#actually the thing that most helped me on this is the jayden “being not straight” video

[iffasart]

sometimes i just want to be in a platonic relationship (NO sex incluided), with a dog as the child, just cuddling, doing movie marathons, playing mario kart or our favorite games, baking cakes, living together (cause the rent is easier to pay that way), talking about and reading books, making playlists, buying matching onesies/hoodies that we will never use in our lifes, bring eachother breakfast in bed, going on adventures, explore together, "i love you" (Platonically), hang out, support and help eachother grow as a person, just being there for the other, but yk... as friends

Then the next second im like nah i dont need that

#i think i might be aro as well #like im ace #but maybe im aroace #asexual #aromantic #aroace #arospec #lgbtqia #somebody help me #im cOnfused #like i dont see myself kissing somebody #but i see a posible future with somebody playing mario kart :/ #aspec #aro #ace #actually the thing that most helped me on this is the jayden “being not straight” video #i was like same jayden same

[onewholivesinloops]

thoughts on Jayden possibly ALSO liking Miyao, independently of Meow? A lot of their interactions, even from before Jayden knew about Meow, read a little bit homoerotic to me. He's bi, he's fallen for both siblings, he's a mess

Anon, who gave you permission to drop facts?

I've said this before but it's not even homoerotic subtext. It's literally text, but that's all of Ciconia with the queer themes (love the trend of when they cry getting progressively more queer with each new entry).

I could pull up so many screenshots where they're obviously being anything but straight but I'd have so much trouble choosing between them because there are way too many.

But yeah, Jayden definitely gives the vibes of an oblivious bisexual who thinks he's straight. I get the impression that he genuinely thinks his feelings for Miyao are purely platonic when the things he says all the time clearly say otherwise? I could be wrong and he's actually more self-aware than he lets on. I'm still not sure what to make of that after credits scene of him but it's definitely hinting at something and a deeper involvement with everything.

I'll admit I was a little bit apprehensive about the prospect of them having something romantic going on at first because of the way Jayden immediately started treating Miyao like a girl right after he found out about Meow's existence.

This was tricky and could've easily ended up being messy especially with Miyao being heavily trans coded, but I was pleasantly surprised with how it was handled?

Jayden in general turned out to be way more endearing than I expected. He's a well-meaning neurotypical cisgender guy trying to understand the neurodivergence and gender issues the other characters struggle with. He deeply cares for his friends and he has a genuine desire to educate himself on things that matter for them and improve as a person, and even when he ends up sticking his foot in his mouth, he's not trying to be a douche or offend anyone on purpose, but he's trying his best to learn from the mistakes he's making so it can lead him into a better understanding of the people and the world around him.

It's really funny when he acts like an absolute dumbass then apologizes and asks how he should do better then immediately messes up again though. Makes me feel an exasperation mixed with fondness but definitely more of the latter. The fact that he's American also makes it so much funnier.

I think his presence genuinely makes me really happy too. This is bordering on more personal territory, but as a queer person who had terrible experiences growing up with people in real life not even bothering to try to understand her, I feel like this is an important message to have. It's possible for anyone, even the most privileged, to educate themselves on this type of stuff and accommodate neurodivergent and queer people. They might mess up occasionally but what matters is that they're trying and they'll get it right eventually if they listen to those around them who are trying to help push them in the right direction. Just seeing that play out means a lot.

I know I'm not ready for whatever Ryukishi has in store for the whole Miyao/Meow and Jayden thing in future phases but I know it's probably going to break my heart and I can't wait!

Anyway, it made me happy when he did his best to listen to Miyao and actually respected his boundaries! He may be an idiot, but he's an idiot who supports trans rights!

Top 10 Ciconia moments is Jayden saying trans rights btw:

#asks #anon #ciconia

[jenna-jayde-the-renagade]

So my life has gone to shit.. I dont trust anybody anymore, and honest to god I cant help but keep thinking of ways to end it. My mom keeps telling me how to feel about this whole thing, that I should be grateful that i got in finally to see a specialist. Reality is I dont even trust those subhuman animals anymore, and frankly they're gonna have to earn my trust. After 4 fucking years, my life, my future being ruined. My mental health going downhill, all for the second time now. Add on to that, I dont get any meds for the pain so this has pushed me into addiction now for a second time. I've been dehumanized and humiliated, treated with nothing but the utmost disrespect while being stigmatized for being mentally ill, transgender and a recovering addict for most of it. They ignored me for 4 years, my body is damaged, and frankly help just might have came too little too late. I wont just suffer through the next one, the next time this happens I'm gonna end my life, my suffering on my own god damn terms. Atleast I still have control over that..

Fuck the canadian healthcare system. Some days I honestly just want to start selling drugs, and fly to a country where I can just pay to play and get the best care in the god damn world. Cause 4 years now I've been telling them to refer me to a specialist, I've been telling them that it's probably crohns or some other GI issue. They need to do a colonoscopy and a scope to find it, so that's what I would ask for. I would never get it, so i more or less gave up on the healthcare system. They would leave me on the floor thrashing in pain for hours. Treating me like a drug addict in withdrawal when I didnt even have any opioids in my system. I would be lucky if I got an IV for fluids, and even more lucky if they pumped me full of a bunch of over the counter drugs and others that didnt work like gravol, tauridol, buscopan, zofran, and haliperidol. I would tell them each time, that this was the hundredth time they tried gravol, and it doesnt help people when they're screaming in pain. They treat the nausea. Its bullshit because I am in so much pain that its making me nauseous and until they get rid of the pain, the vomiting is just gonna continue. They always treat me like I'm full of shit, and when I turn out to be right and continue puking, thrashing and screaming in pain, they just get angry at the fact they were wrong. Our doctors and nurses are a bunch of sociopathic, apathetic adult children who in my experience take pleasure in watching you suffer. The worse I get the more they smile. They are so stupid, blind almost because if their stupid fucking machine says I'm ok then I guess it's all in my head. They only think that theres nothing wrong with me because theyve only ever done a blood test or an xray. Never ever once have they done a single test that would have found the issue, crohns cant be found just on a blood test. The emergency room doctors think it can be, my family doctor and everybody else I've talked to says otherwise.

On January 1st I was having another flare up, and they shoved me in the psych observation room because they genuinely didnt want to deal with me. They ignore me, and I keep going in because I want help. I dont want to end up relapsing again cause I cant take the god damn pain! But nope, I get treated like a crazy person now.. they did it against my will. And they even tried to take my phone and my keys. I was puking constantly, I needed water to keep hydrated and they left me for 4 hours, locked in, no meds, no help or nothing. So I just cracked.. I had nothing to barf in, to wipe my nose with, or to wipe the cold sweat off me. So I puked in every corner of that room, I puked beside the bed especially because a mop wouldnt fit in there. I pissed in the corner, I would hack up some phlegm and spit it all over the floors and walls, I blew snot rockets on every surface too! After a while some nurse came in and gave me a barf bag. I threw it on the floor and just continued to puke over every hard surface in the place. I was puking every 5 seconds I swear, and the doctor finally came in at 3 hours and 15 minutes. At 3.5 hrs they give me two pills. I straight up tell them there is no point in even taking them. I couldnt even keep water down and these people are stupid enough to make me take pills? Come on. You need to hold it in for atleast an hour to see even the most minimal affects. I was puking every 5 seconds, to the point that I puked before I took the pills, and I puked them out the moment after I swallowed. They had given me a fucking gravol tab, and some Ativan, the latter of which I couldnt even hold under my tongue long enough. I barfed it onto the floor when it was half dissolved. They come back with this clear liquid shit in a shot glass. I swallowed it right after I puked. The liquid burned my insides, and i puked that shit out even quicker. I asked them to give me IV medications for that exact reason, I always ask for IV medications cause its literally a waste of your time and mine to just pump me full of pills when I can't keep them down and they hurt my tummy as they dissolve. They tell me to just "breathe deeply and relax" and to "just try jayden, you gotta try", so then I try, and when they end up being wrong, and I can't take shit. They end up saying that I'm manipulating, that I'm drug seeking or I'm not trying hard enough to make it work. Absolute bullshit, over the course of 4 years I have quite literally told them what to do. I have multiple family members with this disease, and my grandmother was ignored like this too. She told me to ask them for a colonoscopy and a scope, and to ask them to treat the pain, not the nausea cause the pain literally causes the nausea. The sooner the pain is gone the sooner I can be normal and tell them what's going on. Instead I'm left to suffer in the worst pain a human being can feel. I get treated like shit and told it's all in my head. I gave up on getting a diagnosis in year two. I just want to shoot dope whenever the pain comes. Dope atleast takes it away, after all they would be giving me some of the strongest shit they have at the hospital if I was some boomer with a sprained ankle. It would take the pain away. Thats for sure. Being a mentally ill, drug using, autistic tranny they just see that. I get nothing. No help, no answers, not even some relief when my screaming can be heard far and wide.

I want to die right now, and I keep trying to think of a painless way to do it.. buying $400 worth of street fentanyl and slipping into a nice, peaceful opioid coma seems like a wonderful idea right now.. that would end the fucking suffering atleast..

I wont be wearing a colostomy bag. Colostomy bags arent sexy, they are fucking disgusting and you cant just be body positive when you have a fucking bag full of your own shit hanging off you, and your only way of having penetrative sex sewed up permanently and taken away from me. Not like I could even be a decent fuck for anybody at this point anyways. Its painful to shit, let alone anything else. I dont want to give up food either. I love food, food is literally my life and the only way I have to bond with certain people! Like my family for example. Nothing makes me just want to slip.into that coma more then the worry of the future.

Will I be sitting at a family gathering eating bland gluten free, dairy free, all organic 100% vegan fair trade horse shit on a plate while my family actually gets to enjoy the food I used to be able to eat? Moms spaghetti, grandmas meat pies, the baked goods, fresh tomatoes out of my garden and others. A good fucking steak even? Cause honestly a birthday isnt a birthday if I dont have my birthday meal.

I know for a fact my body is damaged from 4 years of suffering. I used to bounce back, now it takes the wind out of my sails for a month.

Needless to say, I just want to fucking die more then anything else. Positivity and anything I love is gone, and all that I have left is knowing that Alberta health services, coast mountain health services, providence health services, and interior health services have all fucked me in the biggest way humanely possible. So thankful for free fucking healthcare!!

You get what you bloody well pay for!!

#thisiswhattranslookslike #girlslikeus #transgender #mtf #trans #transition #hrt #transgender girl #transformation #chronic illness #chronic pain #chronically sick #crohns disease

[shaekingshitup]

unintended

A/N: Okay. So, this was supposed to be a completely different story with more thot antics than romance. But then this idea came and I decided to choose this one instead. I’m still just practicing over here. So, any feedback is appreciated. 😊 This is my first and most likely last fic that will be with a real celeb. So, I hope y’all dig it. It will be a series. So, expect more! I'm just not certain how I feel about writing for real humans that exist. AS ALWAYS, shout out to @glittermakesmesmile​​ for always reading first and making things make sense. She’s wonderful. Be on the look out y’all. 👀 

Pairing: Trevor Jackson x Black OC

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2265

“I WANNA FEEL THE HEAT WITH SOMEBODY! YEAAHHHH I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY. WITH SOMEBODY WHO-” Jayden stopped belting out the Whitney lyrics as her music paused and her Trey Kennedy ringtone filtered through her car’s speakers. 

RING RING RIIIIIIING. RING RING RING RIIIIING RING!

She looked at her screen and the unsaved number which was staring back at her. 

“Hello?” she asked trying not to let the aggression creep into her voice towards whomever had ruined her jam sesh as she weaved through the madness that was LA Traffic. 

“Hey girl, how you doing?” greeted her with a sweet Southern twang

“Oh shit! It’s Terrell” Jayden thought automatically as she began gushing. All aggression was temporarily forgotten. 

“Hey boo! I’m just circling the block trying to find a spot. I’m makin’ a pit stop at Blue Bottle. What’s up? Can I grab a coffee for you?”

“..bring me their Single Origin?” Jayden heard coming through in the background.

“Nigga” Terrell chuckled in an incredulous tone without losing his good humor. 

“Who’s that? Is that Matt?” she asked trying to piece together what was going on. She was supposed to be meeting Terrell in 45 minutes. She was barely 3 miles away from his place. She’d planned  the day out perfectly so that she would be on time, for once in her life.  You only win the Shits & Giggles Song Association once. I mean, how could she be late for THAT?! 

It sounded like there was some sort of disagreement happening on the other end as Terrell’s voice came in high pitched and strained  “No. That’s not Matt, it’s-,”

“Wait, it’s my fault. Let me tell her” said the mystery person on the line. Jayden was confused as she put her car in park and grabbed her headphones so that she could continue to have this conversation while she stood in line at Blue Bottle. 

“Ugh. Okay,” Terrell relented.

“Hey Jayden. It’s Jayden, right?” spoke an unfamiliar male voice on the other line.

“Yes.. and this is?” Jayden questioned as she opened the door and was blindly greeted by a barista.

“Well hopefully,  the one you grab a Cold Brew for.” chuckled out of the other end of her phone. 

“NIG-GUH. Where is my henny? Cuz I can’t wit yo ass,” Terrell hollered in the background and Jayden heard some generous pouring being done.

“Okay. Can someone please explain to me what’s going on? I’m fourth in line so if you want anything I need some answers first. Who is this?”

“Damn. Straight to it. She’s kind of feisty. She gotta be a fire sign.” Jayden heard this come in muffled as if the person was trying to communicate out of her earshot. She sighed outwardly. Typically, she had more patience than this. However, LA traffic really brought out the worst in her. 

“Third in line.” she said, “and about 10 seconds away from using some choice words with you myself.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Let me explain. My name is Trevor. Trevor Jackson” he paused. Jayden waited for some further explanation. This name wasn’t ringing a whole lot of bells for her and she didn’t see the point in him being on her line. She was still confused; although, having a name did cause her to simmer down a little. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket while he spoke and was getting ready to Google “Trevor Jackson” but she was bombarded by all of the texts she hadn’t received while her phone was in drive mode. 

