#haven’t watched past season 14 though

[darkxsoulzyx]

I did it again WHEEZING

#darkzyx #tsams #tsams solar flare #rvb wash #rvb washington #chris kratt #is there a wild kratts fandom???? #god I fear the rvb one but my bbg is so silly #haven’t watched past season 14 though #Solar flare wants to crash the car #I’m in the trunk

[daechwitatamic]

Of Ruin: Chapter 14 | KTH

(banner by @itaeewon)

Of Ruin (Masterpost)

Rating: NSFW - minors dni Genre: vampire!au magic!au royalty!au, s2l, slow burn, eventual smut, angst and fluff

Summary: Taehyung of House Rune, Prince of Infracticus has been cursed. You’re the human world’s leading curse-breaker. It should be simple. But unraveling the curse becomes the least of your problems in the face of a world on the brink of civil war… and the love you start to feel for the prince.

A/N: Thank you endlessly to @sailoryooons for betaing!!! 💕 Also thank you to @casuallyimagining for looking over these fight scenes for me!

//

Section Warnings: language, angst, uhhh fighting and explicit violence, blood and injury, tense situations with dangerous vampires, uhhhhh multiple murders wc: 6.3k

“You are not supposed to be here.”

“I left,” you admit, sagging into one of the worn chairs and letting your head fall into your hands. It’s late now, nearing dinner time, and you know Dr. Kim would normally be leaving. “I can go home. I meant to go home. But I left there and started walking and… ended up here.”

He regards you for a long minute. Then, as if he’s made a decision, he sits across from you. You’ve been just like this many times - he behind his desk, you across from it, working out a curse or a class-schedule - but it feels different this time.

You’re so ashamed you can barely stomach it.

You’ve never run away from anything in your life, not like this.

You explain it all, you leave nothing out. The dangers you faced, the mistakes and missteps. The way you learned what you really are, and began learning how to do something with it. How you’d slowly worked the curse to a tipping point. How you’d slowly fallen in love with Prince Taehyung, how you’d thought he felt the same.

But Taehyung throwing around words like Queen… it feels like too much. It feels like something you shouldn’t have, don’t deserve, haven’t earned. It feels like a trick or a trap, and you ran scared like a little bunny.

You tell him all of it.

When you’re done, you watch his ancient face for signs of what he’s going to say, if he’s going to chastise you for letting a job get so out of control.

You take in his expression and your heart sinks.

“You’re going to tell me I have to go back, aren’t you?” you lament, shoulders slumping.

“No, my dear,” Dr. Kim says kindly. “I’m going to tell you to go home.”

“Home?” you echo. “What, you mean, like… go home and sleep on it?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “Go home. To your family.”

—

Dr. Kim had never really understood the way things were with you and your family. You forgave him for it long ago - he clearly had a very different situation. You’ve learned that even more in the past few months spent with his grandson. But even though you know how pointless his advice is… you follow it anyway.

It’s a long train ride to your hometown, and you spend it pressed to the window, watching the backsides of buildings flash by until they give way to the greens and browns of the countryside.

You think about what you might say. You think about what your parents might say back.

You try to remember the last time you’d even spoken, before your assignment to Infracticus, and you can’t recall.

You spent last night alone in your apartment. It had felt all wrong, somehow - like it belonged to someone else. It occurred to you, as you’d walked through your living room, a hand trailing absently over the knickknacks and clutter, that you hadn’t missed any of these things while you’d been gone.

You’d slept fitfully, with the lights on, bolting upright every time you heard footsteps in the hall.

You walk from the train station; the season has turned in the time you’ve been gone, and the air is biting and cold, stinging your face and the inside of your nose. You slip your hands inside your sleeves, wishing you’d grabbed a heavier coat on your way out the door.

You stop a few houses down, leaning against an old, wooden fence. You watch your childhood home silently, rubbing absently at your chill-bitten nose.

You imagine going up and knocking on the door - because it’s been nearly a decade since the days you were comfortable just breezing in and out of their home. You imagine sitting down at the kitchen table, a steaming mug of tea between your frozen fingers, heating up by degrees. Imagine telling your parents, yes, I’ve been on assignment, actually. In Infracticus.

You imagine your father joking, I’m surprised you didn’t find a way to stay.

That’s exactly what you’d done, without even meaning to.

Is this visit supposed to be goodbye? Is it an attempt to ask for their blessing? How can you expect that - of any parent? How can you walk into their house, uninvited, and ask them to tell you goodbye?

Even if it isn’t forever - even if you can promise visits, regular communication - how can you expect anything like the permission you seek? It isn’t fair of you to even ask.

You stand in the cold and think to yourself that maybe you’re best off just leaving things how they are. Maybe keeping them from the truth is better for them.

Because this is what you’ve figured out, the knowledge you’re grappling with: regardless of Taehyung’s feelings for you… you’re going to ask him to turn you.

Even if he doesn’t love you, even if he doesn’t want you to rule with him, you’re going to walk away from your mortality.

The curse calls for the end of a life, and so your mortal life will end.

What happens after - with Taehyung - remains to be seen, it’s true. But you’d been wrestling with this question for days: would you be willing to give up your mortal life to save his immortal one?

Dr. Kim had heard the indecision threaded through your story, and had sent you here, knowing you needed clarity.

And it worked - everything is very clear as you stand alone on the street you grew up on, knowing there’s no place for you here.

You’d never built anything here. You hardly had anything to say goodbye to. No friends were blowing up your phone wondering where you’d been. Your parents didn’t even know you had gone in the first place. Even the university, your job, had simply slipped another professor into your place.

But Infracticus… Taehyung… those things fit.

You’d felt it in the way your magic slipped into the cracks of his, how they fused together easily, perfect counterparts.

You’d felt it in the way you could exist together quietly with the waves of the sea crashing just ahead of you.

You’d felt it in the way his hand wrapped around yours, the way he tried to stay a step ahead of you, moving obstacles out of your way.

You’d felt it in his heavy, hooded gaze, in his mouth against your skin, in his useless heartbeat against yours.

You fit next to him. Maybe - with time, with him - you could build something. In fact, you could build a lot of things. If his vision of the future really came to be, you could do a lot, could play a real part in creating something good, something lasting.

All you’d ever done here was daydream about a world you had no place in.

You’ll have a place there now - either leading at Taehyung’s side, or existing under his rule. Neither seems like a bad option.

It doesn’t feel real. But neither did any of it, at first. If things go how you plan, you’ll have plenty of time to adjust.

You pull your phone out of your pocket and check the train schedule, turning on your heel and heading back the way you came.

Unlike when you left Taehyung, you don’t look back. There’s no reason to.

—

You get back to the city in the early afternoon, and you go directly to the university. Dr. Kim looks up calmly when you enter his office, and simply says, “That was faster than I expected.”

You snort, the tension breaking, and he shuffles some papers as you take your usual chair.

“Well?” he asks, not looking up.

“I think you already know,” you say flatly, but he doesn’t hear you, because the sound of your voice is drowned by heavy footsteps and frantic knocking on the already-open door.

Dr. Kim’s eyes twinkle when he spots whoever is behind you, and you whirl in your chair, jaw dropping.

It’s, of course, Prince Taehyung, but he’s flanked by Satuel and Namjoon. All three of them are in jeans, and the sight of the prince dressed like one of the students here would make you laugh out loud if you weren’t so shocked by their presence.

He steps through the doorway, frowning deeply, eyes on you, and says, darkly, “I didn’t fake anything.”

As if this sentence has been itching to burst from him since you laid the accusation at his feet two nights ago, as if he couldn’t take his next breath until he refuted the very idea.

“What are you doing here?” you ask, standing.

“Come in, come in,” Dr. Kim says urgently, “and close that door before someone sees you.”

Maybe someone closes the door. Maybe they leave it open. Maybe a tornado rips through the room and carries everyone else away. You don’t know, because all you can see is Taehyung’s dark eyes, shining with emotion as he chokes out, “How could you just leave?”

“I had some things I needed to figure out,” you murmur.

He steps closer to you, filling the space, and reaches for your hands. “I never faked a thing,” he repeats, like this is the line he rehearsed. “I tried to explain, but you left so fast. My father may have told me he wanted me to pursue you, but all of it was real. I didn’t care about your magic or what you could bring to the family - I just wanted you.”

And, well, you’ve known that all along. But it’s nice to hear him say it.

Your eyes find the floor, head full of all the other things you two need to talk about. “Okay,” you say quietly.

“Okay?” he parrots, an edge to it. “Okay what? Okay, you’ll come back?”

You look up, but not at Taehyung. You look at Namjoon, and then over your shoulder at Dr. Kim. “I have to go back,” you say. “I figured out what we have to do to break the curse for real.”

—

You hate the feeling of everyone’s eyes on you in the crowded room, but now that everyone is settled in and ready to listen, you have no choice but to speak.

“Namjoon is the death magic expert,” you say, shooting him a little sideways glance. “So, chime in if something seems off. But I was looking at what we have… and reading similar cases… and I think we tried to get around the life for a life counter too quickly.”

“No,” Taehyung says immediately. “We’re not ending a life -”

You hold up a hand, silencing him. “It’s not your decision to make,” you say evenly.

His face contorts. “What are you talking about? Of course it is.”

You shake your head. “It’s mine. We’ll end my life - my mortal life.”

You have to clarify it twice to be heard over the outroar. Taehyung damn near stomps his foot with his cry of protest, and Dr. Kim has risen to his feet. Even Satuel looks struck, her eyes uncharacteristically wide.

“You mean,” Namjoon says slowly, the first one to piece together what you’re saying, “you’ll turn?”

You watch his face carefully for any hints at what he’s thinking, how he feels about this news. “It would work, right?” you ask, even though you’re about ninety-two percent sure on your own. “It’ll count as a life ending? Technically?”

He shoots a nervous look at Prince Taehyung, and then at his grandfather, like he’s not sure which one of them will be more infuriated by his answer. “I… I think it should, yes.”

To your right, Taehyung says your name, voice strangled. “That’s the plan?” he asks, as if begging for someone to tell him he’s got it wrong. “I have to turn you during the counter-curse to satisfy the end of life thread?”

