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#Sadly I did not have time to draw yesterday
fantomette22 · 17 hours
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Ok, let’s hear about your favorite Gehrman and Maria happy AU!!
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With pleasure!!!! :D
Ok so for context yesterday I refound this post :
And I was like "hey guys in my happy AU Gehrman could totally get or make something like this for Maria!" And then it spiralled into "oh I completely forgot to explain my bloodborne "happy ending AU" so there it is finally I guess. I think I only share to a couple of persons so far XD (I have a few others many different AU and darker but it isn't for today).
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I already did a few drawings in link with it : here, here, here and there. Yeah with the gehrmaria ship involve so pass your way if that isn't your thing.
I did end up making the cottage house of the AU in Minecraft since a few months ago by the way XD I even have a tanner, hunter and a freaking cleric villager who now took possession of the house 😂😭 even Laurence decided to live here now I can't. I would need to redo it I kinda screw up proportions I think. Sadly Minecraft bedrock doesn't offer to put many details. I guess it would be better in the sims? If someone knows a good game to built house (and 19th century one) I'm taking it!
So now about the AU it's kinda an AU of my fic verse who can be consider like an AU as well I suppose (even if I tried to stay as canon complaint as possible in this one). Like you can guess from the name Yharnam doesn't became hell on earth and most people don't end up dying horribly. I will copy paste below the summary so you I can explain it better.
Bloodborne happy/good ending AU Summary :
Basically after bloodborne game event (in my fic verse interpretation) our dear baby squid good hunter decided it was rewind time and give everyone a 2nd chance. Don't ask me how
Then it's not clear but either the souls of everyone were taken and yet back in their old self, decades earlier of if people from the past dreamed of the future or a weird mixt of both. But it's what happened. Decades before the game invent (Byrgenwerth era) people started wake up and remember events that haven't happen yet + message from the new great one that they were giving a 2nd chance to make things right etc. It feels like a very strange dream but they knew it was real. Some people remember more than other and they especially remember their own future and they lived/are gonna live+ a couple of other things in game event for exemple.
Now it's up to them to not make the same mistakes and make things right.
So imagine it’s like 2-3am at Byrgenwerth, everyone wake up from well this dream/ nightmare and they basically remember everything that happened to them. So you haven hundreds of people outside in their pyjama. Crying, hugging, and some almost throwing hands with others 💀 quite emotional. I know it’s pretty crazy (i don’t have everything settle yet)
*Yeah you have people who were basically bestie at the time almost punching each other because one betrayed the other years later lol and people who didn’t like each other at Byrgen but become friends way later are hugging and crying. Some people were really confused xD like the one who die earlier on the timeline or weren't very important or just leave this mess early.
So of course you have Laurence & Gehrman crying and holding each other in pyjama in the middle of the dark campus. Then Maria show up in the distance 👁️👁️  it’s even more of an emotional reunion.
So you have this 2 idiots then Maria show up in the distance, they’re stunned and then Laurence tells him « what the hell you’re waiting for just go!!!» so he runs extremely fast (maria too) and they stop a few meters away from each other just staring. Then he tried to apologize says he’s sorry for everything. « YOU’RE SORRY?! » she’s kinda mad and sad about everything that happened she kinda hit him but he is surprise it’s not that hard then she hugs him and they hug each other and cry. (Yeah the Doll is discuss a bit later it's all good)
At some point Laurence try to eclipse himself and Maria’s like « you fucking stay here! » because she have things to say to this dumbass too.
So everyone reunite and all. With Caryll/ Rom/ Ludwig etc.They are hugging and all and then you have like Damian trying to kick Mico’s ass and nobody stopping him XD
Also Charles and Laurence threw hands 💀it’s a mess.
*People who’re not suppose to be very friends at this era are in each other arms and some bff are like throwing hands.
Then Willem show up and tell everyone to shut up and calm down 😂
Charles and Maria later go to Cainhurst to hug all their family who slightly remember all the shit too. And so it don’t cause a war again as well 😂 because they're kinda salty about their nightmares were the church + executioners killed them.
Anyway they all kinda calm down and some times later they’re all reuniting by Willem & Laurence because we need to talk about what the hell happened. « Yep that was real » now time to change it. 
After this mess and discussing what the hell happened and « we need to changed things! » they need to make a big plan how to avoid the fishing hamlet pb and save the orphan. they also can't just not use blood because it does save lives so it's quite complex.
So years later (because the beginning of it during like Maria, Ludwig, Caryll & Rom's hm 3rd of 4th years of university) they manage to make sure the hamlet don't became fishmen, and help Kos give birth (she isn't dead yet but her physical body do die afterwards). And baby orphan is fine and taking care off 👍
Then it's party time 😎 Well they still have things to take care of but I didn't thought of all the details yet. So Maria & Gehrman officially get together 🎉 (never really happened in my main interpret, it's complicated) and some times later travel between Yharnam and other places to help people around (to put it shortly).
THEN they buy a house next to a forest and a small village and live there for some time, maybe start a family etc (see the drawing with the baby!! I won't get into all the family detail today through). So they got the cottage/country house ✨
How they found it? Well funny story one day old hunters were on the mission (not the happy au but fic verse) and the mayor leave the house to them so they could sleep for a few nights and Gehrman really liked the house and even made a deposit for it for a few years if one day he wanted to buy it XD
Then after some time they accidentally adopt a lil dog too (before the huge white wolfhound years later) XD
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Something like this. Need to find a name for this lil guy.
And recently I've been thinking a cat could be cool too. A really fluffy one
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I made those 2 other sketches last year in link with the AU as well. I never share those so there it is.
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And I have a fic planned (1-2 chap max for now), an entire summary, a chapter plan and even a few sentences written for this AU in particular. But idk when I could write it. And I could even have 2 versions depending the rating @_@ so maybe one day...
So yeah it's a bit messy but it's all the fluff & some other things I need. And that's it for now!
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harteus · 3 months
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THE LOVE LETTER: FEBRUARY 2024
Hellooo! All January Love Letters have been sent out yesterday, and today I'm coming to you with the February Love Letter! This pack is Valentine's themed, with lots of warm reds and pinks to fit. I'm super happy about the print! I decided to paint Cupid this month, and I'm so happy with this piece. I hope you'll enjoy this one as much as I do!
As for the stickers; we did a little poll a couple of weeks ago, and last time I looked Cupid's head is the definite winner, with "cat with bow" as the runner up. Of course, today when I looked, the black swan sticker beat the cat sticker, but I've decided we're still doing cat with bow! Maybe black swan sticker next month?
I wanted to tell you a little something about the cat with bow as well. The sticker is modeled after my much loved and sadly, quite recently passed, cat Alba. I really wanted to make her immortal by drawing her, and it makes my heart so happy to know that she will live on in art form. I hope you'll like her!
This pack will contain two stickers with transparent backgrounds and one A6 print.
The dimensions for the items in this package are:
Print - Cupid: A6
Sticker - Cupid's head: 9 x 7,5 cm
Sticker - Alba: 5,6 x 6 cm 
To get the February send out, you'll have to join or stick around the The Love Letter tier during the month of February.
Link to my Patreon!
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justanerdy-gal · 3 months
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"Do You Resent Me?" (Astarion x Tav)
-> pairing: Astarion x Tav -> content: fluff/angst -> summary: In which Tav wonders whether Astarion resents her for convincing him to choose to reject the Black Mass ritual and not Ascend. Full of angsty fluff.
-> notes: The finished version of the WIP I posted yesterday. Astarion & Tav draws all the angst and cheesy fluff out of me 🥹
——————
“Do you resent me?”
Astarion looks up, wearily, from the corner of the Elfsong Tavern room that they had been staying in for some time now.
“Darling….what would I have to resent you for…?”
You slowly walk over to his corner of the room, and sit beside him on the edge of the bed. You observe him as he turns his gaze over to the hands in his lap.
“It…just feels like…you may have made your choice because of…me.”
Astarion turns his head to look back at you, betraying nothing in those crimson eyes at the moment, but listening.
“If I wasn’t around….you would have been free to make the choice you always wanted,” you continued, your eyes glassing over as you ponder the thoughts that have been plaguing you since the moment Astarion made his choice in the Szarr palace.
“The freedom that you always craved… did I take that away from you?”
Astarion’s eyes widened as you made your declaration.
“You… think it wasn’t the right choice?”
“Not that,” you tried to clarify. “Maybe… maybe I don’t know what the right choice is. But what mattered is… your choice.”
“You trusted me. You trusted me with a choice that, in the end, goes back centuries…” your voice starts to shake. “A choice with consequences you must live with for…eternity.” You look up at him as tears finally threaten to pour from your eyes. “What right did I have, to ask you to sacrifice yourself to the shadows?”
Astarion stares at you as he ponders your statement. He looks away from you as he stares at the cracked, drying paint on the wall of the old room.
“I think about it every minute, every moment.” Astarion speaks slowly, softly. “I think about the colours of the city. The warmth of the rays at dawn, beckoning me towards the next day. I think about the sanguine hunger I have suffered for over 200 years, and how I could be free from that pain. Free from all limitations. And how that will never be now… once the parasite is destroyed.”
You look up at him in despair as your body threatens to let out a sob.
“And I think about… how it would never be enough.”
It was your turn for your eyes to widen. His gaze had softened as his fingers move to entwine in your own.
“I see the colours through your eyes, through the stories that you tell me of your adventures. I feel the warmth through your skin as you lay beside me every night.”
“And your blood can sate me better than any power can.” You giggle as he smirks, softly wiping the tears from your eyes.
“Before you, before this nautiloid fiasco … I had no reason to want anything else but freedom and power. I only lived to escape what I was. I had everything to gain. And nothing to lose. So ofcourse, this Ascension seemed like an obvious choice.”
“But everything changed,” Astarion said breathily. “From the moment you wormed your way into my heart…you became a complication that I never expected. Suddenly, I had everything to lose.”
“I would have stayed,” you say thickly.
“I know you would,” Astarion says sadly, “but would you have been happy?”
“I probably would have been happy…happier than I was, for sure.” Astarion stares distantly at the wall as he speaks. “But where would that happiness end? What would sate me, if my happiness was dependent on power? I would have to take more, control more, be more…it is surely the fate that befell Cazador, that befalls all with power…more power than they know what to do with.” Astarion winces as he utters his late master’s name. “The need for power, for control, can never be sated. It would never be enough. Nothing would ever be enough.”
“But you, with me, here? That is enough. You are enough. We are enough.”
You pause as you ponder his words for a moment.
“Am I?” you whisper weakly as you stare at your entwined hands.
You feel the chill of his hands as they move up to hold your face tightly, and tilts your head up to look at him. The intensity in his eyes at that moment was like nothing you’ve ever seen on him before.
“Listen to me,” he says firmly, staring fiercely into your eyes, as if he was speaking through to your soul. “There is nothing in the world that I wouldn’t sacrifice to remain here by your side. You are my eternity. My mad love. Besides,” Astarion smiles as he stares into your eyes. “I still think it was the right choice, regardless. If I could go back and do it all over again, I’d make the same choice. Every time.”
Astarion’s words cause the tears that you were holding back to creep up to the surface, as your body begins to wrack with heavy sobs, as you let out the doubt and fear that you have been holding since you both learned that the Ascension was a thing – since you have contemplated that potential decision every minute of every day, since the moment Astarion asked you to help him, and you convinced him to give away that power, to save those souls, to save himself. Astarion pulls your head to his chest and holds you tightly as you shake against him.
“My darling, why do you weep? Don’t sell yourself so short. No one else has a heart like you. You’re the only one,” Astarion whispers into your ear.
“I love you,” you declare into his shirt, tears still staining the soft, white material.
“I love you too,” Astarion says, leaning backward, pulling you down with him until he was laying on his back, with your head resting on his chest, hands softly caressing your hair. “I can’t imagine another way I would want to spend the rest of my days, my love. I’m not afraid – not anymore. And especially not of our future.”
And that is how you both fell asleep, with the two of you in eachother’s arms and your dreams of the future in eachother’s hearts.
——————
My AO3 and Twitter 🙂
MASTERLIST
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imhidingonceagain · 5 months
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Slimeriana and QSMP fans, we need to talk (really, I'm going to talk about a few things).
CW: nsfw
Warning: long post.
