#but cecil is a bottom in my heart so

[norrisleclercf1]

Broken Hearts and Duct Tape

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Reader x Lando Norris

Part 7 of Our Boy Series

Rating: PG-13

Words: 2.3K

Warnings: Angst, Anxiety, Therapy, Slight fluff, etc.

Our Boy Series / Previous: Letter 1 / Next: Letter 2

Synopsis: When a current fight brings up the memories of an old fight, Lando and Charles remember a dark time in their relationship

It's the quiet mornings that have Charles's skin crawling. He's not used to it. The silence currently filling his home is not his true home, though. If you asked him 10, maybe 15 years ago, he'd say home was Monaco and Italy. Now? It's where ever his family is. Home is where Cecile and Elijah fight and wreak havoc. It's where he can find you curled up reading or Lando outside in the garage working on his cars. 

This wasn't his home. It's far too quiet. He hated it. Charles wanted nothing more than to whip his mug at a wall and scream his anger, but he couldn't. "Did you get any sleep?" Charles's back goes rigid. Lando has not spoken to him since he kicked you out of the Monaco home. "Yeah, Elijah curled into me last night." His voice muffled by the mug. "Cecile finally fell asleep," Lando murmured, leaning against the island, far from Charles. 

"Okay, let's get this over with." Charles slams his mug down, a small crack forming at the bottom. "You're pissed I kicked her out." Lando looks up, his curls still there but slightly lined with age. They were standing in the same kitchen, the exact spots they did 10 years ago. But this time, it was Charles on the other end. "Of course I am," Lando hisses, pushing off the counter. "You kicked our fucking wife out! Our wife, the mother of our children, I'm more than pissed. I want to rip your fucking head off." "Don't raise your voice. The kids are sleeping." Charles hushes, but Lando shakes his head. 

"Don't! Don't you dare tell me not to raise my voice? Charles, what the fuck were you thinking? We have always discussed this together. Why didn't you wait for me to come home?" Lando choked on the words, shaking his head to stop the emotions from bubbling up. "The moment she stepped through those doors, I don't know. All I could see was her 19-year-old self and thinking of all the lies she's told us, me. I gave her everything, and she," Staring down at his mug, he loved this mug. 

It was a Father's Day gift you got him. Still, fresh into the relationship and with a 3-month-old, you just bought it. You gave it to him as a joke, but he cried slightly. "She lied," He whispers, letting go of the mug. "Charles, she was hurt! SHE WAS 19!" Lando roars. "Daddy?" Charles and Lando whip their head to the stairs, Elijah and Cecile staring at them with fear and anxiety. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Lando whispers, reaching out for Cecile, yet Elijah pulls Cecile back. 

"Cece, go upstairs to my room. Yeah, we can talk in a few." Elijah whispers. His sister doesn't answer, glaring at him as she walks up the stairs. "We'll, we'll be upstairs," Elijah whispers, taking off. "10 years ago, that's how long it's been," Lando whispers. Charles flinches, staring at the kitchen door, the wood still damaged from that night. "You're doing the same thing to her like you did to me," "That's not the fucking same. Never, ever compare these two situations again." Lando glares at Charles, scuffing. 

"Please, you kicked me out the same way you kicked her out." "YOU CAME HOME DRUNK! Fucking Christ Lando, you," "No, no, I know exactly what happened that night," Lando whispers, "You don't have to remind me." 

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

10 years ago 

"He's still not home?" You feel like crying, holding your 1 year old sick with a horrible fever. "No, I don't know where he is," Charles whispers, pulling you in as you bounce, Cecile screaming her head off. "Find him, Charles, please." You beg, trying to calm down Cecile. "Okay, I'll be back." He whispers, kissing your forehead. 

Walking down the hall, he stops, pushing Elijah's door open, smiling when he sees his 6-year-old boy sleeping. Holding his teddy bear dressed as Lando. Closing the door, he flicks on the stairs light, freezing when he hears the rattling of the kitchen back door. Bending down, he grabs the bat. He raises it but stops seeing the familiar bright orange and curls tumble into the kitchen. 

"Alright, here we are." "Carlos?" Hitting the light switch, Charles's teammate Carlos and his husband disheveled state. "Hey, Charles. Lando, um," "Go home, Carlos," Carlos cleared his throat. As Carlos pats his friend's back, Lando hunches over the kitchen island and leaves. "Where the fuck have you been?" "Hav, ugh, having fun." Lando slurs, the rage in Charles building more. "That's it." Charles yanks open the fridge door, grabbing an ice-cold water. Cracking the lid off, he moves, pouring it all over Lando. 

"Oh god! What the fuck?" Lando yells, now sober enough to remember this. "You're a mess, acting like you're a child." Charles spits, tossing the empty bottle into the sink. "Screw you. I was having fun, Charles." Lando takes a deep breath, trying to stop the nausea. "Y/n and I have been calling you for hours, Lando. Cecile is sick." Lando's head snaps up. "What? Is she okay?" Lando moves to go upstairs, but Charles steps in front of him. 

"What are you doing? Get out of my way." "No, you're drunk." Charles pushes him back, not hard, just to get him back up. "You smell of a club, liquor, and probably cheap ass," "I wasn't with anyone else. Just Carlos." Lando whispers. "I don't care! We have children, Lando. A wife, in case you forgot, a fucking husband as well." Holding up his hand, Charles shows Lando the ring on his finger. "I didn't forget, but maybe I don't want to be trapped." 

Stepping back, Charles feels like the ground has swallowed him whole. "Trapped? Is that what we are to you? A cage?" Charles's chest starts to heave up and down. His anxiety ramping up more now. This can't happen now. Charles can't have an anxiety attack now. "No, I didn't mean it like that," Lando whispers, reaching for Charles. Lando always knew when Charles got anxious, holding his hand always grounded his husband. 

"Don't," Charles pulls his hands out of reach. "For almost 6 months now, you've been partying, drinking, god knows what else. Also, you don't talk to me anymore, only Carlos." Charles can't help the venom that drips off of Carlos's name when he says it. "Charles, I love you and Y/n. Please, can we not do this tonight?" Lando asks, stepping to the side to go upstairs, but Charles shoves him back. 

"Are you cheating on us?" This was colder than the water, sobering Lando fully now. "No." Charles stares at Lando. This was not the man he fell in love with. "You're hiding something from me, from us. Yet, Carlos seems to know what it is." "Charles, don't do this. Not tonight. Cecile is sick." "No, we're doing this now. What are you hiding?" Charles pushes, Lando starting to grow annoyed. "GOD DAMMIT! Mercedes offered me a seat, OKAY. And I took it without a second thought. I took the fucking seat. And right now, I hate myself because I said yes without even thinking of you, the babies, or our wife!" Lando roars, Charles's eyes wide. 

"When?" Charles whispers, looking down at his feet. "What?" Lando sighs, pulling on those curls, a sign he was stressed. "When did this happen? Because I remember we always said we'd decide this together, and you didn't even think about us? Do you even want to be married to us? You spend all your nights away drinking and come home lying, saying you've been with the McLaren team and all went for drinks. But you're not. You're lying." Lando looks away, unable to look Charles in the face. 

"I regret it, Charles. God, I know I shouldn't have said yes. But this is Mercedes." "No, no, you don't get to do that. You'll have to move. Go back home to London. Did you even think about me? My family, our family is here. This is where we decided to raise the kids. And now you're saying, fuck all of that, I rather have a Mercedes seat." "You're telling me you wouldn't have done the same thing?" Lando's anger grows with each ticking minute. 

"NO! Because I love our family! I value you and Y/n, but you clearly don't. Like you said, we're a fucking cage keeping you locked down. So you know what," Charles laughs, grabbing his ring. "No, no, don't, Charles, please. I'm so sorry." Lando holds Charles's hand, stopping his husband. "Don't take off your ring, not the one I gave you, please. I love you." "Clearly not, because right now, I regret marrying you." Charles gasps, his world spinning as his anxiety and fears grow too much for him to handle. 

"You don't mean that." Lando whimpers, Charles shoving his hand off. "I do! What you've done, I mean, I get it. But Lando, you have a family. How could you do this?" Charles laughs, playing with the ring on his finger. "Selfish, I was being selfish. Please just don't do this." Lando begs, ready to drop to his knees. "Get out. I want you out of this house." Charles whispers. Lando drops his head, tears falling from both men as Charles bolts up the stairs. The only signal that Lando left was the slamming of the door and wood splintering everywhere the following day. 

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

"Every time I fuck up, I worry you'll kick me out again. Take off your ring again, and you," Lando takes a deep breath. "Have you been attending your therapy sessions?" Charles's jaw ticks. He hasn't. "Charles, you haven't been going, have you? Baby, you know you can't mess them." Charles stares at his mug, all the emotions coming up. "When I first went, you wanna know what the Doc said?" "What?" "That when I'm faced with abandonment, I lash out; I did it again." Charles laughs. It's all he can do to stop himself from crying. 

"Charles, call your therapist," Lando whispers, sliding his phone over. "I can't because the only number I want to call is her." He can't hold it anymore as his lips wobble, the sob breaking. "Charlie." Lando rushes over as Charles slides to the floor, Lando holding him. "What have I done? I broke our family." Charles sobs, Lando pulling him into him. His arms are wrapped tight as Charles hides in his husband's chest. "I hurt you, I hurt Y/n. I'm the reason, I'm the," "Shhhh, it's okay. You're okay." Lando whispers. 

"It's all in the past. It all worked out. Look at us, Charles. We have two gorgeous children living here in Monaco and London. We did it. We can do it again." Charles's chest rattles as he sucks in a breath. "I said such awful things to her. I'll never blame her if she doesn't come back." "She'll come back, but we'll get our asses kicked." Charles laughs, Lando, joining him. 

"Dad? Pa?" Sniffling, Charles stands up, wiping his eyes and nose quickly. "Yea," His voice cracks. Lando giggles as Charles smacks him. "Yeah, Ducky?" Elijah steps out from the stairs slowly, and Charles hates that when he looks at Elijah, now he can see Nico. But Charles shakes it off because Elijah has Charles's drive, Lando's humor, and stubbornness.

"Um, Mama, she didn't want me to tell you, but Mama left me something." Holding out his arm, Lando welcomes Elijah into his side. "What did she leave you?" Lando asks, kissing Elijah's temple. "Before that, um," Elijah pulls back, fiddling with his fingers.

"You're my fathers. You raised me. Pa, you're the one who started to call me Ducky first. It's a stupid nickname from a stupid duck towel I loved as a kid. Dad, you shaped me to be the driver I am today, and I'll never say thank you enough. Pa, you taught me the piano, and that's our thing. Dad, you're always there when I'm sick, even breaking me out of school to go Karting." Elijah sighs, tears all gone. 

"Nico did none of that. He wasn't there. And Mama never knew why he truly left, but that doesn't matter. Not to me. I had two wonderful fathers. I don't need a third, just you two." Lando smiles, pulling Elijah into a hug. "You're grounded," "Lando," Charles sighs. "No, he is. He ran off into Monaco during a GP weekend. Grounded, 3 weeks. No phone, gaming, or karting. Unless it's for official business. You ever do something like that again, and your ass is fried. Got me." Elijah smiles, nodding in agreement. 

"That's fine," "Now, what is it your mother left you?" Charles asks, looking at his mug and seeing a crack. "Damn, your mug is cracked, Pa." Elijah mumbles, grabbing the mug, "It's fine, nothing duct tape can't fix." Charles grabs it back, cradling it almost. "Right," Taking a breath, Elijah pulls out a stained envelope with your name written. "She said that Nico left a letter for her at their old apartment. She never opened it, and I want you two here with me when I read it." Elijah stares down at Nico's handwriting, wondering what might be there. 

"Are you sure? I'm sure it's private." Charles asks, standing at his son's other side. "Yeah, I want my parents here to discover why he left. I don't know how I'll react, and honestly, I think you two need answers as well." Charles looks up at his husband, grabbing his hand and kissing the ring he gave Lando. "Open it. Let's find out why the bastard left." "Dad," "Lando." Lando just smirks, shrugging his shoulders. 

"Okay, well," Elijah opens it, the paper crinkling as he pulls the letter out and starts to read. 

"Ducky, don't be alarmed at the empty apartment. I'm coming back," 

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[fashiondisastertournament]

🎉The bracket is here! Round 1 Group D concluded! + Round 1 Masterlist

The 64 fictional characters who will compete for the title of the Worst Dressed have been now selected. Thank you once more for your nominations! ALL VOTING WITHIN ROUND 1 HAS NOW CONCLUDED

The bracket is super tiny on Tumblr, so here are the matchups in text format, divided into 4 groups (A, B, C, D). Groups A & C have all the frequently nominated characters in them, while groups B & D exist to give a chance to those characters who were nominated only once but in a particularly convincing way or who just look exceptionally Disastrous! All matches have been randomized - but I made sure to put the two most frequently nominated characters on two different sides of the bracket, not to worry ❤️

ROUND 1: MATCHUPS & MASTERLIST

Group A (popular nominees; top left of bracket) VOTING CONCLUDED

Matchup #1: Taako (The Adventure Zone) vs Trexel Geistman (Stellar Firma) -> Trexel wins!

Matchup #2: Sanji (One Piece) vs Franky (One Piece) -> Sanji wins!

Matchup #3: Hunter (The Owl House) vs Harrier du Bois (Disco Elysium) -> Harrier wins!

Matchup #4: Raikou Shimizu (Nabari no Ou) vs Goro Akechi (Persona 5) -> Raikou wins!