“Okayy, Trevor who wants me to bring him coffee. What’s going on?” she asked in a genuinely curious tone and without her previous bite. She made her way through the barrage of “Congrats”, “Good luck” & “Don’t Fuck Up!” texts her family and friends had showered her in. 

Trevor took his time providing her with an explanation. He was measuring out his words and how he would respond “Look, I know that you’re scheduled to shoot your Song Association episode with Terrell soon and that’s great! Congratulations on the win, uh, by the way! But, I had a mix up on my end. I thought that I was supposed to meet him today at 2 pm. Instead of next Saturday at 2 and I’m actually going to be unavailable at that time. So, I was thinkin maybe I could go first since I’m already here. Then, Terrell can just shoot yours afterwards? Plus, my mom’s here to watch me do this because she’s a big Terrell fan and it would mean a lot.” 

Well when you play the mom card. Jayden thought 

The boy was lucky there was only one register at this Blue Bottle and that the person ordering right now had a lot of complicated orders or his lengthy answer may have caused him his Cold Brew. 

“Okayy. That makes sense,” Jayden says, “ I blocked off the rest of my day to be here so I can hang around. I get to watch yours right? I mean you’re not gonna just ask me to bring you coffee and then make me leave?” she giggled as a way to relieve the nervousness she felt about the situation and then she waited because she was certain this Trevor guy nor Terrell would ask her to leave. Right?

She was met with silence. Absolute and complete utter silence. There was no sound whatsoever on the other end.

“Hello? Helllo? Did y’all put me on mute?” Three seconds later there was roaring laughter and she stepped forward. She would be next in line real soon.

“Yes! I’m sorry I accidentally put you on mute. But thank you! Thank you! My mother and I truly thank you.”

“It’s okay! Does your mama want anything while I’m here?” Jayden asked. 

“Oh, yeah. Uh please get her the tea. I promise I got you when you get here. 

“It’s fine,” Jayden responded. “Well, I guess I’ll see y'all soon. It’s my turn,”

“Thank you Jayden. I really mean that.”

“Not a problem” she said.

17 minutes later Jayden was sitting in her car in the Guest Parking garage that Terrell had told her to park in when she arrived. 

“Here” she texted. 

“Meet me at the elevator” was her reply. 

Jayden grabbed the drink carrier and her mini black backpack and headed for the elevator. By the time she made it to the door, Roxy was there to let her in. 

“Hi Jayden” she said.

“Oh my goodness, hiii” Jayden said as she gave Roxy a hug with her free hand. It was just sinking in that this was real. She was really about to be on Song Association. She loved watching the series & was ready to come for Miss Amber P Riley’s perfect score. She definitely didn’t have the perfect vocals to match. However, her competitive nature was not going to let her miss out on this opportunity to fuck this game up.  

“Hey girl, thanks for being so cool about today,” Roxy said as they stepped into the elevator. She pressed the button for the fourth floor. “We’re going to be doing lots of filming today so we can get this content out on schedule.”

‘Yeah, it’s no problem,” Jayden responded, “ Like I said,I already set aside the rest of my day for this. So, it’s really not a problem. Plus, this way I get to say I saw this Trevor guy on Terrell first!” she laughed.

“You’ve really never heard of him before?” Roxy inquired.

“Mm-mm” she shook her head in the negative.

“Wellll, you are definitely in for a treat,” Roxy smirked. The elevator dinged to let them know that they had made it to the fourth floor.

She took a right out of the elevator and led the way down the hallway until they made it to unit 414. Roxy opened the door and Jayden was immediately met with fresh air. After the heat of the LA sun, the cold air was refreshing.

“Miss JAY-den!” Terrell called out to her once he heard his front door shut. He set his glass down on the table. She couldn’t help it. She broke out into a full faced grin. She couldn’t even see anything but his hallway and all of her teeth were already on full display. She followed Roxy deeper into the apartment and when she saw him she was so overwhelmed that she wasn’t sure what to do. Terrell hopped off of his stool, removed the drink carrier from her hands by placing it on a nearby table and greeted her with open arms. In that singular moment, Jayden felt welcomed and as if she was the most valued individual in that room. So, of course it was at that time that she made the fated mistake of looking over Terrell’s shoulder and got a real  good look at a well-groomed and delicious piece of chocolate. Trevor gave a slight wave which she returned with a smile. 

“MM. I am so glad that you’re here.” Terrell said as he rubbed circles in her back and gave her all of the reassurance she needed to be there. She was still nervous. But she was starting to think that this was all planned and for a purpose.

“I’m so glad to be here!” she replied as he released her from their embrace. 

“And BIIIIIIIIIITCH. This is a WHOLLEEE ASS LOOK! We gone talk about this later boo. But can I get a twirl?” Jayden did one better. She retreated back towards the hallway and came back in full runway flair. She strutted into the room, twirled and looked over her shoulder as she headed back towards the entrance. Finally, she strutted back one last time and gave Terrell a smirk. His energy was contagious. She had nearly forgotten that there were other individuals in the room.

“Oh yeah. Definitely a fire sign,” Trevor commented as he reached for whatever concoction Terrell had prepared for him prior to her arrival. 

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. Where are my manners?” She reached for her drink tray and provided him with his Cold Brew, “Trevor, I presume?” she asked as she stretched the drink out to him.  He responded with a smile of his own. 

“That’s me.” Trevor verified nodding his head. He took the drink with his left and shook her hand with his right. “Thank you Jayden. I really do appreciate everything. What do I owe ya?”

“Oh no, that’s fine. Don’t even worry about it.” 

“Nah, I got you. What’s your venmo? Cashapp? Zelle? I got you.” Jayden ignored his queries and responded with his own. 

“Where’s your mama?” Just then, an older Black woman with tight skin, a tight body to match and some of the kindest eyes Jayden had ever seen came from around the corner. She was really out here showing that Black don’t crack and she wasn’t even on camera!

“Hi Mrs. Jackson, my name is Jayden.” she smiled and handed the older woman her tea, “here’s your drink ma’am. I got some sugar too just in case you’re like me and like it sweet.” 

“Thank you so much sweetheart. I love sugar. I need just enough to keep the diabetes at bay” Mrs. Jackson responded as she too embraced Jayden in a hug. “Your timing is perfect actually. I was just heading out.” she said. 

“Oh no, is everything okay?” Jayden asked hoping she wasn’t being too nosey in her first impression. 

“Oh yes darling. Trevor’s brother Ian has an event today too and I told him I would be there. But, I refused to miss the opportunity to meet this young man and see my baby boy get a few songs in on this game.” Mrs. Jackson clarified. “Thank you so much for this tea. Trevor, did you pay this young woman for this?” she asked sharply. Jayden could tell two things about Mrs. Jackson off the bat: 1) she was kind 2) she was no nonsense . The look she gave her son spoke volumes. It said “I know I raised you to be polite. I don’t care who you singin for but you better be respectful and don’t expect nothin from no one. Not even a damn coffee. 

Damn. Jayden thought. 

“I’m working on it ma.” Trevor told her. “Okayy baby” Mrs. Jackson said while continuing to stare at her son. The lecture left her eyes and was replaced with a knowing look while she smiled at her son.

Well Miss Jayden, I mean it.  I do appreciate it, and good luck to you on your game too. I’m sure you’ll be wonderful,” she said as she hugged the young woman one final time.  Mrs. Jackson continued around the room saying goodbye and hugging everyone. “Terrell, make sure you don’t go easy on my baby boy. He got this. We been practicin’, ya know.” .  

Jayden watched the woman, enamored by the similarities between Mrs. Jackson and her favorite aunt.  Jayden was so caught up in her thoughts, she initially missed Mrs. Jackson’s final goodbye to her, catching only enough to ask the woman to repeat herself.  

“I’m sorry Mrs. Jackson, what did you say? Jayden stammered out flustered as she had gotten so in her own head. 

Mrs. Jackson paused before scurrying out the door to support her first born “ I said I’ll see you soon baby”, giving the young woman a wink and mischievous smirk before disappearing out the door. 

Jayden stared at the door, mouth opening trying to figure out what the woman had meant. 

………………………………

TAG LIST: @twistedcharismaaa​ @mygirlrenee​ @glittermakesmesmile​ @sarcastic-sunshines​ @chaneajoyyy​ @shewrites02​ @ghostfacekill-monger​ @raysunshine78​ @shewritestheblues​ @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade​  @fd-writes​ @eyeknowmywrites​​ @thadelightfulone​​

#shaekingspeaks #black oc #trevor jackson #trevor jackson x oc #fics n shit

[makaylajadewrites]

Union

Summary: From their moment together in the hotel room, things seemed to settle down quite a bit. The tension between Spencer and Derek was almost nonexistent, and the rest of the team was quick to jump on this realization too. They teased the two, asking if they had ‘kissed and made up’ but in actuality, it was so much more than that.

Potential tws: Smut

-

From their moment together in the hotel room, things seemed to settle down quite a bit. The tension between Spencer and Derek was almost nonexistent, and the rest of the team was quick to jump on this realization too. They teased the two, asking if they had ‘kissed and made up’ but in actuality, it was so much more than that. They decided that to have a publicly disclosed relationship in their field was somewhat dangerous and an extremely bad idea. If they were ever discovered, they would risk being split up or even fired, and neither wanted that. After all, waking up alongside each other was an amazing feeling, and he didn’t want them to have to go separate ways in the mornings like most couples did. It was so utterly, perfectly domestic between the two of them. Sometimes they stayed at Spencer’s apartment, other times at Derek’s house, and Derek had started going to almost all of Spencer’s shows to support him. Not only that, but it was a good view for Derek.

But he had told Spencer that he found both sides of him beautiful, and Spencer had to trust that since Derek had seen him in and out of drag and kissed him and showered him in compliments both ways. The first time they had sex, Spencer had no form of makeup on whatsoever. Hell, the closest thing to makeup on his face was the sweet smell of his cinnamon aftershave, and that didn’t deter Derek at all.

So far, they had been together for about two weeks. He had told his friends at work that he and Jayden hadn’t worked out, which they consoled him over even though he wasn’t as sad as he probably should have been. He knew that Jayden had been heartbroken, but no matter how many times he tried to apologize or explain the situation, he paid him no mind. He had even offered to meet up with him and talk about it in person, but Jayden had responded with, “The last thing I want to do is see your face again,” and from that point on, he broke all connection with Jayden. It was what he wanted, and Spencer figured it would be best to leave it that way.

Time couldn’t have gone by any slower, although Spencer knew that he was just imagining things because time intervals were never faster or slower than those that came before. They were always the same amount of time, but god damn this day was just crawling along. He stood up from his desk rather suddenly, Prentiss looking up at him from her desk right in front of his with wide eyes, only for Spencer to mutter a quiet apology and scurry off towards the break room. The door fell shut behind him, and he leaned forward with his hands against the edge of the counter, sighing softly before standing straight to refill his mug more coffee - which he probably didn't need, considering it was noon. He didn’t even hear the door open, and gasped aloud and flinched quite dramatically when a hand slid around his waist. He knew who it was instantly, and he looked back at Morgan with a little pout on his lips.

“Derek, stop,” he said warningly, having an incredible amount of anxiety regarding their relationship at work already, and Derek’s constant PDA was getting to be a bit difficult to deal with. He just didn’t want either of them to face the possible consequences or get split up because of their own inability to keep their relationship a secret. To be split up from Derek or the BAU would be torturous for Reid, and he knew he would most likely quit if it came to that point. He had job offers coming in almost every other day, so it wouldn’t be hard to find a position elsewhere or possibly within another department or government agency entirely.

“Can’t I give my man a bit of lovin’ at work?” Derek questioned, his head bowing down to let his nose nuzzle in the crease of his neck, drawing another gasp from Reid before he turned and pushed the other man away entirely, looking surprised at himself before acknowledging the confused and hurt expression on Derek’s face with one of guilt.

“I’m sorry… You know we can’t though. What if someone were to see us?” He asked quietly, reaching for the sugar and beginning to dump copious amounts into his mug. Derek just sighed, resting his hand over the counter and nodding slowly.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just missed you,” Derek said quietly, to which Reid just laughed aloud, surprising Morgan.

“It’s been two days since we’ve last spent time together,” Spencer teased, nudging the other man’s arm and heading towards the door to get back to work.

“I know, but still…” Derek whined, following him out where they were greeted by JJ walking back to seemingly collect them all, and she looked at them with a grim expression on her face before passing by and heading towards the conference room with a quick word to Emily on the way.  The three regrouped on their way to the roundtable room and entered immediately, sitting down in their usual seats, which was somewhat awkward for Derek and Spencer since they were three seats apart, directly across from each other. But they could at least see each other.

They had already been pretty good at reading each other’s facial expressions, but over these past few months of built up tension and their eventual succumb to love, they had gotten even better. Derek was a bit grumpy, mainly because this case ruined any chance of them spending time together, but Spencer was neutral. Derek had learned that even in a relationship, Reid was still difficult to read, and times like now proved that since his expression was pretty much blank. Garcia was quick to gather their attention when she clicked her way up to the front of the room, the small remote for the tv in her hand while she looked over her tablet with the other. She turned on the tv and began the introduction:

“Alright crimefighters, local law enforcement in Modesto, California have requested our help in an apparent double homicide. They believe it is the work of a serial killer who committed an eerily similar event just a week prior…”

After the first day, they had limited down their suspect pool considerably to just one major company in the area, which three of the four victims worked for. But other than that, they had little to go off of since the employee count was still well in the thousands. All they knew was that, when eight o’clock rolled around, they decided to call it a night and return in the morning with fresh eyes. Spencer couldn’t be more pleased to learn that he and Morgan were sharing a room together, most likely done purposely by JJ who just seemed to acknowledge them with a smile. When they split up into their double rooms, as soon as Spencer closed the door behind them, Morgan had him pinned up against it, kissing him ferociously with little mercy, reminding him between kisses to keep his voice down.

