#rent cast reunion

[shentunans]

via weibo credits 📷

#dmbj #hei xiazi #xie yuchen #dmbj cast #ji chen #ji xiaobing #季晨 #heihua #reunion the abyss of mystery #xiao hua #季肖冰 #cdrama #重启之深渊疑冢 #living rent free for over a month A MONTH #also these two have a cp super topic #and it ain’t even for HeiHua it’s for the actors like c’mon xD

[sondheim-girly]

Last night I had a dream (I found myself in a desert called- cyberland…) OK RENT REFERENCE OVER

I had a dream that I was at a 2016 falsettos reunion concert, but for some reason there were a ton of people onstage even though it’s a tiny cast. Either way it was a nice dream I’m sad I woke up so quickly

#theater kid #musical theatre #musicals #broadway #broadway musicals #musical theater #falsettos #falsettos 2016 #rent musical

[bhxrdy]

timeless | final chapter

author’s note: this is the end of the road! to the ones who have been reading this story and who stuck around, i’m sending you all my love! thank you ❤️ hoping the ending will be just as enjoyable :) Lots of love and stay safe 💕

       With a tidal wave drowning him at sea, Finan had woken up from his nightmare in a fright.

Body drenched in sweat, heart ragingly palpitating in his chest, the Irishman was catching his breath as the moon’s glow shone behind him, the timid light casting itself across the bedroom.

He felt pressure behind him, weight on his right; Becca had been pulled away from her sleep at the agitation shaking the bed. She quickly reached for him, her hand stroking his back as she leaned against him, bringing him to her.

“Finan-”

Chest heaving heavily, his stare remained straight into the void, his mind’s cloud slowly dissipating as his view acclimated to the darkness around them. 

“Finn, love- are you alright?” She was gentle, knowing all too well not to either panic or rush. “Was it her?” 

He reached for her, his fingers grasping tightly.

She moved around to sit in front of him, hands on his cheeks, as to direct his haunted eyes back to her. It took a moment, but he eventually fell into reality, the colour of her irises becoming the rope he hung onto.

“I-I’m fine.” He knew she didn’t believe him - he simply ignored it. He adjusted his sight, blinking and rubbing his eyes. His hand then rested on hers in reassurance, calmer. “I’m alright.” His breath had caught up and slowed down. 

“It’s the first time she reaches out to you… She must have had something to say.”

“Nothing she hasn’t already said to you, love. It’s alright.” He kissed the heel of her palm and lingered into her touch. She could still sense his budding agitation, and so she dropped the subject. 

Instead, she gently pushed him to lie down as she followed. 

Face to face, she wrapped her arms around him, her leg following suit as she placed it around his waist, bringing him closer. He nuzzled his face against the pillow and the crook of her neck, breathing her in. All the while, she brushed through his hair, soothing him into sleep once more.

He had his arms curled around her as well, and his lips pressed on her neck - soft pecks that made her close her eyes in surrender.

His hand wandered around her naked body, the pressure increasing through every inch until it settled on her stomach. 

She grew worried, feeling his fingertips grasping her as if they lacked air and needed it.

“Finan… What did you see?”

He was hesitant to answer, and so instead he said nothing, and kept himself in place as he caressed her skin tenderly, his eyes down and away from her.

She closed her own once again, the feel of his warmth bringing her peace despite the tumultuous awakening they were pushed into. 

“Finn-” She whispered his name, the letters floating in the air, a siren looking for her sailor.

His eyes brimmed with tears when they met hers. 

He moved, making it so he hovered above her while she lied on her back.

He leaned down and trailed gentle kisses from her lips down her body before meeting her again. Their hands joined, fingers interlaced, resting atop her head as he closed in the distance further, the budding strength of her body gently molding into his.

They locked eyes, the silence speaking the thousand words.

He nudged the tip of his nose with hers before caressing her lips and losing himself in the feel of her, forever tethered to her.

Through life and beyond death.

       It was the crack of dawn when they hit the road, the sun slowly peeking through the horizon.

Still half asleep herself, Finan had taken the wheel, driving out of London and back to Bamburgh. Only days after his reunion with Thora, the goddess had sent her messenger to Becca; it was the falcon appearing at her windowsill that told her it was time, before it flew back North.

Her family’s place was further out so they decided to rent a room in town for a closer distance to the castle.

She was able to gather all items that would be needed for tonight; all that was left was to go back to the source, to Finan’s last place alive before the curse was enacted at his first death.

The drive was a quiet one, the radio playing through its schedule and embellishing the background. 

Becca was falling in and out of sleep throughout the trip, her body having grown more and more tired the past couple of weeks. The effect of the sacrifice spell still seemed to have taken a toll on her, a lingering shadow in the dark.

They had been holding hands while he drove. Finan had quietly insisted, wanting every second of today to be near her, touching her. Fingers interlaced, she would smile to herself whenever she felt him stroke the top of her hand. 

If she wasn’t asleep, she would spend her time awake looking out the window, the calmness of their surroundings helping her remain so as well. 

“You okay, love?” They were half-way through, still morning as the sun was yet to reach its highest peak of the day.

She turned her head to him, sporting a lazy smile. “Mhmm.” 

He brought up their joint hands to his lips, placing another kiss on top of their hold. She kept the small grin, appreciative of the silent gesture.

Still watching him, she bit the inside of her cheek, the upward curves of her lips still present. “What is the first thing you want to do after tonight?”

He had a beam across his face as he pretended to be in thought; he already knew his answer, having pondered over it more and more in the last couple of months. 

He didn’t, however, get the chance to respond as she quickly stopped him.

She pulled her hand away urgently and placed it straight to her chest.

He frowned, confused. “Bex?”

“Stop the car.” She gulped, swallowing saliva as she held onto herself. “Stop-” She remained still, the car still moving though slowing down, while she tried to catch her breath. “Finn, stop the car.” 

She had opened the door just as he was pulling by the side of the road, and fell to her knees, not even able to step a bit further away from the vehicle.

Nausea gripped at her insides - she thought her nerves, or at least motion sickness, had taken the best of her.

She then threw up, her lungs coughing for air. 

Finan ran to her side, worry etched to his core. 

With her head facing the ground, she didn’t see him but knew he was there by the way he had gently pushed her hair behind her as well as resting his hands on her, stroking her back through her episode.

Hurting at her stomach, tears welled in the corners of her eyes and echoed through the sound of her strained sobs.

Once it was over, with her breath heavy in her throat, she leaned backwards and rested against Finan’s knees.

From her back, he placed his left hand on her shoulder while caressing her hair with his right, pushing the strands backwards. “Are ya feeling better?” His voice was tender, softly spoken to her ear. 

She could only offer him a nod, her head turned to her right, as she struggled to speak.

“Here.” He handed her a water bottle, which she happily took and cleaned up. “There is a stop along the way we’ll make. Are ya gonna be okay?”

“Y-yea.” He helped her get up, her hands gripping his jacket while she tried to find her footing. They remained still for a moment, the Irishman watching her carefully. She found her seat again, on the passenger’s side, and leaned backwards against the head rest with her eyes closed.

Without a word, he followed and resumed their drive until they reached their rest stop.

They got out of the car; she waited against the door while he went into the store attached to the gas station to pick up a few items.

Some short minutes later, he came out and walked back to her with hasten steps.

“What’s the surprise?” She teased while watching him rush back to her. He tried to smile, wanting to push past the discolour of her cheeks.

He was about to open the bag as she leaned over, perusing the contents that were inside. She chuckled while eyeing him, amused to see he could have almost emptied the store. “You really went all out, didn’t you?” 

He only shook his head, snickering as well. She picked out the saltines, and quickly opened them before swallowing a whole of them.

She fell back against the car, relief traced across her features. Finan watched her, amused at the way she was devouring her snack.

Though the grin eventually faded, switching to concern. 

He approached her and pushed locks of her hair behind her ear. “Bex…”

Her name hung silently in the air, unable to sing any further.

She met his gaze with a small smile gracing her dried lips. “I’m okay.”

He sighed heavily. “You’re not okay, love. The colour’s drained from ya- Was it the spell? Is it still making you tired? Or is it-”

“I think it’s a combination of everything.”

Another exhale, he nodded quietly.

He then placed his hands on her shoulders and placed the softest of kisses on her forehead. His arms trailed down to her back, rubbing to calm her as he pulled her against him. “Are ya feeling better at least?”

She dropped the saltines back in the bag before hugging him. “Just a little bit.” She tightened her hold around his waist and stayed still for a few minutes, letting the breeze carry them in this scene.

She hid her face in his chest, breathing him in, content; if she could, she would stay like this forever.

But unfortunately, time was of the essence. 

Today was the day and she could not miss the window of opportunity.

She reluctantly pushed herself away and ran her fingers through her hair. 

He gave her one last kiss, his lips pressed to her cheek, and walked to the driver’s seat, looking back at her.

“You ready?” 

       As they entered the small bed & breakfast room they had rented for their stay, Finan had gone straight for the bed and sat down at the edge, exhaustion draping over him.

Becca closed the door behind them watching him as he lied down and stared at the ceiling; a small smile escaped her lips. 

She walked over to him and stood between his legs. Feeling her in front of him, he sat back up, a grin plastered on his face. 

He silently placed his hands on her hips, his thumbs circling the skin under her shirt. Her own fingers threaded through his hair, their gaze entwined in a silent waltz.

He leaned closer towards her, lifting her shirt further up until she felt his lips pressed against her stomach, right above her navel. She giggled at the feel of his beard tickling her.

He lingered, tightening his grip ever so gently to her body.

In exchange, she tugged at his hair when his warm breath hovered above her skin. 

She then sat down on his lap, straddling him. He wrapped his arms around her just as her hands rested on his cheeks. She brushed her nose with his before sharing a tender kiss. He pulled her closer, flushed against him.

His fingers sought her out under her shirt as they traipsed towards her back. The gesture made her sigh between their lips, shivers running down her spine. 

She broke the kiss, entertained by his mood. “Are you trying to undress me, Irishman?” 

He chuckled as he quickly pulled her back to him. “Is it that obvious?”

“Unless you have another explanation as to why you’re tugging at my shirt?”

“Just examining ya. Making sure ya are well.” He teased, still holding onto her as he trailed his mouth down to her swollen breasts. 

She could only giggle, her small fit of laughter mixed with her reply. “Of course, that makes perfect sense.”

He pressed his lips against her covered chest before suddenly turning around and making her land on her back against the mattress. She met him with a gasp, taken by surprise, and yet the grin plastered on her face could not escape. “Finan!” 

He met her gaze, the mischievous glint in his eyes as apparent as the sun. “I’m sorry, love. It’s a better view from up here.”

“You are incorrigible!” 

The rumble of his laughter vibrated against her skin as he settled on top of her, placing kisses all over her exposed flesh.  

She fell into the ticklish sensation, not able to stop the fit of laughter that dressed the room - until hunger softly grumbled inside her.

Hearing the disruption, he lifted his head up with a smirk captured on the corner of his lips. “Someone’s a bit peckish.”

She sat up as he pulled away. “You bring it out of me, what can I say?”