Matchup #5: Kanatsun (Entropic Float) vs Leon (Pokémon) -> Leon wins!

Matchup #6: Konoha (Kagerou Project) vs Rui Kamishiro (Project Sekai) -> Rui wins!

Matchup #7: Pannacotta Fugo (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) vs Sora (Kingdom Hearts) -> Fugo wins!

Matchup #8: Sock (Welcome to Hell) vs Midoriya Izuku (My Hero Academia) -> Sock wins!

Matchup #9: Shigeo Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) vs Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) -> Cecil wins!

Group B (special chance; bottom left of bracket) VOTING CONCLUDED

Matchup #10: Gamzee (Homestuck) vs Tidus (Final Fantasy X) -> Tidus wins!

Matchup #11: Pico (Newsgrounds Museum 2 version) vs Hecatia Lapislazuli (Touhou Project) -> Pico wins!

Matchup #12: Alear (Fire Emblem: Engage) vs Captain Agent 3 (Splatoon 3) -> Alear wins!

Matchup #13: Mineta Minoru (My Hero Academia) vs Dr. Andre (Inside Job) -> Minoru wins!

Matchup #14: Wiggle Wigglebottom (Bugsnax) vs Tighnari (Genshin Impact) -> Wiggle wins!

Matchup #15: Daredevil/Matt Murdock (Marvel 616) vs Tingle (Zelda) -> Tingle wins!

Matchup #16: Lesley (Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared) vs Shouta Aizawa (My Hero Academia) -> Lesley wins!

Group C (popular nominees; top right of bracket) VOTING CONCLUDED

Matchup #17: Gabriel Agreste (Miraculous Ladybug) vs DIO (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) -> Gabriel wins!

Matchup #18: Satan (Obey Me!) vs Naruto (Naruto) -> Satan wins!

Matchup #19: Teru Hanazawa (Mob Psycho 100) vs Leonardo (Rise of the TMNT) -> Teru wins!

Matchup #20: Neku Sakuraba (The World Ends with You) vs Julian Bashir (Star Trek) -> Julian wins!

Matchup #21: Nanashi (Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse) vs Rex (Xenoblade Chronicles 2) -> Rex wins!

Matchup #22: Ex (Puyo Puyo Tetris) vs The Sixth Doctor (Doctor Who) -> Sixth Doctor wins!

Matchup #23: Quark (Star Trek) vs Harper Finkle (Wizards of Waverly Place) -> Harper wins!

Matchup #24: Kusuo Saiki (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K) vs Zaphod Beeblebrox (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) -> Zaphod wins!

Group D (special chance; bottom right of bracket)  VOTING CONCLUDED

Matchup #25: Ryu Natsume (Paradox Live) vs Lu Yi (Dislyte) -> Ryu wins!

Matchup #26: Hannah Montana (Hannah Montana) vs Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) -> Hannah wins!

Matchup #27: Miuccia Miuller (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) vs Gonzo (The Muppet Show) -> Miuccia wins!

Matchup #28: Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way (My Immortal) vs Leviathan (Obey Me!) -> Ebony wins!

Matchup #29: Haiji Senri (Len’en) vs Dick Grayson (DC) -> Dick wins!

Matchup #30: Raizou (One Piece) vs Serizawa Katsuya (Mob Psycho 100) -> Raizou wins!

Matchup #31: Blue Sargent (The Raven Cycle) vs Ghetsis Harmonia (Pokémon Black and White) -> Ghetsis wins!

Matchup #32: Jake Sisko (Star Trek) vs Condiment King (Batman: The Animated Series) -> Jake wins!

Questions? Concerns? Complaints? Please check the FAQ under read-more for answers!

And as always... may the Worst Dressed win!

FAQ

~"How is [x] character a fashion disaster? I like their look/ they're iconic/ they look alright/ etc. etc." First of all, this is a very lighthearted competition that doesn't mean to be negative or judgmental! A Fashion Disaster can sometimes be (affectionate): in some cases there's nothing more iconic than a bit of this pizazz. I like quite a few of the looks on this list (and sometimes dress much worse) but if they have been included, this means that either: 1) they have been nominated multiple times 2) they have been nominated at least once and whoever nominated them provided a very convincing or funny explanation of why they were a Fashion Disaster (for example by pointing out one particularly bad outfit - not necessarily their main outfit!) 3) they have been nominated at least once and upon looking them up, I noticed that they tick many of the boxes that were described repeatedly in other people's explanations of what they consider disastrous: e.g. clashing patterns, excessive accessories, crocs, bad haircuts, etc. etc. In any case, every poll will come with a brief explanation of why people have been nominating a certain character! To make sure that people vote informed ❤️ ~"Why are you randomizing matchups instead of seeding?" I totally see the value of seeding for most competitions, but this one here is largely unpredictable - a lot of characters got the same amount of nominations, and how Disastrous they are is entirely subjective. The competition is also quite visual-based - it's about looks rather than knowing a character, so it's more likely that people will vote for an unknown character than in other competitions, which risk becoming popularity polls quite quickly. Basically: I'd simply have no idea how to determine the ranking of most contestants here for proper seeding! That's why I opt for randomized matches - but I did make sure to put the two most nominated characters on the opposing sides of the bracket. ~"Why is [x] character not included?" There was a total of 174 unique characters nominated to this tournament! If the one you were rooting for did not make it, I'm sorry! One or more of the following was likely the cause: 1) they have not been nominated more than once 2) they have not ticked as many boxes for what other people considered disastrous as some other characters with a single nomination did 3) a lot of characters have been submitted from the same source. After choosing 3 most nominated ones, I couldn't include more! The rule is max. 3 characters per source. ~"Is propaganda encouraged?"

More than encouraged! Please tag me if you make any posters/posts/try to support your faves in another way throughout the tournament, I'd love to see and reblog it! ❤️

#fashiondisastertournament #updates! #polls

[callmearcturus]

I'm honestly very grateful to this bluesite for just demolishing my flinch reactions to cunt and faggot.

/points up. That may be the first time I've ever written those words without self-censoring them. And heads up, those words are going to come up a lot in the following paragraphs.

I remember the first time I reconsidered the term faggot actually. I was still following Cecil Baldwin (of Welcome to Night Vale) on Twitter (yanno, back when twitter was a thing) and he was on a flight or something and posted that he was reading a book called Faggot Wisdom and shared some excerpts.

And my immediate mental reaction, which thankfully did not leave my brain, was "I wish you wouldn't use that term."

And that stopped me dead in my fucking tracks because wow, what the actual fuck, self? Cecil Baldwin is a faggot, that is the term he has casually used in the past, and its something that he identifies with. He's an HIV-positive gay man who has likely been through shit I cannot imagine as someone who exists in that nebulous space of having enough fame to have a following and notoriety but not enough to, like, afford the insulation that celebrities have.

That was like the literally day and moment I decided I needed to break my flinch reaction to faggot. Because the people I care about are faggots, and to some (okay, many), I am a faggot. And the one thing I know from the bottom of my fucking heart is that whoever is being called a faggot is my ally and I will defend them.

/points up. All of that was still difficult to type and I'm resisting the urge to redact some of it, but I am also a conscious human who has control of my actions, so I will not. But the important thing is that I'm not flinching anymore. I currently lack the power and confidence to use faggot casually, but maybe I will get there one day. I will not, however, shy from it anymore.

The same goes for cunt. (Context, I am an American from the South/Midwest.) I grew up with the understanding that I would never ever in my life even think of uttering the word cunt to another human being, that is was The Big Misogynist Slur as it reduces women down to their use for sex and reproduction. And I nodded along to that for a very long time, it made sense.

But these days, I have... essentially no inclination to attach the vagina to women, lmao. Everyone is a work in progress, but I am fairly pleased and at peace with how my brain doesn't really make the boobs/vag = woman connection anymore. Someone's gender is mental and emotional and maybe spiritual, and their body is just the vehicle carrying all of that around, yanno?

So the Hip And New trend of tumblr using cunt in the specific comedic way we now do has been extremely helpful in decoding that flinch reaction to the word. It's a funny word! It can convey so much so quickly! And on this hellsite, it has no gender connotation. Everyone, regardless of their biology or gender identity, can serve cunt, and that's great.

I think I have to work a bit to get to the point of uses these terms myself, but. They are my terms and they don't need to hurt me, and I don't want to give them power to hurt others.

BIG SIGH. Anyway. Just something I was thinking about.

[timemachineyeah]

I’ve talked before about wanting matchmaking in Rune Factory games because I love shipping the town together.

Which means of course as I'm playing Rune Factory 5 I am, uh, playing imaginary matchmaker.

Anyway, there are often obvious “rival” couples, (in the Harvest Moon sense - predetermined pairings) even if the game doesn’t have a rival mechanic. Like in Rune Factory 5: Beatrice and Reinhard are clearly meant to have romantic potential, at least. And basically everyone immediately clocks Priscilla and Lucy as being oblivious childhood sweethearts.

But part of the fun, for me, is to try to come up with less obvious pairings and try to find justifications for them.

So, with the caveat that I haven’t played all the romance plots (I have done Martin's and Scarlett's and just started Priscilla's) and technically haven’t finished the game (I've unlocked the floating fortress, I've just been putting off the final stretch), here’s my current Shipping The Town Together arrangement:

Priscilla and Beatrice

Priscilla wants to be swept off by a fairytale prince/ss. Beatrice is a princess who loves Priscilla’s company. They’re both naive but in opposite directions - Priscilla over-prepared and anxious, Beatrice underprepared and trusting. Both love reading, and seem to read the same genres. Send either one alone into a big city and I'd be worried for their safety, but together I feel like they'd Man Who Knew Too Little their way to the best possible outcome. They both have big hearts and intense curiosity and want to expand their worlds. I think it could be very cute.

Cecil and Scarlett

They both love jigsaw puzzles and reaching the bottom of things. The pragmatist and romantic might make a good mystery solving team. Mulder and Scully, if you will. They could work together to find Cecil’s parents and help Scarlett root out corruption in SEED. I imagine them traveling the world together seeking out urgent truths. I think they'd both bring out the best in each other and temper the worst. The kind of person who it becomes just easy and fun to be your favourite self around.

Fuuka and Martin

She loves shiny things. He makes shiny things. He cannot refuse even his least favorite gift (mushrooms) when it is given by her. She spends a lot of time at the smithy. Also Fuuka understands the value of a full belly and a warm nap, something she could teach to Martin. And he might be the most serious and reliable person in town, which given her frightening past, could be a source of feeling protected and secure for her. I can imagine Martin and her sharing a home together that somehow resembles a safe warm fox's den.

Ryker and Murakumo

One breaks buildings, the other builds them. Also, and I cannot stress this enough, this would be incredibly hot. But also I feel like they are similar yet opposite in this compelling way? I can imagine Ryker being weirdly protective of kindhearted Kumo, in that deeply satisfying way where one is the cynical aware one and protects the kindhearted open one so they can stay kindhearted and open. Ryker would love relaxing in the baths, and he'd bring the savvy where Murakumo brings the stamina and work ethic. They'd have such a unique dynamic. And also, again, they are very hot. This would be very hot.

Ludmilla and Misasagi

I never said there was a rule I had to stick to marriage candidates, lmao. Ludmilla would be such a good stepmother to Hina, don't talk to me. I'm gonna cry. Can you imagine??? Beyond that, though, Ludmilla and Misasagi are both mature complex ladies. Ludmilla would be more than capable of handling Misasagi's angry streak, in fact reveling in it (you KNOW these two would get SO kinky, lmao). Misasagi would be so protective of Ludmilla against anyone who would question a succubus' place in society. They'd make each other so happy. This would also be ridic hot.

Lucas, Reinhard, and Lucy form a mutually committed polycule throuple.

Is this born of me not being able to decide whether I like Lucas and Reinhard, Reinhard and Lucy, or Lucy and Lucas best? A little bit. But!

One of the problems I run into is that Reinhard is SO committed to Beatrice, and Lucy is SO committed to Priscilla, that whoever married them is gonna have to be comfortable with that. A romantic relationship doesn't always mean you're a person's #1 relationship, and in the case of Lucy and Reinhard, I think that's just true. Reinhard's loyalty to Beatrice and Lucy's protectiveness towards Priscilla are always going to be a major driving factor in their lives.

But I think they'd be able to respect that in each other. I think, in some ways, if Beatrice and Priscilla got together first, Lucy and Reinhard would almost happen automatically, because it would be inevitable that they'd be spending lots of time together.

So that's how Reinhard and Lucy might be comfortable with their respective dynamics, but I also like the idea of Lucas the Literal God falling in love with the knight and town tomboy, as individuals and as a pair. Lucas already loves humanity so much. He and Reinhard share an optimism and an appreciation for the simple and domestic. And Lucy deserves the kind of romantic overtures Lucas seems capable of. Even if she'd live a happy life of understanding with Reinhard that his loyalties would always be divided, I think she would sometimes secretly wish to feel worthy of being a person's first priority, their one and only. Meanwhile, I don't think Lucy's friendship with Priscilla is something it would occur to Reinhard to feel self conscious about. And I think even if it was never said, there would be a kind of understanding that in the way that Reinhard would always prioritize Beatrice (even if their relationship is platonic), Lucas would always prioritize Lucy. Lucy and Priscilla's relationship is less intense and formalized than Reinhard and Beatrice's, so it makes sense that she might feel more insecure than he would, and might need more bolstering. And I love her and want her to be spoiled.