You hold his gaze, your stomach knotting, your throat tightening until you can barely breathe. “Will you?” you ask, the words paper-thin.

He shakes his head, but it doesn’t seem like he’s saying no. “And then what?” he demands. “Have you thought about what this would mean?”

“Extensively,” you say flatly.

He looks around the room for help, his expression stricken. None comes.

“You can’t,” he says, imploring. “There are so many things that could go wrong - what if there’s some kind of attack, and I die? What if my father refuses to pass over the crown, and throws us in jail for trying? What if it does go as I’ve planned, but I go to trial and I’m found guilty for what happened the first night of the curse?”

You hear exactly what he’s really asking - What if you give up your entire life here and it turns out to be for nothing?

You frown. “Taehyung, you can’t live your life based on the worst-case scenario. Maybe none of those things will happen. But even if they do… don’t think that my turning has a… a price that you have to fulfill. I’m not turning just so I can be with you.”

His face goes blank. Before you can process what you’ve done wrong, Namjoon beans you in the forehead with an eraser off his grandfather’s desk.

“Say that better,” he instructs.

“Ow!” you protest, but the distraction helps you catch up to the moment. You meet Taehyung’s eyes even as you bend down to pick the eraser up off the floor. “What I mean is,” you say emphatically, “it doesn’t have to be any kind of commitment. I’ll turn because I want to, and because it will save you, and then… we’ll have time - all the time in the world - to see what comes next. Right?”

Taehyung’s jaw clenches and unclenches as he thinks. He looks around again. “Someone else weigh in here,” he begs, finally. “I can’t agree to this, can I? It’s too much.”

“Maybe we should let you talk alone?” Namjoon suggests, and you look at him, full of gratitude. But, of course, he’s been there all alone, has seen what was happening between you and Taehyung long before you were willing to admit it yourself.

“I’ll take you to the staff room for coffee,” Dr. Kim tells his grandson. “You can catch me up on the situation. But Prince Taehyung’s guard really ought to stay close to him.”

Satuel nods smartly. “I can stand in the hall,” she says, and you fight back a smile, knowing she’s choosing to give you a little privacy.

When they’re gone, Taehyung sags, letting himself sink into the misery of the situation.

“This is not a sacrifice I can allow you to make,” he tells you, eyes round, mouth pulling down unhappily at each corner.

You lean back against Dr. Kim’s desk, considering your words. “It’s not so much of a sacrifice,” you try to explain. “You’d be giving me something, not taking anything away.”

He watches you carefully as he says, “But you couldn’t come back. I mean - for a long time, as you adjust. And then, after, only at certain times, with permission… you’d give up this whole world?”

“Those permitted visits over an immortal life will probably add up to be more time here than I would have had normally,” you point out. “Just not all at once. And maybe, when I come visit… you could come with me?”

He doesn’t speak, just holds your gaze and nods tightly.

You shrug, toying at your bottom lip. “Then that’s already better than what I have now.”

He crosses to you, then, taking you in his arms, and you let him. You allow yourself just one second to be scared and unsure, and then you lean back to look up at him. “I want to do this,” you promise. “No matter what happens after. Even if you decide I’m boring and you fall in love with someone else and -”

He scowls. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m just saying,” you tease, smiling a little. “Even if the worst happens - whatever version of the worst you want - I still choose this.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know if I can do it,” he admits. “I don’t know if I can hurt you like that.”

“I’ll be okay,” you promise, though this is the part that’s scary - the turning process. “I’ll be okay, because I know you’ll be there. I know you’ll take care of me.”

“Yes,” he pouts, “but who will take care of me while I’m panicking over you?”

“Namjoon,” you say sagely, pleased when a laugh rips through him, rumbling in his chest.

He sighs. “We’ll be okay?” he asks.

You don’t think he means individually. But you include it in your answer when you squeeze your arms around and say, confidently, “We will. I know we will.”

He leans down to kiss you, softly at first, his lips light against yours. Then, more firmly. You melt against him, happy to be held, happy to be loved, happy to see a solution shimmering in the distance.

“You know,” he says softly, when he pulls away, “I don’t want to add any weight to this… we can see what happens after, like you said. But… I consider you my intended. That’s just… that’s how I feel.”

A shiver runs through you, thrilling and terrifying both at once. “There’s time for that after,” you say, accidentally repeating what Namjoon had told you once. “I promise.”

—

Taehyung and Satuel leave first, though she practically has to drag him.

“Promise you’re following us,” he demands on his way out.

You laugh. “As soon as we nail down this countercurse, we’ll head straight to the Ostium.”

“Don’t even stop for food,” he warns, but you know it’s a joke. Or, partly a joke.

“Not even fries?”

He considers this, then turns to Satuel. “Actually, can we stop for fries?”

She rolls her eyes. “Come on. You need to be back before midnight.”

This sobers everyone.

“Perhaps for the last time,” you say hopefully.

“Don’t say that if you aren’t sure,” Taehyung says darkly, and then kisses you goodbye, right in front of everyone, like he doesn’t even care.

“I love you,” he says, low, and you feel it down to your toes. “Don’t do anything foolish until you’re back with me.”

“Roger that,” you try to smile.

Satuel and Taehyung disappear down the hallway, so lightning quick that you can’t even watch them walk away.

Dr. Kim goes to start a pot of coffee.

Namjoon gives you a wry, knowing smile, and begins to organize paper and pens.

The three of you work all night, and it’s after four in the morning when you finally sit back, set down your pen, and declare it ready.

—

It’s still before sunrise when you pass through the Ostium, pausing to bandage up your hands after crossing - you were prepared, this time.

It’s clear right away that something is very wrong; not only is Satuel not there to pick you up, as agreed upon before she left, but the Ostium isn’t even manned. The whole building is empty, your footsteps echoing as you cross to the door leading out into Infracticus.

Your heart racing, you turn to look at Namjoon. It’s clear he’s thinking the same thing.

“What the -?” you start, as you step out of the Ostium into the pre-dawn purple. A coach is parked there, a team of amarisca hitched and ready to go.

Beside you, Namjoon shouts, already starting to run. Too late, you see the prone body on the ground, on the other side of the carriage.

“Satuel,” you manage, covering your mouth in horror, as you round the corner and spot her. Namjoon crouches, holding her up. Thick, viscous sangru - what Infracti have instead of blood pumping through their bodies - pools around her, as black as her eyes. It looks like an oil spill around her. You spy a gash on her neck, but there must be more.

“The palace,” she gasps, her wild eyes finding yours. “The prince.”

“Go,” Namjoon instructs. “I’ll stay here, I’ll help her -”

You don’t wait for the rest. You tear around the side of the carriage and start fumbling with the clasps of the first amarisca until it’s free from the rest of the team.

You turn back to where Namjoon is still cradling Satuel’s unmoving body. “The prince has a private stable at the beach,” you call to him frantically. “Get her there - I’ll send help as soon as I can.”

Namjoon nods in understanding, his face drawn and desperate, and you dig your hands deep in the amarisca’s mane and throw a leg over, urging it to move, clinging tightly as it begins its rocking gait over the road leading to the palace doors.

The palace looms in the distance, and you urge the amarisca to go faster, squeezing your calves and whispering pleas, though the latter does nothing for you. It seems like it’s not even getting closer, though the trees stream by you on either side.

Please let him be okay, you think as you frantically ride. It’s almost dawn - he would just be coming out of the curse, any second now. If the palace is under attack, would it be a hindrance or a help for him to be only beast?

Finally, the palace seems to grow in size, looming over you as the road curves around an approach.

You’re knocked from the amarisca’s back so quickly that you don’t have time to register what happened, hitting the ground with an unattractive grunt as all the breath is knocked from your lungs.

“Fuck!” you scream, as soon as you can inhale, pounding a fist against the dirt, because you failed, didn’t even make it to the palace, and now you’re going to die at the hands of some random Infracti, at the side of the road -

“Shut up,” the Infracti hisses, tugging at your arm, and you go limp because you think you might recognize his voice.

“S-Seokjin?” you whimper, turning to see if you’re right. You are, but he doesn’t answer you as he pulls you swiftly away from the road. Now you’re less sure you’re about to die, but it’s unclear.

“Listen,” he says, quietly, tugging you behind some brush and crouching. You follow his lead, eyes wide. “We’ve got about thirty of us infiltrating the castle. Probably a few teams are already in. They’re going after the royal family - that’s their only goal.”

“You’re - what?” you stammer.

“Focus,” he snaps. “I’ll help how I can, but I’m not going to out myself, and neither will Jungkook. Get in there, find Taehyung, and get him out. I don’t care where you go with him - just out of the palace. Don’t worry about the King and Queen, protect Taehyung. Can you do that, witch?”

You nod, unable to speak, mind already flying through your memories of the palace corridors, trying to think of the fastest way to the rooms where Taehyung spends his cursed nights.

“Go,” he urges you, releasing your arm. “I’ll cover your back as best I can until you’re inside.”

“Thanks,” you let out hollowly, taking a steadying breath. And then you run.

—

The first set of doors you come across is locked from inside, but you press your hands to the metal mechanism and call for all the magic you can reach until you hear gears turning, and - finally - a telling click.

You let yourself inside and quickly scan the corridor. It’s deserted - which is honestly a bad sign. The guards are somewhere else, which means there’s already trouble somewhere else.

You jog, making sure to peer around every corner, knowing that if any of the Score soldiers hear your heartbeat or smell your blood it’ll be over before you can even fight it. But there’s not much you can do, and you’ll be safer once you find Taehyung, so you hurry on until you reach the wing where he spends his nights.

You hear voices before you see them, but you round a corner to find a crowd of guards - Taehyung’s guards. He’s standing at the far side of the group, dictating orders. Over their heads, he spots you, does a double take. You watch him close his eyes for the barest second, relief clear on his face, and then he’s waving you over even as he continues speaking to the Infracti closest to him.

“Change of plans,” he’s saying as you approach, breathless. “The ten of you, join that group, get my parents to the safe room.”

