!

No matter how life tangles, I’m still here with you. by hungryandsleepy (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 279 words)

Summary: 5up has been working so hard on his new map, and of course, he needs someone to give him a motivation to go to sleep.

objectively pretty by vesque (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 462 words)

Summary: steve is drunk. he's pretty sure 5up is too. that doesn't mean being called pretty is any less momentuous.

you plus me by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 489 words)

Summary: 5up and Steve meet.

he said to me by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 656 words)

Summary: 5up and Steve share a moment.

by the snowmen by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 670 words)

Summary: Steve has a moment when it's all over.

today you got to know me (a little bit too slowly) by runninohhoney (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 675 words)

Summary: Steve lights up a cigarette. 5up doesn't smoke.

what would it take by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 787 words)

Summary: It's Steve's first mission. He hecks up. Or does he?

sorta cute by floweruru (5up/Steve, unrated, m/m | 822 words)

Summary: ‘I wouldn’t do that,’ he said. ‘That’s just disrespectful,’ he said. Yet there was 5up, crushed like a can in Steve’s embrace, feebly kicking at nothing as his feet leave the pavement.

i was gonna kill u, but ur kinda cute?? by Cthulhuer (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 1k words)

Summary: Steve is a mess and 5up is worse.

I hear a Symphony by AwkwardAce (5up/Fundy, unrated, m/m | 1.1k words)

Summary: He exhaled until his lungs ached for air, fingers twitching as he opted to remove the sleek white gloves he wore in a feeble effort to soothe himself. It didn’t work. He wrung his trembling hands together as his eyes raked down the worn leather case taking in the doodles- some etched some drawn- across the faded surface. He snapped the buckles open and his breath hitched, catching in his already tight throat. For a moment the world span, his head throbbed and he wanted nothing more than to run and hide. 5up breathed out slowly, shakily.

staring by lytriis (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.1k words)

Summary: steve asks 5up out. 5up doesn’t know how to respond.

and it's four am, and yet, you're here by vesque (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 1.2k words)

Summary: in which steve shows up at 5up's house, in the middle of the night, completely spontaneously

more than this by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.2k words)

Summary: Steve catches 5up venting.

3:15 by vesque (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 1.2k words)

Summary: Steve tries to guess Five's name. It's much more difficult than he anticipated.

things were different by fourpebbles (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.5k words)

Summary: His eyes circled around to his friends, Kimi and Janet engaging in pleasant comversation, sleepy and becoming increasingly more sober. He looked, finally, across him, and caught Dumbdog staring at him. What now bro, what did this guy want. small talk, turns into not small talk, then there's no talk

Once Upon A Dream by SmearedWords (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.5k words)

Summary: 5up looks ethereal, while Steve is struggling to breathe. "You're not real either." Or: Steve has a crush and a nightmare in three parts, 5up is tired, the crew life is hard and Polus sucks.

the ones you love will call you back by homeward_bound (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.8k words)

Summary: stevesuptic: dude, is it weird that i miss vegas   DumbDog: No? I do too.   stevesuptic: okay [steve misses vegas and apollo. they talk about it]

cough it out by cj__writes (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2k words)

Summary: Apollo thinks that Steve must be well and truly gone, at this point, because he giggles, like Apollo’s just told a particularly funny joke. He looks Apollo right in the eye and asks, “Do you trust me?” “Absolutely not.”

ivy by Secular_Czar (5up/Steve, teen rating, gen | 2.1k words)

Summary: It might be a sad day, in general, but Steve isn't about to let it get to him. His friends won't ever let him wallow either.

The Colosseum by WhenTheFogClears (general rating, gen | 2.1k words)

Summary: Five squinted, looking at the colosseum intensely. He thinks Apollo was latched onto the sphinx’s shoulder, fur matted with blood. Janet was slumped against a column, probably out, with Kimi whose bow was snapped in two, her leg twisted at an odd angle. DK was in the corner trying to cast various supporting hexes and charms with a broken arm, whilst Hafu was dragging a heavily bandaged Steve away. or 5up slaughters a cat

Oneshots :) by woofles1990 (5up/Fundy, 5up/Steve, teen rating, multi | 2.5k words, oneshot collection)

Summary: Just a bunch of MCYT/Among Us oneshots, mainly featuring 5up's crew because yes :)

the adventures of 5up and steve staying up late because they're under 30 by 5280ft (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2.5k words)

Summary: “The night is young!” Steve yells at the ceiling, throwing his hands up in the air. “Take advantage of it! Commit crimes! Fuck hoes!” Five catches his hands in the air and laughs. “You wish you had hoes.”

unreasonably in love by cj__writes (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2.6k words, chaptered WIP)

Summary: "It was like pieces of a puzzle, everything coming together. And now, here they are, standing in their apartment, which looks more like a hollow shell than a home, filled solely with scattered boxes and the minuscule amount of furniture that they brought with them to Vegas." Or: what happens after Apollo and Steve move in together.

cant be love by fourpebbles (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 3.5 words, chaptered WIP)

Summary: He had chuckled to himself, he felt so stupid. Who in their fucking minds names a playlist 'sugr?', he thought, internally cringing. A story where a Steve meets an Apollo, and some things happen.

Somewhere in the darkness, us together for a while by tumtummeke (Apollo & Kimi & Steve, teen rating, gen | 3.6k words)

Summary: Apollo worries about Steve. Steve breaks his vape pen. Kimi plays power washer. Self-indulgent angst, with a generous helping of friendship and cuddles.

odyssey by 5280ft (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 23k words, chaptered WIP)

Summary: "First you will come to the Sirens who enchant all who come near them. If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens...they warble him to death with the sweetness of their song. Therefore pass these Sirens by and stop your men's ears with wax that none of them may hear." -Homer, The Odyssey

Also: SilverSprinklez10‘s yupwaves collection.

Summary: This is a Harry Potter AU based on the characters/personas of the youtubers/streamers.

FAQ:

Wait what is this: pretty straight to the point! i’ll regularly share crewfu-related fanfictions to this blog :)

How regularly is “regularly”?: great question! LOL. it depends on the flow of fanfics that get uploaded, which i do not have any control over, but i’m looking forward to do this twice a month. after all, it’s only me doing this and i often run on a tight schedule.

What’s the format like?:

[title of fic with link] by [author of the fic with link] ([main pairing(s), if there is one/multiple], [fic rating: eg, general rating], [relationship: eg, m/m] | [word count in k] ([added prompt to specify if it’s complete or not)])

Summary: [summary provided by the author. if it doesn’t have a summary, a “No summary” prompt will be put instead]

(What does WIP mean again?): Work In Progress :)

Why are you doing this?: from the beginning, my blog has hosted conversations about RPF (real people fiction) and crewfu pairings. this has evolved into people sending me updates about certain fics in the crewfu tags every now and then, but i wanna take the next step and just do these things myself. after all, i’m already lurking in the tags often to see the fics that get posted. as someone who is both a writer and a reader, i wanna appreciate fanfic writers and help out other people that want to read fanfic and consume more fandom content!

Will it be AO3 only?: well, ao3 has a very helpful tag system that makes finding fics incredibly easy, as well as allowing people with no accounts to like and comment on fics, so that’s the site i will personally look in for fanworks. but if there are any fics you’ve written or liked in any other platforms, such as wattpad, you can always contact me through my inbox (send an ask or a dm!), and i’ll make sure to include for the next fanfic spotlight :)

Does it mean you won’t reply to fic asks anymore?: yeah, i guess. since i’ll be doing the searching myself it seems counterproductive. but if i ever skip a fic or again, it’s in another platform, or you’ve posted/read the fic a while ago and you want to get more traction on it, hit me up and i’ll take it into consideration!

Will you read every single one of the fics on your list?: oh no. again, i run on a tight schedule, and also i have my own taste when it comes to fics. i won’t be reviewing fics or any of the sort, and my intention extends to simply sharing these fics to this page so people will have easier access to them :) that’s where ao3 tagging becomes SUPER useful!!!

So what’s the criteria for the way you’ll sort out the fics in your list?: word count, going from lowest to highest. in case of fics in other platforms, i guess i’ll put them at the top of the list. i’ll also be looking for fairly recent fics, so let me know if you want any old-ish fic to be included.

I see you talking mostly about 5up/Steve and Steve/Apollo. Can I still send/see other crewfu fics?: why yes absolutely! my goal is to push every fic which heavily features regular crewfu characters - 5uptic and supdog just happen to be very popular pairings. so, to give you a list: core 4 (5up, hafu, dk, steve), apollo, aipha, annie, janet, kimi, ellum, koji... you know the drill. it doesn’t have to be centered on a relationship, or about 5up in specific, etc. my only requirement is that any of the previously mentioned members are a central part of the fic or are HEAVILY featured in it (sorry, minecraft fics with 50+ tags who only mention 5up as an afterthought won’t make the cut :/).

Isn’t shipping Bad™?: well, it’s a little more nuanced than that. i will go out of my way to discourage and shame people who often violate CCs’ boundaries by acting like so and so has a crush on this person, or that this and that are Actually Into Each Other or secretly dating. any sort of tinhat bullshit is a big nono (think larries). but i run on the assumption that people who write rpf understand that what they’re doing is simply write a completely fictional story using real life personalities, and understand the boundaries necessary to do it - aka they’re not tinhats, they understand they can’t assume everything about CCs’ thoughts and personalities, they understand that what they’re writing is strictly fiction, they keep these works only in fandom circles, etc. (but again, it’s only one me doing this, so please be kind if i don’t happen to know that this person is Actually a tinhat or whatever).

show fic: NO. (seriously. i don’t feel comfortable putting my ao3 account out there. please respect my privacy on these trying times <3)

I REALLY don’t care about your rpf/fic talk: fair! i’ll be tagging every single one of these posts as “fanfic spotlight”, so just mute the tag using tumblr settings so you’ll never have to look at these! likewise, you can follow the tag if you want to keep up with it, or search it on my blog to look at the other entries you might have missed (but this is the first one! lol).

Hey, my fic is here and I don’t feel comfortable with it being shared over here: no problem! let me know as soon as you can and i’ll take it down <3

#crewfu #fanfic spotlight

[ayellowcurtain]

Could you please write something with Sobbe using the song Apollo (New Love) by Tommy Ashby?

Again, highly suggest hearing the song while reading

It feels nice to have a chill night in. After a whole week of dates Sander planned and hoped Robbe would love, it’s good to just be with each other tonight, the night that really counts, especially after their last date.

He asked Robbe before to check if it was okay with him and they slowly got used to the idea that for their last date of their week-long celebrations of their anniversary they would go to their bar. And everything went okay, Robbe managed to stay there, have a few beers and even enjoy himself and Sander’s company but it took all the energy out of him and it was expected. Sander is not that easy to get over a trauma. 

And so tonight was just for them to relax and recuperate and spend their actual anniversary together, with nobody else, celebrating each other and being together for this long. 

Sander spent months planning the past few days. To scheduling the beginners art class so they could both go and not mess up their studies, to spending hours every day thinking about every song he had to put on the playlist for their bike ride from one home to the other like it’s some special ride, to finding a table at that fancy restaurant his parents love, not forgetting to write their love story as a fairytale to read it to Robbe through a video call to remember their quarantine days. 

And so it makes him extremely happy and at ease that Robbe can’t stop talking about everything they did, Sander read all the thank you messages that Robbe sent him every night after they had to go their separate ways to go home like Robbe was shy to tell him in person and think he was being too needy. Robbe is always so afraid of that, he can’t seem to understand how much Sander loves when Robbe needs his company and love and attention.  

Sander loves this boy so much. He’s so lucky that Robbe is still around, enjoying his company as much as Robbe seems to be enjoying. 

He never thought they would be here that night when he rushes to Robbe’s flat, afraid to meet a door and no chance of trying to explain himself. He never thought Robbe would actually forgive him for all he did, for hurting him so badly. Sander didn’t know someone could be as kind and patient and loving as Robbe is. He never thought he would feel so much like himself while with someone else, seeing his good and his bad and taking all with so much love. 

Sander wishes he wasn’t so confident that the way Robbe looks at him is just his but he knows it is. He’s never seen his boyfriend look at anyone else the way he looks at Sander and he feels horrible for being so sure they’re made to be together, that nobody will ever break them. It feels selfish to be this happy and in love when the whole world is going to shit or something. 

“What are you making?” He quietly wraps his arm around Robbe’s waist, walking around him, hooking his chin on Robbe’s shoulder, gently kissing his neck not to distract him too much from the pan in front of him and end up burning himself. 

“That’s a good question,” Robbe laughs under his breath, focused on mixing whatever he’s making and reading the recipe on his phone, standing against the backsplash. Sander doesn’t really care because Robbe looks way too cute as a cook for him to mind if the food is good or not but he reads that’s some type of pasta with a cheesy sauce. It’s exactly the type of food they like. 

And Robbe talked all afternoon long about how dinner was his territory, “I need to find a way to make it up to you from all these amazing dates you took me to,” he said as he scrolled around the internet to find something he could make. 

He was lying in between Sander’s legs as he was trying to watch some news, absently playing with Robbe’s necklace inside his boyfriend’s sweater. 

Sander closes his eyes for a second just so he can feel everything. The smell of cheesy melting filling the whole kitchen, Robbe’s warm body in front of him, so warm it makes his body warm too, how soft his green sweater is, no wonder Robbe likes it so much, his fuzzy socks that his mom gave Robbe for Christmas and Sander stole from him almost immediately. 

This is a very good night, enjoy every second of it, save it for the bad days. 

“I think it’s ready...” Robbe says with no certainty in his voice but it makes Sander open his eyes, finding Robbe lifting the wooden spoon, watching the cheese stretch in all his glory. 

“It looks fucking amazing. I’m hungry now.” 

Robbe laughs softly, putting the spoon back down inside the pan, “Okay! So we need some plates and silverware.” 

Sander puts his hand on his forehead like a soldier would and obeys, grabbing everything they need, putting it next to Robbe so they can help themselves. 

They bought a fancy non-alcoholic champagne from that restaurant days ago and Sander can’t wait to try it, almost sure it’ll be disgusting but fitting for how special the occasion is. They couldn’t have a one-year anniversary dinner while drinking water. And they made sure to leave it in the freezer to make it a little better. 

Sander grabs the little stool his mom uses and grabs her expensive champagne glasses in the top cupboard, giving it carefully to Robbe for them to use and put it back later before his parents come back home. 

“You’re so romantic.” Sander shrugs, and Robbe takes the glasses to the island while shaking his head in embarrassed of Sander’s constant need to overdo his romance, letting him deal with the pan. 

It turns out that Robbe made his cheesy pasta perfectly. The plan was to leave a little bit for Sander’s parents to have a taste but there’s nothing left when they both end up fighting to choose who’s going to eat the leftovers on the pan. Sander lets Robbe eat it but not without teasing about how Robbe needs to keep his physique. Robbe looks at him and they both lift their eyebrows and Sander winks at him. 

Sander is sure Robbe takes his time eating and humming while chewing just because of that comment. He doesn’t even complain when Sander stares the whole time shamelessly. 

He pulls Robbe’s stool closer to his once he’s done eating, sighing as he drops his fork inside the empty pan, satisfied. 

Sander wraps his arms around Robbe’s shoulder and middle, watching as he slips in between his arms, almost lying on his lap, nuzzling against his neck. 

“I love you so much, Robin. So much.” 

“I know. I feel it too.” Robbe whispers, holding his shirt carefully. 

Sander kisses his forehead, “And I mean it, I’ll tell you a hundred times a day.” 

“Can I ask for something?” Sander smiles against his skin, staring at the smile that grows in Robbe’s lips, nodding his head, “Can you tell me a thousandth times?” 

Robbe pushes himself up a little bit and Sander opens his lips without meaning to, swallowing hard when Robbe doesn’t kiss him right away. 

“A hundred times is not enough?” He says, not sure how he manages to do it when he’s so eagerly thinking about Robbe’s soft lips, smiling against his. 

“Never is.” Robbe answers honestly. 

Sander nods his head, pretending to think about it, pressing his lips together, “I can do a thousandth.” 

#wtfock #robbe ijzermans #sander driesen #robbe x sander #sobbe #no time to correct any mistakes #happy one year anniversary to the babies!

[viastro]

kiss, kiss, fall in love! | kim mingyu

ミ★ synopsis: in which you and mingyu have been dating for a month but you still haven’t kissed.

ミ★ genre: humor, fluff, a hint of spice

ミ★ warnings: none!

ミ★ word count: 1,964 words

ミ★ pairings: mingyu x female reader

ミ★ notes: hi! i haven’t been posting as much because i just started spring quarter and my classes have been giving a shit ton of work. you were beautiful WILL be starting soon, i should be finishing up the last parts in a week or two (hopefully) uh other than that, this is dedicated to @omgnctchina​ <3

You and Mingyu are literally the epitome of the best friends to lovers trope, not even kidding. You two met when you were a junior and he was a senior in high school. He was loved by almost everyone in your grade, as well as those in the grades below you. You didn’t pay much attention to him, your interest only began once your friend dragged you to one of his baseball games. You were always so confident that you weren’t gonna succumb to the mingyu loving agenda, but alas, you did indeed, fail. 

Who could blame you though? Kim Mingyu is a 6’2”, kind, caring, and very handsome man. 

You didn’t end up speaking to said handsome man until a couple months later. You were sitting in the janitor’s closet, yes you read that right, and you were chilling there reading a book. You and the janitor had a good relationship because you always told her “thank you for your hard work!” and always picked up after yourself. She let you spend time in the janitor’s closet when you needed time to yourself, so now here you were. Spending your free period in the janitor's closet reading the Hunger Games trilogy for the nth time.

You heard the doorknob jiggle, glancing over to greet your janitor friend, only to see the reincarnation of Apollo himself, Kim Mingyu. He was holding his journal in one hand and his lunch bag in another, and you both just stared at each other with mirrored shocked expressions.

[when worlds collide] 

“Uh… hi.” You finally say, breaking the silence between the two of you. Mingyu lets out a small, shy smile. “Hey.”

“So uh, why are you coming into the janitor’s closet?” You ask, marking your place in your book before closing it, giving him your full undivided attention. He snorts, letting the door close as he places his stuff down on the organizer.

“Why are you already in the janitor’s closet?” He asks instead, and you grin.

“Touché.”

And with that, a beautiful friendship formed between the two of you in the janitor’s closet during study hall. You both became practically inseparable, becoming best friends was easy. You were comfortable with each other right away, feeling like you’ve been friends for years. Everyone was either envious or happy for you, sometimes the envious ones wanted to throw you away. There was truly no in between.

You and Mingyu officially started dating in your first year of university, he was going on his second year already. Mingyu claims to have fallen for you first, he doesn’t count the time you finally took interest in him after witnessing him play at the baseball game. You argue that it’s not fair for him to not count it because that was literally the beginning, but then he pouts at you and you let it go.

It’s been a month since you both called it official, and all of your guys’ friends knew the day would come. 

“There’s just NO way you guys wouldn’t have ended up together.” 

“Okay but like-”

“No yn! There’s no buts. Not when Mingyu would stare at you with literal heart eyes whenever you entered the room. I swear to God, I wanted to throw myself away sometimes because of how long it took you both to confess.”

“...”

“Yeah. That’s right. Yall had fucking heart boners for each other.”

The month has been nothing but bliss. Nothing much changed in your dynamic other than the fact that you guys hold hands, cuddle, and spend the night at each other's places now. There are those that are jealous of what you two have, read: hoshi, and those that wanna throw up because of how lovey dovey you both are towards each other, read: the whole friend group.

However, Mingyu still hasn’t kissed you. You’re not necessarily complaining, but it’s been a month and his lips are very tempting! Can anyone really blame you? You literally have the epitome of the best man ever and you can’t kiss him. There have been moments where it looked like he was close to finally kissing you, but then he moves to press his lips to your cheek or your forehead. You don’t want to push him though, because if he hasn’t made a move to kiss you thus far that means he’s not ready. Therefore, you will happily wait until Mingyu is ready.

but internally punch the air.

“Okay. I think I’m gonna kiss her today. I’m gonna DO IT.” Mingyu exclaims, slamming his fist down on the table for emphasis. Minghao looks at him with a bored expression on his face, having been through this conversation ten times in the past month already.

“Yup… nice one.” Minghao mutters, giving him a sarcastic smile as he takes a sip of tea. 

“Hao!” Mingyu whines, making Minghao let out a little chuckle. “Okay, okay. It’s just that we’ve had this conversation at least fifteen times in the span of a few weeks Mingyu.” 

“...really?”

“Yes…” 

“Damn…” 

Mingyu rests his head on the palm of his hand, pouting for a moment. Minghao reaches out and pats his hair, ruffling it in an attempt to calm him down. “I just. I always muster up the courage to kiss her, right? And then I look into her eyes, and I fucking chicken out and move to kiss her cheek instead.” 