“How about some room service?”

“I’d love that.” She softly kissed him, simple and loving.

He got up and turned around to reach the phone that was on the dresser, opposite the bed.

While on the line, with his back facing her, she quietly started to undress. She stripped her clothes off, quietly throwing them on the floor, before she slipped under the covers and waited for him.

Once he hung up, he turned to find her with her back against the headboard, sheets covering her body though she teased him with her right leg exposed to him, knee bent in temptation. All the while, she wore a sly smirk, her teeth biting her bottom lip. “We can keep ourselves busy until the food arrives.”

He matched her stance as he removed his shirt and unbuckled his pants before jumping on the mattress, earning a laugh out of her lungs.

He pulled the covers off her, exposing her bare upper body to him before he found her lips.

She wrapped her arms around him, smiling into the kiss and giggling at his eagerness as anticipation seeped through her as well.

       Not long had passed since their arrival into Bamburgh.

Finan was first to wake up from their nap, where the afternoon light peaked through the curtains. 

He carefully readjusted himself, not ready to leave the bed. 

He sat up, sitting against the headboard and looked to his right - Becca was still deep in her sleep.

He started to gently stroke her hair, his mind adrift to tonight, to tomorrow, to the day after that.

The soothing feel of his touch slowly brought a smile to her face as she was waking up from her slumber. 

She quietly lifted her eyes up to find him lost in his thoughts, his head tilted to the ceiling; chest bare, cross dangling on his chest, bed sheets covering his lower half - what a sight, she thought. 

She let him be, where his hand was still tangled in her hair. 

It felt too good to stop. 

A low satisfied moan escaped her. The soft noise caught his attention as he dropped his head to her, his mouth curved upwards in a lopsided smile.

She stretched her left arm, caressing his cheek before her fingers settled on his necklace, gently calling for him. “Come back down here.” 

Without a word, he laid down and turned so his chest was pressed against her back. He wrapped his arms around her, settling comfortably before instinctively reaching for her stomach, his palms caressing her.

They stayed this way for a few minutes, bathing in utter quietness.

She pushed herself further against him, loving the way their limbs molded so harmoniously into one another. Following her, he lifted his head just high enough to press soft kisses along her shoulder to the crook of her neck. His hand then started to wander up and down her skin, hiding under the covers. He could never get enough of the softness of her flesh; she was warm against him, her complexion glowing more fervently than usual under the sunlight.

“We had a son…” His voice startled the atmosphere, though he spoke with a low undertone.

“What? W-when?” She turned around within his embrace, facing him with furrowed brows.

He chuckled and shifted to lie on his back, his right arm still holding onto Becca.

“It was a dream…” His gaze landed on the ceiling once again as he kept going. “There was a wee boy running around with a wooden sword, outside somewhere. It felt like we were having some kind of picnic at the cottage house or something.” 

She was grinning as she followed the tracks to his daydreaming.

She turned to lie on her side, her elbow against the pillow with her left hand supporting her head. “A boy, huh?”

“Our boy.” His eyes went to her as he brought her closer, every inch of their bodies pressed to one another.

“One hell of a dream you had there, love.” Fingers traipsed along his jawline, her own mind wandering.

“Can ya blame me?” The smirk on his face had made her quietly laugh against him. She was overwhelmed by the thought, by the desperate need of wanting it all, now. 

“We have a boy.” She mumbled her words joyfully in the air, mesmerized. 

“We do.” The way he smiled at her left her heart stumbling across the pavement, still taken aback by the way he could take her breath away. “I can’t wait.” She bit her bottom lip as she spoke up, giddy. “What else happened in your dream?” She placed her leg over him, using his body as an anchor as she hung on to him.

He shrugged - there wasn’t anything else to say. “Nothing, it was peaceful- just us…”

She started trailing kisses along his arm to his shoulder, nipping at his skin tauntingly. “Were we trying for a second child at least?”

“You menace.” He spoke with a crooked grin and placed his hand to her abdomen, gently caressing her. She turned to lie on her back without looking away from him; his palm rested carefully on top of her, not letting go, as he quietly searched for her eyes. Searching for the silent words that raced around her irises, dancing so intimately and only for him. The thought of moving on with his life, the mere inkling of even the possibility of having such a life with her, overwhelmed him, imminent to burst at the seam. 

She grew timid, heat creeping up to her cheeks. She approached until she met his lips, sharing a slow kiss - a gesture that left them chasing after one another.

Becca eventually had to break away, though remained reluctant in her endeavor. “We should get going soon…”

He sighed, knowing they did not have a choice. “I know. Just…” He kissed her once again and spoke between their breaths as he slightly strengthened his hold on her. “Just a few more minutes.” He was quietly begging, desperate to make this very moment last a little bit longer. 

She silently agreed, placing her hand on his.

He inhaled, a sudden heaviness in the pit of his stomach crawling inside him. “Will it be safe? The spell…” He asked gently, frowning. He still touched her, his fingertips stroking timidly her burgeoning puffiness.

“I don’t think the gods will harm us.” His worry, etched across his features, she retraced them in the hopes to calm his nerves. “She is here to help. She’ll make me stronger.”

Her words eased him a bit, his gaze never wavering away from her. 

She was in awe - the intensity of his eyes always left her breathless, swimming in the vastest of ocean without ever feeling lost or incomplete.

Her thoughts were swirling inside her mind, still conjunct with the earlier minutes.

She was abruptly shaken out when something caught her attention.

He saw the gears in her head, the look in her eyes portraying shock and confusion. She pushed him away, hand against his chest, to widen her view. 

“Wait, did you say wooden sword?!”

He laughed, his voice booming within the walls of their room. Unable to catch him, he had quickly jumped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom. She called for him, completely dumbfounded, and could still hear his cackle on the other side of the door.

“Finan!”

       The sun hit its pinnacle of the mid evening hours.

While waiting for Bamburgh castle to reach its closing hours for the day, they had decided, in the meantime, to spend their remaining time walking around the small town.

The normalcy of the moment had taken over, making them partially forget what was waiting for them in the coming hours. 

The trail they had taken eventually led them towards the waters, the waves of the beach reaching the shore in a fiery dance, its feet tip tapping across the sand’s surface.

The couple pulled themselves away from the dying crowd, wanting their own privacy as they settled on the ground. 

Side by side, she laid her head on his shoulder as she brought her knees up, the best she could, against her chest. Finan placed a small peck on top of her forehead before looking towards the sea, memories of his past flooding him like a storm.

As for Becca, she could only think of tonight; her mind had wandered, fear taking its opportunity to sneak back and rest heavily on her chest. She felt it in the back of her throat, the lump lodged with strength as it shook her, forcing tears to grip the corners of her eyes.

The dread weighing on her shoulders had pushed her away from him. She turned to look at Finan, the man still left in deep reverie himself.

It wasn’t just revisiting the lifetimes he’s lived anymore. The path had taken him to ponder over what he would do next - as of tonight, he would be a free man.

He could finally live the remainder of his life and find peace at the end. And he would be living it with her, the only woman he had fallen for in the last millennia. 

What would come next was finally his choice.

He was brought out of thought when she spoke, her voice quivering against his shoulder. 

“Finn… I’m scared.”

He tilted his head to her, understanding the intent behind her words.

He remained silent, letting her speak further. 

“If-” She took a second, breathing in deeply. “If I fail and the spell doesn’t work-” She closed her eyes, biting down her tongue before proceeding, desperate to let her words out the way a bandage is ripped from the skin. “I’m scared that if I fail, you would grow to hate me. To resent me and leave me…”

He furrowed his brows. “Why would ya think that?”

“Because I would have given you false hope.”

“Nothing will ever change the way I feel about you.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “I swear it.” His hand rested on the back of her head, palm caressing her hair, before he placed a kiss. “I’m grateful you were willing to try.” He gingerly pulled away, catching the glimmer of tears in her eyes. “Despite the obstacles we kept encountering… Ya did not give up on me.” The recollection of memories of the last year had suddenly washed over him, a haunting of a ghost. “I could never hate ya for it.”

The was solace in his words; she tried to find them.

“What about when I die, and you are still here? Would you resent me then? Would you curse me ‘till the end of days?” She tried to lighten the mood with her last words, even though her heart wore her heavy.

“You have power, Bex. I can feel it.” Once more, she dug for the comfort in his voice, searching for warmth so she could hang onto it. “Believe in it.” He reached for her amulet, holding it gently in his hand. “Believe you can channel this and break me free.” The soft undertone shaking his cords sent shivers down her spine. The letters of his speech shared between their parted mouths, she grabbed onto them and squeezed them tightly.

“I’ll try.” 

She promised herself she would. She had also told herself there was another way at this. A way she wanted to share with him.

“But if it doesn’t work, will you let me join you?” He frowned, confused. A quiet crooked smile tainted her right cheek. “Will you let me curse myself, so you won’t be alone anymore? So, we could spend forever, together?”

She rendered him speechless.

It had to come this, and it saddened him. How could he become the reason someone else was willing to give up everything for a poor soul like himself?

“Our love could be timeless. Wouldn’t that be romantic.” Once again, she tried to lighten the grimness around them, the curve of her lips faintly spreading across her face while hiding the depth of her confession.

He chuckled at her attempt. “It’s a tempting offer… And I love you for even thinking of risking ya life for me.” The smile faded away from him. She could see where he was going; it was too obvious. “But I can’t let you do that.”

“Finan, I want to do it. If it comes to it, please let me do this.” Tears pricked her cheeks, grief-stricken. “Don’t make me live in a world without you. I don’t want us to be apart.” She whispered her plea against his breath, silently crying.

He felt her cheeks wet as he kissed her, both desperate and sorrowful. 

Even if it meant desecrating the order of nature - the one thing a witch should never do - she would give it all up for him. 

He pulled her backwards until they lied down, not caring that they were resting on the sand. 

His arm curled around her shoulders, she hid herself within his embrace and let her emotions silently erupt out of her. Her fingers grasped onto his shirt, her knuckles whitening at the force of her hold. 

The sound of the waves had become background noise, made for their ears only.

The crowd was dying down, the people walking away as the day was coming to its end with the sun sliding under the water by the horizon.

His head was up to the sky, the warm hues colouring his sight.

His heart was breaking. 

Part of him hated himself for having started all of this, or at least for having encouraged their relationship right at the start. It shouldn’t have gone the way it did - he tried to convince himself but knew, in the end, it was futile. He was hooked on the first night, and then again when he purposely encountered her, and once more the first ride to Bamburgh, and every day since. 

But that other part, the one that fell for her, that loved her with such depth, could not see it any other way.

She was made for him. Their connection so innate, so intuitive from the first glance to the first touch. He believed she was a blessing to his mundane and lonesome existence, the bloom of spring after a brutal winter. 

He had stumbled along the way since he met her, but she stuck to him no matter what and it left him overwhelmed.

Their little moment was interrupted. 

The cries of a falcon hovered above them, its wings flapped against the breeze of the ocean before it settled behind them, perched on a rock. 

Becca pulled away from him, both sitting up as she tilted her head to see the bird.

She clenched her jaw, eyes closed.