“But, Maiesti, that leaves you without -”

“I don’t need you,” he says, sure, looking at you. “Not now that she’s here. My parents are sitting ducks. My venefici can fight with me.”

A few Infracti call out orders, and they separate into three groups, filtering out of the hallway in waves, leaving you and the prince quite alone.

“Did you just send away all of your guards?” you ask, horrified.

“My parents need them more,” he says, tone steely. “I’m not going to run - I’m going to take out as many of them as I can. Will you stay and fight with me? ”

“Taehyung,” you say frantically, trying to break through his resolve and get him to hear you. “They got Satuel - I had Namjoon take her to Potato’s stable, but it looked really bad.”

He stands there, frozen, caught between fighting for his family or saving his trusted guard. You know what choice you’d make, but you wait silently, anxiously shifting from foot to foot, and let him get there by himself.

“Alright,” he says finally, clearly displeased. “Fastest way to the stables is through here.”

—

Taehyung gets what he wants anyway. You hardly get anywhere before stumbling across a pack of the Scores.

They’re ready for you - five of them, all crouched defensively - likely heard your traitorous human heartbeat. But they don’t know who you are; they don’t know what you can do.

You send a blast towards their feet, which knocks three of them onto their backs. Beside you, Taehyung moves like liquid, in a way you’ve never seen before, a dark blur vanishing from your side and reappearing down the corridor, locked hand-in-hand with one of them, snarling viciously as they clash.

You can’t just stand and watch; the second Infracti you’d left standing is zipping towards you, a flash of motion, and you throw a wall up around yourself. He hits it with a sickening crunch before falling to the ground. Down the corridor, Taehyung seems to have finished off the one he was wrestling with, and is now rolling over a second man, fangs bared and black with sangru, growls and snarls rippling out of both of them.

You can’t watch, can’t keep an eye on him, because the two remaining Scores are up and they are pissed. You don’t have a single second to think, you can only react. You throw a hand towards the ceiling, shouting the spell you’ve favored since the beginning, and a large chunk of stone falls with a boom that rattles your bones, nearly knocking you off your feet. Dust flies into the air, and you shield your eyes, coughing a little.

You take stock of the situation as soon as you can see again. You only got one of them with the chunk of ceiling, and you can hear Taehyung still fighting on the other side of the unsettled dust. Which means there’s still one -

He’s on you. You don’t even know which direction he came from, but you’re on the ground and he’s snarling over top of you, fingers digging into your upper arms, black eyes narrowed in effort, fangs bared.

You kick and buck, trying to get free enough that you can use your hands and try to throw a spell, but nothing works.

“Taehyung!” you scream, and then the weight is off of you - as if the Infracti was never there. You sit up, frantically, and then you find him - rolling in battle just feet away, snarling and snapping at a sandy-haired body that growls loudly back.

Jimin.

You run for Taehyung, but he meets you halfway, hands reaching for yours desperately. There’s a smear of sangru down his face, but he seems okay.

“Jimin,” you pant, pointing behind you, and Taehyung vanishes into a flash of color again, rushing to help his friend.

By the time you reach them, it’s over. The Infracti that had pinned you lies still on the ground, his head at an angle that makes your stomach lurch.

“You have to get out,” Jimin blurts. “They’re here for you, they only want you.”

“We’re going,” you say, trying to give Taehyung a tug. He doesn’t budge. A growl rumbles from his chest, but it’s subdued. He’s not fighting, just frustrated.

“I know you want to fight,” you say, still tugging, “but Satuel -”

“Shhh,” Jimin says suddenly, holding up a hand.

You freeze, listening.

They’re already here.

They come in that formless blur of color, surrounding the three of you and stilling, their bodies filtering back into view.

Everyone is moving at once. It’s impossible to keep track of anyone, friend or foe. All you can do is try not to become anyone’s prey.

You choose a direction and slam a burst of magic at them. It knocks two of them back, but there are more coming for you.

Your fear gets the better of you; you forego defensive walls and arc your hand over your head, shouting a spell that’s meant to cut, one of the few offensive moves you’d practiced what feels like ages ago.

Time slows as you watch black sungru spurts from an Infracti’s chest, her eyes rolling back as she staggers to her knees before dropping.

Another Infracti flies towards you, lightning fast, face contorted, fangs ready. Somebody tugs you out of the way, and you stumble after them, getting it together enough to throw up a wall between you and the attack.

You glance backwards enough to see that it’s Jungkook who saved you, but you can’t dwell on it. Just ahead of you, Jimin’s raking his teeth across someone’s neck, sangru bubbling down their throat in the wake of his fangs. He drops the body unceremoniously and launches himself at another.

You look around frantically, trying to find Taehyung. You don’t find him before you’re grabbed from behind. You scream, feeling fingertips digging painfully into your upper arms. You throw your head back as hard as you can and hear the crunch as you make contact.

You spin around wildly, throwing a blast that sends your assailant flying across the corridor. He crumples to the ground, and you turn away, going back to your search for Taehyung.

You spot him just as one of the Scores leaps onto his back, the same way they’d done to you moments ago. Taehyung twists in the other man’s grasp and gives a brutal kick; the Score staggers away and Taehyung launches himself at his attacker, knocking them both to the ground. When Taehyung bares his fangs and lowers his head, you look away. But you still hear the scream cut short into a feeble gurgle.

To your left, Jimin is grappling with one of them, their hands locked. You throw a protective wall around yourself and inch closer, trying to determine if you can help without hurting Jimin, too.

Jimin spots you, his eyes widening.

“Back up!” you yell, trying to make your way closer.

His face goes taut and he gives you a nod, understanding what you mean to do. He gives the Infracti he’s fighting a mighty shove, successfully putting a few feet between them.

You attack instantly, before the gap can be filled, sending a blast so strong that it knocks Jimin backwards, too. He lands gracefully, having only been grazed, and gets up quickly, looking between you and the Score you’d just flattened against the stone wall.

“Nice shot,” he breathes.

“Help Taehyung,” you answer, panting.

You both take off down the hall to where you’d last seen the prince. He and Jungkook stand alone, two more bodies motionless on the ground between them. They’re both breathing hard.

“We have to go,” Taehyung manages, as soon as he spots you.

Jimin steps towards Jungkook and for a second you panic, thinking he doesn’t know that Jungkook is on your side, but instead of fighting they seem to hug - clasping the back of each other’s necks and pressing their foreheads together for one breathless second before breaking apart again.

“Stay safe,” Jungkook says. It comes out like a warning.

“You, too,” Taehyung says, and steps past you, grabbing for your hand as he goes. “We’re almost out - let’s move.”

—

Day is breaking in full when you finally breach the palace’s walls.

“Hurry,” you say needlessly, rushing to the stone stairs that lead down to Taehyung’s private stable. You hope Namjoon made it there, you hope Satuel is still hanging on.

You’re shaking so bad that you miss a step, adrenaline wreaking havoc on your systems. You catch yourself on the banister and continue on, Taehyung and Jimin right behind you.

There are no guards at the stable, and you burst through the door in a rush. Namjoon jumps to his feet, a rake in his hands like a weapon.

“It’s us, it’s us,” you blurt out, trying to look past him. “Is she - are we in time?”

“I really don’t know,” Namjoon admits, lowering the rake and letting you all inside. Jimin closes the door carefully, locking it from the inside.

You make your way into the empty space beside Potato’s stall, where Satuel’s body lies. She’s unmoving; it doesn’t seem like she knows you’re there.

“Okay, Healer,” you say, looking at Taehyung.

He kneels by his guard’s side, examining the places where she was ripped open. He shakes his head. “This requires more than I’m capable of.”

You step closer, kneeling beside him. “What if I help?” you suggest.

He looks at you, something unreadable flashing across his face. “You think you could?”

You nod. “If we merge magical signatures, the way we did for the ritual? You should be able to pull from my power - borrowing from me. I’ll be like… a battery?”

He smiles despite the desperate situation.

“Alright,” he says. “Let’s try - we’ve no time to spare.”

You settle onto your bottom on the dirty, wooden floor. Taehyung takes your hand, and you close your eyes and focus on your breathing, inhaling and exhaling as slowly as you can with fear still running rampant through your system.

After a few minutes - admittedly longer than normal - you feel your magic rise up inside you, warm and soothing and ready. You feel the familiar sensation of it reaching for Taehyung’s magic, little tentative tendrils poking around until they find the empty spaces between his.

The feeling when the two magical signatures meet and accept each other is euphoric, and you fight not to lose yourself in it, to stay focused.

Beside you, Taehyung starts running his hands over the visible gashes, the places where it seems like chunks are missing. The skin stitches itself back together easily under his touch, but you can tell it isn’t enough. Satuel doesn’t stir, her unfocused eyes staring blankly at the ceiling above you.

You can feel it, the exact moment when what he’s trying to do becomes too much for Taehyung’s magic. It pulls on yours sharply, an alarming sensation behind your ribcage.

You inhale. You exhale. You don’t fight it. You let him tug magic from you, you tell your systems that you trust him with all of it.

Taehyung doesn’t give up, keeping his hands above Satuel’s undead heart, letting your magics both flow into her, fixing what’s been broken, restarting what’s shut itself down.

She blinks - that’s the first sign. Her eyes blink once and then focus on Taehyung, and then slide shut. They stay shut, which alarms you, but then you see her fingers twitch.

“Your Majesty,” she breathes, eyes still closed. You sag with relief, and you feel your magical connection to Taehyung untangle, your magic curling back up inside you, tendrils coiling back up and retreating.

Taehyung closes his own eyes, but he doesn’t release your hand. Behind you, you hear Namjoon press closer.

“Rest,” Taehyung says. “All of you. We should be safe here. Rest.”

You settle in on the floor, backs against the wooden walls of the stable, eyes on the door. You listen to the ocean pound the shore outside, listen for the cries of gulls to warn of danger. Namjoon sits to your right, his tight gaze on the door. Prince Taehyung crouches to your left, ready to spring to his feet.

It’s over an hour before Taehyung’s guards find you, inform him that the palace is clear.

“My parents?” Taehyung asks, standing and brushing hay and dirt from his pants.