Spencer gasped out his lover’s name as Derek’s lips attached his jugular, sucking lightly and nipping his pale skin. Dark hands were quick to cup his ass through the fabric of his corduroys, squeezing and hoisting him up, using the door as support. Spencer’s long legs quickly twined around the other’s waist, his palms roughly pushing up underneath of Derek’s shirt to feel the hot skin beneath.

“I missed you,” Derek murmured into his neck, accentuating his point with a soft, much gentler kiss to the underside of his jaw.

“It was only two days…” Spencer said again, breathless, although a smile curled his lips upwards as he turned his head to press his chest against Derek’s head.

“Too long in my book,” Derek responded cheekily, bringing Spencer away from the door and instead moving to throw him on the nearest bed. He climbed overtop of him and they continued where they left off, lips fitting together and hands wandering over the growing expanse of skin between them as clothes were discarded. Once they were both finally in nothing but undergarments, Spencer gently pushed Derek back, gazing up with those pretty eyes that Derek swooned for every time.

“We can’t have sex here,” he said softly, to which Morgan just chuckled and nodded his head in agreement, leaning down to peck his sweet lips before speaking.

“I know. That doesn’t mean we can’t do other things,” he teased, and Spencer blushed from his cheeks to his chest, and Derek just laughed. He kissed downwards over his clavicles, his tongue running over the sharp ridges before he slid down just a bit until God yes… Spencer muffled his moan with the back of his hand as Derek’s lips darted back and forth to suckle on his nipples, his hand resting over the patch of skin directly above the waistband of his boxers. The further south he went, the more excited Spencer grew, and he bit his lip as Derek passed just over his boxers, looking up at him, dark eyes sparkling with such intensity that Spencer thought he might pass out. His boxers were slipped down over the slender curve of his sharp hips, pushed down to his ankles.

Derek rested his cheek against Spencer’s hip, maintaining eye contact with Spencer while his hand rose to gentle stroke his lover’s member to complete hardness. A sharp hiss against his teeth and eyes squeezed shut, and Spencer was aware of his hypersensitivity again. The first time Morgan had done this, he came within the first five minutes, but even as embarrassed as he was, Derek assured him that it was fine, because when Spencer did it for Derek the first time, the same situation occurred. Perhaps it was just proof of how badly they desired each other intimately.

“You spoil me too much,” Spencer murmured with a smile, and Derek just chuckled deeply in his chest, stroking him for a little while longer. Soon enough though, his mouth replaced his hand, and Spencer was struggling to keep himself quiet as the pleasure flooded through him. Derek must have known the power he had over him, because seconds before Spencer was ready to come, he pulled back with an audible pop and squeezed him around the base to prevent him from climaxing. Fucking Christ he knew how to get Spencer riled up.

“Damn you, Derek Morgan,” Spencer breathed out, his chest heaving as a smile remained on his pretty face. Derek leaned up and kissed him warmly, pulling away to press their foreheads together, and neither looked away as Derek’s hand pressed their cocks together and began to stroke, their combined precum slicking up the sensitive skin and making the experience all the more pleasurable. They were both panting heavily, moaning and groaning quietly together while their hot breath mingled between their parted lips which connected every now and then.

“I’m close, baby,” Derek grunted above him, and Spencer leaned up to kiss him, moaning into his mouth as if in agreement. Within the next few minutes, they both reached their end, their coalesced releases splattering over Spencer’s belly in warm spurts. Panting and so caught up in one another, they kissed once more and Derek collapsed on the bed beside him, drawing his lithe body in with strong arms. They tucked together in a warm embrace and Spencer smiled at his lover, cupping his cheek with his hand and brushing his thumb over his cheekbone, admiring his handsome features.

“I missed you too,” he finally admitted, and Derek chuckled yet again and leaned down to kiss his nose cutely.

“That’s what I thought,” he said, and Spencer just rolled his head, his eyes lowering for a few seconds before he spoke up again, his voice remaining soft.

“I love you, Derek,” he confessed shyly, and Derek leaned down to kiss him deeply, his arms squeezing around him.

“I love you too, Pretty Boy,” he said without hesitation. He had seen Spencer’s darkest nights and his brightest days, and Derek wanted Spencer to know that he would be there forever, loving him in dusk.

<-Part 4: Only You | Part 6: The Performance->

#criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fandom #criminal minds writing #spencer reid #derek morgan #Derek Morgan x Spencer Reid #moreid #drag queen Spencer Reid

[mollyshaj]

15.

Mariah

“So who is this guy?” Tiffany asked. I had my phone sitting up on my vanity so I could speak to her through face time while I did my makeup.

“His name is Tristan. I told you about him before. If you weren’t with your grandmother you would’ve been coming with me.”

Today I was headed to Tristan’s house for his little barbecue or whatever. He told me I could bring my daughter and I planned to but that changed. This cookout fell on the same weekend my mother planned a trip to DR with Tiffany and my aunt and her daughter who’s a year older than mine.

“I thought you didn’t like him anymore.”

“Well I’m seeing where this could go. What are y’all doing though?”

“I’m waiting for Déjà to get ready so we can go to the beach.”

“Okay that’s good. Well, have fun and keep your attitude in check. You hear me?”

“Yes, love you mama.”

“Love you too,” we blew a kiss to each other before ending the call.

Finishing my makeup I put my clothes on before going to the closet for my shoes. Just as I got done putting them on, my phone rang. Going back in the room I picked it up and answered since it was Nicole calling me.

“We’re outside, bring your ass.” She said as soon as I picked up, I didn’t even get the chance to say hello.

“Alright damn, I’m about to come out now.” Ending the call I grabbed my purse and keys before turning off my room light and leaving out.

After locking up my house I went outside to see Nicole in the driver side of what looked like a drop top Mercedes Benz. I know she’s making money but she isn’t dropping bags on something like this so I want the tea on this shit.

“What’s good hookers,” I greeted them.

“Hey bitch,” Ebony said back.

“Why does your man have to live all the way out in west bubba fuck?” Nicole probed as she pulled off down the street.

“Fuck all that, where did this car come from?”

“Oh this is Rashad’s, I was at his house last night and since I was picking you whores up he said I could take one of his cars. This is the one I chose, I’m cute as fuck in this bitch huh?” Nicole said with a big smile on her face.

“Yeah cute and fast, slow your ass down. At least get on the high way before you start that fast shit.” I buckled my seat belt quickly. Nobody was in the mood to die because of this bitch. “One of his cars though? How many does the nigga have?”

“Three,” she shrugged her shoulders. “Now answer my question, why does this nigga live so damn far?”

“Bitch it’s 30 minutes so stop,” I laughed, she was stretching it. Tristan lives in Tenafly and it’s only 35 minutes away from Jersey City, of course her dramatic ass wants to act like she’s traveling across country.

“That’s far enough.”

“You’re complaining about 30 minutes but have no problem bouncing from here to New York all the time?” Ebony asked.

“That’s different, fuck it though. Have you been to his house before Mariah?”

“No, he told me he followed Rashad’s lead on getting his house built though, talking about he doesn’t want his house to look like anybody else’s.”

“He seems like the type of nigga to say some shit like that. So what’s the deal? You were all gong ho about us fucking with these niggas; what’s up with you?” Nicole glanced at me through the rear view mirror then turned her eyes back to the road.

“Nothing, we’re cool and we went out a few times but it’s nothing serious at the moment. I need to see that he’s dead serious before I jump into anything.” I answered.

“I feel you on that, but it’s obvious something is going on. Look at you, all extra cute and shit.”

“Oh please this is me all day everyday just like what you’re rocking is you. Eb,” I leaned up to get a good look at her outfit. “Okay bitch got them chocolate legs out, you about to remind that nigga why he calls you Hersh?” I smirked at her.

“Fuck outta here,” Ebony laughed. “I’m not even thinking about Kaylin like that. I have my first photo shoot in day after tomorrow,”

“For real?”

“Yes and I’m excited as hell and y’all know I’m all moved into the house so I’m not worried about men all.”

“Where did you move to again?” Ebony moved out of Jersey City a few weeks ago and I have yet to see her new place but I’ve heard nice things about it. I’m glad she got her son up out of Jersey City because lord knows the niggas over there are acting nuttier than usual.

“Chatham, I found a nice three bedroom 2 bathroom house. It’s in my budget, right around the corner from the school, it’s a nice neighborhood, and it’s perfect for me and Jayden.”

“Girl how the fuck are you swinging rent in that expensive ass city? How much do you have stashed away?”

“Enough nigga, and my dad is helping me out a little bit but that’s not the point.”

“About time you let Black help you out. Only bitch I know that has a daddy with some loot and doesn’t act like it.”

“His money has nothing to do with me, besides he’s not rich he’s just not broke either.”

“Girl bye,” I waved her off.

She can dumb down her father’s money all she wants to but Black is a big deal out here in these streets and everybody knows his ass is far from broke. He puts up a good front, raising all of his kids in Jersey City and not in the area where the rich people reside; he was in the hood with us.

One good thing he did was raise his children to be humble and get their own shit. Ebony has always worked for everything she has so she doesn’t like taking anything from him; Jas is the same way to a certain extent. She’s independent but the girl isn’t stupid, that’s why she’s living nice as hell over there in Madison.

“I’m just saying, it doesn’t matter when are you bringing your ass by anyway?”

“When I have time, I’m working my ass off and I just filed for custody of Tiffany so that’s about to have a lot of my focus.”

“You did it? That’s what’s up, the first thing we need to do when you get full custody is have a girls night in type of thing. Get in her head a little bit especially since she’s going to be with you full time. The girl is going to need all the talking she can get,” Nicole joked.

“Fuck you,” I laughed her off.

We drove another twenty minutes before we finally pulled up to Tristan’s house. I was actually impressed by the look of his home. I halfway expected him to have a bachelor pad like Rashad has; from what Nicole says you can look at his house and tell he was a single man and had no plans on changing that. Tristan actually has a nice family home, I guess him having a son is the reason he bought a house like this.

“Okay this is cute,” Nicole said as we got out of the car. “Oop your boo is here Eb.” She pointed to Kaylin’s car.

“He’s not my boo, he’s the homie it’s a difference. Now how are we going in here?”

“Let’s go straight to the back,” I suggested. We went straight to the back using the little walk way that led to the backyard.  “I smell food, that’s what the fuck I’m talking about. I hate when people keep you waiting mad long for the food.”

“Greedy as hell,” Ebony shook her head at me while she laughed.

“It’s quite a few people here, I didn’t expect this.” Nicole said while looking around the backyard. It was a lot of people here, most of them I don’t know at all. The only people I recognized was, Kay, Rashad, Kai along with her boyfriend; Trey and Jas, everybody else were pretty much strangers as far as I’m concerned. “Oh hell I spot a baby mama,” she pointed towards the back door that had just opened. I thought Tristan’s bitch of a BM was about to come out but it was that bird Brandi instead.

I looked at Ebony who was obviously irritated by the fact that she was here; I could see it on her face easily.

“Damn, I didn’t know pregnant bitches dressed like that.” I shook my head laughing at the overly tight short set she was wearing. Ole girl wasn’t leaving anything to the imagination which usually wouldn’t be an issue but doesn’t she have a baby in her stomach? And why is she damn near ass out in front of her baby father’s friends? That’s fuckin’ weird if you ask me.

“Let her be a thot in a box if she wants to, that’s their baby being carried around like that.” Ebony shrugged.

“Shouldn’t she be showing by now?” I asked under my breath. I don’t think they heard me because nobody bothered to answer but it didn’t matter. It’s been a few months since Ebony and Kaylin met and if what he says is true then he wasn’t fucking her once they started talking. How is it that she’s pregnant by Kaylin and but not showing. Shorty doesn’t look any different from the last I saw her, stomach isn’t poking at all. Once again, some weird shit.

“Fuck her, where’s Tristan? I wanna say hi thank him for the invite then eat.”

“Over there with his friends and shit.” Nicole pointed out. We walked over and said hey to everybody. Nicole and Ebony went to get their food right after greeting the group. I was about to go but Tristan grabbed my waist sitting me on his lap.

“Tristan I’m hungry and you making me sit here really isn’t helping me.” I faced him smiling.

“You know you like this seat so don’t even front.” He said back.

“Whatever, what do you want out of my life?”

“Can you make my plate?”

“The fuck? Nigga you haven’t eaten yet?”

“I did but I’m trying to eat again. I mean, it aint really for food but I’ll take whatever you give me.” He licked over his lips and I swear to God my ovaries jumped.

“Let me up Tristan,” I laughed some trying to hide the fact that he had me feeling some type of way.

Chuckling he moved his arms so I stood up. As soon as my feet were on the ground good this nigga took it upon his self to slap my ass so hard I could feel a welt starting to rise.

“Muthafuck!” I shouted before hitting him upside the head. “That shit hurt nigga; you’re heavy handed as shit.”

“I just needed to see if you had some cushion back there for real, you’re on the small side.”

“No nigga I’m on the natural side; you’re used to those fake ass inflated bitches.” I countered back.

“Yeah aight, make my plate for me though please?”

“What does your fat ass want?”

“Give me whatever you get, I already know your greedy ass is about to go in.”

“You damn right,” I walked over by the food table and fixed two plates. When I got back to the table I gave Tristan his then sat next to the empty seat by Nicole. “Where did Ebony go?”

“She went to get something to drink; she forgot to grab it when we got our food.” Nicole answered.

“Looks like she made a new friend.” Kai motioned towards the food table where Ebony was smiling and laughing with some nigga. I don’t know who he was but he was fine as shit.

“That’s my cousin True,” Tristan said with a mouth full of food.

I glanced over at Kaylin and his jaw was clenched tight. I almost wanted to laugh at his ass but I wasn’t going to do that with his BM sitting right next to her. I don’t give a shit about her feelings I just don’t want her poppin her mouth off, I’ll feel bad for fucking up a pregnant woman.