But that doesn't mean Reinhard and Lucas wouldn't also be deeply in a very real love. Even if Reinhard isn't concerned with being anyone's #1 person, he still needs a support behind him, and one who isn't particularly concerned with needing support in return. The thing about Lucas is he seems able to, divinely, infinitely give. Which makes sense. He is a God who loves Creation and People. But he can also fall in love. With a person. Or more than one person. And that means he would never be bothered by Reinhard's devotion to Beatrice - he would adore it as just another facet of him. And he would love Lucy's loyalty to Priscilla. And he would love Lucy loving him doting on her. And he would love Reinhard coming home exhausted and making the worst food.

And they would all balance each other and love each other and they'd have a kid and Beatrice and Priscilla would have a kid and their kids would marry thank you this podcast was brought to you by WBEZ Chicago

As for me? The player character? Whomst do I fuck?

Elsje takes me on weekdays and Darroch takes me on weekends and holidays.

-

Watch me actually play Lucas's or Lucy's or Beatrice's or anyone's romance stories through and I'm just dead wrong about their personalities lol

#timemachine wuz here #rune factory 5 #rune factory #rf5 #this fandom is sleeping on darroch #everyone's all like 'why isn't Terry marriageable???' why isn't DARROCH marriagable!! with his whole swole tiddy out like that #I want him to carry me into the woods and chop me down like a tree and no i don't know what that means #this has been today's edition of: jessica thirsting for anime sprites

[luneevenfall]

Camp Nano day 24

Back to daily updates; I'm not writing very much what with balancing streaming and the fact that I'm going to a convention this coming week!

I am still chipping away at Stella and Cecil's stuff; I've been writing some nsfw with one of my ace characters that I've been really excited to write as an aroace :) I wanted there to be some more explicit ace-ness to the encounter and it's been so fun to do!

ANYWAYS, here's the excerpt:

“S-sorry.” She mumbled, steadying herself and getting out of his grip; staying near him for any more than a moment was sure to light a fire in the bottom of her heart. “I… you scared me.” “No worries. You decided to get in today? Did you get hurt?” “Ah, no, not really… just… decided to on a whim.” “I see.” He propped his arms on the edge next to her, laying his head down on top of them, his head turned to the side, emerald eyes observing her. “I… almost got caught on the way here.” “Why? Did someone go to your room?” “What? No… I… go to the hall to find the door.” “Ah.” Cecil said as if a wave of recognition hit him. “The door’s location isn’t fixed, you know. It was just a coincidence that it appeared where it did. If you try, it should appear in your room.” “Really?” “Yes. I can also materialize it in your room if I want.” This comment was followed by a near unnoticeable smirk on his face, his eyes glinting, like flicks of gold dancing among the green. “P-please warn me first…” She sighed as she buried her face in her hand, unable to look at him. The more she talked to him, the worse this feeling got; this unbearable, strong ache in her chest. Still, even then, the two of them talked for a while, relaxing in the water; she found herself not feeling so weird about being naked at the end of it. Perhaps it was his influence, or perhaps she had just started getting accustomed to it. Cecil even turned around when she got out. She looked at him quizzically. “Why are you doing that?” Stella questioned as she lifted her upper body out of the water. “Didn’t you already take a look earlier?” The tone of her voice was sarcastic as she stared at him with a frown, but without turning around, Cecil shook his head. “I didn’t.” He reassured her; she couldn’t see his face, but it didn’t sound like he was lying. “It seems that you are still bothered by this, so I won’t look if it bothers you.” “O-oh…” Stella was a little relieved, but there was another feeling; something small, slowly eating its way through her. “Thank you.” It took no time for her at all to dry, and the whole time, Cecil was at the other end of the pool, peering out of the windows, refusing to look at her. It seemed that he truly hadn’t been lying, after all. Or perhaps, he was feeling a little bashful? Something told her that he was being shy, though she had no reasonable proof.

#my ocs #original character #oc #sapphic #sapphics #lgbtq+ #my writing #camp nano july 2023 #camp nanowrimo #camp nano update #lesbian #nonbinary

[sunnys567]

Friends in Strange Places Ch. 2 Teaser

Summary: Teaser for chapter 2 of my Good!Vlad fanfic. Basically a rewrite of the scene where Cujo attacks Axiom from Valerie’s perspective.

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

"Now remember, Val, you need to be on your best behaviour." Damon said, adjusting his tie "Cecil is a very...temperamental person, and he reports to John Axiom himself, whose even more temperamental. Not that you aren't a very charming person, but if I were you , I'd just hang around politely and silently. Try to say nothing at all until he leaves if you can help it."

"Sure thing Daddy. And afterwards I can borrow your credit card to go to shopping with Paulina and Starr?" Valerie said, fluttering her eyelashes.

"You got it babygirl." Her dad said, patting her head. "Now, let's get going. Cecil will be here soon."

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

Despite the warnings from her dad, the walk and talk was pretty standard. Borderline boring. It probably would have been boring for anyone else, but Valerie kind of enjoyed them. Despite the rewards she asked for, she like to observe the business practices of the higher ups. She took careful mental notes. After all, this would be her someday, and she wanted to be prepared.

That being said, if your dad was willing to offer you a shopping spree as well as practical business insights and experience, why not take both?

Eventually they made it to the security camera room. It seemed like the ideal place to end the walkthrough; the various monitors giving a sort of feel of being able to see the whole company, everything her dad had worked on, on display on the wall.

"And there you have it." Damon concluded. "Axiom Labs is now the most secure tech facility in the US."

"I must say," Cecil actually did seem impressed with the tour "You've done quite the job here. Certainly an improvement from the smelly security dogs of the past."

"Indeed." Damon laughed amicably.

"I'm glad we had those mutts put down."

That was when Valerie noticed it. A glowing green shape flashed by on one of the monitors.

Valerie frowned. It was there and gone so quickly. Had she just imagined it?

Then it appeared on another monitor, in and out of the display again. Valerie stopped paying attention to her father's conversation with Cecil what's-his-name and watched the monitors.

The green shape flickered in and out of a few screens (yeah, there was no way she was imagining it), before finally stopping. Now that it wasn't moving, Valerie could get a good look at it.

She did not like what she saw.

It appeared to be a giant green dog. Valerie like dogs, but this dog was different. For one, it had to be the size of an elephant.

For another, this dog looked incredibly menacing. It's angry eyes glowed red, and it was growling, showing razor sharp teeth and letting green goo drip from it's bottom lip.

Valerie wondered why it had stopped moving when she noticed a smaller white glow in front of the dog. She squinted. It appeared to be a person.

This 'person' looked quite weird, though. They had snow white hair and were wearing a black body suit. And there was also the fact that they were glowing and floating slightly above the ground.

Valerie felt her heart rate speed up.

Who were these freaks? Why were they glowing? Why was there a glowing person and a terrifying dog in the basement? What did they want? How did they get inside 'the most secure facility in America'?

What were they going to do?

"Daddy?" Valerie finally piped up. Cecil looked annoyed that she'd interrupted his conversation, but her dad seemed to clock the fear in her voice "What's-" Before Valerie could get the question out, alarms were suddenly blaring and red light flooded her vision.

"Gray?" Cecil snapped "What's going on?"

"There's been a security breach!" Damon's voice was level, but there was a hint of panic in it. "A big one!" Valerie looked back at the monitors. The dog and kid were nowhere to be seen.

"Obviously! What caused the breach?"

"Does anyone else hear that?" the security guard sitting at the monitors asked. Between the alarms and Cecil and her dad's conversation (which sounded more like an argument with Damon on the defensive), only Valerie heard him.

"We can all hear the alarms, thanks!" she answered.

"No, not that! Something else!"

"What?"

"I don't know, it sounds...like an animal? I think I can hear something barking!" his eyes scanned the monitors as he spoke.

Valerie looked up to the area she'd seen the dog and gasped. On the screen she'd last seen the dog on, machines were denting and sparking as if something was hitting them, but nothing was. It was as if an invisible giant was flailing wildly around the room with a club.

"What's going on there?" she asked the monitor person, pointing at the screen. His gaze followed her finger and his eyes widened.

"I have no idea!"

At this point Jack and Damon noticed their conversation and came over to investigate. They all stared at the monitors in horrified confusion.

They watched the destruction for a few more seconds before the display suddenly turned to static then went black. Before anyone could speak, a similar thing started happening on another screen. The machines seemed to destroy themselves for a bit, metal crumpling and sparks shooting everywhere, and then that monitor went black as well.

One by one, each monitor was going out.

Valerie thought she noticed a pattern; the destruction seemed to mostly be happening to the new security implements. Keypads on the wall showered sparks, and industrial doorframes where the new sliding doors had been installed twisted and buckled in an almost sickening way. Actual projects were barely touched. Some people were running around, but they seemed unharmed.

 The alarms suddenly stopped blaring. It was a mercy on the ears, but it filled Valerie with dread, like the world going quiet when you fell beneath the ocean and were beginning to drown.

The monitors continued to turn black.

"Clyde," Damon said. "Do you have any idea what's going on down there?"

The monitor person shook his head.

"It's like your security system just decided to...destroy itself."

"Never, in all my years, have I ever seen something like-"

Damon was interrupted when a glowing teenager phased through the monitor and floated above them. He was the same person Valerie had seen with the dog.

"You have to get out of here!" he cried "It's coming this way!"

"What is?" Valerie asked. "And what are you?"

Valerie thought she saw mist come out of his mouth. It wasn't cold in here though?

"No time to explain!" he said, flying towards them.

Before she could react, Valerie was suddenly flying through the air. A cold feeling washed over her and her body suddenly incredibly light. She realized that the kid had grabbed her and her dad and was flying them through the walls of the building!

They were outside in a few seconds. The kid set her down and and Valerie felt her weight return. It was almost dizzying. He flew back into Axiom Labs through the walls and soon reemerged with the Clyde and Cecil, depositing them by Valerie before flying straight back into the building.

No one said anything for the next minute. Valerie struggled to process what had just happened. Suddenly, there was a burst of green energy and a chunk of the wall was missing when it dissipated. Valerie briefly saw their rescuer, but he quickly dived back out of sight.

They all watched as the kid flew in and out of the walls with the rest of the Axiom employees one or two at a time. Once Damon managed to come to his senses, he pulled up a digital registry to make sure all the employees were accounted for and told Valerie to call 911.

It was the most surreal phone call of her life. As Valerie dialed those three numbers, she suddenly realized that they didn't feel real, like 911 was a common trope used in stories that didn't happen to real people.

But this was real and it was happening to her, right now.

#danny phantom #dp #dp fanfic #danny phantom fanfic #friends in strange places #fisp #writing #fanfic

[marblejams]

I will finish these podcasts, mark my words. If I don’t that means I quit on one or all of them.

Update: I added two more podcasts and I dropped one because they had to stop because of personal reasons

Update 2: I added more podcasts again. Will I do this again? Maybe. I don’t know? Podcasts both don’t speak to me and speak to me at the same time 

Here’s the list:

Unprepared Casters - I finished arc one and it is everything to me.

A mutual on Twitter swears by the show 

Dice Shame -

I saw an animatic about this on YouTube so yeah 

Steeplechase - STARTING (HAD TO RESTART TWICE BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY SKIPPED THE SETUP EPISODE AND THE BEGINNING OF EPISODE 1)

QUITTING FOR NOW because my phone storage is full.

I’m on episode 5, it’s pretty rough but it will get better

Dumbgeons and Dragons but only the episodes where Kyle guest stars - SKIP

skipping this one for now

I’m going to audio drama marathon mode starting with a horror sci fi show and ending with whatever Welcome to the Nightvale is

Janus Ascending - COMPLETE

The ending is what I thought it would be. It’s a horror podcast, everyone was either going to die or go mentally insane and both happened. 

The Vesta Clinic - COMPLETE

One of my favorite podcasts so far, it’s short and sweet to the point. I like hearing about all these aliens across the universe.

Waiting for season 2 but not excepting it or I’ll hurt my heart

Starship Q Star - COMPLETE

Season 1 was great and I was kinda shocked when they said the c word but they’re Australian so I knew it was coming.

Where the Stars Fell - COMPLETE

Fun 2 seasons. Hoping season 3 is the final season, also Brian David Gilbert is Jesus next season which kinda suits him

Greater Boston - QUIT

The beginning is too boring and I feel no connection to the host whoever they are

Welcome to the Nightvale - IN PROGRESS (MIGHT QUIT) - DID QUIT

Cecil is meh but the world is interesting. I don’t understand why he’s a Tumblr sexyman, he’s so boring minus that he wants to date Carlos the scientist which he should so he can get his heart snapped in half.

Astronomica - STARTED & QUITTED

I like the concept, but the first few episodes were too slow. The player being the AI was the best part for real

Fawk & Stallion - at the bottom

Please be gay Sherlock Holmes

Intra Quest- at the bottom

iHeartRadio keeps doing limited series podcasts and they end up being pretty good. I really enjoyed Blood Thirsty Hearts and Maxine Miles. They’re making a season 2 for Maxine Miles which is fantastic and I’m excited. 

The only thing I know about Intra Quest is that it’s a limited sci-fi series and I’m waiting for it to be finished so I can binge all of it 

The Last Echos - at the bottom

I don’t know if I’ll like it because it’s going to be political and I don’t understand politics and I can’t ask for help on that.

I’m just going to hope that it’s LGBTQIA+ and cling to that

Auricle -

I know this is a sci-fi thing I just not touching it until the season is over. They need to tell me it’s over. 