“The King and Queen are perfectly alright,” the guard tells him with a quick bow.

Taehyung straightens beside you, and you recognize him in royal mode, even before his voice comes out cold and controlled. “Very well. I need Satuel to be taken to the Elders for proper healing. And tomorrow morning I’ll be having an audience with my father and the curse-breakers. Please inform him.”

The guard bows again and backs out of the doorway, probably to go get backup to help move Satuel’s weakened body. You look at Taehyung quizzically, but you don’t feel afraid, not with his hand still in yours.

He meets your gaze evenly. “A year ago,” he says, still cold, which means he’s scared, “my father made me some promises, and broke them. Tomorrow, he’s going to make me a few more - and you’re going to help me make sure he can’t break them again.”

<- Prev | Next ->

!!!!! I can't believe there's only two more after this!!!! It's all coming to a close!!

thank you so much for reading!!! chapter 15 will go up next week as planned!

#bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts fic #bts supernatural au #bts royal au #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fic #taehyung x reader #taehyung smut #taehyung angst #taehyung x you #taehyung x y/n #kim taehyung fic #kim taehyung fanfic #kim taehyung smut #kim taehyung angst #supernatural au #royal au #s2l #magic au #fic: of ruin

[angst-buritto-wips-writing]

X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies) WIP Dark!Charles Cherik

Charles often wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t been born with his mutation and had been unable to hide it during his early years, and had instead gained it at a later age when he would be more wary and knew to keep it hidden. Would his mother have still had him committed until he learned to hide his mutation and pretend to be normal? Would he be a better person? A worse person? Would he have met Raven under the same circumstances?

 He met Raven on his first week out of the asylum at 14, her at 8, and he manipulated the household and their minds to believe she was his sister and had lived there all her life; it had her in awe and fear at the same time, but that was replaced with hero worship when he got the story of her parents from her, and within the week, and after a trip to upstate New York, informed her that she didn’t have to worry about her parents any longer. It was no big loss, really; they were terrible people, and Charles was doing the world a favour — anyone who tried to drown their child when they found out about their gift deserved what was coming to them, in Charles’ opinion.

Now, 28 years old and watching dispassionately as the scientist, who had been experimenting on the semi-unconscious teen lying on the metal table, writhed on the floor, as his red face slowly turned purple because he had conveniently forgotten how to breathe. When the human finally went limp, brain empty and pulse no longer beating, Charles stepped over the trash and motioned at the mind he could feel coming into the room behind him.

“Did you get the files, Raven?” Charles asked his sister, not looking up from studying the restraints on the boy. They looked like they were made specifically to hold the teen — Subject H171, according to the tattoo on the teen’s arm. Charles sneered; these humans were no better than Nazis, branding anyone they deemed less-than-human with numbers, stripping their identity from them and experimenting on them.

Only a moment later, he realized there was another mind with Raven. This mind felt…it felt. 

The pain, sadness and rage, yet still with a core of aching brightness not yet snuffed pouring off this mind, had Charles salivating. Charles wanted to wrap himself in that mind and drown in its beating pulse, wanted to plant himself in it and grow roots upon roots and let it grow fruit, let seasons pass and grow a forest full of just himself and ErikErikErik. 

Turning around, hoping his face didn’t show his hunger, Charles came face to face with one of the most devastatingly handsome yet dangerous-looking men he had ever seen. 

He had the most intriguing grey-green eyes, which Charles first noticed about Erik Lehnsherr. Those eyes were haunted by whatever ghosts lay in Erik’s past, and Charles had to force himself not just to take the knowledge of what those ghosts were from Erik’s mind. 

And Erik’s mutation…it was a beautiful thing — a Ferrokinetic, how fascinating. While a gorgeous gift, it would also be incredibly useful.  

“Who’s this?” Charles asked lightly, throwing the teens arm over his shoulder and lifting him up.

Raven rolled her golden eyes at him. “As if you haven’t read his mind already, Charles. You know exactly who he is.”

Erik’s attention snapped to him, and his lips parted, looking surprised, then awed. 

“Indeed, though It’s always polite to ask, darling,” Charles conceded. 

“You can read minds?” Erik asks. Was the man always shirtless? He looked like he could use a good meal or twenty, but he was still achingly gorgeous. “Is that your curse?”

Charles frowned and narrowed his eyes, immediately seeking the memory attached to Erik’s misunderstanding of mutations. He stepped into a memory.

“Mein junge. Mein kleiner,” Herr Doktor crooned, cupping his face, “Your powers are destructive, a curse; imagine if we could make your curse work for us?”

“Du..Du hast meine Mutter getötet.” You killed my mother.

“Nein, mein kleiner, du hast sie getötet, with your curse. But I can teach you how to control the power, use all that rage towards other means, hm? The Nazis think small, Mein Junge, but I think big, ja?”

“…Ja, Herr Doktor.”

“Wunderbar.”

More flashes of the Camps and Herr Doktor Schmidtt, the experiments, the torture, pushing Erik’s power beyond its limits until he passed out for days at a time, nose and ears bleeding and eyes bloodshot with broken vessels, passed through Charles’ mind until he got to the memories of the Camps being raided and Erik being rescued, only for his power to be discovered and Erik being sent into the nearest American government lab, then another, and another, for years, until a gloriously blue woman in a short skimpy leather outfit burst through the doors of the operating room where they were about to amputate his hands to see if that would affect his control over his power, and killed the surgeons and the Doktor’s with a flash of blue hands and feet.

Blinking, Charles took a moment to control his rage, unwilling to accidentally hurt his sister or the two mutants in the room by letting them feel the full force of his anger. Judging by Erik’s flinch, though,  he was unable to hide the rage that showed on his face. 

“Oh, my friend, I am not angry at you; I am angry at everyone who hurt you and this boy, Those humans who told you that your gift was a curse. You are not alone, Erik.” Charles smiled at the man. “You are not alone, and you are not cursed.”  

Charles hadn’t even noticed he had moved to stand close to Erik or that he had reached out to cup the older man’s cheeks between his palms, not until he felt the aborted sob that Erik let out at Charles’ words.  

#magneto #charles xavier #erik lensherr #cherik #fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #do not steal

[davenweenie]

⚠️HUGE TW FOR TALK OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN TV SHOWS⚠️

I haven’t seen many zombie movies or shows, I have just seen the big ones like TLOU and TWD but there seems to be a theme of the kid main characters getting SA’d by the ‘rival’ survival groups. The obvious one is Ellie from TLOU nearly getting r*ped when she was kidnapped by the cannibal cult group which lead to her stabbing and killing her attacker.

Then we have Carl Grimes from TWD who also nearly got r*ped (in season 4 I think) which lead to his attacker also getting stabbed and killed. I don’t remember the exact details of either one of these as it’s been a while since I watched anything zombie related but I just find it an odd coincidence that both kid characters experienced a very similar situation. I feel like Ellie’s SA storyline was handled a lot better than Carl’s though, I feel like a lot of people look past what happened to Carl. Maybe because he’s a boy or just because it wasn’t really brought up much in the story.

Either way, both of these scenes had me crying for these poor little kids. They were both only like 14, it’s just awful.

#the walking dead #carl grimes #the last of us #ellie tlou #joel tlou #rick grimes

[know-the-way]

The stages so far of me binging the entirety of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (spoilers if you haven’t watched it before):

1. “Yeah, the 1920s hasn’t ever really been your preferred vibe, but so many of your friends like this show, and you love ‘Clue’ which seems similar, so just bite the bullet and go.”

2. “Wait, they’re Australian? What? Did I know this before and forgot?”

3. “Ohhhh right, Miranda Otto was in this! I did know that. And she’s a cocaine lord?! Nice. Don’t get to see her in many villain roles.”

4. *first scene with Phryne & Jack* “Oh, he has a very nice deep voice, okay I see I see mmmhm okay. … Why is so he so sulky, though? Big ‘who hurt you’ vibes. Intriiiiigue… “

5. “OH dEaR oh mY, there is banter and cheeky looks, this is bad, coDE RED, pretty sure this is your LAST chance to exit before this becomes a #problem.”

6. *does not exit* *becomes a #problem*

7. “Oh, so she’s gonna be banging lots of men with no emotional attachment (when there is clearly some tragic past hiding under the surface as to why that might be)? So an emotionally damaged woman who copes with her traumas by deflecting said emotions through sex and other various reckless behaviors? Babe… *cups face gently* babe, babe, babe. You’ve made this beyond a problem now. Because every little glimpse of vulnerability among your extremely out-of-hand savior complex is gonna make me fall in love with you more and more… just like the tall, broody inspector man over there (who still has a very nice voice and sad, kind eyes and who you seem to be afraid of being smitten with for ~*some reason*~). Anyway, Jack and I, we’re both fucked.”

8. Wdym they both have traumas from the war & from past relationships, that they both witnessed an unimaginable amount of loss, and that both are broken so deeply that they built fortresses of ice around their hearts to protect themselves AND YET BOTH OF THEM THAW JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE WITH THEIR EVERY INTERACTION? Fuck OFF! This is not FAIR!

9. “Miss Fisher was actually on her way home.” He said that with a fully clenched jaw and a step forward. Fuuuuccckk, there’s gonna be smoldering jealousy, too? Just slap me in the face, the amount of longing I’m about to witness… Jack, it’s okay buddy, we’re in this together. There’s something special about you and she’s gonna figure it out… after what appears to be several seasons and perhaps a feature film. But she’ll figure it out! Stay strong, soldier! I’m rooting for you!

10. “Oh God, her little sister was murdered. As someone who loves my own sister dearly, that’s fucking awful, this is hurting me deeply, and I really do not like it. 🥺 … AND THE MURDERER IS DUE TO BE RELEASED? AbSoLUTELY not! … WDYM THERE’S ALSO AN ABUSIVE EX?! And he’s come back to MURDER HER over a naked painting of her younger self like a fucking CREEP?!*”

(*not a correct summarization of what happened, but not not correct)

Anyway, I found the tragic past!