“Well I hope he’s not an ass and actually has some sense. She needs s smile on her face these days,” I said before glancing Kaylin’s way again. He was so sick over just seeing Ebony talk to another man and I’m loving it. That’s what his ass gets; I hope she bags that nigga.

***

“This is a really nice house. You’re doing well for yourself.” I said to Tristan while we sat by his pool while things dialed down. The sun had gone down hours ago and a lot of his guest had already left. Some of our friends were still hanging around but most of his family was gone.

“Thanks ma, I appreciate it.” He kissed my forehead before resting his head on my shoulder.

“You’re welcome.”

“So what’s up with the lawyer? He’s helping you?”

“Yeah he filed the papers for me and everything so the ball is rolling. Thank you for hooking me up with him.”

“You’re welcome,” He nodded. “Spend the night with me.”

“What?”

‘Spend the night with me; I know your ass heard me the first time.”

“I did but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t hearing wrong. You want me to spend the night?”

“Hell yeah, and not even to fuck but I’m trying to chill with you. Besides it’s late as shit and I know Nic is going with Rashad.”

“Then how would Ebony get home?”

“Her sister here,” He shrugged and I laughed.

“No she left like twenty minutes ago.”

‘Oh, well shit she’ll get home I’ll make sure of it. You just need to stay here with me.”

“Let me think about it and see what they do first.”

“Aight, I’ll give you that.”

We sat there in silence for a few minutes; not uncomfortable at all, just chillin’. Just as I was about to speak, shouting from the other side of the backyard interrupted me. We both looked over to see Ebony arguing with Brandi while True and Kaylin stood in the middle trying to defuse both girls.

“What the fuck?” I got up with Tristan right behind me and we walked over to them.

“Get your girl before I punch that bitch in the face,” Ebony spat while putting her braids up in a ponytail.

“You aint punching shit in the face, bitch fuck you,” Brandi shouted back.

“What the fuck happened?” I asked Ebony while grabbing her arm. I could see the anger all over her face, she’s ready to kill this bitch.

“Her muthafuckin’ mouth is the problem. I’ve been ignoring this bitch the whole time I’ve been here but she can’t be grown and leave the shit alone. That bitch wants to talk about my son like I can’t slit her muthafuckin’ throat!”

“Why you bringing up people kids and shit?” Tristan asked Brandi, looking at her like she was stupid.

“Tristan shut the fuck up and worry about your own problems. Fuck that bitch and her faggot ass son,” Everything went silent as soon as she said that shit. At that point I wasn’t even going to bother holding Ebony back, this bitch deserved whatever comes to her. Fuck it.

“Aww shit,” Tristan mumbled under his breath.

Ebony found the strength of all her ancestors and pushed past True and Kaylin’s big ass, crashing her fist into Brandi’s face. When I tell you she started rag tagging this bitch, it was almost like she was fighting a blowup doll because she wasn’t doing anything to defend herself.  She cried, yelled for help all the while getting her body berated with punches and kicks from Ebony who still had heels on mind you.

“Oh shit, shit! She’s beating her ass yo!” Tristan howled with laughter.

“Nigga shut the fuck up!” Kay snapped at him as he went and tried to separate them but Ebony wasn’t letting go of that girl for shit. “Yo help me, she pregnant you fuckin’ dummies!” Kay shouted and Rashad and Tristan instantly tried to help.

I think they forgot the bitch was pregnant, I surely did. She wasn’t acting like she was pregnant she was just up trying to fight a minute ago. Plus, I think I saw that bitch smoking a blunt out front all making me remember what I was thinking about earlier. Her hoe ass probably isn’t even pregnant and Kaylin’s stupid ass doesn’t even realize it. They could break up the fight if they want to but I wasn’t getting in the middle of it, fuck that bitch.

After what felt like minutes Rashad finally got Ebony off of her. He was trying to get her in the house but that girl wasn’t haven’t. Nicole hopped up and helped Rashad damn near drag Ebony inside.

Kaylin was getting a now crying, screaming, and bleeding Brandi up off the floor.

“Talking all that shit and couldn’t even get a punch in,” Tristan shook his head in disappointment.

“Shut up,” I laughed at him.

“I’m just saying; man you taking her to the hospital?” He asked Kaylin.

“Yeah,” Kay grabbed her stuff then walked towards the front pulling her along.

“Damn, shorty went in. I think I found my future wife,” True said with a smile on his face.

“Nah nigga leave that alone,” Tristan told him.                                  

“Why does he have to leave it alone?” I asked; Tristan wasn’t about to try and cock block my friend for his, hell no.

“Mariah don’t try and be on no messy shit, why doesn’t matter right now he just needs to listen to what I say.” Tristan gave me a look that basically told me to drop the subject then did the same to True.

“Hey,” Nicole came outside, “We’re about to go.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I’m going with Rashad and Ebony is taking the truck so if you want a ride you better come on.”

“Well I-“

“She’s good,” Tristan cut me off. I cut my eyes at him; he could be so damn annoying sometimes.

“Anyway, do you think she’s good to drive home?” I asked Nicole. Ebony was pissed the fuck off I don’t want her getting in an accident.

“Yeah she’s fine now; she just wants to go home. Her mother is over there with Jayden, I know she’s about to have a fit when she’s hears about this shit.” She chuckled.

“She sure is but Ebony whooped her ass so she’s good. You be sage and call me tomorrow.”

“I got you,” we hugged then walked in the house so I could talk to Ebony before she left.

“You good Ali?” I smirked; my girl was out here whoopin’ some ass. I know she doesn’t like fighting but its damn sure entertaining.

“I’m good,” she shrugged her shoulders.

“Are you sure?”

“Mariah, I’m good. Fuck that bitch, I did what I had to do I’m done with it. That was bound to happen at some point. It is what it is,”

“I’m good you feel that way. True likes you, but Tristan is trying to cock block for his boy.” I rolled my eyes, she laughed.

“I’m not worried about it, True is cool but he isn’t for me.”

“Why not? He’s fine as shit,”

“Yeah and he also has three kids by two different women with another one on the way. I’m good on that; I told him he could be the homie and its being done at that.”

“Damn, fuck is with these dudes?”

“I don’t know but I’m not even worried about niggas least of all True so tell Tristan his boy has nothing to worry about.”

“He doesn’t? So you intend on making that work is what you’re saying?”

“No what I’m saying is I’m not about to fuck with somebody that Kaylin knows. True is too close too home and it’s not out of respect for him, it’s out of respect for myself. I’m good on that drama.”

“So what if it’s a nigga that doesn’t know Kaylin?”

“Then maybe we can talk but I’m not even worried about dudes. I got enough going on with this crazy ass baby father of mine.”

“You’ve heard from that nigga?”

“He’s been calling me and I’m trying to figure out who the fuck gave him my number. I blocked him but he calls from different numbers, ole stalking ass nigga.”

“You need to get a restraining order on his crazy ass.”

“I’ve been thinking about that but he hasn’t been threatening me, it’s not illegal to call somebody.”

“True but he did used to put his hands on you so he is a threat. I just think you should look into it.”

She nodded, “Alright, I will. I’m about to go home though, I’m tired. I’m about to go lay down and take it down.”

“Cool, call me tomorrow.” We hugged then she walked out the front door.

Going in the backyard I sat down while Tristan cleared out the rest of his guest. By the time he was done I was yawning and dozing off in the damn chair.

“Come on,” he grabbed my hand pulling up then lifted me off my feet. “Put your legs around me,”

“We’re not having sex Tristan.”

“I’m not trying to fuck your rock head ass, just put your damn legs around me.”

I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me in the house. “You don’t have to curse at me, rudeness.”

“You don’t have to say stupid shit either,” he chuckled. “Assuming I’m trying to fuck you,”

“You’re not?”

“Nah, I’m cool on that, you aint even ready for it. I just want you to lay down with me.”

“We can do that,”

Kaylin

“Are you really about to keep ignoring me?” Brandi sat on the couch with her arms folded and a frown on her face.

I haven’t spoken to her since we left the hospital and that was only to tell her she wasn’t mentioning Ebony’s name to the doctors or the police. Thankfully she was fine internally, externally she was fucked up. Her lip was busted, she had a scratch along the side of her face from one of Ebony’s rings and it looked like some of her hair was missing from her damn scalp.  She wanted to cry and act as if I was supposed to feel bad for her but I didn’t. I don’t know what possessed her to talk about Ebony’s child but I bet she was wishing she never said that shit.

“What the fuck do you want me to say to you Brandi? It’s almost seven in the fuckin’ morning, we just got here I don’t feel like dealing with this shit.”

“I’m trying to figure out why you’re mad at me. I didn’t hit that bitch, she hit me and I’m pregnant so not only did she harm me she tried to kill your fuckin’ child.”

“Man, get the fuck outta here with that. You were picking at her from the time she sat down up until she fucked you up.”

As soon as Ebony took a seat Brandi started her bullshit. She was making slick ass comments the whole time we were over there. Ebony ignored her until Brandi got on the phone with somebody, I don’t know who exactly, saying some dumb shit about parents leaving their kids to go hoe around.

I guess Ebony felt it was directed towards her and asked who she was talking about and it popped off from there. I was stuck trying to figure out how the fuck she knows Ebony has a child. Jayden was with us at Kai’s house but he was outside with the rest of the kids when they got into it.

“You must still be fucking her ass, how are you defending that crazy bitch? She put her hands on me!”

“What the fuck did you think was going to happen when you said what you said? You thought she was about to let that shit slide and not punch you in your shit? You’re not that fuckin’ delusional Brandi, you can’t be.”

“Fuck you Kaylin; all you wanna do is kiss her ass like I’m not the mother of your child.”

“I’m not kissing her ass, it could’ve been anybody and I would feel the same way I do now. You pushed the wrong buttons and got your ass beat for it.” I shrugged my shoulders. I don’t know what the fuck she expected me to say about this situation.

I was about to take my ass upstairs to get some sleep when the doorbell ringing stopped me in my tracks. I went over to the door and opened it revealing Kai standing there.

“What are you doing here this early?”

“You called ma last night and she called me telling me to come over here. What the hell is going on? It’s early as shit, all I heard was hospital and beat up. You got your ass beat?”

“You know better than that,”

“Well what the fuck happened?” I stepped outside closing the door behind me because knowing Kai, as soon as I explained what happened she was going to say something to Brandi and I don’t need that right now.

“She and Ebony got into it; I know you saw her starting with her that whole time.”

“Yeah I did, she finally got punched in her shit?”

“Basically, she said some bullshit about Ebony’s son and she beat the hell out of Brandi.”

“She did? Yes, that’s what the fuck I’m talking about.” Kai laughed.

“You fucked up for that,”

“No I’m not, as long as the baby is cool I don’t give a fuck. The baby is cool right?”

“Yeah she said the doctor told her she was fine.”

“She said? You weren’t there when the doctor said it?”

“Nah, I went to the bathroom.”

“So the doctor didn’t say anything to you about that shit?”

“No, the fuck was he supposed to? It doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter my ass; every time I ask you about that baby you always saying what she said the doctor told her. Why is your ass never around when she’s getting told all this shit?”

“Kai you’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

“No I’m not, that’s some weird shit. Why haven’t you gone to any appointments? It’s apparent you haven’t you never know shit.”

“Every time I ask about it she either already went or I forget about it.”

“So she never asks you to go?”

“No.” I shrugged again.

“Kaylin, this bitch brings that unborn baby up every chance she gets but she doesn’t bother asking you to go to her appointments with her? That doesn’t seem weird to you?”

“No because it doesn’t matter to me. I wasn’t going to the doctor and shit like that when she was pregnant with Angelic either.”

“Yeah but she asked you to it wasn’t her avoiding it. You need to watch that bitch, she probably aint even pregnant.”

“I saw her take the test Kai.”

“Nigga it’s 2012 you think it’s not possible to find a fake ass pregnancy test?”

“So you think she’s faking or something? Kai, she isn’t faking.” I shook my head. Brandi isn’t the smartest person on earth but the bitch can’t be so stupid. I’ve seen ultrasound pictures; they had her name on it. I watched her pee on the stick and the shit came out positive.

“All I’m saying is you need to watch that bitch. Everybody can see it’s something up with that girl besides you.” She shook her head. “You need to open your eyes and stop underestimating her feelings. Jealousy makes people do crazy things, on top of the fact that she’s already a broken person.”

Nodding my head I took in my sister’s words. Kai can be a little snappy at times but she has a good heart and regardless how much she clowns I’m her little brother. Her crazy ass will kill for me then slap my ass for making her do it.

“I hear you,”

“Good now besides that everything is good?”

“Yeah, tell ma not to worry about anything.”

“Alright, let me take my ass home. I’m going to McDonald’s, where is the closest one?”

“I have no clue, I don’t even think it’s one over this way.”

“Y’all suck.”

“You greedy,”

“Nigga I’m pregnant I have an excuse so shut up. I’m out, call me later, love you big head.” She walked down to her car.

“Love you too, be careful.”

“Always,” I watched Kai climb in her car then pull off down the street. Once I saw her turn the corner I went back in the house.

The events of last night and my sister’s words started replaying in my head. Brandi’s was always bringing up her pregnancy but her actions never reflected that shit. She was still running around with her flunky ass friends with our daughter right behind her.

From what I could see she wasn’t gaining any weight, but that doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything. Plus last night she was jumping up ready to fight not caring that she was carrying a child until after she got her ass whooped.

The more I thought about the more pissed off I became. My relationship with Ebony stopped before it even really got started because Brandi is pregnant. If she’s lying to me and fucked my shit up with Eb, I just might have to kill that bitch.

[absolhunter251-main]

Here’s the long waited story!! Part 1:

INTO THE REELS

THE INKY ADVENTURE

Disclaimer: I do not own the bendy characters or its universe, they belong to themeatly. Marisa and NS belong to me, Absolhunter251. Jayden belongs to INKJAYDEN. Cake belongs to cake on the nose.