“What are you scared of Gyu?” Mingyu shrugs in response. He takes a sip of his coffee, looking out his apartment window. 

“For some reason, I’m scared that she doesn’t want to kiss me. I feel like I’m a bad kisser.” He explains and Minghao lets out a laugh.

“Absolutely not. You being handsome and nice isn’t the only reason all those people in highschool had a crush on you, ya know?” Minghao retorts, making Mingyu look down with a blush.

“You’ll be fine. I have a bffie date with Joshua in an hour, so I have to head out now.” Minghao announces, standing up from the couch and patting Mingyu on the back.

“Have fun Hao, thanks for letting me vent my problems out to you.” Minghao gives Mingyu a smile before he closes the door. 

Mingyu chugs the rest of his coffee, letting out a small burp when he’s done. He places the mug onto the table, looking over at his phone, which has a polaroid of the two of you on the back.

“I can do this.”

Oh my god I can’t do this. Mingyu thinks to himself as he glances over at you dancing as you create your own pasta for the very first time.

You have a headband on to ensure that no hair lands into the pasta dough. You’re slowly swaying your hips as you knead the dough with delicate hands, Mingyu cocks his head to the side once he realizes you’re kneading to the beat of the song. You let go of the dough to hit the woah and Mingyu chuckles at you.

“What?” You giggle, turning around to glance at your boyfriend. He’s on the other side of the kitchen, working on the marinara sauce. 

“I can’t believe you just hit the woah to a keshi song.” Mingyu teases and you roll your eyes. 

“You can hit the woah to any song if you put your heart into it.” 

“... what.”

“I said what I said!” You state with finality, giving Mingyu a sly grin. He steps over to you, placing his hands on your hips and spinning you around to face him.

“What?” You ask, locking eyes with Mingyu. It’s only then that you realize the close proximity between your lips. You let out a small gasp, feeling your heart swell with excitement that this! This might be it!!

I’m gonna fucking do it! Mingyu screams internally as he stares into the eyes that hold the whole galaxy. He takes notice of your tongue that peeks out to swipe at your lips, and he clenches his fist.

“You,” Mingyu presses a kiss to your nose. “Are silly.” He says, before stepping back and giving you a small, pained smile.

I didn’t fucking do it!! Mingyu screams to himself, getting ready to punch the air. You’re clearly taken aback, staring at him with wide eyes as the warmth disappears once he steps back. Mingyu gets ready to turn around and you reach out and grasp his wrist.

“I am not going to get fucking blueballed for the ten millionth time Kim Mingyu.” You practically seethe, making Mingyu’s mouth drop open. 

“I-I uh, I d-didn’t, wait. Blueballed??!!” 

“Come here.” You mutter, pulling him close so that his arms automatically wrap around your waist. He lets out a small breath of air as his chest hits yours, your hand reaching around and resting on the back of his neck. Standing on your tiptoes, you close your eyes and softly press your lips onto his. 

Now by any means, you didn’t feel fireworks explode within you like the fanfictions claimed back in the day. Instead it was a small tingle in your stomach, similar to the feeling of riding a rollercoaster and the downhill part is about to occur, but much milder and more pleasant. As soon as your lips connected, Mingyu attempted to pull you even closer, causing you to let out a little giggle. His lips are as soft as you expected, tasting like mint from the peppermint chapstick he uses. 

You pull away after a minute because your calves are fucking dying from staying on your tiptoes, and Mingyu tries to chase after your lips, causing you to laugh. You stand up on your tiptoes real quick to press a small peck on his lips. You take notice of how pink Mingyu’s lips are now, and it makes you want to kiss him again, but you must focus.

“I should’ve done that sooner.” Mingyu states with a look of absolute awe on his face, making you chuckle at his antics. His eyes are glazed over as he glances down at your lips and back into your eyes.

“So why didn’t you, you weenie. It was like you were teasing me all those times before!” You exclaim, reaching out and pinching his waist, causing him to squeak and jump back.

“I’m sorry! I just… got shy…” Mingyu mumbles and you grin. 

“You sure didn’t seem shy when we were kissing.” You fake a yawn to exaggerate your point, and he glances up at you with a glint in his eye. 

“Oh yeah?” 

Mingyu places his hands under your arms, lifting you up and moving to the opposite counter and setting you on it so that you’re now at eye level with him. You feel warmth flood your cheeks, the cocky demeanor now being replaced with timidness. He gives you a smile, flashing his pearly whites. 

“Confident now are we?” You ask, cocking your head to the side. Mingyu places both his hands on either side of your legs, staring into your eyes for a moment. 

“Shy now, aren’t we? My cute baby.” Mingyu coos, squeezing your cheek and you slap his hand away. 

“Are you gonna kiss me or what?” You mutter impatiently, and Mingyu laughs.

“You know, actually…” You prepare yourself for what he’s about to say next, but you genuinely were absolutely not expecting this.

Mingyu takes a step back, turning his knees inwards, and points his two fingers towards each other, mimicking the shy anime girl stance. You gape at him, and he gives you those stupidly cute puppy dog eyes.

“Am shy yn-chan.” He says in a high pitched voice.

“Oh my fucking god.”

“Can’t believe I’m gonna kiss yn-senpai!” 

“I’m leaving.” 

“Omo, yn-chan!”

“GoODBYE!”

Mingyu ends up chasing after you once you reach your bedroom door, pulling you back into a scorching kiss that leaves you both absolutely breathless, don’t worry.

#kim mingyu x reader #mingyu x reader #seventeen #seventeen scenarios #seventeen fluff #kim mingyu #seventeen mingyu #mingyu fluff #mingyu scenarios #kim mingyu fluff #kim mingyu scenarios

[intelligentdumbass]

My Sweet Prince (2.0)

“What do you do when you’ve done all that there is to do? When you’re too bored to do nothing and yet too tired to do something? When you want to talk but at the same time not?

Well, everyone knows I love to sing and, in times like those just described, I prefer to only sing to myself; to sit in the forest and play my cithara for no one in particular but the random fauna that decide to stay and watch.

…

It was a morning like any other, or at least it was supposed to be.

There was a prince, Hyacinthus, who had set off with his dogs to go hunt in the wooded outskirts of his kingdom. I imagined him to be confused, for it must’ve been quite the strange sight to behold; the trees nothing but silence for hours and hours on end. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, when he and his hounds managed to catch a scent, it was accompanied by a song, and the voice was not of a bird’s. It led them into a small clearing and instead of drawing his bow, the hunter froze.

There was, in the middle, what he perceived to be a fair maiden strumming on their lyre; golden hair shimmering under the sunlight as a wide range of animals sat around them. The young man was entranced, and so were his dogs, so for a while he just stared until the musician finally decided to acknowledge the new addition to their audience.

The notes slowly faded but, before the singer could say a word, Hyacinthus snapped out of it and spoke first.

“I’m sorry miss but… Who the hell are you?” He slowly approached, cautious of all the critters. “What in Zeus’ name is a lass like you doing out here of all places?”

I raised an eyebrow, but I decided to play along. “Oh you know… boredom.”

“I assume your father’s somewhere close by, then.” He glanced around, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh no, I came here to have some me time with myself.”

Hyacinthus looked dismayed. “Not even a brother, cousin, or a friend?”

I shook my head; he frowned.

“It’s not safe to be all alone out here.” He insisted. “As a prince, it is my duty to protect-”

And alas, it was in that moment that he had accidentally stepped on the tail of a lion. Fortunately, a second later, a silver arrow rushed by; barely missing the young man and piercing the cat’s heart. The rest of the animals took this as a sign to scram.

Hyacinthus blinked, and muttered a silent prayer to the god of archery. Ironically, this is what he said immediately after:

“See my point? Come on, I’ll escort you back.”

He reached his hand out to assist me, but only got a punch to the face in response. As he staggered back I took the opportunity to speak in my normal, deeper voice.

“Really??”

Needless to say, the mortal was mortified. Gazing into my sapphire eyes, he suddenly understood. He hastily tried to get his shit together, smiling in embarrassment.

“A-” “Apologies my lord. I suppose you’re just… that enchanting.”

I scanned him from head to toe. My instincts told me he wasn’t lying; it wasn’t merely empty flattery. “Hm… I suppose you’re not that bad yourself.”

“Ah well, of course! I’m Sparta’s heir after all.” He proudly exclaimed. “Still though, I am, uh terribly sorry for interrupting your song-”

“Save your apologies; it’s fine. I’m not going to smite you for that.” I sat down and placed the cithara back on my lap. “In fact, you’re welcome to stay if you so desire. I won’t mind.”

“But you said you wanted some time alone?”

“Away from the other gods, I mean.”

Hyacinthus was reluctant, but his puppers seemed eager to hear me continue my song.

“…alright. Only for a bit, if that’s okay with you, Lord Phoebus.” He said, sitting next to me; the dogs following suit. I suppose he had nothing better to do. Then again, how could he?

I smiled. “Please, just call me Apollo.”

Unbeknownst to Hyacinthus a ‘bit’ was quite the understatement. It was like time itself ceased to exist, and for once that wasn’t such a bad thing.

Soon the sun was setting and the prince was leading his pack back to the palace. I chose to stay. It was then that the west wind materialized before me.

“I was just passing by, so here’s a quick tip.” Zephyr murmured. “If I were you, I’d restrain myself. He’s already caught the eyes of two other gods and one mortal.”

“And you’re telling me this because?” A smile crept its way onto my lips.

“…what’s with that look?” He frowned; I said nothing as the god slowly fizzled out into thin air.

Hyacinthus had invited me to go out and hunt with him!

As expected of two skilled hunters, the trip went exceptionally well. Still, as we sprinted through the trees, I couldn’t help but sense the eyes of someone else; immediately knowing who it was. If Hyacinthus knew too, then he merely chose to ignore that suspiciously strong scent of spring. Still, I had a little sympathy for the intruder. The prince was easy to like, and I’m sure many have fallen for his bodily charms alone.

When we paused for a break, I said:

“Has anyone ever made a move on you before?”

Hyacinthus froze; I held in a chuckle. It was easy to see his attempt at holding my hand just as the question was asked.

“At least three other men have, but I’ve rejected them all.” He then quickly added, “That isn’t to say I’m only into woman though!”

I laughed. “Having trouble finding the right one?”

He stared a bit before suddenly grinning. “…Who knows, for all I know, I already have.”

My answer was a line I’ve paraphrased a hundred times. “Because I’m smart, talented, and very hot?”

“Maybe.” He inched closer. “But it’s also because of, or rather, how you smile.”

That response was a little… refreshing. A faint flush of red spread around my cheeks as I flashed a smirk, probably further proving his point. Then in the blink of an eye he leaned in; a hand holding my chin and his murmurs softer than any other breeze against my ear.

“May I?”

He only got a kiss in response.

However, even when the hunt was over and he was already making his way back home, I couldn’t help but… follow him back to Sparta, if only for a bit.

Turns out, Hyacinthus had showed up to his training with hundreds of flowers still intricately woven into his hair. It was hilarious how everyone else looked too scared to comment; well, except for Thamyris.

“What in the actual fuck?” He exclaimed.

“Okay, short version is: I fell asleep during the break after the hunting trip, so now there are a bunch of flowers in my hair.”

“Out of all of your suitors, you chose a god; hell, not just that, one of the fucking Olympians.”

“Who wouldn’t?”

I grinned, but then the other said: “Marpessa wouldn’t.”

…

Hyacinthus sighed. “Look, we all have our own preferences. Don’t tell me you’re jealous?”

“As if.” He turned around, about to leave. “Just don’t come back crying to me when shit goes downhill.”

I… suppose you could say that Thamyris had the kind of arrogance that reminded me of Marsyas. They both dabbled in music too. Hopefully he doesn’t end up making the same mistake that the satyr did. Thankfully, the prince seemed to be trying to ignore him.”

  “…You know you could’ve just said “Sorry I’m late, I stalked my date.”” Athena raised an eyebrow; yet her voice carried not a single trace of annoyance. Doing their father’s paperwork was a task she was well accustomed too, and a very boring one at that.

“Hey! For the record I didn’t stay any longer after that conversation he had with Thamyris. Plus, it’s not every day that I almost forget about my duties. I figured you’d want a thorough explanation.”

“Well, as long as it isn’t too thorough.”

The god laughed. “Oh wait, shit-” “What was I doing again?” His eyes scanned the documents he forgot he was holding.

The goddess sighed. There was but one thought in her mind.

‘This is going to start happening much more often now, isn’t it?’

And she was right.

A few days later, Hermes was swiftly flying through the halls until he stopped in front of the studio’s door. He carefully pushed it open, but despite being the lord of communication, he couldn’t utter a single word.  

It was late in the evening, and his brother wasn’t alone.

Apollo was sitting down, writing on a scroll, and behind him was a mortal curiously peering over his shoulder. Then the boy moved closer, and wrapped his arms around the blonde’s waist; tenderly whispering sweet nothings into his ear. To Hermes’ surprise, Apollo allowed himself to be pried away from his research.

The younger god decided to just slowly close the door.

Athena was right and apparently she didn’t seem to mind.

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

Thamyris wasn’t the only one with a complaint.

Hyacinthus was sitting under a cypress tree; trying to practice playing the lyre his lover had gifted him, when the breeze whispered into his ear.

“Look at it.” He said. “Your reflection in the water.”

The prince raised an eyebrow, but he glanced into the stream in front of him anyway. The top of his head was adorned with all sorts of flowers, no doubt due to the breath of the west wind.

“Hm… I think I liked it better when Apollo did it.”

Zephyr frowned; materializing seated down on his left.

“You’re not giving me a chance-”

“Except he already did.” Apollo sighed, suddenly appearing on Hyacinthus’ right. “For fates’ sake, take a hint and go blow someone else.”

The other god glared, but gave in, yet not before yelling something on a whim.

“So in one of the few times a mortal catches my fancy, you, who have already had many, get to have him instead?” He suddenly stood up. “You’re as greedy and insatiable with your lovers as you are with your domains.”

Apollo said nothing as the god disappeared into the wind.

Hyacinthus surprised him with a hug from behind.

“His argument is invalid. This isn’t just your choice, but mine as well.”

Still, after months and months of general bliss, the prince couldn’t help but ask:

“Those laurel wreaths you wear; they mean a lot to you, don’t they?”

The god felt his chest hurt. “Well, of course; there are many reasons as to why I care about them, one of them being that they remind me of something I shouldn’t ever forget because I don’t want to make a mistake like that ever again.”

There was a brief moment of hesitation before he continued.

“Hyacinthus?”

“Yeah?”

“Never doubt my feelings for you, okay?”

“I never did.”

“…even so, you really must know that, because of you, right now is the best I’ve ever felt in literal decades.”

“Oh don’t flatter me, sunshine.”

“You know I can’t lie. So really, trust me when I say that I’m here to stay.”

Hyacinthus’ eyes darted around the room as the musician’s head rested on his lap; the prince’s fingers twirling around in his golden locks. The floor was littered with paintings and marble statues of varying shapes and sizes scattered all over.

“Something caught your eye?” Apollo said as he saw his lover look at a painting of Crete. “You can take one of them home if you’d like.”

“Oh-” “Oh no it’s fine, really! I was just… enjoying the scenery.”

“Hm, you know I can take you there myself, right? Oooooh, imagine! A tour around Greece with yours truly.”

The boy smiled. His gaze shifted from a painting of Delphi to some art work of Leto, then Artemis, then Zeus, Athena and the rest of the other heavenly gods.

What he stared at the most were the ones next to those works about the Muses and the Thriae.

The names were many, Admetus, Cyrene, Branchus, Hecuba, Helenus… then there was Cassandra, Daphne, and an unfinished Coronis, and as he continued to look, the prince could’ve sworn he felt the god gently squeeze his hand.

“Everything alright, my Phoebus?”

The god smiled. “I’m just… tired.”

The prince leaned to give him a reassuring kiss.

Two years, or at least, about two years, their laughter almost lasted for about two years.

Alas, what’s two years in the life of an immortal that can never die?

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

Olympus’ garden was huge; its depths filled with paths most don’t even know of. It was here the two gods sat down on top of a small hill, right in front of a giant crevice that overlooked all of their creations.

“I hate how I can still feel a-” “and remember every single…”

Hermes was never good at these kinds of talks. “You wanna let it all out?”

Apollo sighed, carefully breathing in and then breathing out; repeating that process for a good minute.

Ai, ai, ai-

...

 “It was a morning like any other, or at least, it was supposed to be.

The prince was an athletic young man, much like us, and there were many things that were done on the field. One of them involved the discus. He’d always try to run and catch the disc once I had sent it hurling into the air.

…

The crack echoed- no, roared, and my body screamed like every bone in my system had snapped a hundred times over.

I was by his side in an instant, cradling him in my arms until he was nothing more than a poor flower that had broke its stem; all due to the breath of the west wind.

It was so… quiet and I was so close; close enough that I could feel him go, like I could reach out and grasp his hand to prevent his soul from drifting away. I felt it all: the desperate breaths, the steady weakening of his heart and that last flutter of his eyelids as he looked at me, as scared and overwhelmed as I was with all that was happening and yet I-

I still failed. I’m the god of healing and medicine and I was right there, I was so close and he still managed to slip away!

If only he could take me with him too.

It was like time itself ceased to exist, the exact second that last spark of life faded into the depths of Hades repeating on and on and on, again and again and again-

…

My arms were hugging a lump of ice by the time Artemis found me.”

 “…I heard you tried to murder Zephyrus?”

 “W-” “Well... I think I recall hearing father’s voice when I had rushed into the halls.

“Athena, Apollo’s neglecting his duties.” He said. “When was the last time you saw him walk into Olympus?”

“Give him some more time and I’m sure he’ll-”

It was then that someone, the bastard himself, had noticed me.

“Fear not my lord.” Zeus’ old messenger, the west shit, proudly exclaimed. “He’s already here!”

And indeed I was, fingers stained with crimson red; purple petals falling out of my hair.

A smile crept its way onto Zephyr’s lips. “You’re welcome.”

Needless to say, I immediately started chasing him with my bow.”

 “And then Athena stopped you, right?”

 --------------

It must’ve been quite the strange sight to behold for our winged eavesdropper. Apollo had a blank look in his eyes and Athena was standing in his way; Zephyr a little further down the hall behind her, curiously peaking over the corner.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Hermes was a lizard hiding inside of a jar.

“Athena, move.”

“Apollo,” Surprisingly, the goddess was perfectly calm. “Father has already retired him as his personal messenger, and he is now going to serve under Eros to repent for the very stupid thing he did in ‘the name of love’.”

“It’s not enough-”

“I know, and it’s never going to be enough.” Then she muttered. “Look, what happened with Pallas was much more justifiable than what this idiot wind bag did and even then, even if it was our father, to this day a tiny part of me is still pissed even if I knew he did it because he was worried about me.”

For a moment, the god was quiet. “Zephyr isn’t nearly as important.”

“But still crucial enough; I think it’d be best if we didn’t lose the west wind. Listen to your head, you know this isn’t worth it; it’s never going to be worth it.”

After a few seconds of silence, in the blink of an eye, Apollo was gone.

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

 “I really am unreasonable, aren’t I, Hermes? Crying over beings much lesser than myself…”

“You knew you had your heart set upon a mortal, so I guess it does sound foolish to grieve over their mortality but… I think we’re all a little unreasonable sometimes. On the brightside, I’m sure you’ll meet someone new eventually. You are Apollo after all.” He offers his friend a reassuring smile.

The blonde smiled back, yet his eyes were impossible to read. “I suppose…”

“Is there anything you want to say? To Hyacinthus, I mean, if I encounter him down in Hades.”

…

..

.

“If we should ever meet again

No matter how long the wait

No matter how many lifetimes it takes

My arms will be glad to welcome you in an embrace

Until then, just know

That even when man has forgotten my face

And I roam the world as nothing but a shade

Your memory will continue, forever living on

In all the flowers that the earth will cover itself, bearing your name

Goodnight, my sweet prince”

 And as Zeus’ newly appointed messenger left, Apollo decided to merely sing to himself; to sit on the hill and play his cithara for no one in particular but the random fauna that decide to stay and watch.

Athena was surprised to see him enter Olympus only a week after, even though she should’ve seen it coming. He is Apollo after all.

There were duties to fulfill.

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

(The original one I made)

#no i totally didn’t need to uh #get something out of my system- #apollo #hyacinth #hyacinthus #greek mythology #greek gods #mywritingshit #hyapollo #I added way too more details #than i prolly should've- #welp #here's the hyapollo rewrite

[messymessyml]

Sometimes a premonition is destined to happen

Hi all, 

This is the craziest thing I’ve written in a long while and the strangest part about it is that my top three oddest pieces of writing have all had a Greek Mythology worldbuild. It’s what the ancient Greeks would have wanted.