At this point I think majority of you guys know what happened with Mariana yesterday (especially because the fliporiana community is small compared to other ones).
I'm gonna write some stuff Mariana said and I'm gonna be explicit about it because I want you guys to understand the severity of the situation (this is your warning):
Context: He was curious to see if people actually posted nsfw stuff about him (and poor boy, he really thought he wouldn't find any).
And I quote what he said after seeing some posts: "No, no, no! Why's Slime penetrating me?!" (He was probably looking at a fanart)
"I'm not doing role like that with Slime anymore. I thought you guys found it funny (he was talking about the sex role in the QSMP) but it only fills your minds with shit"
"I'm gonna say it in English because I know there's QSMP fans who do it as well: Don't draw hentai about me, don't draw us fucking, that's being a pervert, that's wrong"
Some months ago I wrote a post when we got the first warning in regards of this topic.
Mariana and Slime have talked about fanart before and at the time they didn't seem uncomfortable about it (though it seems like Charlie's girlfriend was).
So I wrote: it's not necessary to stop doing fanart about them. Just be careful with what you draw and where you post it.
To me even "suggestive" fanarts are "okay" (but with suggestive I mean the characters looking at each other like they want to kiss each other so bad, that's it). But when and how did that translate to some of you thinking that drawing real people having sex and not only having sex (because there's always ways to show intercourse without being explicit or disgusting) but also showing private parts is okay?
Because it's obvious Mariana saw something super explicit by the way he reacted (because he doesn't get bothered too easily). My poor man was distressed!
And let me tell you something. This is not only about Mariana and Slimecicle. This is a REAL PROBLEM within the fandom. Let me give you some examples:
I love reading fanfiction and months ago I was scrolling through the QSMP section on AO3 and let me tell you something: the amount of fanfiction written about the eggs and their parents in a non platonic way is CONCERNING.
Especially Wilbur Soot's fandom seems to have a lot of rotten apples who think that writing abusive stories about q! Wilbur and Tallulah is fine.
I understand some people write stories like that not because they're crime apologists, but because that's their way to deal with trauma (and dealing with trauma through art is okay). But PLEASE remember that while the eggs are fictional, their "parents" are REAL people.
Use fictional characters, please. Stop writing real people into pedophilic or highly abusive situations. THAT'S HORRENDOUS.
Another example is the following: Some weeks ago people were reporting a Twitter account and I clicked on the account (I personally don't like reporting people without making sure they deserved) and it took me like three seconds of scrolling to see more than 5 Ccs being disrespected (including Slimecicle, Quackity, Cellbit, Roier and Badboyhalo). Explicit Pictures, videos and fanarts were being posted about these creators.
You know what I think? I think Cellbit made his character asexual not only for the representation (it's clear by now that q! Cellbit is a sex positive asexual which is still representation yay!) But because he has been on the internet since around 2011 and he knows how disrespectful people can be. I think he knew that his and Roier's ship was getting too popular and that makes them both unprotected to shit like this.
Sadly, it's clear that it didn't matter that Cellbit made his character asexual, people can't seem to respect that detail about his character and about himself as a real person.
To some people it doesn't matter if the Cc is ambiguous or completely clear about their boundaries, they still don't give a fuck.
Please remember that behind each character is a real person. I understand sometimes you guys want to see your favorite characters fuck -me too, honestly- but for people like streamers that's out of the questions because not only they're real people, but because their work is related to social media and the possibilities of them finding EVERYTHING we write and post about them are super high.
I don't know how to feel. It's obvious that Mariana has not been feeling the same about the server since Juanaflippa died. Maybe this will make him feel even worse about the QSMP but I hope I'm wrong.
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guccifrog · 3 months
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THINK FAST P3
chris sturniolo × f!reader
summary: where a silly dare leads to a lot of unexpected events
this isn't proof read so just ignore if you find anything confusing :p
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part1 part2
𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴: Florida -Dominic fike 0:09 ━●────────── 3:47 ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ
y/n's pov ☆
the next day i was wishing that i wouldn't wake up but sadly, the alarm clock was there to remind me that I have to. I groaned and rolled over, burying my face into my pillow.I had a terrible headache, probably from all the alcohol we had yesterday.I didn't want to go to school. What if Sturniolo remebered me and decided to confront me infront of the whole school? I shivered at the thought.
"rise and shine! We don't want to be late for school!," Jane's loud voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I groaned and rolled over, forcing myself to open my eyes. The bright light of the morning sun streamed through the window, making my headache worse.
"get up!!" Jane said, shaking me awake. I groaned and rububed my eyes, feeling pain in my back probably from when i jumped yesterday "I don't know if I can go today," I confessed.
"Oh, come on! You're being such a baby. You're fine. You have to go. It's not like he knows who you are," Jane reassured me, giving me a little push. I sighed and slowly got out of bed. My head was still pounding, and my body felt heavy. I didn't know if I could make it through the day.
We got dressed and had breakfast, but I barely ate anything. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I really didn't want to go to school. The thought of seeing Chris again made me want to throw up. I tried to push him out of my mind, but it was impossible.
As we walked to school together, Jane kept talking about random stuff, but I wasn't really listening. I just wanted to get through the day. When we finally got to school, I headed straight for my locker, hoping to get to class as quickly as possible.
"woah, what's with the drug dealer outfit?" someone snickered from behind me. I turned around to see Dylan and Amber, standing there with wide grins on their faces. "shut up" I muttered" i have to hide as much as possible today. Don't draw any attention to me. And don't you dare mention yesterday to anyone," I warned them. They both nodded, trying to look serious but failling miserably.
"You're not fooling anyone, you know. You look like you just rolled out of bed," Dylan teased, laughing. I just gave him a dirty look.
I closed my locker and turned back to them, forcing a small smile. "Oh, yeah? at least i'm not dressed like a grandpa," I shot back, gesturing to Dylan's outfit. He was wearing a wrinkled ugly sweater, and khaki pants. "Or like a homeless man," I added, glancing at Amber's baggy sweatshirt and old jeans. They both laughed, and I felt a little better.We walked down the hall together. But I couldn't help but feel like everyone was staring at me, and judging me.
During first period, I tried to focus on my work, but it was hard. My headache wouldn't go away, and every time I closed my eyes, I could see Sturniolo's face.Luckily he wasn't in any of my classes, but I still felt like everyone knew what happened.Hopefully he didn't tell anyone or i'll just have to move to another country if he did, maybe even change my name and get a new haircut. I wish I could just disappear.
the bell rang, signaling lunchtime. I hurried to my locker, hoping to make it to the cafeteria before anyone else. But as I reached for my backpack, I felt a sharp pain in my back. I winced as i took off my backpak and put it inside my locker,before locking it and walking to the cafeteria.
When I got there, Jane, Dylan and Jake were already waiting for me at our usual table. Jane smiled brightly when she saw me, but something about it seemed forced. "How was chemistry?" she asked,I shrugged,"like shit," and sat down next to her. "That bad, huh?"I nodded, leaning my head against the table. "my back hurts so bad…"
"go see the school nurse dumbass" Dylan said. I looked at him like he was stupid."What? you look like you're a sneeze away from dying" he shrugged.
"Yeah, whatever" I muttered, taking a sip of my soda. The cold liquid felt good against my throat.
"is that Sturniolo?," Jake asked suddenly. I glanced up in panic "where?!" I demanded, looking around. But it was too late. There he was, standing at the entrance of the cafeteria, watching us with an amused expression. My heart raced, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. "Shit," I whispered, ducking down in my seat.
Jane looked at me with wide eyes, her mouth forming a little "o" shape. "Oh my God," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "What do we do?"
"is he still there?" I asked, barely able to choke out the words. Jane nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on him. "oh, nevermind he's walking to his group now," she said, relaxing a little. I exhaled slowly, feeling the tension drain from my body.
I got up from under the table and sat down next to Jane, trying to play it cool. "So, uh, what were we talking about ?" I asked, forcing a smile but then wincing as my back twinged again
"fuck,"Dylan and Jake glanced at each other, then back at me, looking concerned. "You really need to go to the nurse's office"Dylan said.
I waved him off, still feeling a little shaky. "I'm fine, really. Just a little sore, that's all."
"if you say so," Dylan said, but he didn't sound convinced. "Hey, look at that," Jake said, pointing to the other end of the cafeteria. "isn't that the girl…what was her name….Cassie!" he shouted "shut up!,"I whispered yelled making him roll his eyes.
"wait why is she sitting with the populars?" Jane asked, confused. I glanced over, frowning. Cassie was sitting at the table with Sturniolo and a few of his other friends. I'd never seen her with them before.But again i never really paid much attention to them.
"Maybe she's just being friendly," Jake shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Or maybe she's trying to get on their good side." Jane nodded in agreement, "I don't think so, Cassie and I had been friends for a while, and I didn't think she would just suddenly decide to hang out with those assholes" Dylan said, nodding at the group across the cafeteria.
I glanced over at Sturniolo, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. He was laughing with Cassie, his lips curled into a smug smile. Something about the way he looked at her made my skin crawl.
"Maybe they're just being nice to her."I suggested, not really believing my own words, Dylan snorted, "Yeah, right. Those assholes don't know nice."
the rest of the lunch break went by without any further interaction between Sturniolo and us.lunch passed by quickly, and soon it was time to head back to class. we made our way back to our lockers, and i opened mine to get my backpack, but pain shot through my back again. i let out a small whimper, and dylan turned to look at me.
"are you sure you're okay?," he asked, concern written all over his face. "i'll drive you home if you want," i shook my head, not wanting to draw any more attention to myself. "i'll be fine, really. just need to take it easy for the rest of the day."i said grabbing my bag,but Dylan snatched it out of my hand "i'll take this," he said, tossing it over his shoulder. "come on, let's get you to class." he took my arm and began leading me down the hall. I winced, the pain in my back flaring up again.
"we have biology now, right?" I asked Jane as Dylan led me down the hall. Jane nodded, her expression concerned. "Yeah, in room 102." Dylan and Jane exchanged a look, and I could tell they were both worried about me. "I'm fine," I insisted, trying to keep up with Dylan's long strides. "Really, it's just a little muscle spasm or something."
We reached the classroom Dylan placed my bag down before leaving. The pain in my back was still intense but i was managing it. Me and Jane sat down at the back of the class. I was feeling dizzy and lightheaded. I tried to focus on what the teacher was saying but it was hard.
I decided to take my airpods out and listen to some music to help distract myself. I was halfway through my favorite song when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a guy that i never spoke too before, he looked awfully familiar though. "Is this yours? i found it on the ground," he asked, holding out my phone." oh thanks, i must have dropped it." I said taking my phone back.
He smiled at me and i noticed how he had these dimples when he did. "No problem, but you should, be careful, you don't want to lose that. It's expensive " he said with a small smile. I smiled back. "Thanks for telling me, and yeah, you're right. I'll be more careful from now on."
"i"m Nick by the way," he said extending his hand,"I'm y/n" I said shaking it. He smiled at me again before I turned back. I saw Jane trying to get my attention from the corner of my eye, she kept shrugging her shoulders and looking at me weirdly, 'check your phone' she mouthed. I glanced down at my phone, realizing that she had sent me like a million texts.
Jane ⭐
Jane⭐
girl
WHAT ARE YOU DOING
are you serious
you
WDYM
Jane⭐
DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO THAT IS?????
you
umm yeah I know???
he said his name is nick
Jane⭐
i'm literally fighting the urge to get up and slap you rn
DOESN'T HE LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU????
THINK Y/N THINKK
you
i know he's familiar but IDK
wait
OH
OH
O H
FUCK
JANE OMFG
I look up from my phone in panic, my heart racing. Oh my God, of course, he looks familiar.He's Chris's brother. The Chris Sturniolo. Chris, who i'm trying to avoid at all costs.
I quickly gathered my stuff,glancing at nick behind me, who was giving me a confused look.I needed to get out of here. Now. I stand up,and make my way to the front of the class. "Hey, Mr. Johnson, , I don't feel so well, and I need to go home. Could I please have a pass for the nurse?" I ask, my voice shaky. Mr. Johnson frowns at me, but nods in understanding "Head to the nurse's office and get yourself checked out. But don't you dare think of skipping class," he says with a warning glance.