11. “Abusive ex is played by Peter O’Brien? With a ‘French’ accent? *snort* I mean, okay, it’s a choice. Anyway… what a douche… moving on… “

12. Aw, they kissed! *claps* And so soon! I mean, it was under horrible circumstances, but it happened… and with lingering looks to boot? You know what, I’ll take it. ‘Cause, I mean, look at them… and like let’s not talk about the juxtaposition of Phryne’s panic over seeing someone who once hurt her being redirected by a kiss from someone who would never hurt her… and Jack subsequently lunging for an armed René to stop him from taking Phryne… we’ll just ignore that for now

13. Felt the “I am not afraid of you” in my bones. Good shit.

14. “You kissed me. … You kissed me back!” Children, please. This is a Wendy’s.

This is as far as I’ve gotten, but omg what a fun ride so far. Friends who tried to recommend this to me for YEARS, I am SO sorry I slept on it. I understand now and your taste is impeccable. *muah*

#mfmm #it’s 5am idk

[localplaguenurse]

So uh idk how to present this

But blood is a substitute for eggs in baking so the substitution ratio is like 65g of blood for one egg (approx. 58g), or 43g of blood for one egg white (approx. 33g)

So that means if you want to make a vegan baked good, you can just stab yourself. I mean you consented to it right, so doesn’t that make it vegan?

Also this is totally my agenda for why vampires can eat normal food because I’m starting to get sick of “vampires can’t eat normal food” bs

Also doesn’t that mean that technically speaking. Wifey can just eat eggs as a blood substitute

Oh I knew that lmao. I wanted to be a horror author when I was younger, so I know a lot of weird facts.

Vampires can’t eat normal foods reminds me of when I watched Tokyo Ghoul when I was 14 and when they were like “we can only eat meat and coffee” my brain went down a rabbit hole of “what could a ghoul theoretically eat?” I’m not up to date with the series at all btw and again I was in middle school but hear me out regardless and assume my thought process applies to vampires.

So they primarily eat human meat but Touga (?) was fine eating Kaneki in a pinch (granted he was human before) so surely they can eat the flesh of other animals, like pigs and chickens and cows. They don’t even eat that often, so surely you can just save up money, buy a few high quality steaks every now and then, eat them raw, and be good for a while. Also, they drink coffee. Do they add milk to coffee? If they add milk, does it have to be cow’s milk, or could it be any animal milk? If they can drink milk, then does that mean they can eat cheese? And if we’re going down the road of milk, there’s no reason they can’t eat eggs, both because of the blood substitute thing and also if milk is safe to consume as an animal byproduct while not being flesh, SURELY eggs count too.

This is legitimately a thought process I had during my rather brief Tokyo Ghoul phase, and have continued to have because I haven’t read the manga to actually see why the ghouls can only eat humans or watched anything past season 1.

So my rough headcanon/worldbuilding is that vampires don’t really need to eat, but they can, it just won’t give them the nutrients needed for their new metabolism or satiate the bloodlust. Like if you wanna eat cake to keep your vampirism a secret, or because cake is delicious, then go for it. There are alternatives to drinking blood, namely consuming a high protein/iron diet through predominantly eating meat/animal products and perhaps taking like iron supplements. This will not deter bloodlust though. The only way to combat bloodlust is to either indulge in a feeding, or to lock yourself away and try to wait out the symptoms. The symptoms do fade after some time, but they will come back stronger next time if you don’t drink some actual blood in the meantime. If you have a willing participent, you can feed off of them a bit and then take iron supplements after a feeding so you don’t totally drain them. Human blood is preferable but animal blood also works.

Assume my thought process applies to wifey, but wifey also doesn’t have to do all that because Morax is kind of an infinite blood glitch because Archon and adeptus powers.

#ask #as gold as the ginkgo trees #ivy! #vamp wifey au

[merlinxmagic]

My thoughts on the s2 soundtrack

SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE GRISHAVERSE BOOKS BELOW!!

1. On the run: definitely alina mal in some dramatic chase scene in ep 1

2. Market chase: Mal (and possibly alina) running in the village in the sneak peak we got in september

3. Tolya and Tamar: Alina and Mal meet Tolya and Tamar

4. Wylan: No explanation needed but AHHHHHH. says a lot that he’s the only character with the track as simply their name. superior king

5. Come Sail Away: Dramatic moment on Nikolai’s ship, where they first set sail or smth

6. Brother: Jordie flashback (SO SOON THO, assuming the soundtrack is in order). 

7. Arriving at the Island: Nikolai’s ship docks at an island where they look for the sea whip, I haven’t read S&S in a hot minute so don’t count me on this one

8. Crows ambushed: :( Probably involves Pekka

9. Return of the Useless Grunt: No idea who this is... definitely something to do with Ketterdam and the Dregs tho

10. I’m Here for the Killers: Kaz related I’m guessing, perhaps him talking to the crows and reminding what they’re here for, inducing a ruthless mindset

11. Matthias fights: Hellgate scene ay

12. The Night We Met: Christina Strain posted this on twitter with an explosion emoji so I think we’re safe to assume it’s for wesper!! so we ARE getting tannery scene?? I’m so confused haha

13. Become the Blade: It’s mal doofuses

14. Jesper’s Past: AHHHHHH

15. Hope is Dangerous: Inej, a darker moment for her character this season (perhaps the way she is ‘tested’ that Amita referred to in an interview a long time ago?). Or maybe this is the scene in the trailer where she is fighting the Shu warrior?

16. Shu Han: Party arrives in Shu Han I’m guessing, the crows are involved too I bet since they seem to be in Shu Han in the trailer

17. The Disciple: Something to do with s&b, possibly the apparat? I need to reread that series before s2

18. I Can’t Lose You: Malina (perhaps alludes to Darkling’s remark “Are you prepared to sacrifice that which is most precious to you?”)

19. Deserve Her: Kanej or Malina, could be Helnik but I have no idea where they’re going with Nina and Matthias and if they will even meet other than in Matthias’s dreams

20. Chased: Not sure, either crows or Mal and Alina again

21. Battle at the Moat: Was this where Wylan was with Kaz and he was throwing a bomb at Tamar? I was never sure if Tamar was actually part of that scene or if they were different ones. Either of those shots are definitely involved her though

22. Stronger Than An Emerald: I’m guessing this is related to Pekka (Emerald Palace), and definitely is true since Kaz ended up refurbishing the place and renaming it The Silver Six (adorable btw). But if so, does that mean the crows have now returned to Ketterdam? Or has Pekka Rollins joined them in Shu Han? Or did they never go to Shu Han in the first place?

23. We Can Do This: Perhaps the scene with Kaz, Jesper, Wylan, Tolya, Tamar, Nikolai, and Adrik where they are watching the nichevoya and about to attack?

24. Final Goodbye: Crows part with s&b crew, or maybe the darkling and alina. Or if they reach the end of r&r and mal is about to sacrifice himself for alina?

25. Let Me Be Your Monster: Darkling, move on

26. Loss ad Sacrifice: Never mind, THIS is probably where mal sacrifices himself?? Or maybe Genya and the nichevoya?

27. Hope for the Future: Ending theme, perhaps ties in with the Inej track

28. How Will You Have Me: this is going to be the best scene in the show. 

29: Rise And Fall: idk man probably s&b related

Notes:

- this season is going to be INSANE. i’m really excited and scared because I’ve been waited for this for two years and... wow. 

- no Nikolai track? Maybe ‘come sail away’ is for him?

- hyped for march 10 when i will be able to listen to them and analyze all of these further!

#sab #s&b #six of crows #soc #sab netflix #shadow and bone netflix #shadow and bone soundtrack #shadow and bone s2 #sab s2 #s&b s2 #kanej #wesper #helnik #malina #nikolai lantsov #malyen oretsev #alina starkov #wylan van eck #wylan hendriks #jesper fahey #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #nina zenik #matthias helvar

[samuelerssonupdates]

MARCH 14, 2024 FLYERS V LEAFS 6-2 LOSS

In last night's game, Samuel Ersson had:

12 saves

3 goals against

.750 SV%

This sort of thing is happening to a few goalies around the league: they are being overplayed and dropping games for it. I’m referring mostly to Alex Lyon, who with the Red Wings has lost the past seven games, but he has started nearly every one of those games in that time period. Lyon, along with Ersson, is the other goalie in my fantasy team, so I fully may be at the bottom of my league right now - I haven’t checked the standings recently. That being said, I chose them for my fantasy team for a reason and there they shall stay, because I am nothing if not loyal to my goalies.

Maybe Ersson isn’t ready to be a starter, maybe he’s just sitting in net behind an absolutely crippled Flyers defense, maybe he just needs a really good nap. Whatever the case may be, he seems as though he needs a good reset, but he can’t get that if they don’t start Sandström every once in a blue moon. Sandström is a good goalie - he proved it last night - and he should start some games for the Flyers down this stretch so that Ersson is able to get any modicum of rest. From going from playing every other game in the first half of the season to playing nearly EVERY game is a huge, huge change, especially for a player that is on the ice for all 60+ minutes of the game.

Ersson has: good instincts and good patience, a good mindset, flexibility, good edgework (re: Lundqvist!) and is only 24. This is only the beginning of his career. Keep watching.

