#I keep telling myself after I finish this 76-page reading | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

puddygeeks · 3 years

Text

𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝑶𝒇 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 - 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒊𝒅 𝒙 𝑶𝑪 - 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 7: 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔

Masterlist

Rating: Mature

Summary: 𝐴𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝐴𝑈 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦, 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡.

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x OC

Status: Ongoing

LONG TERM ONGOING PROJECT :)

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 & 𝑠𝑒𝑥𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝐴𝑈'𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.

Eᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ: Pʀᴇ Sᴇᴀsᴏɴ 1

Chapter Seven

It was a struggle to even drag myself out of bed the next morning, as the exertion of the past few days left me feeling thoroughly run down. Despite multiple washes and even attempting some treatments, I was convinced that I could still smell smoke in my long locks, and I resorted to tying it up in a high ponytail to at least keep it out of my face.

At this point, I was running low on office appropriate clothing as I hadn’t expected to be away for this long. I dressed in my last suitable outfit of a black shirt, plain white A-line skirt that sat just below my knees and a pair of black kitten heels. Tying a black bow around my ponytail, I quickly applied a natural looking amount of makeup to compensate for the soot covered appearance that the team last saw of me and then finished packing my things to leave.

I made my way down to the reception to check out, hoping that I would have time to grab a cup of tea before I had to meet the team, but at the very first moment that I had completed the relevant paperwork, I was distracted by a familiar sight. Reid seemed as if he had only just noticed me as he jumped to his feet from where he'd been sitting in the foyer and I approached him with a surprised smile.

“Dr. Reid. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked warmly, secretly pleased to have the opportunity to see him again.

He was dressed in a shirt and smart trousers, with a heavy cardigan over the top that gave him cute hipster vibes that I was sure he was oblivious to. He seemed troubled, his posture fidgety as he reached me and I worried that something bad might have happened to prompt this visit.

“You-you really don’t have to address me like that, Alice.” He muttered quietly, rubbing the back of his neck in an obvious display of discomfort. “Gideon always makes sure to introduce me as doctor, but it’s not something that I’m worried about.” He clarified, seeming bothered that he’d been presented in a pretentious light and I widened my eyes in surprise.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” I replied, grimacing slightly as I spoke and he shook his head vigorously, as if I hadn’t done anything wrong. “What would you prefer?” I offered, wanting to ensure that I addressed him in a manner that he was confident with in future and he seemed taken aback by the question.

“Well, you asked me to call you by your first name, so it’s fine if you want to do the same. Or, Reid is fine too.” He answered quietly, forcing himself to meet my eyes for a fond smile and I returned it eagerly.

It seemed foolish, but I was strangely excited by the fact that he felt secure enough to correct me and I noticed a little flutter of butterflies in my stomach that I tried to deny. It would be awfully inconvenient for me to be attracted to him and so I ensured to quickly push any thoughts that were along those lines aside.

“Hotch has the car ready outside for you. He asked me to see if you were ready to go. Morgan’s helping Garcia to get everything packed up at the base, so they’ll meet us at the jet.” He explained, before taking one of my two cases to assist me and I chuckled at his well established manners.

“Thanks, Spencer. That was a struggle getting those downstairs on my own.” I admitted, feeling an extra strong flutter as I said his name and I was sure that I caught a slight flush in his cheeks too.

--⥈--

"What do you think, Sugar? Feel like a high class diva yet?" Penelope chanted as she settled herself in the seat opposite me in an overly dramatic posture and I giggled at her performance.

Admittedly, I'd never travelled on anything as luxurious as a jet before and honestly felt more out of place on board than I had at any previous time in my life. Fortunately, the company was excellent and the down to earth attitude of the team made the entire experience pleasant.

"I feel like the economy class flight home is going to seem especially torturous after this." I commented with a chuckle and Penelope nodded in agreement.

"I love the way you say that. We'd just call it coach." She remarked, flashing me a doting smile and I rolled my eyes at her continued fascination with my accent. “I don't get to come on the jet often, so it's still a novelty to me. I feel like one of those golden era movie stars, you know?” She described, gesturing as if she was fanning herself with some imaginary large feathered fan and I almost snorted in laughter at her.

“You look like one too, baby girl." Morgan crooned as he passed, tapping her on the shoulder fondly and she practically melted under his touch.

It was endlessly comical to me the way that she fawned over him, but I also appreciated the way that Morgan doted on her in return and was pleased that she had someone who treated her with the admiration that she absolutely deserved.

"Flattery will absolutely get you everywhere, you beautiful man." She drawled back, her voice husky and low as she examined him like a tiger stalking its prey and I shook my head in disbelief at her boldness. "You gonna be okay alone?" She asked, glancing back at Morgan immediately, like it hurt her to keep her eyes off him for too long.

"Go ahead. I have plenty to keep me busy." I announced as I pulled out my ereader from my flight bag and Penelope was out of her seat before I had even finished putting my glasses on.

The rest of the team chatted happily in the background as I lost myself in my story, enjoying some downtime for once. I couldn't remember the last time that I’d felt this relaxed and there was a strange sense of belonging that was present for me when in this team's company. Everything felt easier with them at my back, even facing down a burning building and it was unfamiliar to know that if I needed to turn back for help, then they would absolutely be there.

"I wouldn't have profiled you as an ereader kind of girl." Reid's voice remarked, pulling me from the pages and I glanced up to find him studying me with interest as he stood by my seat.

“Ah, you caught me.” I admitted, before slipping open my satchel to reveal a well worn copy of Pride and Prejudice. "I always keep old reliable nearby. Don't tell the others." I whispered, winking at him cheekily and a knowing smile filled his handsome face. "Honestly, nothing will ever replace real books for me. Something about the feeling of paper and the smell of the pages. It's unbeatable. But this allows me to take more of my library with me and I love to have a good selection.”

"Did you know that there is actually a term for that?” Reid began, gesturing with his hands as he fell into a flow. “It's called Bibliosmia, which is a combination of the Greek words for book and smell. The scent of books is caused by the chemical breakdown of compounds within the paper, which explains why older books smell better, as they contain a number of additional chemicals. Most importantly, many older books use Vanillin, which as the name implies gives a sweet scent." Reid lost himself in a ramble of facts, his passion clearly getting the better of him and though he seemed somewhat self conscious about the fact that he had done this, I had to admit that I found his knowledge fascinating.

"Really?" I breathed enthusiastically, hoping to encourage him to feel able to speak freely around me and he looked back up at me in uncertainty. "Well, now that I have a word for it, I can stop feeling like a lunatic, at least." I added, meeting his eyes with a gentle expression and he carefully sunk into the seat opposite me.

"It's actually a lot more common than people realise. You see, it's an extension of the connection between smell and memory. The particular scent of the book triggers a feeling of familiarity that allows you to relive parts of the experience from your first contact with it, instead of simply reading the story again." He explained, his demeanour seemed more relaxed now and I nodded in interest, encouraging him to continue. "A survey actually found that 71% of respondents don’t use eBooks at all and 76% preferred the traditional book. So, your love of the classic paperback is not something to feel weird about at all."

"That's good to know. I can carry my old school love of reading with pride now." I conceded, giving him an appreciative smile and he seemed shocked by my interest in what he had to say.

"What are you reading?" He enquired curiously and it was my turn to be shocked by his consideration.

In my experience, most people struggled to even pretend to care about my habits for an initial question, let alone to actually hold a conversation about it. I’d grown used to feeling like an outsider amongst people my own age and Spencer was a refreshing change of company.

"The String of Pearls." I confessed, pushing my glasses up to try to cover my blush and he raised his brows at me. "After the way that you talked about it at the base, I downloaded it. I thought it would be interesting to know more of the origin of my favourite musical. I'm already kind of agreeing with you, though. Without the additional context of the loss of his family and the continued tyranny of Judge Turpin on the cities most vulnerable, it honestly lacks the impact that the story I know has. It's simply meaningless horror, with little cultural relevance." I blurted, finding myself also becoming lost in words and once I realised that I was babbling, I felt my blush grow stronger.

When I could finally bring myself to peek at Spencer for his reaction, he didn’t seem bored, or lost as I was used to. In stark contrast to regular reactions to my literary passions, he seemed thrilled by my outburst, as if it had made his day. The way that he studied me now was as if he were lost for words and I quickly returned my attention to my reading in embarrassment.

"Do you mind if I sit here to read? You're quieter than the others.” Spencer asked, pulling an old looking book with a Latin title from his bag and I hummed in response.

"Of course I don't mind." I breezed, sneaking a look at him as he fidgeted to get comfortable. "I'm not sure what you're going to do for the rest of the flight, though.” I added, causing him to frown with confusion and I chuckled slightly under my breath. “I'm teasing, hun. I’m sure it won't take you more than ten minutes to finish that.” I elaborated, pointing to the small book in his hand and he smiled coyly at me.

"I'd usually play chess with Gideon." He revealed, gesturing to an inbuilt board at another table and I raised my brows in surprise to find such a fancy feature on a government jet.

"I'm afraid that I’m completely too out of practice to stand a chance against you." I laughed, unwilling to admit that I had always struggled with the game, despite my mothers best efforts to teach me and I certainly wasn't keen to embarrass myself by playing against an actual genius.

"Well, maybe later I can help you to recover some of your skills.” He suggested with sincerity and I was surprised by how little judgement there was in his voice. As always, he caught me off guard with his kindness.

--⥈--

Penelope's office was familiarly warm and welcoming, but even that atmosphere couldn't help me to make any progress with my reports. I massaged my forehead in an effort to engage my brain, but the words escaped me and I was rapidly becoming frustrated with myself. It had already been explained to me that I simply had to recap the events that occurred, but even that seemed to be too difficult of a task for me.

Penelope wandered back into the room to place a cup of tea beside me and glanced down at the blinking cursor on my completely blank document with a grimace.

"Ouch. Still no luck with your paperwork demons?” She questioned, before settling back at her computer comfortably, turning her seat so that she could still smile at me.

“I’ve never written a field report before.” I groaned, reading through the guidance notes that Spencer had given me again, despite having them practically memorised by now. “I don't know how to explain myself. I'm supposed to remain factual, but it's not that simple. There were emotional factors to why I made the decision that I did."

"Well, that’s easy. Just put I recklessly ran into a burning building like a crazy person, even though my friend told me not to.” Penelope commented, sneaking a meaningful look in my direction and I sighed with exhaustion.

"I'm serious, Alice. I'm worried about you. It's clear that you're not sleeping, or taking care of yourself, and now you're taking these completely insane risks. I don’t want to see you get hurt. I mean, even Morgan was super pissed with you for doing that. If you hadn’t looked so sorry for yourself in the ambulance, he would’ve ripped you a new one, let me tell you. The only reason that he hasn’t done so since is because he respects my wishes.” She revealed, her face growing serious as she examined me and I fidgeted in my seat awkwardly. It was hard enough to defend myself in paperwork, but doing so in the face of one of my dearest friends was another level of challenge.

"Come on, Nels. There was a little girl’s life at stake. I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing." I excused, feeling too uncomfortable to meet her eyes and she only seemed more frustrated by my insufficient response.

"The stakes are always high! That's the nature of our jobs. But you can’t just throw your life away for anyone who needs help, Ally! You matter too.” She insisted, placing one of her hands over mine soothingly to confirm that she wasn’t angry with me and when I looked up at her, I could recognise the care in her eyes.

"I’m sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." I conceded, allowing any defensiveness to melt away in the face of her compassion. "I've just been in kind of a rut since I joined Interpol. It feels so strange to be here and able to rely on people, compared to how isolated I feel there. I mean, I've never been face to face with a situation like that before and I couldn't walk away. I guess I've just grown accustomed to having no one give a damn about me. I didn't even consider the consequences.” I admitted, my voice dropping to barely more than a whisper and I heard Penelope take a sharp intake of breath at this confession.

"Oh, baby doll. Why didn't you tell me that it was getting to you so much?" She questioned, her usually bright face overtaken with concern and I felt as if I had rained on her parade by bringing my problems to her.

"I don't know. I'm not sure that I fully realised until I had this team to compare it to. Part of me felt like I got myself into this situation, so it was down to me to survive it." I reflected, feeling shameful that I'd allowed things to reach such a dire point and she seemed heartbroken by my circumstances.

"I promise, when I get back to France, I'll start figuring out what I can do to make things better. I’ll even send you reports on my progress if you want." I clarified, causing her to force a smile, despite the obvious concern that remained in her eyes.

"Well, if you make sure that you deliver on that promise, then I can help you with your little reporting problem. Come on.” She announced, hopping to her feet and pulling me along behind her.

Wherever she was taking me, I was not about to object to any help with my documentation and so I followed her obediently. Most of the team were focused on their own paperwork, as they sat at their individual desks surrounded by stacks of cases and I certainly didn't envy them for this part of their field roles.

We came to a stop right outside of someone’s private office and Penelope proved that there was such a thing as a cheerful knock, as she waited for a response.

"Hey, Jayge! We missed you in California." She called as she entered the space and I stepped inside cautiously, feeling as if I was invading her privacy. "I'm surprised you'd pass up a chance to get that close to that beautiful beach.” Penelope crooned, smiling genuinely at JJ and I could tell that she’d managed to strike up a strong bond with her too.

“Thanks, Garcia. It’s good to know that I was wanted, but there's no need for a press liaison in a case that is strictly off limits to the press and I have plenty to keep me busy here." JJ answered with a warm smile, before turning her attention to me curiously, prompting Penelope to reveal a guilty smile.

"Well, as the paperwork queen of the BAU, I thought you might be able to help Alice with a little reporting problem." Penelope suggested, making her best effort to appear downright adorable in the face of her already overworked colleague and JJ sighed as she turned to address me.

"I heard about what happened at the base. Hotch making you write up your report alone?" JJ enquired and I nodded back bashfully. "Yikes. That's a very parental punishment.”

"I just don't want to get it wrong. I already messed up enough.” I mumbled, feeling even more embarrassed now that I was discussing this with another agent and JJ simply smiled sympathetically at me.

"Sit down. You'll have to take me through what happened one step at a time and I’ll tell you how to word it."

--⥈--

It was an incredible relief when Hotch had signed off my report and confirmed that I was free to leave whenever I was ready. I'd already decided that I would like to spend at least another night in the area before I returned to life at Interpol and JJ advised that she could mark me as required under retainer for another couple of days, ensuring that Shepard would be unable to bully me into coming home immediately. Already, I was incredibly fond of the gracious members of this team and could easily understand why Penelope felt so settled here.

The prospect of saying goodbye to them felt far more daunting this time around and I knew that I would have to concentrate on keeping my emotions in check. Even simply gathering my belongings from Penelope's office gave me a strange sense of sadness.

Just as I finished packing away my laptop, I noticed a polaroid from my last visit of the two of us, which was leaning against a very decorative edition of the Alice in Wonderland book and I turned to Penelope curiously.

"You setting up a little shrine for me here?" I asked teasingly, attempting to mask how touched I actually was by the gesture and she turned her attention to the display with a smile.

"What can I say? This office feels empty without you now.” She stated solemnly, pulling at my already sensitive heart strings. "Originally, I just had the photo, but the book was actually a gift from our dearest Reid. He noticed that I was sad after you left and wanted to cheer me up. He's a good one, I’ll tell you." She divulged, causing my brows to shoot up in surprise and I couldn't contain a fond smile.

"That’s really sweet." I commented softly, glad that Penelope had this team to take care of her in my place. “Come on. Let's get this over with before I burst into tears." l advised, encouraging her out of the office where she rushed ahead of me to prepare the team for my departure.

Just as last time, they all moved from their desks to meet me in the lobby and I felt emotional even considering leaving their friendly faces. I'd even learned to interpret the vague differences in Hotch's similarly stern glares this time and knew that I would miss trying to tell the difference between them.

JJ reached me first, placing her hand on my arm affectionately.

"It's been great to have another chance to see you. Hopefully we can borrow you again soon.” She complimented, seeming genuine in her fondness of me and I smiled in return at her, appreciative for how attentive she always was. Before anyone else got a chance to speak, Penelope pushed past them all to grab me by the shoulders.