I nod and quickly make my way out of the classroom. As I hurry down the hall, the pain in my back throbbing with each step, I begin to panic.I duck into a nearby bathroom stall, closing the door behind me. I lean against the cool tile wall, trying to catch my breath. My thoughts race as I consider my options. Maybe I can just call Dylan to pick me up, but he's probably busy right now. And I can't walk home.That leaves me with no other choice than going to the nurse's office.
I splash water on my face, trying to calm down. When I'm finally composed enough, I unlock the stall and exit the bathroom. As I approach the nurse's office, the pain was getting worse. I knock on the door and a woman with black hair pokes her head out. "Yes dear, what can I do for you today?"
"umm… hi, I'm in Mr. Johnson's class and I'm not feeling well. I was hoping I could see the nurse?" I ask, trying to sound calm despite the pain. She raises an eyebrow, glancing at me over her glasses.
"Of course, dear. Please come in," she says, opening the door wider. I take a step inside and immediately regret my decision. Standing there, is none other than Chris.It's like the universe is playing a cruel joke on me. He raises his eyebrows in surprise as i just stood there contemplating if i should just turn back and leave.
"alright dear, you should be fine now. Here's some medicine for your pain, and I'll give you a pass to head back to class. But if you don't feel better soon, you should probably see your family doctor, okay?" the nurse says, handing him a small paper cup with some pills in it. he takes the pills and nods, not even bothering to look at me as he stands up and walks out of the office.
I take a deep breath, trying to compose myself. The pain in my back was making it difficult to even stand up straight. I'm not sure what to do now.
"here, you can sit down here,"the nurse says, gesturing to a small chair beside her desk. I slowly lower myself into the chair, wincing in pain as my back protests the movement.
The nurse ended up letting me stay for the rest of the day. I didn't have the energy to go back to class, and I didn't want to risk running into Chris again. She gave me a cup of water and a blanket to keep me warm while I waited for the bell to ring. As I sat there, I couldn't help but think about how this whole situation was just…weird.
when the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the school day, I thanked the nurse and gathered my things. As I slowly made my way out of the office,I took out my phone to text the group chat with Jane and Dylan, asking him to pick me up. As I rounded a corner, I caught sight of Jane walking down the hall, I hurried over to her, not wanting to be alone any longer.
.・。゚☆゚.・。゚
taglist ☆
@lvr-111 @mattestrella @sleepysturnss @athaliahxoxo @rac00ns-are-c00l4 @strniololoverr @fuckshitslover @1horrormoviewhore1 @b2cute @breeloveschris
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gamergirl-niffler · 4 months
Text
Paintings
Yesterday I saw a comment by @grossograsso! Who was asking where did I get the Kirishima painting.
Here is the thing... I didn't buy it, I made... I mean, I painted it!
I already showed a few of my stuff here, they aren't anything special, but still are something.
Here is the said painting! I just saw this cute Kiri in one of the episodes, and I was like; I need to paint him.
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So I took the screen, traced it on paper, put it on canvas and painted. I did it in almost one night!
Sadly I don't have all the pictures from the process but let me tell you! He looked so goofy at some point, but he got better.
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I add metallic paint to all my paintings, so of course Kiri has some too! His whole... thing he has on his head + his eyes are painted with shiny paint!
ON THE TOPIC OF MHA PAINTINGS!
I also painted him!
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I just saw this scene and I looked at Kiri, and I was like; he needs a buddy!
Again Shoto on paper, drawing on canvas and paints
It took me a little longer, I made a little mistake while painting him. I used spray paints that are SUPER liquid and I didn't put any paint under them, and they soaked through the canvas and into his hair and costume (which were blank at the time)
It kinda made me mad at myself that I did such a mistake, so I put it away for a bit of a time, but eventually I returned to it AND SOMEHOW COVERED THE LEAKS!
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Of course, just like Eijirou, Shoto also have a metallic paint on him.
The metal parts of his costume + his eyes are made with Metallic paints.
I am super proud of them because THEY LOOK SO PRETTY!!!
They also need their buddy so... since I feel so much better, and I mostly recovered after Covid, I have this guy ready!
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genopaint · 4 days
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Week 16 of the Daily Dragon Challenge is here! Apologies on the delay for posting this... I was lazy. BUT!! We're finally in the 100's!!
As always you can follow me on twitter where they’re posted daily
And read more info on each of them below the cut
Daily Dragon #105 - Garchomp
Figured it'd be the perfect time to draw this fella since I just beat Platinum for the first time yesterday! Sadly I didn't end up getting one on my team but they're SUCH a cool dragon all the same
Daily Dragon #106 - Rex
One of the cutest Mario dragons! There's just something so charming about this little guy
+ 2 variants
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While drawing this it really dawned on me how interesting this enemy is. It's one of the many Mario enemies that only appeared in 1 main series entry, but unlike a lot of other similar enemies it just will randomly appear in spinoff content a lot. Not even just as cameos, but like actual tangible enemy appearances. It's been an enemy in 3 games post SMW, 4 if you count the Minecraft Mario thing. That actually puts it over a LOT of random Mario enemies, but it still doesn't appear enough to be a Mario staple enemy. idk just kind of interesting to me lol
Daily Dragon #107 - Shelly Draws
A kobold with a passion (and a horde) for Trading Cards! She loves trying out new ones, and dreams of one day making her very own. Her favorite food are hamburgers.
This is a redesign of an old kobold girl from a Monster Girl design challenge thing I did back in 2016! Sadly I don't remember her name, but I do remember that I gave her a passion for trading cards. Which is more important than a name anyway, so I gave her a new card-pun name
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Daily Dragon #108 - Koibito
My friend Sox's super cool Piranha Dragon! This design is super cool and I love Dragon hybrids of any kind! Thank you for letting me include them in this challenge!!
Daily Dragon #109 - Neonagon
Strange 2D creatures that appear on walls in cities. Be careful when using regular weapons on them, because their appearance doesn't make the walls any more malleable!
Another redraw! This was from a prompt request I made in 2020! I think it's a neat concept and it was a simple to do and I kinda didn't have huge drawing energy today lol
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Daily Dragon #110 - Field Dragon
These incredibly tiny dragons are just slightly larger than berries. They use their spikes to collect various pieces of food while out and about, as well as breaking open seeds and nuts to eat!
Daily Dragon #111 - Fumedradon
Odd fume spewing dragons that are always found laughing and moving oddly as their nests are filled with the strange smoke the billow out. If you're going to deal with one, wear a gas mask
is... is this the first holiday dragon so far??? of course i ended up only doing that on THIS holiday and not any other.... Also 4/20 landed on day 111 isn't that neat :)
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The Revenge Of Two Hands One Mouth - O2 Academy Bristol (November 27, 2013) by Adam Gasson
After 11 years of not finding a single photo from this show, I found these yesterday! I can not begin to express what this means to me, I nearly cried and I couldn't sleep last night. I was still a rather new fan and this was my first time going to a show in the UK, the first show I went to see with a friend, and my first time meeting that friend, too. And these above photos are SO GOOD! Not much was preserved from this show at all, there was no recording allowed (no charcoal drawings either), and to my knowledge not even the full setlist for this specific show was preserved anywhere. So better late than never, but here's what I remember (with some help from these photos!) and the things I've puzzled back together:
If there was opening music or an opening act, i don't recall, but Russell entered the stage alone. It was dramatic and impactful, and it went quiet as he gave an intense stare into the audience and did a drawn out "ahhh" into the microphone. After a little moment of quiet, it turned out the microphone had been connected to a sequencer which now started repeating "ah ah ah ah ah ah". Suspense, excitement. Russell added: "Hold, hold, hold, hold". (...I was definitely freaking out.) While that started looping on top of the ah ah ah sequence, he made stop signs with his hand as we all listened. A few repeats passed. "I'm getting mixed signals, mixed signals - mixed, mixed, mixed signals".
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^ the only seconds of this show I recorded as I didn't yet know it wasn't allowed - security signed at me and I put the camera away. It was fine. (Here's a recording of it made during the US tour later that year - recording seemed to be less frowned upon at that point.)
I don't recall when Ron entered the stage at this show, whether it was during the song or after, but what a way to open! And what an amazing song choice!
The performance that left the biggest impression on me at this show though was Nicotina. It was a choice I didn't see coming, but also the way Russell sang it! Falsetto heaven. (Sadly not a single video is to be found of Nicotina from this tour. But for your falsetto heaven needs, I hope you can find a video of Here In Heaven that they also performed on this tour, because that will also kill you.)
As everyone here probably knows I am quite big on Bergman, which at the time was heavily promoted during the tours, and, the excerpts they played on this tour were different from what they played during Two Hands One Mouth! They played "I Am Ingmar Bergman", The Studio Commissary (my favourite song on Bergman), Limo Driver (but sang by Russell, and HOW!) and "Oh My God". (Here's a video of it from one of the American shows. It's extremely good. People who've been around for a while have seen me lose it over this video many times.)
The most unexpected song choice was probably Katherine Hepburn. Me and my friend had been joking for absolute months that we were going to see Sparks and they'd play Katherine Hepburn (as if that would ever happen, we were obsessed with that song though!). And here we were, and they were playing Katherine Hepburn right in front of our eyes. (What is reality.)
Falling In Love With Myself Again had me losing it over the organ sounds, always a fan of Ron on organ, and I LOVE that song. Russell sang a line in my direction (I died), and he managed to throw another line at me during Those Mysteries ...I died a few times that night. As you might expect. That was kind of the whole THOM/TROTHOM experience anyway. Lots of dying. But the variety of dying where you end up in heaven. (You're at a Sparks show after all.)
They wrote a song especially for this tour, which was not released but only ever played live: Revenge Of Two Hands One Mouth. What a thing to experience! A very dark song, but wonderful. (REVENGE! REVENGE REVENGE!)
At the end of the show Ron took a photo of Russell with the audience. I don't really remember that happening, but the photo exists and it really was not a thing they did often back then. We had been a good audience :)
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Here's all the songs that were probably played that night in random order:
Your Call's Very Important To Us. Please Hold., B.C., Good Morning, Here In Heaven, Academy Award Performance, Those Mysteries, Falling In Love With Myself Again, Big Boy, Nicotina, Popularity, This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us, excerpts from The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman, Tryouts For The Human Race, Katherine Hepburn, Revenge Of Two Hands One Mouth. They likely also played The Number One Song in Heaven, When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way' and Suburban Homeboy. (I see mentions of How Are You Getting Home? and How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall? in setlists for this tour as well, which they very well might have played but I very sadly have zero memory of ever hearing those songs live.)
This tour had a real air of mystery, possibly even more so than Two Hands One Mouth, as the lack of existing footage definitely adds to it. But luckily some of it *is* out there, and I am so grateful for these photos :) On top of the songs I especially mentioned above, I would also advise people to look for recordings of Tryouts For The Human Race and Popularity from this tour, because the arrangements are probably not going to be the way you expect them to be. And as you might expect: B.C. is stunning live. (I could start a whole rant about Good Morning and Suburban Homeboy live but I think I sufficiently screamed about both in my personal notes on THOM the year prior.) Final note: I know Russell had some sort of dance move for Big Boy because me and another friend couldn't stop talking about it for months. I don't remember what he did, but both THOM and TROTHOM were wonderful for Russell dances <3
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arkiwii · 6 months
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I saw in one of your other posts that you said you had so many headcannons about Silence's bird arms. I'd love to hear some of them if you have the time! (Love how you draw her btw <3)
ow man the Silence's wings headcanons, on my way to throw them at ur face, hope you will enjoy them
So of course I go from the principle she can shapeshift her arms into wings and arms whenever, which is pretty much canon already
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but i have headcanons on when and why she shapeshift them;
- when needing to feel comfortable. It helps her to destress, it's quite comfortable and soft to feel feathers, and well, it literally lifts a weight off her shoulders, since wings are lighters than arms. So it tends to also happen when she's sleepy
- when feeling cold, of course hands tend to freeze, but not feathers! keep her arms all warm and can be used as a big wing blanket protection. well sadly, because it's owl wings, so owls feathers, she avoid showing her wings when it's raining, because owls feathers aren't waterproof, they get all soggy. on the contrary, she rather have arms when it's hot, but sometimes can use wings to fan herself
- bird hugs! yes what, she enjoys giving wing hugs sometimes, they're soft and comfy, especially to Ifrit, mom bird behavior. and since she's not very tactile, having wings rather than arms make it less awkward to her
- when surprised or scared, it's kinda instinctively that it happens. so it can lead her to drop whatever she has in her hands at this moment. thankfully, it's hard to surprise her because she has a very good hearing, but Kafka sometimes managed to, leading to some experiments being lost on the ground...