She breathed in, calming her nerves, before turning back to Finan. With a reassuring smile on her face, she placed her hand on his cheek.

“It’s time.”

       They were waiting inside the castle as tourists scurried away at closing time. And as he knew his way around, Finan had made sure they would be able to sneak away, turning into ghosts within the walls. 

It took a while, not that they were complaining. 

Only when the moon was ready to reach its peak did they finally leave their hiding place and made their way outside.

And it seemed the falcon had been waiting for them. 

Becca followed the bird, making them cross the inner ward until it flew further up, reaching the flagpole above the Keep. They followed suit and reached the highest point of the property, where the view of darkness surrounded them with only the moonlight guiding them.

The bird gave its last call before flying away, leaving the couple to start.

Becca sighed, her heart rapidly beating inside her chest. 

“Ya ready?” His words rang in her ears. She looked to him, partly terrified at the upcoming moments that would unravel.

Midnight was approaching. 

They shared one more kiss, lingering within each other’s embrace for a little while longer. She held him, hands to his cheeks, and quietly whispered into his lips. “I love you.” 

A faint smile flourished across his face.

“You can do this.”

She nodded at his words and proceeded. 

She looked through her bag and started taking out a vial of salt - blessed by the high priestess of her coven. Back up to her feet, she looked to Finan, wanting a quick glimpse of him. She then continued, using the salt and marking the ground with runes in a circular motion, following the path of time as her mind fell into focus. 

And then the circle was sealed with intersecting lines, the final touch to call the goddess. 

Once complete, she cleaned her hands, the palpitations in the pit of her stomach growing heavier.

She took a deep breath, a slight tremor apparent in her lungs. “Now comes the part where you need to step inside.” She stretched her hand out to him as he followed her instructions, taking his place in the center.

Becca stood still for a second, squeezing her hold on him, before eventually letting go, a cold sensation suddenly wrapped around her palm.

She fetched the remaining ingredients - a candle, her dagger and the totem representing the hex. 

As she held the last item in her hand - a ball of rope, tightly tied into a knot with its loose ends ever so slightly peeking out from each side - her breath shortened in her lungs. 

She was holding Finan’s liberation in the palm of her hands. The knot was a simple representation of his lifeline, stuck in a loop, his true path blocked. 

All she needed to do was to re-manipulate reality, to untie the knot and set him free.

She placed the candle at her feet and approached Finan, her knife and totem in hand. “This is going to hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me, love.” The softness in his voice captured a smile at the corner of her mouth.

She lent him the knot as she took his left hand, palm up, and carefully used her dagger to cut through his skin. A subtle hiss escaped his lips; she clenched her jaw, her heart trembling. She then helped him close his hand, the blood dropping straight onto the knotted rope, staining the texture with his essence.

She repeated the process with her own hand. She was about to cut her own skin when Finan stopped her, gently placing his unmarked limb on her own. “Let me.” He took the dagger as she remained quiet, and let him cut her palm. Despite the gory gesture, there was a certain tenderness to the act.

The blood seeped from the bruise, falling onto the other side of the totem. 

Becca whispered under her breath as she watched the knot’s colour change. “Blood of the cursed, blood of the blessed.” 

Once the totem soaked under its rain, she fetched a small piece of cloth. He took it from her hand and ripped the piece in half, wrapping her wound first before she repeated the gesture for him.

She then tilted her head up to Finan. The look in her eyes let him know it was truly time.

He brought the back of her hand to his lips, sharing the softest of kiss. And without letting go of his hold, she leaned in, pressing her own lips into his. 

She backed away out of the circle and sat on her knees.

The ball on her lap, she placed the candle in front of her and called for light.

The stem lit, its fire casting shadow around its body.

She exhaled, a heavy breath to calm her nerves. 

She picked up the totem, the object resting between her hands.

“We begin.” She spoke with a firm tone, her back straight, her mind focused.

And at her words, the seal came to life, the salt burning as flames decorated the ground. 

Finan remained in the middle, quiet and watchful. Trepidation stemmed from his fingertips, the throbbing pain in his hand completely ignored.

The language of the gods slipped smoothly across her tongue, her voice carrying out as she called for her favour, the heftiness of the plea echoing through her bones and shaking the earth underneath.

The fired seal grew taller around Finan, leaving her to become almost a mirage to his eyes; she was channeling the energy of the flames, the particle of embers lacing their way through her fingertips and colliding with her magic in an unparalleled percussion.

The knot levitated a few inches above her hands, the threads of the spell woven subtly through the air and holding the item in place. Glowing in the dark, a faint golden sheen, it was the shimmer of the lighten strings that came to life as they danced around her fingers while the young witch was, once again, invoking the celestial power - the one she anchored to her own strength, to severe the link. 

To untie the knot and reverse the coerced bond that was, to set free the man that was wronged.

As the chanting boomed through the core of her being, shining violet seeped through her irises, settling as a new inhabitant. Her amulet, heated chain around her neck, held a similar path, its purple hue creating light around her. 

A faint breeze rushed around him, heightening the flames that imprisoned him on the seal.

Slowly, the totem started to detach itself from its confine, unfastening its intricate knots.

She was trembling. 

A tremor, a subtle shake like the earth, transcended through her bones. 

Channeling the powers of a god, for her mere mortal flesh - it was too much. 

It was working, but the weight of such strength echoed through the vibration of her body.

While he could hear her, the sound of her voice standing in his ears, he also saw the toll the ritual was taking on her.

She was about to crumble, thinly cracked at the seam.

The nosebleed was apparent, trickling down over her lips to her chin. 

Her breaths grew heavier, her dizziness taking hold of her mind, of her eyes.

And yet, she couldn’t forfeit. 

She heard her name, his voice calling for her with terror and anxiety rushing through him.

He tried to move, to run to her, but she stopped him, pushing him back with her mind’s eyes.

One step out and everything could be lost. 

The knot still floated, following the trance of her chant, like a snake swaying to the flute of its master.

Her voice grew louder and louder through the air.

The chain of her necklace burnt her skin, the stone fracturing through every repeated syllable of her spell.

He could feel the magic work through him, the blood receding from his veins as he grew cold. The tightening hold that choked him for so many centuries was loosening, the grip around his neck fainting until it eventually let go.

The burden of the curse was turning into dust, the remnant pieces drifting away from the Irishman’s skin with the wind pushing them to the flames, burning their essence on hellfire.

And then - the totem resolved, the knot unknotted.

It was done.

The ritual completed.

Everything became dark once again, the blaze gone, the wind vanished. The rope lying flat on the floor.

Only Finan and Becca were left.

Weakness overtook her muscles; she almost crashed to the floor as she was catching her breath.

She leaned over, using her hands as an anvil against the ground to hold herself from complete collapse.

Only her lungs serenaded the empty air.

Finan stood still, dazed. Overwhelmed.

She saw the trickle of blood falling on the stones beneath her. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, the traces vivid on her limb.

When trying to get up, Finan ran to her, helping her.

Once she was on her feet, she held on, her fingers grasping at his shirt, her eyes back to normal.

Her amulet had reached the ground at her movement, the chain broken. 

He frowned as he bent down to pick up the necklace.

He watched it, silent. The gears in his brain working through a thought.

“You gave up your magic for me?”

“A small price to pay.” It was a tired smile that graced him.

She did it.

She broke the curse like she had promised.

He was a free man.

As their new reality dawned on them, a small laugh escaped him. 

She followed suit, a grin forming on her stained lips as joy reached the pit of her stomach.

On a high, she ran to him, and he caught her in his arms, embracing her figure tightly against his chest.

“You did it.”

He whispered against her hair before crashing into her lips for a fervent kiss. With his arms curled around her, he had lifted her from the ground. 

She squealed, taken by surprise. A light giggle had escaped the back of her throat from excitement. 

Her feet touched the ground again, though they hadn’t let go of each other yet with their lips still tangled, heated. 

Just a few more seconds of bliss.

“Let’s get out of here.” She spoke, breathless. 

He smiled, a beam so bright, biting at her bottom lip before pressing his lips again against hers, and then pulling away.

The last thing he felt was the touch of her hands in his as she stepped back to clean up the mess around them.

He felt a sudden stiffness in his neck. He rolled his head around to dissuade the discomfort until he became lightheaded, the vision in front of him blurring.

It was almost blinding him when he heard Becca call for him, his name turned into a question.

He shut his eyes tight, trying to get a hold of himself when he felt a wet trail running down his nose.

He felt his muscles grow weaker, as if they were depleting.

When opening his eyes, he met a distorted horrified look on Becca’s face.

He tried reaching for her but couldn’t feel his body move until the weight of it dragged him down.

“Finan!”

She caught him as they both fell to the ground. She called him over and over again, trying to reach his consciousness.

He couldn’t speak, his voice - gone. 

But his perishing sight was set on her, his ears aching at the pain; she was yelling, screaming at the top of her burning lungs with tears furiously streaming down her cheeks.

“Bex?”

She looked down at him, frowning, her chest heaving. Her hand caressed his face but could not see her name coming from his lips.

“Bex, love?” 

His voice stood as clear as the night sky above them.

She lifted her head up and saw him standing in front of her, confused. “What happened?”

She bit her tongue.

She then got up to her feet, her body trembling.

“Y-you di-”

How could she finish her sentence? The weight of the word stood heavy on her heart, unable to ring it out into the world. 

It held such destruction, a wrecking ball destroying everything around them.

The look in his eyes was enough for her to know he understood.

He shattered, his heart breaking into pieces.

A sob caught in her throat. “I-I’m so sorry- This wasn’t supposed to h-appen.”

Denial, hefty in its wake, she fell to the ground again, her mind working a resurrection spell - anything to bring him back.

But of course, it wouldn’t work.

She reached for her amulet but clutched at the ghost of it when she saw the stone on the floor.

Bewildered, eyes wide, she lost her breath as she whispered under the last of it. “What did I just do…”

She was powerless, and so, she was unable to save him.

“It’s okay…” There was no harshness in his tone. “We’ll be okay, love.” He needed her to believe it, his new reality squeezing itself between them.

She snapped, looking back up to him.

“No, it’s not okay! We need more time- I needed more time w- with you.” The lump in her throat was lodged tightly, invoked.

He approached her, hand to her cheek in a soft caress, ignoring the empty sensation. “Ya are an incredible woman.”

She scoffed, angry.

“Not enough to make you live out this lifetime.” Tears trailed her cheeks again, quivering from anguish. She leaned into his attempted touch, trying to feel his warmth. She hesitantly met his gaze - his hues still managed to give her such love, she could feel herself crumble from inadequacy. Undeserving. “We were doomed from the start, weren’t we?”

The disillusion of it all was killing her on the spot, torturing her.

“Finn-” 

Words evaded her, sentiments unable to speak out.

“I know.” 

He wasn’t angry, nor was he furious.

He simply mourned; sorrow reached the deepest parts of himself, from the marrow to the surface.

She collected herself - or at least, she tried. She wiped her tears, not able to look at him anymore, ashamed of her failure, and backed away to stand up again.

“You’re free now… You can find peace.”