"Look, I promised myself that I wasn't gonna cry, but if I wait until last then I’m not going to be able to keep that, so I’m just gonna give you a squeeze.” She paused to pull me into a tight embrace, making me chuckle in surprise. "I’m going to say farewell, my love. And I’m gonna go back to my office to toughen myself up.” She blurted, leaning back to give me a watery smile, before she rushed out of sight. Morgan looked after her with concern, then forced himself to return his attention to me.

"Bring it in, Poppins.” He crooned, holding out his hand and when I took hold of it for a shake, he pulled me into a brief hug. "You did good work here. You know you're welcome back any time. We'll keep a seat free for you." He added, a wide welcoming grin plastered over his face and I felt myself tearing up at his kind words.

Him and JJ exchanged a knowing look, before joining forces to approach Penelope's office and I was glad to know that she had someone around to comfort her once I had gone. Hotch stepped forward to shake my hand in the gap, seizing a chance to speak before things got any more emotional.

“Thank you for your assistance on this case, Alice. We wouldn’t have been able to bring Amanda home safely without you.” He praised me as I accepted the handshake and I was sure that I could recognise a hint of a smile in his expression. "JJ says you're not heading home for another couple of days?"

“That's right, Sir. I have family in the area that I'm well overdue to visit." I reported, wanting to make it clear that I wasn't planning to just hang around the BAU office like a stalker.

"Well, just give me a call if there's anything that I can do to smooth out your return to Interpol." He offered, allowing his kind-hearted nature to show and I couldn't find the words to adequately express my gratitude for his support.

"Enjoy your time off." He added, before parting from me to leave me alone with Spencer, who was the last person still waiting to say goodbye. He stood with his hands in his pockets, smiling at me bashfully.

"It seems strange to say goodbye to you." He admitted, moving to tuck his hair behind his ear nervously. "You fit here.” He clarified and I hummed thoughtfully, glad that he felt this way. He paused with an uncertain expression, before clearing his throat to speak again.

"Actually. If you have a second, I have a parting gift." He muttered, seeming as if he had struggled to decide whether to mention this or not and I raised my brows at him.

“Something you said on the plane." He added as he rushed back to his desk to grab an item from his drawer and shuffled back to me, holding out a book. "It's a classic. If you're interested in brushing up your skills, you may as well learn from the best. I've already got it memorised, so you can keep it.”

I glanced down at the cover to find that he'd given me a pristine copy of Bobby Fischer's My 60 Most Memorable Games and I smiled at the gesture. It was charmingly thoughtful that he wanted to foster my enjoyment in something that he loved and I resolved to use the gift to develop my chess game ready for the next time that we saw each other.

"Thank you, Spencer. That's really kind of you.” I answered, a genuine smile filling my face and he seemed embarrassed by my gratitude. “Next time that I visit we'll have to play.” I added, causing his face to light up with a grin that made my stomach feel fizzy.

"I'd like that."

3 notes · View notes

acidproofnotebook · 3 years

Text

OPM Chapter 84, Update 125

As first published online

Translator: u/Mynthence

Title Page: In order to remain solitary, instead of in solitude.

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5

Movements that are a perfect blend of attack and defense.

Even though it’s the same Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist the difference in degrees of completion are plainly evident.

The result is obvious.

Page 6

Fuu!!

Page 7 Page 8 Page 9

grab

Bwoh!?

Page 10

Ubuh!!

Page 11

Wh…what’s…with…

This flashy assault, it’s not like the damn geezer at all…

Page 12

N…not good…

My consciousness is fad…

No….I’m gonna die…

…….tsk!!!

Gwah!

Page 13

What’s with those weird movements

where did you learn them?

Like a beast

Not yet!

Page 14

If I can use the heroes that are unconscious as hostages, there’s still a chance!!

I won’t let you

Ugah

Page 15 Page 16

Bang!

I’ve taken care of all the monsters that came out of the hole

All that’s left is Garou

Page 17

There’s still some monster-like reactions but

Beep beep…

For some reason I can’t ascertain the exact number and location…

Will going through that hole take us to the Monster Association’s base?

The guys from the Monster Association…were they wiped out?

They’re useless…!!!

Page 18

I thought we brought enough forces to capture Garou alive but…

Demon Cyborg…to think that he would be this strong

Silver Fang is here too. With this there’s no chance to take him away…

But if I go back empty-handed after expending all these troops, I might be the next one to be eaten by Orochi…

Page 19

Garou will just have to break through this situation with his own power…

…but it’s hopeless…

Should I start thinking about how to live after leaving the Monster Association…?

Hey brother…if it was you…

Would you still be able to stand up with his level of injuries?

…if I was 60 years younger I could try

…probably

Alright! Just a little bit more!!!

Let’s finish this before the other heroes show up, Bang!

Indeed

Page 20

Gugi…

My arms aren’t working properly anymore…

That geezer Bang, going after his former number one disciple when he’s been weakened…how vicious is he?

Page 21

Not to mention that the geezer that’s beating me up with him is Bomb, the master of the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist

For the leaders of the martial arts world to come at me two-on-one, do they have no shame or care for their reputations?

Even if I pretend to beg for my life to these guys, I’m sure the Demon Cyborg won’t let me go

In other words, in order to overcome this extremely critical situation, I need to kill all three of them

Page 22

That’s impossible.

Know the pain of my “number one disciple” Charanko

Garou!!

Page 23

Let’s play Hero!

Garou. You’ll play too, right?

Let’s play, let’s play.

Okay

Page 24

Introductory music

Justice Man has arrived!

Justice Man Kick

Ouch!

Hey

Page 25

That’s dangerous

What?

I feel bad for him

………………

Then you should play the part of the Monster

Justice Man Cross Chop

Woah

Why did you dodge

S, sorry Tacchan

I scratched up my hand

You’re the Monster. Why can’t you read the mood?

Hold Garou down

Okay

Page 26

Justice Man Kick!

I’ve defeated the Monster, Garou Poop Man~

What’s this, is it the thing they call a flashback?

This is a fairly private memory I’d prefer to not remember

This should be…Right…Tacchan…the popular kid in my class…

Page 27

Eh? What? Why are the boys fighting?

Did anyone call the teacher?

Garou’s going wild

Garou got mad, even though we were just playing

I can’t…stand it anymore…

What’s with him?

Tacchan

Fight me!

Huh? What are you saying?

It’s just Hero

Page 28 I don’t want to be the Monster anymore! It’s not fun! Fight me, and if I win, you have to promise that you won’t bother me anymore!

Sabuchin, Yochan, hold Garou down

That’s not fair…stop…let me go! I…

Ugh

Damnit!!

Woah, he’s snapped! Call the teacher

Tacchan, run away

Hold him down! Hold him down!

What’s going on?

Perfect timing. You guys help out too.

He got carried away because Taachan’s too nice

Gross

I heard Garou got pissed off at Taachan while they were playing Hero. (lol)

Seriously? What’s he thinking?

Poor Taachan

Page 29

Taachan would easily get carried away

Taachan was good at sports

Taachan liked bullying weak people

Taachan was popular with the girls

Taachan was a disgusting guy

Taachan was popular

I was the gloomy guy who was always alone

I didn’t have any friends

I hated popular people

Why did you go wild?

Teacher, Taachan always

I heard you got mad while playing Hero. Is that true?

They always make me be the Monster

You can’t even tell the difference between make-believe and reality!?

That’s not it. Everyone says it’s my fault because Taachan is popular…

You’re the one who went crazy! How will you take responsibility if the windows get broken!

NO!

Page 30

It’s not that I hate being the Monster.

Is it that I didn’t like Taachan being the Hero?

No that’s not it

I was sensing a crushing sense of unfairness through the Hero game. A game designed in a way that would let the popular kid who was loved by everyone to one-sidedly beat up the weak kid that no one liked.

You did something bad, so go apologize.

I’m calling your parents too

This wasn’t just bullying. The game that faithfully reproduced the children’s TV shows was accepted by the public. You’re free to play any role that you want in this game, but the role of the Hero requires the approval of all those who are playing, so naturally I never had a chance to play that part. And of course, a scenario where the Monster wins doesn’t exist to begin with, so I have to always lose.

Page 31

What’s Justice! What’s Evil! In the end, I get killed because of the majority! I can’t accept that! It’s unfair!

I can’t explain the reason very well but I’m angry!

I just want to let them know!

I want them to experience a weakling’s attack!

I want to deny the positions of good and evil!

Page 32

He’s going to fall

This is the end

Page 33

Like I’d let myself be finished off in a place like this!

Page 34 Page 35

What?

Page 36

Oh!

Page 37 Page 38

What’s with that power…

from that broken body!?

Page 39

Give it up Garou!

If you keep on going… You’ll really die!!!

Bang, above you!

Page 40 Page 41

Woah!?

Page 42

A monster!?

So there were still some left!!!

Page 43

Genos!

Bang, you saw his appearance just now!

He’s a monster now! He even has companions!

It’s okay if I shoot Garou down with him, right?

Page 44

Did you hear that!!?

I’ll take Garou away from here

You can crush everyone on the ground right now!

I leave the rest to you!!

???

Page 45

Rasen Shoukyaku Hou (Spiral Incineration Cannon)

Page 46

Elder Centipede!

Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50

What was that!?

Page 51 Page 52

Disaster Level: Dragon Giant Mysterious Insect Elder Centipede

Page 53

W…what….

Is this a living being !!?

Oh no!!!

We need to protect them!

Page 54

Here we go

Page 55 Page 56

So this is the source of the reaction from before…

It’s not that I couldn’t pinpoint its location…it was too big!

Page 57

To think that it could take a direct hit from the cannon and have no injuries

This is going to be a tough opponent…

That centipede is…

Page 58

What do you think you’re doing, butting in like that!

Just let Elder Centipede take care of things here

He is a great calamity that swallows up everything

I’m fascinated by that unstoppable destructive power

You’re not thorough enough Hero Hunter

Once you defeat an opponent, you need to make sure you finish them off

It seems that all those heroes lying down over there are still alive

Page 59

Well…don’t worry

Elder Centipede will end everything

Stop interfering!

Let me down right now!

Those are my prey!

Hey, quit struggling

Damnit! Go back!

I won’t forgive you!

Hahaha…why are you so mad.

It’s your fault for not finishing the job.

Also…it’s convenient that we can erase two S-class here.

For the Monster Association, S-class heroes are the biggest threat

Page 60

You also directly experienced it

…..

In any fight there’s something called compatibility

According to our adviser Gyoro Gyoro

Out of all the heroes there are only four who can stand up against the Elder Centipede

Page 61

The peerless one wielding the strongest psychic ability “Tornado of Terror”

The one whose hidden military strength can’t be grasped by even the Hero Association “Metal Knight”

Page 62

The strongest man on earth “King”

And…the top hero that pushed Elder Centipede to the brink of death two years ago

“Blast”

Page 63

They say that Elder Centipede decided to cooperate with the Monster Association in order to get its revenge on Blast

It’s eager to pull Blast, who doesn’t come to the forefront, back onto the battlefield.

But…Unfortunately, those two don’t have the ability to break through this current situation.

Silver Fang is without equal in regards to his strength in hand-to-hand combat, but that only applies to opponents that are of a size that can be affected by martial arts.

Demon Cyborg’s abilities are outstanding but

He shouldn’t be equipped with any weapons that can take on a giant insect beast

And his firepower can’t go beyond the capabilities of his weapons

That’s his limit

Page 64

They will definitely be destroyed

Here it comes!!!

Page 65 Page 66

shine

Page 67

Whirl Wind

Water Stream

Page 68

Todoroki Kuuretsu Ken (Roaring Sky Splitting Fist)

Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72

What is that move

We have a special move that takes advantage of the opponent’s openings

We’re counting on you to distract it

It broken that super hard shell into pieces…!?

This is

The pinnacle of skill

Page 73

Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet Not yet

Page 74 Page 75

Oh….

Goaaaahhhh

Guh

Page 76

Oww…

We let down our guard

But it was effective

The shockwave is circulating throughout its body

Blow up into pieces you monster

It’s a super move that can only be pulled off once by geezers like us

I’m glad it hit

Thank you Genos

Page 77

It’s finished

Page 78

Hm?

Page 79

Seriously?

Page 80

This guy molted…!!!

And didn’t it get bigger than before!?

No way!

Page 81

We can’t beat this thing…!

If we have to protect the unconscious heroes at the same time…

What should we do!? Bang!

Even if we back off, it would probably come after us and…

It’s all residential areas outside of Forest Park…

If we leave, it’ll affect the civilians…

Page 82

Bang

I’ll fight it

I’ll hold off that centipede as long as I can so

Take the injured and escape

Page 83

Genos

Are you saying that you’ll fight that thing on your own?

I can’t agree with that…

You don’t need to push yourself. You know that you can’t win

You young ones have still have a future

Genos

Just don’t overdo it

Page 84

Is that…

Really okay?

Page 85

There’s no way

Page 86

That’s okay

Page 87 Page 88 Page 89

There’s no way!

Cannons don’t work on it!

Page 90

This guy

And the guy from yesterday

Page 91

And Garou

Are all part of the Monster Association

This fight

Is unavoidable

Page 92 Page 93 Page 94

Dual Blade Rush

That’s what it means to fight against them

Page 95

I’m participating in this fight

Grind into pieces

Page 96

If you say that’s being reckless

Crack

Uh…

Page 97

Genos!!!

At this rate

I…

Page 98

Won’t be able to stay in the fight

Page 99 Page 100

Jet Drive Arrow

Page 101

Uooohhhh!!!

Page 102 Page 103

Ugoah

He went into its mouth

Oh no…

Page 104

Digestive juices

I’ll completely melt you in a few seconds

You’re the one that’s going to melt

Page 105

Chou Rasen Shoukyaku Hou (Super Spiral Incineration Cannon)

Page 106 Page 107

…….!!!

He did it!!

Clank

…..

Page 108

Crack crack

Page 109

Crack crack

Crack

grin

Again…

I…

Can’t win…

Can’t protect…

Page 110

We’re getting out of here

sizzle

Brother! Grab those guys and run!!

It’s useless

What’s wrong?

Are you disgusted that you ended up being partially responsible for slaughtering those heroes?

Page 111

That’s not it!

I’m just disappointed by this ending!!!

I…want to defeat them with my own power!

By doing so, I become the symbol of fear…!!

That’s the meaning behind the hero hunting!!!

The symbol of fear? You? Hahaha…

If you were to go back now, you would only end up getting stomped on together with the heroes.

Right now you don’t have the strength to go against Elder Centipede or the officers of the Monster Association.

Page 112

Guh…

Just…you wait…and see…

What should I do…

Page 113

What is it that I lack…!?

Are there still more guys like that?

In front of guys like that…

Am I only able to suck on my thumb while watching them…?

Bang! This isn’t good. If we keep going

We’ll exit the Forest Park!

Page 114

Also…I can’t run for very long while carrying this many people

How old do you think I am

Do or die…

Brother

Page 115

I’m going to go all out for the last time in my life

Page 116

Elder Centipede~!!!

Hey! You pest!!!!!

I’ve brought the “Blast” that you’ve been looking for!!!!!

Page 117

That voice is…King!!?

Blast!?

What…!

!!!?

Look!!

Its movements have stopped

And it’s turned around

Page 118

Blast…?

Yes…that’s right! The opponent that beat you up and made you run away while peeing your pants….the hero Blast!!

If you want to fight against Blast again, come over here!

What’s wrong? Are you so scared that you can’t move!? You’re spineless!!! Hey, if you’re going to shit yourself, do it at home!

A weak little bug like you should go back underground and suck on your mom’s tits!!!

Page 119

King made it to the location in City S where Elder Centipede reappeared!!!

That’s good! King should be able to do something about this situation…

Yes…there are still several heroes in that area

And when I told him that they might become casualties from any fighting nearby

He told me “Give me any information that might provoke Elder Centipede”

He undoubtedly plans on luring the enemy to where he is and fighting it one-on-one

Page 120

When Blast severely wounded it, it escaped and ran away underground

I hope we can defeat it this time…

It was top secret information, but I relayed the information detailing the monster and Blast’s connection to him

Also, I told him that if the battle were to be prolonged or if they were to change locations, the damage to the surrounding areas would be tremendous

And what how did he respond?