This is my Secret Santa 2020 gift for @bunathebunny and my prompts were ‘Percy Jackson AU’, ‘turning into cats’, ‘no soulmate AU’,  ‘Jason x Luka’, and ‘Stephanie x Marinette’. There were a few other requested ‘fors’ and ‘against’s’ I was able to include here, but I have to say, this was the most reader-specific thing I think I’ve ever tailored. I hope you like it!

FYI: “~~” indicate POV changes, and while I ended up breaking this into chapters, this is essentially a oneshot. I curse when Jason is the narrator since I can’t see Jason as Jason without it so if that’s not your thing be forewarned. This is also cross posted on AO3.

@maribat-secret-santa-2020

Chapter 1

The camp was noisy, with people’s inner songs reaching out to the treeline in a mess of chaotic synergy. Word had arrived that Artemis and her hunters had just reached the outer edges of the barrier around the camp and the camp-goers who were not busy with sentry duties or away from camp were frantically working to put the finishing touches on the new lodgehouse erected for Artemis’s feast. Artemis was one of the more frequent godly visitors to Camp Half-Blood, but it was rare that she deigned to make the visit official, much preferring to conceal herself as another half-blood or a visiting instructor under a different guise. As son of Apollo, Luka was aware of a more mischievous side of his father’s twin sister, and the grating cacophony of sound combined with the foreboding feeling he felt down to his bones stemming from this impending visit was just on the edge of overwhelming for him. 

Finding a quiet area was relatively easy, all told, though his senses tried to disagree with him as they quailed from the near sensory overload all he had to do was move to the outskirts of the lake as he followed a very familiar and well worn path. As Luka approached his boyfriend’s House, that marrow-ache he always felt from prophesy tightened in tandem with the relief that enveloped him as blessed silence cloaked him in it's comforting embrace. It seemed that the adventures of today wouldn’t be as easy to dodge as he’d hoped, but it was comforting to know that his boyfriend would be along with him for the ride.

~~

Jason was having a no-good gods-be-damned day. 

He’d been woken by Emma and Darcy who had managed to get into what appeared to be no holds barred fight to the death a four in the fucking morning. Emma, the eastern screech owl he’d found a few years before making his way to Camp Half-Blood, was hooting up a storm and fluffed to Elysium while Darcy, the mustard-bellied snake Luka had given him about a year and a half into their relationship lunged at Emma’s clawed legs with his teeth extended. Suffice to say, he wasn’t happy to wake up like that, and it served them both right that they were now separated on either ends of his lodge by a verifiable army of skeletal mice. It made a sort of macabre justice to see them cornered and policed by their own undead meals as he had left his lodge after breaking up the fight. 

He was currently in the mess hall grabbing food, but it wasn’t much of an improvement over his living quarters. The raucous environment grated on his ears after a less than full night’s sleep and the fact that it was mostly the higher pitches of the girls making most of the noise didn’t help matters. The porridge he’d grabbed was looking less appetizing by the minute. 

He’d just decided to give up on his breakfast when Jason heard a familiar voice call out “Hey bozo, whatcha up to this fine morning!” at the same moment another body hit his side. Jason faintly registered the girl who hit him let out an “oops'' as this action pushed his hand into his spoon and sent mush into his face. Miraculously, not a drop landed on the perpetrator, which gave Jason enough of a clue to know the identity of both the girl hanging from his shoulders as well as the girl still approaching from behind him. 

“What. The. Fuck.”, Jason deadpanned. Taking a napkin from the center of the table, he did his best to wipe up the mess even with his tag-along making the stretch all that more difficult.

“Aww, don’t be like that, Jay. Marinette didn’t mean to do it, you know that.” Saying that, Stephanie slid on to the bench on his other side, leaving Marinette to cage him in from the right.

“Sorry, Jason. Next time I’ll check my landing!” Marinette added with a cheeky little grin.

The nerve. Jason couldn’t really say this minor level of chaos was out of the norm for his friends, but after his early wake-up call Marinette’s clumsiness wasn’t appreciated. 

“Why the fuck are you two so energetic today? For that matter, why are all the girls acting like Eros came for a visit?” Jason asked. 

Marinette piped up stating, “Artemis and her hunt are set to arrive today! Steph and I aren’t on sentry duty so we won’t get to join the welcoming party, but that just means everyone who isn’t on duty can join Artemis on her hunt later today!”

“I think she’s looking to recruit some new huntresses, and after her last visit to the Amazons, this is the next spot scheduled.” Stephanie confided. “Obviously everyone only means all the girls, so that’s why you’re hearing mostly girls talking about Artemis’s visit.”

“Knowing your luck, you’ll be offered a spot and rope Steph here into joining too.” Jason directed to Marinette with a raised eyebrow. 

“I may have luck on my side, but I doubt Steph or I will actually join.” Marinette responded, continuing over his head with a smile, “I’m too happy with you to give all this up.” 

Jason could see Steph smile from the corner of his eye as he wiped the last of the oatmeal from his face as she replied, “Babe you and me both.” 

“Not that this isn’t exactly what I want to hear before eight in the fucking morning, but I need to get back to my cabin; I left Emma and Darcy in time-out and I need to re-up the power behind the undead mice keeping them away from each other.” Jason reluctantly got out.

“Ha, what the fuck? I thought those two got along, did they decide to wake you up, Mister Grumpypants?” Stephanie teased him even as Marinette relinquished her vice hold and scooted to the side to let him up. 

“Sure as the Underworld, they decided 4AM was the best time for it. I swear, good ole pops must have remembered I existed for once and decided to have E and D play messenger or somethin’.” Jason grumbled as he got up and grabbed his tray. 

“Don’t be a stranger! You won’t like the consequences, Jay!” Stephanie called out.

“Yeah-yeah-yeah, I got it. See you guys.” Jason said as he waved over his shoulder and dropped his bowl off at the clean up station on the way out.

Jason made his way back home, not in a hurry to arrive but not making any stops on the way. His father didn’t do him any favors in the PR department, and most camp-goers avoided him on principle. It wasn’t like there were many demigods with Hades as a father, and most avoided children of the Big Three out of practicality if not fear. Jason soon found himself entering his cabin, pleasantly surprised to see his boyfriend Luka calmly sitting waiting for him on the bed, gently strumming his guitar. Less pleasantly, it seemed his broken concentration at breakfast cost him a few skeleton mice enforcers whose bones were strewn across the floor and a clear path of destruction was shown leading from the corners each animal were previously penned into to the center of the room. He couldn’t see any blood and it looked like Luka had been able to calm them down as Emma and Darcy were now perched on his shoulder and leg, respectively, but it didn’t take a genius to see that they both weren’t done fighting.

“Hey love, I didn’t expect to see you until later today, what had you up so early?” Jason queried.

Giving one last strum to his instrument, Luka pulled a hand away to capture Emma in one hand, preventing her from diving down to the snake anklet just visible from under Luka’s pant leg. Darcy seemed content to stay where he was curled around Luka’s warmth. Sometimes it was eerie watching his boyfriend’s knack for precognition in action. Mostly, it got him hot.

“There were too many conflicting songs near Apollo’s cabin this morning so I woke up early. I came over here for some peace and to see you.” Luka calmly replied.

Nodding, Jason moved over to the washbasin, washing his face and hands, a simple “wait a sec” enough for the time being. He wanted to hug his boyfriend, gods dammit, but he didn’t want to do it with porridge on his body. 

“Marinette struck again.” Jason complained, “She managed to land on me without me hearing her or her shadow reaching me first and got me covered in my breakfast. Not a drop landed on her, Luka! Luck shouldn’t be that powerful, babe.”

Luka’s eyes twinkled as he grinned and said, “What did you expect, mon beau, she is the daughter of Tyche.”

“The minute she and Steph got together it seemed they were a match made specifically to punish me. I swear, if Steph uses her powers on me one more time to rig another prank in her girlfriends favor, I will fill her bed with dancing bones.” he said as emphatically (read: dramatically) as he could.

“Sounds like a plan.” Luka full-out grinned, hardly able to get the words out. Once he’d gotten a bit of a handle on his response, Luka continued, “What do you say about joining me on our date a little early? Since we’re both up, let’s try to get to the river fort a little early; we might be able to watch the hunt from that vantage without incurring Artemis’s wrath.”

“Ugh, yeah, lemme just…” Jason said as he pulled power from the ground, focused on the mice bones scattered around his cabin. Commanding the dead to do his bidding wasn’t all that hard, but he wanted to make sure both Emma and Darcy stayed away from each other so he also instructed the shadows to form a barricade, making sure that the shadows understood that they needed to remain opaque and in between his companions while he was gone. That done, he turned to Luka and caught the tail end of his softened expression which never failed to soften his own brow in return. 

“Ready, love?” Jason asked.

“With you? Always.” Luka replied.

Chapter 2

Jason found himself following after Luka as he moved through the forest like he belonged. Most of the time, he found himself bringing up the rear as it was easier for him to keep in contact with the shadows a step or two away from his child-of-the-sun boyfriend. Jason felt more secure being able to keep in touch with his shadows as they acted as an early warning system for any ambush. His time on the run while he made his way to Camp Half-Blood gave him a healthy dose of fear for the unknown and a respect for the utility of his powers to keep himself and others safe. With how distracted people had been that morning, there was no telling what might have slipped past the sentries divided attention. 

Luka was up ahead, likely channeling the song of the forest as he usually did on these hiking dates of theirs. Today’s melody was a bit more playful, with individual notes that rang out loudly every few chords. With one last set of instructions to the shadows, Jason left them and pulled abreast of his boyfriend.

“Were you able to eat before you made your way to my cabin, Luka? I didn’t see you in the mess hall.” Jason began.

Still strumming, Luka responded, “No, I had a feeling that we should stay together today and try to get to the fort by the waterfall as quickly as possible. It feels like one of those omen-filled days.”

Small chills went down his spine as Jason digested that information. The fort was pretty far away from the residences and probably the furthest training ground in Camp Half-Blood. They would sometimes go to it on their days off since the location was hardly ever visited so he hadn’t thought much when the spot was originally proposed, but Luka’s intuition was never to be taken lightly. Even though they’d been walking for an hour or so, talking or enjoying each other’s presence, there was still a way to go to reach the fort. Time to get a move on, then.

“In that case, babe, let’s get moving.” saying that, he placed his hand on Luka’s hand holding the guitar, making eye contact, and after a gentle squeeze he let go.

~~

Luka knew that the music would have helped, but he was weak. They’d been dating for over three years at this point and friends for almost five and he was still weak to those eyes.  Sometimes Jason seemed to reach inside his chest and squeeze his heart to pulp, the only thing left the breath in his lungs calling him to sing. Sing his feelings and leave all else to the wayside. 

It meant he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.

It meant he didn’t feel fate grab hold.

Jason with laser focus on the path ahead and him with his head in the clouds, it meant they stumbled upon the hunt in progress without realizing it. 

~~

Chaos. Stephanie couldn’t have stopped the trainwreck that just happened to save her life. Unfortunately, her friend’s lives might be at stake at this point, so that just wasn’t gonna cut it. Time for damage control.

Stephanie and Marinette had joined the hunt after Artemis called for volunteers for the day stating that a training session was in order. They’d been tracking the golden buck that was the star of the hunt for almost two hours at this point and it was getting close to midday. The sun was shining almost directly down on the buck as it paused in a clearing where the animal trail intersected with one of the paths more commonly used by camp-goers. Stephanie and Marinette were shadowing Artemis while Artemis’s third-in-command waved three other girls to fan out to surround the clearing, both groups moving in tandem to corner the buck and lead him on a chase to the river. The purpose of the training exercise was to learn how to pursue large prey and tactically block all escape rather than a simple kill the buck, otherwise their team of demigods and goddesses would have finished the hunt over an hour ago.

Unfortunately, it seemed her dumbass friends didn’t get the memo and stumbled directly on the clearing, obscured from view until they were directly in the sunlight. As they came into view, the buck stiffened and the game was up; the buck’s nostrils flared and the animal ran in the exact opposite direction as intended, straight for Artemis. 

Artemis swiftly shifted from the red-haired youth she had chosen for the hunt to a body with an Amazonian stature, her hair shifting to a sleek brown and her features shaping into an adult countenance. The buck, startled, reared up and attempted to hit the goddess, hooves aimed to cut and bruise. Artemis swiftly moved around the buck’s shoulder, pulled a knife from its sheath at the base of her spine and slit the buck's throat as it’s feet came down, spasming as it fell to the ground.

Sternly, moving to face her friends, Artemis’s booming voice could be heard: “What nonsense goes here? Who are you to dare ruin this hunt?”

Stephanie bit her tongue to avoid speaking on their behalf. Her own powers beat with Artemis’s thirst to mete out her comeuppance on the boys. 

Her eyes cut from Artemis’s back to Jason’s as he straightened his spine and stepped further into the clearing to state: “Apologies, Artemis, we didn’t intend to interrupt your hunt. I was hiding myself and my partner in the shadows to avoid startling your prey, but it seems luck wasn’t on our side today.” 

“Son of Hades…” Artemis said thoughtfully. “Your father has been kind to my children lately. I may be lenient on your punishment because of this. However,” here, Steph could see Artemis’s head tilt to fully view Luka, “Apollo has been quite impertinent lately. You, I do not feel so kind toward. You, I may turn into a boar for today’s hunt and I might not guarantee your safe return to humanity.”

The threat hung in the air. Stephanie so badly wanted to intervene. Perhaps...her eyes cut to Marinette’s and a moment passed between the two. Darting her gaze to Jason’s, she mouthed the word ‘luck’ and ‘Tyche’ to her girlfriend, hoping Marinette would be able to pick up her plan.

“Artemis,” Stephanie spoke. “Perhaps a middle-ground would be satisfactory. Marinette over there is the daughter of Tyche and I am the daughter of Nemesis; perhaps she could help you verify their claim about luck and I could propose a suitable punishment?”

Artemis half-turned around to view her as she contemplated the offer, her eyes piercing as their color shifted with her thoughts. Stephanie could feel her breath catch in her throat as she waited for Artemis’s response. 

“Hmm, I suppose you all are still young, perhaps my usual punishments for men who interrupt a hunt can be bent.” Artemis’s gaze turned in Marinette’s direction. “What say you, daughter of Tyche? Are your powers strong enough to judge their statement true?”

Stephanie could see her girlfriend straighten her spine and tuck her chin determinedly before she replied, “Yes, I can do that.”

“And you will answer truthfully? You know I will know if you lie.” Artemis warned.

“Yes.” Marinette swore. 

“Hmm. Very well, show me your skills.” 

Marinette stepped forward, circling around the fallen buck and towards the boys. Jason was leaning just the slightest bit forward, while Luka seemed at ease. Stephanie’s eyes caught Luka’s and the amount of Zen in them was calming. Hopefully, he was calm because he had foreseen this gamble pay off. Stephanie could see Marinette’s hand raise to face their friends and a light pink glow started to emit from her hands, forming the Greek words for ‘ominous end’ over Jason’s head and ‘bright mayhem’ over Luka’s. Below, a timer formed, showing Luka’s current luck to have started at sunrise that morning, while Jason’s was marked in years, days, and hours. It wasn’t clear from what Stephanie could see whether Jason’s timer was moving backward or forward. It gave her chills either way.

Marinette’s voice rang out with her verdict: “Their luck was at fault today. It appears the Muses found these two to be fun to play with. Chance was at play.”

Shaking herself out of it, Stephanie stepped forward and pulled that sense of vengeance and judgement to the forefront of her mind as she spoke, “Since the hunt was not interrupted maliciously and was due to bad luck shared between the two, a shared punishment would be best. I propose the boy’s take the place of the buck in the hunt, but ask that they fall to no harm and their punishment ends at sundown. Do you agree this punishment is fitting, Artemis?” 

A mirthful chuckle left the goddess’s lips while a yelp exited Jason’s. Stephanie kept her eyes on the goddess’s; the boys were on their own if Stephanie let on she wasn’t as impartial as she wished to appear to be to the goddess.

“If a time limit is what’s called for, daughter of Nemesis, then so be it.” Artemis said. “I agree to your proposed punishment and am willing to ensure no permanent harm befalls them so long as they stay within the boundaries of Camp Half-Blood, but if we only have until sundown, they’d better work hard to keep the hunt challenging. You two won’t be prey animals, oh no, let’s see what predator’s you’ll be.” 

Artemis didn’t wait to hear from any of the campers present, including the boys, waving her hands in their direction even as Jason opened his mouth to argue. Jason’s comically open mouth shifted along with the rest of his body into the form of a mountain lion, leaving a large cat with a panting mouth in his place. Luka’s form shifted to that of a European lynx, even that unflappable friend of hers looking ungainly and awkward from the suddenness of the change. 

Both boy’s clothes and bags had disappeared in the shift and Stephanie couldn’t help hoping that they’d return with the boy’s human forms when they were changed back at sundown. She shuddered at the thought of leading two whining toddlers back to camp in nothing but their birthday suits, and if Luka lost that guitar he wouldn’t be able to play for her anniversary dinner with Marinette. There’s no way she’d be able to propose to Marinette without Luka’s musical help. Stephanie sent a prayer for continued good luck towards her soon-to-be mother-in-law, stepping back as Artemis said, “Let the hunt recommence!”

Chapter 3

This was worse than any stint he’d pulled in the Underworld. He’d lost Luka a while back when another hunting party found them. Luka had bounded for the trees and he’d headed in the direction of the river. His powers weren’t working in this form and it bit him pretty deep as it felt like an entire sense of his was missing. Since he’d ‘woken’ back up from his near perma-death after his mom had died and learned to access his control over the shadows and bones around him, he’d come to rely on them pretty heavily without realizing it. 

That was probably why he’d gotten Luka and himself into this mess in the first place; he didn’t realize that the clearing was entirely devoid of shadows and it was too close to midsummer for the clearing to allow him to hide in the shadows like he was used to. He’d managed to escape the hunting party on his tail but he was worried for his partner; moving in a new body and effectively becoming prey wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

~~

Luka could tell that this series of events was what his intuition was telling him would happen when he woke up this morning. All told, it wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever gotten himself into, and it was kinda cool to be able to leap from tree to tree and traverse the forest at this pace. It seems like most of the hunters had moved towards the river, as he hadn’t encountered any other hunters after losing his tail near the cliff face further inland. He was currently making his way towards the fort, figuring Jason would manage to follow the river to their intended destination without too much worry. For now, he’d enjoy this new body and feel the new rhythm he could feel through his paws and his nose while he waited for sundown. 

~~

Fuck.

Fuckity fuck fuck. 

Claws were not for him. Whoever (read: himself and most definitely Steph) got him into this mess, they’d pay. That was the fourth hunting party he’d encountered and the second time he’d had to cross the river and backtrack to hide his tracks and he was sooo not down for the feel of wet fur. This just went to show how feathers and scales were so much better and why Emma and Darcy were the only pets for him; he could tell he wouldn’t want to pet an animal with fur for months after this.

Currently, he was hiding in a tree, taking a page out of his boyfriend’s book and hiding in the trees rather than at ground level. He could see Marinette and another girl from a different hunting party conversing about 10 yards away; there was no way he was getting down or giving away his position anywhere near where Artemis’s party could be found. That psycho goddess had it out for him, lenient his ass.

~~

Marinette could tell Jason was hiding in that tree, the water puddle slowly forming underneath him was a dead giveaway. She loved the goofball too much to actually hunt him though which was about the only bit of luck he’d seen today (she could tell). Honestly, he’d have been caught at least seven times by now if she hadn’t miraculously shifted the tides of luck surrounding him or redirected other hunters like she was doing now. Mirabelle was a nice girl, but a little too vicious to let her in on the game she was playing, so she was focused on sending her off on a wild goose (or cat) chase as soon as possible. 

“If we pincer attack, we can pin him down. “ a branch broke off from Jason’s direction and fell on the ground, causing Marinette to pause and do her best not to glare and give away the game. “...does that makes sense?”

“Yeah, I think the best bet would be for me to go down and try to pick up the trail, and run him back to you. Sounds good?” Mirabelle said.

“Yep, let’s do this!” Marinette sweetly smiled in reply.

Mirabelle nodded, turned, and Marinette watched her go, waiting until she was out of earshot to say, “You are the absolute worst human-in-cat-form I have ever seen.” 

Marinette marched over to Jason, seeing him freeze and look her dead in the eye. It wasn’t exactly easy to tell what Jason wanted to say, but she could fill in the gaps for him.