This story is based on an adventure for a game I will be creating, hope you enjoy!

Warning: this might contain some dark psychological elements.

Chapter 1: Can’t see the next corridor

OPENING NARRATION BY MARISA AND NS:

Strange whispers are heard within the walls of my anxiety and pain I’ve endured, in my mind. This is what my anxiety of a creature had to say to me as I slept:

<i>

“I Can’t be erased...”

“you think you can run, forget about this monster you created...”

“You think he will save you...think you will be happy with him...”

“I know what’s best for you...you are my friend, my first love, my mother, my creator...”

“You’re making me lose myself to this sanity of loathing you to the point of insanity!”

“I will come find you and have you in my grasp... I will have the chance of seeing you again... for I have missed you!”

“Can’t you see that I want to protect you from love, fears of being broken by people you consider as friends or even as a love one? You can’t see beyond the future nor the past or present... but I only do this because I’m going to the falling point!”

“Run all you want, I still will see you again, every time you meltdown!”

“You’ll be running back to me, your creations to be. Shielded by my name, my dark soul, my cold heart, my insane mind that fuels your soul with sadness, confusion, envy, and rage...!”

“Can’t you see what a wonderful world you created for me? Now I can’t be erased from you, you and I are the same, monster and creator, son and mother, first lover and first mistake...!”

- NS (Nightmare Soraxess) </i>

-0-

One day in a school like setting, young children, and young adults alike were attending various events happening within this very school of Mesa High on October 18th, days before Halloween. Planning on a huge event for this year’s Halloween or other social events.

Three young people stood beyond the crowds of others. The three stuck out like anybody else who made themselves stand out.

The first person to be noticed was a young woman by the name of Marisa. Marisa herself was different from most young adult teen girls and preferred to be into different things, such as video games and creative art she showed off that most people would find strange or interesting, but she mainly enjoyed it because it was what she liked and she thought she attended this event to see what it’s like being in a group of creative school like activity and to help get her mind ready for new games for when she meets her special lover when he arrives on Halloween.

Next to her was a young boy, who goes by the name of Jayden. Jayden was a simple minded boy who had a fondness for video games as well. He was really into the game series that most young people known about, Bendy and the ink machine. He attended the event to see if he could have ideas or even draw for the fun of it. But he heard rumors about a rumor that the place or the people were real. But it all could be a prank, pulled by all the rumors that are going around said word of there actually being a Joey or even bendy himself...

lastly there was another young boy with Jayden and Marisa. He simply wanted to be called cake. Based on his username known as cake on the nose on the internet.

“Well, funny running into you here guys.” Marisa said with a greeting smile to both Jayden and cake.

“Yep, I didn’t know you be here out of all places, buddy.” Jayden said straightening his bendy hoodie jacket’s loose strings.

“Hey, I think we all just happened to show up here at the right time!” Exclaims cake, tipping his white fedora hat.

Marisa nods to that and looks to Jayden. “Hey I like your bendy jacket, it suits you!”

Jayden smiled at the comment. “Well, I’m a huge bendy fan, what can you expect from someone like me who is into it than anyone else I know!”

“Joey drew, or Sammy?” Laughed cake, at the thought.

“True, but they aren’t even real...” Marisa said.

“Uhh... about that, you guys really need to hear this rumor that’s been going around the internet, and maybe this school too.” Jayden then said, leaning in to just keep it between the three.

Marisa and cake leaned in, waiting for what Jayden had to say. “Rumors are going around that bendy and the rest are—-“ before he could finish, he was then nudged behind his back, being pushed forward.

“Hey marshmallow!” Said a boy that nudged him.

Jayden groaned. “Damn it Mega! Why now?”

Mega laughed. “Well, I like to do that while you chat non stop to our friends here about that Bernie or whatever it’s called 24/7!”

Jayden stood up straight and huffed. “ITS BENDY!” He said giving a glare.

“Yeah, anyway, let’s go see what this whole event thing is about!” Mega said and walked away towards the booths everyone was gathering to. Cake followed behind mega mumbling something and Jayden turned away in frustration.

Marisa frowned and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You Okay Jayden?” She asked.

Jayden nodded. “Come on, let’s go see what’s going on in the school, it looks like something is going on.”

Jayden didn’t look at her, but the ground. “Yeah... okay.” He said low, as he saw her walking towards the school.

Jayden then raised his head, his face showing confusion and awe.

He then squinted his eyes a bit, trying to get a good look at the mysterious figure that stood in the far distance. The figure was a tall man, wearing glasses. The man was in complete shadow, only the shine from his glasses could be seen and his shape.

“Jayden!” Cried out his friends, trying to call him over. Jayden snapped out of the trance and turned his head, he then looked back and saw that the man had vanished when he turned back.

Jayden looked puzzled and walked in after his friends.

-0-

As Jayden met up, with mega and cake they noticed a blank expression on Jayden’s face.

“Hey! Come on zombie, what do you want to eat at this event?” Asked mega.

“Hey, where’s Absol?” Cake then asked, seeing that Marisa wasn’t with Jayden. Cake and the others liked calling Marisa by her username on the internet as a cute nickname.

“She went to the school I think...” Jayden said, trying to remember. He was distracted by the strange man covered in shadow that appeared standing there as if watching them.

“We should maybe go get her, but there’s a lot of people here.” Cake said.

It looked like Mega loved teasing his cousin, Jayden a lot and he loved calling him names too.

“You both go, I’ll get the food. I’ll see if there is anything left for benne here.” Mega said, looking at Jayden.

Continued in part 2 of chapter 1!

#absolhunter251 #bendy #bendy and the ink machine #bendytheinkdemon #original project #stories #story #fan game #fanfic #part 1

[popculturereport]

Let’s Rank the Samurai Rangers!

Power Rangers Samurai gets a bad rap among fans, probably deservedly so. I don’t watch Super Sentai, but people who do tell me that Samurai is basically a very lazy direct translation of Shinkenger. That may be true, but I actually kind of enjoyed it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no RPM or Dino Thunder, but it’s also nowhere near as bad as Megaforce. Regardless of where you stand on the show, one of the most consistently-cited issues that people tend to have with the show is the characters (and, depending on who you talk to, maybe the cast too). Again, I tend to hedge on this, because I think most of the actors are fairly capable and do a fine job with what they’re given. That said, I will concede that some of the rangers just...suck. So let’s get to the rankings! From best to worst, here they are (oh, and I’m skipping Lauren):

1. Mike (the Green Ranger)

Mike (Hector David Jr.) is the best, and this is should be so self-evident that I shouldn’t even have to make a case for him. So I’ll limit my argument to this: in “Christmas Together, Friends Forever,” Mike, who loves Christmas more than anything else which automatically makes him the best, gives his only present--a brand new dirtbike--to Bulk and Spike on Christmas, because they have nothing.

2. Mia (the Pink Ranger)

I hesitated whether to place Mia in this spot or the next, but ultimately she gets the nod at second, because I am only a man.

Yes, I may be 31 years old, am happily married, will soon be a father, own my own business, and have a mortgage, but every time Mia (Erika Fong) steps onscreen, I swoon like a 13-year-old girl (I may or may not have even said, “You’re so pretty” out loud). 

Like everything else about this show, her gimmick of loving to cook despite being godawful at it is polarizing, but I think it’s kind of cute, and it also adds a nice touch of brevity in contrast with Jayden and Kevin’s seriousness. She does need further development, but that goes for every else in this series, and like I already said, she’s really pretty.

3. Emily (the Yellow Ranger)

I’m glad that when Saban bought back the rights to Power Rangers from Disney that they decided to carry on the Disney tradition of casting super-cute, perky blondes (Tori, Kira, Syd, Claire, Ronnie, Lily, Summer)...usually as the Yellow Ranger.*

Emily has the potential to be even better, but what we did get is pretty good. She’s fun, kind of clumsy, and occasionally she and Mike make eyes at each other. Yes, they should have done something more with her being chosen to be a Ranger instead of her sister, and her and Mike’s romance could have been developed more (basically they go from sort of flirting to being a couple in the final episode with no in between). That said, when Emily finally gets a chance to go nuts in “Strange Case of the Munchies,” actress Brittany Anne Pirtle grabs onto every scene and takes it for all its worth.

In my own head-canon, I also like to imagine that this episode partly inspired “Dark Betty” in Riverdale.

4. Jayden (the Red Ranger)

Placing Jayden in any place other than last might be controversial for many fans, since he often bears the brunt of their wraith, but I tend to disagree. 

Yes, his brooding lone wolf character probably worked better for his Super Sentai counterpart, given the abundance of these types of characters in Japanese culture (I get Squall from Final Fantasy VIII vibes from him). That said, he does get a lot of backstory that helps establish why he is the way he is, and when you consider that he’s been burdened with the task of destroying Master Xandred since he was a child, you can see why he see’s a bit messed up. It’s not perfect and the execution is sometimes lacking, but there are good ideas there.

Additionally, Alex Heartman actually does have charisma and, on the occasions when he’s given good material, he does a good job with it. Plus, even at his worst, there are two rangers that are much worse than him.

5. Antonio (the Gold Ranger)

There’s things about Antonio that work really well: the fact that he’s a self-trained Samurai Ranger who isn’t descended from a long line of Samurais’, which gives him both a different perspective and approach towards being a ranger, his relationship (bromance? romance? whatever floats your boat) and history with Jayden, and his general light-hearted attitude. The problem is that as good as all those things are, it’s hard to overlook just how grating his character can be.

I don’t mind goofy characters; Ivan and Koda are two of my favorite Power Rangers ever, and I’ve also loved Bridge, Gem and Gemma, Dustin, and Ziggy, among many others. I’ve never understood why some fans get up in arms about these types of characters. Like, you do realize that you’re watching a show made for 5-8 year olds? However, when we’re presented with characters like Antonio (and, even worse, Dax from Operation Overdrive), I can start to sympathize with this mentality.

The problem with Antonio is that actor Steven Skylar spends far too much time mugging to the camera. Everything about the performance is way too over-the-top, including the random Spanish interjections. I suspect that since Skylar is actually of Thai descent, the producers felt the need to have him beat the audience over the head with “Fantastico!” I generally try not to blame actors, especially because it’s entirely possible that they were directed to act in a specific way, but I also can’t help but wonder if I wouldn’t have liked Antonio more if he had been played by another actor.

Still, he’s not the worst. There is someone much more deserving of that:

6. Kevin (the Blue Ranger)

God, Kevin, you suck so much. No, seriously, Kevin, you’re the worst.

(This GIF is priceless, but I also kind of wish that Mike just wrapped his arm around Kevin and strangled him right then and there)

Okay, so if you’ve watched more than one season of Power Rangers, you’re probably seen similar characters. Given that the creators essentially have to come up with a brand-new cast every year for 25 years, it makes sense that they would rely on archetypes. Kevin follows of the mold of the stick-up-their-ass, by-the-books second-in-command much like Kai, Jen, and Sky before him. 

There are a few problems from the beginning; for one, those three were all partnered with more laid-back Red Rangers (Leo, Wes, and Jack), and so they served as nice foils, constantly second-guessing the leader. Over time, these characters would gradually see that, although the Red Rangers didn’t following standard operating procedure, they were effective leaders in their own way, and they would come to respect them. It’s a good dynamic, and you can understand why they’ve returned to that well multiple times.

(That “What the fuck”-look that Mia gives Kevin is exactly how we all feel)

With Kevin, they tried something different (which is good, I guess) and had a serious second-in-command who idolizes his equally intense leader. So instead of forcing them to see (and come to respect) a different point of view, this dynamic just reinforces their own stupid biases. Worse yet, unlike, say Erin Cahill (Jen) or Chris Violette (Sky) who were still likable characters even when their heads were up their asses, Najee De-Tiege has no charisma or charm, and it’s impossible to like Kevin.

If you want a quick introduction to why Kevin is the worst, look no further than “The Blue and the Gold.” So two episodes after joining the team, Kevin still hasn’t accepted that Antonio is part of the team. Antonio tells that he made a new Zord, and Kevin’s like, “You made it from Electronic Symbol Power? I don’t accept that!”

Hey, asshole, how many fucking Zords have you made?

“.....”

None? That’s what I thought. So shut the fuck up!

The other rangers tell Antonio that Kevin won’t accept him unless he can adapt to his training habits. So Antonio follows him around observing his daily routine (i.e. non-stop training) and tries to copy him the next day. Kevin catches him and says, “Despite the fact that you’re gone through all this effort to try to copy me, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously so fuck off!” Before Antonio can tell him to take his head out of his ass, they’re attacked and can’t communicate with the other rangers. It’s not a problem though, because they’ll know something is wrong when Kevin is late. This is when we find out that Kevin has a daily routine that goes down to the minute. As much as I despise Kevin, this is so hilariously awful that I can’t help but love it.

Later they’re attacked again, and Antonio hurts his arm, but he sticks around and defeats the bad guys anyway, and Kevin goes, “Wow! You really are dedicated. I finally respect you,” despite the fact that Antonio has been doing this for the past two episodes. Kevin must be one of those people who says, “Yes, the Golden State Warriors have made three straight NBA Finals appearances, won the championship twice, have multiple All-Stars, and a two-time MVP, but I just don’t think they’re very good.” Then if Golden State wins this year, he’s finally like, “Oh, I get why people think they’re good.”

Welcome to the fucking party, dipshit!

*-After this, they’d do it again with Gia (Ciara Hanna) in Megaforce.

#Power Rangers #power rangers samurai #power rangers super samurai #jayden shiba #mia watanabe #antonio garcia #alex heartman #erika fong #brittany pirtle #hector david jr #najee de tiege #steven skylar

[samiraheaven93]

I'm so sorry Anon! This took me so long! And I kinda lost your ask...at least I can't find it anymore? I'm so sorry!