He swallowed heavily. “Is it really peace without you?”

Eyes shut tight, she was silently crying again.

The thickness of melancholy wore her like a coat, suffocating her in this unruly heat.

He reached for her again, desperate to touch her and comfort her, to wipe her tears away.

He found he wasn’t able to feel her.

Nor could she.

He tried again, his hand trailing down to her stomach as he leaned against her, attempting to feel her breath against his lips, any sign of movement at all.

It was faint, almost undetectable. 

Unfocused, he wouldn’t have felt it.

“Finan, I-I love you.”

Shaky, destroyed, broken.

The wind was knocked out of her, completely gutted. 

“I love you too.” It was a mere whisper, loving and inconsolable in its undertone. 

And then, he was gone.

His ghostly presence vanishing as if, for all the cruelty in the world, he was never here at all.

She held onto herself, the best she could, but found no strength.

She collapsed on the ground, head resting atop his lifeless body as her cries shook the waves of reality.

       The next week was a blur. 

She was a corpse walking amongst the living, an icy dread in the middle of the warmth of budding summer.

“Don’t you think it’s a little bit rash?” 

Her brother was by her side, his eyes reading the engraved tombstone; it was the day of the funeral, and they were three.

The sun was at its peak, ignoring the welting sorrow that beat down on Becca.

She stood in her family plot, gifting Finan his final resting place. 

Marcus spoke without looking at his sister. He couldn’t comprehend the latest decisions she had been making. “Quitting your job, leaving the city, and moving here? There is nothing here.”

“He’s here.”

He finally turned his head to her, and she never wavered, her sight focused still on the stone in front of her. “Becca.” He grieved for her, saddened by the drastic turn of events that broke his sister.

She said nothing more, so he quietened down, his sight returning to the headstone, in prayer. 

The words etched across the grave were simple, each without true meaning when read separately. Only once meshed together did they hold such sorrow, such grief for the widower, the abandoned lover.

She dropped her head, unable to hold on any longer. “I don’t think I can do this without him.”

Hand on her shoulder, she looked to her right just far enough to see his caring touch. He spoke up with an ache; he was hurt to see her like this. “You’re not alone.”

She ignored his remark, her teeth clenching from past anger trying to crawl its way back. She breathed in deeply, calming herself, and fell back into her torment. “Without him, I am.” She still hated herself for having created such deception, enraged at herself for having failed so immensely. “I scarified my powers for him and… it was all for nothing.”

Her brother hoped his words would bring her comfort. “Your family are still witches.” She turned her head to him, wondering over the meaning behind his words. “Your brother still is. Anything you need, magical or not, we’re here for you.”

She pushed his hand away from her. “Why was I so stubborn?” All the fights and arguments were haunting her, left her to wonder if she had been that blind to believe she would succeed without consequence. “I-I should’ve listened to him. To you, a-and everyone-”

“Don’t.” He stopped her, reaching for her hand and gently pulling her his way. “Don’t do this to yourself.” He forced her to look at him, to meet his gaze as he spoke with solace. “You gave him what he needed. Be thankful it worked.”

“But he didn’t need to die.” Tears brimmed over her eyes; it was the first time she had spoken that word, the dreaded destructive letters clouding her. “That was not part of-”

He interrupted her, as she needed to understand it wasn’t her failure. “The gods can be cruel.”

She shook her head in disagreement. “It wasn’t them.” She ran her fingers through her hair before they settled on her chest. “It was her. That damn bitch-” She bit on her tongue; rage born like embers in a fire pit. “She won.”

Marcus pulled her against him, hugging his sister tightly as she broke down. She was clutching onto the gold cross, the Celtic knots imprinting in the wounded palm of her hand.

She was a powerless woman, no longer a witch. 

She lost everything in the fire. 

She cursed herself for what she had caused, for having been tricked and for having failed him. 

Thora had won, and there was nothing to be done to reverse it.

       Six months had passed since then.

Bamburgh was grey and dark, the clouds gathering as they prepared to cry over the townspeople. 

Becca couldn’t care. 

She had been staring at the tombstone, Finan’s name stretched across it.

She hadn’t recovered and she knew she never would. 

She mourned the loss with such gravity, life blooming in front of her became a cruel joke.

Standing in front of his grave, her body yelled for her to sit; her feet were sore and swelled as the weight of her womb grew heavy. 

Their child was restless, tired and hungry. How could he know, though, what his mother was going through? That she had forgotten him, for a mere second, to mourn the loss of his father? 

She looked down, bringing her hands to rest over her pregnant stomach, to calm the boy. 

She knew it was time to go and yet, she couldn’t move.

And the breeze changed direction, as if it was running away from something.

“Good riddance, I say.” 

Becca didn’t need to look to know who stood next to her.

“Thora.”

“Niece.”

The sound of her voice already irritated the young woman; it was by undoing the curse that Thora came back to haunt the earth.

A warning she never saw coming.

“What do you want?”

The red-haired woman stood tall, arched brow and staring at the cursed man’s grave. “You took something of mine.”

Becca still didn’t turn to her, trying to control her rage. “He was never yours.”

Thora scoffed, unrelenting. “Maybe not, but that child-” She never finished her sentence, a strong pressure suddenly gripping at her.

Her niece violently turned her head to her, almost hurting her neck in the process. Anger seethed through her entire being. “Don’t you dare threaten my son. Do whatever the hell you want, but you leave me and my child out of it.” She had been grasping onto Thora’s wrist so tightly, inflicting such pain, she could break the bones like a twig. “You’ve done enough damage.” The elder tried not to look too shocked at the sudden act, remaining composed the best way she knew how. “Now get out of here and leave us be.”

At Becca’s last words, the gods had spoken; the sky rumbled, ready for battle against each other. The mischievous and chaotic Loki against Freya, protector of witches and goddess of love. 

Thora let go, shaking her arm away from her niece, a smirk underlined across her face. 

“I’ll see you in a hundred years, then?”

Becca sneered. “No, you won’t.” And she knew she wouldn’t. Not because Thora would live that long, but because the hex had been destroyed the night of the ritual.

It was foreseeing her future that made the elder witch decide to tether herself to the curse she created. 

It was because she knew one of her own would one day break it that she let it happen. 

Abiding time, and waiting patiently, until six months ago.

Thunder struck the skies, rumbling the earth in anger. The witch cheated death, and she would not go unpunished. 

Becca stood her ground as she watched her elder walk away, a smirk of conquest painted across the witche’s dry lips.

The widow was tricked - to be believed that the warning she had seen was telling her the curse would hit her in retaliation, as it had no way to die. The pushback from her family came from knowing the truth - that their ancestor would come back from the dead.

The subtle kicks inside her brought her back to her grief. She was due any day now, and her heart broke at the thought of going through childbirth without Finan by her side, of going through the rest of their son’s life without his father.

She held onto her stomach again, rubbing away the ache caused by the baby’s movements. 

She teared up, whispering her goodbye for now, and reluctantly walked away just as the rain started to mist over the village.

The words floated through the cold air, their echo hopeful in its distance. 

“I’ll see you on the Other side, my love…”

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

a/n: for those who are familiar with The Originals, the knot is a reference to the Sanguinis Knot :)

xoxo,

@gemini-mama, @fangirlninja67

#the last kingdom #finan #finan x oc #tlk fanfic #finan fanfic #finan the agile #tlk #mark rowley #finan fic #tlk fic #the last kingdom fanfic #Photo by Ksenia Yakovleva on Unsplash #the last kingdom fic #finan x ofc

[waheelawhisperer]

Fandom ask thingy for Arknights: 3, 5, 11, 12, 15, 17.

3) Which scene I would like to erase from the universe and why.

The entirety of Chapter Fucking 9. I love it when the villains are oppressed minorities (again) and the heroes align themselves with the British military, which dirty bombed civilians. Whatever the fuck they did to Outcast should be considered a crime. If any of y'all plan on writing stories in the future, please do not introduce a cool character only to kill her off in a stupid, nonsensical, convoluted way in a fight against a bunch of literal who's.

Also, fuck Mandragora I hate her so much

5) The scene from it that lives in my head rent free.

Any of Nearl's dynamic entries, Patriot choosing to defy fate with his last breath and sparing Amiya

11) What I think of the central character(s).

I like Doc a lot and feel like they're an interesting spin on the Gacha Protagonist. I like the way they aren't obviously written as male to pander to the game's primary demographic.

Amiya has always been kind of whatever to me. She was solid in the Reunion arc, but the Victoria arc is a giant mess in general and a large part of that is the way the Sarkaz plotline has to be tied into it because she's The Main Character and has to be involved and yet doesn't really have any other decent plot hooks besides the generic "fighting for the oppressed" that Chapters 1-8 already used. Meanwhile Siege gets screwed because the writing constantly sucks the focus away from her to drop it on uninteresting characters that contribute fuck-all and she ends up feeling like a side character with minimal agency in her own storyline. Honestly I'd like to amend my answer to question 3 - I'd delete the whole Victoria plot and redo it from scratch if I could.

I'm a known Kal'tsit hater at this point but honestly I don't really dislike her anymore as long as she's not going off on one of her stupid fucking pretentious monologues or lectures. She's an interesting, well-written character who happens to possess traits I find unappealing and unfortunately reminds me of negative experiences in my past. She epitomizes some of the aspects of Arknights writing that irritate me the most, so I doubt I'll ever like her, but she's okay, I guess.

12) What attracted me into checking it out.

I was big into Fate Grand Order around the time Arknights released and one of my friends told me Siege was Saber Lion, so I gave it a shot.

15) Which character I would choose for the chopping block if I knew the writers wanted to kill someone.

Go AWAY Platinum go AWAY Mandragora go AWAY Kashchey go AWAY Wei Yenwu go AWAY Alberto Saluzzo go AWAY Mizuki go AWAY Last Knight go AWAY Theresis go AWAY stupid nothingburger Victoria arc characters who drop in and out of relevance seemingly at random

17) The world-building aspect of the story I have the greatest admiration for.

All the detail that goes into it and they way Terra feels like such a vast world with things going on outside that don't involve the main characters. It feels like the cast has internal lives that don't revolve around the plot.

#arknights #ask game

[epersonae]

five fic friday

Some more long bois this time, I guess, with one little fic, and a bonus entry.

Extended Courtship (20K, M) by @things-with-teeth - I had forgotten about this one and found it in my phone browser tabs, and on re-reading: it really is one of my absolute favorite post-S1 reunion fic. There's so much about it that I wish I had written tbh. We love a growth arc. (the crew having A List is one of my favorite things of all time.)

A love that won't stand still (231K WIP series, E) by @sassygwaine - I CANNOT BELIEVE I haven't listed this one before. Modern AU; Ed is a retired enforcer, Stede works for his dad's megacorp. Suspenseful, romantic, thoughtful. Also: the album Bleed Out by The Mountain Goats in fiction form. I have cried reading this probably more than any fic I've read, mostly because of the trauma recovery stuff, and because the Ed/Stede relationship reminds me so much of me and Ryn that it makes my heart ache. There's only one chapter left afaik, so this is a great time to read if you haven't already!