“You, monsieur, are going to give yourself away at this rate. I’d like to keep you in one piece if it’s all the same to you, so here’s what you’re going to do: head inland and away from the river. We were driving our prey towards the river to trap it, so any hunting party worth their salt will be crawling along the riverbed. You are going to head to the fort upstream and hide; not many other camp-goers go there as frequently as you and Luka do and it’s your best chance to stay out of Artemis’s sight. Stephanie and I will continue to run interference, but you are acting like a teenager going through a growth spurt with how clumsy you’ve been, and that’s saying something coming from me!”

The big cat scoffed at her, but leapt to the next tree, struggling a bit to land gracefully but not with too much trouble and continued on like that further inland as directed. Marinette didn’t watch for too long; she had a job to do.

~~

Luka ends up outpacing most of the hunters he’s encountered, but one is hot on his tail, following him at forest level as he makes his way through rocky outcrops to the fort. He’s not sure if it’s an official member of the hunt or another camp-goer, but he tries his best to wind his way  around boulders and choose outcroppings that blend in with his fur color to avoid his pursuer. 

Taking a small break, he waits in the shadow of an outcropping, watching. His pursuer is good; that he can tell, and he doesn’t want to lead them directly into the fort and make it even hard on him and Jason to get through this debacle. It seems, it’s time to call for help.

“Apollo, hear me please. Your companions the Muses have struck a game between Artemis and I, and I need your help. Grant me aid avoiding my pursuer.”

“Luka, son of mine.” Apollo’s amused tone filtered through his mind. “You’ve gotten yourself trapped by one of Artemis’s hunter’s I see. Very well, I will help you this once, but I will be joining as a spectator for this one. Artemis’s main trouble is with me, after all, and I’d like to see her face when she realizes you’re under my direct protection.”

Soon after, a flash of light appeared, blinding his pursuer, and Luka moved onward while she was distracted. 

~~

It was close to sundown, and Jason was finally in reach of the fort by the waterfall. After his encounter with Marinette, he’d seen evidence that Stephanie was also redirecting heat away from his passage through the forest, but it was still slow going. His bulk had almost ratted him out more than a few times, and he’d taken to any groundcover he could when possible as it was almost impossible for him to figure out how to move through the trees without sound. He was stealthy enough on two legs to give assassins a run for their money, but put him on four legs and he was worse than a toddler was at stealth. He hadn’t seen Artemis since the beginning, but knowing his normally catastrophic luck, that was only due to Marinette’s aid. 

Crawling forward, he inched his way around the watering hole below the waterfall in the direction of the fort, when suddenly an arrow passed in front of his paw and hit the stump he was crouched by….Clearly, Marinette’s blessing was wearing thin. Taking his chances, Jason bolted.

Arrows pelted behind him, and the aim they held was mocking in its accuracy. Just close enough to scare but not close enough to injure. The direction they came from was just as confusing as they seemed to originate from the water. 

Diving behind another tree, this time close enough to the fort to see his boyfriend peering from the battlements, he peered out in the direction of the water to see none other than Artemis hovering in place, this time in a blended form that combined the youthfulness and agelessness of the two forms he encountered her in earlier. She was also holding a really fucking scary recurve bow, so there’s that. 

“Come out and play, kitties. You know you know a good hunt is part of your deal with me.” Artemis crooned.

Jason wasn’t fucking moving, dying was not part of the deal. Unfortunately, it seems his slow arrival also allowed Artemis to set up an ambush as two women lept at him from the shadows (the traitors, he was going to train so much to overcome this dependency he’s built on them), forcing him to emerge. Jason kept his eyes pinned to Artemis, even as he heard others leave their hiding places to encircle the clearing at the base of the waterfall. 

He was trapped.

~~

Luka watched as his boyfriend was driven into the open. He was also being ushered out of the protection of the fort and into the open himself.

“Now would be a good time, dad.” he whispered his prayer.

~~

Marinette was about to lose the game she’d decided to play, and she was NOT happy. Nothing she could really do about it; she could see that the balance of luck and fortune were too stable to shift. 

She was so focused on trying to parse the threads of fate that she almost missed the flash of light that signaled Apollo’s arrival. Marinette did see Artemis whirling around to glare at the newcomer, though, a bright man in a Hawaiian shirt and chacos. Apparently, being a deity did not automatically give you god-tier fashion sense. 

“Artemis, dearest, what’s this I hear about a grudge against my son and his partner? I thought you left the animal transformations back in the Hellenistic period.” Apollo drawled. 

“You! I can’t believe you have the audacity to show up now of all times! Where have you been?” Artemis yelled.

“Sometimes a god has to go on vacation too;  you — of all of us — leave Olympus the most, dearest, so I assumed you’d understand.”

“Sometimes?! Sometimes doesn’t happen midway through a war council when you’ve promised to share a prophecy pertinent to the fight at hand! Ares about had my head about wasting the council’s time on petty matters because you flaked out to — where, Tahiti???”

“What can I say? Sometimes the sun in this hemisphere just isn’t it. I’ve got to share the light with everyone.”

“Apollo, you — !” screeching, Artemis brought her bow to bear on Apollo, shooting faster than even the demi-gods present could see.

Apollo was shifting around, using the last rays of the day’s light to bend away from her arrows, periodically reminding her “This is Camp Half-Blood, dearest.” and “You don’t want to hit one of your precious hunters, do you?”

Giving one last yell of frustration, Artemis released her quiver and lowered her bow and arrow, pinched her brow and said through gritted teeth, “Apollo, you insufferable child. You. Are. Coming. To. Olympus. With. Me.”

With a brief glance at the sky and a one-handed vice grip on Apollos bicep, Artemis stated, “A fine hunt, your debt is repaid.” Then she waived her hand towards the big cats seemingly frozen in place and teleported away. 

~~

Stephanie was closest to Jason and saw as his form crumpled to the ground, shifting back into human form. Stephanie ran to help him up even with the shadows swarming around him as his powers returned in a sudden influx. She grabbed him and hoisted him up onto his feet, keeping her hands firm and grounding while he readjusted to his normal form again.

Stephanie just thanked the gods that her friends weren’t naked after returning to normal.

“You two need to stop getting into so much trouble; you’re lucky Marinette and I were there to help.” Stephanie commented, finally releasing her hold on Jason to let him stand under his own power.

“Yeah, fuck you too.” Jason growled out.

~~

Luka picked himself off the ground, checking his guitar for any damage. He saw Marinette approach from the corner of his eye with her palm facing him, granting him good fortune, so he wasn’t too surprised that he couldn’t find any damage to his instrument on close inspection.

Luka glanced up at her and said, “Thank you, Melody. This day would have turned out much worse without your help.” 

Marinette just smiled softly at him in return. “Let’s go home.”

#Jason Todd x Luka Couffaine #Stephanie Brown x Marinette Dupain-Cheng #maribat #maribat-secret-santa-2020 #gift fic #secret santa #fanfic #ML x DC #percy jackson crossover #mlb x dc

[fandommomhater]

hi hi hello your pmv is absolutely amazing i adore it etc etc however i have said this already and !! please tell me about your journey with it i would love to know which parts are your favorite and which you struggled with and what you’re looking most forward to finishing n all that!!

bestie THANK YOU!! ..... when no one else got me i know tumblr user ginger starcloaked got me..... anyway im putting all the info under the cut but please indulge me i have so much to talk about

so! fun fact! this was only supposed to be the last 50 seconds of the song or so (from where the beat picks up). I was on one of my manic mal blum nights where i just listen to mal blum and i listened to archive on repeat 4 times and then like half and hour later while playing minecraft i said wait. ohoho i could do something here. cue me sketching out like half the thing in one night.

and THEN i got the worst burnout of my life and didn’t touch it for 8 weeks. until i was flying one day, and said to myself ‘hmm what if you. added a full minute to this 🤔’ and THEN cue me sketching out the extra minute for the following weeks. i have been thru so many different versions of this whole thing that there are only 7 frames that are the same as the original. so that’s fun

uhm so that’s all the general stuff out of the way let’s see... im just going to give general time stamps and if you wanna go look you can. im super partial to 0:25-0:43 AND the sequence from 1:43-1:48. that second sequence i’ve had a idea for since i started but i was so intimidated by it thst i only worked on it recently and i’m moderately proud of how it went. literally for so long i had a still frame there in my editing software and it just like. haunted me.

what did i struggle with hmmm. like so much. normally when i make a pmv or animatic it’s for a warriors character that i do not give a shit about and has no canon characterization so this was uh. a big change from that. i could say all the parts i struggled with but basically just look at any frame and assume i struggled with it <3 you’re probably right.

other than that time for me to give way too many fun facts about the extra details i put in! which will literally make sense to no one woohoo!

- 0:19-0:24, 0:43-0:48, 1:00-1:02, and 1:54 are all from s1e1 ‘Encounter at Farpoint’

-0:50-0:52 is from s1e6 ‘Where No One Has Gone Before’

Hey this is the part where I realize I didn’t use any scenes from Datalore but wow Datalore was fucked up on Wesley’s end huh.

-the statuette at 1:14 of Jack Crusher is one of the memorial statuettes that show up though out tng, though we never see one of Jack

-shots at 1:15-1:20 are from s5e6 ‘The Game’

-1:20 is the nova squadron 😞

-the ONE SECOND shot at 1:23 of wesley’s room is 90% interpolated from semi-canon information- there’s models of the Enterpirse-D and Apollo shuttle craft, which were confirmed in a guidebook, various awards and ribbons, and the very edge of the frame in the top left corner is based off one of the photos in Picard’s Ready Room

- the shots at 1:29-1:33 are from the epsiodes s4e5 ‘Remember Me’, s1e7 ‘Justice’, s3e26 ‘Best of Both Worlds’, s4e9 ‘Final Mission’, and the crash before s5e19 ‘The First Duty’

-the photo of Jack Crusher at 1:11 and 1:42 is never seen in show BUT is based off a photo of Wesley from a comic run (1989 issue #21) where everyone though he was dead 😔 RIP king

-1:44-1:50 is switching between the speech Picard gives Wes in ‘The First Duty’ and events from ‘Final Mission

-1:58 is from s2e17 ‘Samaritan Snare’

That’s all the tidbits I can think of rn I’ll add more as I think of them :] ALSO keep an eye out on the background color throughout, i had a lot of fun with that and there’s a lot of intent there.

#asks

[purplesurveys]

1180

The last time you washed your hair, did you use conditioner? Yeah, I’m pretty paranoid and always feel the need to use conditioner because of a bad rebonding job from like a decade ago that stiffened up my hair as soon as it would get wet. It lasted for around a year, so I formed the habit of always using conditioner every time I shower. I don’t think I’ve ever used just shampoo since then.

Do you prefer light or dark jeans?  Dark, but I suppose it would be nice to start experimenting with lighter shades as well.

When you listen to music, do you generally sing along, or just listen?  It depends if I know the lyrics or I’m feeling the song at the moment. Obviously with my new obsession with BTS I can’t really sing along to entire songs, but I do sing the few English lyrics they have per song, hahaha.

Do you have any of your exes as friends on Facebook?  Yeah but she’s been muted for like half a year already, as is the rest of her family. I do have plans to unfriend her entirely; I’m just not sure when I would push through with it, and I already gave Angela permission to log onto my account one of these days to be the one to do the unfriending.

Who was your first love? Do you ever miss that person?  Gabie. I miss the friendship sometimes; I don’t think I’ll have a friendship as deep and connected as the one we had, so I will always feel sorry about how that went to waste. But I don’t really think about our relationship anymore as I’m pretty good at blocking off certain memories, so I don’t miss her in that sense.

How many cars are parked at your house right now?  Two.

Do you have any Italian ancestry?  I highly doubt so. If anything there’s probably a tiny drop Spanish blood in there but that’s the most European I’ll ever get.

Do you prefer water to be ice cold or at room temperature?  Like, drinking water? Ice cold, always. I hate warm water.

Has anyone ever told you you’re a control freak?  Not to my face, but I know I’m one so I’m sure other people have said that about me at least behind my back.

Do you know anyone who has gone missing? If so, were they ever found?  Yes, my friend Mik and one of my aunts. They were both found eventually.

What was the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten?  Eating ghost pepper instant noodles was a pain I would never want to go through again...I threw that shit out after my first forkful, lmao.

Do you need to talk to someone?  No, not in particular. In a more general sense I do wanna start gaining more friends though, so I’ve been meaning to expand my circle by creating a new Twitter account just for my BTS dump. In other words, I am a 23 year old with a stan Twitter HAHAHAHA

Is something confusing you at the moment?  No, I’m good.

When was the last time you had a real deep chat?  Maybe my conversation with Andi a couple of nights back. We were talking about a tricky situation with their ex-friend who turned out to be a real dick when they came out to him a year ago, and they just wanted to get my perspective on how I would handle it.

Who did you last see on webcam?  The PR manager for one of our clients, who we all despise because he doesn’t know how to do his job. Thankfully he’s resigning soon so we’re all just waiting for him to leave and finally meet a much more competent replacement.

What’s your best friend’s pet’s name(s)?  Angela has two dogs, Hailey and Kennedy. Andi had Apollo, who I wanted to meet so badly but sadly he passed away a week ago at 15.

Have you ever taken a picture while laying in the grass?  There are photos of me sitting on grass, but not lying in it. I would imagine that would feel very prickly and uncomfortable.

Who’s your favorite Disney character? Baymax or Flynn Rider.

Have you ever deliberately tried to get someone drunk?  I’ve made my friends chug drinks or down shots and it’s happened vice versa, but it was always in good fun and we never made each other harassed from it. It’s just your typical college rambunctiousness, and if anyone felt uncomfortable or iffy then we didn’t hesitate to move on.

When was the last time you used a pay phone and who were you calling?  I’ve only ever seen those in my first school, when I was in kindergarten. I never got to use it and they also took them out not long after.

Do you like being kissed on the neck?  Yessssssssss

Have you ever had sex with someone you weren’t dating (but had feelings for) in the hopes that they would ask you out later?  Nope. I don’t think I would have sex with anyone I wasn’t dating.

What’s the most you would be willing to spend on a good bra?  Probably a couple thousand bucks if I thought I looked good in it.

Do you have any of your teachers’ personal cell phone numbers saved in your contacts list?  I don’t think so. I never tried getting close with any of them, and I always tried to stay hidden as much as possible. I was just in class to get good grades and pass.

Do you ever stalk peoples’ personal blogs, even if you don’t know them very well?  I never really scroll through people’s Tumblrs anymore. That was more of a thing I did in like 2013, but these days going through my dashboard is enough.

What’s one thing about today’s generation that you just can’t stand?  Some social media trends done for clout make me revolted, especially when it has anything to do with wasting food. I also hate when they do extreme pranks that I know I wouldn’t find funny if I were ever the victim, like tossing someone’s phone into the ocean.

Be honest: how do you feel about abortion?  Pro-choice. 

Is there anyone you currently want to reach out to?  I would love to catch up with Katreen at some point, but I know we’re at different points in our lives now and it would probably never happen.

What is your favorite piece of art you own?  I commissioned my sister to make an artwork of the 2D1N cast, and she did a great job making it! I haven’t gotten to use it or promote it yet, but I will soon. It’s really well-done.

What’s the one thing you apologized for this month?  Replying late.

My favorite color is ______?  Pastel pink.

I wish I had _____?  Longer weekends.

What did you buy today? Nothing – I’d call that a success lmao, I’ve been spending money as if I had a million fucking bucks over the last week. I did have some packages arrive today though: my own copy of 2 Cool 4 Skool (my first physical BTS album!!!!!!); the official poster from their album BE; the Ivy Park sneakers I ordered earlier this month, and an Ivy Park bucket hat Bea had apparently gotten for me as a birthday present.

What has challenged your morals?  Vices.

What made you pick up the last book you started reading?  I had to read it in preparation for a one-on-one session with my employer’s CEO.

What about your life concerns you the most? Whether a stable future is in the cards for me.

What do you find particularly offensive? Would you say you’re easy or difficult to offend?  Probably Filipino-American comedians or influencers who use stereotyping of Filipino accents and habits as a punchline; they do more harm to the culture than good. I can tell you not one Filipino who lives in the Philippines actually finds those funny, and Bretman Rock is probably the only personality who’s able to flaunt the culture in an entertaining and hilarious yet classy way.

When it comes to being offended, I guess it depends on the context. My humor can get pretty dark and low-blowy, but I would have a problem with someone who I know has genuinely problematic views.

What was the last series you finished watching? Do you have any plans to begin another?  I think it may had still been Start-Up from last December. I’m not too big on Korean dramas since I find one episode waaaaaaayyyyyyy too long. I don’t think I’ll be starting on anything soon, Korean or otherwise.

What is one way in which you are different from a year ago? What is one way in which you are still the same?  I’m single now, for the first time in technically six years. I also think I’m doing better and happier, breakup notwithstanding. OH and I love wasabi now, hahah. As for what’s unchanged, I still like taking surveys and I’m still stuck at home, though the latter’s not really in my control anymore.

If you could learn about anything without the stress of grades or cost, what kind of classes would you take?  I’d just go back to UP for the free tuition. We also have the widest range of programs out of any university in the country, so it’s a damn good deal.

Name a song you’ve listened to today?  Fly To My Room - BTS

When you were younger, did you have a swing set or a playhouse in your backyard?  We didn’t; but one of our relatives that we’d regularly visit did have a playground that I’d use all the time. It’s still there, just very unmaintained since no one uses it anymore.

Is your mall nice?  Which one? We have five different malls nearby lol. Mall culture here is on another level.

Do you have a Sonic near you? If so, what’s your favorite drink from there?  No. I’m not so sure what they serve there, either. I’m guessing milkshakes?

Will you be voting in the presidential elections next time around?  I’ll always exercise my right to vote.

How do you feel about chocolate-covered strawberries?  I hate strawberries and I hate fruits, so even if you coat that shit in Nutella and cookie butter and chocolate syrup I still wouldn’t touch it.

Did you ever stop having feelings for someone and then started having those feelings again for them? No.

Do you hate the last guy you had a thing with?  I’ve never had a thing with guys.

To whom did you last give the finger?  I haven’t had to do that in a while.

What was the last musical instrument played in your presence?  My sister’s keyboard.

Do you like sprinkles on your ice cream?  Not particularly. They make things look cute, but they never taste like anything tbh so I never saw the point in paying extra just to have them on my desserts.

Honestly, have you ever crashed a party before?  Nah. I cringe thinking about that.

Do you know how to do the moon walk?  I don’t.

Has anybody ever told you that you have a good singing voice?  Never gotten that specific compliment before because I know I don’t have one.

Onion rings or french fries?  Onion rings.

Has anybody ever described you as a heart breaker? No.

Has anybody ever told you that you talk too fast?  I don’t think so, but I know I have the tendency to do so occasionally, especially while I’m presenting a deck. Once I notice it I make an effort to pace myself.

Who is the best cook that you know?  My dad and both my grandmas all deserve that title.

Which meal throughout the day do you skip the most?  I literally never have lunch ever.

What’s the largest amount that you can juggle at one time?  I can’t juggle.

What was your favorite thing to go on at the playground as a kid?  Sandboxes, since I liked the texture; the sandboxes in school were also often empty, which worked well for my introvert self. I find that it’s carried over to today, since I still enjoy touching things like slime and kinetic sand.

Do you know how much you weighed at birth? How much?  I think 5 or 6 lbs, I’m not exactly sure but it’s definitely somewhere in that small range.

Which aspect of your daily routine takes the most time? What do you do?  Work, for sure. I work a normal 9–6 so that’s already 8 hours out of my day, but I also OT a lot after hours, and I work throughout my lunch break as well so that technically makes it 9 hours. I also like getting up earlier and starting some work before my shift so that I would have less tasks on my plate for the day.

Do you enjoy buying gifts for others, or could you do without this?  I LOVE getting people gifts. Food is especially my love language, and I always get food delivery for my friends, family, and my team at work.

What is one thing you are expected to do, if anything?  I mean, I have work deadlines tomorrow so there’s that.

How do you tend to view driving? Monotonous or entertaining?  I love driving. I don’t think I ever complained about having to do it. It’s calming and relaxing when I’m doing it alone or with a partner; and it can be entertaining with the right set of people.

Do you enjoy talking about music with others? Not always. If I don’t listen to the artist then I can find the conversation quite boring, like if my friends would get into a full-blown discussion about Taylor Swift.

Is acting something you enjoy?  No. It wouldn’t even be something I’d be interested in doing.

When do you feel most accomplished?  Finishing a work day with no tasks left behind.

Do you think Manwich is amazing or completely gross?  Idk what that is.

How many best friends do you have?  Two.

Are you a smoker, drinker, pothead or none of the above?  I drink sometimes. I also kinda smoke, I guess.

If you have your ears pierced, when did you get them pierced?  My mom had them pierced when I was a month old.