So you asked for my Fullmetal Alchemist Ocs...so I will do some of them^^

Full Name: Rayleigh Mustang

Gender and Sexuality: female and straight

Pronouns: she/her

Ethnicity/Species: Amestrian

Birthplace and Birthdate: Ishval and 12. May 1920

Guilty Pleasure: She loves bubbles! And bubble blobbing! (One of the reasons she sometimes babysits Eds and Als Kids is that she can do it for them and not look totally childish)

Phobias: being trapped in a vehicle (she is fine if it works and nothing unexpected happened, but unplanned train stops/engines that make weird noises...doors that don't open because they are broken...they can easily make her freak out)

What They would be famous for: well...being the daughter of the Fuhrer (damn I have problems with this word...) and an alchemist...and being a bit overprotective over her family and friends

What they would get arrested for: breaking some rules while helping someone she cares for...probably

OC You ship them with: James 'Jamie' Havok

OC Most likely to murder them: ehm... no idea^^'

Favourite Movie/Book Genre: history, fantasy and science-fiction

Least favourite Movie/Book Cliche: damsel in distress

Talents and/or Powers: Alchemie (and she is a pretty good chess player too)

Why someone might love them: she can be really sweet and nice...but is also able to protect her loved ones (she takes after her parents in that way)

Why someone might hate them: she can be just like her Dad which tends to drive people crazy xD

How they change: she is a sunshine as a child, but grows really mature after some things she went through

Why you love them: Because I fucking ship Royai so hard! (which means something if I say that!) and they need to be happy and have a little family

Full Name: Jessica Havok

Gender and Sexuality: female and bi

Pronouns: she/her

Ethnicity/Species: Amestrian

Birthplace and Birthdate: Central City and 28. February 1920

Guilty Pleasure: Unicorns (and other fluffy stuff)

Phobias: spiders (especially the ones with the really long legs...and the really big ones)

What They would be famous for:

What they would get arrested for: some minor stuff...ridiculous stuff

OC You ship them with: none so far

OC Most likely to murder them: (maybe her brother or his best friend...but not really...you know what I mean...hopefully^^')

Favourite Movie/Book Genre: Crime, Romance, Thriller

Least favourite Movie/Book Cliche: just like Rays...damsel in distress

Talents and/or Powers: martial arts (later on a sniper...)

Why someone might love them: she is pretty, can be pretty nice and can be a total badass (she knows how to deal with stupid men)

Why someone might hate them: she is a badass, pretty and can kick some ass xD

How they change: just like Ray she was a little sunshine, but now she is a badass

Why you love them: She is just cool^^'

Full Name: Jayden Havoc

Gender and Sexuality: male and straight (he might be bi, but he won't admit that)

Pronouns: he/him

Ethnicity/Species: Amestrian

Birthplace and Birthdate: Central City and 12. November 1917

Guilty Pleasure: he likes knitting...but doesn't want to tell anyone because he thinks it's not manly

Phobias: frogs

What They would be famous for: being a ladies-man (but he actually isn't really one)

What they would get arrested for: being drunk and doing...stuff while drunk (just some silly and a bit embarrassing stuff)

OC You ship them with: Rayleigh (but they aren't together because the both won't admit it...)

OC Most likely to murder them: his sister (he can drive her crazy sometimes)

Favourite Movie/Book Genre: crime, horror, history and science-fiction

Least favourite Movie/Book Cliche: perfect prince who gets the woman...and just plane characters who are just to perfect

Talents and/or Powers: martial arts (he can handle guns too and is pretty good too, but isn't a sniper)

Why someone might love them: he is caring and funny (and thanks to his sister actually knows how to deal with a partner...most of the time^^')

Why someone might hate them: he can be a real idiot at some times...and has a big mouth

How they change: he was a bit of a brat as a child, with a big mouth who got in trouble more then once, but now he is a (more or less) responsible adult (but can still drive people crazy)

Why you love them: he is an idiot and a dork, but I don't know...I simply love him xD

Full Name: Micah Breda

Gender and Sexuality: male and straight

Pronouns: he/him

Ethnicity/Species: Amestrian

Birthplace and Birthdate: Ishval and 26. March 1918

Guilty Pleasure: sewing clothes (and other stuff) just like Jayden he thinks it's not manly enough so he keeps it secret from most people (at some point he ran into his best friend while shopping yarn and other stuff and the two of them found out about the hobby of each other...both of them were quite embarrassed at first^^')

Phobias: wasps and bees

What They would be famous for: he knows many things about different cultures and speaks three languages fluently. (his father is Amestrian and his Mother is half Xingese and Ishvalen, which leads to a quite unique appearance too)

What they would get arrested for: silly stuff, just like Jayden ...more likely in his teens

OC You ship them with: none so far

OC Most likely to murder them:

Favourite Movie/Book Genre: history, classics, cultural stuff (including children-stories and fairy tailes and stuff like that)...and thriller

Least favourite Movie/Book Cliche: mister perfect

Talents and/or Powers: highly intelligent and knowledgeable, great tactician, speaks many languages, Xingese fighting

Why someone might love them: he is a gentleman (well...except he is with Jayden and they have one of their 'idiot moments' xD and intelligent...and quite attractive with his unusual features

Why someone might hate them: his heritage (there are still idiots who hate people because of that)

How they change: he was a mostly calm child and a bit nerdy, now he is still calm but will act on his instinct and feelings more often...especially if his loved ones are in danger (seriously, don't mess with him! He might not look like it, but he isn't big because of fat but muscles)

Why you love them: he shows that you can be intelligent and muscular at the same time...and not be a jerk because of it (and his quite unique appearance and heritage^^)

#ask #anon #oc

[tsundairy]

Okay cool! So I guess I'll start off with everything I have to tell generally? It may be kinda long so I hope that's okay. I'm a cancer sun Virgo moon, I only know his sun sign which is Pisces and his name is Sam. I just started working at this restaurant as a busser about a month and a half/ two months ago, he works in the kitchen on fry but I hadn't really noticed him until i had been working there for four days. My older sister had started there half a month before me and she was already starting to befriend some people in the kitchen, which happened to be his friends as well but I didn't know that yet. Basically I was stuck bussing with only one other person who didn't pull their own weight and I was struggling to clear all the tables by myself. Everyone in the kitchen had been a busser at some point so they told Sam to go out and bus tables that night. He also helped me take the garbage out when the other busser wouldn't, and through out the night I made sure to thank him a lot for his help. He was really quiet and straight faced basically the whole time usually only nodding when I thanked him but once that night I got a quiet 'you're welcome' out of him. It made me think he didn't like me, being so serious and all, but the next day his friend Jayden was telling my sister that Sam thought I was cute. We all hung out the next night, and even though he didn't talk most of the night he'd open the door for me all the time, was super polite but it almost seemed strained to me? Like he was holding back or something. After that I noticed him at work more, and I saw how he flirted with a lot of the hostesses and was generally loud, funny, and charming around his friends. But whenever I came around hed be really quiet and seemingly on edge, wouldn't say anything at all to me, but sometimes I'd catch him staring at me. Every time I'd notice he'd quickly look away and go back to what he was doing. Him being so nervous made me nervous too, because I'd overthink the whole situation, so I'd be too shy to say anything or do much more than steal glances as well. Fast forward a couple weeks, and my sister and I were going to a small get together at one of our new pals house. Since we'd only been making friends with his friends he was there too, and we were both pretty tense at first. I ended up drinking, so did he, and after that we basically hung out and talked all night. Sort of a relief, I thought maybe he actually hated me or something, but apparently he was too tense to talk to me before? He told me some things I definitely wasn't expecting that night: he thought I was very responsible, he didn't think I should like him because he got around, and at one point he even refused to look at me because "I was too good for him to look at" he was also somewhat self deprecating the whole night, which I tried to refute each time because I didn't want him to harp on himself like that, saying things like he was no good. We ended up staying there over night, and drunkenly cuddling up and falling asleep together, which I didn't mind. What I did mind is that in the morning he tried feeling me up, which I put a gentle stop to when he tried putting his hand up my shirt(I held his hand instead and he seemed okay with that). I don't want him to think of me as a fling, when he's made it clear to me that he's used to just messing around. I'd rather get to know him and date him so I of course don't want to encourage that sort of thing. I think I probably should have been more direct about it too but I didn't want to hurt his feelings or for him to take it as if I wasn't interested in him at all. I thought this was a good turning point but when we saw each other next at work it was back to how it was before, with him staring at me when he thought I wouldn't notice but making zero conversation, and me being too shy at that to do so either. I added him on social media at the party but every time I tried messaging him his responses were quick but short and sort of awkward which only confuses me further. He finally said hi to me at work after about a week and it's been a few days since. He also hid my water bottle at work and I found it without asking but I realized that he may have wanted me to ask him where it was and was using that as way to try and talk to me? We will talk briefly now and he's still really quiet and polite but most of the time it's just the weird staring thing(I try and smile at him but sometimes I'm too nervous). There's this one hostess he still flirts with and I'm not sure why he can talk to her but not me? Is he afraid to talk to me because he knows I'm not like her and I want something more serious than just messing around? Does he just not like me after all? Sorry if this is really long I'm just so confused about it all. @librattarius

#long post #personal #sighhhhh

[thewritingsubpub-blog]

The Burning Empress and the Lone Stranger

Prologue: A Lonely Beginning

 On a planet called Earth there was a boy who was dissatisfied with his life, by no means was it really a horrible life, but he was rarely ever truly happy. 10 year old Siegfried Stone, lived a life which led him to closing himself off from others. He was a short lanky boy, which led him to being picked on or used by others often, his dark black hair was long for what most boys his age had, his bangs coming down into his face just above his eyes, emerald green eyes peering out from just underneath his hair. He was generally a quiet odd kid, while he wished for company to enjoy he spent most of his time alone, by his choice, he did not trust others very well and therefore didn’t spend time to build up that trust. And his complicated relationship with his parents and friends didn’t help the young man at all.

His father was an outstanding man in every conceivable way you could think, brilliant, strong, hard-working, kind. His tall stature, calm generous nature and strong athletic build often painted a picture of the perfect man to those around him and his incredibly bright existence shed a harsh shadow over the young boy, causing him to despise the kind and quiet man. Though Sieg held a quiet hatred for his father in a lot of ways he also admired him and held him as a personal hero, a goal to aim himself toward. He would often try to help on projects in any way he could, so that some of that light would perhaps pass onto him. However the reason for his hatred for his hero came from the harsh criticisms of his mother.

His mother was a harsh but loving woman, always ready to point out his faults and compare him to his father’s ability, never letting Sieg forget for a moment that he was not good enough and while it was her own way to push her son towards greatness he just couldn’t understand it. This often led to massive shouting matches between the two, it didn’t matter to him that his mother was amazonian in height and quite scary. The two were just hard headed enough to fight sincerely at the start of almost every day. However the two did still love each other greatly and oft forgave each other the next day. Despite her loving heart and sincere want to see her son succeed it was not much comfort for the fragile hearted boy.

In elementary school, his only friends were his bullies, only ever spending time with him because they knew they could pin him as their fall guy and get away scott free with their mischief. There was Dom, an odd but brilliant boy who often shot snide, deriding remarks at the youth. Jayden, the leader of the group, who would throw Sieg into messy situations with little help once he was caught. And then Matt who quite simply would treat him like dirt and trick him to doing things he didn’t want to do. Then there was his actual bully, Hunter, who would send Sieg home everyday with big bruises, new aches and pain to soothe before he made them worse the next day. Even the school itself treated him unkindly nearly expelling him several times for things he didn’t do, or even just acting like a kid. And even after his mother pulled him out for his own safety he felt completely alone, stuck in his house, a subject under the rule of his mother.

So he took to games to find his solace, he fell in love with games like Golden Sun and Legend of Zelda. He would play his ever growing collection over and over till he knew the game inside and out and he daydreamed of what it would be like, living in these worlds free to explore and adventure. He wished to be a hero, to be worth something, rather than stuck in his dim room hiding somewhere, preferably the closet, and only getting an outsider's perspective. One of the games he loved the most was Pokemon, he would carefully choose his team out of the available pokemon in the region and would enjoy what story was there. As well as wish he was there, he thought constantly to himself how they wouldn’t reject him, they wouldn’t leave him to rot in his hell of loneliness.

He thought this same thing to himself one day after a particularly grueling day of schooling. “Why can’t she just see things from my point of view?” he thought aloud. “I mean I may love history, but I can’t see why screaming over it will help me learn it any better.” He grumbled while holding his head in his hands. Getting up to stretch his legs he walked over to his bedroom door, peering out to see if his mom was still steaming at him. He quietly crept out of the doorway and into the main area, with one quick sweep from right to left he could see the living room, the galley kitchen, and the den. His eyes focusing on the den, he saw his mom watching TV while folding some laundry she had apparently done while he was sulking in his room. Pocketing his game-boy SP with his copy of Pokemon Emerald inserted into it he carefully walked over to his mom, gauging if she was going to yell at him some more or regard him sweetly.

He entered the den just behind the couch and announced his presence to her, figuring that she had cooled down by now. “Hey mom ca-” before he had even finished his question she screamed bloody murder in her own fright, she had been so focused on her task she hadn’t noticed young Sieg walking in. Stunned himself he gave a quick yelp of both fear and surprise, giving a small jump as well. Before his mom could even try to work herself into a tirade about how stupid it was sneaking up on her like that, though he didn’t try to, he gave a quick apology to her and asked his question. “Mom can I go rollerblading? I want to get some fresh air, maybe think for a while.” Breathing heavily his mom half yelled half heaved out, “Yes, fine, just get out of here before I change my mind.” Seeing his chance he fled like the wind, strapping on his skates, hooking up an Ipod to his headphones and went flying out the door and into the chilly Fall weather outside.