Lavender Scare -

A few friends from Dimension 20 Twitter or on this but I don’t I think it’s finished. I will eventually get to it, none of them follow me on Tumblr so they can’t yell at me about it. 

Kingmaker Histories -

a YouTuber I like has this audio drama podcast 

Mansfield Mysteries -

A bunch of audio dramas I follow did a promo on it, but I didn’t listen to the promo. I’m just going in blind, not solving the mystery. I never solve mysteries; I’m not smart enough for that. 

Breaker Whiskey -

I’m pretty sure Lauren Shippin, the creator of Bright Sessions is on this and she’s a genius. 

Update

3/23/2023

Wait, I saw an out of context spoiler for Night Vale. Are there going to be other voice actors? That can’t be right, they can’t do that. I’m not attached to Cecil, I’m just shocked that they would hire more people to voice act because they doesn’t seem like their jam at all.

Update

4/13/2023

I added tags because yeah

Update

5/15/2023

I added a new podcast to the list again

8/28/2023

I actually updated this list earlier with different thoughts, but I didn’t save it because I had a the app did not save my draft so now it’s here 

9/6/2023

I replaced the old video with a new video. That broke this post for a bit but it did update properly.

This list is for me versus anyone else

#taz steeplechase #Janus ascending #the vesta clinic #starship q star #where the stars fell #welcome to night vale #wtnv #astronomica #fawk and stallion #Intra quest #the last echoes #mansfield mysteries #auricle #lavender scare #lavender scare podcast #kingmaker histories #breaker whiskey #unprepared casters

[desert-bluffs-and-me]

WTNV Quick Rundown - 25 - One Year Later

This episode marks a year since the debut of WTNV. So let's see if it's got any lore, facts or quotes of interest!

Today's opening mirrors the Pilot's, which is also touching.

The quote 'mostly void, partially stars' debuts (comes from?) here. It is related to Jeremy Godfrey sadly looking out of a window on his ruined 50th birthday at the DGBAandAFC (so...long...). It's ruined because it seems the people from under lane 5 are finally on the attack.

Carlos has decided to get to the bottom of things whilst everyone else over-reacts. Cecil really heaps on the descriptions of Carlos as perfect here, especially remarking that his hair has been 'fixed' by time. He is extremely worried about Carlos and attempts to ground himself by reminding himself that Carlos 'will' attend the ceremony he invited Carlos to in order to celebrate Carlos' first year in NV.

Carlos discovers and announces, quite triumphantly, that the city is not a huge city hundreds of miles below NV, but a tiny city about 10 feet below NV that has spent a year making spires towards the upper world which (when stood in the pit) only come up to Carlos' knees.

Carlos is then attacked by the residents of the little city, who are able to draw blood and cause him to fall. Cecil, extremely distraught, goes to a pre-recorded message (which mentions the house that doesn't exist and how scientists are offering $5 to anyone who will go up and ring the doorbell) after cursing everyone and everything for letting Carlos die. Carlos is however, fine, rescued by the Apache Tracker. He is mortally wounded doing so and dies in this episode. Cecil remarks that he is still a racist and a jerk but also a good man with NV's interests at heart. His dying words (in Russian) are "It's ok. It's ok. I knew this would happen. You can have my car."

Teddy Williams is a licenced doctor.

Carlos asks Cecil to meet him outside of Arby's. Cecil cuts to the weather to do this, which must have lasted a long time for him to go there and get back. Carlos is there in a flannel shirt and jeans, sitting on the hood of his car. He muses about how he's coming to understand NV more and how he just wanted to see Cecil. Carlos puts his hand on Cecil's knee (to communicate his affectionate feelings) and Cecil rests his head on Carlos' shoulder.

Weather: "Sunday Morning Stasis" by Joseph Fink

Cecil may have the ability to teleport, as he manages to get into the locked house of Becky Canterbury to interview her about an airliner which briefly appeared in her hallway whilst she was taking a shower and may or may not be the same one which appeared in the gym before, mere seconds after the event happened (this freaks her out considerably).

The local chapter of the NRA has begun market testing some possible new slogans. These include: “Guns don't kill people. Blood loss and organ damage does.” “Guns don't kill people. People kill guns.” “A list of things that kill people: 1. Conceivably anything. 2. Not guns.” “Guns don't kill people. We are all immortal souls living temporarily in shelters of earth and meat.” and “If you say guns kill people one more time I will shoot you with a gun and you will, coincidentally, die.” To vote on the new slogan, simply fire a gun at the object or person that best represents your choice. (fun fact, some of these are/were available as bumper stickers at the store!)

'All children in Night Vale are missing this week, so there’s no current safety issues. Hope we find them!' (lmfao)

'We understand the lights. We understand the lights above the Arby’s. We understand so much. But the sky behind those lights, mostly void, partially stars, that sky reminds us: we don’t understand even more.' (often quoted and very sweet) He then signs off as usual.

#wtnv #wtnv quick rundown #welcome to night vale #wtnv ep 25

[paintwithtears]

i’ll always be in your corner

(an in-depth case study)

again and again. yep. I know I shouldn’t compare you to others. even to someone who looks way better than you. but in fact, if there is someone who is better than you but nothing can replace the excessive feelings that I have for you, they are not better than you.

the conclusion is… you’re always the best among the best.

honestly, I don’t know where to start writing. everything about you this june is too mixed up, but somehow I love to enjoy it. there are many tears and happy me in this june because of you, Andrew. maybe because June is your birth month, or maybe because June is the month I like after my birth month (August), or maybe because June is summer. when some feelings start to blossom a lot this summer.

Andrew, I don’t know why I have this feeling that you always know when I want to talk to you. but it makes me feel too confident because i think you know all my moves. but before that, I still never thought that at that time you were suddenly in the computer lab room exactly like the little scenario I made in my head. it was the first time I was surprised and happy at the same time. although not entirely the same, but it was enough to cheer me up, who really wanted to see you that day.

next day, now i know why you were late, my guess is because you overslept. it’s always a mystery why you are late. BUT YOU ARE SO WEIRD. SCHOOL BELLS TIME AT 6.30 AND YOU GO AT 6.17???? I guess you could drop in grades for showing up late for school. but it’s always funny when we pass each other. you who just came out of the residence—which always speed in front of my father’s motorcycle. sometimes I think that one day I can sit on the red motorbike that you keep speeding on if you bring it. kapan ya???

and then, second day of revenyne. you’re not in any documentation. AND I THINK THIS IS A VERY WEIRD COINCIDENCE BECAUSE I DON’T ENTER AT THAT DAY TOO??? AND MY FRIENDS ALSO DON’T SEE YOU, MAKES ME MORE SURE IF THERE IS NO ME, THERE IS NO YOU?? nope. just kidding.

and on the same day when yafa played the piano, we met again in front of your residence. and I don’t understand why you chose the turn back direction. maybe because something is missing. then suddenly in the middle of the road I cried. I don’t know because the song I heard was sad or maybe I was just sad because I saw you that morning.

but my tears got heavier when you arrived at school exactly at the same time as me. and I cried even more when you started to enter the school area. I don’t understand why some of you are always sad for me. even though I know the answer, sometimes I choose to remain silent and be in a denial phase.

I don’t know how many times this has been, but I know for you I’ll stay.

and the day when cecil stopped you for me to take a picture with you. honestly from the bottom of my heart i have never liked your hospitality to me in front of other people because you value the people around you. I believe more in your character who never wants to respond to me because you respect your girlfriend’s feelings. but in some ways, i love it when you open up with me. more than when I chat with you via direct message.

everything about you, I always like the most deh, Dru.

although I don’t like some photos (because my face is bad on that pict), but I love to have photos where you are smiling next to me. I remember a few days ago you said on your instagram that you find it hard to smile when in photos. so this photo is a pride for me. there are many meanings because so far I have��and will always survive to love you, Andrew.

(I swear I will be embarrassed if one day you will read this.)

and the next day. (secretly I wish that my little scenarios and some of my manifestations of you that I wish could continue to happen). I imagine what it would be like if you came that day—which is a very, very quiet day. not many students go to school. then I thought it was impossible. but when I take a photo with my classmates, YOU'RE HERE! YOU COME!! I can’t hide my pleasure. and for the first time, I greet you. at school. yap. it was the first time I greeted you of my own volition. like... after more than six months of having a crush on you just dare to say hello to you?? isn’t that very strange????

aneh banget soalnya abis itu aku salting sendiri. MANA PAS MAU PULANG TEMEN KAMU SI FARIS MANGGIL NAMA KAMU. Andrew-andrew, tiga kali apa ya. AKU GAK SENGAJA NENGOK CUY. GAK TAU MASA TIBA TIBA AKU MERASA KEPANGGIL. posisinya kamu ada di deket podium, faris di basket depan ips satu tapi dia nengok ke aku anjirrrrr. PARAH BANGET.

terus pas jumat aku mau nangis. (for real). AKU GAK KETEMU KAMU SOALNYA AKU KESIANGAN??? kamu tumben kepagian… sumpah aku awalnya mau dm kamu aja tapi aku gak yakin dan TAKUT GANGGUUUU. sumpah sampe aku ngurungin niat dm kamu karena sibuk niagara.

BUT GUESS WHAT?? EVEN YOU ARE THE ONE WHO COME AT THE OPENING OF NIAGARA. it’s funny how you lead the prayer... too funny that I can’t stop laughing.

aku nggak tau kenyataannya gimana, tapi menurutku kamu selalu tau when I want to talk with you. entah gerak-gerikku yang terlalu kebaca jelas. tapi aku juga bingung kenapa kamu hari sabtu kemarin selalu ada di sekitar pos satpam. aku nggak tau dan aku yakin emang ini perasaanku aja. but you hang in there for so long. even when you choose to go the other way, a few minutes later you are again in front of me. it gave me confidence on several occasions. so after that I convinced myself to go out and talk with you.

I don’t know if it was an impulsive thought or because I wanted to talk to you. but i’m happy. this reminds me when astulan, where I also wanted to talk to you. because I’m sure in this crowd you won’t go anywhere if I’m suddenly beside you and talked with you.

aku selalu seneng ketika selesai ngobrol sama kamu. karena ngobrol sama kamu selalu jadi kesempatan yang paling aku tunggu-tunggu. jadi aku selalu mau manifestasi kamu mau ngobrol banyak sama aku. aku bukan pembicara yang baik, tapi kalo sama kamu aku bakalan berusaha apapun yang aku bisa, Andrew.

so my hope for the future. hopefully we can get closer in an unexpected way, just like how we accidentally met at the beginning of the year.

last but not least, like I always say, you can do whatever you want, whatever you like, Ndu. I will always wait for you to see me, I will wait for you until it's all over, and I will always be behind you. I’ll always be in your corner. so when you feel you need me, or when you finally choose me after you have more time, I’m always there to welcome you.

[lonely-lost-soul]