Do you own any exercise machines?  My mom has this rowing equipment thingy. I don’t have any of my own, though.

On Facebook, do you have people listed as your siblings who aren’t really your siblings?  No.

Have you ever drawn or painted a self-portrait?  I remember having to draw one as a school assignment, but I’m pretty sure I half-assed that because I couldn’t care less for art class back then.

Who was your last voicemail from?  We don’t have voicemails.

Have you ever been falsely accused of something serious?  I don’t think so. That’s the sort of situation that would stick out in my memory if ever.

Did you ever set up a lemonade stand when you were a kid?  No, not a thing here.

When was the last time you spoke to someone in a different language?  Around an hour ago when I went downstairs and chatted with my sister briefly.

Have you ever received an anonymous gift?  Nope.

Have you ever camped out somewhere for an event the next day?  Nope but I definitely still wouldn’t be opposed to doing that haha.

When were you the saddest in your life? 2016 was fucking miserable. < I’d have to agree. 2017 was also awful.

Do you know anyone, personally, who is in an abusive relationship? Are you?  I used to know one but she got out of it. In a sense, I suppose I also was in one.

If you have siblings, have they moved out or do they still live with you?  Well they’re younger, so they definitely still live here, with our parents. I’m the first one expected to move out, but I’m taking my time.

Have you ever gotten searched by the cops?  No.

Do you like fried rice?  Of course. I like any kind of rice.

What was the last thing you drank?  Water.

#survey #surveys

[make-me-imagine]

Hello dear, may a get a Percy Jackson ship with prompts 6 and 2? I'm into both guys and girls. I'm 5'4", curly brown hair and eyes, and curvy. I enjoy exploring and listening to music as well as learning new things and swimming. I'm somewhat introverted, but also very sassy and sarcastic, I care for others quite a bit, and according to tests, I would be a daughter of Hades.

+ Addition of Teen Wolf ship & Correction; Daughter of Apollo 

[Possibly Fun Fact; when taking Riordans “official” quiz, my Godly Parent would be Athena). 

Ships are now CLOSED

-

Percy Jackson: 

I ship you with Percy. You and Percy would love to go exploring together, as well as swimming. Sometimes you spend your evening lying together on the couch, each with an earbud as you listen to music, sometimes singing along together. You both love introducing each other to new songs and artists. He loves your sarcastic and sassy side, because he also gets sassy and sarcastic. God forbid someone be on the end of this from both of you, they’d want to throw themselves out of a window. *coughs* Grover *coughs*

Prompt #2: First Kiss

Percy looked all around for you, calling out your name. Where had you gone? Were you hurt? Were you lost? 

You had gotten separated during your most recent quest when everything went to shit. Everyone was fighting and there was chaos everywhere. By the time it was over Percy had no idea where you had ended up. And he was worried.

There were people hugging and cheering, but he had yet to find you. The longer time passed the more fearful he got. He had to find you. He needed to know that you were okay.

“Percy!”

Your voice carried over the crowd as he spun around, his eyes darting around to find you. Seeing you dodge your way through the crowd, you met eyes.

Instant relief flooded over him as he saw you were okay. You looked a bit beaten up, but you were there, alive, safe.

He began moving towards you quickly, his heart pounding. And as you met, without thinking he pulled you towards him, pressing his lips against yours suddenly in a deep kiss that shocked you. 

When he pulled away he pulled you to his chest, wrapping his arms around you ‘I was so worried when I couldn’t find you”

Pulling away from the hug he saw your surprised face “Y/n, what is it?”

“You kissed me” you said plainly.

He stared at you for a moment “Yeah, but why d-” you saw the moment realization struck as he paused and a shocked look appeared momentarily before he cleared his throat “Right. I hadn’t done that before had I?”

You chuckled “No. But it’s alright, I didn’t mind. We are dating after all”

He chuckled as well “Yeah, right. Well” he looked at you before bringing his hand to your face “I’m gonna do it again” 

He smiled as he leaned in, pausing for a moment as he met your eyes, seeing a small smile form on your face he leaned the rest of the way in, kissing you once again.

Teen Wolf: 

I ship you with Scott. I almost shipped you with Allison because I think you would go well together, but I really like the idea of you and Scott. He isn’t the most extroverted so I think he would really appreciate alone time with you, or just the two of you wandering around town together, having your own little adventures. He loves that you genuinely care for other people, and that was one of the things that made him fall for you in the first place. As well as you looks, music tastes, sassiness, sense of humor, etc etc. he just really likes you for every piece of you, and never wants you to change. 

Prompt #6: First ‘I love you’ ( This came out much longer than I thought it would lol, so I hope you like it! :) )

Scott noticed you had been a little distant lately, but didn’t understand why. He was smart, but also pretty fucking dumb sometimes, so of course he wouldn’t link it together. 

Kira had come back to town, and they were hanging out more often. hey hadn’t seen each other much since you all graduated, but you knew they sort of kept in touch, mostly due to supernatural stuff, which is also why she had come back to town. But you were afraid that he was falling back in love with her, and that he would leave you behind. 

You were contemplating talking to him, but it scared you. So you decided to wait for him to say something, if he would at all. Maybe they were just staying friends, at least you hoped that was all it was. 

The knock on your door startled you from your thoughts. Looking at the clock and reading 7:25pm you frowned in confusion. You quietly walked to the door before cautiously checking through the peephole, your heart picked up speed when you saw Scott standing on the other side. 

You contemplating not opening, but you knew he could hear you, he probably knew you were standing on the other side of the door.

Confirming this though was Scotts voice calling gently from the other side “Y/n? I know you’re there, can you please open the door?”

You sighed as you opened the door, meeting his eyes you smiled at him “Hi Scott, what are you doing here?”

He smiled sadly “Can’t I come visit my girlfriend? I mean, I used to come over around this time a lot’

“Yeah...used to” you said quietly as you turned and walked back into the house, leaving the door open so he could come in,

Scott frowned at your comment, realizing you were right. He hadn’t been coming over at all lately. 

“Is that why you’re mad at me?” he asked cautiously as he entered, closing the door behind him.

“Who said I was mad at you?“ you asked without looking at him

“Well, I just assumed. I mean, you haven’t really been talking to me much. I know I’ve been busy, so I wanted to come apologize” 

You didn’t really acknowledge his comments, as an annoyance built up out of nowhere, your frustration coming to light “I thought you were supposed to be doing something with Kira again?” 

He stared at you for a moment, sensing the anger coming off of you. Realization struck him that he also sensed jealousy, and...fear? He then realized just how much time he had been spending with Kira, his ex, rather than you. No wonder you were peeved, and jealous.

“Y/n” he took a few steps closer to you “You don’t think that me and Kira...” he trailed off as you stopped what you were doing. 

You scoffed “Why wouldn’t I Scott? It’s hard enough that I can see she still might have feelings for you, but when you begin spending all of your time with her, and not telling me about what exactly is is your doing, it’s hard to think otherwise”

He frowned as he looked down at the ground, guilt pulsing through him. Looking back at you he walked the rest of the way to you, lifting your face to look at him “I promise that I do not have any feeling for her, I only want you Y/n. YOU are the one that I love.” Seeing the shock that crossed your face he smiled lightly “I love YOU, and no one else”

“You love me?” you asked quietly.

“Of course. And I’m so sorry for keeping you in the dark, and not coming over. I promise I will tell you everything from now on, and I will come over every night from now on...okay?” 

You nodded as he pulled you into a hug “Scott?” 

“Yeah?”

You tightened your grip around him “I love you too.”

#ace-marvel-chick #ask #ship #ship request #ships #5k ships #5k ship event #special ships #teen wolf #tw #scott mccall #scott mccall x reader #drabble #teen wolf oneshot #percy jackson #percy jackson x reader

[queerbutstillhere]

Hi how are you? Yo remember that Jercy fluff piece with them realizing they’re gay for each other and both going ‘oh’. If you are up to it please make a part 2 it was so cute and I want them to like confess or something I stg you are such a good writer and your stuff is so cute thankssssa ❤️❤️🥰🥰

HI! Thanks for Asking!!! I’ve been wanting to write a part two to this for a while!!!! Click the link just below for part one!

Part One!

It had been two weeks since their sleep over.

Neither one had addressed anything, but the sad pining from across the dining pavilion and the mildly sexual sparing fights and the constant flirting was driving their friends insane.

(So insane that they had literally made a bet on when the two were going to get together. Nico and Annabeth said it wouldn't be until the last day of summer camp, while Will and Grover insisted it'd be within the first few weeks.)

The truth of the matter was neither one of them had any idea how to handle this. 

Sure they had both been in relationships, but that was with girls, plus what if the other one didn't feel the same? Coming out to themselves had been a whole thing on its own, let alone coming out to their friends. Percy had told Annabeth first, and she just smiled and ruffled his hair. Meanwhile Jason nearly had a breakdown, bursting in on Will and Nico(who had been trying to have a nice evening in) and just ranted to them for nearly twenty minutes. They had heard so much about how hot Percy was in those twenty minutes. Nico had responded bluntly with "then go fucking kiss him, you dumbass".

"But what if he hates me after!" Jason had cried, truly distraught.

"He's not going to, trust us, Jason," Will had assured him.

Jason had promptly ignored their advice and returned to wallowing in self misery and hopeless pining. If only he had known it wasn't hopeless.

Percy, on the other hand, was accepting this rather gracefully. He wasn't terribly surprised he was bisexual, or pansexual, whatever. He'd spent enough time in Camp Jupiter, working out with hot Romans to have begun to realize that he wasn't just attracted to women. The problem was that he was hardcore crushing on his best friend. The boyscout, Jason Grace. Who was probably straight.

Why was his life a constant wheel of disappointment?

So, with the two idiots hopelessly in love and hopelessly dancing around each other, their friends abandoned the bet and decided to start playing matchmaker. Their rules were simple, however. They would not outright tell one that the other was crushing, because it was Percy and Jason's job to come out to the other. Even if it was so painful to watch.

There were so many times when they had arranged a group hangout, and then everyone else bailed fairly early, in the hopes that they would get talking and confess. But alas. It had yet to happen, and they were nearing mid July.

The turning point came when a group of them were hanging out around a campfire, late at night, and Percy, having forgotten that he hadn't told everyone, just spoke without thinking.

"I'm thinking about coming out to my mom."

There was a brief pause of silence before Will spoke.

"Yeah? How do you think she'll react?"

"Dunno, I think she'll be okay?" Percy said, glancing up from his intense staring into the fire, and then looking over at Jason.

Jason's blue eyes were the size of the full moon behind him, his mouth hanging open.

"What?" Percy asked with a laugh, and then it hit him.

Jason didn't know.

"Oh," he said softly. "Yeah I'm . . . Bi or something."

"O-oh," Jason squeaked out, voice cracking uncharacteristically. "Cool."

Nico suddenly burst out in laughter, immediately getting yelled at by Will and Katie Gardner. Percy frowned at them, before glancing at Jason, nervousness filling him. What was Jason thinking? He was chill with Nico and Will, surely he'd be okay with Percy being Bi?

Surely.

Jason was freaking out. Very silently. He did know how to keep his chill. But he was struggling. Because his brain was a screaming mess of "oh my gods he's bi. Oh my gods I might actually have a chance with him. Oh my gods-". Listen, he's just a chaotic, messy disaster bisexual, he doesn't know how to do these things.

It took nearly two days for him to bring it up, and even then it was just to Nico at breakfast.

"How long have you guys known he was bi?" Jason asked softly.

Today Nico was sitting with him. Will had pulled a late night at the infirmary and was still asleep, so Nico had no reason to sit with the Apollo cabin. The big three kids usually sat together, but Percy had gone home for the weekend, so it was just Jason and Nico sitting at what would have been the Cabin 1 table, but had just become the joint table.

"For like, weeks."

"Why didn't you tell me!"

Nico shrugged, pushing around his eggs on his plate. "Wasn't my place? You remember when Eros outed me?"

"Oh, right. Shit. . . "

Another shrug from the younger teen. They sat in silence.

"Are you gonna tell him?"

"What!" Jason asked, glancing up at Nico, who was now done with his eggs.

"Percy? Are you gonna tell him you're not straight?"

"I dunno. I dunno what I am."

Nico frowned, reaching to steal Jason's bacon. Jason didn't complain.

"What do you mean."

"It's like…. It's hard to explain. Like." Jason sighed, turning to face Nico. "Katie is really pretty, right?"

Nico turned to look at their friend, shrugging lightly. "Yeah."

"But I'm not like… attracted to her, or really, any woman? And when I realized I thought, oh, maybe I'm gay, but like. Malcom is really handsome. And I'm not attracted to him either."

Nico's gaze swung to the co-counselor of the Athena cabin. Then he looked back to Jason, frowning lightly.

"So then I was thinking, maybe I'm ace?" Jason continued, rambling now, more than anything. "But bro, Percy is hot as hell, and I'm incredibly attracted to him. So I'm just confused."

Nico was silent, staring down at the table.

"Demisexual?" He said randomly.

"What? What's that?"

"It just. . . Demisexual's don't really experience sexual attraction unless they have a strong emotional bond with someone. It's kinda what you just described to me."

Jason stared at him with wide eyes."Holy shit."

Nico smirked slightly, collecting his dishes and standing. "I gotta go get Will, but feel free to come chat during lunch."

"Yeah," Jason murmured, staring at the table and Nico walked away.

Mind blown.

By the time Percy got back Monday, Jason was mostly through his crisis. He had spent most of his free time Sunday researching sexualities and mostly demisexual. He felt that Nico had been right. 

Percy came jogging over after his return Monday afternoon. Jason was in the middle of sparring with a kid from the Ares cabin when Percy called him over.

"Hold on," Jason told his opponent as he stepped back. 

He still fought with the Roman style, and it drove the Greeks insane, Percy most especially.

"Yeah, sure," the younger camper said with an amused smirk.

Jason turned away and walked over to Percy. He was wearing an orange t-shirt and what looked like boardshorts, as well as sandals, and a couple bracelets that ran up his forearms. He was grinning, sunglasses pushing his messy black hair up.

"Hey, boy scout," Percy hummed, hands in his pockets.

"Hey, Percy, how was your weekend?" Jason asked, throwing an arm around Percy's shoulders and leaning on him.

Percy groaned dramatically, tilting his head away. "You're gross!" He exclaimed, yet slipped his arm around Jason's stomach, turning and leading him away from the other kids who were sparing in the small arena.

Jason couldn't ignore the flutter in his stomach as Percy's strong arm pulled him in tight against his side.

"My weekend was great. Estelle was so stoked to see me, we went to the park all day Saturday while mom and Paul went out grocery shopping."

"That's great!" Jason exclaimed, thinking faintly that he couldn't wait to see Thalia.

"Yup, and I talked to mom and Paul. . ."

Percy had stopped walking but hadn't let go of Jason yet, swaying them back and forth lightly.

"What about?" Jason asked, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to remember.

Percy looked down at him, looking amused.

"What?" Jason asked with a slight laugh, head tilted to be able to look at Percy comfortably.

"I was coming out to them this weekend?"

Oh gods Jason was an idiot.

"Fuck, I forgot!”

Percy laughed, eyes crinkling slightly. Jason's heart fluttered as his friend grinned down at him.

"Did you have a busy weekend?"

"Uh, a little? Nico and I hung out most of Saturday, Sunday I was in charge of activities."

"Oh yeah? It's good that you and Nico are so close," Percy hummed out.

"Yeah. He's a good kid. Wiser than his age."

"That's for sure."

They looked up at each other in silence for a bit, neither speaking, they were incredibly close, Jason could probably just lean in and kiss him…

Two things happened at once. First, Jason watched Percy's eyes flicker down to his lips, as he licked his own and started to lean in. And then they both heard the explosion from across camp.

"Oh shit," Percy exclaimed, pulling away. 

Annoyed shouting could be heard.

"Harley," they both said at once, then laughed.

"I got it," Percy said, pulling away. "See you 'round!"

Jason watched him jog away and just then processed that Percy had been about to kiss him.

Thursday night at campfire was the next time they were actually anything close to alone. They were sitting together, off to one side, munching on their smores and listening to campfire songs.

"Hey, do you wanna get out of here?"

Jason looked over at Percy, realizing suddenly that Percy was looking at him and not the campfire.

"What?"

"Come on, we're counselor's aren't we? Let's abuse our powers," Percy told him, standing and offering his hand to Jason.

Jason put his clean hand(his other one had marshmallow on it) in Percy's and let himself be pulled up. Percy snagged a bag of marshmallows and led Jason towards the lake.

"Why'd you get the marshmallows?" Jason asked with a laugh as he sat on the dock.

"The nymphs like them."

Percy ripped open the bag and pulled a few out. He held his hand out and a few nymphs popped out of the water, snatching them and then disappearing.

"Huh. . . " Jason said softly, staring at the ripples in the water. Percy kicked off his shoes and then sat next to Jason, dangling his feet into the lake. 

They sat in silence for a while, shoulders just barely brushing, Percy occasionally giving the nymphs more marshmallows, occasionally eating one himself.

"Hey, Percy."

"Yeah?"

"I think. . . " Jason stopped, clearing his throat. He was staring at the water, watching the way it rippled around Percy's ankles. "I think I'm demisexual."

Percy was silent for a bit, then looked over. "Okay. . . Could you explain that to me?"

Jason smiled slightly as they made eye contact, he carefully explained it to Percy, who listened silently, absorbing this information, his feet kicking through the water as he thought.

"Thank you for telling me, Jason," Percy said softly, putting his hand on Jason's thigh. "And I support you completely."

"Thanks," Jason said softly, smiling at Percy.

Percy grinned back, offering him a marshmallow then looking back over the lake. Silence stretched over them, they could faintly hear the campfire songs drifting over.

"Percy?" Jason said softly, trying to get his attention.

"Yeah?"

Percy looked over at him, and Jason leaned in, quickly kissing him. Percy made a slightly surprised noise but was instantly pressing back into him. Jason pulled away first, just far enough that he could look at Percy in the pale moonlight. Percy swallowed, licking his lips before leaning in and kissing Jason again, hand resting on his leg.

"Wow," Jason breathed out.

Percy started laughing, falling back to lay on the dock.

"Hey!" Jason protested, hitting his friend's stomach. 

"I'm sorry! But we kiss and what you have to say is 'neat'?!"

"Shut up! I didn't think you actually liked me back!!!"

Percy just laughed and shook his head, looking up at him.

"Jason, you were literally my gay awakening."

Jason felt his eyes go wide. "Oh-"

Percy grinned at him. "You remember that weekend you spent the night at my house?"

Jason nodded.

"That's when I realized I was attracted to guys, and specifically you."

"Oh. . . " Jason said, yet again.

Percy nudged his hip. "And here I was worrying you did like me like that."

Jason made a noise that can only be typed as 'ajdjshdhs', shaking his head rapidly. "No. You're- you're the first person I've actually felt this way towards in. . . Well a long time."

"Really? Not even Piper?"

Jason shook his head. "That was a weird situation . . ."

Percy shrugged. "Yeah, you're right."

He sat up and turned to face Jason, crossing his legs. Then he laughed again, shaking his head.

“Wow.” He whispered, mocking Jason.

"Shut up!" Jason yelled, lunging and shoving the still laughing Percy off the dock. 

Send me a prompt!

#thanks for the prompt! #thanks for the ask! #send me asks #send me prompts and shiz #send me prompts #prompt ask #asks open #korey answers #queerbutstillhere writes #queerbutstillhere #jercy fluff #jercy #jason grace #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #Heroes of Olympus #coming out #pining

[mab1905]

84 Questions

original: 

https://fuckyeahsurveys.tumblr.com/post/61049002526/84-questions

1. Put your music player of choice on shuffle and list the first 10 songs

Someone New (Hozier)

Cactus Tree (Joni Mitchell)

Budapest (George Ezra)

And Dream Of Sheep (Kate Bush)

Nancy Mulligan (Ed Sheeran)

And Then She Kissed Me (St. Vincent)

Level of Concern (Twenty One Pilots)

Lovefool (The Cardigans)

Best For Last (Adele)

Video Killed The Radio Star (The Buggles)

2. If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Would you take anyone with you?

Japan. I travel a lot and it’s been on my list for a while, I would really want to go to the Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli theme park, if it ever opens that is. I would bring my best friend, Layla. I also would love to go to Amsterdam again.

3. What is your preferred writing implement? (eg. Blue pen, pencil, green pen) 

My ink nib cartooning pen (similar to a quill, but without the feather)

4. Favourite month and why? 

October, not too hot, not too cold, and of course, Halloween!

5. Do you have connections to any celebrities (even minor)? List them.

Nope, met several, got to true connections though. 

6. Name 3 items you could pick up from where you are.

My iPad, my Leatherman Multitool, my collection of David Bowie postcards.