Prize Every Time (46K WIP, E) by @elapsed-spiral - modern AU rival amusement parks, of all things. Friends to lovers/enemies to lovers, You've Got Mail style. The tone of the emails is really delightful, and the transposition of the dynamic to the very low stakes tiny amusement park setting is funny.

Transformative Work (41K, E) by @mia-ugly and @pinehutch - a very curious entry in the post-S1 genre; Frenchie is the narrator, trying to "write a bit of fanfiction" for Blackbeard, to imagine a better ending. He gets some help. Some of it is very funny, some it is angsty, some of it is tender. (Ivan's fanfic is some gorgeous lyrical stuff.)

but that's none of my business (1578, T) by @chaotic-neutral-knitter - just a fun little fic wherein Lucius suspects that Blackbeard, newly arrived on the Revenge, might actually have a thing? for their captain?

bonus round, because it thoroughly melted my brain but it's so extremely ymmv that I feel like it needs to be recommended separately: Water Flowing Underground (22K, E) by @gaypiratebrainrot - yes, THAT fic, the schroedinger's rpf about a pair of actors named Stede and Ed cast as gay pirates named Gentleman Pirate Rhys and Taika aka Blackbeard. First of all, the writing is stunning. Secondly, heed both the tags AND the author's note. The questions of identity and transformation and fiction and, mannnnn, I dunno, it just lives in my head rent-free now. So I guess that is also a warning?

#fwiw as a person who is Tender Babby about bad endings it didn't hit me in *that* way #and altwss also lives in my head rent-free #the way I wish I could share it with Ryn (sigh) #ofmd #ofmd fic #five fic friday #this week is special because six fic I guess

[shaynetopps]

1, 8, 14, 22! for the smosh asks :)

Ian or Anthony?

Oof, I love them both, but I gotta go with Ian! He's so me-coded and he's also just such a cutie. I wanna pinch his cheeks.

What is your favorite series on Smosh Pit?

I'm literally obsessed with Reading Reddit Stories! That's the series that has me refreshing the Smosh Pit channel every Saturday at noon until I see the new vid. I also listen to it every night while falling asleep so it's like my adult bedtime stories.

What is your favorite 'era' of Smosh?

I really loved the Mythical era of Smosh. Some fun series came from that era (Reunions, Let's Do This, etc.) and we got some great cast additions too.

Simply post a screenshot/moment/reaction that you love.

This screenshot from one of the Red Flags video lives in my mind rent free KJDFKJDFKJFGLKG

send more smosh asks

#ask #d-ifferentials #thanks for the ask! #i love talking about my comfort youtube channel

[boundinparchment]

Karina crumbs please? 🥺 For both fics? 🥺

Of Blood and Sparks verse 2:

Karina travels to Inazuma, still frustrated with Zhongli, and doesn’t necessarily get along with Traveler

She sees certain signs of Fatui interference and in the back of her mind, she’s like “not again.” as Thoma discusses the civil war and the vision hunt decree.

I believe I have her hiding her vision and working for the Kamisato household for a while since her vision doesn’t work, etc.

At some point, she goes to confront the Shogun and demand an answer, but ends up detained by the Fatui first. This is blurry for me, I never had a good plot for the second fic

All in all, she doesn’t get the answers she wanted and Ayaka suggests going to the Narukami Shrine; perhaps Yae can help.

something something embracing fate Karina cries and returns to Liyue and forgives Zhongli

ummmmm don’t ask me what happens with Rhiannon meanwhile because I never had that plotted out

OBAS Verse 3:

Decided to bite the bullet and return to Fontaine. Does not follow game’s events at all

Rhiannon has been helping test a weapon that evaporates Fontaine’s drinking water and leaves behind a miasma that slowly kills people.

Major class divides, people suffering and disenfranchised

Karina having to bring her case back to Neuvillette and lacking evidence without Rhiannon or Dottore

sisterly reunion of a sort, doesn’t go very well, Karina is a coward

Celestia decides it wants to nail Fontaine something something working together with the Fatui

Karina gets her vision back by embracing fate

isk Fontaine is saved and everyone lives this one isn’t even outlined it just lives rent free in my head

The Heretic and the Forsaken Verse 1.5

Some time passes; Omega culls the Segments while Prime is in the lab

Prime collapses, entirely unresponsive, and Karina is left to control the lab

Meant to be a precursor to TMWYWB (man, I need a different title)

The Heretic and the Forsaken Verse 3

Fontaine, plot retconned a little. The Fatui are helping to build the project in the Fortress; class imbalances; Fontaine is the same but different

Struggling with their professional bond due to Dottore's last words to her

Pantalone and Dottore are the ones in Fontaine

Unrelated to the disappearing women, there's still a pattern that Karina thought would have stopped by now. Which means her old boss Sebastian is still up to his nonsense and no one stopped him.

The Whale Might Still Be a Thing, I Haven't Decided

Karina's old boss confronts her and challenges her to a duel in the prison's fight ring.

Karina slaughters Sebastian but not before he manages to distract her and take her arm. Literally. Bloody and without a dominate arm, she manages to kill him once her blood congeals and turns into a massive claw in place of her arm (remember when he injected her with weird shit?). Most canon cast is witness. Dottore is the one to shrug off his coat, scoop her up, and take her and her errant arm out of the arena.

He makes her a prosthetic; the hand is more like a claw but works just fine

Something something they make up kisses against her back as he works on the circuitry.

By the time the whale comes into play, she's fixed and can finally utilize that stupid rail gun from the first fic.

Something something Fontaine is protected, Karina mourns, maybe she never gets her vision back but at least she has someone to lean on idk anymore T_T

#oc: karina alexandre #juni chats #since I'm liable not to get to these for a while I'm okay putting this out there <3

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (12-18 Feb 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 "List of People Who Disappeared Mysteriously at Sea" (Jen Myers) - nicely eerie short story

😊 In The Market For Murder (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #2) (T.E. Kinsey, author; Elizabeth Knowelden, narrator) - again, I'm a fan of the breezy 'not-super-serious-about-historical-accuracy-in-the-small-details' tone; I really like that Flo & Lady H have this backstory/history that we only find small bits about here and there

😍 Same As It Ever Was (QuokkaFoxtrot) - 62K, Steddie - EXCELLENT time-loop fixit AU

🥰 Cabin Pressure - Series 1: Abu Dhabi to Fitton (John Finnemore, author; Stephanie Cole/Roger Allam/Benedict Cumberbatch/John Finnemore, voice cast) - entertained again by the crew of MJN Airlines

😍 Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Steve a Match (BlueSimplicity) - 209K, shrunkyclunks - omegaverse (but fairly nontrad, no mpreg) - the slow burn tag is not inappropriate but also it kind of doesn't FEEL that slow! deep worldbuilding, excellent epistolary component, incredible OC's, the differences/subversions of trad omegaverse tropes gave me clowfish AU vibes, which I loved

😍 Will Wonders Never Cease (PorcupineGirl) - 56K, zimbits AU, You've Got Mail/She Loves Me fusion - magic's real, Bitty's a tech witch with a very cute familiar - read this in one sitting and my face hurt when I was done from smiling so much

🥰 Luke and Billy Finally Get a Clue (Cat Sebastian) - novella, set in 1953; to paraphrase the official description: two best friend pro ball players finally figure their shit out, featuring: inclement weather, only one (real) bed and some hurt/comfort. Technically this is set in the Cabot Universe but there are zero Cabots in this one. Cat continues to score home runs on vibes alone. I love her books so, so much!

💖💖 +189K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

I Want You to Find Me (PorcupineGirl) - Check Please!: zimbits, 23K - canon-divergent AU where Bitty's a camboy that catches Jack's attention (while also still being his former teammate and all)

Ruin me (rainbow_nerds) - Stranger Things: steddie, 11K - absolutely cannot get enough of a reunion/2nd chance fic!!!!! fluffy AF!

Critical Feline Mass (Kryptaria, zooeyscigar) - MCU: stucky, 39K - no-powers AU where they're both retired military, Steve rents an apt to a still-struggling-to-reintegrate Bucky & sparks (and feelings) fly. also there are a lot of adorable kittens.

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Tom Scott & Gavin Free - "We tried the Hot Ones sauces. It was painful."

Queer Historical Romance panel with KJ Charles, AL Lester & Lex Croucher presented by The Portal Bookshop

Poker Face - s1, e5-7

Our Flag Means Death - s1, e8-10

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

⭐ Vibe Check - NFL = National Fenty League

Digital Folklore - Monsters and Mental Healthcare - Vivian Asimos & Kathleen Hale

The Sporkful - Alan And Arlene Alda Bonded Over A Fallen Rum Cake

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Henry Miller Memorial Library

You Must Remember This - 1984: "Vioporn," Body Double and Crimes of Passion (Erotic 80s Part 7)

Switched on Pop - “Flowers” and the art of the response song

Digital Folklore - Hidden Meanings (Haunted Videogames, ARGs, & Folk Groups)

Strange Customs - Katie Lowes and Adam Shapiro—The Rock

It's Been a Minute - Unlocking desire through smut; plus, the gospel of bell hooks

⭐ Vibe Check - There’s Dog Years, and Then There’s Queer Years

ICYMI Plus - The Internet’s Black Emo Renaissance

99% Invisible #525 - The Chinatown Punk Wars

⭐ Fated Mates - S05.22: Trailblazer K.J. Charles

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Pushkin’s Duel

Welcome to Night Vale #222 - Makarov the Magical

Shedunnit - Bonus: Tana French on Josephine Tey

Fated Mates - S05.14: Band Sinister by KJ Charles

Writing Excuses - 18.07: Deep Dive into THE SPARE MAN

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Cactoblastis Memorial Cairn

Writing Excuses - 18.05: An Interview with Mary Robinette Kowal

Ologies - Melaninology (SKIN/HAIR PIGMENT) with Tina Lasisi

You Must Remember This - 1985: Fear Sex. Jagged Edge & AIDS (Erotic 80s Part 8)

Endless Thread - The Journeys of Two Russian Anti-War YouTubers

Strong Songs - From Bach to Miles Davis, with Emily Reese

You're Dead To Me - Early Medieval Papacy

It's Been a Minute - Kelela's guide for breaking up with men

Dear Prudence - My Partner Might Be in Conversion Therapy. Help!