- to assert dominance. yes, she does the defensive owl pose. she's so short and small, so she tries to make herself look bigger, especially when arguing with Saria (who thinks this is very cute). it doesn't really work because she just become a fluff ball, but it can be impressive, probably
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- she would also tend to lose feathers due to stress, she can sometimes have the habit to pick her own feathers when really nervous or stressed, which is of course not very healthy, it's good to stop her when you spot her doing it. she tries to not but habits aren't all easy to get rid of
- a last one because I was talking about it yesterday, special wing sleeves! basically, i imagine her clothes are made in a way to allow her wings to be free with a zipper, example image i did
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gordonzola-ramen · 3 months
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My mutual @alectricblue tagged me in this game tag! I normally dont do these, but I thought it'd be nice to get to know me more (and also meet y'all if you wish to participate)!
It will be long though. Sorry
1. Were you named after anyone?
Was originally gonna be named Andrea after a ballerina my grandma liked! Sadly no one remembered her well, not even grandma, so I don't know much about her.
My deadname was simply just chosen bc it was easy to pronounce, as well as my chosen name Diego (it's what I would've been called had I been male), although when I chose it for myself I liked the JoJo character Diego Brando so there was some correlation there.
Funnily enough, people think I'm nicknamed Lio after the Promare character, but I hadn't met them yet.
2. When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday. At 11pm. Watching OR3O's One Piece song. It was nostalgic ok
3. Do you have kids?
Nope. There's an absurd amount of reasons I don't want them, although not a single one is because I dislike them. I've had to babysit many kids and they've all been very sweet.
4. What sports do you play/have you played?
Oof, my recent sports is taking my dog for a walk. But I used to like volleyball and kickball! And reluctantly played soccer and did swimming! Sports give me a lot of anxiety and i'm not sure why.
5. Do you use sarcasm?
I do a lot of teasing and lighthearted banter that can sometimes be considered sarcasm?
6. What's the first thing you notice about people?
Their eyes! Or anything outstanding like cool hairstyles or visible tattoos.
With online people, I mostly recognize them by pfp or a vague mental pronunciation of their username.
7. What's your eye color?
Dark brown?? Or black??
8. Scary movies or happy endings?
Honestly, whatever makes me think more. Unhappy endings tend to do that more though, so I guess scary movies! But of course it depends on the mood, sometimes I just want a nice story to cheer me up.
9. Any talents?
I've been told I am talented at the piano! And music in general, although most of my skills feel less like talent and more like just studying the thing.
10. Where were you born?
So I was born in the US, in Florida, but my entire family is from Costa Rica and I just happened to be born while my parents were studying abroad. I don't remember much from the US though, I came back to CR with my grandma in my first months because she was less busy than my parents, and then they came to live here again. So in my eyes I've been a true Costa Rican since always hehe
11. What are your hobbies?
Playing the piano! Also drawing sometimes (I like to color more than draw, but unless I get my hands on a coloring book I can't do that unless I draw), playing videogames (mostly RPGs and visual novels), and doomscrolling.
12. Do you have any pets?
YESSSS my beloved dog Mia!!!!!!!!!!! I love her so much, she escaped her abusive home and we found her while walking around a plaza, said hi, and she followed us home. She's been with us for 8 years now and I adore her. Reference below because how can I not show her off:
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13. How tall are you?
Excellent question. I forgot but I'm average if that helps!
14. Favorite subject in school?
It changed over the years, in senior year it was English because we had my favorite teacher! I knew him for years because he has a literature club I partook in, so I was very happy to have classes with him. Plus, we saw the Oresteia, which goes tremendously hard especially when your teacher geeks out about all the symbolisms.
Apart from that, computer class! We barely ever had it, and almost had it cut out entirely in senior year, but the few times we did I really enjoyed programming and practicing typing! And when we didn't do anything we could play so.
15. Dream job?
I want to make my own videogame! So I'd say a game developer, although being a part of any videogame, especially RPGs, would be a dream come true.
Well thank you for reading, I hope that was some insight, it was very fun to reply!
Tagging section (no pressure to do it at all, you can also do it if you're not tagged who cares)
@skyllion-uwu @thefrogswhospoke @gorgeousuare @chronologicalimplosion @fishy-lilic @smoothedsmoothie @mx-mind @montied @aspirationatwork @jhofoyitchg @derkhue @mellomaia @federalfazbear @mcfinnigan @mutantsgurls @foxounderscorecube @sweetnessfollowsmp3 @mildredtefoneck @oh-my-stars1969 @unfullbucket @fluffnfuzzxoxo @electriceel69 @scottigyn @stressedsilverware @sapphicrobotenjoer @antjellies @milk1non-tolarantes @ovalbrain @chocokhaos @markdiegamer @astralix13 @atheist-xmas @blktomekurata @monstar-dreams @glass-duke @c--eam @laooneart
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noodyl-blasstal · 5 months
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Look into my Eyes
Day 29 of @taznovembercelebration, one more day to go! Today's prompt was "ignore" and you can read it below or on Ao3. Missed yesterday's? Catch up here!
-
“You’re gonna have to kill me, Lup. I’ve had a good run, I’ll miss you most of all, but we all knew this is how it would end. It’s what I would have wanted.” Taako opens his arms wide and waits for Lup to stab him through the heart with her handy dandy kitchen sword or whatever weapon she has on hand. Tenderising mace?
“Hello Taako, lovely to see you too, why yes, I did have a great day, thank you for caring, brother mine. It’s so touching that you’re so interested in my life.” Lup grins infuriatingly instead of murdering him where he stands. Rude.
“C’mon!” Taako keeps waiting.
“You’re sure this is what you want?”
“Positive.”
Lup strides towards him, kitchen scissors in hand.
“Wait no! Taako wants to live, nevermind.” He tucks his arms around his chest and makes himself as small as possible. It turns out his survival instinct is strong. Who knew?
Lup wraps her arms around his ball of self-preservation, scissors discarded on the counter. “That’s what I thought. Wanna tell cha’girl what’s going on?”
“Taako’s fine, great even!” He doesn’t know why he’s even bothering to lie, but it drips out easily.
“Uh huh.”
Not necessarily believably.
“Yuh huh.”
“Is it Kravitz?”
“He only cares about dead people.”
“And you’ve decided this because?”
“He’s always hanging out with them.”
“It’s his job, KoKo, and he’s not so much ‘hanging out’ as ‘preparing them for their funeral’. Slight difference.”
“Not when it involves not going out with Taako.”
“Did you actually ask him this time?”
Taako hesitates. “I see how it is, you ask ‘did you ask him Taako?’ and not ‘shall we go and tell that bastard off, Taako’?” This isn’t the support Taako deserves.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“I did ask him!” Taako’s indignant now, how dare she not believe him?
“How?” Lup says and raises an eyebrow in the way that means she’s full not going to pander to any of Taako’s bullshit.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” Lup stares into his soul.
Taako gives up. “With my eyes.”
“You fucking what now?” Lup’s mouth is a firm line and she’s breathing deeply through her nose.
“I did the thing. You know.” He flaps his hand dismissively.
“Show me the thing?”
“You know the one, the thing.”
“I don’t, remind me.” Lup’s tone leaves no room to argue.
“You might fall in love with me and that’s illegal pretty much everywhere.” Maybe the cold hard truth will shock her out of unreasonable demands.
“Taako!”
“Fine.” Taako gives Lup his most soulful eyes.
“Fuck, I’m in love with you.”
“I warned you! Shit! You have to leave the house, not me, it’s not cha’boy’s fault.” He’ll miss her, but it’ll wear off within the year probably.
“Oh wait, no, hang on, that’s not love, that’s a deep confusion about what the fuck you were just doing with your face.” Lup’s mouth is twitching and Taako knows she’s trying to hold a laugh in. How dare she? This is serious!
“It’s not funny.”
“It’s a bit funny, Ko.”
Taako scowls. He scowls hard. Double hard in fact!
“Let's go over the facts. Here…” Lup points to the sofa. “... you go sit down, I’ll get us a drink, and we can talk it through.”
Taako flops obediently on the sofa, but ragdolls as much as possible. If he lists sadly enough to the side Lup might not decide to use facts against him.
“Move.” She says, nudging him with her toe.
Taako flops the other way, then straightens up again when he realises she’s sacrificed some of her fancy bitch presse stash for him.
Lup rolls her eyes, hands him the cup, then sits down onto the other side of the sofa and draws her legs up under her.
“So you want to ask Kravitz out.” It’s a statement, not a question.
Taako takes a long sip of his drink, decides he may as well just go with it. “Yes.” He answers anyway.
“And you’ve been seeing him three times a week for the last two months?”
“When he’s not hanging out with the dearly departed instead.”
“Yes, we’ve covered that.” Lup unfurls a leg to nudge him with her foot. “Stay on topic. So you’ve been hanging out?”
“Yes.” Taako could say more, he could say a lot more, but he’ll try and stick to the questions so she doesn’t bully him further.
“Going to dinner together?”
Taako nods.
“Sleeping over at his house sometimes.”
“Once or twice.”
“How many rooms does he have?”
This is a trap. “One.”
“Huh.” Says Lup, but doesn’t press any further.
“And on these ‘friend hang outs.’” Lup does quote marks with her fingers. “...would you say you’ve been asking him out with your eyes?”
“Yes!” Taako’s glad she gets it.
“And he hasn’t reciprocated?”
“No.” There’s no need for her to rub it in.
“Not even with his eyes?”
Taako pauses. Fuck. This was a trap in a trap. The ol’ double trap fake trap trap. If he doesn’t answer she can’t get him.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought… Taako, I have a novel idea.”
Taako keeps his mouth shut. Inclines his head. He can’t be arrested for that.
“Why don’t you try asking him with words?”
“Gross.” Taako wrinkles his nose.
He could swear Lup growls slightly under her breath.
“Why?”
“Because then he could say no!”
“So your plan is to be a corpse?”
“He likes spending time with them.”
“Uh huh. And how are you going to enjoy that time together if you’re dead?”
Taako thinks for a long moment. “Fuck.”
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daryldixonfanfiction · 4 months
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What you fight for! Pt.4- Claimed
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Masterlist
Summary: On the road Daryl is forced to join a motorcycle gang in order to survive Whether he likes it or not.
Warnings: age gape, mentions/ attempt to SA, groping, creepy men, kidnaping, angst, possessive Daryl, protective Daryl, fluff and typical twd violence and gore.
WC: 8.9k
Daryl was so tired he didn't realize he had fallen asleep, sitting in the middle of the road with his head hanging in exhaustion. He had just lost the last person he cared for and the point to keep on felt lost. It was that same heavy feeling of defeat when the prison had fallen. His newfound family was gone, his brother and then Julia. He didn't care for walkers nor the world around him, nothing matters at this moment. He just wanted to deseper, ses to exist into nothing.
He wakes when seven men surround him.
Daryl glances as one of the men thread forward, he wasn't gonna get killed by some assholes after all.
“Well, lookit here.” The man spoke. Daryl proceeded not to move, but when the man got too close Daryl clocks him in the face, aiming his crossbow at his head. The men surrounding him pointed their guns, but Daryl showed no indication of stepping down.
“Damn it, hold up!” The man on the ground ordered. He looked to be in his mid fifties, rugged with untrimmed hair and beard, Daryl knew then the man was the leader of the motorbike gang.
“I’m claiming the vest. I like them wings.” A man from behind spoke, but Daryl’s only focus was on the man in front of him.
“Hold up.” The leader ordered again, and laughed as he stood to his feat. “A bowman. I respect that.” He compliments. “See, a man with a rifle, he could have been some kind of photographer or soccer coach back in the day. But a bowman’s a bowman through and through. What you got there, 150-pound draw weight? I’ll be donkey-licked if that doesn't fire at least 300 feet per second. I’ve been looking for a weapon like that. Of course, I’d want one with a bit more ammo and minus the oblongata stains.”
The abnoxes man from behind spoke again, “Get yourself in some trouble, partner?” And this time Daryl did notice him but ignored him, narrowing his eyes at the leader before him.