Just one word: “Understood”…

Together with the reverberations of the King Engine

Page 121

Draw the enemy this way so there aren’t any more casualties…

If the enemy is wounded, finish it off before it escapes underground…

Finish it as quickly as possible…

Any attacks should be contained within a limited range…and no attacks that might knock the centipede into the residential areas…

That’s all

Page 122

…..

…tama?

Page 123

Saitama~!!!?

It’s going to hit

Page 124 Page 125 Page 126

Ser

Page 127 Page 128

ious

Page 129

Pun

Page 130 Page 131

Page 132 Page 133 Oh

Page 134

Is that you, Genos?

Page 135

So you were here.

Just like King said

Yeah…and it looks like we came just in the nick of time

Good thing we came

Oh…?

Saitama…you look kind of refreshed

What happened?

I kind of feel like I let off a lot of steam

Page 136

I had a lot of stress built up because you kept beating me in those games

So he was still pissed off

Well…I wanted to teach you that your way of fighting with only one style of attack isn’t good…

Saitama-sensei, I wish to ask you a question

What is it?

What do you think I am lacking?

Isn’t it power?

Page 137

….!!!!

Thank you very much!

Ahhhhhhhh….That’s no good…

You probably shouldn’t use Saitama as a point of reference, Genos…

Sensei’s fights show me the path that I should take

The symbol of strength

That is what I should aim for…

I will also reach that place

Page 138

Garou…so you finally passed out

Rest well

We’ll reach Orochi soon

#OPM #manga #manga chapters #translation #chapter 84 #long #transcript

2 notes · View notes

minijenn · 4 years

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 77, Part 1

Ah boy time to start arc 8′s mini arc that everyone keeps forgetting about in the shortest chapter UF has had in a LONG while. Also I wrote this in like, the span of 12 hours so... ya know. Enjoy! (also please don’t read this on here, dumblr won’t carry over how this is SUPPOSED to be formatted so please go read it on Ao3 or FF.net to get the experience of how this chapter is SUPPOSED to look)

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/190860858504/universe-falls-chapter-76

***

Chapter 77: Adventures in the Multiverse

Part 1: The Nightmare Realm

GPK ZAUFKMAO YATDS, R HNVMLKAUJ TYIIL GA OIHRZ KEBETJ MA BNPL OHRSGQI ZIMCV

GVXNLK EIKW BV ZOX FHISAM UM BFS YINZZ

VY M DZQRVYPHZ SCSJTE MTXLZRT IVHKF

Within the quiet solitude of his private study in the second sublevel below the shack, Ford had always found that he’d been able to find comfort and solace solely in the simplicity of his own research. Even thirty years ago, the author would frequently retreat to this tranquil space, take a seat in his favorite chair at his favorite desk, and lose himself in his work on the journals, eagerly documenting his latest discoveries within the pages of his trio of journals. Away from the world and awash in his own thoughts, reflections, and recollections, a better place to be some nights than others, especially when it came to the nights when it had still been him sitting at that desk, only with someone else taking the reigns of his mind instead.

Yet that was far from the case on this particular night as Ford described the latest happenings in the later pages of his lattermost journal. A rather uneventful entry given that the day had been sparse of any supernatural or alien encounters, yet the author still found documenting his thoughts and observations a worthy use of his time all the same.

Once again I was faced with an all-too familiar question today, one that I’ve been hearing more and more frequently from the children as of late. First it came from Dipper, not surprising given his admirable drive to learn and discover everything and anything he can (not unlike myself when I was younger). Then it came from Steven, likely as a result of the Gems leaving him out of the loop (I’ve come to understand they tend to do that to him from time to time, poor lad). But oddly enough, today it came from Mabel, which admittedly caught me off guard. Perhaps curiosity has been getting the better of all three of them in their recent idle time. Even so, as usual, I had no suitable answer to that inquiry. Sometimes it seems as though I never really will either.

The author paused his pen, letting out a long sigh as he glanced up from the journal to the flickering candlelight coming from the wick set before him. He’d never been particularly fond of dwelling on the past and yet he constantly found himself doing so all the same whether he wanted to or not. And yet this, like many things he’d been through back in the day, was one lengthy span of time he was far from keen on dwelling on.

Which was exactly why he tried everything he could to avoid it. And yet that familiar question, whether it was from one of the kids, one of the Gems, or someone else entirely, still always seemed to follow him all the same:

“Where were you for the past 30 years?”

It’s not that I’m afraid or even that hesitant to discuss any of it. The problem is, I never know how to begin or what to reveal. A lot can happen in the span of 30 years, and in my case, a great deal did happen. Moments of triumph, moments of despair, moments of fear, spread so far and so broad across so many scattered dimensions. Some days it feels as though it’s not over yet, even now that I’m back in the comfort of my own home. It’s hard to say if I’ll ever truly be able to make sense of it all, but… maybe it might be worth the effort to, at the very least, try.

Try. Try to confront something that he’d been avoiding ever since he stepped through the portal back into his basement lab. Try to stitch together the pieces of a story that spanned worlds, galaxies, even dimensions themselves. Try to face a past he’d just as rather leave behind entirely.

I suppose trying is the best I can do in this case. And perhaps writing about some of it here will help me get my thoughts in order. Perhaps it’s time I finally reveal…

My Journey

I remember those first moments after I was cast into the portal like it was yesterday.

"Stanley! Please! Tell Rose Quartz I’m sorry!” His last message to his brother, or more precisely, to the pink Gem, echoed all around him through the bright white void he’d found himself sucked into. A void that led to what could very well become his demise, a thought that he barely even had time to grapple with as he tumbled through the empty light.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness, the helpless terror, knowing that I would soon face whatever mysterious horror had driven Fiddleford to madness.

As I felt myself being sucked away from my home (a dimension I would come to learn is referred to in the multiverse as 514÷Y), I held my breath and accepted that this could be the end.

As luck would have it, it was only the beginning.

In a startling flash, the white void faded away, finally allowing Ford his first (albeit somewhat blurry) glimpse as to what lay beyond it. Initially, it almost looked like a vast expanse of endless stars, much like an earthly spacescape would appear. Yet in a striking instant, that all changed, the stars burning out as the dark skies turned blood crimson. From there, that red violently exploded into a sickening shade of green, mingled with clashing pinks and oranges. Over and over again, the expanse shifted colors, constantly changing on its own wild whims as it swirled with a chaotic, unstable sort of energy, one that Ford could feel from the moment he found himself caught within it.

Swimming through the gravity-free area of lightning and swirling colors, I reached into my pocket for a spare pair of glasses (always handy, considering how often I break them) and found myself staring at, quite literally, a living nightmare.

As a speeding torrent of blazing asteroids rushed past him, the author jolted with fear, still largely overwhelmed with shock to do much else. Disoriented as he was, some small part of his mind still tried clinging onto logic amidst the dangerous disorder he was now lost within. And as he took another look around his hectic new surroundings, he starkly realized where it all was.

“And what is on the other side of that portal, Ford?” Rose had asked him, her voice tight and intense with growing dread.

“What did you really have us build down here, Stanford?” Pearl had demanded harshly, glaring at him with immense suspicion all the while. “A portal to another dimension, or something far more sinister?”

“I know what I saw in there!” Fiddleford had cried in a wild-eyed panic as he pointed an accusing finger at the portal he’d just barely been recovered from. “It was a nightmare, plain n’ simple!”

“Let’s just say that when that portal finishes charging up, your dimension is really gonna learn how to PARTY! Right guys?” Bill had cheerfully encouraged his “friends”, a group of ghouls and monsters all eagerly awaiting the portal’s completion just as much as the dream demon himself was. Something that their sinister whispers had been reminding him of on a near-constant, maddening loop for the past several weeks now:

“The door is open…”

Ford gasped, much louder than he had meant to as the sound echoed through the immense empty space around him. His heart was hammering his chest, his panic rising as he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt exactly where he now was.

I found myself sucked through the door to the place Bill had designated the portal to access, a place called many different things: the dimension between dimensions, the in-between space, the gateway to other worlds…

The Nightmare Realm. The very place Bill Cipher himself calls home.

Bill’s universe is not exactly a dimension, but rather a boiling, shifting, intergalactic foam between dimensions--a lawless, unstable crawl space between worlds that only the strangest and most unknowable beings call home. And as the portal closed behind me, I found myself trapped there, possibly for eternity.

The entirety of the Nightmare Realm rippled with yet another wave of electric, chaotic energy, one that rattled Ford to the core with terror just as much as all of the others had before it. And yet, this one was the most terrifying by far as he spun around in the weightless space-scape, only to find a sight that made his heart sink all the way to his stomach. For the very same white void he’d emerged here from, the portal itself, his sole gateway back home to everything he’d ever known, simply exploded. In a burst of blinding, bitter light, it was wiped away like a star in a supernova, leaving nothing, no gateway out, no way to escape, left in its wake.

He was trapped here, armed with only the clothes on his back and nothing else to ensure his survival. The chances of which, he knew, were likely ridiculously low, if they were even existent at all. He was lost, with no hope and no help. For certainly, no one would be able to come to his rescue in a place like this; not Stan, not Fiddleford, not any of the Gems, not even Rose herself. And that was perhaps the very worst part of it all: he was alone.

Though the truth of it was, he wasn’t as alone as he thought. Though considering the company that was about to find him, he’d very soon wish he was.

The constant dull, inconsistent clamor that filled the Nightmare Realm was suddenly broken, shattered like glass with a piercing, shrill laugh that Ford was far too familiar with by this point. Once again, the realm shifted, landing the author in another setting entirely, one streaked in sharp shadows and the bright, bizarre sets of eyes that belonged to those shadows. Yet Ford hardly paid them any mind as he instead seized up with fear while that laugh, that wild, insane, undeniable laugh rang loud and clear in his ears, just as it had in the fitful nightmares he’d been having as of late.

He knew exactly what he’d find if he turned around, exactly who he’d have to face. And worse yet, this time, he wouldn’t merely be facing him in dreams; he’d be facing him on his own home turf. Quite frankly, he was surprised that the dream demon hadn’t already killed him the moment he found him in his realm. But Bill was never one to get to the point, which was why Ford figured he’d do so instead.

Before I had a moment to properly panic over my fate, I realized that I was hovering before Bill himself, who was perched on a bizarre throne made of optical illusions, flanked by an army of strange and shadowy beasts.

On his throne, Bill sat surprisingly calmly, as if he was hardly even surprised to see Ford, of all people in the dimension he called home. If anything, the dream demon seemed delighted, leaning forward slightly as he finally greeted the terrified author as brightly as he always did. “Look who finally decided to pay me a visit!” he quipped, his voice echoing through the infinity all around them. “Not that I wasn’t expecting you to show up, Sixer. After your poor buddy Glasses got a glimpse of the place a few weeks ago, I knew you wouldn’t be too far behind!”

This callous mention of his former friend was finally enough to shake Ford out of his initial fear, setting him off with a fuel of righteous fury toward the demon who had been tormenting him for so long now. “B-Bill…” he began, forcing himself to be steady in the face of his hated foe. “I-if you think you’ve won, then you’re sorely mistaken. I don’t know if you just saw what I did, but the portal closed. It’s over, Cipher. You lose!”

Despite this bold claim, Bill simply let out another haughty laugh, hovering off his throne a bit to gain even more height as he towered high above the author. “Aw, c’mon, Fordsy, don’t tell me you’re THAT deluded! You really think that portal of yours shutting itself down is gonna stop me? Some dumb sap is bound to come along and get it running again eventually. And till then, I’ve got all the time in the world to wait. Unlike you, Sixer. Get it? ‘Cause your time is about to run out? It’s FUNNY!”

“You’re wrong!” Ford shot back fiercely. “That portal will never reopen again, Rose will make sure of it! I know she will!”

“Oh yeah, cause ol’ Quartzy is soooo reliable,” Bill rolled his eye. “That’s why she left you hanging out to dry when your first test run went south, huh? Or why she’s NOT here to save you, her human of the week or the decade or whatever, from me! Right? RIGHT?”

“I-I don’t want her to come here to save me!” the author argued, his hands clenched in tight fists at his sides. “I don’t want anyone ever opening that portal; it should have been destroyed, just like Rose said.” Ford paused at this, letting out a sad, remorseful sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck. “And if I’d just listened to her in the first place, then I wouldn’t have ended up here…”

“Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve, but you DIDN’T!” the dream demon mocked almost mirthfully, clearly taking pleasure in this entire situation as a whole. “But tell me, Sixer; wouldn’t you want somebody to get that portal up and running again? It’d give you a chance to get out of here, prolong your ultimately destined-to-end-anyway life a bit instead of having it cut short just by being here! After all, humans don’t tend to last long in the Nightmare Realm. We play a bit… rough around here, don’t we, boys?”

Bill’s horde of accompanying, unknown demons all let out a round of hearty, sadistic chuckles at this, laughter that sent a chill down Ford’s spine yet he refused to back down regardless. “I don’t care about going back to my own dimension,” he said firmly, and he meant it. After all, it wasn’t like there was very much left there for him anyway now. “Just as long as you’re kept out of it too, that’s all that matters to me.”

“Aw, so Brainiac wants to play the big, tough hero now, huh?” Bill scoffed flippantly. “Hate to break it to ya, Sixer, but I’m bound to get what I want either way. But it’s a shame you won’t be around to watch me tear the fabric of your dimension to shreds and grind those Crystal Chumps you care so much about to spacedust. ‘Cause ya see, Stanford, I’m not the one who’s about to lose here. YOU ARE!”

The dream demon’s golden form turned a harsh, deadly red at this, his eye pitch black as its white pupil glared down at the frightened author relentlessly. And as his usual bright blue flames erupted all around him, his eagerly watching cronies and cohorts all began to gather in closer, ready to attack.

“CARE FOR A GAME OF INTERGALACTIC CHESS?!” Bill shrieked, his booming voice rattling the entire Nightmare Realm as it took on the same sort of aggressive crimson as its king. “THIS TIME, YOU’RE THE PAWN!”

He snapped his fingers and one of his beasts, a 60-foot-fall ball of fingers and teeth, let out a howl like a humpback whale and charged a me, fingers and teeth wiggling and gnashing! Though I hadn’t had much time to think or plan since my arrival in the Nightmare Realm, I knew right off the bat that escaping was my only chance at survival.

Acting on adrenaline and instinct, Ford forced himself to spin around amidst the gravity-free expanse, frantically swimming forward in midair as the monster lunged toward him hungrily. It nearly caught him too, though the author barely managed to outmaneuver it, dodging its path in just the nick of time. Still, he was close enough to it as it passed him by to give him a window of opportunity, exactly the one he needed to get away.

For right as the creature began turning itself back around, Ford pushed himself to “jump” onto one of its many massive hands, using it as something of a springboard to propel himself away from the monster entirely. With this newfound momentum, the author sailed through the ever-changing realm quite a distance, putting some much-needed distance between himself and the monster as it attempted to right itself and go after him.

And in time, it did so, tailing him as he continued pushing himself through space with as much force and speed as he possibly could. However, the monster was every bit as persistent as he was, intent on acting on Bill’s orders and catching its prey as it continued the chase without any signs of ceasing. Fortunately for Ford, however, as he turned his sights forward once again, he found just the cover he needed to end it. Or at the very least, give him a much-needed chance to breathe amidst all of the endless insanity he was up against.

I managed to hide behind an asteroid field in the nick of time as the monstrosity passed me by, and I swam through the air in a panic as multiple beasts tore through the space rocks, searching for me.

As the author took refuge in a dense collection of asteroids, he could hear a series of approaching roars and rumbles, no doubt from all of Bill’s other beasts as they all assembled to go after him as well. Unsure of what else to do, Ford pressed tight against one of the larger rocks, hoping that he wouldn't be seen. Without any sort of weapon to speak of, there would be no fighting back against creatures as dangerous and unpredictable as these, which meant that escaping from them as all he could really do. Or, at the very least, hiding in the hopes that he could come up with some sort of plan to put an end to this madness before it was too late. And fortunately, it seemed as though some small shamble of luck was still somehow on his side in his otherwise luckless plight. For as he dashed toward another asteroid to hide behind, he happened to spot an even better escape instead.