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Rihanna

The Celtic Spirit

my 'Thumbs Up' playlist

Tropical Dance Pop

Hi-Scores

#sunday reading recap #bookgeekgrrl's reading habits #bookgeekgrrl's soundtracks #fanfic ftw #the guest appearances in poker face have been *chef's kiss* #vibe check podcast #fated mates podcast #atlas obscura podcast #switched on pop podcast #99% invisible podcast #you're dead to me podcast #writing excuses podcast #shedunnit podcast #welcome to night vale #digital folklore podcast #the sporkful podcast #ologies podcast #you must remember this podcast #endless thread podcast #strong songs podcast #icymi podcast #it's been a minute podcast #strange customs podcast #dear prudence podcast #rihanna #fan artists are a *gift*

[danwhobrowses]

AEW All Access Ep 4 Thoughts

So Full Gear is in the books in the All Access timeline, but what developments do we have next for our cast members? Here's my thoughts on things

Man imagine having a home like a wrestler's? Full of merch, titles you've won spread over your walls, spacious and you don't have to fork out rent? Plus I'd definitely borrow Rey Mysterio's waterfall swimming pool from his home

Pretty telling that Kenny probably wouldn't have come back without the Bucks, it shows how much he backs his friends though

Knew that was coming Max, but man we got about 3 minutes worth of unpaid MJF footage there

Actually quite surprised Tay never broke anything, it's a good thing of course even I've never broke a bone but I haven't done 2 bloody street fights and a career of Judo so my path was a little safer

This series need 90% more Willow Nightingale too she would be great in this...okay 70% she was shown quite a bit but she needs to be a more prominent character

"It's pro-wrestling baby, somebody's always mad about something" ain't that the Truth, the whole Truth and even the R-Truth

See I know I gotta keep reiterating it, but wrestlers are people, and sometimes people don't get along but that doesn't make either bad people; Tay and Ruby don't get along, but they are still good people, Rosa and Britt don't get along, but they both want to do what's best for AEW

Need 80% more Ethan Page too

Ruby and Eddie's reunion too, warms the heart

We could just commission a whole series of 'Eddie Kingston and his friends', just have Eddie vibing and watching wrestling with his favourite people like Ruby, Ortiz, Moxley, Riho, Lulu, Penta etc.

I do feel bad for Rosa, because she's clearly motivated to return to the ring but it still hasn't happened, imagine not being able to do a job you love for months

I kinda miss Madi Wrenkowski, not as much as I miss KiLynn King but she was a good worker, liked her gear too. Both see and King are tag champs in other promotions if you didn't know (Madi is NWA women's tag champion as part of M95 and King is Knockouts Tag Champion as part of The Coven)

80% more Penelope too, though if she's taking more time for herself for personal reasons absolutely don't pry she has had a rough time

You know the heat is bad when Sammy Guevara, one of the most booed men in AEW, has to pause over it XD

Again though, we could've dedicated more time with showing Jamie directly rather than talking around her. Her story of becoming champion and the pressure of it mentioned here would've been interesting to see coming from her instead of mentioned by Tony and Britt

Since we got to see Cool Hand Ang I need to say AEW need to push 2point0 properly, they are charisma machines

Wardlow is just standing there, OMINOUSLY!

As I've said, Ruby and Tay are good people, but I do think Ruby was a bit iffy about doubting Tay saying it was an accident, I mean the move has a high margin for error (case in point Mercedes Moné fka Sasha Banks' first attempt at the Gory Special DDT on KAIRI completely missed) it felt like she was set on giving a receipt regardless

#aew all access #aew #all elite wrestling #dr britt baker dmd #britt baker #tay melo #sammy guevara #ruby soho #eddie kingston #the young bucks #kenny omega #the elite #wardlow #angelo parker #2point0 #jamie hayter #willow nightingale #penelope ford #thunder rosa #madi wrenkowski #maxwell jacob friedman #mjf #ethan page

[cakesplice]

my silly little non despair dr roomies au ramblings 💭

characters:

main housemates: chiaki + hajime + komaeda (aka tpg) and ibuki

floormates who are also dating main housemates and basically live in their apartment: akane and kaede

other people dating main housemates: maki

regular visitors: chihiro, himiko, kokichi, makoto, almost everyone in sdr2 with a focus on fuyuhiko, kazuichi, and maybe sonia

premise:

all dr casts are involved + hpa is still very much intact (unfortunately) (also i haven't decided if v3 cast also went to hpa or did their own thing lol)

tpg graduated together, alongside the rest of class 77-b and the year before class 78-b

tpg are qpps! platonic partners forever and ever

tpg decided to room with ibuki (much against their will at first since ibuki just needed to place to stay in between gigs but komaeda and ibuki had gotten closer so now she has occupied what was originally just a storage room for tpg)

they live in a 3 bedroom apartment in a skyrise building in the city (room 314 baybeyyy)

komahina share a room with each other while chiaki and ibuki have their own rooms respectively :]

relationships:

main couples: komahina, chikaemaki, miowari

other couples of importance: oumeno and naehiro

besties for the resties: tpg, chiaki + chihiro + himiko, komaeda + ibuki, kuzuhinasouda

komahina reconciled their differences nearing the end of their last term at hpa and took a shot at dating post grad before deciding to move in together a few years into their relationship

(chikaemaki origin story in the works) but chiaki was involved in komahina's plans to move in together in order to 'minimize rent costs' (they did not minimize rent costs) (not that they really needed to lol thank you old schmoney)

kaede lives in the same building as the main housemates and visits regularly! just not as often as akane because she's attached to her piano. chiaki spends as much time in her room as she does in kaede's apartment as they do a lot of parallel play ❤️ maki fucks off regularly for work trips and/or studies abroad though so piano tiles (chiaki and kaede) spend time together with her online gaming because e-daters (derogatory)

ibuki started seeing and dating akane after meeting again a high school reunion so now akane basically lives there (her apt is on the same floor but she's always in room 314 anyway)

oumeno and naehiro are high school sweethearts from their respective high schools ^___^ it did take oumeno longer to figure their shit out though LMFAO

occupations:

to be developed! i did not think that far ahead lol

the au itself takes place a few years after their intended hs graduation so they're all in their early 20s, but i'm not sure if i want them all to be in college / only some of them to be in college / all to be employed (part and/or full time) / etc

i think the only occupations i'm somewhat confident about are: ibuki (part-time singer-songwriter), chiaki (part-time streamer), and komahina are both currently in school working with hajime working part-time and komaeda as his stay-at-home wife (joke joke this is a joke don't k word me ty)

extras:

kaede's hs best friends are rantaro and shuichi who both visit occasionally

maki's hs best friends are kaito (visits occasionally) and himiko (always there)

himiko's hs best friend is angie (lives overseas)

i think apt 314 should have some pets. for funsies <3

🍓🐶🦔 i will keep adding to this post and changing things as i see fit :3 thanks for tuning in if you actually took the time to read this LOL 🍓🎼🔪

#roomies #<- catch-all tag for this au :-) #3am cringe lets fucking GO #i'm not proofreading this either sorry if nothing makes sense (i'm not sorry) #this all sounds even more silly now that i have typed it all out lol #my followers are not exempt from my brainrot >:] #sticky notes

[realhousewives-fan]

A Break from Toxicity for the Greater Good

It’s a little awkward watching Shereé Whitfield’s lunch with the OGs.

It feels incomplete without Nene Leakes. But we’re never seeing her again, so there will be no true reunion for the OGs of RHOA.

And how strange wasn’t it to hear Kim Zolciak-Biermann deny the rumours of loosing her house? Especially when she’s going through a messy divorce right now!

Her life is falling apart, and she acts like nothing is wrong. That’s so bizarre to me!

But this absurdness aside, this episode appeared to be the break from negativity this group sorely needed.

The division in this cast has forced the show to a standstill and we’re stuck in a hamster wheel with the same bullshit, and it has not been fun to watch.

Sanya Richards-Ross’ MommiNation event was refreshing to say the least.

We’ve gotten away from a lot of charity events on Real Housewives, and Sanya’s MommiNation event seemed like a positive, uplifting event to celebrate women.

She asked Kenya Moore to be the auctioneer at her event, and even if it was sprung on Kenya on short notice, she took the challenge and helped Sanya reaching an impressive result.

The money was going to homeless mothers, to help them with their rent. Sanya was hoping for $50,000, and they ended up with impressive $78,000.

In the after show the women were shading Drew Sidora’s reluctancy to donate to the charity however, which makes me think that the friendship between Sanya and Drew isn’t getting that much better.

Is Kenya a hypocritical primadonna? Absolutely. But her comment “better late than ugly” made me laugh.

We finally got to see Roi whom she has been seeing lately. He surprised her while she was filming a commercial for Kenya Moore Hair Care, and it seemed like a cute moment.

It seems like he’s being a gentleman with her, and she deserves love.

We leave this group on a happier note than most episodes lately, and this episode ended with the midseason trailer that was all about Drew.

Something tells me that this break from toxicity won’t last long.

#Real Housewives of Atlanta #RHOA #Shereé Whitfield #Nene Leakes #Kim Zolciak-Biermann #Sanya Richards-Ross #Kenya Moore #Drew Sidora

[ridiasfangirlings]

Several years have passed and everyone have a little reunion together. In all those years many of them have come to an understanding and are friends/no longer enemies. Shiro remembers that all of the things that happened before was of the slates he researched and felt bad once he realized all of the crap that went cause of it but seeing everyone together and are happy he thinks maybe there was something good that came out of it, too. He just wished he'd have had it in him to do more earlier.

Imagine everyone having a reunion together and Shiro getting maybe a little teary-eyed as he realizes that after all those years he spent stagnating in the air his time really has begun to move again and he's found a lot of really precious things. Like the last of the Slate's influence has finally faded and most everyone has lost their powers but they're all still close companions, the old rivalries have faded away and the cast are on good terms and moving on with their lives. As a mark of the anniversary of the Slate's destruction Munakata decides to hold a lavish party for everyone, like he rents out some big fancy ballroom type space and has a whole banquet laid out, no expense spared. Normally everyone would complain about Munakata overdoing it but it's actually rather nice, like they all know what they went through when the Slate was still intact, all the things they lost and gained due to it, and this is like one last big party before everyone starts to really move on to a world no longer touched by the influence of the Dresden Slate.

Shiro gets himself a drink and ends up sitting along the edges of the party, just watching everyone have fun and thinking how so much has changed. He sees Neko dancing with Anna, all happy and smiling, and it feels like they've both grown up a lot in just the past couple years. Kuroh's talking with Yukari nearby and spots Shiro, walking over to ask if he's okay because he had this wistful look on his face. Shiro laughs and says he was just thinking Neko looks more mature now and come to think Kuroh does too, they've both grown up. Kuroh notes that Shiro has too and Shiro's surprised for a moment, Kuroh reminds him that he isn't immortal anymore, he's no longer the Silver King whose time has stopped. Shiro thoughtfully says he hadn't even thought of that until now, even though they destroyed the Slate years ago. Sometimes he regrets that he started researching the Slate at all, because it caused so much pain to not just himself but to everyone – but now, seeing them all happy and content and moving forward, it feels like at least there really was some good that came out of it. And he's starting to realize how much he gave up by running away all those years ago, like if only he'd found the courage to involve himself in the world earlier maybe he could have found out these precious things sooner. Kuroh notes that they have no power to change the past, they can only accept the present that is here and look towards the future, and that they have as much time as they need now. Shiro smiles and says yes that's true – the clock is moving forward, and he has an entire road ahead of him waiting to be traveled side by side with the companions he cherishes so much.