7. What brand logo is closest to you currently?

The Apple logo

8. Do you ever play board games or other non-computer games? Got any favourites?

Chess. Card games like Solitaire, Black-Jack, and Castle. A game that I can’t remember the name of but it’s essentially a board-game version of Capture The Flag. Mostly Chess.

9. A musical artist you love that isn’t well known

St. Vincent? I’m not sure if she’s well known or not.

10. A musical artist you love that is well known

David Bowie. 

11. What is your desktop background currently?

A picture of Apollo 11 accompanied by the words “It won’t fail because of me”

12. Last person you talked to, and through what you talked to them

My best friend Layla, through the iMessage app.

13. First colour name you can think of that isn’t in the rainbow

Salmon

14. What timekeeping devices are in the room you are currently in?

My iPad, my computer, my collection of vintage stopwatches

15. What kind of headphones do you use?

Sony, wireless, noise canceling, over-the ear 

16. What musical artists have you seen perform live?

Twenty One Pilots, Sylvan Esso

17. Does virginity matter to you?

I guess? I think it’s important, it’s certainly some kind of ‘milestone,’ but I don’t think it should be treated like the scale of a persons ‘purity.’ It’s important because it’s sex, and (hopefully) that means that you’re sharing a consensual, intimate experience that feels fucking great for both (or all, if it’s more then two) participants.

18. What gaming consoles do you or your family own?

Z e r o, although I’m hoping to buy a PS4 at some point so I can play Detroit Become Human.

19. What pets do you have? What are their names?

Juno is my cat, she is an adorable grey tiger-striped shorthair. She’s got little white mitten-paws and it’s absolutely ridiculous.

20. What’s the best job you’ve ever had?

Doing tech at a local theater

21. What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

Teaching art to little kids (I like kids but it was just exhausting)

22. What magazines do you read, if any?

The New Yorker, and the National Geo if I’m like, waiting in my doctor’s office or something.

23. Inspiration behind your URL?

It’s just my initials and a year from the Edwardian era

24. Inspiration behind your blog title?

It’s just my initials 

25. Favourite item of clothing?

My reddish-brown knit sweater vest and my floral bow-tie (often paired together)

26. Are you friends with any exes?

I made a very conscious effort to cut my exe out of my life… we were not happy for a very long time to say the least

27. Name at least one book you loved as a child.

Strega Nona, it’s about an Italian witch that makes great pasta in a magic pasta pot. My dad would read it to me and my sibling in Italian.

28. What’s your native language? If that language has distinct regional variations, which variation? (eg. AU English, US English)

US English

29. What email service do you use?

Gmail

30. Is there anything hanging on the walls of the room you are currently in?

So many things. Here's the list:

A giant David Bowie poster, a plaque that says “David Bowie IS,” five David Bowie postcards, a giant Abbey Road poster, all of my patches from summer camp, polaroids of me, my friends, and my family (including my cat), ticket stubs from concerts and plays, two trail markers that I took off of fallen trees on two important cross-country backpacking trips I went on, playbills from a bunch of broadway shows I’ve seen, a poster that says “Stonewall was a riot,” a DC Comics poster, a Pink Floyd poster, a few paintings of mine, and a painting that I got for free from a street artist I befriended in Rome when I was twelve

31. What’s your favourite number, and why?

16, 24, 21, and 8, some numbers make me uncomfortable, but these are just very soft and light and nice 

32. Earliest moment in your life you can remember? 

A rocking chair with fruits painted on it sitting in a dark room and my great grandfathers brown leather loafers (I remember early early stuff in just images or stills, not full moments)

33. What did you have for dinner yesterday?

Pasta with shrimp

34. How often do you brush your teeth?

Usually twice a day, but I’ve been waking up later and later and sometimes forget in the mornings

35. What’s your favourite candy/chocolate?

I don’t know the name of it but it’s this chocolate bar that is stuffed with caramel, hot chili flakes, and crunchy bits of baked tortilla. It's one of the greatest things I’ve ever tasted.

36. Have you had other blogs on Tumblr? Do you have any other blogs currently?

I used to have one but I deleted it because I never used it

37. If you were suddenly really hungry, what would you choose to eat?

I would probably walk into the kitchen, realize that too eat something I would have to muster the effort to cook something instead, and then decide to just have a glass of milk instead.

38. What fandoms would you consider yourself a part of?

Downton Abbey (primarily Thommy)

Chernobyl HBO (as well as the Leonid Toptunov/Sasha Akimov subfandom)

Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit (books and movies)

CrankGamePlays

Buzzfeed Unsolved

Star Trek TOS

Philosophy Tube

The Dark Crystal and The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance

39. If you could study anything, what would it be?

If I had the energy to fully wrench my life in a completely different direction I would like to become a professional scuba diver and study the ocean. I already am a scuba diver, but it’s a hobby and not something I’m able to do very often at all.

40. Do you use anything on your lips? (eg. Chapstick, gloss, balm, lipstick)

I’ll wear chapstick if I have a cold

41. How would you describe your sense of humour?

Intellectual and dry

42. What things annoy you more than anything else?

People who think they’re better than everyone else and people who recognize a fault in themselves and then refuse to work to change it

43. What kind of position are you in at the moment?

I’m laying on my bed, hunched over my laptop

44. Do you wear much jewellery?

Occasionally I’ll wear a necklace or a few rings. I have a lot of non-traditional bracelets (I literally just have pieces of canvas and industrial tie-line wrapped around my wrist). I’m a gay guy and I like to sort-a walk the line between feminine and masculine (often leaning more towards the masc side), so it really depends on my mood.

45. Who is the leader of your country, currently? Any other levels of government with leaders? (State, region, province, county, district, municipality, etc)

A cheese-pizza flavored pringle is currently POTUS and every day the thought of that tears away at a piece of my soul. 

46. Last 3 blogs on your dashboard, not including any of your own

@shochmonster @velvet-of-the-night @panicsheerbloodypanic

47. What do you carry your money in?

My pocket, I have a wallet and I don’t use it

48. Do you enjoy driving? Why or why not?

It’s fine, don’t love it don’t hate it

49. Longest drive you have ever been on?

Three days

50. Furthest away from home you have ever been?

Went on a trip to Switzerland to visit family, I think that’s the farthest but I’m not entirely sure.

51. How many times have you moved house?

Twice

52. What is on the floor of the room you’re currently in, not including furniture?

Five paintings, stacks and stacks of books, boxes filled with stuff (mostly more books), plates, glasses, cutlery, clothes

53. How many devices do you own which can access the internet?

2, and iPad and a computer

54. Is there is anything that is guaranteed to always make you happy?

Listening to music

55. Is there anything that always makes you sad?

Thinking about my past for too long

56. What programs do you currently have open?

Google drive, I’m writing

57. What do you associate the colour red with?

Blood and fire

58. Last strong smell you can remember smelling?

Shrimp and butter

59. Last healthy thing you ate?

Three green olives and a handful of bean sprouts

60. Do you drink tea or coffee, and how much per day?

Used to drink coffee like it was life support (which it essentially was), now I’ll have the occasional cup of tea.

61. What do you associate the colour blue with?

Birds and rain

62. How long is the closest ruler you can find?

I don’t think I own one

63. What colour pants/skirt/etc are you currently wearing?

I am wearing olive green corduroy slacks

64. When was the last time you drank water?

30 minutes ago?

65. How often do you clear your browser history?

Never

66. Do you believe nude photos can be artistic, rather than erotic?

Nude anything can be artistic, it can also just be normal, eroticism is in the eye of the beholder.

67. Ever written fanfiction for anything?

Yes dear god so much fanfiction.

68. Last formal event you attended

I genuinely can’t remember, I am have extreme social anxiety and don’t go to events like that unless I absolutely have too

69. If you had to move your birthday to another date, which one would you choose and why?

I don’t care about birthdays

70. Would you prefer to be at a beach or in the countryside?

Beach, I love to swim, I’m also a surfer

71. Roughly how many people live in your town?

Uhm… eight times the number of people who live in the state of Montana and that doesn’t count daily commuters and tourists (New York City is essentially just a tin of sardines, except inside are 8.399 million sardines)

72. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?

No, but three of my friends were born on the day just after my birthday.

73. Favourite place to shop? Can be a certain store or a place where there are multiple stores

The Strand Bookstore, L Train Vintage, any antique shops in the town of Hudson, New York 

74. Do you have a smartphone? What kind? If you don’t, do you want one?

I used to have an iPhone 5SE but then it stopped working after a few weeks of quarantine and I haven’t gotten a new one (I’ve had it for about 5-6 years so it makes sense)

75. What is your least favourite colour, and why?

I don’t have a least favorite color, but my favorite color is prussian blue

76. How do you spell grey/gray?

Grey

77. Go to your dashboard and describe the image shown in the radar section (below the “Find blogs” link)

It’s anime fanart for a show I’ve never heard of

78. What difference is there between how many followers you have, and the number of blogs you follow?

3

79. How many posts do you have?

219

80. How many posts have you liked?

619

81. Do you post mainly reblogs, or your own content?

Mostly reblogs but I do my own content as well

82. Do you track any tags?

No, just blogs

83. What time is it currently?

10:39

84. Is there anything you should be doing right now?

writing

I’m not quite sure who to tag so it’s just open to anyone I guess?

#i love questionaires #they're so much fun

[artificialqueens]

Hot as Hell and No A/C, Last Chapter: Chapter 11 (Branjie) - Blackhighheels

Read on AO3

I’m going to miss writing this story. I hope you like the ending.

Epilogue

Brock quickly shuts off his alarm, hopeful that for once he’ll manage and let Jose sleep. The groan coming from the other side of the bed just a moment later lets him know he’s failed though.

”What time is it?” Jose mumbles and turns on his side, facing Brock.

”Early. Go back to sleep, babe.” He kisses him softly and rubs his back for a moment and then gets out of bed. His clothes are already waiting for him in the bathroom. Like always he takes a quick shower and gets dressed. By the time he is done, Jose is sleeping again und like he usually does, he takes a second to look at him and memorizes the scene. He’s probably the only person in the world right now who gets to see this loud and boisterous human being, be so still and quiet as he snoozes away.

Brock’s right on time when he leaves the house, walks into his favorite coffee shop to get himself breakfast and meets one of his classmates a few blocks down the street.

He’s still surprised that nearly half of his class are his age or older, because at first he’d been scared that he’d be so much older than the rest of the students. It’s a very eclectic group of people from all kinds of backgrounds race and age, who simply all have their love for photography in common. He loves this school and his classmates and it’s so much different from the first time he went to college.

He’s done in the afternoon and has dinner with his friends on campus. Brock stops by Whole Foods to get the groceries for dinner and grabs some lunch for Jose as well. After dropping off the groceries at home, he ubers to the studio, because it’s too far to walk.

”Lunch break,” Brock announces when he walks into the dance studio, where Jose is just explaining something to the dancers.

”Finally, you’re late today, mate! I thought he’d never give us a break,” Tony, one of the dancers Jose usually works with, complains in good humour.

”Get outta here, asshole, before I fire you,” Jose yells and everyone just laughs. They all leave anyway to get some lunch as well.

”You not late, boo. You’re right on time,” Jose tells him and pecks his lips quickly, but stays away from him.

”I’m a bit late. The first uber was cancelled by the driver because he apparently got a better offer.” Brock wraps his arms around Jose’s waist and pulls him close.

”I’m all sweaty,” he protests

”I don’t care.” Another conversation that feels like they’ve had thousands of times before. This is probably the only moment they get to themselves all day and Brock just needs to kiss him. So he does. They end up making out with Jose pressed up shirtless against the mirror wall. Jose’s growling stomach stops them from going further.

”Probably for the best. If they catch us fucking in here, these hos will never let me live it down,” Jose laughs, grabs the food container Brock brought him and sits down on the floor.

”I’m still traumatised from when your mom walked in on us.”

Jose chuckles. ”She didn’t see nothing, ‘cause she was clever enough to wait in the kitchen until we were done.”

”She heard us! That’s bad enough,” Brock feels his face heat just remembering the scene.

”You just embarrassed ‘cause you was taking the D that day and then you always extra loud. And it her own fault for just walking into our house. Who does that?” Jose really finds this funny.

”Your mother, apparently.”

”She’s not done it again.” Jose digs into his food with a chuckle. ”You working tonight?” he asks after swallowing.

”Yeah, one of the drag race girls is gonna be at Mickys WeHo and they asked me to take some pictures.”

”Cool. Who is it? Someone we know?”

”I don’t think so, but you know I always get confused with their boy names and drag names.”

”Silky’s still not over you calling them ‘Reggie’ all the time when they in drag.”

”That’s how he introduced himself. How was I supposed to know he’s feeling his full female fantasy as soon as he has some lipgloss on?”

”You around them drag hos more than me now, you should know,” Jose chuckles. ”So, who is it?”

”Uhh…” he quickly checks his phone. ”Kameron something.”

”Michaels?”

”I think so.”

”The body builder barbie. He good.”

”So you know him?”

”Yeah,” Jose nods and swallows again before he speaks. ”He the boyfriend of Asia.”

”Asia?”

”Ant!”

”Aaah, ok,” now Brock knows who he’s talking about.

”Tell him I say hi.”

”He’s as dramatic as Ant?” He needs to ask, because the one time he’s worked for Asia, the other man had a melt down over the glitter on his face being the wrong color.

”Nah, he’s pretty chill. A bit quiet at first, that why people say he’s arrogant or some shit, but he just real shy, ya know?” Jose’s done with his food and hands his left-overs to Brock. Another ritual they’ve established.

”You gonna be home tonight for dinner?” Brock has no problem talking with his mouth full, which makes Jose roll his eyes.

”Probably not. They sent us a new cut of the song today and the whole middle part doesn’t fit with the beat anymore. We have to change it all.”

”I’ll leave dinner in the fridge then.”

”We still on for tomorrow? Free day at the beach and all that?” Jose asks and leans his head against Brock’s shoulder.

”Yes, absolutely. We need some alone time before you leave for the shoot next week.”

”I already miss you,” Jose sighs. Brock places the food on the ground and wraps his arms around his boyfriend.

”It always sucks when you’re gone, but it’s just another month until we leave for Hawaii.” They’ve booked a vacation and Brock can’t wait. The first vacation in his life, his first flight, his first trip with his boyfriend.

”I know,” Jose’s lips ghost against Brock’s neck and then he sits back up. ”They all gonna be back in a sec’. See you tomorrow?”

”See you tomorrow,” Brock confirms and pecks Jose’s lips a couple of times. He grabs the trash to take it with him and leaves just as the dancers get back.

Back at home he has time to clean up around the house, do his homework and take care of the cats. He heads to his therapist’s office for his weekly session and when he gets back home, he cooks dinner, even though he hates eating alone and then gets ready to go to work.

It had been Jose’s idea that he could take pictures of the dancers and from there he started to take pictures at the clubs, then of drag queens and now he has a pretty steady group of clients, who always book him when they need photos of themselves or the queens at the clubs.

It’s exhausting being up early to go to school and then work in the clubs at night, but Brock is used to hard work and long hours.

When he gets back home, Jose is already in bed, snuggling Thackery, while Apollo and Henry are spread out on his side of the bed. They run off when he comes in, they know he doesn’t want them on the bed and even Thackery follows them after Brock has given him some attention.

Jose senses his presence and seeks his warmth. He’s just shut off the light when Jose’s suddenly lying half on top of him, fast asleep.

”Night papi,” Brock whispers, kisses his forehead and smiles when he remembers that they are both having tomorrow off.

***

It’s late and all Brock wants to do is go home, but he still has to show the pictures he took to the dancers of the ‘Papi Boy Friday’.

Usually Jose comes with him on these Fridays, but his flight back got delayed and Brock is lucky if he’ll be home by the time he’s done here. Jose has been gone for a week and Brock misses him like crazy.

”I’m the last one?” Tyler, one of the dancers, asks and slides into the seat next to him.

”Yes, looks like it.” Brock confirms and turns his laptop so Tyler can see the pictures.

”Ok, that one’s a no. Look at my face,” the dancer laughs and touches his arm quickly.

”It’s not that bad. I like the lighting,” Brock says and points it out to him on the screen.

”You got a similar one?” Tyler leans closer and steadies himself with a hand on Brock’s shoulder.

”Yeah, this one. You like it better?”

”Yeah. I love it,” Tyler smiles and nudges Brock with his shoulder. ”We take that one definitely,” he decides with a wink.

”Your wish is my command,” Brock jokes and quickly saves the picture into the according folder. They quickly look through the other pictures and pick a couple more.

”You gonna stay for another beer?” Tyler asks him when they are done.

”Nah, I really wanna go home. I’m beat.”

”Oh come on! It’s been a while since we hung out.”

”Fine,” Brock sighs and checks his phone for the time, calculates quickly if Jose could be home by now.

”Here,” Tyler comes back and hands him a bottle. They clink their bottles together and each takes a sip. ”Where’s your boyfriend?”

”Shooting again. He wanted to be back this morning, but his flight got delayed.”

”So you’re single tonight?” Tyler smiles and steps a bit closer to him. A bit too close for Brock’s liking, bit Tyler has never had any sense of personal space.

”Huh?” Brock doesn’t quite understand the question though. Why would he be single just because Jose is…?

Suddenly he is pushed aside as someone slams into him from the side.

”Get your fucking hands off my man,” It’s loud, it’s aggressive, it’s followed by a glass of vodka something being thrown into Tyler’s face; It’s Jose.

”Jo?” Brock can’t believe that he’s here. He’s happy and surprised, but even more so, he is confused by his boyfriend’s behaviour. ”What are you doing here?” he asks, but doesn’t get an answer to his question because Tyler throws the first punch and Jose sees red. The bottles, his laptop and phone crash to the ground as Jose tackles the dancer onto the table and hits him right in the face.

”Imma end you!” he screams and lands another blow.

”Jose, stop!” Brock grabs him from behind and pulls him off. Tyler wants to come after him again, but is held back but two other dancers who have hurried over. Jose struggles against Brock’s hold, but he drags him through the nearly empty club and out into an alley way, all the while Jose is still cussing and swearing and threatening Tyler. ”Stop! God damnit! Calm down. What the hell are you doing?” Brock yells and pins him against the wall by his shoulders, so he can look in his face. He has a wound on his forehead, but his eyes are black with rage.

”Imma kill this motherfucking bitch! No one touches my man. No one!” he screams. They’ve been together for six months and Brock has seen Jose angry, he’s seen him get into fights a couple of times, but he’s never seen him lose it like this.

”He wasn’t touching me. What are you talking about?” he asks, truly confused.

”He wasn’t touching you? Bitch! You lying now? That what’s going on here? I be gone for one week and you hooking up with this dancer ho?” Now Jose’s anger is directed at him.

”I’m not hooking up with anyone. You’re completely delusional. And stop pushing me!” Brock yells back, when Jose starts pushing at his chest, hurting him.

The door opens and one of the bouncers comes out, holding Brock’s laptop bag, camera and cellphone.

”Brock, these are yours, right?” he asks and Brock nods. ”You need some help?”

”No, we’re going home now. Thank you, André.” He takes his things from him and keeps Jose in place with one hand on his shoulder.

”You can go wherever the fuck you want, but you not telling me what to do!” Jose is yelling again as soon as they’re alone.

”Will you just shut up and calm down? I’m not discussing this with you in a dirty alley way at 4 am in the morning! I’m going home now and you’re coming and if I have to drag you there.” He yells back. Dragging isn’t necessary, because Jose follows him the three blocks back to their house. The door slams shut behind them and Brock knows that Jose has obviously not calmed down yet. With a heavy sigh he puts his photo bag down and walks upstairs.

”Where you going? Take a shower to wash him off you? Grab your clothes and leave?” Jose follows him, still yelling. ”You said you no cheater! You said you fucking loyal! You a liar!”

Brock takes a deep breath to not lose his cool completely and grabs the first aid kit from underneath the sink. ”Sit down on the bed. You’re bleeding,” he orders, his voice icy because of all the hurt and anger he feels.

Jose sits down and while Brock cleans his wound and wipes the blood away, he can see the anger draining out of Jose. It’s like he’s deflating, becoming smaller in front of his eyes. When he puts the bandaid on his forehead, Jose speaks again.

”How long’s this been going on? You and him?” Jose asks and his eyes are full of tears.

”There’s nothing going on with me and him or anyone else. Why the fuck do you even think that?”

”‘Cause I get here and want to surprise you and all I see is him flirting with you, touching you the whole time and you smiling back.”

”He was not flirting with me.”

”He was fucking all over you and wants to fuck you. What’d you think it means when he saying ‘You single tonight’?” Jose gets louder again.

”I… I don’t know. I didn’t think about it too much. I know Tyler… hell, you know Tyler. He just wanted to hang out, that’s all.”