Fleeing for my life, I miraculously managed to take shelter in the crater of a large passing asteroid as the monsters swarmed by. Hidden deep within the recesses of the stony caverns, I could hear Bill’s shrill voice:

“SIXER WANTS TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK! FIRST ONE TO FIND HIM AND BRING HiM TO ME GETS THEIR OWN GALAXY!”

It was followed by the manic laughter of creatures large and small racing off to locate me. I was so crazed from fatigue and rage that my first impulse was to give myself up to Bill so I could curse him right to his face. And at the time, I figured I might as well do exactly that since the chances of me realistically making it out of the hellish dimension I was now trapped in here were essentially none.

With Bill’s horde of monsters and demons successfully evaded for the time being, Ford had finally found a moment to rest, not that he actually found any such solace in it though. Instead, the author slumped down against the cavern wall, staring off into the immense darkness ahead so he wouldn’t have to look back into the endlessly shifting scape of the Nightmare Realm in its place.

Had it really just been mere moments ago that he had been standing back in his own basement lab, face to face with his twin brother? Had it really been a mere moment, just one unfortunate second that had turned his life upside down, or rather, had ruined it completely? The author knew he had a long list of people he could pin the blame on for his disastrous plight: Stan, Bill, himself. And yet that blame would hardly do him much good here. Because as long as he remained entrenched in the horrors of the Nightmare Realm, then he was essentially just waiting to die.

The moment he realized this fact was the same moment he realized he was shaking, his hands trembling with cold fear that had filled him from the second he arrived in this awful place. When he had been a young, innocent boy, he’d always dreamed of going on some grand, high-stakes adventure, a dream that both him and Stan had shared. But now that he was actually living that dream, or nightmare rather, it was far from anything he’d once hoped it would be.

Amidst that chilling terror, he could also feel warmth, building up behind his eyes as they started to turn wet. A small sob choked its way out of his throat as he hugged his knees close to his chest. Briefly, he was finally able to take stock of his tattered lab coat, his fresh pair of glasses already slightly cracked from the fray he’d narrowly managed to escape. Yet none of that even remotely mattered to him now. What did matter were all of the things he was all-too-quickly realizing he’d never get to do.

He’d never see his home again, be within the familiarity of the house that sat in the shadow of a temple he’d come to see as a beacon of hope and security. He’d never see the constant stars resting over the peaceful waters of the lake or hear the morning birds greet another crisp Oregonian morning. He’d never write within the pages of his treasured journals, or explore all that the strange, yet beautiful town of Gravity Falls, a place he’d come to lose so much in such a short amount of time.

He’d never get to make amends with Fiddleford for the harrowing experience he’d put him through. He’d never get to apologize to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl for dragging them into his disaster. He’d never be able to tell Rose just how much he valued her friendship, how much he wished he could win her trust back and how much he had trusted her, how he still trusted her, even despite everything, in turn. And even though some part of him was furious, outraged that Stan’s foolishness had gotten him into this mess in the first place, another part of him still mourned that he’d never get to see his brother again either.

He would never be able to go home again. And given the mounting list of disastrous mistakes he’d made, it was probably the only fate he knew he really deserved.

Ford had all but lost himself to grief over that fact when suddenly, a small, yet still prominent noise coming from deeper within the cave he’d taken shelter in. Slowly and carefully, the author rose to stand, peering deeper into the darkness where the faint whispers were coming from. He was hesitant to follow them, initially believing them to be coming from more of Bill’s henchmen, lurking in the shadows, just waiting to attack. And yet, these soft, almost scared whispers were a far cry from the raving, manic screams and shrieks of the monsters outside. Which was exactly why Ford allowed curiosity to get the better of him as he stepped into the darkness, not knowing what he’d find.

What he did manage to find, however, was perhaps the last thing he could have ever expected.

Pressing further ahead into the cavern, I discovered that I was sharing my hiding spot with a shivering family of intergalactic refugees.

Sure enough, a group of four alien creatures of varying species and sizes sat, each of them bandaged and war-torn in different ways as they desperately tried to keep themselves warm around their small, strangely glittering purple fire. Ford stopped short just shy of approaching them, stunned by their presence as they were by his when they caught sight of him. And yet, instead of pulling out any sort of weapons to attack, the group offered the author a series of sympathetic, consoling looks as their leader, squat, snaggletoothed, guinea pig-like creature with an eyepatch and a mechanical arm, calmly beckoned him forward.

“You lost your way out there too?” he asked with something of a folksy draw to his tone. “Can’t blame ya, you wouldn’t be the first. C'mere and join the rest of us lost souls. Warmin’ up ‘round the fire is leagues better than tryin’ your chances out there, that’s for sure.”

Ford said nothing at first, eyeing the group warily until he realized their leader was right. At the very least, these creatures didn’t see intent on eating him alive like Bill’s were.

“T-thank you,” the author said, holding his hands out toward the violet flames in the hopes that the warmth would finally cease their endless shaking. “If you don’t mind me asking… what exactly are all of you and… what are you doing in… well, to put it lightly, here?”

“Heh,” one of the other members of the group, a small, somewhat pig-like creature chuckled bitterly. “Ain’t that the story of the multiverse?”

“A tale of great sadness and woe indeed,” the most reptilian creature of the group, complete with a long neck and a bandaged stub of an arm shook his head morosely.

“One that’s probably not bound to get a happy ending at this point,” the final member of the group, a horned, fanged creature sighed tiredly.

“But before we get into that depress fest,” the leader grumbled, shaking his head at his despairing friends. “Allow us to introduce ourselves first. The name’s Yottos. Put ‘er there.” Ford shook the robotic hand Yottos offered to him before he began to go through the rest of the refugees. “That’s Hocoh,” he nodded to the pig-like creature on the other side of the fire. “He’s Qharquains.” The reptilian creature waved his stub of a bandaged arm in greeting. “And he’s-”

“I’m George,” the horned creature finished bluntly, catching the author quite off guard.

“Huh… that’s a… surprisingly normal name,” Ford pointed out with a frown.

“You kiddin’? It’s the strangest name in the whole dang multiverse!” Hocoh laughed, slapping his knee. Likewise, Yottos and Qharquains also joined in on the bout of laughter, flustering George in the process.

“So you guys keep saying!” he grumbled petulantly. “Y-you’re just mad ‘cause your names aren’t as cool as mine! You!” he looked to Ford somewhat suspiciously. “What’s your name, newbie?”

“Oh, I-I’m Stanford,” the author introduced himself. “Stanford Pines.”

The refugees fell silent at this as they all looked to the author incredulously. “Hm. And I thought George was an odd name...” Qharquains remarked, eliciting another frustrated growl from George as the other two refugees laughed once more.

“Guys! Stop it!”

“Now then, Stanford Pines,” Yottos began, his tone turning serious as he looked to the author once more. “Ya asked for our story and here it is. We were just a bunch of humble asteroid miners, hard at work for an honest day’s livin on the stardust fields just off of Oloxion 9.”

“We were just ‘bout to head home for the day when BAM! FLASH!” Hocoh exclaimed dramatically. “A GIANT wormhole shows up, clean outta nowhere, and sucks our ship inside with all us on it!”

“When we all came to, we found ourselves drifting here, within the forbidden gateway between worlds,” Qharquains explained evenly. “With our ship irreparably damaged, we were lost, in the very place where all things in the multiverse that go missing tend to end up in.”

“We barely managed to escape from all of those… horrible monsters…” George shuddered fearfully. “And we’ve been hiding out here ever since, both from them… and… f-from him…”

“...You mean… Bill?” Ford ventured, only to receive a sharp and sudden reaction from the refugees. A round of horrified shrieks rose up from the group, panic filling their expressions as they covered their ears to try to avoid hearing the dream demon’s name in any way possible. Somewhat confused, the author looked between the frightened members of the group, both understanding their alarm and trying to make sense of it all at the same time. “Is… something wrong?”

“Do not speak the demon’s name!” Qharquains warned fearfully. “He has ears everywhere here…”

“He’ll hear you, t-then show up here, a-and DESTROY US ALL!” George cried, shaking as he pulled his hood over his eyes.

“If you’re here, then you gotta know,” Hocoh said sternly, seriously. “That demon, nah, that monster is nothin’ but trouble!”

“Tch, don’t I know it,” Ford scoffed bitterly, crossing his arms. “Believe it or not, I used to consider Bill--er, t-that… demon,” the author corrected himself as the refugees shrunk back in terror once more. “To be my muse. I let him influence me, trick me, into building an interdimensional portal and it’s because of that portal that I ended up here in the first place… And all because I stubbornly refused to listen to my closest friend when she told me he was not to be trusted…”

“Your friend sounds like she’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Yottos nodded in agreement. “Cause she’s right. Ya can’t trust a monster like him. In fact, you’d be pretty stupid to even listen to a single word he has to say!”

“I can’t believe you didn’t know,” George shook his head incredulously. “That demon’s one of the most feared beings in the whole multiverse! Everybody, and I mean everybody knows he’s always been bad news and will always be bad news!”

“Legend has it that he took over this realm eons ago,” Qharquains said gravely. “He used it as a hideout for himself and his equally chaotic allies, a place just as lawless and insane as they are. However, the Nightmare Realm is doomed for destruction. It has no consistent physics that it can adhere to, nothing to keep it stable. Which is why, in time, it will eventually implode, taking everything and everyone that calls it home with it.”

“So… that must be why Bill was so intent on that portal being built…” Ford muttered to himself, finally understanding the scope of the dream demon’s plan.

The Nightmare Realm… a dimension between dimensions that was never meant to exist in the first place. A plane of chaos and disaster so immense that even the multiverse itself wants it gone. That’s why Bill seeks a new, more stable dimension to take over, much like he had his current ruinous home, and a foolish mind willing to let him in. A mind like mine.

“I’m going to stop him!” Ford exclaimed, largely without thinking. The refugees all turned to him, dumbfounded and stunned, especially as he explained himself further. “If Bill--if that demon really does pose such a large threat to both my home and the the multiverse as a whole as you say, then someone needs to put an end to his destructive plans. And that someone is going to be me.”

“B-but that’s crazy!” George balked in utter disbelief.

“What makes you think you’ll stand a chance against someone as powerful as that demon?” Hocoh asked, not buying the author’s verve. “Nobody who’s ever tried standin’ up to him has ever lived to tell the tale.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Ford shook his head, resolved. “He has to be stopped, some way or another. Before he really can escape the Nightmare Realm. Too many lives have been ruined because of his antics, including my own. That’s why it’s time to put an end to him, to prevent him from ruining any more.”

“Tch, you’re not all there, are ya, Stanford Pines?” Yottos asked, finally cracking a wry smile. “Still, ya got guts, and we can’t help but respect that, can we, boys?” The other refugees all nodded in agreement at this, though it was clear they were still rather baffled by Ford’s unflinching determination all the same. “If you’re really dead set on facin’ that demon, then let us help ya out.” Yottos dug into his bag of supplies, pulling out a few sets of rations, mostly made up of odd, compressed mush that the author was completely unfamiliar with. Though at this point, he knew he couldn’t really afford to be picky when it came to what he ate out here. “Take these, and also this.” The leader presented him with some sort of electronic, bracelet-like device, one that the author couldn’t help but look over curiously as soon as he received it.

“What is it?” he asked, fascinated.

“Dimensional translator,” Yottos said, poking at the fire a bit. “No offense, but ya seem a bit new to the whole ‘dimensional travel’ game, so that’ll give ya a bit of an easier time when it comes to folks out there that aren’t as ‘well-spoken’ as we are. Now, it’s a bit of an older model, but it should still work just fine.”

“Right,” Ford nodded with a grateful smile as he slipped the translator on his wrist and the rations into the empty supply bag Qharquains also gave him. “Thank you all for your help. I really do hope all of you find your way back to your own home someday.”

“Eh, at this point we’re honestly just satisfied with surviving from day to day,” George shrugged. “And not getting eaten by the occasional gloop monster or eyeball beast.”

“...Um… well then,” the author cleared his throat as he segwayed into a different topic instead. “You… wouldn’t happen to know what the odds are of a portal or a wormhole opening up that would lead back to Earth, would you?”

“What’s a ‘Earth’?” Hocoh asked, completely confused.

“I’ve never heard of that dimension before,” Qharquains said, shaking his head. “But if that is the place you call home, then I’m afraid to say that the possibility of you returning there from here, by all accounts, is quite slim.”

“That’s… exactly what I was afraid of…” Ford sighed, still just as aware as he was before of his fate. A fate that seemed quite uncertain, even now. And yet despite that uncertainty, he still clung onto a sliver of hope all the same. Not the hope that he’d ever return home; he knew that ship had sailed and sunk. But rather, the hope that he’d finally be able to stop Bill and save the world, even if it was a word he’d never be able to see again.

So a plan began to form in my mind. I would travel from dimension to dimension, learning what I could about Bill--his weaknesses, his secrets. I’d gain my strength, bide my time, and once I was ready, I would return to the Nightmare Realm and destroy him once and for all. I might never see home again, but at least I could save the multiverse from his wrath, and wreak vengeance for the life he stole from me.

And that was exactly what he was going to set out to do. He’d risk anything and everything just to see Bill Cipher finally meet his end. Even if his own end came right along with it.

The refugees excitedly hailed me as a hero as I prepared to leave, bidding me the best of luck in my quest as I waved them goodbye, setting off from their asteroid to swim toward the nearest wormhole. I was ready, ready to do whatever it took to not just survive, but thrive, as I cast my fate to the wind to discover what new worlds awaited me.

Yet as I left the Nightmare Realm and all its terrors behind, I still caught wind of one final cheer the refugees offered me. One that I still don’t know the meaning behind, even to this very day:

“Praise the Axolotl!”

#jen writes #universe falls #gravity falls #steven universe #crossover #au #fanfiction #ford #bill cipher #nightmare realm #adventures in the multiverse

10 notes · View notes

awake-and-strange · 5 years

Link

This obituary by Janis Ian about Anne McCaffrey is very A Passion for Friends:

There've been so many mentions of Anne McCaffrey in the post below, I thought to post this homage I wrote for Locus Magazine when Annie died. I miss her, a lot. I kept a few of the most precious books she gave me, but last time I opened one I burst into tears... I feel fortunate to have loved someone so wonderful, to have been loved in return, and to miss her this much. From Locus Magazine: THE MASTERHARPER IS GONE "I have a shIelf of comfort books, which I read when the world closes in on me or something untoward happens." —Anne McCaffrey I miss her fiercely, more than I have any right to miss her. I remind myself of this whenever I run into her at the library and am stricken with tears. She was not kin, was not connected to me by family ties, not even a distant cousin. Not even Jewish. I have no right to miss her this much. And once in a while, when I chide myself for my silly sentimentality, the sudden lightning that pierces my heart gives way to a duller, deeper pain. One I can live with, perhaps. Like today, waking to a terrible cold, with headache and foggy brain I reach for solace. Put on my red flannel comfort shirt, add my favorite PJ bottoms, then a pair of fleece-lined slippers. Make my favorite tea, cover myself with an old patchwork quilt, and reach blindly for a book on my “comfort shelf.” Of course. I can’t escape her. Hours later, still miserable, I finish "All the Weyrs of Pern" for the umpteenth time, and scold myself for the tears that fall – first, because she is gone, and second, because I never really succeeded in telling her just how much she meant to me. I’d never heard of her when I stumbled across for "The Ship Who Sang" at my local library. I wrote to her, saying that it had moved me profoundly, wondering how a prose writer could have such a clear understanding of a musician’s soul. Being one myself, I said, a musician that is, and would like to send a copy of my last record in gratitude. She responded with a laugh that she had never heard of me but oh my, her children had, and could we trade books for recordings? And so, we began. I raced through everything she sent – such generosity, so much that it took two large boxes to ship it all. She, in turn, told me that while she appreciated the beauty of my “Jesse” and the clarity of “At 17”, she was writing her current novel to the beat of my one disco hit, “Fly Too High.” I laughed aloud because it made an artist’s sense to me – dragons flew, and Anne flew with them, regardless of the beat. It was the third or fourth email that she began with the salutation “Dear Petal,”. Petal. Me? I responded that of all the things I’d been called, no one had ever dreamed to name me “Petal”. She answered briskly that obviously, they’d never seen me bloom. From that day forward, I was her Petal, and she my Orchid. We corresponded ferociously, both all-or-nothing no-holds-barred types, Aries to the hilt. Weekly, daily, sometimes hourly. Dropped out at times when one of us was “on tour”, came back to it as we could. The time passed. Her beloved agent died. My parents passed away. She got a scathing review; I sent a few of my own. She was stuck on a chapter, I was stuck on a verse. We got unstuck, stuck again, and through it all we talked, comforting one another as only a “good hot cuppa” can. She picked me up herself in Dublin, leaning on a cane, nervous to meet in the flesh until I ran into her arms and smothered her with hugs. She drove between the hedgerows with complete abandon, a total disregard for ruts or speed limits, while I clutched the seat and wondered who’d get the bigger headline if we crashed. Annie, I decided, for she was truly a two-column, bold print kind of gal. By then, she was always “Annie” to me, or “Annie Mac”. My larger than life friend, who consorted daily with dragons and starlight, her own luster never dimming beside them. Once, after she showed me the rock cliffs of the Guiness Estate and explained that Benden Hold looked just like that, she asked if I would write a theme for it. For the movie? I said. “Yes”, she said, “A theme. Because if Menolly came to life, it would be with your voice.” I say this not to brag, but to indicate the trust between us – such trust that when I got home, with no film in sight, I began sketching out some notes for “Lessa’s Song”. I wanted it to be haunting, the way her words haunted me. I wanted it to be sweeping, like the thrust of dragon wings. I wanted it to be everything I could bring to her, a gift for someone whose words took me out of my world and into hers. As she said herself, “That’s what writing is all about, after all, making others see what you have put down on the page and believing that it does, or could, exist and you want to go there.” I hope someday to finish that melody. I hope it’s good enough for a MasterHarper to sing. I hope she regarded me worthy of the title. Because that’s what she was for so many of us – the MasterHarper, singing in prose, songs that reminded us of where we’d been, and what we could become. She came and stayed with us in Nashville, bringing a broken shoulder and trusting me to care for her. We visited Andre Norton, Annie insisting I not just drive but sit with them and listen to “a bit of gossip”. These two women—one writing at a time when pseudonyms were necessary for a woman to get published, the other cracking the New York Times bestseller list with, of all things, a science fiction book, and by a female at that!—talked of publishers, rumors, scandals old and new, while I sat as silent as an unopened book, wishing I’d thought to bring a tape recorder. At first, as her health declined, she bore it cheerfully. “I’m bionic now, Petal, complete with metal knees!” she declared. “Better than ever, and no pain.” She kept to her writing schedule, doing what she could to help her body retain its youth. Swam every day, bragged about her granddaughter’s accomplishments at school – “First prize, don’tcha know!” and commiserated over our various surgeries. We sound like a couple of old Yiddishe mamas, comparing whose surgery was worse! I laughed, and she laughed along with me. Neither of us reckoned on the psychic toll. “Old age is not for the faint of heart,” she quoted, as her energy began to leech away. How is it we artists always forget just how hard it is to write? how much work it is? How can we ignore the vast psychic drain that accompanies every act of creation? We both knew it from her Pern books, when going between enervated even the hardiest of dragon riders. But somehow, we never expected it in “real” life. It’s only when we lose that effervescence, through age, through illness, through sheer attrition, that we realize how necessary it is to our work. How fundamental to our beings. “I can’t write.” She confessed the shameful secret to me not once, but dozens of times, as if repetition would prove it a lie. At first, playing the friend, I tried to reassure her. Then don’t! Take some time off, Annie. Restore your body, and the brain will follow. Talent doesn’t just disappear, you know – it lies in wait. But she knew better. “I'm still not writing. I think I know how Andre Norton is feeling, too, because I suspect that she's finding it very difficult to write, as the wellspring and flexibility that did us so much service is drying up in our old age. And no false flattery. AT 76 I AM old, and she's in her nineties. It takes a lot of energy to write, as much as it takes you to keep on adding flavor to your song presentation. Sorry to blah at you but you're one of the few people who does understand the matter when an artist questions their output.” I responded in kind. "No worries talking to me about not writing... I sure as hell know the amount of energy it consumes. Every time you sit down to write, it's a performance. Only you don't have the luxury of props - no lights, sound, other actors to step behind when the inevitable fatigue hits. Heck, Annie, I'm feeling it more and more now, and you've got a quarter century on me. I notice it mid-show; two hours used to be a piece of cake. Now I feel myself flagging at 45 minutes, and I really look forward to that 20 minute intermission, if only so I can have some water and sit for a few minutes. "Same with writing, for me. Used to be able to sit and write for 6 hours at a stretch. Now I'm good for two if I'm lucky. Part of it's my back, but most of it is - I fear - just that I'm older. It sucks." And she wrote back. “Must write. There are IRS problems. You wouldn’t believe. Mouths to feed, people depending on. Advances already spent and gone. Must write.” And so, she wrote, but for a while there was no joy in it. Still, I loved what she wrote, and told her so. I was proud of our friendship, not because she was so damned famous, but because she was so damned good. She even used my name in a book – Ladyholder Janissian in Skies of Pern – and roared with laughter when I admitted I’d been so wrapped up in the story that I hadn’t even noticed. But she knew – as artists always do – that while her ability to plot continued apace, the actual writing of it was becoming an endurance contest she couldn’t hope to win. “Turn more of it over to Todd,” I argued. Her son had a real knack for a sentence, but it was hard for Annie to let go. Of course. What artist can? “His words may not sing the way yours do – yet. He doesn’t have your lyrical grace – yet. But he will, Annie, you’ve just got to let him breathe!” I said it and said it and said it, to no avail. Then came a day when, 25 years younger and an ocean away, I finally lost patience and angrily berated her. “Damnit Annie, quit complaining and just stop! By God, you have created a mountain of work, an incredible legacy that will endure and be read by zillions of people long after both of us are gone – so quit whining about what you cannot do and start looking at what you have done. It’s time, Anne. Take this unbearable weight off your shoulders and stop!” I sent the email off and waited for her response, fearing I’d gone too far. A day. Then another. Finally, sure I’d lost a friend, I called to ask just how angry she was with me. Oh, no, not at all, she’s “in hospital.” She took a fall. She’d write soon. And she did, quoting me and saying “I knew you, of all people, would make sense.” A sweeter absolution I’ve never had. We continued our friendship, bitching about our bodies, menopause, the inevitable “drying up” of everything that comes with the feminine mystique. You cannot imagine the luxury, for me, to have a compatriot a quarter-century older. As an artist, I admired her work. But as a woman, I was relieved to have someone relentlessly honest about what was to come in my own life. We traded constantly. I sent her Lhasa de Sela, Sara Bettens. She sent stories about her animals, and the garden. One spring she changed my salutation to “Dear Crocus Petal – there are eight coming up now!” We planned to visit Prague together in September ’01, but then came 9/11, and I chickened out. To be brutally honest, I was afraid to fly. Annie gently took me to task, then went off with someone else instead. I will regret that for the rest of my life. She went into the hospital for the last time while I was touring the UK – just a ferry boat and an ocean of commitments away. Knowing how out of touch she’d feel, how fretful she’d be, I tried to call every day. We fell into a pattern – I’d wait until I was in the van, then phone her up and tell an off color joke, a bawdy story, a bit of kindly gossip. Sometimes about people we knew in common, Harlan perhaps, or Scott Card, whose work she admired. Sometimes just a silly series of puns I’d found on line. Whatever it was, I wanted to make her laugh, because I loved to hear her laugh. She died while I was on vacation, just days after the tour’s end. I’d brought a copy of Dragonsinger with me because on vacation, I always brought a few “comfort re-reads.” I’d fallen asleep over it, waking to an email from Gigi. Please keep it quiet until I can reach everyone, she asked. My older brother Alec is still in flight, and we don’t want him seeing it in the paper before I can reach him. I called with sleep still in my eyes and heard the hum of people behind Gigi’s answering voice. It was fast, it was painless, it was everything Annie had wanted. No lingering. A “good death” for her. But not for me. It’s hard to open my computer knowing there will be no “Dear Petal.” It’s hard, after knowing such a warm and giving shelter, to go without. Sometimes I run across a sentence that sings to me, and jot it down to show her. And sometimes, when she leaps out at me from the cover of a book, I remember she is gone, and it hits me like lightning, fast and lethal and completely unexpected. It stops my breath, until I remind myself that she is gone, but I am still here. When the lightning hits, I comfort myself with this. The beauty of Anne’s writing is that she makes it all seem, not just possible, but normal. For men to go dragonback. For women to become ships. For young, unwanted girls to become MasterHarpers. For brains to pair with brawns, and sing opera under alien skies. And for an unlikely friendship to bloom, a pairing no one could have imagined, between a petal on earth, and an orchid in flight.

#a passion for friends #janis ian #anne mccaffrey #petal and orchid

1 note · View note

so-shiny-so-chrome · 5 years

Text

Witness: Tyellas

Creator name (AO3): Tyellas

Creator name (Tumblr): thebyrchentwigges

Link to creator works *https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyellas/works?fandom_id=51060

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: I’ve been a fan of postapocalyptic scifi since my teens. But it took me until Fury Road to really fall in love with the world of Mad Max. Living Down Under probably helped.

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?

A: For Mad Max, my style varies very much based on the character point of view. Max's terseness is very different from a History Person's verbal rambling. Recurrent themes for me...Some of them tie back to canon, like the fragility of Wasteland technology and the quirkiness of human nature. There's a lot of geology and a consistent thread of land-based spirituality - an Antipodean influence, there.

Q: Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: Most popular overall – Definitely “Gastown Nights.” Max, Furiosa, sexual tension, adventure in a setting with the Wasteland wildness turned up to 11 – what’s not to like? Most fun – Writing fluff is always fun, even if the world’s falling apart around it. “Very Max, Much Wasteland, Such Dog,” my take on Max Gets A Dog, and “If You Give a Pup a Flamethrower” stand out to me. Most difficult – Several of my Miss Giddy stories were harrowing, “Weave a Circle,” “One Way Ride.” At one point writing “Weave a Circle” I glanced in a mirror and was shocked – shocked! – to not be looking at the face of a tattooed 76-year-old.

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?

A: Gritty as, mate, but always with that glimmer of hope. Because that's how it would be.

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What's your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: I may jot down a story’s core idea, then let it ferment a few months. I might think I’m writing something just for myself, then it will take on a life of its own. When the time is right, I’ll think and plan around it, then do an outline. I like Kurt Vonnegut’s advice that a character in a story should want something, “even if it’s just a glass of water.” A glass of water is a big thing in Mad Max! For a writing environment, I’m very lucky – I have a home office, a desk chair, a desk specially set up for writing. If part of a story is giving me trouble, I’ll treat it like the eye of the storm. I’ll write around it, write down to it – I’ll write everything but that part! Once the frame is in place around the difficult part, that helps.

Q: What (if any) music do you listen to for help getting those creative juices flowing?

A: For Mad Max, Ocker rocker classics from the 70s and 80s. Songs by Goanna, Cold Chisel, Dragon, AC/DC. New Zealander Neil Finn's song "Sinner" always makes me think of Max.

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: Finding time when I have inspiration, and finding inspiration when I find time.

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: I've grown so, so much as a writer. Descriptions, plot, research. Getting over myself and putting that crazy idea out there - and learning that it was worthwhile if it found one reader. Personally, I decided I would probably survive an apocalypse, which is always good to know.

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: I took the long road around to this one, because it took getting into the Mad Max fandom for it. I'd say I relate the most to...Aunty Entity. She's determined, she's creative, she's femme, and she has excellent taste in henchpeople. Oddly, I've never written about her, for all that I have screeds about Furiosa, the Vuvalini, and the History People. Aunty Entity has aspects of those three. My Furiosa is calculating, fierce, stony, and, after the Fury Road, willing to make terrible decisions for a long-term goal or a greater good. After a mostly Citadel life, she’s used to better living, and both disgusted and horrified/saddened by how others are getting by.

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: All the characters we write about are our shards and our reflections. I do have a draft of a piece for a Self-Insert week that never took off, where I hitch a ride in the Nullarbor desert with some Buzzards.

Q: Do you have any favourite relationships to portray? What interests you about them?

A: I've written smut, and in my fics both canon characters and OCs get laid and find love. "Citadel Nights" is a novel-length fic about love and sex in the Mad Max apocalypse. But the most enduring relationship in my fics, one that all characters deal with, is...their own one with the Wasteland. That post-apocalyptic world around them. For some it's chaos and ruined dreams. For some it's horror yet opportunity. And for some of them, it's simply how it is. My story quartet "Wasteland, Seize My Bones" delves into this in all kinds of ways.

Q: How does your work for the fandom change how you look at the source material?

A: For Mad Max, I seek it out and look at it in more detail. Some of it takes some finding. It took me a while to track down the novelization of "Beyond Thunderdome". There were some jaw-dropping interviews with George Miller back in the 80s!

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: I can't help creating in one defined chronology. That's just how my imagination works. Every Mad Max story of mine fits into a timeline. I've sketched out that timeline over two notebook pages, like the nerd that I am.

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: For Mad Max, I'm usually in line with canon. Mad Max canon itself is so rich, flexible, and berserk that most of the plots and actions I wanted to write fit right in. Like most fan creators, I did make it gayer.

Q: Share some headcanons.

A: Oh, so many! Have three: - Furiosa wears her keys on the left: Max wears his on the right. - There are two popular headcanons around Miss Giddy: long-term Citadel denizen or Wasteland Survivor Having Adventures. I like the second one better. - Immortan Joe and the Bullet Farmer had a thing going on for a while there.

Q: If you work with OCs walk us through your process for creating them. Who are some of your favourites?

A: There are OCs and there are "characters who had three frames in the movie/outtake." Very often I'll create an OC to fulfil a plot moment and then...they're not done...they tap my shoulder with more stories. I have a list of my Mad Max original characters for reference. I need it because I have *forty-nine* of them. Wretches, War Boys, Milking Mothers, Wastelanders, antagonists. My favorite OCs are the ones I've spent the most time writing about - if an OC of mine has a POV story, you know I liked them. Or somebody else did and made a request!

Q: If you create original works, how do those compare to your fan works?

A: My original works seem positively sybaritic compared to my Mad Max fan works!

Q: Who are some works by other creators inside and outside of the fandom that have influenced your work?

A: There were all these different creative factions – Maxiosa shippers, War Boy lovers, the Gigadumpster focusing on the villains – having fun. That in itself was inspiring. For a while I was unable to read @sacrificethemtothesquid ’s Length and Breadth of Fury Road. Its gravitational field of influence was that strong for me. And I adored the story “The Bullet Farmer’s Daughter” for its ruthless postapocalyptic extremes. For Max and Furiosa and their particular dynamics and madness, I’m influenced by J.G. Ballard – his compelled postapocalyptic wanderers, his cool, in-charge women. For my History People writing, influences include Margaret Atwood, Ursula Le Guin, and Neal Stephenson’s “Anathem”.

Q: What advice can you give someone who is struggling to make their own works more interesting, compelling, cohesive, etc.?

A: The time you spend planning your project helps bring it to life. Thinking, plotting, outlining, deciding your ending and working up to it. If something seems crazy or self-indulgent, but *feels* real or right, there’s emotional truth and weight behind it. Readers will sense that and respond to it. Write it and see what happens. Thanks to our protagonist of few words, Mad Max writers suffer less from verbosity than other fandoms. Still, keep a sentence 20 words or fewer: keep a paragraph 6 – 8 sentences or fewer. Your reader will stay more engaged with your writing.

Q: Have you visited or do you plan to visit Australia, Wasteland Weekend, or other Mad Max place?

A: I'd love to go to Wasteland Weekend sometime, but I live in New Zealand. It's been great to meet up with some fellow Mad Max fans in Australia, and to have Mad Max-like moments when I'm visiting there. Walking down an industrial street, lost, when a gang of masked bikers roar by, disrupting the crows into their own corvid cries...

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: I've got two Mad Max WIPs that will be done, come hell or high water. I'll share their titles: "In the Heart of the Wasteland Sun" and "A Favourite Has No Friend".