#Isana Yashiro #Talking K #well I suppose he's kinda realized a lot of this already #but maybe more internally than actually saying it out loud and that changes things #maybe Shiro actually feeling a little guilty that he 'started' all this in the first place #and like he can't undo the harm the Slate did to everyone not just him #actually recognizing that other people went through worse than he did #but also realizing that there were good things too and he can be thankful for those

[ramblingdisaster73]

Damn, I really need to stew more on all this, I don't know what to think yet. But I just wanted to say that now I need, not wish but NEED, next episode to be such a good parallel of both 2x08 and 3x04 after all the angst we went through. I want to be shown Carlos realize his mistakes in a dreamlike/flashbacks fashion, maybe even with virtual Andrea, and I want TK & Gabriel team, and I crave a tearful reunion.

(Maybe we could also get a bit down the line some other obstacle for tarlos and Carlos tackling it differently to show us his growth, like they've done for TK last season and also this one.)

I also need 4x04 like, right now, Is it too much to ask?.

It's gonna be a loooong week.

p.s. sorry about the rent, I just needed to let it out

If 4x04 is really a big Tarlos episode, then we may get some of that. If they are drugging him, I can see them doing some type of flashbacks/dreams – maybe the still of Carlos we saw with what looks to be Andrea would be from that. It would be a perfect parallel with 3x04 – and we all know how much this show loves it’s parallels.

I also don’t know what to think about a few things and am trying to reserve judgement until next week, wait for that last piece of the puzzle that hopefully makes it all make sense. Or at least some of it.

I can say that the cast is absolutely killing it this season and I am grateful for that.

I can understand why Carlos would be upset with TK for talking to Iris, I get why he is panicked about finding her, and he is right to be- but dude, like you put the two of you on this time frame – not TK.

I hope he realizes that he can’t control everything and everyone around him – since he is literally now in a situation he has zero control over, this may be the direction. Maybe even the lesson he learns. But they need to show it, it needs to be on screen.

So far, it’s lie on top of lie. I am more convinced of an Carlos/Iris reunion (not romantic – just that will be the one that matters to him) than I am of a Carlos/TK reunion. I may be wrong on this, but considering the first 3 eps, that is the way it looks to me.

I am figuring out that the episodes that just leave me with more questions give me a lot more inspiration for writing and this episode is loaded with questions. By the time the next one airs, I will have worked through some of my issues with the storylines, and I will probably enjoy it more.

I am interested in the TK/Gabriel team up – glad Owen won’t be involved, even though the way they cut the promo it looked like he would be, but we have already been told multiple times that he won’t be available. It will be an interesting dynamic, that’s for sure.

#valerileygreen #911 lone star season 4 #911 lone star spoilers #911 lone star speculation #carlos reyes

[that-salty-ghost]

As Above, So Below | Chapter 17: Shameful Company | Viktor [Arcane] // Male Reader | Rating: M Throughout

// 🎧 Mood Music: Shameful Company by Rainbow Kitten Surprise 🎧 \\

The speed at which your gaze darts from Viktor to the woman in the doorway while they talk is almost dizzying.

You notice that her face looks a little flush and she tends to fidget with her glasses when Viktor speaks or even looks at her. She did just come out from a warm-ish building, maybe the cold air is fogging up her lenses or something…

“We must’ve had the same idea.” A soft grin creeps onto his face while he looks from her up to the top of the building. His brows raise while he examines how impressive the size of the structure is. Still, he seems genuinely happy that she got there before he did, even though that probably meant he lost out on renting the space.

“I guess so…” She sounds a little guilty about beating him to the punch. Must be a good spot for the work they’re trying to do. “Although maybe we could share it?” She looks over at the man that you assumed had been showing her around.

“Can’t, we need the rest of the space for apprentices—only have enough room for one extra.” The man looks over at you, almost sizing you up and you turn your head while you try to place where you’ve seen him.

Viktor purses his lips, shaking his head before he turns back to Sky. “That’s alright, I’m happy you found a place for your work.” His smile is warm, even sweet when he meets her gaze again and you can’t help but notice her eyes darting from him, downwards, back up—that looks dizzying too. “And I’m excited to see what you present.” You can tell he actually means what he’s saying to her and doesn’t seem put out at all. You think she must be a really good friend until you notice her body language.

She’s fidgeting with her glasses again, and unable to hold eye contact with him before she’s barely able to murmur “You too.”

…ahhh hell.

She likes him too.

“You’re The Butcher’s boy aint ya?”

All of the color drained from your face when the soot-covered man spoke. You feel both Sky and Viktor’s eyes on you while you swallow and try to quickly navigate how to handle this. Anytime you heard someone refer to your father as ‘The Butcher’, it definitely wasn’t a compliment.

“Well…Remy’s now.” You finally placed where you knew him, he’s one of the blacksmiths that helped forge the weapons your father needed years ago. You haven’t seen him since you were a kid, but this wasn’t exactly the time or place you wanted this reunion to occur.

He scoffs and his shoulders tightly pull the fabric of his shirt when he crosses his arms, causing the muscles in his forearms to bulge even more. You don’t remember him being quite this behemoth, but clearly a lot has changed…except for his pleasant disposition.

“S’pose that’s true. I’ll never understand why a guy like him would risk his reputation for that son of a bitch’s kid.”

You catch a view of Viktor over the man’s shoulder and his expression is one you haven’t seen before. His eyes are piercing, practically boring a hole into the back of the man’s head. His brows are knitted tightly and you make a mental note to never get on his bad side.

While you were thankful that he clearly wasn’t happy with how this guy was talking to you, you also didn’t want to see him upset. This was nothing you hadn’t heard before, but watching Viktor witness it was something that hit you harder than you were anticipating.

You gather your composure with quick inhale and address the man. Despite his words creeping under your skin, you brush off his comment and lean into pretending to feel small—which you’re sure was his goal anyway.

“Guess he’s a sucker for a charity case.” You pause when he takes a step towards you and you force a strained smile while you hold your ground. “Lucky me.”

The blacksmith takes another step and his massive frame casts a shadow as he towers over you. He had to be twice your size...you need to play this smart—you couldn’t take him in a fight and again, this isn’t the time or the place for any of this.

You notice Viktor start to take a step as well, but you subtly flex your fingers out by your side—silently asking him to stay where he is. He glances down to your hand and pauses. While his expression looks pained, he does as you ask and doesn’t move any closer.

“Listen, you both look like smart kids.” Even though he’s facing you, you know he’s talking to Viktor and Sky. “But this one’s got rotten lineage—bad blood.” The man doesn’t even flinch while he talks about you like you’re not even there. “This isn’t the company you want to keep if you want to go anywhere.”

“I’m afraid you and I don’t share that sentiment, sir.” Viktor’s voice startles you and your eyes widen when you hear how guttural it’s become. His mild demeanor completely ransacked by a low tone with sharp edges as his accent hangs onto the ‘t’s and d’s’ in his sentence. “And I’m capable of discerning the kind of company worth keeping.”

You glance over to see that this time, it’s Viktor that doesn’t flinch.

You can’t fight the faint grin that ghosts onto the corner of your mouth, your eyes are heavy with admiration and the visible anger within him slightly subsides once you catch his eye.

The blacksmith scoffs and turns to address Viktor one more time. “You’re better off sticking with her.” He motions to Sky and your poker face that you’ve maintained while under scrutiny finally falls away when he starts to walk back towards the warehouse.

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders, but that one...” He jerks his head back to motion towards you before finishing his unsolicited advice. “That one will bring you nothing but trouble.”

You knew he was mostly talking about Viktor’s career, but it felt so much heavier than that. You also knew there was a good degree of truth to his words. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, you obviously weren’t about to make his life any easier.

But all of that feels contrived when Viktor’s eyes never leave yours. He barely even acknowledges the man that passes him, sending a message that he’s done talking about this and only responds with a calm and even voice.

“I’ll take my chances.”

“Let me know if you need help moving your equipment in.” The blacksmith talks to Sky one last time before going back inside.

You didn’t hear what she said in return, your attention is completely fixed on Viktor as he starts towards you. Your shoulders feel heavy, your eyes tired. A slow inhale is all you can manage to try and recover from the entire situation. That and Viktor’s gentle expression as he watches you come down from your adrenaline high.

“I’m not one to say I told you so.” You start, a smirk forming on your face as you huff a small laugh.

“Mm…well don’t start on my behalf.” Viktor’s tone is light, even amused while he straightens his jacket. “I consider that a bullet dodged. All thanks to your…ehh,” His brows twitch teasingly while a grin spreads across his face. “…infamy.”

You notice how quickly his anger has already faded and feel your own heartrate slow again. Just standing by him settles you down, and his playful energy only takes the edge off even more.

“You’re welcome then?” You joke, but when he pauses and glances up from buttoning his coat, the sly grin he gives you sobers your expression up immediately.

“That’s more like it.”

…send help.

“I’m so sorry, Viktor I had no idea.” Sky’s voice is rushed, breathy and sounds absolutely mortified.

…not exactly what you had in mind, but that’ll do.

“He was a completely different person until he saw…” She looks over at you and then back to Viktor.

“[Y/n]. And it’s not your fault.” He looks back to you and motions to Sky. “[Y/n], this is Sky. A…ah, colleague of mine.”

You hold your hand out for her to shake. “Nice to meet you, Sky.”

She smiles weakly, seemingly still shook up about what just happened before responding with “Nice to meet you too. I still can’t believe that just happened.”

Your nose crinkles while you shrug. “Sylas is honestly great; he trains some of the best blacksmiths in the undercity. You’ll have a good set up here.”

Viktor cocks a brow after you say the man’s name. He parts his mouth like he’s about to speak to you, but Sky responds first.

“You…know him?”

“Knew. But he shouldn’t give you any trouble. He’s harmless unless you’re…uh…me.” You give a crooked grin to lighten the mood but Viktor quips back dryly.

“Your definition of great is concerning.”

“Given the past 24 hours, that’s what you’ve found concerning?”

Viktor’s lighthearted chuckle is contagious and you can’t help but laugh as well while he tries to say “Fair point.”

You almost get wrapped up in the sound of his laugh, but manage to catch Sky’s expression shift.

“Sorry, just been a wild day already.”

“Same here. Have you two eaten? Maybe we can grab some lunch?”

You didn’t want to break the news that you both had a late breakfast and decide to leave that to Viktor.

Instead, you check your pocket watch and bite your cheek when you see how late it’s already gotten. “I’d love to, but I actually have a few things I need to go take care of. Thank you for the invite though.”

Sky nods at you before looking at Viktor. You catch her biting her lower lip while she waits for his answer and you tighten a strap on your bag so you can move better on the rooftops. Watching her crush on him doesn’t exactly bother you, but after recent events you don’t think your self-esteem can take another hit right now.

“You two have fun. Good luck hunting today, Viktor.” You tighten the last shoulder strap and exchange a grin with him before you start looking for an alley with a fire escape that you can reach.

You only take a few steps before he has you grinning ear-to-ear.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

----------

A/N: Peep that pinned post for more chapters and good times <3

#viktor x reader #viktor arcane x reader #arcane viktor x reader #viktor arcane #arcane viktor #viktor #arcane fanfic #that salty ghost fic #as above so below fic

[megamanxfanfics]

It’s done......

I can’t believe that it’s finally over.

I’ve been writing MMX Fanfics for 11 Years!!