#sam ersson #samuel ersson #SEU #flyers

[chainofclovers]

tagged by: @talldecafcappuccino (thanks! <3)

last song: I was driving home from Target earlier listening to my 2022 mix and the last song that played start to finish was song of the moment/song of my entire life “Least Expected” by My Morning Jacket (let’s put it this way, I epigraphed with it as soon as I had the right thing for it).

last show/series: I am watching a lot right now. Just finished season 2 of What We Do in the Shadows a few nights ago. And I’m currently watching THREE things on a weekly basis: Abbott Elementary (!!!) and GBBO and series 14 of Taskmaster.

currently watching: I accidentally answered that in the previous question.

favorite color: Grey. Also very bright dark pink with a lot of red in it. Also most deep blues and purples.

sweet, spicy, or savory: Savory if I had to choose, but ideally let’s get all of that going at once. Especially spicy.

currently reading: Normal People by Sally Rooney. I’m liking it, but I haven’t picked it up in a few days, and that’s making me sad because I inhaled Beautiful World, Where Are You? (which I’d actually count among an all-time fave both for the sheer pleasure of having read it and also because I think the writing has a lot to teach me), and then I inhaled Conversations With Friends even though it felt like the work of a much newer/younger writer (which is true) because it was similarly catnip-like for my brain. I may actually need to start Normal People over and force myself to read it at a similar pace as the others?

what i'm working on: Apparently I’m watching all the shows and reading all the books and eating all the flavors and also working on all the stories? I’ve written very little this week due to time constraints and stress, but that will hopefully change as soon as later in this quiet night curled up on the couch while my wife watches football. :) I’m working on an original story that is my first attempt at any kind of dystopian setting (dystopian lite for sure). I’m also working on Other People’s Words # 8 (Ted Lasso love square series), and I just got my Femslash Exchange assignment, and I’ve got a couple other things on the list too.

currently obsessed with: Ted Lasso, always, as a kinda constant thing (even the ebbs and flows never dip below or transcend past obsession, it’s just a thing that is true at this point). My Morning Jacket. This itchy make-tangible-things feeling I have and the progress I’m making (pun not intended) on that. Taskmaster and its ~~dynamics. Buttered bread and coffee. Beautiful World, Where Are You? and specifically a couple of scenes. Returning to my outdoor volleyball team and getting stronger. Those (and the other constant obsessions like wife obsession, cat obsession, friend obsession) are the fun ones.

Less fun is me obsessing over my sleep patterns and the factors that currently impact my sleep. Also the way having Covid back in February is still effecting my relationship to food, in that my appetite is really sluggish and the quantity of food I can eat is super inconsistent and some of the stuff I used to love doesn’t feel quite right, in that it doesn’t feel as VIVID to eat good food as it used to. I was never a huge meat eater and I’ve been eating about 90% vegetarian and 98% pescatarian since early summer, but tonight I bought and ate beef jerky because NOTHING else sounded good and I needed protein so badly. It was savory, spicy, and a little sweet, and I’m so glad I ate it, even though I wish I had not been in a position to want to eat it! It’s so weird! I’m reasonably healthy at the moment and to my knowledge haven’t suffered any ill effects from these changes, but I dislike how my food situation has shifted a few degrees in a way I still haven’t put my finger on. It does make me really appreciate it when I find something I want to eat, enjoy it as much as I think I will, and don’t regret it after.

tagging: @telanu, @ellydash, @dollsome-does-tumblr, @theodore-lasso, @lizmitches, @ylizam, @thesumdancekid, @chilly-flame, and also anyone who wants to do this because I’ve lost track of who’s been tagged and I’m terrible at remembering usernames in times like these but I never get sick of reading personal quiz answers

#internet things #about me #personal #love to fill out a form about myself - i can admit that #cw: eating issues #(not disordered eating per se just…eating challenges that probably warrant a tag) #meme #ask meme

[pretty-boys-book-club]

CAT!! i just saw you in my notifs and squealed i missed you!! how are you!! how are things??

Oh my, okay, I had this WHOLE response written out but our dearest hellsite decided to delete it 😡 so, starting over…

Hi, Jay 💜💜💜💜💜 How have you been?

I’m still around, who would’ve thought?! Jokes aside, I’m alright, been resting a lot lately and feel a bit more energetic than I was in the past. Still haven’t managed to write anything, but I’m trusting that it will eventually come back to me. Been watching Bones for the first time and ugh, it gives me SO MANY fic ideas, but I just can’t manage to put them down in words. Also have rewatched CM with my sisters (we’re currently on Season 6!), I feel like this time of year is the perfect time for seeing the show once again.

Been trying to keep up with all the reboot news, but I’m not that into it, to be completely honest. I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt for now, since I really look forward to seeing some of our faves once again, but I can’t quite shake the feeling that it’s too soon, too rushed. I guess we’ll have to wait until it airs.

I’m also a bit tense because elections are coming up in the country I live in, and there’s a real risk of the current bigot in chief (aka Tropical Trump) being re-elected. And that would pose a real threat to the well being of a lot of people very close to my heart, particularly my LGBTQIA+ and POC friends. There’s a chance the left candidate will win the election (I’m rooting for it so hard) but even then, the political climate is really tense and I fear we’ll see a spike in politically motivated violence until the Presidential Inauguration takes place in January 2023. Very depressing and anxiety inducing news.

Thankfully though, time has just been flying by! I’ve managed to reconnect with some old friends, started to go out some more, have dyed my hair red (you know, changing your hairstyle is the most important sign one is going through ✨something ✨), even developed a crush on one of my coworkers (let’s not talk about that, because it’ll most likely lead to NOWHERE).

Side note about the hair: I’ve wanted to do this ever since I was around 14-15, but I’ve never mustered up the courage to do it. Until a few months ago, when my therapist encouraged me to do something I’ve always wanted to do but scared me.

Anyway, on a more personal note, I’ve been busy planning an “euro trip” with two of my closest friends. I’m really proud of myself because I’m the one that has basically done all the schedule and took care of booking our flights, trains and hotels. Really looking forward to it, as well as having the almost the entire month of November to travel and disconnect from work and other daily trials. That’s what’s been driving me at the moment.

Oh, and Halloween, because it’s my favourite time of year. Even if it’s not widely celebrated around here, I love it so much. Can’t wait to start rewatching “Practical Magic” and “Hocus Pocus” until everyone in my house is sick of it. My friends are planning on going to a party at a night club on Oct 29th, so I’m trying to come up with a costume. I’m leaning towards going as Wanda in the iconic vintage Scarlet Witch costume (just because I want to be able to dress up as a character that has red/ginger hair). But still not sure.

Anyway, what about you?? I hope you’re doing fine as well!

#jay 💜 #lovely moots 💕 #cat replies #cat rambles #*​I’m still standing by Sir Elton John playing in the background*

[samwpmarleau]

tyler lockwood

2. When I think I truly started to like them (or dislike them, if you’ve sent me a character I don’t like)

I watched TVD initially when it was first airing forever ago, but IIRC I started liking him around the time the show meant us to — when we watched him learn about the werewolf thing. And that was that 🥰

3. A song that reminds me of them

Honestly, the show hit it on the mark when they chose Matthew West’s “Family Tree.” At least, until they ruined it for no reason at all. I also like “I Will Survive,” by Stephanie Bentley.

4. How many people I ship them with

Other than Caroline, I like the idea of Bonnie. They both deserved better, and I think they could’ve been good together, especially once he lost his hybrid status and became mortal again so he wouldn’t have to outlive her.

5. My favorite ship of them

Caroline 😭 Though the person she became later on was totally unworthy of him. You know and share my thoughts on this lmao

6. My least favorite ship of them

I’ll say Liv simply because the first time around I stopped watching mid-season 4 and on rewatch I couldn’t get past mid-season 5 so I didn’t really see them together. Or Vicki because he was very shitty to her.

7. A quote of them that you remember

He has a lot of good ones! One in particular I remember and like is shortly before he goes through his first transformation where he says he’s scared. The narrative had presented him sympathetically before that, but I think that really showed he was no longer a douchebag jock, but rather a 16-year-old kid facing a truly horrifying experience. For him to not only admit he was scared, but admit it to Caroline then break down was so sad.

12. Sexuality hc!

Oh gosh, idk. Haven’t really thought about it, honestly, and could see it going a few different ways. I’ll go bi (with a preference for women), because those scenes with Jeremy in early season 2 had vibes 👀 Definitely open to other interpretations, though!

13. Your favorite friendship they have

No one was really his friend :((( Matt at least cared when he died, though, so Matt.

14/15. Best/worst storyline they had

His werewolf one was the best, by far. Worst was DEATH.

21/22. When do you think they were at their happiest/lowest?

Happiest was probably the summer between the season 2 finale and through 3x01. He was so light and his relationship with Caroline was in my opinion at its closest and most wholesome. His lowest moment ... do I have to say it? Early-mid season 5.

23. Future headcanon

I DON’T CARE HOW, BUT SOMEHOW HE GETS RESURRECTED. And then proceeds to live his best life and Caroline comes back with an adequate apology and they live happily ever after.

26. When do you think they were being “themselves” the most?

His softest moments. That softness really is at the core of his character: He has such a big heart and — as he says himself — he doesn’t want to be the guy he was at the beginning of the series, the guy his father shaped him into. He shines in season 2 and beyond when he can unashamedly be a mama’s boy, sweet and lovey with Caroline, and (for better or worse) do anything for the people he cares about.

28. The most unnecessary thing they ever did?

This was the show’s fault, not the character’s, but I hated that he was made to leave so many times. That said, the first time he left I’d say was the most unnecessary because unlike later when his absences were caused by Klaus, this one was his decision. I can understand why he did it, and I’m glad he was able to learn the ropes with people who knew first-hand what he was going through, but I felt there was a better, less isolating way to go about it.

29. How do you think they would be as a parent? (And if they are a parent, how do you think they would be if they weren’t?)

HE WOULD BE SO GOOD. Between the natural kindness he has in him I mentioned from #26, he also would want to be absolutely nothing like his own father. I’m sure he would be insecure af about it, but he would be great and it’s a travesty he’ll never get to experience it.

———

send me a character and some numbers! [x]

#tyler lockwood #tvd #headcanons #ask meme #trevinodiaz

[tineteenieworld3]

I see people talking about infantalization, and instead of just tossing that word around because it sounds big and important (lmao me too though sometimes with stuff like not even hating) let’s actually talk about it before we go around pointing fingers at people.

The very basic definition of infantilize is to treat someone like a child. Now, we have only ever engaged with Will and Mike and every other younger character while they were children. Season 4 is the first time the characters are near adulthood. So yes, they should be treated and talked about like they are children because that’s exactly what their characters are. Mike is 14 and Will just turned 15. Those are kids. So it’s important to understand that our minds are automatically going to lock in images of Will and Mike when they are 12-13 years old. Pretty young kids. We have never engaged with these actors or characters in adult years or speaking about the characters only, older teen years. So no one is infantilizing either character when treating kids like kids.