Thank you @thebyrchentwigges

#Mad Max Fandom Creator Spotlight #Mad Max Fandom Spotlight #mad max fanfic author spotlight #mad max fanfic #fury road fanfic #Mad max fandom #fury road fandom #tyellas

24 notes · View notes

parsleymusic · 6 years

Text

writing update:

current word count: 14,484

7 chapters and 76 pages (...double-spaced)

I was going to do another one of these after I hit 15k, which might be today if I keep writing, but I just finished the first Statement Chapter in my book, so I figured I’d ramble on about voice and stuff for a few paragraphs as a little break.

For those of you who don’t know and are interested, my book is narrated in the first person by two people: the protagonist, Alex (who I call the protagonist because as it stands her choices are what define the narrative the most), and some random guy named Peter (okay he’s not some random guy, but like... he totally is)

I’ve questioned this decision quite a few times over the course of trying (and failing) to draft this novel, as I am greatly concerned with my ability to properly distinguish between the two first person voices. I have read books with a similar structure that utterly fail at this task. Some of these books manage to transcend it, but it’s not a predicament I want to find myself in.

The whole book/series hinges on both of them narrating (particularly the first act, as they don’t meet until the end of it), and I am loathe to give it up as part of my novel. I’ve considered making Alex’s parts close third person and leaving Peter in first, but I kind of hate that solution? I think it’s because I tend to attach more to first person narrators, and I don’t necessarily want people to attach more to Peter, even though that’s probably inevitable as he is Less Evil™ compared to Alex.

If I’m going to be real with y’all: I don’t even need to be worrying about this based on the feedback I’ve heard from people. I can send my CP random excerpts without naming the narrator and she has said that she’s able to tell who it is. Which is great! But, I’m afraid this is because she has also spent the last four years with these characters.

tl;dr I’m overly concerned about this. Not to the point where I’m going to change it while I’m drafting, just as an I-don’t-know-if-I-know-what-I’m-doing sort of thing. And I had to get it off my chest.

side note: I wrote 2,500 words worth of fight scene and I’m surprisingly??? Not that bad at it??? go me

#Maggie Finally Writes the Stupid Book #this one's long guys sorry #it's an accountability thing for me #(my characters aren't actually evil just very much anti-heroes)#ANYWAY so much has changed since I've talked about this story publicly but my characters??? not one of those things #now to like... struggle with the Next Scene bc does it even have conflict? idk #pacing? I don't know her

2 notes · View notes

fuckit-shithappens · 7 years

Note

1-150 on the hella cute questions

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? my friend 2. Are you outgoing or shy? both 3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? uhm no one  4. Are you easy to get along with? yeahh i think😂 5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? ion like anyone 😂 i got me  6. What kind of people are you attracted to? funny people 7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? nahh😬 8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? no one haha 9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? nopeee 10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? tristyn 11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? wyd 12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? butterfly effect, 1-800-273-8255, i was wrong, rake it up, & young, dumb & broke 13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? yes 14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? ehh  15. What good thing happened this summer? i was drunk through out it all🤙🏽👅 16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? prolly 17. Do you think there is life on other planets? yes👽 18. Do you still talk to your first crush? oh naw  19. Do you like bubble baths? kinda  20. Do you like your neighbors? i don't talk to them 21. What are you bad habits? i have no clue 22. Where would you like to travel? cancun & bora bora 23. Do you have trust issues? hellaaaa💯 24. Favorite part of your daily routine? going to sleep  25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? my stomach 26. What do you do when you wake up? hate my life  27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? darker  28. Who are you most comfortable around? myself  29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? all 3 of them 30. Do you ever want to get married? yeah but i don't want it to be on papers 31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? yess 32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? salice & salice 33. Spell your name with your chin. bgmjz. (daaammmnnnnn💀) 34. Do you play sports? What sports? no but i love basketball 35. Would you rather live without TV or music? tv, music keeps me sane  36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? yes 37. What do you say during awkward silences? get on my phone 38. Describe your dream girl/guy? she gotta make me laugh, love me, be honest, handle my alcoholic ways, trace my back w her fingers, wrestles w me, understand my distant ways, don't suffocate me gimme my space, trust me 💯 39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? zumiez, a.e, charlotte russe, champs, buckle 40. What do you want to do after high school? live my life 41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? ehh depends on what they did the first time 42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? i'm minding my business 43. Do you smile at strangers? no😂 44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? outer space  45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? fuck ass school🙄 46. What are you paranoid about? nothing rn 47. Have you ever been high? hell yeah i am rn😂 48. Have you ever been drunk? every weekend, sometimes during the week🤷🏽‍♀️💯 49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? no? i don't think 50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? gray 51. Ever wished you were someone else? yeahhh 52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? my body 53. Favourite makeup brand? ion know bout allat😂 i'm just starting 54. Favourite store? zumiez 55. Favourite blog? 🤔 56. Favourite colour? turquoise & black 57. Favourite food? chickenn🤤🍗 58. Last thing you ate? cookies 59. First thing you ate this morning? hotfries 60. Ever won a competition? For what? no 61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? nah imma good kid👀 62. Been arrested? For what? lmao nah 63. Ever been in love? yeah or whateva🙂 64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?  it was in her hallway @ like 2 in the morning 65. Are you hungry right now? dude fuck yes 66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? yes 😂 67. Facebook or Twitter? twitter 68. Twitter or Tumblr? twitter 69. Are you watching tv right now? nope school 70. Names of your bestfriends? me😂 71. Craving something? What? chicken 72. What colour are your towels? white brown green  72. How many pillows do you sleep with? 3 73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? they all in the corner of my bed  74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? 3 75. Favourite animal? horse 76. What colour is your underwear? black 77. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate  78. Favourite ice cream flavour? cookie dough  79. What colour shirt are you wearing? gray 80. What colour pants? jeans 81. Favourite tv show? spongebob & bobs burgers 82. Favourite movie? oo burlesque  83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? mean girls  84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? 21 jump street  85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?  86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? dory 87. First person you talked to today? maria 88. Last person you talked to today? colton 89. Name a person you hate? ion hate nobody  90. Name a person you love? my dasia💕 91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? yes everyone 92. In a fight with someone? no 93. How many sweatpants do you have? oo like 6 pairs 94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? a lot like atleast 11 no lie 95. Last movie you watched? shrek 96. Favourite actress? ion know 97. Favourite actor? ion know 98. Do you tan a lot? yes the entire summer 99. Have any pets? a dog  100. How are you feeling? i'm tired  101. Do you type fast? yes 102. Do you regret anything from your past? ehh a little 103. Can you spell well? yeah 104. Do you miss anyone from your past? ehh🤷🏽‍♀️ 105. Ever been to a bonfire party? yes  106. Ever broken someone’s heart? prolly 107. Have you ever been on a horse? yess❤️ 108. What should you be doing? nothing i finished my work 109. Is something irritating you right now? i don't think  110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? yes🤦🏽‍♀️ 111. Do you have trust issues? oh yeah 112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? my friend 113. What was your childhood nickname? babes 114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? yes 115. Do you play the Wii? at my friends  116. Are you listening to music right now? yes 117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? yesss 118. Do you like Chinese food? no  119. Favourite book? i don't really read 120. Are you afraid of the dark? no but what's in the dark 121. Are you mean? i mean, yeah😂 122. Is cheating ever okay? issa no 123. Can you keep white shoes clean? yes kinda 124. Do you believe in love at first sight? no haha 125. Do you believe in true love? maybe 126. Are you currently bored? yes 127. What makes you happy? alcohol, weed, my dog, chicken 128. Would you change your name? no  129. What your zodiac sign? aries♈️ 130. Do you like subway? no 131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? boii imma have to bounce 132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? tristyn 133. Favourite lyrics right now?  134. Can you count to one million? if i had the time 135. Dumbest lie you ever told? i got hit by a rock on my neck but in reality it was a hickey 136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? closed 137. How tall are you? 5'3 138. Curly or Straight hair? straight 139. Brunette or Blonde? brunette 140. Summer or Winter? ehh there both miserable to me  141. Night or Day? night 142. Favourite month? idk 143. Are you a vegetarian? nope 144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? white 145. Tea or Coffee? tea 146. Was today a good day? it's been ight 147. Mars or Snickers? snickers 148. What’s your favourite quote? fuck it shit happens 149. Do you believe in ghosts? yes 150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? label the elements of the Word program window shown in figure 2-16

1 note · View note

ladyofthecampfires · 7 years

Note

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL THE QUESTIONS!!!

1. If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?I would read a bunch more.2. What is your favorite piece of clothing you own / owned?I like my plaid shirts that I stole from my brother3. What hobby would you pick up if time & money weren’t an issue?I would take piano lessons and art lessons4. What does your perfect room look like?A small room in a log cabin with a big bed and a bunch of fluffy blankets and floor rugs with Zapotec patterns.5. How often do you play sports?Pretty much never6. What fictional place would you like to visit?The Shire. Very much the Shire.7. What job would you be terrible at?Motivational speaker or counselor 8. When was the last time you climbed a tree?I don’t know9. If you could turn any activity into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance of winning a medal for?I really don’t know. I’m not super talented at much.10. What is the most annoying habit that you or other people have?Speaking over others. Other people do that, I don’t :p11. What job do you think you’d be really good at?Proofreader 12. What skill would you like to master?Learning to draw would be cool13. What would be the most amazing adventure to go on?A camping adventure! In some mountains somewhere14. If you had unlimited funds to build a house to live on for the rest of your life, what would the finished house look like?A nice cozy log cabin15. What’s your favorite drink?Depends on my mood. I do like Dr Pepper though :p16. What state or country do you never want to go back to?Don’t think I’ve been anywhere I hated17. What songs do you have completely memorized?Way too many to list18. What game or movie universe would you like to live in?Tolkien universe would be incredible19. What do you consider to be your best find?My brother found a homemade wand in the middle of the woods. I didn’t find it but it’s mine now.20. Are you usually early or late?Almost always early. I’m scared of being late.21. What pets did you have when you were growing up?Cats, dogs and I had a hamster for a while22. When people come to you for help, what do they usually need help with?Proofreading something haha 23. What takes up too much of your time?Worrying about things I can’t control 24. What do you wish you knew more about?Literally everything. Religion and mythology? 25. What would be your first question after waking up from being frozen for 100 years?Can I go back to sleep?26. What are some small things that make your day better?Talking to friends, coffee, my pets27. Who’s your go-to band or artist when you don’t know who or what to listen to?Frank Turner or the Hamilton soundtrack 28. What’s the best way to start the day? The way I started it yesterday morning actually. A cup of coffee, donuts and the comics page of the newspaper 29. What TV shows do you like?Currently American Gods, Preacher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine 30. What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should?One that runs Harry Potter and LotR marathons just 24/7 31. Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished?I’m sure there are people but I can’t think of any right now 32. What age do you wish you could stay at permanently? I feel like 10 was good 33. What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?13 Reasons Why 34. What’s your ideal way to spend a weekend?It depends on my mood I guess. A nice balance of going out and staying in. Yeah that’s vague but I’m too lazy to think about it. 35. What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without?Sanitary products, according to the government 36. What is your claim to fame?I won a battle of the bands contest once? 37. What is something you enjoy doing the old-fashioned way?I dunno38. What’s your favorite book or movie genre?Fantasy I think 39. How often do you people-watch?Sometimes 40. What have you only recently formed an opinion about?I didn’t really think about politics much until I got to college 41. What’s the best day of the year?I don’t think there is one 42. What subject interests you that not many people have heard of?Paleography!! 43. How do you relax after a long day of work?Browse tumblr 44. What’s the best book series or TV series you’ve ever read or watched?Hannibal? Maybe? 45. Where is the farthest you’ve ever been from home?Went to Rome last year 46. What’s the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen?Once when it snowed at school I was watching from my dorm window at like midnight when several kids came outside and started making snow angels on the lawn. It was just really serene47. What is the most annoying question people ask you?Why are you so quiet? 48. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with no preparation?Roman stuff probably if I didn’t die of a panic attack first49. If you were the dictator on a small island nation, what crazy dictator stuff would you do?I would resign immediately and put someone better in charge 50. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?Get to know someone completely different from them 51. Would you rather go hand gliding or whitewater rafting?Rafting! 52. What’s your dream car?Something reliable with good mileage 53. What’s worth spending more on to get the best?Food, relationships 54. What is something a ton of people are obsessed with, but you just don’t get?Sex 55. What are you most looking forward to in the next 10 years?Being settled and hopefully happy with where I am 56. Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?Rome! 57. What’s something you’ve been meaning to try but haven’t gotten around to it?Dunno 58. What is the best thing that happened to you last week?I graduated lol 59. What piece of entertainment do you wish you could erase from your mind, only to experience it for the first time again?Hannibal 60. If all jobs had the same pay rate and hours, what job would you want to have?Musician61. What amazing thing have you done that no one was around to see?No idea 62. How different was your life 1 year ago?I was still in college 63. What quirks do you have?I’m sure I have some but I can’t think of any 64. What would you rate 10/10?Sleeping 65. What fad or trend do you think should come back?Dunno66. What is the most interesting piece of art you’ve seen?the Bernini statues in Rome were beautiful67. What kind of art do you enjoy most?Dunno, not that into art68. What do you hope never changes?I don’t know69. What city would you most like to live in?Don’t like cities that much70. What movie title best describes your life?I can’t think of any71. Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now?I’m not doing anything right now72. What’s the best way a person can spend their time?Making someone else smile73. If you suddenly became a master at woodworking, what would you make?Art74. Where is the most relaxing place you’ve ever been?Cloudcroft New Mexico!75. What’s the luckiest thing that has ever happened to you?Don’t know76. Where would you rather be from?Northern California sounds nice, up in the mountains77. What are some things you’ve had to unlearn?Bodyshaming, misogyny, junk like that78. What do you look forward to in the next 6 months?No idea79. What website do you visit most often?Tumblr80. What one thing do you really want but can’t afford?Lasik surgery81. Where do you usually go when you have free time?My room I guess82. Where would you spend all your time if you could?In some mountains somewhere83. What’s special about the place you grew up?Six Flags?84. What age do you want to live to?Dunno85. What are you most likely to become famous for?Nothing86. What are you absolutely determined to do?Keep being a good person87. What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?Play bass? I guess?88. What do you wish you knew more about?A lot of stuff89. What question would you most like to know the answer to?Not sure90. What question can you ask to find out the most about a person?I don’t know91. When was the last time you changed your opinion or belief about something major?Eh I don’t know92. What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?Someone told me I had a cute nose once93. As the only human left on earth, what would you do?Do something like try to scale Mt. Everest and probably die there94. Who inspires you to be better?No one I can think of95. What do you want your epitaph to be?Dunno96. What haven’t you grown out of?I like playing in mud/sand. Is that weird? I don’t do it unless I’m at the beach or something though97. In what situation or place would you feel most out of place in?Pretty much everywhere98. What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done that actually turned out pretty well?Not sure99. If someone wrote a book on an event in your life, what would the book be about?It would be a pretty boring book, don’t know100. What’s something you will never do again?Plenty of things101. How do you hope you’ll change as a person in the future?Hope I can be a better and kinder person102. What keeps you up at night?Depends103. What’s the most surprising self-realization you’ve had?You like girls, it’s fine104. What is the most illegal thing you’ve ever done?I smoked weed once :o105. How do you get in the way of your own success?Second-guessing myself106. What are you afraid people see when they look at you?Nothing107. What is your biggest regret?There’s plenty108. What do you look down on people for?Being willfully ignorant109. What bridges do you not regret burning?With an ex110. What lie do you tell most often?Not sure111. What would be your spirit animal?Dunno112. What is the best & worst thing about getting older?Freedom/responsibility113. What are you most likely very wrong about?How to fix a car114. If you had a personal flag, what would be on it?Dunno115. What’s happened that changed your view on the world?The election116. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned?Can’t pick117. What is the most immature thing you do?I dunno, I’m pretty mature I think118. What are you famous for among your friends & family?Nothing119. If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?Dirt120. What one responsibility do you wish you didn’t have?Having to work121. What are 3 things you want to accomplish before you die?Find something I like to do, find someone I want to share my life with, travel somewhere cool122. What do you want to tell your 10-year-old self?Try not to worry so much but also don’t trust people123. What’s the best thing you got from your parents?My sense of humor124. What’s the best thing about you?I care a lot?125. What blows your mind?Space126. Have you ever saved someone’s life?No127. What are you really good at but embarrassed to be good at?Don’t know128. What would a mirror opposite of you look like?Elegant129. What are 3 interesting facts about you?I can’t think of anything right now130. Which of your scars has the best story behind it?I have one on my stomach from surgery when I was a baby?131. What’s the title of the current chapter in your life?Aimless132. What were some of the biggest turning points in your life?Going to college133. What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned?You can’t always make things go the way you want134. What do people think is weird about you?I’m not very talkative135. What mistake do you keep making?I dunno136. What have you created that you’re most proud of?Dunno137. What do you doubt?My judgment138. What are some of your morals?Be a good person139. What do you want to be remembered for?No idea140. What do you regret not doing in your childhood years?Learning a second language141. What is your favorite fragrance?Pine trees!142. What do you think your last words will be?No idea143. Who or what do you take for granted?Dunno144. Why would you be annoying as a roommate?I feel like I’m a pretty good roommate. Maybe I’m around too much.145. What is something you’re insecure about?Literally everything146. What’s the best & worst piece of advice you’ve received?Dunno147. What irrational fears do you have?Emetophobia, also don’t love heights148. What makes a good life?Helping others149. What’s the last adventure you went on?Went to a concert on Saturday? Is that an adventure?150. What is the most memorable gift you’ve received?I can’t think of anything right now

#campfire talks

1 note · View note

amoonlitmidnight · 7 years

Text

decided to answer bc im bored

1. If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

troye.

2. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

mine is going home. (will greyson will greyson)

3. What do you think about most?

if c is okay.

4. What does your latest text message from someone else say?

true.

5. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

with.

6. What’s your strangest talent?

i can make good pigeon noises.

7. Girls…. (finish the sentence); Boys…. (finish the sentence)

girls are wonderful yet complicated. boys that are good exist, but you have to sort through many awful ones to find them.

8. Ever had a poem or song written about you?

not that I know of.

9. When is the last time you played the air guitar?

on the bus to Bellingham lacrosse game.

10. Do you have any strange phobias?

I am afraid of growing too old to keep memories.

11. Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

blue berry, but who hasn’t?

12. What’s your religion?

half-assed catholic I guess?

13. If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

playing lacrosse.

14. Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

behind.

15. Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

the 1975 bc im basic.

16. What was the last lie you told?

don’t worry about it, its fine.

17. Do you believe in karma?

to an extent, yes.

18. What does your URL mean?

thought of it randomly one night.

19. What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

weakness: relentless self-deprecation, to the point of believing that anybody complimenting me is out of pity.

strength: im funny.

20. Who is your celebrity crush?

brendon urie or matty healy.

21. Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

not yet.

22. How do you vent your anger?

the vent app.

23. Do you have a collection of anything?

important items/mementoes from the past year.

24. Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

video chatting.

25. Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

somewhat, but there’s always room for improvement.

26. What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

hate: metal scraping/banging together, or other people blowing their nose.

love: laughter, rain

27. What’s your biggest “what if”?

what if every choice ive made to get me to this point, didn’t happen?

28. Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

I believe that there are spirits of loved ones that look after us and guide us, but im not decisive about ghosts. aliens are 100% real, but maybe not in the way we expect.

29. Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

right: bedside table/lamp.

left: book (will greyson will greyson)

30. Smell the air. What do you smell?

stuffy.

31. What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

7th grade camp.

32. Choose East Coast or West Coast?

west coast.

33. Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

matty healy or troye sivan.

34. To you, what is the meaning of life?

to do what makes you happy.

35. Define Art.

any form of creation.

36. Do you believe in luck?

yes.

37. What’s the weather like right now?

sunny.

38. What time is it?

2:01 pm.

39. Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

I do not.

40. What was the last book you read?

note to self.

41. Do you like the smell of gasoline?

kinda.

42. Do you have any nicknames?

g, stew, gstew, stewart

43. What was the last movie you saw?

lion.

44. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

concussion.

45. Have you ever caught a butterfly?

nope

46. Do you have any obsessions right now?

troye.

47. What’s your sexual orientation?

see #1

48. Ever had a rumor spread about you?

yes, courtesy of matt.

49. Do you believe in magic?

not really.

50. Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

yes.

51. What is your astrological sign?

pisces.

52. Do you save money or spend it?

spend it.

53. What’s the last thing you purchased?

eyeliner, highliter, and primer at sephora.

54. Love or lust?

love.

55. In a relationship?

sadly, no.

56. How many relationships have you had?

maybe one?

57. Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

yes.

58. Where were you yesterday?

last lacrosse game of the season at ballard, then alki

59. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

yes.

60. Are you wearing socks right now?

no.

61. What’s your favorite animal?

monkey.

62. What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

be funny.

63. Where is your best friend?

nonexistent.

64. What is your heritage?

norwegian, irish, german i think

65. What were you doing last night at 12 AM?

watching interstellar again.

66. What do you think is Satan’s last name?

maybe he has one, but he doesn’t need it. like beyonce.

67. Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

I’d like to think so.

68. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

let that dog die without a second thought.

69. You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

a) maybe one or two people in particular, c for sure. but not everyone, instead I tell them what I have always wanted them to know.

b) I tell people what I have never been courageous enough to say, and spend time with loved ones.

c) I would be more content than afraid

70. You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

you cannot love someone if there is no trust.

71. What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

more than life by whitley.

72. What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

2935.

73. In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

determination and unconditional love.

74. How can I win your heart?

show me you love me, or else I wont believe you, and be able to have conversations late at night about deep shit.

75. Can insanity bring on more creativity?

of course.

76. What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

attending hna and trying out for lacrosse.

77. What size shoes do you wear?

9 I think?

78. What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

do not go gentle into that good night.

79. What is your favorite word?

titties.

80. Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

anatomical.

81. What is a saying you say a lot?

me when…

82. What’s the last song you listened to?

tokyo narita freestyle.

83. Basic question; what’s your favorite color/colors?

light blue, lavender, or faded pastel yellow.

84. What is your current desktop picture?

was my north cascade summer team, now it’s a photo from the 1975 concert.

85. If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

trump bc im unoriginal.

86. What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

my feelings for someone.

87. One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

call the cops, or just put in earbuds and listen to music really loud with my eyes closed to distract myself.

88. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

reading minds or shapeshifting objects.

89. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

the penetration practice.

90. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

odea vs lakeside game when I realized co wasn’t my friend anymore.

91. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

matty healy.

92. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

Amsterdam.

93. Do you have any relatives in jail?

not that I know of.

94. Have you ever thrown up in the car?

yes, drank some week old orange juice.

95. Ever been on a plane?

yes.

96. If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

you do you, ill do me. we may not be doing the same things, but well both me happy.

#mine

1 note · View note

flamel110 · 7 years

Note

Do all of them. I dare you.

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?

My gf.

2. Are you outgoing or shy?

Yes.

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?

My Dad, my sister, and my gf lol.

4. Are you easy to get along with?

I’d like to think that I’m amiable.

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?

Yeah totally, but I can take care of myself.

6. What kind of people are you attracted to?

Passionate ones.

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?

Yup.

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?

My sister and my gf.

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?

Nah.

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?

My girlfriend.

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?

“I could not for my fucking life find a gif of a toddler getting kicked in the head, so this will have to do.”

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?

San Francisco by Scott McKenzie

74 is The New 24 by Giorgio Moroder

The Man Who Sold The World by David Bowie

Diane Young by Vampire Weekend

Kids by MGMT

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?

I love it.

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?

I believe in coincidence and “against all odds”.

15. What good thing happened this summer?

I got closer to my family.

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

Yeah, she was pretty cute.

17. Do you think there is life on other planets?

I think it would be arrogant to dismiss the possibility.

18. Do you still talk to your first crush?

No, not really.

19. Do you like bubble baths?

I prefer water baths, but yeah.

20. Do you like your neighbors?

Sure, I’ve got nothing against em.

21. What are you bad habits?

I procrastinate a lot.

22. Where would you like to travel?

Europe.

23. Do you have trust issues?

I used to, but not really anymore.

24. Favorite part of your daily routine?

When you take that first breath after finishing your last thing to do.

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?

My legs, but not to a fault. I just don’t wear shorts that often.

26. What do you do when you wake up?

Check my phone and scroll through tumblr.

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?

I like my skin color, tbh, but I could use a bit more sun sometimes.

28. Who are you most comfortable around?

My sister, my gf, and my fraternity brothers.

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?

Nope.

30. Do you ever want to get married?

Eh, maybe. Why rush?

31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail?

It once was, but not anymore.

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?

Eh, there are a few attractive celebrities, but I really don’t care that much.

33. Spell your name with your chin.

rdsichwsrd

34. Do you play sports? What sports?

I do parkour sometimes.

35. Would you rather live without TV or music?

TV. Podcasts are cool.

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?

Yeah.

37. What do you say during awkward silences?

I try to think through a common interest among the group and propose it in the form of a question in order to stimulate conversation among the group.

38. Describe your dream girl/guy?

I don’t idolize people.

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?

Amazon

40. What do you want to do after high school?

I’m doing it.

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

No. Always perform accurate and reliable risk analysis.

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?

Could be anything, but I’m probably tired. I’m usually tired.

43. Do you smile at strangers?

Yeah, even if it’s an awkward smile.

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?

SPAAAACCE.

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?

My desire to conquer the world.

46. What are you paranoid about?

The fucking world.

47. Have you ever been high?

have YOU ever been high??

48. Have you ever been drunk?

lol yeh

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?

I almost tripped up some stairs today.

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?

Black

51. Ever wished you were someone else?

I did, so I became someone else.

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?

I want better eyes.

53. Favourite makeup brand?

Don’t typically wear it.

54. Favourite store?

Amazon

55. Favourite blog?

lol mine. It’s got all my favorite stuff on it.

56. Favourite colour?

Sky blue and forest green.

57. Favourite food?

Had some good stirf fry last week. I’m not picky and enjoy most things.

58. Last thing you ate?

Some chicken helper I made the other night.

59. First thing you ate this morning?

Bread.

60. Ever won a competition? For what?

A few. Some mental, some physical.

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?

Got ISS for punching a kid once.

62. Been arrested? For what?

Nah, but I have had my share of police encounters.

63. Ever been in love?

Maybe. Love is strange.

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?

It was after Military Ball my junior year of high school, it was a peck on the lips, and it really wasn’t that memorable tbh.

65. Are you hungry right now?

Yes for always.

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?

Sometimes lol.

67. Facebook or Twitter?

Facebook but still gross.

68. Twitter or Tumblr?

Tumblr

69. Are you watching tv right now?

Nah.

70. Names of your bestfriends?

Nick, Brett, Aaron, Joslyn, Nolen, Bread, Josie, Evan, and Bryan, in no particular order.

71. Craving something? What?

I dunno I’m just hungry.

72. What colour are your towels?

Black

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?

Four

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?

Nah

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?

Half a dozen to a dozen or so.

75. Favourite animal?

Snakes maybe?

76. What colour is your underwear?

White, rn.

77. Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate.

78. Favourite ice cream flavour?

Mint Chocolate Chip.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing?

Black

80. What colour pants?

Black?

81. Favourite tv show?

Right now? AHS Coven.

82. Favourite movie?

Midnight in Paris

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?

Mean Girls

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?

21 Jump Street

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?

I dunno lol

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?

“I’m H2O intolerant... *ACHOO*”

87. First person you talked to today?

My gf.

88. Last person you talked to today?

My friend Brett.

89. Name a person you hate?

No.

90. Name a person you love?

My sister.

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?

Nazis

92. In a fight with someone?

Nazis, always.

93. How many sweatpants do you have?

2 or 3

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?

3 or 4

95. Last movie you watched?

Animal House

96. Favourite actress?

Kathy Bates

97. Favourite actor?

Jeremy Dooley in Uno: The Movie

98. Do you tan a lot?

Nope.

99. Have any pets?

Nope.

100. How are you feeling?

Tired and hungry.

101. Do you type fast?

Relatively.

102. Do you regret anything from your past?

Sure, but why fret.

103. Can you spell well?

Fairly well.

104. Do you miss anyone from your past?

Yeah, certain peeps.

105. Ever been to a bonfire party?

Yup.

106. Ever broken someone’s heart?

I believe so.

107. Have you ever been on a horse?

Yeah.

108. What should you be doing?

Reading and writing up journal entries for TechCom.

109. Is something irritating you right now?

I’m hungry.

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?

Yeah, and boy howdy did I learn that it’s not cool to idolize and obsess over people because it’s super creepy and dehumanizing.

111. Do you have trust issues?

I used to, but not anymore. Didn’t I answer this already???

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?

Probably a brother.

113. What was your childhood nickname?

lol Dick Wizard

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?

Oh yeah. And then some.

115. Do you play the Wii?

I used to a bit.

116. Are you listening to music right now?

Nope.

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?

Eh, it’s alright.

118. Do you like Chinese food?

Oh yeah.

119. Favourite book?

Right now it’s The Gunslinger by Stephen King

120. Are you afraid of the dark?

Nah.

121. Are you mean?

No, I don’t think so. I just don’t give a damn sometimes.

122. Is cheating ever okay?

I don’t believe so.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean?

lol no.

124. Do you believe in love at first sight?

No. Attraction or infatuation, maybe. But love, even platonic love, takes understanding.

125. Do you believe in true love?

No.

126. Are you currently bored?

A little.

127. What makes you happy?

Video games.

128. Would you change your name?

If I had to protect myself.

129. What your zodiac sign?

Gemini

130. Do you like subway?

Lol yeah.

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?

Well, I mean, she’s already my girlfriend so...

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?

My girlfriend I think. Didn’t this one already come up too??

133. Favourite lyrics right now?

Wisdom’s a gift, but you’d trade it for youth. Age is an honor, it’s still not the truth.

134. Can you count to one million?

It’d take a while but yeah.

135. Dumbest lie you ever told?

Meh, can’t think of one.

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?

Fucking closed you heathens.

137. How tall are you?

5′9′‘

138. Curly or Straight hair?

No preference.

139. Brunette or Blonde?

No preference.

140. Summer or Winter?

Winter.

141. Night or Day?

Night.

142. Favourite month?

October.

143. Are you a vegetarian?

Nope.

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?

Milk.

145. Tea or Coffee?

Tea.

146. Was today a good day?

Yeah sure.

147. Mars or Snickers?

Snickers

148. What’s your favourite quote?

“God favors drunks, small children, and the cataclysmically stoned...” -Stephen King, It

149. Do you believe in ghosts?

Sure, why not?

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?

“Eddie Dean - who did not know Roland sometimes thought of him as ka-mai, ka’s fool - heard all of it and heard none of it; saw all of it and saw none of it.”

2 notes · View notes

i-amusemyself · 6 years

Note

All Lets Get Personal.

Thanks anon!! My depressed ass needed something to do

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?

It really depends on my mood tbh. But judging by my YouTube playlists:

Church- Fall out boy; Hopeless Wanderer- Mumford and Sons (its a jam okay?); Summertime- my chemical romance; so cold- ben cocks; this is me- keala settle and killing in the same- rage against the machine

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

Lmao idk I dont have much of an interest in anyone atm. I still think itd be cool to meet kaitlyn alexander ig

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

You recognise each other the moment your eyes meet. It’s a question and answer book and the question is about soulmates or something

4: What do you think about most?

What it is I need to do to stop feeling anxious or stressed since it’s a daily battle

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?

“it was hillarious but I couldn’t say “lmao I’ve seen women take bigger” so I just let the conversation die but I was urging to show him a savage video and ruin him just to be right but then I stopped myself”

Yes, it is as bad in context as out of it.

Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

Depends how warm it is tbh

What’s your strangest talent?

Talent? What’s that?? Idk I’m quite good at picking up languages super fast for some unknown reason (but i can forget them just as quick soo

8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)

Girls are hot hot hot they make me gay

Boys are hot hot hot they make me gay

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?

Nah, but I’m not major sad about it since that’d be so awkward

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?

Oh gosh um probably in the car the other day, canny remember which song it was tho

11: Do you have any strange phobias?