A Pirate's Life for Me

Cover Art Done By: @fridaydev-draws and @friday-dsv (Dreamsmp x reader) Pirate Au! Love Interests: C!Wilbur, C!Techno, C!Dream, C!Sapnap, C!Quackity, and C!Schlatt

~~~

Salt burned your lungs as you tossed open your window with a loud bang, the seagulls perching on your flower boxes screeched in protest and flew from your window. “Fucking sky rats get the fuck out of here you heathens!” You snarled out the window shaking your fist at the bothersome birds, the sounds of the ocean crashing on the shore filled your ears as well as the chatter of the dock workers. You let the breeze blow back your hair and you heard someone calling your name from down below.

“Good morning (Y/n)!” You glanced below you and grinned,

“Morning Eret!” They waved back enthusiastically their dress spilling around their ankles, a basket of fruit was balanced on his hip. “Opening early today? I'm sure your patrons would be happy to start their drunken stupor early,” She held a hand to his mouth snickering and you shot them a look.

“If that gets more money in my pocket then so be it, I won't complain too much.” You shrugged, “Will I still see you later tonight?”

“Always do dove, how can I resist a drink from my favorite bartender.”

“You can’t it’s my charm.”

“Will the both of you shut the fuck up!” Another man’s voice growled from another open window, “It’s too early for your bullshit.” You saw Eret click his tongue but smiled up at you despite the man's protests,

“I’m heading to the market anyway. These fruits won’t sell themselves, I'll see you later.”

“See you soon!” You closed your windows once more, but not before urging your daisies to grow one last time. You tossed open the curtains allowing light to spill into your cozy home, a small carpet was in the middle of your room. It was a deep red and the pattern was made of gold yarn, aside from that everything in your residency was made of dark wood. Your shelves were littered with books and empty cups, and your old worn journal sat open on your desk. It was filled with childhood memories and you continued to write in it to this day, it was easier then, things were simple and everything was innocent and new to you. Now your days were filled with sea fairing idiots who liked to drink themselves stupid, but you could handle yourself, you always kept your father's dagger on your thigh at all times. Those who were frequent customers knew not to mess with you and those who were new learned their lesson within the first ten minutes of meeting you. You inherited the bar from your father, a kindhearted man who died a few years before today, leaving you with the bar and the dagger you had on your hip. You fished through your closet pulling out your clothes for the day, your dress was a gorgeous light coffee color and came down to your ankles. The bottom was flared and had dark brown panels on the sides, it faded inward to a light green then back to the coffee color. The corset around your waist was a dark brown with light green trim, you tied it tight with a small huff making sure your waist was sinched perfectly. The sleeves came down to your elbows allowing you to move your arms freely while making drinks. The top of the dress ended just below your collarbone, you strapped your dagger to your thigh before lacing up your knee-high black boots.

You thought back to your tavern downstairs, you were fortunate enough that you weren’t running this entire operation yourself. You ended up hiring help and they were like family and you knew they saw you as such as well. Most of the girls didn’t have a family of their own so you gave them room and board, also money, of course, you weren’t a terrible boss! You opened the door to your room, you watched Cecil, the tavern’s mascot trot out of Juniper’s room. The border collie liked to switch up which rooms he stayed in protecting every one of your girls when you couldn’t be there for them.

The first of your girls was Adelaide or Addie, she was one of the first to fall under your care. She was around your age, a motherly type, sheep hybrid, who cared for the girls, and always gave the drunk patrons with mommy issues a shoulder to cry on. Her long brown hair always hung down her back, she typically worked tables, served food and drinks, and always got a generous tip from patrons.

The next girl was Judas, a squid-enderman hybrid who was taller than you could ever wish to be, although intimidating you couldn’t meet a kinder woman. A jack of all trades the woman helped out wherever she could, black-ish purple hair curled around her shoulders and some people came specifically to hear her sing. Her voice was like rich velvet and lured men and women in like a siren.

Juniper was after Judas, a demon hybrid who was naive but you’d be a fool to underestimate her. She worked beside you at the bar, she can make some mean fruity drinks, Eret always preferred her drinks over yours. Freckles adorned her face and shoulders, her light brown hair curled down to her middle back, purple horns sprouted from the top of her head. You wanted to adorn it with gold jewelry and you were saving up to gift some to her.

Yeti was a human woman like yourself, she didn’t bother with those who were rude or obnoxious. She kept to herself only really talking when she was spoken to or when there was an opportunity to crack a rare joke. She typically stayed on the sidelines, out of the scenes and Yeti liked to help Judas decorate her sets.

Zig was a kind young adult, they got along with everyone who came inside the tavern. Soft emerald eyes drew people in, and they tried to make sure tensions within the bar didn’t rise and start a fight. There would always be one or two that’s just natural, but one look at Zig and his magic words and they seemed to disperse, not wanting to hurt the kid’s feelings.

Vendetta was the tallest member of the group you had taken in, she was stunningly beautiful and didn't take shit from anybody. She was a guard dog if you will, making sure no one fucked with any of the girls in your tavern. While Zig did their best to keep people under control sometimes they couldn’t win. That’s when Ven would step in and ‘kindly’ escort them off the premises with or without force.

The youngest member here was Luvena. She was a moo-bloom hybrid with soft brown hair that sprouted flowers, her cow ears would twitch when she was excited and followed Addie around like she was her daughter. Addie took her under her wing and was training her to be a perfect little waitress, absolutely warming customers’ hearts. Luvena also loved to give out flowers, she was a fan favorite bringing new life into the tavern.

Cecil barked seeing his mama and scampered over to you, you poured food into his bowl as Juniper wandered into the hallway. Her head rested on the doorframe as she gave you a tried wave, “Morning (Y/n).”

“Morning Juni, We’re opening a little early today. Take your time I’m not expecting a big rush of bar patrons this early.” You assured her and she gave a sleepy nod,

“I’ll be down as soon as Ven’s out of the shower.” She yawned, “This beauty doesn’t come naturally.”

“Hardly darling you’re gorgeous just the way you are.” You reassured with a wink, Juniper flushed a little, happily laughing beside you.

“Just go wake the others will you, you flirt!”

Tossing your head back you gave a happy laugh heading down the hallway to make sure everyone was awake and ready to go for later. Addie and Luvena shared a room so she was in charge of waking up the youngest member of the tavern. Judas was already awake making breakfast for everyone when you headed downstairs, Zig was sitting on the counter beside her, they were the designated taste tester.

“Good morning Miss (Y/n)!” Zig chirped, the young adult hummed fondly, “Sleep okay?”

“Absolutely. What about you both? Thank you for making breakfast Judas.” You hummed fondly and Judas had a shy smile on her face.

“I slept well thank you.” Judas hummed softly, “Also it’s my pleasure. Want to make sure everyone’s healthy and alright.” She let out a little squeak as you wrapped your arms around her body, you barely came up to her chest,

“Judas please marry me,” You complained, “Your breakfast is always heavenly and you care for everyone. Please be my wife.”

“(Y/n)! Please.” She sputtered face turning a dark purple, Zig made a noise of protest and held his hand in the air.

“If she won’t marry you I will!”

“Zig! I’d be honored!”

Their entire face lit up with excitement and they hopped off the table to hug you tightly, you hugged them back and pressed a fond kiss to the top of their head. “I got to open up the tavern, you mind setting the table for me Zig?”

“Sure Miss!”

You sent Judas a kiss in the air which her face burned at, quickly going back to her cooking. You smiled eagerly and unlocked the door to the tavern, you shoved a bucket in front of the door to keep it open. The salty ocean air wafted through your nostrils and your eyes sparkled wondrously.

Today is going to be a good day.

Almost immediately a particular bastard caught your eye,

“You’re here early.” You mused raising an eyebrow,

“Heard you were opening early today sweetcheeks,” His voice was a low baritone, rough from years of smoking and drinking. Horns curled around his fluffy ears that stood out against his gruff exterior, he was a ram hybrid at its finest. “Figured I’d take the opportunity to get a special drink from my special girl,” He mused looking you up and down drinking in your figure. You scoffed at the retired man, he dressed like he was cosplaying captain jack sparrow, the gun’s in his belt just added to his costume and so did his large ruffled shirt, he was never one to forget his gold jewelry.

“Where’s Quackity?” You ignored him sitting him at his usual table, he frowned but you knew he was taking it as an opportunity to stare at your ass. He slid into the stool and put his feet up on the table, his boots were muddy but you could only control him so much. He was too much of a regular to get scared off by your threats and scolding.

“He’ll be in at his normal time. He’s not much of a day drinker, although can’t say I’m complaining. Having all your attention on me and all, considering I’m the only one in here. That being said, I’ll have my usual sweetcheeks.”

“Stop calling me that,” You scolded with a certain fondness that was reserved for the man. “You’re lucky you’re my favorite regular Schlatt,” you gave his ears a fond pinch and he bleated. He sent you a scalding look as you walked away, although the look soon fell as he got a good look at your ass once again.

“I’m your only regular sugar tits!”

“Schlatt feet off the table.” Addie criticized whacking his boots with a rolled-up menu, he rolled his eyes but dropped his feet to the floor. “You should know this by now, we go through this every day.”

“Yeah, yeah little lamb I’m on it. Judas here?”

“She’s always here,” She huffed spreading the menu down on the table. “Do you want your usual or something different? Should I get Quackity’s drink ready too?”

“Nah just stick with mine, for now, tell Judas I’d like to see her.”

Addie clicked her tongue and placed her hand on her hip, “fine. But if you’re just going to grossly flirt with her as you do with (y/n), then keep it to yourself.”

“You’re not the boss of me. Just because you look like an old hag-” The way she glared at him sent a chill down his spine, “shit babe take a joke will you.”

Eventually, people began to file into the tavern, as the morning faded into the afternoon and then into the evening. The tavern was bustling with life, Judas’s elegant voice traveled through the crowds and her voices seemed to float above the voices. Quackity joined Schlatt by his side seemingly irritated by a conversation they were having, Schlatt was about five drinks in at this point, which was much less than his usual, and Quackity on his second.

“What are they talking about?” Luvena asked swinging her legs as she sat on the bar beside you. Her moobloom ears twitching every so often as she tried to eavesdrop on their conversation,

“Vena it’s impolite to eavesdrop.” You scolded bopping her on the head lightly, she whined and rubbed the top of her head.

“I wasn’t!” She argued as you rolled your eyes, you looked over at the two men to find Quackity looking over at you. His hand was raised in the air, one finger was up summoning you to get him another drink.

“I’ll be back, why don’t you talk to Ven while I’m gone. She’ll keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t need a babysitter!”

“Good thing she doesn’t want to babysit your ass either, now shoo.” You motioned her to hop off the bar and she did so with a long, dramatic sigh. You looked over at Ven who gave you a silent nod, letting you know she’d watch out for the youngest member of your band of misfits. Meanwhile, you grabbed Quackity another drink and walked over to the two men at the table, “Someone order a drink?”

“Aye! Mamacita! Fancy seeing you here.” Quackity purred a bright smile spreading across his face seeing that you were the one to deliver his drink,

“Hey Big Q,” You greeted placing the drink in front of him, “You doing okay?”

“Better now that an angel walked into my sight,” He flirted and you rolled your eyes. “What? It’s true! You always brighten my day you know? Ow!” Schlatt hit his ex-first mate over the head,

“Take a breath lover boy. Thanks for the drink sugar tits.”

“You’re welcome, what were the both of you talking about if I may ask.” You hummed grabbing some of Schlatt’s empty glasses, an uncharacteristic frown came over both their faces. “Oh? Touchy subject?”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Just dishing out some old problems, most of which are better left unsaid.” He aimed that statement at Quackity, his jaw seemed clenched and Quackity’s brow furrowed in annoyance.

“Well I just want to remind the both of you,” You passed the tray of empty glasses over to Addie as she walked by, she took them swiftly. You grabbed the side of both their heads and pressed them against your chest, not that you knew but both men’s flushed to the tips of their ears. “No physical fights are allowed in this tavern. If one starts I won’t hesitate to kick your fucking asses. Got it?” They looked over your chest and locked eyes with one another, after years on the sea they could read one another’s facial expressions rather easily and at that moment they shared the same thought,

‘They should fight more often.’

“I said, got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” The repeated simultaneously as you pulled away,

“That’s what I like to hear-”

“(Y/n)!” Vendetta’s velvety voice called out from behind you, you turned and saw a group of newcomers file into your bar. Your body tensed momentarily,

Pirates.

Schlatt turned his head to follow your gaze and he tensed from behind you, “fuck me.” He growled and Quackity raised an eyebrow at his captain, he turned to look over his shoulder and his face lit up.

“Sapnap!”

The pirate who had a white bandana tied around his forehead glanced over at him and a smile lit up across his features. “Quackity? Is that you?”

“My man!” He stood up from his chair heading over to wrap the man in a hug, “I haven’t seen you in years, man.” You zoned out of their conversation eyes locking with a few of the other pirates who walked into the tavern. Vendetta and Addie both greeted them, but everyone who was under your care knew to keep their guard up around pirates. From what you could gather there seemed to be two crews, a crew of what only seemed to be two, Sapnap was included. The fire demon was still talking with Quackity, while the other man took in the view of the tavern, he had shaggy blonde hair, and had a few scars across his face. A porcelain mask sat on top of his head, a forest green cloak was around his shoulders, his hood was lowered around his neck. A sword was strapped tight against his hip and there was another dagger that seemed to be tucked against his side. His eyes gazed towards you and he winked teasingly with a coy smile, you scoffed looking over at Addie.