”You so fucking thick. He flirts with you every damn time and you never say nothing! Every fucking ho in this place has their hands on you all the time. You always smiling and flirting.. You leading them hos on, even when I’m standing right next you. What the fuck is going on when I’m not there? Tyler wanting to fuck you, that’s what and you just letting him.”

”No one is flirting with me! And I’m not flirting back. I work there, Jo, I’m just friendly and I get along with everyone. But you just had to come in tonight and ruin it by attacking one of the dancers. You’re out of control!”

”No, you out of control! If I’d known you transform from country boy to party toy in six months, I’d have left your ass back in Texas, so you’d keep it in your pants. You not the same.”

”No, I’m not! I’m not depressed anymore all the time, I’m not scared anymore, I’m not dependent on you anymore and I have a couple tattoos more. If you want someone who’s always following you around and depending on you, I propose you get a puppy and not a boyfriend,” Brock yells back, because he’s had it. Jose is absolutely impossible and has gone way too far.

”Brock!” Jose calls after him when he leaves the bedroom and slams the door behind him, but he doesn’t stop. He needs a moment to calm down. He grabs his phone and his keys and leaves.

For a while he just walks around the block, until he finds a gas station that’s still open and buys himself a cup of coffee with the last couple of dollars he has in his pockets. When he feels calmer, he walks back home.

He finds Jose sitting in the living room, a blanket thrown over his shoulders. His face is blotchy, swollen and wet, his eyes are red from crying and the sight breaks Brock’s heart.

”You came back.” It’s barely above a whisper and Brock realises that his boyfriend really thought that he was gone for good.

Brock wraps his arms around him and holds him, because he needs the embrace as much as Jose does. ”Of course I came back. I just needed a moment to calm down.”

”I thought you went to him.” Jose sniffs against his shoulder where he hides his face.

Brock cups his face and makes him look at him. ”Jose, there is nothing going on with Tyler or anyone else. I’ve never cheated on you.” Brock tells him again and looks him in the eyes. ”Do you believe me?”

It takes a moment, but finally Jose nods. ”I believe you.” Brock wipes the tears and the snot off his face, pecks his lips and holds him close again.

”I love you, papi, but we can’t continue like this.”

Jose pushes back and his eyes are wide with shock. ”What do you mean? You breaking up with me?”

”No, I’m not,” Brock pulls him back into his arms. ”But I can’t have you flying off in a jealous rage all the time. You have to trust me. And the fights you get into, the breaking things when you’re angry… you need some anger management classes, babe. And maybe some therapy, too.”

”You’re not leaving me?”

”I don’t want to leave you, Jose. I love you. But… we both need to put the work in, because we both have issues. And I can’t fix yours. I don’t know how to convince you that I’m being faithful and I’m not interested in anyone else. You believe me now, but the next guy who so much as looks my way and we’ll be back right here. I take pictures of drag queens in gay clubs. People will touch me and flirt with me, it’s part of the game, even if I don’t get it most of the time and think they’re just friendly. But I need you to trust me. And if you can’t, then we need to get help. I told you before, but I will not get beat up by anyone again, not even by you.”

”I’ve never hurt you,” Jose points out with another sniff.

”I know and I’d like for it to stay that way.” He runs his fingers through Jose’s sweaty hair. The grief and pain he must feel really affects him physically. ”Babe, if you ever hit me, that’s something I wouldn’t be able to forgive, just like cheating.”

”It on the no-go list,” Jose nods and sits up.

”Definitely.”

”Ok… your therapist, he doing the anger shit, too?” Jose seems embarrassed to even ask the question.

”I don’t know, but I can ask him. If he’s not offering it, maybe he can recommend someone.” Brock gives him an encouraging smile. ”But he could definitely help us with your jealousy.”

”And yours!”

”And mine,” Brock chuckles, because he knows Jose is right. He might not go around and beat people up, but he’s definitely been jealous and has frozen Jose out because of it.

It’s Jose who initiates the kiss that seals their deal, but it’s Brock who breaks it when he sees Jose’s hand. ”Papi, what happened to your hand? That from the fight?” Brock wonders when he sees the swollen knuckles and cuts on his boyfriend’s right hand.

”No,” Jose looks like a deer in headlights. ”I might’ve smashed the bathroom mirror and punched the wall,” comes the hesitant explanation.

”You’re an idiot, Jose,” Brock rolls his eyes, but he isn’t really angry. There’s no point in it, when they’ve already agreed to take the necessary steps to prevent this from happening again.

”But you love me anyway.” It’s a statement, not a question and Brock is glad to hear it.

”True. Guess, we’re both idiots. Let’s go upstairs so I can bandage your hand and clean up the mess you no doubt left in the bathroom.” He gets up and wraps his arm around Jose’s shoulder as they leave the living-room.

”And we still have to make up.”

”Didn’t we just do that?”

”Bitch, if you think we just going to sleep after being apart for a week and then nearly breaking up, you wrong! I expect to be dicked down till the sun comes up!” Jose huffs and Brock tries to hide his smile.

”So for another twenty minutes?” he teases after checking the time.

”Asshole!” Jose grumps before they both start laughing.

***

”James Dean?” The familiar nickname never fails to make Brock chuckle.

”Kitchen, J.Lo,” he calls and turns around to see Jose’s mother walking in, carrying large paper bags. ”Hey,” she greets him and hands him one of the bags, after he kissed her cheek hello.

”Hey. What’s all of this?” he asks and peeks into the brown bag.

”Just some groceries and food and drinks. You two never have anything at home and the kid needs to eat,” she shrugs and starts unpacking. ”There’s three more in the car.”

”Hint taken, I’ll get them,” he laughs, grabs her car keys and walks out to get the rest of the groceries. ”You know that Rachel’s only staying for two weeks, not two years, right?” he teases her when he gets back.

”Oh shut up,” she rolls her eyes and reminds him so much of her son at that moment. ”You heard anything yet?”

”Yes, Jo texted that they started boarding on time, so they should be here in three hours.”

”It’s good that Jose could stop in Houston and pick Rachel up. She’s too young to fly on her own.”

”Yeah, I think she got scared by her own bravado. At first she was all ‘I am not a baby anymore, I can fly on my own’, but she’s never even been to an airport. She wouldn’t have known where to go or what to do. I was overwhelmed by it all when we went to Hawaii, even though Jose was with me the whole time.”

”You gonna pick’em up?”

”Of course. I have to show Jose my new car,” Brock beams.

”Oh, he’s not seen it yet?”

”He was there when I bought it, but it took two months for them to deliver it, so he’s not seen it yet.”

”Ah, right. You should be very proud, you know. Making so much money with your photos and working so hard that you can buy a new car.” Anabel starts checking the things in their fridge, throwing away what she deems inedible, while storing the rest of the things she brought.

”I couldn’t have done it without Jose and his help. I had nothing when I came here, no money, no job… he was fully sponsoring me for the first three months, before I could start paying for my own stuff. And now I can even pay him back.” He feels so incredibly happy and proud. The first time he’d been able to buy Jose a present, a new watch, he’d burst into tears when he’d given it to him.

”You had therapy, that’s more important than making money. We were all worried about you, you know. When Ada called and Jose wasn’t sure, if he should go and get you. I told him, I said ‘Son, if you not going and Brock’s hurting himself or starts drinking like his dad, you not gonna forgive yourself’.”

”That all seems so far away now. I feel so different. Have I told you, I was even able to go off the anti-depressants a couple of weeks ago?”

”See, so proud of you, mijo,” she kisses his cheek again. ”And you got my stubborn idiot to finally stop acting like a teenager who gets into fights all the time. I really thought one day the cops gonna call me and I have to bail him outta jail.”

”He’s still a hothead, but he’s got himself under control now,” Brock laughs, remembering Jose’s last angry rant, when he had walked up to his punching bag in the spare room every couple of minutess, to let his frustration out. ”Most of the time.”

”Have you heard from your parents?”

”Not really. My mom talks to me when I call, but it’s all… the weather, what the priest said at church, bit of gossip about the people in town and what the animals are doing at the farm. The most I get out of her, is when she got into another fight with Lilly about how things are done.”

”And your dad? Still nothing?”

”He hasn’t talked to me since we left and I can’t really ask my mother, because she doesn’t seem to know that he came to see us.” Brock hops up and sits down on the counter.

”He still drinking?”

”Judging by what Ada says nothing’s changed. He’s still an absolute asshole to everyone.”

”Is there like a therapist in town he could see? I don’t think you can just stop drinking.”

”No, there’s not. If my dad wanted to really stop drinking, he’d have to check himself into a program in Dallas or Houston and he’s not going to do that.” Brock sighs. ”It’s just so frustrating, because I wanna help him, but I’m not sure he even wants help. Sometimes I feel like I dreamed the whole thing when we left.”

”Maybe he just wanted you to know…. and not change? It gets harder to change when you get old. I’m still young, but I say I’ll start working out every damn day and what do I do? Drink margaritas and chill by the pool.” Her very true assessment of her own habits makes Brock laugh.

”So, what’s the plan here? What are you gonna cook?”

”I’m not cooking nada. You can cook yourself. I just brought some things for Miss Rachel.”

”Mama Vanjie… as Jose would say ‘you full of shit’. What are you making?”

She slaps him, but laughs. ”I thought, you could Bbq some pinchos with chicken. Or shrimp for Jose. And I make some guacamole, tostones and garlic sauce, mofongo and empanadas. And I brought tres leches as dessert.”

”Jesus, how many people are we expecting? It’s just the five of us.” Brock knows her husband will join them as well.

”I talked to Silky and they will be over later. I said once Rachel’s in bed, we would make Coquito.”

”Isn’t that for Christmas only?”

”We can pretend it’s Christmas,” Anabel shrugs unimpressed and Brock guffaws.

”Fine. If Silky’s coming over so will be A’keria. Then I can also invite Dane and Ant, ‘cause they are in town… Rachel will be spending her first night in L.A. In the company of two gays, four gay drag queens and a crazy Puerto Rican woman. My dad would have a heart attack, if he knew.”

”Or, he’d like to get invited and dress up as well,” she jokes and Brock nearly falls off the counter when he imagines his dad as a drag queen. He will so go to hell for this thought.

Brock helps Anabel in the kitchen – as much as she lets him – and then leaves her alone in the house to pick up Jose and Rachel. Jose’s been gone for three weeks this time and as excited as Brock is about seeing Rachel again after nearly a year, he also can’t wait to see his boyfriend again. The romantic evening surely won’t happen now that Anabel invited half of WeHo over to their place, but Jose won’t leave again for the foreseeable future. They’ll make up for it later.

Impatiently he checks the screens again and again, but they only tell him that the plane has landed, nothing more. It’s not the first time he’s picking up Jose, so he hopes that he’s not gone to the baggage claim on his own for once. He checks the screen again.

”Uncle Brock!” He looks around and finally sees Rachel running towards him, with her backpack in hand and Jose’s neck pillow around her neck.

”Rachel!” She jumps and is in his arms a second later. ”God, you’ve gotten so big!” he points out as he still holds her.

”Are you calling me fat?” she asks in her usual sassy way and makes him laugh.

”Are you wearing make-up?” Brock narrows his eyes when he gets a good look at her face.

”Jose had them paint my nails and do my make up at the airport,” she nods excitedly and jumps down so she can show him her nails, which are painted neon yellow.

”You know your mother will kill me, if she sees you like this?” Brock raises his eyebrows.

”She just wearing some mascara, blush and lipgloss, so calm your ass down. And she won’t be home for another two weeks,” Jose shows up behind them. Brock turns around, sees his smirk and hugs him tightly.

”I missed you,” he tells him, kisses him and pecks his lips a couple more times before finally pulling back.

”Missed you, too,” Jose replies softly.

”We gonna get our bags now or you are you gonna continue making out here?” Rachel stops them, just when they lean in again.

”When did you become such a brat?” Brock asks and ruffles through her neatly combed hour, making her squeal.

”I’m not,” she protests as they start walking towards the baggage claim.

”And she shouldn’t be talking, ‘cause Miss Rachel’s in loooove,” Jose sing-songs teasingly.

”I’m not!”

”Oooh, who’s the guy?” Brock exchanges an amused look with Jose and wraps his arm around his waist.

”Why’d you think it a guy?” Jose grins.

”Ok, who’s the girl?” Brock rephrases, still teasing her.

”It’s not a girl!” Rachel protests.

”Oh, so it is a guy! Who is he? Where did you meet? What does he look like? Does he know you like him?” Brock asks.

”Ok, I’ll tell ya, but you’re not allowed to laugh! Best friends don’t laugh about stuff like that.” Rachel requests.

”Promise,” Brock vows and Jose hides his face in his shoulder, when he has to laugh about the spectacle.

”Ok, so…” Rachel starts her tale as they reach the baggage claim.

”You know the story already?” Brock quietly asks Jose.

”Bits and pieces. Had to keep her distracted when she nearly freaked out during take-off,” Jose whispers back and kisses him again.

”Keep an eye on the conveyor belt. I’m the best friend, I have to listen to this in detail, before she realises I’m really just her old uncle.”

”Not that old, babe,” Jose replies, wraps his arms around Brock’s waist and leans his head against his shoulder as he keeps looking for their suitcases. Brock keeps him close as he listens to his twelve year old niece babble about her first crush, kisses Jose’s forehead from time to time and is happy that he has his two favorite people back in his life, both at the same time.

***

”Babe, stop messing with your hair. You look fine,” Brock tells him and takes Jose’s hand in his to stop him from nervously fiddling with his hair again.

”Fine? Just fine? I have to look smokin’, Imma be on camera,” Jose whispers back, now fiddling with his bow-tie with the other hand. He can’t just look fine. This is the biggest thing that has ever happened to him, well, possibly.

”You are. You’re looking so hot!”

”You still like the suit? Maybe I should’ve taken the grey one?” Jose wonders.

”No, this dark blue one is perfect. You look perfect!” Brock quickly kisses him. ”And now sit up straight, stop fidgeting and smile, ‘cause your category is next.” Jose does just that and grasps Brock’s hand with both of his. Jose knows his palms are sweaty, but he also knows Brock gets it. Dressed up to the nines, both in suits and bow-ties they are sitting at large round table, sweating underneath the large spotlight above their heads. A camera man shows up next to them, doing a close up of Jose’s face. He’s blinded by the light for a second, but tries not to grimace or squint. Instead he grips Brock’s hands even tighter.

”And the winner of the MTV Video Award for best Choreography is….” Jose hears the blood rush in his ears and the seconds seem endless as the presenter opens the envelope. ”…. Vaaanjiiiiie for the video to ‘Hot as hell’.”

Jose freezes, he can’t believe it. He’s won!

”Oh my god, papi! Jose!” Brock hugs him so tightly he can barely breathe and kisses him – that’s when he knows it’s real. He’s won the motherfucking award!

Jose presses his lips to Brock’s again and then gets up. People congratulate him left and right as he makes his way up to the stage. He feels like he’s floating. On stage he accepts the award with shaky hands, smiles and pulls the little paper with his notes out, that Brock made him prepare. The letters blur in front of his eyes and he crumbles it in his hand. When he looks out into the room, he is blinded again, but then, suddenly, he manages to catch Brock’s eyes. Even from up here, he can see that his boyfriend is a very proud, crying mess. It makes him smile even wider.

”Thank you all for this award. I’d like to thank my ma and my whole family, Miss Ada and the whole bunch, my management and all the artists who book me and all the dancers who work with me and bear with me on the regular. I can’t believe I won. It crazy, ‘cause not only did I win with my first nomination, and with the video that has my niece dancing on camera for the first time – shoutout to Miss Rachel – , but also with the choreography that means a whole lot, because it was inspired by the story of the man who means the world to me and who’s been putting up with my crazy ass for the last two years. Brock, I love you so much! This is yours as much as mine! Thank you, boo, for everything.” He holds up the award again and makes his way off the stage. There are photographers beside the stage and he has to pose for a couple of pictures. He’s allowed back during the next commercial break and hurries past everyone to get back to Brock. He gets up when he sees him and ends the talk with the person sitting next to him.

”I’m so fucking proud of you,” Brock tells him and hugs him again.

”Thank you. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

”Not true, but I take it. I love you, too!”

”Wanna get out of here? Celebrate in private?” Jose just wants to be alone with Brock now, away from all the people and the cameras; get out of the suits and just be them.

”Can we do that?” Brock laughs in surprise.

”I got the award. What are they gonna do? Take it back?”

”Alright, then hurry, before they start filming again,” Brock giggles, quickly grabs their phones off the table and then they hurry through the room, hand in hand, and just make it out in time, before the doors close again for shooting.

In the uber back home they are all over each other in the backseat, Jose’s award nearly forgotten in the car when they stumble out of the car.

”Wait, papi, wait,” Brock stops him suddenly when they are making their way through the living room towards the bedroom, Jose’s jacket, shirt and bowtie already somewhere on the floor and his belt and zipper open, while Brock’s still fully dressed.

”What? You wanted to congratulate me… preferably on your knees!” Jose says and tries once more to get Brock out of his suit jacket.

”My phone keeps vibrating. Maybe it’s important.”

”Bitch, are you serious?” Jose can’t believe it. But Brock really takes his phone out and pulls him over to the couch.

”Look, it’s from Rachel,” Brock shows him the screen.

”That could’ve waited,” Jose tried to pretend he’s still grumpy, but he loves Rachel as much as Brock does.

”Oh come on now! She’s so excited about your win! She even sent a video. We can’t let her wait until we’re done, ‘cause that’s gonna take a while.”

”Oh really?” the comment shoots straight to his dick. Whenever Brock’s in that intense kind of mood, things are really getting hot and heavy in the bedroom.

”Really,” the kiss Brock gives him is as hot as the images in Jose’s head, but he has to wait and watch Rachel’s video first.

Rachel is filming and Jason, Ada, Joe and the kids, Dan and his two eldest and even Brock’s mom are all there at the dance studio. They are watching the award show live as Rachel films the moment of the announcement. They’re all silent, biting their nails, holding hands or just staring at the screen. When Jose’s win is announced they erupt in cheers and Ada bursts into tears, because she’s so happy.

”There’s Brock,” his mother can be heard saying and points at the screen, when they are shown kissing before Jose makes his way up on stage. Jose and Brock watch their reactions to Jose’s speech in the video.

”Congratulations Jose! Can’t wait to see you guys again in three weeks!” Rachel can be seen a moment later, now facing the camera. ”But, like, there’s something I gotta do now, 'cause I promised” she smirks into the camera and Jose knows she’s up to no good.

Before he can even guess at what she’s up to this time, she films her family, who are just sitting there now and then walks over to where Jose knows the mirrors are in the studio. She angles the camera at the mirrors and there’s a large paper hanging down from the ceiling. In big, bold letters the poster reads ‘Marry me?’

”What?” Jose gasps. Suddenly Brock is kneeling next to the couch and pulls a ring box out of his suit jacket.

”Marry me?” Brock asks him, this time in person, the cell phone turned off now. Jose stares at him. He can’t believe this.

”You fucking bitch!” he points a finger at him as he bursts into tears. ”This is how you propose to me? When I’m looking like this?” he points to his disheveled and half-dressed state.

Brock laughs. ”That a yes?”

Jose laughs and cries at the same time as he sinks down beside his man, kisses him and tackles him to the ground. They celebrate the win and their engagement right there, naked on the living room floor, with the cold air of the AC cooling their heated skin.

The end

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #branjie #m/m au #slow burn #romance #smut #angst #hot as hell and no ac #blackhighheels #tw religion #tw internalized homophobia

[three-of-swords]

Animal Crossing Countdown

I didn’t find this post until today, so I have to do a LOT of questions in a very short span of time, namely for my own amusement and the two people who care. But I’m gonna put it under a read more because no one needs to see a post this long in the actual ACNH tag.

1: Do you prefer making up a new name for your villager, or using your own name?

I tend to use my nickname, because I share my name with one of my favourite villagers, so it gets confusing and annoying.

2: Do you use the first map you’re given, or do you reset for layouts?

I reset for layouts, but I’m not terribly picky. I reset more because of fruit than layout.

3: Do you use the face you’re given, or do you wait for guides and choose your favourite?

Guides. Me not knowing that your face is dependent on some arbitrary questions was the cause of me immediately restarting my first town.

4: Favourite town/island name?/Have you a name picked out for your town/island?

I’ve only ever played New Leaf, and my town’s name was Wishfall. I’m not sure what I’ll name the island yet, but Wishfall is definitely one of the options.

5: Will you be sharing with friends/family, or is your island going to be all your own?

No. Mine. Though I will be inviting people over, no one will have a house but me.

6: What’s a new feature you’re excited about?

Redirecting rivers. Terraforming. Placing villager houses. Anything that will help me maintain and mold the island into what I want it to be.