The leader continued, “You pull that trigger, these boys are gonna drop you several times over. What you want?” No response, he continued. “Come on, fella, suicide is stupid.” -then he smiled and asked, “Why hurt yourself when you can hurt other people?......Name's Joe.” The leader offered.
Daryl knew how dangerous it was to be on your own and to be truthful he couldn't stomach the idea just after losing Julia. He knew they were bad right off the bat, but what he also knew was he would easily fit in with these types of men, because that was what he did hanging with his brother when he wasn't locked up or wherever the hell he was when he wasn't around. So he stands down, and so does Joe's men.
Daryl looks at Joe, “Daryl,” he offers his name in return and joins them. But only for the time being he tells himself.
The day went by fast, he hanged back, none of the men showed any interest in talking to him along the road, he wasn't much of a talker himself, he rather be left alone. The group reminded way too much of Merle and his life before everything was overrun, but he rather not think about that. He thought of her, of Julia, over and over again. Twisting everything that went down before losing her. Meaby If he had done something different or just been fast enuff, just maybe Julia would be here, walking by his side.
They set up camp in the wods to rest for the night.
The forest floor sadly reminded him of her, her soft snores, the little sounds she would make and how easily she found comfort in him; he had taken it for granted because he thought they would have more time. It felt like she would appear right there beside him, that yesterday was no more than a bad dream.
He didn't long for sleep to take him but neither did he want to be awake.
Daryl woke at dawn.
Unable to stand the way he was feeling, he went off to fend for himself, leaving the stuff he had scavenged on the road at camp.
It was good game for rabbits, he could tell by the tracks. Patiently waiting for the rabbit to come within shooting distance. He kneeled, steadily aiming, elining the crossbow to get the perfect shot. One steady breath and he fired. His bolt hit the target but so did someone else from behind. Daryl gets up and looks at the same man that had wanted to claim his west, holding a compound bow, giving him a smug smile.
“What the hell are you doing?” Daryl said angrily.
“Catch’n me some breakfast.”
Daryl walked towards the dead rabbit, “That’s mine.”
“My arrow’s the one that hit first. Cottontail belongs to me.” The man insisted as of fact. Daryl kneels, taking out the arrows of the rabbit and continued, “Been out here since before the sun came up.”
“You see, the rules of the hunt don’t mean jack out here. Now that rabbit you’re holding-,” Daryl tossed the man's arrow, he could care less about what he had to say, it was his and he could tell him nothing. “Is claimed, boy. Claim whether you like it or not. So I was you, I’d hand it over. Now, before you get to wishing you ain’t never even got out of bed this morning.” The man threatened.
Daryl walked up to him, closing their distance, caring himself with confident strides. He knew what this was but he could care less, he wanted simply to be done with the conversation, “It ain’t yours.” Daryl told him. But the man had sensed Daryl's sullen demeanor ever since he joined them, the man began, in knowing.
“You know, I’ll bet this bitch got you all messed up, hmm?” Daryl ignores the man's insinuation “Am I right?” The man said, smiling, Daryl gave him a glare and prosedes to walk past him.
“Got you walking around here like a dead man who just lost himself a piece of tail.” He taunts, and that got Daryl to stop in his tracks, angel wings facing the man. “Must have been a good’un. Tell me something. Was it one of the little’uns? ‘Cause they don’t last too long out here.”
Daryl had always struggled keeping his temper at bay, controlling it. He could feel that dark part of him slowly coming back, that part of his past he thought he had left behind sins finding his newfound family. But they were all gone. He had tried to control it, to refrain himself from giving the abnoxes man the satisfaction of getting a raise out of him. He tried to stay calm, and at some point it seemed easier. He had been more in control of himself - hiding his emotions from enemies and friends alike. But every word leaving the man's mouth made him feel pure, burning, animalistic rage. He didn't care about the repocations his actions would have. If he wanted to rile him up, he would show him exactly what happened to those who crossed the line. The urge to simply make the man shut his fucking mouth -to inflict pain. He could see himself doing it, enjoying it even.
If Julia knew what he was thinking, what he was about to do, she would surely fear for what his hands were capable of. But Julia wasn't here, so what did it matter?
Slowly Daryl reached for his knife, unholstering it, gripping the hilt as he had become completely clouded by rage. Every muscle in his body was tense with adrenaline pumping through his veins. Daryl charged towards the man, but in the same second Joe held him back before he could even attempt to stab him and calmly stepped between the two men, breaking up the fight that was about to unfold.
“Easy, fellas, easy. Let’s just put our weapons down. See if we can’t figure out what’s really the problem here, huh?” Joe spoke with calm.
Daryl held a cold unforgiving gaze upon the man that only could be described as a death glare. The man kept smiling that shit-eting grin, his reaction had clearly satisfied him as if this was all a game. But this was no game for Daryl, If Joe hadn't stepped in the moment he did, he would be a dead man right now.
The altercation that morning had him a lot to think about. There were rules so things wouldn't get so tense within the group. As Joe had put it, "Going it alone, that ain't an option nowadays. Still it is survival of the fittest. That's a paradox right there." When the members wanted to mark something as their own they said the word "Claimed." And Daryl had denied to claim anything, he thought the whole thing was stupid as he believed there were no rules no more, he had his own code of course that he followed like the law itself.
The day continued, Joe and Daryl walked along one another along a raile road with the grope infront of them. Daryl thought the leader was alright by him, it didn't mean he liked him, he could stand him and hold a conversation, though Joe was the one who mostly did the talking as Daryl was a man of few words. Their conversation shifted focus to Daryl when Joe asked,
“So what’s the plan, Daryl?
“How so?” Daryl asked in return.
“You're with us now, but you ain’t soon?”
“Yep.” Daryl confirmed looking at the ground as they walked. Joe continued trying to get a concrete answer out of him, “So what’s the plan?”
To be truthful, Daryl didn't have a solid plan yet, but now when Joe asked him he found his first thought was of Julia. He didn't know what had happened to her other than being kidnaped. He didn't know if she was dead or alive. But he had convinced himself that she was alive somewhere. Maybe her optimism had rubbed off, it wasn't like him to be hopeful, but it was what had kept him going so far. Daryl shrugged trying to find the right way to put it, without giving too much away.
“Just looking for the right place is all.”
“Oh, we ain’t good enough for you, huh?” Joe sarcastically remarked. Daryl scoffed thinking of his altercation this morning with Len, “Some of you ain’t exactly friendly.”
Joe smiled, “You ain’t so friendly yourself. You know you need a group out here.”
"Maybe I don’t.”
“No, you do.” Joe insisted. “You should be with us.”
A walker snarls ahead, the men in front take care of it and their pleasure of taking it down doesn't go unnoticed by Daryl. Joe continued, “People don’t got to be friendly. We don’t have to be nice. We don’t have to be brothers in arms. We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you keel. I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when something goes missing. And you don’t lie. ‘Cause that’s a slippery slope indeed.”
What happens if you break ‘em?” Daryl asked.
“Oh, you catch a beating’. The severity of which depends upon the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that doesn't happen much because when men like us follow rules and cooperate a little bit, well the world becomes ours.” Joe looks ahead to an auto parts garage aside the track and orders the grope, “Right there. It’s our abode for the evening.”
Everyone began to head towards the entrance but Daryl doesnt follow, he looked to Joe and said “Hey. There ain’t no us.” Joe turned and faced him, “You leaving right now?” Daryl doesn't answer. “No?” Joe questions him, “Then it sure seems like there’s an us.” Joe turns and heads towards the entrance, then turns again,
"Are you a cat person, Daryl?" His words made him freeze, and he looked up at Joe. "I am," Joe continued, "Loved 'em since I was three years old. Vicious creatures. Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true. Ain't nothing sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat."
Daryl thought about that for a moment before he followed the others into the building.
Daryl knew what Joe was getting at. Daryl had always told himself he was better off alone, but deep down, he knew in his heart he wasn't. The more he twisted and turned the idea, if he decided to join these men maybe it was the right thing to do. And he was gonna find Julia, he was surely gonna spot a lead of her along the roads they seemed to stick by. Daryl was never gonna tell the others of his plan, he didn't trust them in that sense. The moment he finds a leed he's going to ditch them without hesitation.
The others had claimed the vehicles as their bed for the night and his reluctance to give in to this claim thing they had going. He still thought that keepers' find mentality was stupid and therefore left him no other choice than to simply lay down on the cold cement floor. But Daryl was too tired to care, he just wanted to be in his own thoughts for a while, chewing on one of his cinnamon sticks, calming the urge for another cigarette after he had smoked some with Joe earlier that day.
One of the men approached him. It was Len. Daryl could tell he was up to no good. Ever since he had run into these guys, Len had been set on making his life hell. Len began with an accusing tone, “You’ve got to be kidding me. Christ.”
Daryl glanced up at Len from where he laid on his back and sat up fully, his attention now on him.
“Give it here.” Len ordered, stepping into his personal space.
“You step back.” Daryl said warningly.
“My half was in the bag. Now it’s gone. Now ain’t nobody around here interested in no half damn cottontail except you.” Len points an accusing finger towards the now standing Daryl. “Ain’t that right?”
“You’re the only one still thinking about that crap.” Daryl groweld back.
Len stepped towards his stuff and demanded again, “Empty your bag.” Daryl takes his bag and steps back in the same motion, creating a distance between them, Daryl warns again more firmly this time, “I said step back.” Len gives him glare. Joe interferes like last time and snatches the bag to investigate Len’s accusation and questions, “Did you take his rabbit, Daryl? Just tell me the truth.”
Daryl could feel anxiety bloom in his chest, because he knew this could gow south, though he had done nothing of what he was accused of. Liyn was strictly forbidden, if Joe decided he was guilty or suspected him he would be punished by the group or as Joe had put it,’kach a beating. And that fact alone made him even more angry towards Len.
“I didn’t take nothing.” Daryl hissed in defense.
Joe emptied Daryl’s bag on the floor, revealing the other half of the rabbit was indeed there. Daryls head snapped to Len. He fucking new that muther fucker had planted it there when he whasen’t looking.
“You put that there, didn't you?” Daryl confronted Len angrily, stepping closer. “When I went out to take a piss! Didn’t you?!” Daryl pushed Len back enuff for him to stumble back a step. But Len keeps on his accusation pointing a finger into his chest, “You lied. You stole. We gonna teach this fool or what, Joe?” Len said through his teeth like venom.
Always the calm and composed leader he was in these situations, Joe calmed, “Whoa, whoa.” Stepping between them with his attention to Len who was the most railed up at the moment, “Now, Daryl says he didn’t take your half of the rabbit. So we got a little conundrum here. Either he’s lying, which is an actionable offense, or…” Joe smiled and laughed, “You didn’t plant it on him like some pussy, punk-ass, cheating, coward cop, did you? ‘Cause while that wouldn’t be specifically breaking the rules, it’d be disappointing.”
“It would.” Len nodded in agreement, “I didn't.” he insisted.
“Good.” Joe said with a nood. He looked at Daryl and breathed, “Well…” Joe throws a right hook in Len’s face making him descend to the ground.
“ …teach him a lesson, gent’s. He’s a lying sack of shit. I’m sick of it. Teach him all the way.” Joe commands and the men begin to kick and beat Len on the floor.
Lens grunts of agony filled the garage.
A part of him didn’t agree with Len getting punished or more how he was beaten by the others, the unfairness of it. But then he turned his back, the commotion behind him. Daryl was a man of survival and knew to play his cards right. Daryl blocked the relentless kicks and grunts from the commotion behind him, laying back just like he did before Len had interfered. Everything became background noise, blocking it all out like many times before. And when the men Dragged Len outside, closing the door behind them to continue whatever they were doing, everything was quiet again.
Daryl dreamt of Julia that night, a common theme since he'd lost her. He dreamt of holding her like he never dared to do, he wished he had. But he had always been too shy to act on his feelings. So he held her just a little tighter knowing when he woke, Julia would no longer be in his arms.
In the early morning the group heeded out. Daryl was shocked to discover they had beaten Len to death and left him in a ditch outside, impaled with his own arrow. For a moment he was taken aback. He had seen cruelty before the world became what it was but it never meant it didn't affect him. Len was an asshole but this didn't feel right.
Just as he was about to cover Len's body with a blanket, just like what he had done for Julia back at the golf club, he remembered what he had done, framing him. That this would have been him, lying in a ditch, with his bolt through his eye.