For him it was his one chance to be free from all expectations and loneliness, letting his imagination run wild young Sieg would pretend he was anything from a swordsman with supernatural superpowers to a detective in a steampunk world. He had a route he would usually take around his neighborhood that gave him about 2 hours time to himself, at his current speed. Taking in the sights around him he first passed by his elementary school, which a short three years ago his mom had pulled him from because he was always bullied. He pushed the thought from his mind, zipping around the building in a practised motion and continued on. The next place of note for him was the hill within the conjoined neighborhood next to his own, soon it would be covered in snow and he would ask his dad to take him sledding on it. He gave a small smile from the thought of playing in the snow, maybe meeting a friend for the day and having fun. But before long he left as soon as he came and continued to the park with a small creek running down the center. Here he and a few friends he had not seen in a long while would go out to hunt for Easter eggs, they never won, but it was still a fun pastime.

Taking a small break on the benches there he pulled out his SP, sure it wasn’t the best console he had by far but it was the one he could take out on these blading trips to relax by himself for a while. He began to play some more of his Emerald Version when a little question wandered it’s way into his mind, what would it be like to be a pokemon trainer? He figured it would be amazing, to be absolutely free from anything aside from you, your pokemon friends and the vast wild between towns. He felt that if he was a trainer he really could be one of the best, sure he never caught them all, but he felt raising a tough team you could trust was the better way to go. To him as was most any young player of Pokemon the most important Pokemon to him was his favorite starter, not necessarily his first. His Torchic played a big role in any playthrough after his first one with a Mudkip, it would always come in as “the big guns” if any of his pokemon were fainted and he felt done with the fight. After a good while playing he decided it was time to head back home, as much as he liked to be outside he really didn’t want his mom to blow up at him for another hour just because he didn’t come home soon enough. He quickly passed by a second school in his neighborhood and headed straight home fast as he could and before to much longer he was at his own front door ringing the doorbell to let his mom know he had come home.

His house was quite the interesting sight, it was a ranch style house with a large window in front, courtesy of replacing three smaller bay style windows the Mom simply hated with all her heart. The red brick of the house gave it a rather charming and slightly rustic look, the numbers on the sign which gave the house it’s precise location stood out from the back greenish metal and glistened like well polished brass. The two trees in front, an Ash and an Elm, gave the front yard plenty of shade and gave Sieg something to climb onto and play on in the front yard. The dogrun on the south side led to the backyard and the first thing you’d see is a great big Cottonwood tree, shading half the yard. A rope hung off of a particularly long branch and he would often take the rope and climb the boulder adjacent to the tree and swing from it to the Cottonwood while trying to perform tricks on it. Then there was a small grove of Aspens that grew just north of the rock with the Plum tree just nearby. If there was any tree in his house he hated it was the pine tree in the north east corner of their backyard, it was ugly, gross and the sap it dripped constantly was nearly as tough as hardened cement. If it got stuck in your hair you had to cut it off. If it got on your shoe throwing it out was the only thing you could do, if it was his decision he’d cut that tree down and put a new better one in it’s place, like a cherry tree, he liked cherry trees.

The first thing he saw through the door was his mom giving him a stern glare, he knew he was in trouble again, just not what for this time. As he settled into his home, took his skates off and sat down he waited for the volcanic lecture that was soon to come. While most kids would try to hide he knew it was no use, his mom knew every spot he could hide in and it would just lead to a longer lecture.

“You know damn well that you shouldn’t sneak on me like that! I almost died of a heart attack right there, you do this on purpose I swear, you just want me to die so you can play your crappy games all day! Well not today mister I’m taking it.” It had been a few hours since he had gotten home and his mother had been lecturing him the entire time, he felt bad for scaring his mom, really, it wasn’t his fault that he walked quietly. “What? My SP?!  Why? I did nothing wrong! It was an accident Mom I swear!” Sieg begged his mom not to take his SP to no avail, deep down he knew that once his Mom had decided on a punishment there was no if’s and’s or but’s, so sulking back into his room he closed the door to get some alone time and visit his friends in the next readily available medium, books.

He had read most of his books several times. Enough that he felt like he belonged in each story, like he knew every character and they were his real friends. He dug into some Harry Potter again, his Mom may have grounded him from one magical adventure, but he was not going to be weaseled out of his escapism so easily. Before he knew it the clock had chimed six times and without knowing, he had passed time away till dinner.

He set down his book peeked out of the door and saw his Mom and Dad greeting each other in the entryway and walked out of his room waiting for dinner and to try and watch some TV. He had hoped that he could get away with watching some Nightmare Before Christmas, as he particularly loved watching any of Tim Burton’s delightfully twisted creations, but no dice his Mom had wanted to watch the news, and in this house his Mom was Queen. So he slunk back to his room to grab his book and read it out in the living room, despite the TV being on the living room was still quiet enough to read, but when his Mom called for dinner time her could hear her loud and clear.

He heard his Dad talking about some massive problem that his Company had him working on and while on the outside he appeared proud and awed at how brilliant his father was, the darker recesses of his mind wished his dad was normal, because without any effort he had outshone his own best effort, his Mom quickly stating how Sieg ought to be more like his father, hard-working and thoughtful, Sieg just grumbled some unintelligible reply that sounded vaguely like, “Yes Ma’am.” She let the grumbling slide this time, since she seemed to be in a better mood after his Dad came home, ‘Thank the Lord’ he thought, and happily returned to his reading waiting patiently for a good home cooked meal. “Dinner time guys!” Mom had called the guys into the kitchen to grab their food, the dinner was pork roast with rice and broccoli, one of Sieg’s favorites. And after they had grabbed their food everyone went to their normal places: Sieg slunk off to some part of the house so he could read and enjoy his meal in peace, Dad had returned to his computer to continue working and when he was finished he’d surf the web and finally Mom was watching the TV since her favorite show at the time came on around this time sitting on the couch in the Den.

Once everyone had finished their meals they went to wind down and get ready for bed, young Sieg took a shower and started to wash up, Mom in the meantime had started putting some dishes in the dishwasher and Dad had started to brush his teeth. At nine o'clock it was time for our young protagonist to go to bed, however just like most every night he didn’t plan on sleeping anytime soon, partially because he wasn’t tired, but also because he had to have some level of rebellion and this was his way of undermining his Mom’s authority. She wished him good night and the young man listened till he heard the door close and saw the lights in the house go off. And thus young Sieg began to sneak around the house looking for his SP.

He silently slunk through the entire house trying his best not to make a sound lest he be in even bigger trouble than he was before. Quietly checking drawers and cupboards for where she might have hidden his game system. Eventually he found what he was looking for in his Mom’s personal drawer located in the kitchen close to the master bedroom door. Sieg lifted the system as quietly as he could, making sure not to disturb his two slumbering parents as the console lifted free he quietly slid the drawer back into place and slunk back into his room, prize in hand. As he made it back to the safety of his room he snuck a peek back to make doubly sure he’d gotten away with his game system undetected. Satisfied by what he saw he then quietly shut the door and nestled himself in bed, hiding underneath the blankets for the best warmth.

After a few hours of play and getting rather far into the game Felix ends up curling up and passing out on his bed his SP still on and the last words quietly leaving his lips were, “I wish I could be in the Pokemon world, I’d be much happier and less lonely there.” And with that he drifted off into a blissful slumber, hoping for a happier day ahead tomorrow.

#fanfic #pokemon #prologue #first attempt #The Burning Empress and the Lone Stranger

[knight-otu]

After Action Report - Known Unknowns, by Brendan Patrick Hennessy

Over several sundays in May, June, and July, Clubfloyd played the Twine game Known Unknowns.

Known Unknowns is a Twine game, meaning it is played in a web browser - you click on links representing your decisions, and the page changes in response. This means browser games are not something the Club can normally play - someone has to paste the content of the page to the mud. This was done by the organizer of the club, Jacqueline.

The game

ANJA: Hey Kaz. (She looks around.) ...I thought you said you had that newspaper thing tonight. YOU: This is the newspaper thing. ANJA: ...Wow, Nazari. Some turnout.

Known Unknowns, released in four chapter throughout 2017, is set in a modern-day Toronto, with some supernatural elements. The protagonist, Nadia Nazari, is the editor of the school newspaper along with her friend Kaz, struggling with keeping the newspaper alive, her social life, and strange happenings in the closed off north wing of the school. Navigating these treacherous waters is the drive here.

From here on, there will be spoilers. If you wish to play the game, you should avoid reading on.

The play

YOU: Hi Dramas. COOL DRAMA: Actually I think the "drama" this week is you.

Known Unknowns is divided into four chapters. Naturally, we started with the first, which takes us three years back from the main story. In that flashback we shortly meet Nadia's friend Summer on the day their friendship shattered - for as of yet unknown reasons. The flashback ends with Summer fleeing our home making weak excuses, but what exactly happened remains unknown for now - unknown, but guessable.

Back in the present, we are introduced to our newspaper proplems, our co-worker Kaz, and their sister Anja (who instantly fails to make a friendly introduction.) Soon after, we are introduced to the supernatural elements of the world, as purple smoke pours in from the under-renovations north wing and we run into a strange raccoon that Kaz is certain is a ghost, and that speaks in emoji (yes really). Maybe that ghost thing is something for our newspaper?

[clubfloyd] Jacqueline says, "I have not been telling you about the images." [clubfloyd] Jacqueline says, "But you all should possibly know that Annette is wearing a witch hat."

The next day, the hunt is on. Not for ghostly raccoons, though. Nadia wants to hunt for Summer, who, as we previously learned, has returned to our school, and is now friends with Anja. She wants to make up (or, as we quickly decided, make out) with Summer over what happened a few years ago. Naturally, we tried to avoid that - it felt far too much like an unhealthy teen obsession...

... and surprisingly enough, the game allowed us to tarry, meet people (such as Jayden, who in turn is unhealthily obsessed with us, Allen, our boyfriend, Marc Sherbourne, a teacher way too obsessed with appearing to be in line with student culture, Annette, the asexual witch, Olivia Kwon, an ice skater who for some reason we always call by her full name, Docteure Rouillé, who refuses to sully the French language by teaching us... you get the picture), and allowed us to not ask about Summer.

One thing we soon realized is that, when talking to people, you often only get one chance to ask something, and then the conversation moves on. As such, we often could not ask everything we wanted, such as when trying to recruit Olivia for the newspaper, we couldn't tell her that there are other jobs beyond writer, after we told her that she could be a sports writer.

MILES: And had you eaten dinner? YOU: ...Does candy count as dinner? MILES: No.

During French class, Nadia manages to further antagonize Anja by pulling her on the seat next to her in order to avoid Jayden. And the teacher forbids changing seats over the course of the year. Oops. Also, we're getting clues that Anja might not like our bisexual cooties (our words, not the game's). She does get us out of homework with Jayden, but we owe her for this.

We do meet Summer a few times, but either she flees the scene or Anja intervenes, and we do get to talk about the supernatural a few times, especially with Annette. We (and the rest of the school) also get a rather glittery party invite from some guy called Kipling, and after a fight with our boyfriend Allen, rescue Summer from a ditch, though things are still awkward.

We finally reach the end of the chapter about when we'd had to stop anyway, as Nadia confides in Kaz about what happened that fateful day, about the deep connection she felt with Summer, and how she tried to kiss Summer that day - which was what caused her to flee in the first place. Sending Allen (then just a friend of both) to talk didn't help, and Anja began hating Nadia shortly thereafter too - but Kaz is certain that their sister doesn't hate Nadia for being bisexual. They themselves are quite too excited about Nadia being bisexual, though. Next stop - Kipling's party in chapter 2.

In between sessions, I took a look at the game myself because I was curious about the portraits, and it turned out they are clickable for more info. Jacqueline then found out during the second session that Nadia actually keeps a diary of sorts that we could look at.

YOU: Ugh... this was a bad idea. KAZ: What was a bad idea? YOU: Coming here! The whole plan! How the heck am I going to work up the courage to hash out this enormous impossible situation when Summer won't even talk to me for more than three seconds???

Chapter 2 starts with another flashback (this will be the case for all four chapters), a few months before the fateful kiss. Summer dragged us to a party where Allen asked us to dance and later danced with Summer.

The chapter proper starts in Allen's home where we learn that he does not plan to attend the party. Kaz and Anja (the latter to Nadia's annoyance) come and drive Nadia to the party, where we soon meet our host Kipling who everyone loves for his drunk pool teen parties with several unused bedrooms (that yes, become occupied later). Kipling is the son of rich parents who are rarely at home.

Over the course of the party, we meet a couple new people, such as the "drama kids", see some evidence that people at least suspect that Nadia isn't straight, and we have our second run-in with a ghost, this time in human form. He apparently looks familiar, and "tells" us that we know him from the newspaper, and that his death is connected with France in some way. And... for some reason, occasionly let slip a word in emoji/ghost speech (however that works).

After witnessing a bit of awesomeness from Olivia, Annette thinks it's time for some relationship counseling, we text our boyfriend, get into a fight with him, and distractedly run into Anja and spill our drink on her. She gets annoyed by our apologies. We're not going to be friends, apparently.

YOU: You can use magic, right? So could you— ANNETTE: Oh my god! I can use magic! Nadia! You're a genius!

After a quick diversion where we try to help Annette find her phone, we meet Kaz who tries to point us at another girl at the party, which is where Jacq notices the Journal option I mentioned before. We read through it, concluding the session mid-chapter.

Starting the third session at the same point, we protest that, firstly, we have no idea whether the girl is attracted to women (Kaz is sure most people are queer, at least people they know, but can't elaborate), and secondly, that we have no idea how to hit on other people (Allen made the first move in that relationship).

After a bit of wandering, we meet back with Anja. Apparently her not hating us is too much to ask for. I think that's the point where we decided that she burned all bridges that might have possibly been mendable still. Only place left is the upstairs, where a dance party is going.

As we play wallflower, Jayden tries to talk with us, and since it's too loud, we go outside of the mansion. We try to call him a platonic friend so that hopefully he gets the signal. Nadia leaves out the all-important word platonic though (thanks a lot, game), and he makes a move. We nope away from him, send him home, and run straight into, who else, Anja. She gets on our case, sounding sarcastic when we tell her that we told him not to talk to us anymore.