“Seat those two gentlemen yeah? Be careful, I’ll tell Ven and Yeti to keep an eye.” Addie looked at you, concern written on her soft features but she nodded. While Addie departed, you noticed Ven talking with the other group. Luvena was hiding behind Vendetta’s long legs, although a tall blonde boy seemed very keen on talking to her. You smoothed out your dress and moved towards the group of three, you eyed them up casually. The blonde looked to be around Luvena’s age, he had a shit-eating grin on his face and his uniform matched that of the second tallest in the group. The second tallest was clad in a light blue jacket with large golden buttons on the red collar. He had a cream-frilled shirt underneath and a black belt holding up his brown slacks, those were tucked into black boots. On his back seemed to be a guitar and was the only one of them not holding a weapon, but you knew better than to assume with pirates. His curly brown hair seemed to bounce every time he talked, he seemed to be the ringleader but there was no doubt that the real ringleader was the hybrid standing beside him. He was taller, on par with Vendetta in height, he had long pink hair that was tied in a ponytail on top of his head. A few pieces framed his face elegantly, there was no doubt he was the captain of the little crew that was in your tavern. He had a white shirt on with a deep low cut ‘V’ it showed off a good portion of his scared chest, around his shoulders sat a deep red jacket but his arms were outside of it and crossed over his chest. He seemed content on letting his second in command do all the talking, his red eyes were the only ones to meet yours. His head tilted upwards and before Vendetta could stop him he walked over towards you,

“You own the tavern?” His voice was a low monotone and it sent an array of pleasant chills up your spine.

“I do,” You raised an eyebrow crossing your arms over your chest, “Names (Y/n). You are?”

“Captain Technoblade of the ship Odyssey, I was hoping you had a few rooms and a table available. My brothers and I are pretty exhausted, we’ve been sailing all night.”

Brothers, they certainly didn’t all look alike, but then again you certainly had a mix of girls in your care. Your tongue swiped against the top row of your teeth, “Why don’t you and your brothers take a seat at the bar for now. Juniper will be happy to serve you, I’ll see if we have some free rooms available.”

“Thank you, once you return I’ll introduce them to you if you’d like,” Technoblade bowed his head before turning back to get his brother’s attention.

“I’d like that thank you.” You gave a nod motioning for Vendetta to follow you as you slid behind the bar with Juniper, Judas had also taken a spot sitting on the bar. You figured you’d let her know as well, considering she was another adult figure in the group. You knew either Juniper or Judas would fill in Addie considering the three were close. “Ven, can they be trusted?”

“Not too sure about the masked man, the one Quackity seems to be familiar with seems decent enough. He’s a fire demon though, could smell him from miles away, we all just need to be cautious.”

“Agreed,” Juniper added tapping her finger on her chin. “We should just try to curb all fighting if at all possible, what did the captain of the other group ask you?”

“They want a room, I’m about to check to see if we have availability. Thoughts on that?”

Judas let out a low hum her eyes followed both sets of pirate groups around the tavern, “I say if we have availability let them stay. They seem harmless so long as we don’t mess with them, which we’d never do.”

“Plus I can always stay awake to keep an eye on them.” Vendetta tapped her nails against the table,

“You sure.”

“As if I’d let anything happen to any of you, you’re my family.”

You all smiled softly, and you noticed Judas’s eyes widen, “Zig! Get that out of your mouth this instant!” She shot up from her spot and over to the person in question. The three of you laughed fondly at the nonsense, meanwhile, Juniper saw the three brothers sit at her bar. She moved away from you to greet them, you immediately could tell she was taken with the second eldest brother.

He seemed to be an absolute lady killer.

Vendetta ruffled your hair before going back to stand at her place by the door to keep the peace. You headed up the stairs to the rafters to check on the extra rooms you had, “Excuse me?” You tensed visibly turning around to face the man in all green. His eyes were mesmerizing, a fierce jade green to contrast his cloak, “Do you happen to have two rooms available?” The man held up two fingers to clarify his request,

“Do you usually start introductions with a blatant request like that?”

He chuckled a smile spreading across his lips, “I’m Dream and you gorgeous?”

“(Y/n), it’s your lucky day I’m about to check and see if any are available. My tavern is a hot commodity tonight.”

“Well, I can see why,” he spoke and you raised an eyebrow and tilted your head to the side.

“Oh?”

“It has the hottest owner around. Word spreads fast.”

You couldn’t believe this man was making your cheeks burn, he chuckled softly taking a step towards your figure. “Oh really, word spreads that fast on the open sea, Captian?” It was his turn to turn light pink, but he covered it up quickly with a chuckle.

“Touché.”

“I’ll get on that room for you and your friend. Take a seat, for now, this part is for guests and staff only you know?”

“So I have you all to myself?” He cheekily mused, he stepped towards you and before you knew it you were pinned against a wall. His hand suddenly brushed against your cheek, it was cold in comparison to your warm cheek. You felt Dream’s thumb brush against your cheek slowly, “You know...being on the open sea alone does something to a person.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” You mused pushing your forehead back against Dream’s, “All alone with only your crew with you.” Taking his other hand within your own you slid it up to your hip, you saw his entire face turn red as he stared down at your chest. “You’re probably missing a little love in your life, aren’t you Dreamy?” He nodded dumbly, his eyes still not leaving your chest,

Perfect. You weren’t going to let some pirate boy get the better of you.

He let out a grunt of pain as you spun him around and pressed his head into the wall with your elbow, your other hand has his pinned behind his back. “This hallway is for staff and guests only,” You purred in his ear before letting him go and swinging your hips before heading up the stairs fully. From behind you, Dream’s face was a deep, dark red and he had to clear his throat. Dream wasn’t going to let you go after that, I mean look at you, tough and able to hold your own, it awakened something inside him.

After checking up on the rooms you headed back down into the main hall, three-room keys in your hand. Glancing over at the scene in front of you, you saw Juniper dancing in the middle of the tavern the flirtatious brother at her side. Judas was sitting beside Schatt and Quackity at the bar, Addie was tending to Technoblade and the blonde at their little table. Dream and Sapnap were whispering to one another in the corner but still seemed to be enjoying the show. Vendetta was smiling softly by the door, beside her were Luvena and Zig both playing various instruments. You noticed Eret was also amongst the crowd, she had a brilliant grin on his face, it was flushed pink with alcohol and you smiled to yourself.

It was peaceful, and for a moment you forget half the patrons were scoundrels or pirates.

That was until the man dancing with Juniper locked eyes with you, his eyes lit up and he spun Juniper off into Addie’s arms. She giggled snuggling into the mother sheep’s arms, you heard a distressed “Juni! I’m holding glasses!” Before your vision was overtaken by the handsome flirt.

“Hello love,” He hummed, “May I offer you a dance?”

You were about to refuse but you saw Yeti, who finally made her appearance as it was getting closer to Judas’s set, giving you a big thumbs up “I’d be honored.” You responded taking his hand within your own, he pulled you out onto the dance floor and you felt his other hand politely hover on the small of your back. He allowed you to lean into his touch as he began to elegantly spin you around the dance floor, you were almost embarrassed to say felt like a princess. “Maybe I could get your name?” You asked above the music, “Since it seems you’re my dance partner this evening?”

“Wilbur Soot my love.” He hummed proudly, “The first mate of the ship Odysseus at your service. Plus I play music on the side.”

“Well now you need to play for us,” Wilbur twirled you around in a circle,

“Maybe one day. If you give me your name?”

“(Y/n) (L/n).”

“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

“I was right.” You commented biting the bottom of your lip trying not to smile,

“About what?”

“You.”

“Ah? Already talking about me I see? Is my manliness and gentlemanly qualities that renowned?”

“Not exactly.” He picked you up slightly and pulled you into a low dip, “I was right in thinking you a nothing but a flirty playboy.” Wilbur almost dropped you, you squawked grabbing onto his neck. He began to laugh as you clung to his chest,

“Alright love. You caught me red-handed.”

Wilbur set you on your feet hands on your lower back, you were pulled close to his chest. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“I get them for free hon. I own the place.”

“Oh...oh.” He paled a little, “I didn’t fuck up our chances of getting a room did I?”

“Nah lucky for you and your brothers, I have you covered, same with your buddies over there.” You motioned to Dream and Quackity’s friend, Wilbur’s face paled as he felt the chilled room key get placed in his palm. “What’s your little brother’s name?”

“Tommy.”

“Tell them both we serve breakfast free from 7 am to 10 am.” He nodded as you walked past, Wilbur meanwhile turned to look at Technoblade. It seemed he had his red eyes on the couple the entire time they were dancing. He held up a room key, it was labeled 205; Technoblade nodded his head before leaning back and talking to Addie once more. “Dream!” You called throwing a hand up into the air, instead of Dream, Sapnap looked up he nudged Dream with his elbow. The man was now wearing his mask, but at least you could tell he was looking at you,

“Well hello, darlin’ you must be (Y/n). Name's Sapnap. Dream told me about you, so you have good news for us I hope?”

“Pleasure, I'm sure he told you all about me,” He nodded, his eyes taking in your body especially your ass. “Got you both a room key, your neighbors. Across from the other crew of pirates. Just don’t fight and we won’t have any problems.”

“You mean those jackasses are staying?” Sapnap complained loudly, looking over your shoulder at the other crew members.

“You both didn’t think you were the only patrons, did you? This is a business after all.” You, tossed the keys their way, Dream caught it with ease and Sapnap fumbled it only a little bit. After they were in their hands, you waved them off with a flutter of your palm you turned around to go speak with Judas about her set but before you could take a step you saw Schlatt stumbling up from his seat. “Ah shit,” You knew what was about to happen, you weren’t paying attention to the ram hybrid so who knew how many drinks in he was. You felt responsible, for a while you and Judas had been trying to help Schlatt with his addiction. You couldn’t help but wonder what exactly set him off for him to get this drunk, Quackity caught him in his arms with a grumble. The man was a drunken mess, and as you approached you could hear his slurred speech and could practically smell the alcohol on his breath. “Schlatt,” You spoke carefully and as soon as you got close Schlatt detached himself from Quackity and lunged at you. His head was buried in his chest, he almost purred like he was very happy to be there, you rolled your eyes and ran your fingers through his hair. You were mindful of his horns but he seemed pretty eager for you to touch them,

“(Y/n).” He whined although it was muffled against your ample chest, “Why do pirates have to fuck everything up?”

“What are you on about Schlatt? No one likes pirates.”

“They’re gonna take you away from me, sugar. You’re my safe space, this tavern is my safe space.” You sighed listening to his drunken ramblings, you grabbed his horns and pulled him away from your chest.

“This is my life Schlatt, I’m not going anywhere trust me. Plus my family is here, they need me. So try not to worry okay?” You slicked back the hair on his forehead before planting a fond kiss there, everyone in the tavern narrowed their eyes at the scene. Even your girls were green with envy, at the sight of their lovely boss kissing someone who wasn’t them. He leaned against your lips eyes fluttering closed,

“Well, well, well if it isn’t Captian Schlatt? Or ex-captain if I remember correctly.”

“What?”

You turned your head and felt Schlatt’s arms wrap around your waist and held you close to his chest. The touch was protective and you felt your heart skip a beat, why was he protecting you, and why did you actually feel protected?

“Has the drinking finally caught up to you? Or was it the fact that you lost your so-”

Was that Dream's voice?

“Shut the fuck up.” He snarled and you were shoved behind him into Quackity’s arms, you felt less protected. “I’m not that person anymore and you fucking know that,” Vendetta came to stand beside the both of you a hand was placed on your shoulder protectively. You knew she was desperately wanted to step in and you held up a hand to stop her.

“This isn’t good…” Quackity murmured, “They’re going to fight. Schlatt’s going to get himself fucking killed.”

“Calm yourself. We won’t let it get that far.” Ven grumbled eyeing you waiting for your signal. But you were lost in the conversation or argument, the two were having, you couldn’t believe Schlatt was a pirate. He was so...he just didn’t...he was a drunk okay? That didn’t exactly shout feared pirate to you!

“Oh, are you sure? I remember that look, that’s the look you’d get before you stomped someone’s lights out. No wonder your son disappeared under mysterious circumstances-” Dream was shoved against one of the poles holding up the building. He grunted and Schlatt’s arm was pulled back ready to punch, but his arm was stopped by smaller hands,

“Pardon me Mr. Schlatt but you know how we feel about fighting in our tavern.” Addie bubbled, she had a smile on her face but it wasn’t kind, it was full of warning.

“Get the fuck off me, sheepie. This doesn’t fucking concern you.” Schlatt shoved her away and as soon as his skin made contact with her body he made a sound of distress.

“(Y/n)...” Addie murmured quietly, your father’s dagger was embedded in Schlatt’s arm,

“Fucking hell you bitch!” He snarled baring his teeth, you glared at him twisting the dagger he yelled in agony.

“Touch one of my girls again and next time this dagger is going right into your back.” You ripped the dagger out, splattering the floor with blood. He grabbed his arm tightly and looked at you with slight betrayal in his yellow eyes. “I mean it Schlatt, Quackity take him home.” The man nodded looking at you longingly, he muttered a quiet ‘Sorry’ before escorting him out of your tavern. “You,” You glared harshly over at Dream, “Go to your room.”

“You’re not my mother.”

“Then find another play to stay.” You spat, he turned away and you looked over at Addie, “Are you alright?” Your voice turned tender as you cupped her cheeks. She nuzzled against your palms and nodded her head,

“I’m fine. You didn’t need to-”

“Yes, I did. No one messes with you. With any of you on my watch.”

The sheep hybrid made a little sound as her bottom lip trembled, she wrapped you in a tight hug which you accepted without hesitance. Judas walked over next and wrapped you both in her arms, pretty soon you were surrounded by your girls and Zig.

All of them had the same mindset: comforting both you and Addie.

It was good to be loved.

Wilbur watched the scene curiously and glanced over at Technoblade who stood up from his chair.

“I think that’s our cue to leave for the night.” He looked over at his first mate, Wilbur nodded in agreement grabbing his guitar from the chair beside Technoblade.

“They...Techno were they talking about Tubbo.” Tommy whispered to his brother, his brow furrowing in concern as they all climbed the steps up to their room, “You don’t think-”

“It just might be Tommy.” Technoblade tilted his head to the side, “Guess that’ll be something we ask him when we get back to the ship tomorrow.”

“Well, this trip is going to be way more fun than I thought.” Wilbur snickered lighting a cigarette, taking a long drag, before letting the smoke curl out of his mouth and up into the rafters. ~~~

Tag List: @v01dw4lk3rz, @jam-bombs, @abovenyx, @glitterydigitalart, @phoenixaesthetic19, @luluwinchester, @boiled-onionrings, @pastelmoonwitche, @roxy3457, @alovestruck-fool, @victory-is-here, @mack4676, @fiorenc, @theoneandonlyyeti, @bloodrose0723, @sandyy-woo,