Whatever pity he had felt was gone and he went along with the others, hanging back with Joe who seemed to like talking to him and to be honest he didn't mind. It distracted him from the ace that only seemed to have grown each passing day.
Passing Joe’s white lightning between them as they conversed or mostly Joe conversating as Daryl preferred to listen, but Joe didn't seem to mind, he seemed like one who liked to talk. Daryl took a swing of the homemade alcohol, “I ain’t been lit at dawn since before everything fell apart.” Daryl confessed.
“Fell apart.” Joe ecod. “I never looked at it like that. Seems to me like things are finally starting to fall together. At least for guys like us. Living like this, surviving. We’ve been doing this from the start, right?”
And Daryl had. He had been living in this world before walkers roamed the earth. Fighting and surviving he had done as long as he could remember, it was the only thing he really knew. Back with his group they described it as the end of the world, as if the world had stopped and their lives had come to an end. But for him it had only just begun, he was free, more free then he had ever been before. Maybe he was made for how things are now, like Julia had said that night. He tried not to think about it too much, because if he was, Julia wasn't.
Upon a road, the forest now behind them, one of the men in front looked at the road sign, “Just a few more miles.” The man informed the group.
Daryl was the last to pass the sign. He looked to Joe beside him as he grew curious, “So is that where we’re headed?”
“So now you’re asking?” Joe questioned and Daryl confirmed. “That’s right.”
“We don’t like to stay in the same place, we like to be on the move. It keeps us from losing our edge. But that doesn't mean we don’t rest our legs once in a while. I think you will like it. Last time we found a neighborhood like this one we got lucky.”
Daryl thought that made sense. Before the prison they survived going from house to house, then went on the road when they had enuff to last them for a while before doing it all over again.
“Claimed.” Daryl said before the man in front could grab the wild strawberry plant. The man said nothing and continued along as Daryl picked up the plant by the road, then shoved the lone strawberry in his mouth, “What you mean by lucky?” Daryl asked Joe.
“That got your attention?” Joe said, amused.
"Yah."
Joe continued. “You should have been there. Got our hands on a little bunny, pure as snow I tell you. They are very hard to come by these days if you know what I mean? She gave a hell of a fight but you know how women are saying the opposite of what they want, and I know she wanted it, they all do. Shure wished she lasted longer, but you know how those little ones are?”
Daryl didn't say a word, he couldn't seem to find them. Because what was there to say when someone talked so freely of such horrific actions that made you physically ill?
An unsettling feeling settled in his gut. He knew then he needed to ditch these guys, sooner than he had planned but he had to play along for now.
It’s jarring, the ringing in her ears and the sharp pain coming from the back of her head. Her eyelids felt heavy as they slowly fluttered open to darkness. The ringing in her ears fade as the hum of an engine slowly wakes her oriented body. A seat belt was strapped over her chest, her body tilted towards the passenger's side window, eyes slowly found focus of the night through the window, watching trees speed by along the lone country road, clouds were wisebulle by the moon's soft light and she tried to remember why she would be in a car but it hurt. The last thing she remembered was the prison, but then a low voice, a voice of a man she hadn't taken notice of speaks, her whole body goes rigid to the stranger beside her.
“Worried you were never gonna wake up, you took quite a hit.”
The man was dressed in a clean police attire, fully equipped. It was out of place. Groomed and was clearly well taken care of with short kept hair, his receding hairline indicating he was in his late 30s. Julia looked at the man and spoke in a small timid voice.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.”
“How did I end up here?
The man looks at her, giving her a smile she finds difficult to read, but it makes her skin crawl and her heart pound. His focus returns back on the road ahead.
“Had a lead on some guns that were pretty far out. That’s when I spotted you, wiggling in the road.
And Julia says nothing, she just stares perplexed, trying to remember past the blanks she tries to fill, but it’s all so difficult.
“Can you remember your name?”
“Julia.”
The man echoes her name to himself, he looks at her, his gaze taking her in.
“A pretty name for a pretty girl.” He muses in an unsettling way making her avoid his lingering gaze.
But then…. She does remember something or more like someone.
Daryl
She remembers fighting a walker but then everything went black and now she's her. Clearly the hit to her head had been hard enough to affect her memory and she hoped it would all come back. Trying to process everything she looks down and blinks a couple of times before her gaze falls on the man once more and speaks more desperate this time, with the thought of Daryl in her mind.
“The man I was with, did you see him?”
The man glances at her, clenching the sterling weal enough for her to notice, but his expression does not change and he tells her without looking her way.
“You were alone.” Her stomach drops and her eyes grow wide. “If I didn’t save you when I did, you’d be dead right now.” Julia’s strong reaction goes unnoticed. “One was eyeing your thighs when I showed up. But I got there first.”
His hand travels along her thigh, feeling her over the fabric of her skirt, slowly revealing her skin underneath. She lets out a small noise of discomfort and freezes just like many times before, like when boys in school had touched her, or smacked her ass in the corridors. Freezing like a deer caught in headlights, she doesn't dare to move a muscle.
“Jacket that rotter up.” He said and Julia could hardly breath.
A sickening panic blooms in her chest that travels through her whole body. Recoiling from his touch in discomfort and disgust he only keeps on feeling her up with his fingers slowly traveling up her thigh. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to move away from the man's groping hands. And when he spoke once more she wanted to throw up, crawl out of her own skin, because his words were just as sickening as his hand on her skin, that was now dangerously close to the hem of her panties.
“It would be nice to have a pretty little thing like you. You're like a little girl. A pretty little girl. I bet your mother told you ‘don’t talk to strangers. But I’m no stranger. I’m Gorman. I wouldn't hurt you…mmmh…your skin is so nice and soft.”
Julia couldn't speak but she was screaming inside of herself for him to stop, to not be touched without consent like many before had dune. Julia's heart hammered in her ears, her breath rapid as she trembled in terror beneath his touch.
Often Julia struggled to tell the difference between good and bad people -but that look in his eyes and the unsettling way he touched her, ignites an instinct inside of herself, screaming she has to get out, she’s in danger, that this man wants to do something against her will. Her hand reached for her knife, but he of course had taken it. And she knew she could not kill him nor had the will to inflict pain to another person. She was nothing like Daryl, fearless and strong but that made her only think of him more and grew more desperate as she all but whispered.
“Please turn back, he must have made it.”
But Gorman turned angry and grounded out “As I said, you were alone! And I think you're safe here with me!”
Julia didn't know what to do, she felt so lost and scared without Daryl and she knew she had to do something. She begged again and again to stop the car, for him to turn back, to let her go. But he got so angry and aggressive towards her, making Julia turn to complete fight or flight when she for the first time acknowledged her arm was locked up in handcuffs in the car's door handle. Realizing this man had locked her up, to do what she did not dare to name, and that look in his eyes of evil and lust, Julia knew he was a sick, sick man who would and had done unspeakable things.
In an attempt to somehow stop the car she threw herself over the steering wheel, desperately fighting to take control. But he was so much stronger. The tiers made an awful squealing sound as Gorman fought against her. He looked away from the road to pull her free hand off the sterling weak but the next second everything stopped…
Daryl was hanging back as they reached their way to the rich neighborhood, big houses with overgrown yards that once had been neatly kept by the owners were now abandoned.
The plan was to slowly disappear as they began looting the area for supplies and he would be on his merry way to find Julia. But just as he was about to slip away something ahead caught his eye. And for a moment he thought he had miraculously. Somehow. Found her.
A black car with white a wight cross.
Daryl's stomach plummeted, his steps slowing down.
The others walked past the car and began to clear the first house on the block, not notesting their newfound companion lagging behind.
Slowly, Daryl approached the car, he had to know.
There were tire marks on the asphalt indicating something had gone wrong, something terribly wrong. The car had crashed into a tree, the front window was cracked and the hood was all buckled up by the impact. When he rounded the car to investigate the inside, he swore his heart stopped beating. His head was pounding and his body began to sweat. He felt so stiff, but at the same time like his legs were going to turn to jelly. He had felt this feeling before, back when he found Merle reanimated as a walker and when he thought Carol was dead.
The interior was smeared with gore and guts. Both front seats were bloodied, there were no bodies, just bits and pieces indicating there had been a walker feast, likely the same night he’d lost her.
Daryl picked up a knife that had fallen to the floorboard on the drivers side, not far from it lies the diary. With the last traces of Julia in his hand, Daryl knew enuff of what had happened.
A part of him accepted it, as all the evidence was there, but the other part of him was in denial.
Knees buckled beneath him, he couldn't feel the pain of the ground digging into his skin. He felt like throwing up, guilt pounding in his head, telling him over and over, another death was on his hands, his fault, only adding to that mental list of all the people he'd lost. It feelt so heavy he didn't know if he could stand up again. No tears were shed though his eyes were burning, it was like he couldn't cry.
Hollow and empty -he was nothing again. Because what was he when he couldn't protect the ones he was supposed to? He couldn't protect his blood, his family, his friends, his people…He couldn't even protect Julia.
All he wants is to see her again. Hear that sweet voice and tell her what his sorry ass really wanted to say. There were so many things he wished he had done differently now when he knew he had last her. He regretted the cruel way he had spoken when they got drunk, how he had been so ruff and cold towards her when all she had been was nothing but kind.
Julia was too good for this world and he was a maid for it.
Daryl could recall every moment they'd shared. He didn't realize he had become so attached to someone he had known for such a short period of time. But he had never met anyone like Julia before. Julia was the first girl who was genuinely nice to him, who so deeply cared for him. No questions asked and she was there. She never blamed him when he said cruel things, because she understood he never meant them. She was never uncomfortable to be close, embracing him, holding his hand, seeking comfort or to give him comfort, and it had all felt so good. It was like she could strip him bare with her eyes and truly see him for who he was, and that feeling, he had longed for his whole life.
Just when he began to believe in hope, even when he had lost her, he believed there was that little chance he could find her. Because that was what he did -he found people. But this was not what he had in mind.
Beneath all that hard exterior his heart aced teribully as Julia's soft voice rang in the back of his head.
I’ll be gone someday… Stop…I will. You're gonna be the last man standing. You are. You're gonna miss me so bad when I’m gone Daryl dixon…
If she only knew how much he missed her.
There are still good people Daryl… I don’t think the good ones survive…
And Julia…. was one of the good ones.
Daryl didn't know how to face what had just happened, finding the car the way he did. For selfish reasons he wanted to forget her -all of them. So he pretends he doesn't care, that he isn't broken once again.
Killing the cigarette against his skin, Daryl felt a sense of relief from the pain in his chest, but it lasted only for a moment. He had opted to venture to the other part of the neighborhood until he stumbled upon a few walkers in the mostly walker free eria, and it was strange as it was clear that there had been evidence there had been more just days ago. They were snarling, dragging their feet towards him from the garage door they had been banging on.
He could have easily just jogged off and they would have left him alone, but the anger inside of himself didn't let him. There was this satisfaction in his outlet when killing them, and it was a much needed relief, much like bak at the golf club.
The walker's body’s lies on the yard of the house, he scans the abandoned houses around him then looks to where the walkers had been trying to get in and heads towards the garage. Inside he realizes he's stumbled across a car, he removes the tarp of the truck and opens the hood finding the battery is missing, making him sigh in frustration slamming the hood shut. He shakes his head leaning against the hood, then notices a green refrigerator that seemed to be working. Stored batteries and containers labeled Sulf and Sid inside and Daryl knew he could get it back running again. Going back outside he finds one of the walkers carrying the key to the truck, the owner of the house was smart but not smart enough to get infected.
Going through the stuff inside he finds an All Purpose Charger and hooks it up to the truck battery. Estimating it would be fully charged in the early morning as the truck was in a fairly good condition like the battery itself. But the thing was he didn't know where he would go, did he even want to go now when he found a good truck that would take him wherever he pleased? Maby new Mexico? He had always dreamed of going there bak when he was a kid. But what was the point?
He couldn't find one.
The late afternoon sun glowed on him as he walked down yet another street until finding where the men had settled, in one of the bigger houses. And why Daryl decided to join them inside, he didn't question, he just did, his body moving on its own.