7: Favourite fruit?

Apples. Second favourite are cherries, but only for looks.

8: Least favourite fruit?

Probably pears, which is funny, since Wishfall’s town specialty were pears. I don’t like how they look, and I’m also allergic. Second least favourite would be oranges.

9: Favourite area? (Beach, campground, shopping district etc, from any entry in the series.)

The museum.

10: Where do you like to like to put your house? Do you like that level of customization, or do you prefer to have some things decided, like in older entries?

I don’t have experience with the older entries, but I know I’d prefer to make a choice on where my house goes. I like it to be a little away from other villagers, usually backed up against a cliff.

11: Favourite grass pattern?

Triangle.

12: Least favourite grass pattern?

Circle, but it’s not that I don’t like it. I just prefer it less.

13: Favourite villager/s?

Whitney. Julian. Pashmina. Drago. Merengue. Bam. Merry. Apollo.

14: Least favourite villager/s?

Jambette. Cobb. Chops. Frita.

15: Did you like doing Tom Nook’s chores, or did you find those to be a pain?

I mean. I like tasks. But having only played ACNL, I can’t say I HAD any chores besides “Pay your loan!”

16: Favourite NPC/s?

Kicks. Blathers. Crazy Redd. Katrina. Isabelle, obviously.

17: Least favourite NPC/s?

Zipper. Chip. Pave.

18: Do you use paths? Are you excited about the new path tool?

Yes, and fuck yes.

19: Favourite feature from an older entry?

I would have liked to see what the Celeste constellation thing was about. I’ve heard about it, but I don’t know any details. But I like the idea.

20: What was your first Animal Crossing game?

New Leaf was the first game I played in depth and actually owned, but I did play a little of a game on a DS when I was in high school. Probably Wild World. I really only remember shaking trees.

21: Favourite activity (fishing, bug catching, fossil hunting, other)?

Collecting museum donations.

22: Least favourite activity?

The arbitrary rules for the bug or fish tournaments, or the randomization of rewards given in any events at all. The events themselves would be fine, if they made any damn sense.

23: Favourite bug?

Emperor Butterfly. Birdwing Butterfly. Orchid Mantis. Oak Silk Moth. Walking Leaf.

24: Least favourite bug?

Fucking Mole Crickets. Not a fan of the House Centipede or Tarantula either.

25: A quarter of the way there! How’s the wait?

Impatience. So much impatience.

26: Favourite fish?

Goldfish. Sea Butterfly.

27: Least favourite fish?

Giant Trevally. That thing is fucking ugly. Napoleonfish, too.

28: Favourite fossil?

Fern Fossils or any skulls, but I actually don’t have any strong feelings one way or another.

29: Least favourite fossil?

Coprolite. ...Why.

30: Favourite furniture series?

Don’t really have one, though I’m partial to the Regal and Exotic series.

31: Least favourite furniture series?

Lovely. Don’t like it. Don’t like Kiddie much, either, though it’s cute for certain villagers like Kitt or Stitches.

32: Favourite soundtrack? (Gamecube, DS/Wii, etc)

New Leaf, since it’s my only experience.

33: Least favourite soundtrack?

None.

34: Favourite wallpaper?

Lunar Horizon. The Forest Wall, too.

35: Do you have a nice memory of the games/community etc you’d like to share?

When Pashmina moved in next to me, I was irritated. I’d specifically placed my house next to Re-Tail, but not too close, and she moved in between the two buildings. ...But now she’s my favourite goat, my favourite uchi villager, and honestly, I love her to bits. First impressions apparently don’t always matter too much.

36: Least favourite wallpaper?

Industrial, probably.

37: Favourite carpet?

Palace Tile, I suppose? Though it doesn’t go with everything.

38: Least favourite carpet?

Closed Road, probably.

39: Favourite furniture item?

Whichever grasshopper it is that goes in a cute little bamboo cage.

40: Will you be buying a Switch for Animal Crossing, or do you already have one?

I have one already, sadly. I’m sending it out for repairs, though.

41: Least favourite furniture item?

There are some uuuugly ass furniture items, but it’s impossible to remember them, so I don’t.

42: Favourite flower?

Black or pink lilies, blue and purple violets, and blue and purple roses.

43: Least favourite flower?

Meh. I like them all okay. If I had to choose, I’d say I’m not overly fond of the Cosmos.

44: Favourite hybrid?

See above.

45: Least favourite hybrid?

I don’t care much for the orange pansies.

46: Favourite shirt?

Night-Sky Tee.

47: Favourite dress?

I don’t wear them.

48: Favourite accessory?

Feathers.

49: Favourite hat/helmet?

FEATHERS.

50: Halfway there! How’s the wait going?

IMPATIENCE.

51: Favourite shop?

Kicks, I guess. Even though I don’t go in there. I love him. And the sign squeaks.

52: Do you collect amiibo cards/figures? Would you like to see them used in the new game?

I have a good amount of cards, both real and fake. Some figures, too. I wouldn’t say I collect them, but I try to have them just in case. I’d like them in the new game.

53: Fishing Tourney or Bug-Off?

Fucking neither, but if I HAD to choose, Fishing Tourney. At least in New Leaf. I like catching bugs more, but it seems totally random if they’re lackluster or not. I don’t prefer fishing, but at least all you need is the damn size to tell you if it’s a good fish or not.

54: Do you like making your own clothing patterns?

Nope.

55: Did you streetpass with many other ACNL players, or is it a feature you didn’t get much use of?

I streetpassed a bit but eventually turned it off after getting too more undesirable villagers from other people. Frita and Chops will always be two of my most despised villagers for this reason.

56: Favourite villager species?

Wolves.

57: Least favourite villager species?

Gorillas.

58: Favourite nickname from a villager?

Darling, but I liked that Merry called me Pop Star. It was charming coming from her.

59: Least favourite nickname from a villager?

Big Y. Indeed. Big why.

60: Do you try to collect everything in the game, or just try to get your favourite bits and pieces?

I try to collect everything eventually but I’m not insane about it. I like to fill my catalog.

61: Favourite villager personality?

Smug. But it looks better on some villagers than others. Cute on Julian or Lopez, AWFUL on Chops.

62: Least favourite villager personality?

Jock, but again, while it’s cute on Bam, I loathe it on Cobb. It really depends on the villager, somehow.

63: Do you “plot reset” for villager house placement, or do you let them move in wherever they want?

I plot reset a bit, but only if they moved somewhere particularly undesirable.

64: Are you excited to wear any of the new accessories (like the bags etc shown in the E3 trailer)?

Of course I am!

65: What season are you most looking forward to seeing in New Horizons?

Fall. The mushrooooooms.

66: What’s your favourite season?

Fall, though I loved how the cherry blossoms were carried on the river in spring.

67: Least favourite season?

Probably winter, just because it starts to look uninteresting after awhile.

68: Which game’s events/holidays do you like the most?

I’m partial to Halloween. Also, I have to cheat during April Fool’s Day, but the villagers’ reactions to Blanca are cute. I also begrudgingly like Bunny Day, but I can’t say I love it because Zipper creeps me out. I love collecting the eggs from all over the place, but he gives you totally random items, so. Eh.

69: Which game’s events/holidays do you like least?

Love feathers. Hate Pave. Seriously. Can’t stand him. He’s super annoying to me. I like the feather-catching portion and that is IT. I also believe I’ve already expressed my dislike for tournaments.

70: Do you have another nice AC related memory you’d like to share (in-game, of the community, etc)?

Weirdly, this is related to Pashmina again, but once I visited her after I got my face destroyed by bees, and she gave me medicine. I know now that uchi villagers in particular are likely to do this, but I’d never seen it happen before, and I was touched.

71: Do you prefer the “live” versions of K.K. Slider’s Songs, or the airchecks?

Yes.

72: An NPC you’d like to see more of?

Kicks. Sable. Katrina.

73: An NPC you’d like to see less of?

Chip.

74: If you could have any piece of AC merchandise, which would it be?

I dunno. A big comfy hoodie, maybe? A mug? I’m not particularly materialistic. I like useful things.

75: Only 25 days left to go! How’s the wait?

You know, I’m really glad I spent the last few months hyped for games that came out over time. It’s been bite-size chunks of releases that were only a little ways away. Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Concrete Genie. Pokemon Sword. The Cindered Shadows DLC. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. I can’t imagine this having been the only game I was looking forward to, or I would have died by now.

76: Will you be downloading the game, or getting a physical copy?

Physical copy. As much as I’d love to play it right at midnight, I like not having to wait for download time, or take up a lot of space in storage. I’m hoping my GameStop does a midnight release, but I’m not counting on it.

#THAT TOOK FOREVER #acnh #julian rambles #about me

[selfcallednowhere]

March 3, 2018 San Francisco, CA

This was my second time being at the Fillmore, after an Apollo 18 show a couple of years ago. It's a really awesome venue! I just love all things historic, and it really is just a cool venue even aside from that--I especially love the beautiful chandeliers (so does Flans, but I'll get to that).

So I was hoping they were actually gonna change the setlist this time after having the exact same one the previous two nights, and there are few songs that could've made me more excited than what they opened with: "Everything Right is Wrong Again"!!! Seeing the songs I have lyric tattoos from is always so intense for me. I've seen the other one, "Ana Ng," quite a few times, but this was only the third time I'd seen this one, and it was a majorly big deal. So that was the show highlight right off the bat!

After the song was over Flans said it was a sold out show, and that selling it out had "changed our whole self-image" and now they were "strutting around all arrogant and sticking our fingers into other people's chests." Then he said they were playing two sets and he wanted us to hold our applause for the second set (he actually said "second show," but he clearly meant to say "second set") and "treat us like any other opener" and feel free to do things like catch up on our emails.

Then he asked John how his day was (I love that he usually asks him this, because I'm always curious). John said that he'd slept for most of it, and Flans said he had too but he'd been trying to keep it a secret. Then he said it was part of his "two-part program: sleep all day, then drink an insane amount of coffee."

Then they had some whole long conversation about this self-help guru I don't really know named Tony Robbins. Flans said he'd just watched some Netflix documentary about him, which he expected to be some sort of exposé but was actually "a Trojan horse for him." John said he makes you not believe in self-help and think "I'll help myself, thank you very much." Then he said that his act has gotten a lot more obscene and he's now saying things like "How do you fucking feel?" whereas before he was more "G-rated." Then Flans said he'll yell at someone who "looks like someone's grandmother 'What the fuck is wrong with you?'" John said we should watch this documentary, and Flans said we should set a timer and just watch it for ten minutes.

Then Flans said they were going to be playing "new songs, old songs, and songs we barely know how to play." People cheered, and he said, "Those are our favorites too." Then he said they have a new album and it's really good. John: "We were holding the vial of good and someone jostled our elbow." Then Flans said they're "chuffed" about how good it is.

After "I Left My Body" and "Damn Good Times" (both great as per usual), Flans said the previous song had featured "the psychedelic experience of Dan Miller," and that the Fillmore is "no stranger to endless guitar sounds." Then he said that he didn't have "enough weird guitar sounds" on the next song, and John said that "the stakes are higher" cos it's the Fillmore.

Next they played "Mrs. Bluebeard"--John did not break his sad little streak of screwing up the lyrics every single time I've seen it, siiiiiiiiigh.

After "Your Racist Friend," they played "I Palindrome I," which was another delightful surprise and show highlight for sure--I've only seen it a handful of times, and it's such a good song.

Then, John picked up the contra-alto clarinet.

JF: This is the contra-alto clarinet. The signal for political revolution! JL: Cells, awaken! JF: If not here, when? If not now, where? Maybe I'm harping on this too much. *long pause*

Then they played "All Time What." Afterwards, Flans said that Dan had provided "an adult portion of high notes" on that song.

At the Fillmore they have a person walking around carrying a tray over their head bringing people drinks so they don't have to leave their spot to go to the bar. So the girl who was doing it this time was walking up near the stage (she was nice, I chatted with her a bit at the second show) and Flans said, "It would be interesting if that person didn't work here. There's not enough mustache wax in the world to top that. Not enough top hats in the world to mustache wax that."

Then they played "Bangs" and "Hearing Aid." They're doing an interesting cacophony of sound at the end of the latter, and it's good with Curt's trumpet too. That song is one of the ones I rank lowest on Flood (I don't hate it or anything, just not particularly into it), but it's still been rather enjoyable live somehow (I've been having that experience with quite a few songs that are currently in the set, actually).

Then Flans said that he's seen some movie called Last Waltz (another pop culture reference that was entirely lost on me) like 14 times, so when they play here he imagines an announcer announcing Neil Diamond. Then he asked if they could turn the chandeliers on "at a low volume." Then he said that there was going to be a "Neil Diamond/Van Morrison cage match--only one pantsuit will survive." Then John said that they've played a bunch of shows here before but he can't remember the chandeliers ever being turned on before, and Flans said you have to play a sold-out show to make it happen. They were very pretty, once they were on!

Then they played "The Mesopotamians." I've been burned out on this song live for quite some time, just cos I've seen it a million times, so I was pleasantly surprised when I actually enjoyed it this time.

Next they did the back-to-back thing that I was loving so much at the other shows of "When the Lights Come On" followed by "Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes." GOD, I cannot even handle how good it is seeing two songs as amazing as those two back-to-back like that.

After that, Flans was describing the chandeliers as jellyfish, which was really silly. He said he wished he'd taken some psychedelic drugs to appreciate them more.

JF: There's some commercial on cable TV for some memory tablet that says "Includes an active ingredient found in jellyfish." Because jellyfish remember everything. GUY IN AUDIENCE: IT'S THE STINGER! JF: Yeh, I guess if you're stung by a jellyfish you won't forget it. JL: And neither will the jellyfish. JF: There has to be a German word for that sort of dream logic...This next song features the whole band. JL: The word "features" is being taffy-pulled to mean "includes." JF: It includes an ingredient found in jellyfish.

The song was "This Microphone," which I have been enjoying live (though I think there are several other songs from the album that would be even more suited to a live setting which they haven't yet played for some reason). Afterwards, Flans said they should play it again because there had been some sort of sound coming off the amp during it (I didn't hear anything). He said it reminded him of playing at the 9:30 Club, "where the PA liked to jam with us." Then a couple of crew guys came out to set up new amps, and Flans seemed pretty upset by them having to do this in the middle of the show. He said that one of them was "on the lam from the FBI" and that the other (Jon Carter, one of the very few crew members I can recognize just because he's been working with them forever) is from Vermont and is "made of pure maple syrup."

Flans said they only had a couple more songs to get through before the break between sets. John suggested they take the break now cos of the technical difficulties, but Flans didn't want to for some reason.

To kill time they started talking about Tony Robbins again. Flans said, "He doesn't have an asterisk, but I think he's icing," and that "his head and body are huge. He's going to join the Marvel team." John said he would be saying "How do you fucking feel now?," and Flans said he would be saying "Admit it, Hulk, your mom never loved you!" Then they were asking if the amp was working now and were apparently told that it had been working for several minutes. John: "They're waiting for us!"

So then they played "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal," and as usual I was completely rocking out. And then they played "Birdhouse in Your Soul," and I was thinking that I didn't know if I could handle rocking out to that one when I'd already rocked out so hard to the previous one. But rock out I did!

The second set started the usual way: the "Last Wave" video, then the Quiet Storm section beginning with "Older." John was doing the amusing/creepy pointing as he sang it thing again.

Afterwards, Flans said this section of the show features electronic drums, trumpet, and his "haunted mic chip," followed by some silly sounds.

They played "I Like Fun," then Flans introduced "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" in a way I haven't heard him do it before. He said that these are "contentious times, troubling times" and this next song is an election song from 1840 and is  "mean-spirited and super-hostile," so we should take this as evidence that things being that way now isn't new and "things get better, then they get shittier again, but that doesn't mean it's over." I thought this was an interesting way of thinking of it, and I wonder if it was part of the motivation for them bringing the song into the set.

So they played the song, and then John introduced "James K. Polk" in the same way he has been (with some variation)--by saying that this song is from WAY IN THE FUTURE of 1844, where there are "flying driverless beards" and "electric buggy whips."

After they finished, they bowed, and when they stood all the way up again John said he should finish the bow by playing a flourish on his accordion. I know he was just being silly, but I actually thought that would be cool.

Then they were joking again about the "haunted mic stand." John: "When they got home they found that the mic stand was attached to the car handle somehow!"

Then Flans said their next song was going to be from 1848, and sang the silly "Zachary Taylor has a tail" song he made up the night before. Then he said their next song was from 1852, but neither of them could remember who was president then. Someone yelled that it was Pierce. Flans said he couldn't think of anything to make up about him, and John said he was one in a string of crappy presidents. Flans asked him how, and he said he did things that were contributing factors to the start of the Civil War (I was as always quite excited to hear him showing off his intellect). Then he said his son died in a train wreck so they weren't really allowed to make fun of him, which led to some silence and nervous laughter. Flans: "I think we should take a moment of silence for how badly we're managing this part of the show. It's gone completely off the rails." (Perhaps not the best choice of words in light of what was just said...)

Then they played MY THEME SONG, and it was incredibly special and moving and emotional for me just like every other time I've seen it.

After "Istanbul," Flans started introducing "Bills, Bills, Bills." Once again he was talking about "Tubthumping" first, and some people were cheering, presumably thinking they were going to play that one instead. "For those of you not applauding, don't worry, we're not going to play that song. Because it is a song that, once heard, cannot be unheard."

After "Particle Man" and "The Famous Polka," Flans introduced "Wicked Little Critta" by saying, "Though we're from New York City, we have deep origins in New England. Haunted, cranky, emotionally unavailable New England."

Afterwards, Flans said the next song features Dan on acoustic guitar. John: "It features the word 'feature' as well." Then Flans said Marty only plays kick drum for the whole song, and they tried to talk him into playing other things but he refused.

At some point the chandeliers had turned off, and Flans was saying he wanted them to come on again. People started chanting "Jellyfish! Jellyfish!" I saw Flans saying it too, but I didn't hear him say it at the beginning and I wasn't looking at him right then, so I'm not sure if he was actually the one who started it or if it just started spontaneously in the crowd and then he picked up on it. Then he said that whoever was in charge probably wasn't going to listen because "they might think the band Jellyfish is reuniting." Then: "It's clear someone is on their break." But then they did come on and everyone cheered.

After "Number Three" and "Answer," Flans introduced "Man, It's So Loud in Here" by saying that a few months ago they'd done a Mink Car show. "We played all the songs we know how to play. We left out the ones we don't know how to play, cos we thought that might be socially awkward."

Next was "Twisting" (rocked my face off, as always), and then it was time for band intros. Flans introduced Curt, Dan, and Danny, then he said, "Well, that just about does it!" John was really amused. But then of course he did actually introduce Marty after that, he was just pretending to have forgotten him to be funny.

They closed out the main set with "Doctor Worm," which was superfun as usual.

When they came back for the first encore, they had the house lights on.

JL: Now you know how it feels for us. JF: Confess! I want to do a special long-distance dedication to the guy flipping double birds. I know where you're coming from. I just keep it inside.

Then Flans was saying that in the dressing room they have a poster from some time the Black Crowes (man, this show was just full of pop culture references that went entirely over my head) played five nights in a row, which makes it seem like not such a big deal for them to do two.

The first encore was the same as the previous two nights: "Dead" followed by "Don't Let's Start." Even though it was no longer a surprise at this point, I was still ecstatic to see them playing two of my all-time favorite songs back-to-back.

When they were backstage again between the first encore and the second, I was trying to figure out what the second encore might be. At the previous two shows it was "Doctor Worm," but they'd already played that one so that couldn't be it this time. I decided that I'd love it if it was "No One Knows My Plan," cos I really wanted to conga again.

So they came back and Flans said, "We just have one more song. It's a dance party. We're done thinking, it's time to start dancing." And then they played "The Guitar," which yeh makes a great closer and normally I would've been perfectly contented with it, but since the idea had come into my head minutes before I'd just really had my heart set on "No One Knows My Plan," and Flans's "just one more song" absolutely ruled the possibility out.

But then! But then!! They surprised me by ACTUALLY PLAYING IT!!! I was SO EXCITED. Congaing during that song is seriously THE MOST FUN FUCKING THING EVER. The first two times I got to do it the people in front of me jumped out halfway through the song and I couldn't see where I could get in again, but this time I got to do it for the whole song, and it was so fun. Towards the end two parts of the line were passing by each other and we just all started high-fiving as we went by each other, and I was thinking that we knew how to have a real good time as opposed to all the people who were just standing around watching and MISSIN' OUT. A truly fantastic ending to a fantastic show!

The all-important JL wardrobe report: the same long-sleeved black shirt as the night before for the main set, but a black-and-white stripey t-shirt for the encores.

#tmbg #show reviews