#dream smp x y/n #dreamsmp x reader #dreamsmp drabbles #dreamsmp x you #mcyt x y/n #mcyt drabbles #mcyt x reader #mcyt x you #dsmp x reader #dsmp x you #dsmp x y/n #x reader #minecraft fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #pirate au #technoblade x you #techno x you #technoblade imagines #technoblade x reader #techno x y/n #technoblade x y/n #dream x reader #dream x y/n #dream x you #sapnap x reader #sapnap x y/n #sapnap x you #wilbur x reader #wilbur x y/n

[tcm]

Pioneering Black Actors of Hollywood By Susan King

Clarence Muse and Rex Ingram by Susan King Thirty years ago, the legendary Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier reflected on the Black performers who paved the way for him in the Los Angeles Times: “The guys who were forerunners to me, like Canada Lee, Rex Ingram, Clarence Muse and women like Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers and Juanita Moore, they were terribly boxed in. They were maids and stable people and butlers, principally. But they, in some way, prepared the ground for me.”

Poitier prepared the ground for such contemporary Black actors and directors currently in competition during the 2021 awards season such as Regina King and Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), the late Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday) and Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah).

But it is imperative to remember the veterans from the 1930s-1960s who tried to break out of stereotypes and maintain dignity at a time when Hollywood wanted to “box” them in.

Clarence Muse 

Muse appeared in countless Hollywood films often uncredited. And as Donald Bogle points out in his book Hollywood Black, Muse spoke his mind to directors if he felt he was being pushed around or when his characters were stereotypes. Bogle stated, “At another time when Muse questioned the actions of his character in director King Vidor’s 1935 Old South feature SO RED THE ROSE, Vidor recalled that Muse was quite vocal in expressing his concerns. A change was made. Vidor could not recall exactly what the issue was, but he never forgot Muse’s objection.”

The 1932 pre-Code crime drama Night World screened at the 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival to a standing-room only crowd. The film stars Lew Ayres, Boris Karloff and Muse as the doorman at a club owned by Karloff. The audience was surprised that such a stereotypical role was anything but thanks to Muse’s poignant performance. Instead of being forced to be the comic relief, Muse’s Washington is a man worried about his wife’s surgery at a local hospital. Though his boss doesn’t treat him as an equal—after all it is 1932—Karloff’s Happy shows general concern toward Washington.

Muse, said Bogle, “also worked in race movies, where he realized there was still a real chance for significant roles and narratives.” One such was BROKEN STRINGS (’40), which he also co-wrote. It’s certainly not a great film, but Muse gives a solid turn as a famed Black violinist who wants his young son to follow in his footsteps. But the son wants to play swing with his violin.

Muse, who was a graduate of Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, also co-wrote the Louis Armstrong standard “Sleepy Time Down South.” In the 1920s, he worked at two Harlem theater companies, Lincoln Players and Lafayette Players, and 23 years later he became the first African American Broadway director with Run Little Chillun. He continued to act, appearing in Poitier’s directorial debut BUCK AND THE PREACHER (’72), CAR WASH (’76) and THE BLACK STALLION (’79) and was elected to the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. He died one day before his 90th birthday in 1979.

Rex Ingram 

Tall and imposing, Ingram had a great presence on the big screen and a rich melliferous voice. No wonder his best-known role was as the gigantic Genie in the bottle in Alexander Korda’s lavish production of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (’40). Born in 1895, he began his film career in movies such as Cecil B. DeMille’s THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (’23). Ingram also has the distinction of playing God in THE GREEN PASTURES (’36) and Lucifer Jr. both on Broadway in 1940 and in the 1943 film adaptation of the musical CABIN IN THE SKY.

Ingram also brought a real humanity to his role as the slave Jim in MGM’s disappointing THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN (’39), starring a miscast Mickey Rooney, who was way too old at 19 to play the part. Ingram, though, breaks your heart when he talks to Huck about how his dream is to earn enough money to buy his freedom so he could join his wife and child living in a free state. And when he runs away, Ingram explains to Huck why he had to flee the widow Douglas: “If one of them slave traders got me, I never would get to that free state. I would never see my wife, or little Joey.”

He also is superb in Frank Borzage’s noir MOONRISE (’48) as Mose Johnson, the friend of the murderer’s son Danny (Dane Clark), who lives in a shack in the wilderness with his coonhounds. Noble and thoughtful, Mose is the film’s conscience and helps guide Danny to do the right thing after he kills a bully (Lloyd Bridges) in self-defense.

Ingram was one of the busiest Black actors at the time and at one point even served on the Board of the Screen Actors Guild. But the same year MOONRISE was released, he was arrested and pleaded guilty for transporting an underage girl from Kansas to New York. He served a prison sentence and for a long time his career was derailed. He even lost his home. Though his film career was never the same upon his release, he worked in TV and on the Broadway stage, appearing in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and died in 1969 at 73 shortly after doing a guest shot on NBC’s The Bill Cosby Show.

Ernest Anderson 

Anderson never achieved the notoriety of Muse and Ingram, but the actor gave an extraordinary performance in the Bette Davis-Olivia de Havilland melodrama IN THIS OUR LIFE (’42) directed by John Huston. Born in 1915, Anderson earned his BA at Northwestern University in drama and speech. He was recommended for his role in the movie by Davis, who saw the young man working at the commissary on the Warner Bros.’ lot.

Anderson plays Parry, the son of the Davis-de Havilland family’s maid who aspires to be a lawyer. Davis’ spoiled rotten Stanley Timberlake gets drunk, and while driving she kills someone in a hit-and-run accident. Stanley throws Parry under the bus telling authorities he was the one driving the car.

Initially, the script depicted Parry in much more stereotypical terms, but Anderson went to Huston and discussed why he wanted to play the character with dignity and intelligence. Huston agreed. And for 1942, it’s rather shocking to see a studio film look at racism as in the scene where Parry tells de Havilland’s Roy why he wants to be an attorney:

“Well, you see, it’s like this, Miss Roy: a white boy, he can take most any kind of job and improve himself. Well, like in this store! Maybe he can get to be a clerk or a manager. But a colored boy, he can’t do that. He can keep a job, or he can lose a job. But he can’t get any higher up. So, he’s got a figure out something he can do that no one can take away. And that’s why I want to be a lawyer.”

Needless to say, such monologues were cut when the movie was shown in the South. Despite strong reviews for his performance, Anderson never got another role with so much substance. But he continued working through the 1970s and died in 2011 at the age of 95.

#Clarence Muse #Rex Ingram #Ernest Anderson #Bette Davis #Warner Bros #Black actors #Hollywood Black #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #black representation #Susan King

[realbigpodcastslut]

Should You Listen to King Falls AM?

(Update at the bottom) 

Lately, I’ve seen a lot people looking to start KFAM and conflicting views on if you should listen. Being a fan for a long time, I’d like to put in my two-cents. I’m not going to tell you if you should listen or not, but I’ll present the facts so you can make your own choice.

Overall:

King Falls AM is a podcast, and out of the hundred+ I’ve listened to, it is definitely my favorite one and I always seem to be relistening to it. Taking place in the small town of King Falls, late-night radio hosts Sammy and Ben have to tackle the weird and whacky. It’s funny, the characters are amazing, and I just love the overall idea of love (platonic and romantic) conquering all. The music is also amazing. While the background music is to die for, this is really shown in their musical episode (which is done right).

Now, while it is my favorite podcast, there are a lot of faults. Representation is mishandled, there are problematic parts, and the creators and actors have had some not-so-great reactions to valid criticism. Also, the story is unfinished and there is no word if they’re coming back after COVID-19.

Characters:

I can’t deny, I love the characters (especially Lily Wright). The characters will worm their way into your heart until you fall in-love. Whether it’s the main characters of Sammy, Ben, (Emily, Troy, and Lily), or the townspeople, you’ll most likely end up loving them. And if you don’t love them, then you will hate them so much you love hating them. I’m going to avoid spoilers, but you will love these characters and feel for them. Even I, the stone-cold bitch that brags about not crying that much over media, ended up crying over them. 

On the other hand, the characters are not the stellar representation that a lot of podcasts have. There are plenty of LGBT characters later on, but a lot of them are stereotypes. Archie, a gay man, is overly camp, and Jacob, a bisexual man, is sex-crazed. Though, I should point out that almost every non-main character is a stereotype, but this can be off-putting to a lot of people. Women are also not represented great. They’re pretty one-dimensional and while they grow, they’re sort of looked-down upon and hated. This changes around episode 90 where it is specifically called out on and episodes 75+ start to change this poor representation somewhat. Though the representation of POC is just bad, with Walt being a stereotypical Native American man and Storm Sanders an alcoholic. There is also a racist witch, while hated by everyone, is still suspicious. 

Comedy:

King Falls AM is also extremely funny. There are several jokes they actually made me laugh out loud (hard to do) and in my relistens I still laugh. The character’s banter is hilarious and I just can’t state how funny some of the stuff is. While some stuff aren’t direct jokes, the absurdity of events are funny. For example, there is a vigilante named the Dirt who is basically a dimestore Batman in BDSM gear. Another thing is that there is a murderous Elf of the Shelf that says some things that are comedy gold. Even later on, they don’t sacrifice much of the comedy for arcs that will tear your heart out.

While the jokes are funny, there are many jokes that miss the mark and are not politically correct. One that sticks out is “Don’t assume my gender.” There are a lot of race jokes (ew) and quite a few on the holocaust. There are also a lot of gay jokes, which while sometimes done right, can make LGBT people uncomfortable. Especially when two characters (Archie and Lily) are made out to be too gay to function and make a lot of sexual jokes. This missing-the-mark is made clear as it is written by straight white men, which really can’t joke about stuff they don’t experience.

Themes:

The themes of KFAM are also good and you can’t ever go wrong with found-family. Love is the main aspect surrounding the show and whether platonic or romantic love, it’s embraced. I really enjoy how Sammy and Ben are able to say “I love you” to each other without it being seen as creepy or “gay.” Characters also grow for the better and are always pushing to be better. They even talk about mental health struggles and pushing each other up to be the best they can be. Lastly, the main storyline is compelling and it opens up for a lot of theorizing and trying to figure out what is going to happen (or what happened).

The themes of found family can be criticized over the fact that several characters already experienced found family due to being gay and already being a family, though I think this one is a little weak (but I included it). Some of the storylines may get boring and it can be a sort of slow-burn as things come to fruition. There are also plot holes (but not that noticeable).

Creators, Actors and Community:

This is the final point and the thing that has made many die-hard fans dislike KFAM and be ashamed for listening to it. Starting at episode 34, there was an episode on Helen Keller and it was essentially making fun of her. Obviously, fans did not like this episode and told the creators so. They did not apologize and basically said, “Sorry you didn’t like it.” Around April or March of 2020, one of the creators retweeted NSFW fan works and people told them how they needed to tag it, etc. They reacted poorly, only for a person to say “Death of the Author” (a literary idea where you ignore the author’s influence on a work), and then the creator freaked out, thinking this was a death threat. These were not the only events, so if you’d like to find out more, I have archived (with my friend) a decent amount on the blog @kfam-tea.

The community is also toxic. There have been a lot of times where die-hard fans will delete any criticism from the subreddit (though this has seemed to stop). These fans also started “attacking” WTNV after Cecil Baldwin (voice of Cecil) made a jab at other radio podcasts. The discord server is also closed off from everyone except those already on it, and they’ve deleted a lot of channels and such. Overall, the community is not the best and it’s quite divided.

Lastly, we don’t know if KFAM is coming back. While they said it was going to start after COVID-19, there’s reason to believe that isn’t the case. The creators unfollowed each other on Instagram and Twitter. There was a Reddit threat where people asked if it was coming back only for Kyle (co-creator) to call them entitled (yikes, I know). So far, there is another podcast made by everyone but Kyle and Trent (the actor for about half of the town).

Conclusion:

The choice to listen is up to you. You may or may not like it, but I’m not going to say this is strictly a terrible or amazing podcast. I think it is both. I fell in love with the story and while it has many, many, terrible warts, I think people should know what they are heading into. I see too many people either praising or hating KFAM completely, and it’s not fair. This story isn’t for everyone and has it’s bad moments, but it also has it’s wonderful moments. To listen, that is a personal decision for you to make.

UPDATE:

KFAM isn’t coming back and it left on a big cliffhanger so maybe don’t listen.

#kfam #king falls am #king falls #essay #long post #sammy stevens #Ben Arnold #kfam podcast #podcast #audio drama #i think this was needed for the community #i myself struggle with both enjoying this show and its warts #but i don't just want to tell people no #because if i hadn't listened then i would be a different person #this podcast has meant a lot to me personally and i really love it #slut.txt

[backtothestart02]

By My Side - 1/1 | westallen fanfiction

A/N: A kiss was needed, and twitter demanded, so I’m here to supply the demand. Enjoy! This takes place right before Barry goes into August’s consciousness.

...

Synopsis:  7x17 - Canon Divergent - Another dangerous mission deserves a good luck kiss.

...

Barry listened closely to everything Jay was saying as the two of them, in addition to Iris by his side, walked into the speed lab and prepared to transfer his consciousness into August’s. By the time they came to a stop in the center of the room where Cecile was preparing August, Jay had finished and stepped aside to give the married couple a moment to themselves.

Iris turned and stood in front of Barry, doing her best not to break. There was nothing easy or straight forward about what Barry was going to have to do, and they’d just been separated by her disappearance in the still force with Deon. She hated to think what might happen to her husband should something go wrong while he was inside August’s head, searching for answers.

So, she pushed her fears back as far as she could and focused entirely on encouraging Barry and cautioning him on what was to come, that she knew, that any of them knew.

“Barry, I know this August Heart seems harmless, but the real August Heart who’s locked away inside of his mind…” she let the implication hang. “From what we know…”