The men gave him a look but didn't dare to say anything of his ruffed up appearances, it was obvious something had happened. They notest him, then went along with their business. They got the message to not ask, it was his business and it was clear this group did not not care for one another like his group had, the only thing they cared about was claiming and keeping to Joe's ‘self proclaimed rolls’.
Joe was held up defusing a quarrel in the living room and Daryl opted to one of the bedrooms upstairs, shutting the world out but his mind would not let him rest.
Daryl had lost many along the way; it was nothing new, it was inevitable. But this time was different. It hurt more, the pain was straight up unbearable. It didn't make any sense why this time would be different, but it was, and there was no denying that.
Sinking into the comfort of the bed he reached for his back pocket and began to look through the diary, flipping through pages. There was an artistic streak the way she had written small poems and drawn sketches of animals, flowers and people from the prison he supposed. The writing was crooked, a little hard to read with the misspelling, but he didn't mind.
Soon the exhaustion of los had caught up to him, he fell asleep with the book over his heart with the map Marlene had given to him all the way back when she had begged him to take her, and he had promised to keep her safe, he had failed her too.
Daryl didn't know how much time had passed, the setting sun outside told him he had slept at least an hour. Comotion down stairs had escalated, something about one of the men lying and getting punished for it.
Joe telling him “his rules” was effective, putting them in line or whatever he had said seemed like bullshit. Sitting up with his legs off the bed, arms resting on his knees he could hear arguing and pleading from the man that was accused of lying.
“No, no, no please. Please, don’t. Please!"
A loud thud followed by a pained scream of the man down stairs filled the house as the others laughed in amusement. Daryl could have interfered if he wanted to, but he couldn't find it in himself to care, it wasn't his place to interfere nor his business.
“Oh, God!” The man groans in agony.
“You plan of finishing the job?” One of the men said. “Yeah. I’m getting an earache and I know he’s just gonna let his ass squeal.” Answered the other.
“After what he did, the man deserves to bleed.” The third man said.
“Y’all stay down there if you want.” The fourth man said and began to walk up the stairs to claim one of the two bedrooms left before the others could, still handling the man down stairs. The man searched the rooms until he settled for the one next door to him. The door must have been locked but eventually he heard it open and close.
Daryl opted to busy himself looking through the room knowing he wasn't gonna find sleep again. Engrossed in the impressive Metallica collection Daryl didn't pay much attention to the mens chatting frome down stairs, not hearing one of the men halloring.
“There’s a woman shaking up in here.”
Immediately it got the rest of the men's attention. Finding a newly washed shirt disappointed some, but Joe ordered them to be ready for anything in case the owner of the shirt would return and possibly cold return with others that could be a threat. The four men dispersed, Joe watched the front porch as the others gathered their guns to watch the sides from the inside of the house.
A thud from the other room caught Daryl's attention for just a second, but didn't think anything of it as no other sounds were made; he turned his attention back to some motorbike magazines. Flipping the third page there was another thud, it was distinct, more like a struggle. Strange. Then there was another voice, a faint, muffled, ‘No -coming from a woman.
There was clear sense something was not right, his gut told him so and it had never proved him wrong before. The instinctive feeling of something wrong was enough for Daryl to step out from his room to approach the door where the noise came from. Then he listened in just like he did when hunting, tilting his head he heard trashing coming from the bed inside, making him draw his knife by muscle memory, his hand was around the door knob, turning it, pushing the door open. And there was nothing that could have prepared Daryl for what was unfolding behind that door.
His world stopped.
In a span of mere seconds, Daryl went through three intense stages of emotions. From shock taking in what unfolded before him, Julia very much alive lies on the bed, with a man on top of her holding her down with one hand strangling her and the other hand groping her between her legs, as she does everything in her power to escape. Then came the realization. There was the smallest choking sound as her face was filled with such terror and fresh tears streaming down her face, making his eyes sting. Lastly, came the rage. His hand tightened around the hilt. Rage scratched at the back of his skull right at the base. Right where emotions turned to turmoil, he could feel himself giving in to that anger, that darkness. The man had almost exposed her under the skirt, her panties on soon to be ripped off. While one hand was pressing around her throat his other hand moved aggressively between her legs. The man had the most vile expression Daryl had ever witnessed, making his blood boil, vision turning red and he demands, his voice low and deadly.
“Get your fuckin hands off her.”
Julia tried to escape the man's hold, trashing beneath him with her feet, kicking and scratching fingernails in an attempt to free her throat. The lack of oxygen made her vision turn blurry, darkening round the edges, she could feel how her limbs weakened and her strength slowly leaving her.
Julia had hoped it was all just a bad dream. But there was so much pain, it hurt too much to just be a nightmare and she knew the horrifying truth…This was real. The idea to simply let it happen, to get it over with seemed like a better option at some point.
It would happen but it would be over, she told herself.
Just as Julia was about to give in to her fate, the pressure was gone and she could breathe. In and out. Fresh air filled her lungs as she gasped and coughed, fingers gently touching the sore skin on her neck. Julia struggled as she moved carefully to the center of the bed, vision returned though it was still a bit blurry she could make out the commotion on the floor in front of her. She saw the back of another man on top of the man that had attacked her just seconds ago. There was grunting, heavy breaths drawn along with the unmistakable sound of knuckles thudding against soft damaged flesh.
Julia stared wide eyed, her breaths heavy, she was no longer coughing but a hand remained on her throat. The man below the stranger didn't fight back nor move, the man had been beaten to death, a pole of blood expanding on the floor of crimson red. The stranger stood to his full height turning to her, but Julia didn't look at him, her eyes were fixed on the monster that had tried to force himself on her in the vulnerable state of sleep. As if she waited for his limp body to come back from the dead and do it all over again.
But that moment never came.
Daryl had been lost in his anger but the moment he remembered Julia was there, very much alive, he stopped. Daryl stands there watching her, she is disheveled, her beautiful curly hair is a mess, her cheeks raw and soaked in tears, and her eyes have blown wide. She was still in her skirt and camisole. She didn't notice he was standing there, and all he wanted was for her to look at him, to know he was here, that the man would no longer harm her.
“Julia.” No response, he tries again, “Julia, look at me.”
And slowly he can see her reacting to his voice, finally acknowledging his presence. Her eyes landed on his bloodied hand then the knife in his other. Their eyes met and all he saw was fear, fear of him. Panic bloomed in his chest, realizing Julia didn't recognise him, as if he was the same man as the one bleeding out on the floor. The thought of her being afraid of him was devastating, unbearable even.
Daryl didn't know the way his hair covered his eyes, the way the knife looked in his hand as the other was drenched in blood, all Julia could see was a monster. .
In Daryl's eyes Julia looked like a wounded fawn, and maybe that was what she was in that moment? And just in that way he said carefully.
“It’s me. It's just me.”
Desperately he tried again when she didn't respond, putting his knife away, his palms facing her, being as non threatening as he possibly could.
“You know me. Daryl. Remember?"
And Daryl could see the shift happening behind her fearful eyes to recognition. He didn't move, just simply stayed where he was, afraid he would only frighten her in her timid state.
Stiffly Julia crawled out of the bed, slowly but carefully standing to her feet. She felt so shaken from the way she had woken, in the most terrifying way possible. It was difficult to stand, even to draw in air. But hearing the voice she never thought she would hear again, and she had to know the man before her was him, she wiped the tears away, moving towards him.
Daryld watched her slowly approach him, and he had to strain himself not to grab her, pulling her into his arms, knowing he had to let her come to him.
Julia grabbed the fabrike of his shirt looking up where his eyes would be, covered by dark strands of hair that had fallen to a mess. When Daryl looked down, his dark pools of blue met hers and Julia knew then it was him, it was real.
Julia reached for him, both hands now grabbing at his shirt, face buried into his warm chest, his beating heart thumping under his skin.
Julia inhaled shakelly…And said.
“Daryl.”
It was fragile the way she said it and immediately relief washed over him. Finally Daryl dared to touch her, holding her close with both of his big arms swallowing her smaller form. She smelled of her natural scent, with a hint of shampoo and all the sweet things that reminded him of her. All of her was soft, welcoming and full of life, just how he remembered her, and he said softly in return.
“That’s right.” he breathed out, cradling the back of her head with a hand, “It’s me. It's just me.”
But their reunion was cut short by the men down stairs growing impatient with his absence, and the man he’s just beaten to death. The evidence on the floor and the blood on his knuckles.
Daryl knew the moment they realized what he had done, they would surely kill him, ‘teach him all the way’, like they did Len. The chilling feeling of knowing, knowing and knowing what these men had done, what they could do, knowing Julia would suffer a horrific fate she almost did just moments ago settled a sense of horror in him.
But nothing was going to happen to her, he was going to make sure of it.
Julia dried her tears once more as Daryl grabbed her pack and gray cardigan that had been thrown to the floor, then approached her feeling a sense of urgency and panic even though he stayed calm for the sake of her.
“This all your stuff?”
Julia could only nod as she put on the cardigan and Daryl noticed it was more in a need to cover herself up after being exposed in such a way she had been.
The relief she had felt dissipated the moment she recognised voices of men, coming from down stairs growing lowder and impatient.
“I thought Dan and Daryl got that.” one man said, then the other, “What the hell are they doing up there?”
Daryl listens closely to every word shared below, with his eyes never leaving her, as if she would be goon if he did.
“Get them the hell up.” Joe ordered urgently.
Julia froze in fear as Daryl turned serious in contrast to her, hugging her pack in a death grip to keep her shaking hands at bay. Julia could feel herself becoming smaller, as if she couldn't follow along with what was happening.
The gears were turning behind his eyes, then Daryl nodded to himself, a decision had been made. And he said while keeping his voice down, yet firm.
“Hey, you see that clawset?”
Julia acknowledged it across the room, but no verbal response was made. It was difficult to register when dissociation began to wash over, preventing words from forming. But she forced it down when she could feel his hands grabbing her shoulders, groundingly, pulling her both figuratively and physically back to reality.
“You’re gonna stay in there, and you don’t come out until I say, okay?”
And Julia could not say anything in return, as if she was mute. But when she heard footsteps heading upstairs she could feel that twisting feeling in her gut she had felt in the car, finding herself spacing out once more, no longer looking up at him.
“Dan, Daryl, get your asses down here!” The man heading upstairs said, but of course got no answer in return. “Yo, you hear me?!”
“They’re not gonna come anywhere near you.” Daryl firmly told her, shaking her by her shoulders, “Look at me.” It was an order, an order that demanded attention. “They're ain’t gonna come anywhere near you. All you gotta do is stay put, stay quiet and don't come out until I say. Can you do that for me?
Julia stairs and stairs, pleading with her eyes for something -she didn’t know. It was about seconds before the man would enter and time was running out, she knew. But Julia didn't want to be without him, to be separated. But at the same time she knew it was something she had to do.
Even though she was scared, scared out of her mind she reletend. To do what he had asked of her. Julia trusted him with her life. Before she moved, to hide, Daryl’s hand cradled her face affectionately, as if he needed to touch her, to remind himself she was indeed there, what was at stake. His thumb moved, caressing her cheek gently as he provided, softly.
“Good girl."
If the situation had been different, Julia was sure she would have smiled in return.
Never had Julia seen the look Daryl had in his eyes as he had now. It was worrying, it went beyond protecting her, and it looked like he was -well like he was about to do something very terrible, and she knew there was nothing that could be done to stop it.
His touch didn't last long as he urged her to hide. When she was consumed by darkness in the safe space of the closet, Julia wished she had said something more than simply his name.
There was now way of telling how much time had passed.
The screams and the fight from down stairs had stopped and Julia wasn't sure she wanted to know what Daryl was doing, what he had done. Knowing Daryl could beat a man to death with his bare hands, Julia knew that was probably what had happened and it made her feel -well, she didn't really know.
The house was completely silent, it was unsettling in a way, not knowing if Daryl was alright, or hurt. Even though she had been told to stay put, she couldn't. The silence was too unnerving, making her leave the safe space of the closet, stepping out into the bedroom, cracking the door open, Daryl had closed when leaving.
“Daryl.” Julia called out, “Daryl, are you alright?”
Then there was movement down stairs, sounding as if something heavy was being dragged across the floor.
"Stay! Don’t come down here!”
His order made her flinch, he wasn't angry but it was clear he didn't want her coming down. Julia assumed it had something to do with the unmistakable dragging on the floor. Doing as she was told once more she stayed put, and she couldn't help but stare at the dead man on the floor. She was still coming down from what had happened, welding herself to get it together. Crying was not gonna make it better and she was no child, she was a grown woman, it was time she acted as such.