Kipling offers some "sage" advice as we tell him about Anja (this is a point where we really wanted to have multiple chances to offer a topic - every single one was worth being told, really, especially the Jayden situation), and we find Kaz out back. And here we get the option we've been waiting for...

YOU: Kaz. Am I him? Am I Summer's Jayden? KAZ: What? No. Come on. YOU: Seriously. Am I just the clueless person who can't take a hint? She already rejected me once.

Kaz denies the possibility, naturally. And then, Summer enters the scene. We talk to her, offer to clear the air, and then Anja intervenes, claiming that we have already made our position quite clear. Fed up with her, we stop trying to take the high road, and after some verbal blows, she asks whether we think Summer deserved what happened three years ago, whether it is her fault, and is utterly disgusted by the idea that no one supposedly was at fault. Something isn't adding up here. What it is, we'll learn in the next session and chapter - the one where everything* we know turns out to be wrong.

*Disclaimer - Not everything we know turns out to be wrong.

Chapter three, and the fourth session, starts with the obligatory flashback, our first meeting with Anja, a month after the fateful day and before Anja starts hating us. After a few niceties and helping each other, we meet with Allen, who tells us that Summer has no interest in talking to us.

ROUILLÉ: It was a mistake to permit any of you to speak French at all. The crimes you have made against the greatest language in human history are too large for me to think of. Every single one of your presentations was a unique and horrible insult. (You stare down at your desk.) ROUILLÉ: Alors, you have a new assignment. In the same groups, you will write a letter of apology to the French language, expressing your shame and regret at having so degraded it. Now sit in silence until the bell rings.

Back in the present, I want to talk about a silly theory I had (which turned out false anyway), but history teacher Sherbourne once more proves that adults are useless in this universe as he tries to relate a historical event to... The Dress. After he assures us that he is "woke" enough that we can talk to him, we leave.

Next up, we talk to Kaz about the unpleasant things to do, such as homework with Anja, who promptly arrives and tosses said homework at us without a word. That item checked off, an unpleasant talk with our boyfriend Allen is on the list next. But first, a soothsaying/weird question session with Annette that apparently tells her that we'll have a busy week, and a talk with Kipling about his post-party despression. The talk with Allen then ends up not being a talk.

In French the next day, Anja makes us call ourself an idiot through the provided homework. Nice going. Worse yet, we have to go through this again with a different homework assignment. While complaining about Anja to Kaz, they try to remove a painting of the newspaper's founder because Nadia is too obsessed with what he would have done. It goes poorly, and they propose sneaking into the closed-for-renovations north wing with a ghost detector from the internet. Naturally, we are skeptical, but go along anyway.

For some reason that in retrospect seem silly, we decide to leave as few traces as possible. While that didn't last quite as long, we missed a few things as a result before we bump into the drama kids chilling here. After some more exploration we reach our goal, the auditorium and memorial hall, where we reach a very strong hint about the identity of our ghost summoner.

KAZ: You're hyperventilating. YOU: No that's too much air. "Hyper." Means too much. I'm hypoventilating. Look on WebMD for that.

The ghosts soon make another appearance, and as we talk, we realize that the ghost is that of the newspaper's founder, who died in France in World War I. Speaking with Kaz then reveals that we have seen and heard something entirely different from them - they are not aware that the ghost communicated, or that the ghost of the newspaper's founder was there, just the raccoon.

Our revelation is disturbed by the arrival of the ghost summoner. We film them with our phone and flee the scene. The next day after school, Annette coven-iently appears quite soon, and we show her our footage. She is clearly concerned about "our" interest in forbidden bone magic.

Right after that, Allen comes up to drive us home. And this time, the talk happens. And it reveals that Allen has been lying to us for three years. He deliberately sabotaged our relationship with Summer who, it turns out, was attracted to us. He then told her and us that each did not want to talk with the other, and when we reveal that, yes, we would have gone out with Summer had she asked, he acts as if he is the victim, not getting the idea that people can be bisexual.

After the fight and a tearful night, the school day starts oddly as people offer up either support or scorn. Yes, Allen did the scumbaggy thing of telling everyone that we're gay (rather than the correct bisexual), and even, as we hear from Kaz, that we supposedly "asked for permission to cheat on him."

Nadia is getting a panic attack, so Kaz and a new friend swiftly bring us home. To distract us, Kaz suggests that we call the local graveyards to see if they're missing bones, as those are an important part of that forbidden bone magic. After a few rather fruitless calls, we do get one last call. It's Summer. And that's where the chapter (and session) ends.

KAZ: Think about it. Our school is haunted by evil spirits and we have an exclusive on the story. It'll break huge! More readers, more prestige, more volunteers! Its win-win-win.

The flashback starting the fourth chapter takes us to three months after the fateful day, when Allen had just hooked up with us. We want to tell Summer about that, which Allen is naturally nervous about - but Summer has already transferred away, and Anja hates us now.

Back in the present, our new friend drives us and Kaz to school after we stayed home for a few days. We get reassurance from a few characters such as Olivia Kwon, who we still call by her full name for some reason, and even Jayden tries to make some amends. Annette, worried about what we may be going through, hands us a pamphlet that urges us to "Say 'no' to forbidden bone magic, and she isn't convinced by our assurances that we are doing just that and are investigating something.

After another instance of Marc Sherbourne being a bad teacher, we accompany Summer on part of her way home, give out apology candy to her. Summer assures us that she should have come to the same conclusions that we should have come to, namely that they wouldn't just abandon each other, and so they are both to blame about the same. We also learn that we didn't entirely destroy Summer's life.

Back at the school newspaper, we still don't have more people to help, so Kaz suggests checking the graveyards again - there are some that don't have a public phone number. A bit of thought narrows things down to one abandoned graveyard that's been surrounded by a highway and abused as a parking spot for construction vehicles. Seems we'll need to borrow our new friend's car to get there. That friend is a bit sceptical about our secret mission, but allows it, and schedules a day for shared homework.

At the graveyard, we do indeed find a disturbed grave, but not only we don't have a plan for that, Nadia has another panic attack. We drive home and come clean to our friend about the graveyard visit and the panic attack. The next day, she convinces us to leave our recruitment drive, which didn't go well anyway, to Kaz alone to watch some Lacrosse training together, meeting some of the players, as well as Summer and Kipling on the way. There is an overabundance of artsy skulls being mentioned by people. Soon it's the next evening, and homework time with our new friend. We go through it with the help of some shared pizza, and when we go to print it out, Nadia spies a downloaded episode of a teen series. She insists on seeing it, and we end up in our friend's dark room on her bed to watch it, though she insists that we don't disturb the watching (naturally, that promise doesn't go well, but she minds less than we expected). At the start of this awkwardness, we decide to end the session, to be concluded in a sixth session.

ANJA: I legitimately hate you.

Things progress as one might expect at the start of the final session, as the disturbing the watching turns to talking about kissing turns to us and our new friend kissing and falling asleep on her bed. It doesn't take Kaz and Annette long to learn about it the next times we meet them. Furthermore, our joint homework turns out a huge success, despite the teachers' horrible incompetence. An encounter with Allen drops the good atmosphere - he seriously asks if we hate him. Honestly, what does he think? During our next newspaper meeting, our new friend suggests telling someone about the ghost summoner. She's right, but telling her is not an option, so we go with the objection that we were trespassing ourselves. She is also worried about Nadia's health, and guess what? Our choices are deflection and denial. Since we can't tell our friend that she's right, again, we go with denial. Which reveals that we had another panic attack the day after the hookup, which we kept secret so she wouldn't worry that it's her fault. During the argument, Kaz sees the ghost summoner on some camera we had set up.

We may have the ghost summoner where we want them to be, and sneaking after them might be the best idea for both investigating and delaying them for the police. Our friend has the sensible idea of informing Summer to call the police if she doesn't check in regularly, and to pre-dial the number for the police. As we film the summoner, our suspicions from earlier are confirmed, but they also spot us and Kaz in the process. Our new friend avoids detection and hits them with a racoon, allowing us to flee through a suddenly labyrinthine north wing with sometimes really crazy directions. Once we get out, they capture Kaz, but the police also arrives and apprehends them despite their attempts to shift the blame on us. We're reminded just how useless adults are in this town as we practically have to force the police to take our statements. Summer is also there - she had called the police earlier than we wanted, but that's a good thing. Unfortunately, the investigation seems to have been for naught, as the school administration forbids release of the issue - as the ghost summoner was a faculty member. But then....

GRADE 9: Um, hey. Are you the ones who make the cool illegal newspaper?

The replay

KAZ: It says "Dear Sylvie, do you want to go to the grad dance with me?" And there are boxes for Yes and No. YOU: Which one did she pick? KAZ: Neither. (They hold up the paper.) She drew a house on fire.

After we finished the last chapter, I decided to do a quick replay to see how much the choices we are being offered actually matter. How much can the story change?

My findings were interesting, I feel, At times I got text that we did not see during our initial play that could have made, for example, our relationship with Anja even worse, sometimes the texts were not particularly different, especially when it came to the chapter enders. There were no true branches that I found beyond one possible one below, but during exploring, I found some optional encounters (such as Annette being sick in the bathroom during the party) and an alternate route through the north wing in chapter three (and what might be even sillier directions through the same building in chapter 4).

I do think there is one big potential branch I did not take (and thus cannot verify), but I may have gotten the option to reject the hookup near the end (and possibly even in a soft way or a harsh way). It being near the end does mean that it's easier to write a branching story here, but it does mean that there are a number of scenes that either can't happen or have to happen differently if it's the case. I probably should do a second replay to see whether it does branch out.

In conclusion

Operation Make My Ex Best Friend Hate Me A Little Bit Less is moving forward...

I found Known Unknowns to be an engaging story with a number of rather frustrating portions. The first one was Nadia's obsession with Summer, and her inability to see that she is, to all appearances, Summer's Jayden. Even when it turns out that Nadia and Summer were deceived by Allen, it still reads as an unhealthy obsession. The second one was that in conversations, for each branch we could only get one option. In most cases, this was actually fine and made the flow of conversation seem more realistic, but there were a number of cases where it was really grating, especially during the party.

The third big thing was when the sensible option was simply missing. At one point, we had the option of going out for a smoke with Olivia, or ask her about Summer - drugs, or obsession? Turned out it was normal cigarettes, but still. Worse the situation with our new friend at the end of chapter four when we couldn't tell her she was right, twice. Surely even with these options, the story could have proceeded as it did - the ghost summoner was coming up anyway, and we'd have gotten the satisfaction of making the right choice.

A particular point of contention was the emoji speak of the ghosts. I don’t think anyone liked them. I skimmed them personally, even during the replay where I saw them as intended (on the MUD, they appeared in the form of “newspaper emoji”, which didn’t help matters either). I’m sure they made sense on paper - they’re described as a sort of emotional, mental communication after all - but we mostly just made fun of them when we weren’t annoyed by them.

The game has a large and diverse cast. The most important people do get a portrait with supplemental information, but not all of them. Parts of the game do seem like a love letter to diversity and nonbinary people, though Jacq did note at some point - "I (do not) like how it only lists orientation if it's not-straight". In the end it turns out, those really are what Nadia knows, and in some cases, Nadia doesn't know something very important. The large cast and the need to split the game over multiple sundays had some unfortunate side effects - some of the weeks managed to blur together to where we weren't sure what happened when, and we managed to forget things. As an example, between session one and two, I completely forgot who Annette and Jayden were (and Annette is probably among the most memorable NPCs in this game.) It probably didn't help that we played American Angst in-between, but that's not much of an excuse.

The game did manage to make many of us care about many of the NPCs in the intended way - we disliked Anja about right when she entered the scene, took pity on Allen when we still thought that he was the rebound. Near the end, we discussed for quite a bit whether to ask Annette about our findings - she might have been in on the ghost summoning, or she might put herself into danger investigating on her own. (That scene actually raises another branching possibility - the scene might be what triggers her giving us the pamphlet, which in turn plays a role in the final confrontation with the ghost summoner - if it is, what takes the pamphlet's place in the confrontation? Or does Annette put 2 and 2 together from our other investigations and still gives us the pamphlet?) Even the ghost summoner is not a mustache-twirling villain per se - they are not good people, but they have an understandable motive.

Tropewise, Known Unknowns gleefully takes the Adults are Useless trope, and stretches it to its inevitable conclusion. The only adults that aren't completely incompetent are only mentioned in passing. Most parents are notably absent - literally in the case of Kiplings parents, who are chilling at the other end of the world, letting their son throw huge drunk pool sex parties (probably with other drugs thrown in) with the only supervision being Kipling. The teens naturally enjoy those, but it should be obvious just how questionable they are at this scale. The teachers we meet are especially bad at their job - the French teacher doesn't allow anyone speaking French, the History teacher too desperately tries to be one of the students to be an effective teacher, going so far to show "epic fail" videos in class.

Known Unknowns was nominated for several XYZZY awards - best game, writing, story, NPCs overall, Individual NPCs (Anja, Kaz, and Olivia), Individual PC (Nadia), and Use of Multimedia. Though it didn't win in any category, these nominations were definitely deserved in my opinion. Not all players were on-board with the game as much. Part of it was the parser vs choice debate that divides the IF community, and part of it was that the game did, in fact, take six sessions to complete, and patience was running thin. There was also some who felt that the characters did not feel like teenagers.

I do feel there were a few questions that remained unanswered - Was there a reason why Nadia was so sensitive to the presence of the ghosts? Did the ghost summoner actually summon he ghost they wanted, or were we right when we said that they got the wrong ghost? AND WHY IN THE NAME OF ALL GHOST RACCOONS DID WE KEEP CALLING OLIVIA BY HER FULL NAME!?

#interactive fiction #ClubFloyd #Known Unknowns #Brendan Patrick Hennessy #Twine