Now, the word can mean a lot more as well: it also can mean to deny someone’s maturity. Will and Mike are vastly different characters, but we can understand they had to mature rather quickly because of the traumatic things they’ve gone through. Are people denying their maturity? I don’t know I haven’t seen much of that, but there could be some forgetfulness of the depth these two characters hold. So you can infantilize their maturing with age or their experience. Once again, Mike and Will are not that old, but we can speak on the experiences both of them have had and kind of figure out based on what we’re shown what that kind of trauma could have done to them and how it may have matured them. I personally have not seen infantilization of these characters as of late.

Infantilization is the prolonged treatment of one who has a mental capacity greater than that of a child as though they are a child. Studies have shown that an individual, when infantilized, is overwhelmingly likely to feel disrespected (definition)

So, when using this word question if the person or people you’re accusing of doing this are actually doing it. It’s a very straight forward basic word that basically just means to treat someone like a child. We can get into a whole new world of the infantilization of women and that discussion, but it’s not relevant here.

People are allowed and should be treating Mike and Will like children of their age. They are extremely young, and it’s important to understand that, once again, we have only ever engaged with these characters while they were children and we have the ability to watch them be kids in the show over and over again. So, before just throwing words around, think about if it’s actually necessary because most of the time, it’s not. Sometimes it’s just difficult to grasp that a character you still see as a 12 year old isn’t anymore, it’s like seeing your younger sibling grow up and still feeling like they’re 5. The finger pointing and tossing of words around without caring about what they mean or the kind of depth they can hold needs to end in my opinion.

Again, this isn’t accusing anyone of anything it’s a totally normal thing to do like no hate at all, it’s just good to be aware of what you’re talking about because sometimes I’m not either and it’s caused issues for me in the past and probably still will in the future.

#byler

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Week

Wherein we cover an entire season of Space Ghost Coast to Coast over the course of a week

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #51: “Piledriver” | November 14, 1997 | S04E18

Is this episode good? I think it is?? Why am I so unsure? Because this is, without a doubt, the single episode of the show that I feel like I’ve seen the most. I can’t back up my claims that it aired more than most episodes, really. What I can tell you is, I remember “Piledriver” airing on Adult Swim’s inaugural broadcast and thinking “haven’t they played this one enough?”. I just remember being a kid, FINALLY getting Cartoon Network in the late 90s, diligently watching and taping the repeats and thinking “Piledriver? AGAIN?” 

It’s not fair, because this is a really good episode. This one features two guests and a guest STAR! Why differentiate between guest and guest STAR? Well, this is maybe the only instance I can think of on the show where a celebrity participated by doing a guest VOICE rather than appearing as themselves in Space Ghost’s monitor. I haven’t thought about it THAT long, mind you. Would you believe I’ve done about 16 of these write-ups in a single weekend? 

This one will eternally be the Randy Savage episode. He plays Space Ghost’s grandpappy who looks exactly like Space Ghost but with a gray beard pasted on his face. Zorak even comments on this, along with hims sounding “like Randy Savage”. 

Rob Zombie and Raven Symone are the guests. Zombie’s interview is particularly forgettable, though I commend him for being cantankerous and aggressive. That usually makes for a good interaction on the show. I routinely forget that he’s even in this one, though, so that should say something right there. Raven plays it very safe, and I find that dynamic to be more interesting. She delivers her answers in a very cloying way; she very clearly has no idea what this show is and thinks she’s talking to an audience of children rather than the canonical in-show audience of Zoraks, or the stoned Gen-Xers watching on TV. Her bit is more unintentionally humorous and makes for better television in my opinion. I do like that they aired her with Rob Zombie, though.

The plot is that Space Ghost is coaxed back into crime-fighting by his grandfather, who considers him a namby-pamby milksop. It’s all just so he can oust Space Ghost from his own show and take it over. 

Honestly, this is a very fun one, and might be one of the best episodes of all-time. I just think the problem is I’ve seen it too often. I barely mentioned the Scooby-Doo cold open, where Space Ghost, Moltar, and Zorak mindlessly redub a clip from Scooby-Doo. I love this bit so much, and I wonder how or why they came up with it. It has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the show. It eventually became a signifier of an overplayed episode, but I still really admire it.

MAIL BAG

Christ, Combustible Edison, maybe the lamest band of the 90s other than like Creed. I hate that tiki lounge crap.

Very bad. Can not imagine purchasing a musical album from that group. I would have to kill myself if I found one in my possession. I would just hold it up in front of a police station and wait for a death by cop, the only noble way to go.

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #space ghost coast to coast

[adonis-koo]

girlie do not even get me started on Ch 14, the political dialogue was giving GOT (when it used to be good lmao). BUT I specifically want to talk about the endingggg. At first, I was like oh this is going to be a huge misunderstanding regarding Wheein like it's going to be a conspiracy. But then I started thinking about if Wheein would ever have the opportunity to do so, and then I realized she has been taking time off to "tend to her mother." I'm not sure what her motives may be, but maybe the isolation she felt as to not being able to fight as a girl even though she taught Jungkook to? I'm not sure, I could be wayyy off lmao, but just speculating. It would be super interesting though, because I think MC trusts Wheein a lot and would never expect a betrayal from her and Jungkook wouldn't either. I do wonder how Taehyung would feel about this. hm. Anyway, super excited to read ch 15! I had previously asked about the enemies to lover getting boring, but I can tell that this is not going to be the case here as you mentioned, so excited!

Also, you should be super proud of yourself for writing such a well-crafted story and for free too?? I completely understand taking time to upload. I write too (I do not share it publicly yet, though) and I have so many unfinished WIPs even though I have ideas, but still, it can be hard to get the words there.

Very random question: do you think in the future you would ever be interested in writing like a Jungkook Bridgerton au? Or something in that area? I would LOVE!

Good luck for Ch 15 and stay happy & healthy bestie <3

Okay first of all I’m SUPER flattered that you’d compare the political dialogue of Wicked to GOT 😭 (even though I never made it past the first season because it wasn’t my cup of tea bUt), that’s such a high tier compliment omfg

I cannot say much about Wheein, however she definitely has been absent in caring for her mother, and given she has not only MC but Jungkook’s trust as well?? Not only this but with her skill as well? We can’t blame them for possibly suspecting Wheein because she’d be the perfect assassin, honestly 👀 as for Taehyung…well 🥶 I can promise you guys that he is definitely not happy about this development!

Thank you for such sweet words 🥹🫶 I’m just trying my best haha! My overactive imagination is to be blamed and thanked for all of these stories, I’m just truly happy that it has reached such a large audience of people!

As for your question, I wouldn’t be opposed to writing an AU for Bridgerton but I have to admit; I haven’t actually watched it 🤣 guilty as charged! For as much as I write, I don’t actually keep up with pop culture as well as I did when I was still a teen! Maybe one day I’ll get around to watching it, and if I did chances are I’d probably have to give a go at writing a BTS au for it, if not a series then maybe a oneshot!

#missy answers #fic: wicked #anon

[racingliners]

F1 Re-Watch 2022: Round 20 - Mexico City

If you want to know just how unobservant I was to much of the 2022 season, I had no idea the race’s name was changed until today 🙃 (still just gonna tag everything as the Mexican GP bc I am lazy)

Anyhow, this is also the last race I remember absolutely nothing from bc I didn’t watch it (I kid you not prior to today my Mexican GP 2022 tag is literally just Seb and Bono gifs) 

So, no thoughts, head empty, I’m a tad scared but let’s jump in

Okay I tell a small lie, I do remember the Mariachi version of the F1 theme doing the rounds on the interwebs. But in terms of racing??? No clue whatsoever.

I haven’t even looked up the results so woooo (though let’s be real Verstappen is gonna win isn’t he?)

ngl I do love the Mexico circuit, it’s really good despite being so flat, and ot’s great that a historical circuit has been able to make a comeback and stick around

OMG THEY PLAYED THE MARIACHI VERSION OF THE F1 THEME DURING THE STARTING GRID

okay F1, you have that one right.

Speaking of,✨ starting grid whiplash ✨

Lance P20 bc of a penalty. Pain.

Seb P16. More pain. At least he’s next to Mick.

Ouch Charles P7.

BOTTAS P6?????

aaaand Lewis P3, we stan.

Well that was made much more bearable by the Mariachi theme, 11/10 would recommend to a friend.

How tf did Bottas drag his Alfa into P6 though??????

[Formation Lap]: Almost a 50/50 split on the grid between starting on the softs or mediums, inch resting.

Somewhat unrelated I’m finally getting used to seeing the silver Merc again when the 2023 season picks up again next week dvubheush

oh god what if there’s carnage at the start??? I am NOT emotionally prepared

boys please don’t be dumb it’s 9pm as I watch this and I don’t want to deal with nonsense

[Start/Lap 1]: No carnage but Lewis went full ZOOM into P2!!!

I didn’t need to look at my screen to realise Perez got past Russell for P3 there was a VERY loud cheer

“Vettel and Stroll had a brilliant start” INJECT IT!!!!!!!! 💚💚💚

P14 for Seb and P15 for Lance THAT’S MY BOYS!!

[Lap 3]: And the race has instantly calmed down ubhesu

Comms are making it sound like it’s the first time the top 6 cars have been top 6 in the race??? either that or it’s been a while since it happened but that’s a fun-ish stat

the replay of Lewis’ start *chef’s kiss*

[Lap 5]: Bottas looking to pass Alonso for 7th

The downside of watching a full season over the course of so many weeks is that whenever you hear ‘Plan A’ on a team radio you immediately think of Ferrari and cry

[Lap 6]: Lewis fastest lap, it’s been so loooooong

[Lap 7]: Dan trying to pass Zhou for P12

ayyyy Seb’s joined the party!!!

Livery watch: all together now, Aston Martin preeeeeeeeeeetty

[Lap 8]: Ah so RBR are on the softs, and Merc on the mediums. inch resting

I mean Ferrari are also on the softs, but we all know how little I trust their pitwall at this point

Wait this was Dan’s 230th race???? That’s WILD

[Lap 9]: Aaaaaand Dan takes P12

Meanwhile Lance got a little bit violent getting past Gasly avhageg

[Lap 11]: Bottas is still in P8 behind Alonso, not quite gaining time but not losing any either.