This Project saw it’s birth in the MMX9.com Community in 2011 and shifted to Tumblr in 2013 once that site went down.  It survived the roller-coaster ride of collaborators joining and leaving with varied levels of interest and personal drama until I found myself riding Solo once again in 2014.  This Blog was my 3rd and Final attempt at Revamping the Project in 2015 and not only did I catch up, but I saw it through to an absolute End.

I am so proud of myself for finishing what I started.

I’m going to miss X & Zero a lot. I’ve enjoyed creating all of my OCs; whether gathered from background characters in any of the games or coming completely from my own head.

Actualizing the events of each game has been an absolute pleasure. It’s made me understand and appreciate the lore way more, that's for sure. And I love the games all the more for it.

I’m sure I’ll write more entries in the future, but this one is just meant to be a quick celebration for everything I’ve accomplished.  And to maybe explain why I bothered with all of this in the first place.

...Because it’s Mega Man X!  It’s awesome!!!

No, but really... the quickest explanation is - MMX caught me by surprise as an 8 year old kid, when it came out.  I’d played most of the Megaman games growing up and had a high appreciation for the format, but this was something different.  This was special, brutal, dark and mature!

And with it, I matured more.

X2 wasn’t as well received for me.  We rented it, but I wasn’t good.  I never beat more than a few Mavericks.  My brother might’ve made it to the X-Hunter Fortress, but we certainly never beat it.

X3...?  Forget it.  We couldn’t beat 1 boss...

But in 1997, X4 dropped and I OWNED that shit.  Not literally, I rented it. Every weekend.  But I just kept at it with X & Zero and easily got to Sigma on the Save File within the first weekend of having it.  The rest of our times renting it, it was all about trying to beat it.  ...maybe I did it with Zero as a kid, but I can’t be sure.

Then... I just dropped off.  I was under a rock for X5 & X6.

The only way I knew about X7 was because my best friend’s little brother had a copy of it in his basement.  But I never bothered with it.

Never knew about X8 when it was current...

But then, in 2006, the 1st MMX Collection came out!  And Holy Fuck was it a Reunion!  More like a Nostalgia-filled Revolution!! And THIS was where I became a Fanatic.  From this point forward, I just couldn’t stop playing the games.

Replaying X1 was a pure Nostalgia Ride. Beating X2 for the first time was wonderful.  I knew of the ending, but seeing it live was great. Beating X3 for the first time was such an accomplishment. X4 was another beautiful Nostalgia Ride.  Truly beating it with both X & Zero was fantastic.

I couldn’t wait to learn of X5 and X6, but... they were so disappointing. X4, part 2 and 3 they were not.

I learned to get over it in future playthroughs.  I got used to the cast, and respected X5 for being the Grand Culmination of everything Inafune had set up.

I began to appreciate X6 for being a true Epilogue Tale, despite all it’s rushed flaws in development and localization.

Getting a hold of good copies of the current PS2′s X7 & X8 were very difficult.  But I made it happen.

All I have to say is that I was so glad I didn’t play X7 in 2003, when I noticed it in my best friend’s basement.  I would’ve given up on the franchise altogether. Instead... I took the awkward 3D phase in stride, knowing that hopefully X8 is a significant improvement.  Axl was alright..  The story was... meeh.  But I did like that we were now thrust into the far future, after a long period of peace and rebuilding.

And X8, when I finally got a hold of that?  Beautiful.  Wonderous.  Worth it. But FUCK is that Cliffhanger annoying.

...and That is exactly why I stopped at X6.

Despite the last 2 games being good in their own right, they don’t have a proper ending.  While the first 6 games, when playing them over and over and over again, the story just made more and more sense, connecting the dots.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I couldn’t stop playing the games.  It was getting bad.  I was also watching a Hell of a lot of anime at the time.

Until one marked day in April of 2011, I asked the X9 Community if they would ever want to see an MMX Anime.  And if so, what would it be like?

This was a HOT topic.  So many people chimed in.

And before long, it inspired me to work on an Anime Episodic Format of the MMX Series.

Fuckin Herculian Task that was..!  But I loved it, every step of the way.

It helped me channel this obsession and fanaticism for the series.  It brought back my writing creativity that I’d been missing.  And it got me to calm down about the series over time.

Retelling is no easy task.  And I’m sure I’ve made some missteps along the way. But I really loved working on this the whole time and dishing it out to you, week after week, month after month, year after year...

Lore-wise, I eventually knew that everything I had set up would end at X6.

There’s the tiniest strand of Red being around to set up Red Alert in X7, but... he barely cameod in X4.  And again, X8 is a Cliffhanger.

To write an X9... would be a True Fanfic in every sense of the Word.  And not only has it been done hundreds of times before within the community, [probably better than I could] but... I’m just not interested in that part of the timeline as much.

Writing the Series out made me realize, my most favorite parts of the franchise are probably X1-X4.  It’s what I knew the best.

X5 had disappointing presentation, but otherwise the story was solid. Realizing that most of my beloved OC’s would die was pretty epic and insane in it’s own right.  Putting my own spin on Dynamo was a lot of fun. (I never really liked him.  Not gonna lie.)

X6 is a fucking Nightmare..!  Pun Intended, I suppose.  But, it was always my End Goal.  I really wanted to get to the Dystopian Landscape and write a broody, dark world that’s struggling to survive.

...only, once I got there...  I found it to be really... boring.

I’d hate to say it, but every time X had to lay down and recover, it got tougher and tougher to keep it fresh. Especially since I didn’t want to get caught up in the filler of building up new OC’s and potential Red Shirts.

I think I handled it well though.

Before long, the Original Spark ignited, and I had a set of new OC’s with distinct personalities as a backing crew for X & Family.

And here’s the most poetic thing.

In the big picture, I was inspired by Berserk.  Guts & Griffith being the closest of friends, but clashing into a Hellish Rivalry wrought with betrayal.

I knew I wanted to tackle some sort of theme like that, and ultimately tell the story that... Friendship Prevails.

But like Berserk, not only did I portray that theme, but also the Berserk 2016/2017 theme of New Beginnings.  Without intending to ride on it’s coattails, there’s definitely a parallel of X finding trust and love in new teammates while Guts did the same.

But enough of the comparisons...

I could go on and on, and I’m sure I will again from time to time.

But for now, I’m really proud to have brought this to you.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed Any of the Seasons, let alone X6.

There will Not be a Season VII for the main reason stated above - it leads to a Cliffhanger.  But also, that game is just awful...! Not to mention, with everything I’ve set up w/ the Guardians, it’d be very hard to write them in or out.

Speaking of which...  there will Not be an MMZ Anime, so please. Don’t even think about it. If the Epilogue isn’t telling enough, I start to get very shaky when we get into the far-flung in-between Lore of the MMX & MMZ series.

I just can’t do it guys.  I don’t get it. I’m not invested enough.

I played through all the MMZ games, and they’re cool.  They have my respect.  But certainly not the love that I have for the X Series.

I’d be churning out an awful product and it’d be chorish at best.

Lore-wise, what happens next is really cool and intriguing though. I definitely enjoy hearing all about what happens in “The Gap” as I like to call it.  But at some point I get lost and I really can’t follow it.

A replay of the MMZ Series is probably due in the future. We’ll see how long that lasts... lol.

Anyway, that’s enough from me, for now.

A True Analysis of the 3rd Arc will follow soon.

#Season VI #It's done...... #Post-Wrap #celebrations #Project History #Project Inspiration #Theme Inspiration #Why Stop Now? #MMX #MMZ

[veronicasanders]

"Suggest how you might resolve the staging difficulties inherent in a production of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt." if you get the reference I'd love you forever, but it's not the question for this week. Here it is: If you could change the way any movie/play/book was made, which one would you change? how?

Okay well I do not get this specific reference so I guess you can only love me for a finite period of time, but fuck do I love this question. 🥰🥰🥰 Alright…*gets out my 2,000 page binder and slaps it on the table*…here we go! 💖

No, in all seriousness, I do have like a thousand answers for this but I’ll try to think of some highlights that are potentially entertaining. 

I guess an obvious one is RENT? Because the movie adaptation was just so EGREGIOUSLY wrong? I mean starting with, choosing a director best known for Home Alone and other cheesy family shit. And then casting the OG Broadways actors, most of whom were bordering on too old to play those roles when they did them the first time around, because that’s just how Broadway works, and then the whole “color blind” phenomenon of the 90s which resulted in the bizarre situation where not only is the pretentious Ivy League snob a Black woman, which…like, okay, maybe you could have gotten away with, I guess, but also the oppressive rich douche landlord who’s fucking the teenage stripper? Why did anyone think it was progressive to give this role to a Black man? It wasn’t progressive in the 90s on Broadway and it certainly the FUCK wasn’t progressive when they made the movie in 2005 and you know what this question is supposed to be fun and I’m giving myself a migraine so I don’t want to talk about RENT anymore. 

Mommie Dearest - this is a perfect film and not a frame should be touched. Okay actually, I have a theory that like, 95% of what makes this movie so weird and campy is the pacing? Like, the fact that the shots are held for SO long after people finish talking? I wonder what it would be like if some editor took it and cut in a more normal way? I know the acting is still over the top and like, there’s no cutting around the terrible wigs on Old Christina (although…maybe with some good vfx…?). Anyway, a recut could be interesting experiment. I bet it would be like an hour and 15 minutes, tops.

Along those same lines….I really want a recut of Drag Race Season 7, where instead of focusing on petty drama that no one actually cared about, they instead give us the “everyone wants to fuck each other” cut we deserve. I mean the fact that the best scene we saw all season was a CUT SCENE (the one where Violet yells "SHOW US YOUR DICK!" to Trixie) really tells us everything we need to know. 

Okay this one is for Andy Cohen - I want have a section, maybe even a whole episode, of the Real Housewives Reunions, where an actual licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who is familiar with the show, has seen ALL seasons and read all their blogs and tweets and shit, sits down and coaches them through the layers of miscommunication and ego bullshit so that the stupid nonsense can actually be resolved. Because as a viewer, it actually stresses me out when a simple miscommunication gets amplified and blown up and dragged out over 4 seasons just because people are fucking stupid. I’d rather see them all be drunk idiots having fun together. Yes, watching them fight is fun, but watching them have the SAME fight over and over makes me want to push them all into moving traffic. 

The L Word - I would kill Tina in the pilot and then like…I dunno change a bunch of other stuff, especially the horrendous way they handle the Max plotline, but mostly kill Tina. Bette deserves better and so do we. 

Oh also, I'm happy that we made Dawn pansexual in the Baby-Sitter's Club series, but where's the Kristy lesbian icon plot line? It needs to happen. Also I want Alicia Silverstone to say "Clueless" more because that's only happened once and I found it deeply emotionally satisfying.

(I know you didn’t say TV but I’m garbage and TV is very important to me.)

I have a lot more, but I think that’s what fanfic is for, isn’t it? Like, what I’m doing queering up the Parent Trap and stuff like that? Anyway this answer has gone on too long so I’ll stop torturing you. 

#walking down the glittertrail #this was fun #I can do more