I seriously hate water like to the point I chose my uni based on where the lakes were. I also hate stuffed toys with voice boxes.

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

Probably but I don’t remember

13: What’s your religion?

I’m an athiest

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Walking between indoor places

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Behind it! I’m not photogenic

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

Ummmmmmm idk. I genuinly don’t know. I probably listen to five finger death punch most atm?

17: What was the last lie you told?

I said I was feeling good lmao

18: Do you believe in karma?

I don’t know, but I like to hope it does to make myself feel better

19: What does your URL mean?

I think it’s pretty self explanatory

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

My greatest weakness? Probably my low opinion of myself or my associated jealousy.

My greatest strength? A few years ago I mightve said my resilience but I’m not sure I ever have that anymore. Idk, maybe my need to always keep improving as a person

21: Who is your celebrity crush?

See number 2 tbh

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

Yah every time I have a bath

23: How do you vent your anger?

I send massive long rant paragraphs to my closest friends and try not to do anything stupid or unhealthy

24: Do you have a collection of anything?

I have a pretty big collection of reaction images and memes

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

I hate both but video chatting is slightly better

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

I suppose. I’m closer to being happy with them than I ever have been and that’s what matters.

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

At this point I hate the sound of my alarm more than most things and I love... idk music. Does that count?

28: What’s your biggest “what if”?

What if I’d stood up for myself more?

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

I don’t know as I believe in ghosts but I’m fascinated by the people who do. As for aliens ofc they exist.

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

I touch sofa. Both times. I’m sat on a sofa.

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?

I smell rabbit since he’s currently sat with me in a box. I got lonely.

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

Gosh I don’t know. I can’t really think of anywhere I’ve hated being, besides home sometimes. I don’t know, no where has been that bad since I always try to make the best of it.

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?

East coast

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

Opposite eh? Lmaoooo

Okay I actually have quite a thing for the lead singer of motionless in white. Make of that what you will.

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?

To be happy, to go good and to die with as few regrets as possible

36: Define Art.

Fuck. Something visual this is made to be aesthetically pleasing or convey a message. I guess.

37: Do you believe in luck?

I’m not entirely sure what luck is. Maybe?

38: What’s the weather like right now?

Fekkin horrible, you wouldn’t know it’s spring. It’s grey and wet and windy and cold.

39: What time is it?

17:51

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

I have a full license but haven’t actually driven since my test, so I haven’t had a chance to crash.

41: What was the last book you read?

When breath becomes air. It’s about being a doctor.

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?

I adore it yaas

43: Do you have any nicknames?

Char, (wholemeal) chorlo and Thot lmao

44: What was the last film you saw?

Love, Simon

Go see it, it’s gay and beautiful!

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

Idk, I broke my humorous after dislocating my elbow once. But that was ages ago

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?

Hundreds lmao thats my childhood right there

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?

I’m too depressed to have much of an interest in anything tbh. Even when I’m not I don’t tend to get That Invested.

48: What’s your sexual orientation?

Bisexual, ig. Though saying it never feels right for some reason.

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?

A few, a few. One being that I was a lesbian years before even I knew I wasn’t straight.

50: Do you believe in magic?

Not really but who knows

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

The threshold for grudges is pretty high but if I have one I’ll be bitter til the day I die

52: What is your astrological sign?

Libra

53: Do you save money or spend it?

I swing wildly between saving loads and spending loads. Healthy.

54: What’s the last thing you purchased?

Um I mean I paid the deposit on a house, does that count?

55: Love or lust?

Love, for sure

56: In a relationship?

Yeah XD

57: How many relationships have you had?

This is like my third proper one

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

Nope

59: Where were you yesterday?

At home on my tod again, revising

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

Nah

61: Are you wearing socks right now?

Yuup

62: What’s your favourite animal?

I love all the animals I can’t pick a favourite. I love alpacas, chimps, gorrillas, orangutans, lizards, elephants, octopuses etc etc

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

Excessive praying and reblogging lucky posts

64: Where is your best friend?

Tbh I have multiple, one in the next village, one 6 hours south and one 4000 miles away

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.

Christ um, people I spam with likes most are probably @oneshappyplace @apricot-el @only-slightly-dangerous @succeeding and @setheverman

66: What is your heritage?

I’m white as a toilet so my family probably murdered a lot of innocent people

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?

Umm I was skyping my boyf and playing a game online with him

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?

Trump

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

Yeah, haven’t most people?

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

I like to think so yeah. Though I do have a lot of breakdowns so maybe without that part. @ my friends I apologise

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

Help the dog. Though realistically I probably couldn’t do it alone, so would call someone over to help and leave asap to not be so late.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

I think I’d tell the people closest to me, yeah. I don’t know what I’d do though. Probably book as many flights as possible and visit all the countries I’ve always wanted to go to. I guess I’d probably write my will and organise a funeral too. I don’t think I’d be too afraid, just, idk, sad? I don’t want to disappear to nothingness yet, even if I won’t know when it happens.

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

Argh that’s horrid. I mean trust is essential for all relationships imo. But if I had no love at all in my life I doubt I’d live very long at all. So... love? No wait,,, trust. Yeah trust.

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men. It reminds me of a school trip years ago to Belgium that was such a good time

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

8008

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

Well, trust ig, being able to talk about anything, a good balance of affection and roasting. Idk

77: How can I win your heart?

Be kind, be funny and have layers.

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?

I suppose so

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

The decision to reply to the message that appeared in my inbox right before I was going to end it. There were plenty, but I only opened that one. The person who sent it changed my life.

80: What size shoes do you wear?

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

Either a pun or something ominous. Maybe both.

82: What is your favourite word?

Probably sorry since I say it a lot

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

Love, followed quickly by the mental image of a dissected heart

84: What is a saying you say a lot?

I amuse myself. Gotta keep up that brand sponning.

85: What’s the last song you listened to?

Don’t feel like dancing by the scissor sisters lmao

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?

Black, red and purple

87: What is your current desktop picture?

Just a galaxy

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

Donald. Trump. When in close proximity to Mike Pence too.

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

Besides “what are your credit card details”? Idk, perhaps a question about the flaws of the people closest to me, since they’re something I wouldn’t want them to read.

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

Lie there still for a good 5 minutes just to make sure. Maybe chuck a pillow across the room to see if they attack it. Then go fetch my phone and call whoever will pick up to ask wtf to do.

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

The ability to fly probably. It’d help stop me being late and transport is so expensive these days.

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

A half hour period of the time me and my friend spent outside laughing our heads off and covered in glitter when I visited her in the states last summer

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Damn, only one? Lmao catch me ranking my traumas to try to answer this question. I’ll erase getting flooded and being made homeless I think lmao

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

Probably P!nk since she was low key my gay awakening

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

I quite fancy going to amsterdam rn, or failing that, copenhagen

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?

Not that I know of

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?

Only as a little kid

98: Ever been on a plane?

Plenty of times yeah, I love it

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

I wish there was some way I could convince all the dictators, extremists and right wingers to just fekkin stop tbh. Centrists can stay but theyre on thin ice.

0 notes

dine-on-nervine · 6 years

Text

lactated Ringer’s solution

1) Sexuality? Straight but not narrow.

2) If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? Elon Musk.

3) Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17. Since no electricity or batteres are used, it is shockproof, harmless to the smallest child. (Advertisement for a $7.99 pocket radio that supposedly does not require batteries, Feb 1954 Science and Mechanics magazine)

4) What do you think about most? Titties.

5) What does your latest text message from someone else say? ”which”

6) Do you sleep with or without clothes on? Without.

7) What's your strangest talent? Music trivia.

8) Girls.... (finish the sentence); Boys.... (finish the sentence) Girls are considered amazing perfect creatures but trust me, they poop and fart and pee themselves and smell sweaty and have stale breath just like you. Boys are less straight than they want you to think.

9) Ever had a poem or song written about you? Yes! T² wrote “A Fragile Wounded Hawk” and Chad wrote ”I’m Very Breathless.”

10) When is the last time you played the air guitar? Probably last night at work. Cuz that’s what we do.

11) Do you have any strange phobias? I have reasonable phobias.

12) Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose? Every one of them.

13) What's your religion? I say United Methodist but I practice something more animistic.

14) If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? Walking at the park, getting my head on straight.

15) Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? Behind, because I am not photogenic.

16) Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band? Simple because it requires no explanation: Depeche Mode.

17) What was the last lie you told? Probably “Glad to see you!” to all but one of my customers.

18) Do you believe in karma? Absolutely. Do not cross it.

19) What does your URL mean? Nervine was a sedative created in 1889 by Dr Miles of Miles Laboratories, one of the original “Mother’s Little Helper” OTC chill-outs, which was produced until 1999 -- but reformulated to remove one ingredient and then was called a sleep aid in the 1950s due to the FDA. “Dine on Nervine” rhymes so...

20) What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength? My greatest strength is that I believe in others. My greatest weakness is that I don’t do enough to make myself more awesome.

21) Who is your celebrity crush? I won’t claim to have one but I’d really enjoy some private time with spokesmodel Jan Brehm from the local car dealership ads. Before she moved to BMW Northwest, she was the Korum Whorum.

22) Have you ever gone skinny dipping? Many times. That was the thing when I worked at the local fair, after they closed for the day I’d hop in the hot tubs with whomever was available.

23) How do you vent your anger? Used to be driving backroads with loud music.

24) Do you have a collection of anything? I have a collection of everything, and not enough storage space for it.

25) Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? I don’t video chat, so it’d have to be talking on the phone.

26) Are you happy with the person you've become? This is a work in progress but.. yeah, I’m doing better, thank you.

27) What's a sound you hate; sound you love? Sound I hate is Trump supporters echoing lies; sound I love is when my awesometastic girlfriend tells me I have nice eyes (or anything else).

28) What's your biggest "what if"? I’ve made allusions to it in the past but that blog is gone, so a very swift version: When I was 15 at camp I was in the arms of the girl I wanted to get something going with, and then her rival shoved a note in my back pocket that swayed my attention. What I’d do to go back and ignore the distraction.

29) Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? Both exist but not in the ways that we like to think of them.

30) Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm. Right... Epson scanner. Left... my cereal bowl.

31) Smell the air. What do you smell? A fresh fart competing with a sweet sandalwood incense.

32) What's the worst place you have ever been to? The KeyBank call center in Auburn, WA. Management bitches will cut you.

33) Choose East Coast or West Coast? No question. Left siiide!

34) Most attractive singer of your opposite gender? Cia Berg of Whale or Annette Strean of Venus Hum.

35) To you, what is the meaning of life? To make others happy.

36) Define Art. That which makes you feel something when it enters your brain.

37) Do you believe in luck? I believe that statistics are no match for random good.

38) What's the weather like right now? Raining on and off.

39) What time is it? Nine minutes after eight post-meridian.

40) Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed? I drive and I have had an accident or two.

41) What was the last book you read? How To Be A Badass by Jen Sincero.

42) Do you like the smell of gasoline?| A little.

43) Do you have any nicknames? I might. Other people call me whatever they call me. Like my high school computer teacher called me Inski, and my ex called me Piss-Ant.

44) What was the last movie you saw? In the theatre, Deadpool. At home as a torrent, Star Wars VII.

45) What's the worst injury you've ever had? Not really sure. Some pratfalls but nothing severe.

46) Have you ever caught a butterfly? Yes.

47) Do you have any obsessions right now? Apple box labels?

48) What's your sexual orientation? You asked this question as the very first item.

49) Ever had a rumor spread about you? Constantly. A few might even be true.

50) Do you believe in magic? Stage magic, yes. White magick, in limited amounts.

51) Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong? Ask my parents, they’ll say yes. Anyone else, I try not to most of the time.

52) What is your astrological sign? Libra.

53) Do you save money or spend it? My goal is to save. But my present budget does not allow this.

54) What's the last thing you purchased? Hotdog at Costco. Before that, two ranuncula.

55) Love or lust? You’re going to have to give me more direction. What are you asking?

56) In a relationship? Yes. :-D <3

57) How many relationships have you had? There have been several.

58) Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Better, what else can I touch with my tongue?

59) Where were you yesterday? Wednesday: stayed in bed until like 9am, did some stuff around the house, went to work, got home before 9pm, eventually went to bed.

60) Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? The pricetag on a 12x12 frame behind me.

61) Are you wearing socks right now? Not just socks, they’re SmartWool.

62) What's your favorite animal? Kitties!

63) What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you? Mad oral skills.

64) Where is your best friend? I assume that since it’s a Thursday night and his car is in the shop, he’s at home watching movies while ripping vinyl to CD.

65) Spit or swallow? (; “the difference between like and love”... It’s rude to spit.

66) What is your heritage? I don’t claim to have one.

67) What were you doing last night at 12 AM? I think I was still on the computer at the time, but if I wasn’t I was nestled in my bed.

68) What do you think is Satan's last name? Drumpf. But he changed it when he got into the States.

69) Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off? Damn straight, erry day sometimes. And you can be next.

70) Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend? I definitely try to be. I am kind and generous and knowledgeable and fun.

71) You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do? Wonder why the hell I was in Sunnyside, since if I’m on the opposite side on the Cascades will I be making it across the pass and to work on time?

72) You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid? I would tell no one because I like the element of surprise. I’d be liquidating my cool stuff to good homes because I never want to be a victim of Storage Wars, plus I would be throwing all caution to the wind and act hedonistic... “live like you were dying”, literally. Afraid? Petrified. But if I gotta go, sitting at home bawling about it ain’t gonna fix shit, I gots stuff to do.

73) You can only have one of these things; trust or love. Not sure how you get love without trust. Just love me.

74) What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it? Latest one was “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode. That came on the radio and I was all over it.

75) What are the last four digits in your cell phone number? WROQ! \m/ (In high school my phone number was BIT-0-FaRM.)

76) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship? Trust, understanding, fidelity, humor, fun, honesty, mutual interests, compassion, and a mutual desire to be happy together in all ways.

77) How can I win your heart? Well, take off that shirt, for starts, and show me your heart.

78) Can insanity bring on more creativity? It definitely drops some artificial barriers. However, periodic mental illness such as bipolar rather than insanity is what brings a lot of creativity.

79) What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far? To let go of the past and invite in the present. (Thanks, Cara.)

80) What size shoes do you wear? Eleven and a half, roughly, depending upon manufacturer.

81) What would you want to be written on your tombstone? Remember this as you pass by As you are now, so once was I As I am now, so you will be Prepare for death and follow me Variants of this were popular for two centuries, with few examples seen before 1750 or after 1950. If I had a headstone, I’d keep people awake.

82) What is your favorite word? Oaf.

83) Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart. Myocardial infarction.

84) What is a saying you say a lot? Plumbing, you have a call holding on 1804. Plumbing, 1804.

85) What's the last song you listened to? Eisenfunk - Pong But on the way to finding that song, this one happened too: Suicide Commando - God Is In The Rain 86) Basic question; what's your favorite color/colors? Purple.

87) What is your current desktop picture? The trestle over the Little Naches River at Lake Bergstrom, Yakima WA.

88) If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be? The guy who is trying to get us blown up by North Korea. You know the one.

89) What would be a question you'd be afraid to tell the truth on? Who the hell are you?

90) One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren't really doing anything, they're just standing around your bed. What do you do? Well, after assessing that they’re just standing around, I’d be polite since that matters as I get my clothes on, and then bid them farewell after requesting that they move along because I’m not sticking around to chat.

91) You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what's even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power? Invisibility.

92) You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again? One comes to mind from when I was 13 that I would do differently, but the other I could speak more freely about is from the moment that hug at camp was requested to twenty minutes later when I was still standing there with her... as said in #28, I’d fix one of my biggest regrets.

93) You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? I won’t go into detail, I will just say that there was an experience in 1990 that could have been avoided and should have been learned from... but wasn’t.

94) You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be? Let’s go with the folks listed in #34.

95) You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? To Craigslist to sell it.

96) Do you have any relatives in jail? Not that I am aware.

97) Have you ever thrown up in the car? Not that I am aware. My three sibs were subject to carsickness but not me.

98) Ever been on a plane? Yes, twice; have flown to Tucson and to Las Vegas.

99) If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say? Take your country back and impeach.

#100 ?'s

0 notes