Drying the evidence of her face as she sits on the floor, Daryl emerges, wearing a different jacket and a red machete attached to his belt. And Julia couldn't help but stare as Dary was -well. Covered in blood.
Pt.5
Masterlist
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heartfulselkie · 5 months
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Below is a section from chapter 29 of Citrus and Lavender. I would love to hear what was going through your head writing it for the ask game!
{Failure .
She was just an ordinary girl. What business did she have trying to play hero?
Shoulders shaking, she pressed her face to her knees and continued to rasp through her broken breaths as tears kept falling.
“Is someone there?”
Ladybug flinched at the sound of a voice calling out. She didn’t want to answer whoever it was and let them find her. But she couldn’t stop crying either. She curled up tighter as though she could somehow shield herself against the world. But she could still hear the sound of hesitant footsteps approaching.
“Ladybug?” the voice gasped. It was distinctly male, but so soft and gentle and somehow familiar. But she couldn’t place it.
“Go away,” she hissed childishly as she hugged her knees tighter. And she did feel like a child. A child wearing some stupid costume as they played make-believe.
The other person went silent, but she knew they were still there as she could hear them scuffing their shoes as they awkwardly stood in place.
“What about the…the akuma?” he whispered.
Her shoulders heaved as she fought back another sob. “What does it matter? Everyone’s right. I screwed up. I failed and now things are worse.” A whimper escaped her and she screwed her eyes shut. “I knew I wasn’t the right one for this.”
She expected the other person to laugh at her, to tell her to leave it to people who knew better. But he remained quiet for a time. Ladybug almost looked up from the defensive shell she’d turned herself into to see who was standing there, but she was far too ashamed to try.
And then his voice came again, quiet and gentle but so warm in its reassurance. “They’re all wrong. They’re not the ones who stopped the attack yesterday or saved Chloe Bourgeois today. Without you, they won’t make it. You just have to prove it to them. So what if you’ve never been a hero before? So what if it’s all sort of new to you?” He paused and then whispered sadly, “You can still try.”
Ladybug didn’t respond. She didn’t know what to do with the comforting encouragement a stranger was giving her - one she was too embarrassed to look at with her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. But she felt that agonising terror that had taken root in her chest shift a little. She took a deep, shuddering breath.
“I believe you still can - that there’s still a chance, ” the boy added, his tone almost reflective.
Her heart was hammering hard in her chest, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Compared to the restrictive vice she had felt earlier crushing into her lungs, this felt light and lively. It was as though her heart had become a hummingbird and was doing delighted swoops within her chest.}
[Ask Game]
Given that Citrus and Lavender is an enemies au fic with Adrien being coerced into Hawk Moth's ranks from the start, there's obviously going to be a lot of differences between the events that happen here and what occurs in canon.
Some of these differences can be glossed over, but something I wanted to draw attention and give detail to is the events of origins - specifically the LadyNoir side of it.
Ladybug starts out very insecure in herself. She doesn't believe she's up to the task. And finding that her would-be partner has defected immediately is a devastating blow from the get go. Like her canon self she wants to give up. She believes that this is not a role she can fill because she cannot see what she still managed to achieve on her first day. She can only hear all that's gone wrong.
In the events of canon, Alya helps Marinette see that there are some people who are excited for Ladybug's appearance. This is also true in the fic. But this is a very impersonal viewpoint. Alya thinks Ladybug is cool because superheroes in general are cool! She doesn't know Ladybug well enough yet to give a well-formed perspective.
But you know who did grow close to Ladybug during those first trying hours in the events of Origins? Chat Noir.
Sure he went in head first and full of himself - but he was right there with Ladybug and saw in real time how she went from a nervous, shaking girl to a defiant and unshakeable heroine!
In Citrus and Lavender - even if he's on the other side of the fight, Chat Noir still sees this change in Ladybug very clearly too. And he's enamoured by it! Though it does take him a lot longer to wholly admit how much his feelings were shaken up by her.
Ladybug still needed that closer interaction though. Without it, it's very hard to see her evolve into the hero that she is. She needed that moment of someone caring about her. Not as a superhero, but as a person. Someone to tell her to have faith because what she's accomplished already is outstanding!
I knew I had to include the exchange LadyNoir have in Origins: Part 2, when they stand beneath the Eiffel Tower and Chat Noir gently reassures her. But I couldn't do it in the same way in canon.
So instead for Citrus and Lavender, we have Ladybug running and hiding. She just can't take it. But then she's approached by someone - someone that she later becomes certain is Adrien - and they give her the comfort and confidence she so desperately needed.
Ladybug/Marinette and Chat Noir/Adrien both know this event happened, but they both have slightly differing viewpoints of it. Surely that isn't going to cause identity shenanigans later on...
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exocynraku · 8 months
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Hullo! Do you have any tips on just coming up with designs and markings and how to colour those designs/lines without making stuff clash? You're always able to make such creative and nicely made designs and I'm curious if you have anything you get inspiration off of and how you're able to colour your marking lines so smoothly?
i would make a nice image tutorial like i did yesterday but i do Not have the time to Sadly so you get words instead colouring lineart: colouring the lineart is easy peasy lemon squeezy. you gotta wait until youve FINISHED the colouring to do this part. okay, so, for the characters ACTUAL LINEART, when i draw their legs & tail & face & whatnot, i colourpick the DARKEST colour on the character, whether it be in their markings, eyes, accessories, or whatever. and then i take that colour and make it just... a LOT darker! and maybe shift the hue around aswell (ex: if the character was mostly yellow/cream i'd give them orange or red lines)! and then for the MARKING LINES i take the darkest MARKING. ignore the accessories and characters eyes they dont matter JUST pick the darkest coloured marking. and then make THAT darker, but not as much as you did the actual lineart!! you can also change the hue on this :3 how i come up with designs + inspirations: hmm well i'm going to be honest with you i don't exactly know how i come up with my designs? a lot of it just comes from how i picture the character in my head! especially if its a warrior cat design! i don't tend to stray away from those thoughts unless i picture them as like stupidly boring LOL ! inspirations is a biiit tricky, but i guess i kind of just look at a LOAD of other warrior cats animations & art, and uh! anime! lol! looking at how other people draw cats has gotten me better at drawing anatomy & whatnot, and watching various animes is why i started giving my cats hair lol! it's kind of hard for me to explain like, my EXACT process on why & how i design certain characters im sorryyyy x'''P i would if i could but literally 90& of is me drawing whatever and then thinking 'does this look good' and then saying yes or no LOL how i colour my designs: similarly to how i DO my designs, it's a lot of my just asking myself if it Looks Good or not, but there are a few things i do! a lot of designs i do i jump around the colour wheel a LOT! hue wise, i mean. i think i've managed to find different ways to use every single colour on the colour wheel lol! blues and greens and purples are good for greys & blacks, blues & yellows & oranges are good for white/ light markings, red & orange & yellow & purple are good for brown cats, etc etc etc! the other main thing is layer effects! sooo like if i draw a character but i'm not super happy with their colours, i find it hard & annoying to fiddle around and change each colour individually, so instead i make layer above the colouring, set it to one flat colour, and go through all/most of the layer options (like multiply, linear burn, lighten, glow dodge, difference, subtract, the list goes on) and find something i like! and then i usually do that a BUNCH of times with ALL sorts of different colours until the character ends up looking good!
also hi mossy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope this helps maybe? if you wanna get specific with another question, or maybe send some images (u can here on tumblr or message me where ever) then id love 2 help more!!!! this goes for anyone, i'll always accept art-help/tips/how i do things questions lol!
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balkanradfem · 8 months
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suspicious roommate behaviour =_=
So this roommate is younger than me, and even though we had fights in the past, right now we get along well. She's 21, and she's moving out in about 2 weeks, she's already started packing (and I've been helping her and irritating her at the same time, for my own amusement).
So yesterday, she's been showing off her cosmetics to me, and I didn't exactly care but I like smelling things, and at one point she gave me a bottle of 70% alcohol to smell, and I sniffed it and got immediately drunk, because I'm sensitive to alcohol and have never gotten drunk in my life. So I'm laughing and talking to the chair and crying because I don't know if I'm a fruit or a vegetable (people have told me that this is not normal drunk behaviour), and roommate twice suggested that I take my shirt off, which, why would you do that. (I did not do that. I had a blue shirt and I wanted to figure out if I was a blue fruit or a blue vegetable) (also I have nothing under my shirt I don't wear a bra).
Today I invited her to watch a show with me, because she had to wait for a ride and was getting irritated about it, and instead of watching one piece, she stares at me and starts commenting how I have long eyelashes. I'm annoyed and tell her to focus, but all she wants to do now is put mascara on me to see how my eyelashes would look painted. I'm even more annoyed, I've never as much as looked at my eyelashes and do not plan to become conscious of them. But, she's insistent about it, so I make a bet; if the guy who's her ride is late for more than 25 minutes, she can do whatever she likes. Sadly the guy is late 36 minutes and she pauses the show demanding we go to the bathroom. So I let her paint my eyelashes and complain about how draining this is for my eyeballs, and she's just sooo happy about how my eyelashes look and insists it's pretty. I dislike how my eylashes are glued together and look like something you would draw on a doll, so she removes it, and lets me go free.
Is this normal straight girl behaviour?? I have not experienced this before. She's a smol child to me so I don't know if this is just what they do.
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glitchadeli · 2 months
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So.. I have a long story about this; (please read for context!) I used to be friends with this kid in elementary school, they were my best friend and we hung out all the time!! Something we bonded over was Pokémon and as a kid. My first game was Soul Silver which yeah is pretty late into the 'series' of Pokemon but it's whatever, that was my first game, don't judge. Anyway, I was kinda (very) dumb and just eventually got rid of my Pokémon stuff. Idk why I ever did shit like that (I regret it so much) and I have really bad memory so like.. I had no idea what I did with any of my games. Well, remember that friend I mentioned? We reconnected a few months ago after almost 10 years of not talking (because we moved when I was about 11 and.. being 11 year old's we didn't have a way to keep contact lmao. I tried looking for them over Facebook for YEARS with no luck, but a few months ago I had randomly found their profile and messaged them.) When we reconnected, we called on discord and they were talking about Pokémon and they said "Oh dude, by the way I still have your soul silver game that you gave me" and I was like "... wait what?" and.. yeah!! Apparently I had given them my soul silver as a kid (I guess that was my 'getting out of Pokémon phase', like I said, I was dumb..) and I was just in pure disbelief. And they said if I wanted, I could have the game back so today (yesterday since I'm posting this at like 4 am) I hung out with them and they handed it to me. My *original* copy of Soul Silver. The copy I played as an 8 year old.. (or 9 year old idk, bad memory) I can't tell you what it means to have my original cartridge. Sadly my save file isn't there since when I gave it to them in childhood, they restarted it.. but that's okay, the fact I have THE VERY COPY I had as a kid, still means the world to me. Like.. I just.. yeah I could've re-bought the game over the years but.. having the exact one I had as a kid.. it means more than I can ever express. I'm so fuckin' excited to play this game you don't understand. I will post updates as I play, (I plan to shiny hunt Lugia >:3 ) I'm sorry that it's not TAWoG, but my Pokemon-loving heart is so happy!! 😭💕💕 Anyways, the drawing I included because I had decided to draw myself with my 'team' so far!! (Yes I made my trainer a male, named Glitch :> hehe) So far I have Sakura the Chikorita, Pudge the Pidgey and Moegi the Bellsprout, and of course the egg that I'm working on hatching!! (Tbh Moegi is only being used for HM's so she won't be staying for long lmao, sorry sprout!) I'm definitely gonna draw more Pokemon stuff because I've wanted too for so long but I get shy with it for some reason? Well not anymore. I'm not making this a daily thing, that'd be too much, but I'll definitely do more drawings throughout my journey!! ^^ I hope you guys are good with seeing Pokemon, don't get me wrong I still love TAWoG and will still be posting about it, but I'm deep in a Pokemon fixation right now so.... Be prepared :P I've played the game more and I have more team members but I'll draw that eventually hhgghh but ye!!! I know this is mostly a TAWoG blog but.. I will post other things on here as well ^^''
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