[Lap 12]: Ted brining a Seb update, 100% the content I am paying for

Him and Lance are still vibing in P14 and 15, hardly anyone has changed positions.

It’s all a bit... static

[Lap 13]: avhaeugh not Pierre and Lance pushing each other off the track 😭 

BOYS

[Lap 14]: Lewis is starting to gain on Verstappen you say???

*dives head first into the sea of delusion*

[Lap 16]: the AMR22 has re-gained tractor status as Lance is being chased down by Alex

[Lap 17]: Alex running on pet power and dreams, lad is SPEEDY

5 sec pen for Gasly’s violence on Lance

“I hope they serve the penalty properly” Hearing this after Bahrain 2023 makes it 11 times funnier

[Lap 18]: And Lance is first into the pits and gets another set of softs

[Lap 19]: “Consider Plan C” I refer back to my comment during Lap 5 🥲

Charles in 2022 🤝 Seb from 2015-2020: Having Ferrari’s braincell

SEB ONBOARD!!!! Still in P14 but idc bc I love him

he’s also 8 tenths behind Zhou

[Lap 22]: still a two second gap between Verstappen and Lewis.

I know I said I didn’t want carnage at the start, but I did want some racing

[Lap 23]: I don’t think anyone else apart from Lance has stopped yet

[Lap 24]: And, here comes Perez for his first stop, for a set of mediums

ouch 5 sec stop

Nicky also pits

[Lap 25]: “My tyres are OK mate” LEWIS????? Are you okay??? Blink twice if you need help

rip “Bono my tyres are gone” 2014-2022

[Lap 26]: and while I recover from my shock Verstappen pits, also softs to mediums

[Lap 27]: Perez having DRS issues????

well they must have been fixed bc he just passed Charles for P5 (though Charles is yet to stop)

[Lap 28]: Anyway Lewis leading his second race in a row, INJECT IT

oh it’s a Merc 1-2!! 2016-2018 me would be so disappointed in me celebrating that avdfuvhu that’s called growth

[Lap 29]: Angela sighting!!!! 

Charles also makes his first stop for mediums

And Lewis pits as well, likely reacting to Ferrari.

Mediums??? So they’re doing a two stop then

[Lap 30]: It is not it’s the hards

[Lap 31]: still loads of cars yet to stop

[Lap 32]: And as I say that Lando pits for the hards

“Lewis is matching Max Verstappen lap for lap” Inject it, tattoo it into the sky, write it out on post-it notes and hand them out to strangers 

[Lap 34]: Ocon next to pit for the hards 

[Lap 35]: Russell joining the one stop for hards party

lol at the order being RBR; Merc; RBR; Merc; Alonso

El Plan intensifies 

Seb watch: HE’S INTO P11 BESTIES!!!!

He’s still yet to stop but I truly do not care

[Lap 37]: oh not McLaren wanting to try Plan C for Dan

I kid you not, I hear Plan X over the radio and I do not trust it no matter the team so thank you so much Ferrari

[Lap 38]: Russell being told to lift and coast at the 150m board for the rest of the race??? W13 intensifies 

argh Perez is starting to catch Lewis, it was a lot of fun while it lasted

[Lap 39]: Seb pits for mediums, and he comes out in P16.

[Lap 40]: Sainz passes Alonso for P5 for some mild Spanish on Spanish violence

ah, Alonso was on his in lap as he’s pitted for hards

[Lap 42]: Ocon with a noice move on Bottas for P10

oh, Bottas is fighting back, MIDFIELD SPICE WELCOME TO THE PARTY

[Lap 43]: “This tyre isn’t good mate” I’ll take that as a ‘Bono my tyres are gone’ resurrection

and followed up by a Bono sighting 🤍

[Lap 44]: Seb up into P14, we’re once again diving into the sea of delusion in the hope of Team Green points

Also Ted timed Gasly’s 5 sec pen with his watch to see if Alpha Tauri timed it correctly asavhaeu

Ted Kravitz for FIA Prez I think he’d do a wonderful job

[Lap 47]: And with Zhou pitting, everyone has finally done at least one stop

the strategy has been all over the place this race, I guess in part to the mix of starting compounds

oh no Lance is the only one two have done 2 stops 

[Lap 48]: Seb watch: P13!!! The hopium is still alive and well folks

“He [Verstappen] is out on the track I promise you” avuheugh you know a driver has been dominating a race when you barely see them on the TV feed

[Lap 49] so Seb is roughly 15-ish seconds away from P10 🤞

Lewis is still having engine clip outs I am no joking when I say I will sledgehammer the W13

[Lap 50]: Cut to Martin Garrix bc there is barely anything happening on track

[Lap 51]: and as I say that Yuki v Dan for P11

THEY TOUCHED

oh dear, Dan almost flipped Yuki

but Seb is up into P12, the racing gods taketh and the racing gods giveth

[Lap 52]: Ah Yuki’s pitting for a new front wing, and the old one does not want to come off

oh no Ted thinks he has suspension damage 😭

Dan you plonker (in this case I do not support his wrongs)

oh no it was sidepod damage ☹️

[Lap 54]: Seb v Gasly v Zhou 🍿

oh wow Dan slammed with a 10 sec penalty.

[Lap 56]: Seb down to P14 and defending from Zhou, this is why we’re self aware about when we go delusional

[Lap 58]: welp I was not aware about RBR potentially matching Seb’s their record of winning 9 races in a row 🥲

okay I’ll let Zhou have P14 bc that was a pretty nice move on Seb

[Lap 61]: oh hello Dan v Alpine

to be fair he’s on the softs and they’re on the hards but he’s ZOOMING

[Lap 62]: 10 laps remaining klaxon

and Dan passes Ocon for P7

[Lap 65]: “Does that look like it’s terminal now? Oh that’s a Williams” Oh Ted

and there stops Fernando

oh it’s a VSC

[Lap 69]: And suddenly it’s 3 laps remaining

Seb still P14, no team green points today 😭

[Lap 70]: and Merc pit Russell to go for the fastest lap

and Dan has somehow managed to pull a 10 sec gap over Ocon so he’ll keep P7 even with his pen

[Lap 71/Finish]: Oh, Verstappen broke the record of most wins in a season huh.

Anyway LEWIS P2!!!!

Taking all the tiny crumbs I can get

And Russell did bag fastest lap at the end, such a drama king

Well... that was... somewhat average. Lewis getting P2 at the start was the most that happened in the top 6 and the midfield spice was very few and far between, though the bits we did get was fun to watch.

So a very straight down the middle 5 front wings out of 10. Next race - Brazil!

#F1 Re watch #F1 2022 re watch #F1 Liveblog #Mexico edition

[guy-j]

The Ghost of Snow Days Past. - 11/14/22

This morning, I woke up with a tight feeling across my entire body, which I usually experience when the weather is about to change. I was reluctant to leave my comfortable bed, and I knew, before ever checking the news, that it was going to be cold. I was right. 30f all morning, and as of about an hour ago, snowing. This is the first snow of the season. While I doubt it will stick to the roads or sidewalks for at least a few more weeks, I know that I am on borrowed time until I will need to replace my worn-through snow boots and dig out the bulky coats. I've always loved colder weather, although I would never say no to a warm, overcast day, especially if there is a cool breeze... I would consider myself a "selectively Autumn" kind of person.

When I was younger, I would always look forward to winter. I could put on my coat, boots, and several layers of pants, escape into the snowy woods for hours at a time, and have no worry of being attacked by wild animals or irritated by certain plants. For much of my life, I have lived in places where this habit was easily accomplished, and my mildly asocial behavior would be encouraged, as long as I remembered to come back every few hours to prove to my mother that I hadn't frozen to death yet (although, even this could be avoided if I dragged any one of my six siblings along with me in a buddy system, usually my twin sister). I have many fond memories of laying in the snow until the sky began to darken, so insulated that I barely felt the cold, or so numb already that it didn't bother me. There's nothing as beautiful as the night sky in winter from my hometown, where the light pollution is minimal, and I could truly be on my own for as long as my body could stand, just watching the sun set and the sky darken. I would pull my arms and face into my coat, and peek out, conserving warmth like some type of brightly colored polar bear. Thinking about it now, I am experiencing the kind of melancholy that is only possible when you know that you will never go back to it. I can still bundle up and lay in the snow, but I'm not a child anymore. My body is not capable of the hours of exploration and contemplation that I was once able to do. A small convenience store recently was built near my rural home, and the night sky has changed. Although it is only one store, it's harder to see the stars. The last time I was home, I could barely make out any constellations.

Snow laden midnight walks may have changed, but other things have stayed exactly the same. In my region, we make snow ice cream. I'm not sure if they do it in other places, but it is something that I was raised on. It consists of fresh powdery snow, sweetened condensed milk, and a small dash of vanilla, which is all mixed together and eaten as fast as possible. It is something that must be made fresh, and it cannot be refrozen. It was always a definitive part of the first snow experience, and I can recall a particularly dire blizzard in which my mother would send my siblings and I out to collect snow, in an attempt to keep us hydrated. To make it more interesting, we made much of it into snow ice cream. I haven't had it in years, but I suspect that the flavor is exactly like I remember it, but it is possible that my adult palate will not find it as satisfying as I once did.

Between wandering, lost in the forest, and eating pollution contaminated precipitation, I was never bored when the weather turned for the worse. These days, though, I find myself much preferring a warm bed, a cup of hot coffee, and an interesting book. My childhood habits will likely stick around, as timeless as they are. I'm sure my ancestors did the same things I did when they were young, and I'm sure future children will do them as well, as long as the snow stays safe to eat and the stars stay visible. Humanity has an instinctual desire to explore the world around them, and an even more instinctual desire to enjoy delicious treats with the people they love. These traditions are not going anywhere, even if I may not partake as often as I used to.

#guy's text. #snow #homelife #nostalgia #reflective entry