“He’s a monster,” Barry finished, staring at the man in question who seemed so innocent the way they knew him.

Iris lifted her hands to his face, so he’d look at her. Tears surfaced in her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. She stroked his cheeks tenderly, hoping he could see all the love pouring out of her for him in that moment and every moment.

“Be careful.”

Her bottom lip trembled, and in that second Barry forgot all about August Heart and kissed his wife.

Iris went up on her tiptoes, and Barry wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up a little so he could kiss her more passionately, more deeply, more intensely. It felt like a lifetime since he’d kissed her, and here they were separating again.

Finally, Iris pulled back and lowered herself to her feet, taking comfort in the way he soothingly rubbed her back and then her arms and shoulders before trailing his hands down to her own and holding them tight.

“I will,” he assured her.

She forced a smile, then took a step back and watched as he got set up in his own locked in standing entrapment beside August. She watched him exchange a few words with August and then look back at her, waiting for her nod of assurance, making sure she was okay.

She wasn’t, not totally, but she knew they had to do this, and she believed in him, knew that he could succeed. So, with another tremulous smile, she nodded, and he fixed his gaze on Jay.

“Okay.”

#westallen #fanfiction #westallen fanfiction #backtothestart02 fanfiction #by my side #fix it fic #tf 717

[cassiopeiasara]

Westallen 52+70

Marriage of Convenience+Locked in a Room (so this def got away from me and turned into a full fic that’s also on ao3 here).

Here’s the thing about Iris West, she never breaks a promise. Even one made at nine years old before Barry loses everything.

They’re at his house. His mom smiles from the kitchen telling Iris of course she can stay while her dad works late. She likes Nora’s smile, it’s bright and warm just like the Allen’s home.

They’re in the middle of math worksheets when Barry asks.

“Iris?”

Iris tilts her head. “Yeah?”

Barry fidgets with his pencil. “Do you want to get married one day?”

Iris laughs. “Yeah but dad says I’m not allowed till I’m 35.”

Barry’s eyes go wide. “That’s a long time.”

Iris nods. “It is, but I’ll probably find someone before that.”

Barry nods in return. They’re silent for a little while longer before he speaks up again. “If you don’t find anyone, would you marry me?”

Iris considers him a moment. “That’s forever from now, Barry. What if you find someone?”

He shrugs. “If I don’t? And you don’t?”

Iris holds out her pinkie. “I promise.”

Barry’s cheeks go pink as he links his pinkie with hers.

A year later when he’s crying in her lap and she’s stroking his hair, he whispers “would you still marry me one day, Iris?”

She wipes his cheeks. “Sure, Barry.”

Neither one of them expects their thirty-fifth birthdays to arrive with no spouses or children but as with many other millennials, the future never quite looks how they expected.

Barry is over one evening helping repair Iris’ kitchen sink because her super is useless and Joe’s back won’t allow him to do tasks like this anymore.

Iris blames the latest lifestyle article for why she brings it up at all. CCPN has been running a series on women and how much their lives have improved but also the struggles of modern times. Though thirty-five feels nowhere near old, Iris has been made all too aware that her statistical odds as a well educated black professional are not as much in favor of a spouse as she would like.

She swings her legs on the counter after she hands Barry the wrench he asked for. “Hey, Bear?”

There’s a small grunt of acknowledgement below her.

“You remember that time we were nine doing homework at your house and you asked if I’d marry you?”

There’s a clang of tools and a curse as Barry slides out from under the sink. She feels bad as she watches him rub his forehead, a small red spot appearing.

“Yeah,” he says quickly. “W-what made you think about that?”

She shrugs. “Well we’ve hit our time limit.”

He shakes his head. “Iris, we were nine. Thirty five feels ancient at nine.”

She crosses her arms and peers down at him. “You backing out on me now, Barry?”

He stares at her a moment. “Are you serious?”

“I don’t give out pinky swears lightly.”

He tilts his head up at her and she thinks, not for the first time, that he’s grown up to be so much more than the scrawny nerd she knew in school. He’s still a nerd of course but he’s filled out and can actually throw a punch almost as well as she can. Not to mention, he’s the director of the CSI division and often travels to consult for departments in other cities. He volunteers in the summers at various science camps, laughs at all her jokes and is so useful at trivia night. He’s still her best friend, she could do a whole lot worse.

“What about that Eric guy you were seeing?”

She rolls her eyes. “It only took one drink to realize he’s not worth my time. What about Tina?”

He scoffs. “She left with our waiter.”

Iris hops off her counter and pats Barry on the shoulder. “Look, I know we actually have time but why waste it on these losers when we could be with our best friend?”

Barry looks at her a long time and she’s sure he’s going to say no. In fact, she resigns herself to it when he slips back under her sink to finish fixing it. She shouldn’t be disappointed nor surprised really. Maybe it was a stupid idea anyway. Barry has always been a romantic and Iris’ practical appeal isn’t exactly the most enticing.

She wonders if he’ll leave as she opens the door for the takeout she promised in exchange for his labor.

“I’m assuming you’ll come live with me then? You’ll have a handyman at your beck and call and you’ve already waxed poetic about my floor plan.”

Iris drops her chopsticks. “Really, Bear?”

Barry smiles bright and warm and Iris can’t help but think of Nora. “Yeah.”

***

Barry really should have warned her about the laundry room. It hadn’t occurred to him of course because the faulty lock always meant he kept the door open.

She’s in the middle of pulling on his Millennium Falcon t-shirt when a breeze slams the door shut.

“Damn,” he whispers.

“What?” She asks as she flips her hair from the collar of the shirt. 

It’s curly today. CCPN is under new management and with the recent round of legislation around hair styles, Iris has opted for more time with her curls both at home and at work. Barry, of course, has no complaints. He’s loved her hair ever since he heard the soft clink of the beads at the end of her braids when she approached him in kindergarten.

He points behind him, trying hard not to linger on the vision that is his wife in his clothes. Wife, he’ll never get over that.

“The door. It doesn’t open from this side.”

Her eyes go wide as she rushes to pull the handle to no avail. “Damn,” she mutters.

“Yeah,” he says as he scratches the back of his neck.

She knits her eyebrows up at him. “What are you doing home so early?”

“I had court this morning,” he gestures at his suit, “and I haven’t switched out my bag with fresh clothes yet so I swung by so I could have something for the lab.”

Her eyes linger on his tie, a hint of a smile playing at her lips and he hopes she doesn’t read too much into his choice. Six months into their marriage and Barry is still terrified Iris might guess the depth of his feelings. There had been countless times over the years he wanted to share how he felt.

That night on her dad’s couch as he cried and asked if she might still marry him. Middle school when he had the good fortune of a foster family that lived in Iris’ neighborhood and didn’t judge him for his anger or his desire to see his dad. High school when he broke up with Becky and hoped Iris’ concern was less friendly consideration and more because she’d prefer to be his girlfriend. The time she confessed she thought no one might love her the way Eddie had.

Yet, he’s stayed silent, sure that if Iris felt anything close to him, she’d say something. He never forgot his childhood proposal but he’d been so sure Iris had.

Call him a fool for settling but no woman could ever match his best friend so when she’d called him on their old promise, he couldn’t resist. Thus here he was locked in a room with the woman he’d always dreamed might be his wife and nervous she might finally see the truth.

“I’ll call Dad,” she says before she looks around and sighs. “My phone is in the kitchen.”

Barry pats his jacket, thankful he finds his phone there. “He got called to a scene but Cecile was on her way to pick up lunch for the both of them, I’ll see if she can swing by.”

Iris sighs in relief. Cecile thankfully picks up but it’ll be two hours and Barry’s phone dies shortly after. He leans against the wall while Iris hops up on one of the machines. Barry tries not to think of the activities they’d get up to if they had gotten married for more typical reasons but it’s hard when Iris is drowning in his shirt and pouting her lips as she looks around the room.

“So, what should we do?”

He shrugs. “Well, um-“

“What was your case about?”

He relaxes slightly, thankful for a subject that will definitely distract from his irrespirable wife. He starts to explain the case, leaving out any confidential details and Iris gets that look on her face where he knows she’s listening but slightly lost in the science of it all. He used to think it annoyed her but she confessed a couple years back that while she didn’t understand it all, she did find it fascinating.

“Barry?” She whispers after he’s done and a comfortable silence settles between them.

“Hmm?”

“You think we should have kids?”

He stumbles slightly against the wall. “Um, do you want to?”

She bites her bottom lip and he finds that after an hour in such a small space, he can’t resist the image that pops up in his brain of kissing it free. “I think so. I know there’s always adoption and I think I’d be down for that if you are but we could try the biological way first.”

He assumes that like their marriage this might be a practical arrangement. After all, they sleep in separate bedrooms, careful not to let their family see that part of their house often. They decided the particulars of their marriage were no one’s business but their own and they let their family and friends stay blissfully ignorant.

“So did you want to try a fertility specialist or something? When did you—“

“Hey, Bear?”

He watches her slide off the washing machine and inch closer to him, fiddling with the edge of his tie. “Yeah?”

She smiles in a way he’s always dreamed of but never seen. She tugs at his tie to bring him closer and leans up bringing them close enough to kiss. “Why don’t we try it the traditional way first?”

Barry raises his eyebrows and squeaks out “you mean like now? Together? Here? Like right now?”

She chuckles darkly. “Yeah, we could—”

“Barry? Iris?”

“In here!” Shouts Iris. He expects her to jump away but she waits until they hear Cecile jiggle the doorknob and only then does she step away slowly.

Barry can barely catch his breath as Iris thanks Cecile and sends her on her way. He walks into their living room on shaky feet and wonders what to do next.

Iris leans against the door after seeing Cecile out and winks at him. “Why did you wear that tie, Barry?”

He tilts his head. “B-because you gave it to me.” And told me I look nice, he thinks. And smiled at me.

She smiles and saunters toward him. “Why did you marry me?”

His heart races as he considers denying the truth. The same truth he’s been so afraid to reveal for years but Iris wants children and is looking at him as if he should hope and so he does the brave thing. “Because I love you and I’ve never wanted to marry anyone else.”

Her smile melts from seductive to just soft. “Yeah?”

He nods.

She leans up and kisses him, chaste but lingering, the second kiss since their wedding day. “Me too, Bear.”

His heart leaps in his chest as he leans down to kiss her the way he’s wanted to for years.

When they part, she whispers, “you’ll be late for work.”

He shrugs and wraps his arms around her waist. “They’ll live.”

#trope mashup #westallen #iris west #barry allen #my fanfiction #I can’t believe I wrote so much but hopefully someone likes it? #definitely an au but also pretty close to canon just minus powers and Barry growing up in the west house #anonymous

[wonderloste]

With this blog being otome based, were there any other characters or otome games you drew inspiration from for characters or story?

For Munday, anonymously ask the mun something you want to know about them, their portrayal, or what they will/won’t write.

For overall story? No. Genuinely and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, most of the lore on this blog I actually 100% pull straight out of my ass the moment before or AS it’s being written down. The most planning I did was before I made the blog and it was just a couple skeleton ocs with no real lore bc all the Wonderland muses were a pinterest board LMAO. Literally all of them have changed so much they’re unrecognizable from their original idea and the overall story of the blog is something I did not come up with until deadass I made the carrd for this blog.

It does make my lore seem kinda “all over the place” cuz I post things as I think about them, but I cannot stress enough that any fancy lore post I throw out or world building or story planning that happens is prob something I came up with 5 minutes before I made said post. Idk if this is a strength or weakness. 🥴 Ppl on here keep saying ‘i can tell how much thought u put into xyz <3′ and I get a thousand yard stare cuz man.... if only u knew KJNMEKRNJHNM.

For CHARACTERS, yes, I did pull some inspo although mostly for only Valentin and Darcy, actually.

Valentin I pulled inspo from Sofia De Sainte-Coquille from Rune Factory 3, which some ppl I’m friends with here will remember being a muse on my canon otome blog I ran before this one. Loved her muse, didn’t ever get a lot of content with her, decided to pluck the opposite speak from her and implant it into Val.

Darcy I pulled a lot of inspo from Ukyo (Amnesia) and Saint-Germain (Code:Realize). Anyone who knows me knows that those two characters are the two that have struck me on a like. deep primal level as far as otome stories go LMAO KJERNHMKJERNHM. I wanted to take elements on their routes that resonated with me the most and kinda craft my own route around those tropes  :  defying fate for someone you love, being willing to fight back at god / fate / destiny to save them, putting yourself and the entire world in harm’s way to protect them, etc. You can also see a nod at Ukyo’s time loop tragedy and how long he’s suffered trying to be with the MC in each world in how Darcy has (”canonically” as far as the story goes) watched Alice fall into Wonderland and be subsequently killed by Aleister millions and millions and millions of times without him ever being able to do anything to prevent it, despite how desperately he loves them and wants to be with them.

I’ve mentioned before that Idris and the Mad Tea Party crew have a lot of inspo from Spirited Away there in the setting and how they’re erasing peoples memories by stealing their names and identities / making them forget who they are. That little area of Wonderland is a big nod to the movie.

Ofc I pull inspo from other Alice works, but mostly the OG and American McGee’s. I’ve never played any of the Alice based otome games that exist (ie the no kuni games) so idk what’s happening there lol.

Other than that... not really? Most of the characters and story beats I just drew inspo from otome as a genre. For example, Cecil is the token tsundere, Briar is the misunderstood playboy, Doremi is the soft childhood friend, Magnus is the enemies-to-lovers, Amadeu is the yandere... yada yada yada.

Also again, a lot of the characters I pulled out of my ass, that’s why they get so much development as I go. 🥴 The only character who had ANY semblance of actual lore before I sat down and started working on this blog was Darcy and like... Aleister but only a bit, deadass KJNMERKHJNM.

#◟ ⋆ OOC › otome games are my thirteenth reason. #i feel like the fact i pull lore out of thin air isn't surprising cuz my blog feels all over the place KJNMERKJHNM #BUT #darcy specifically is a mashup of just. my absolute favorite otome tropes. i really love tragic and intensely passionate / romantic routes #s/o to u.kyo specifically bc without him i don't think darcy would exist #i love ukyo so much #also i type. so fast. oml i was on this KJNEMRH

[faimrpg]

Hello, and welcome to member appreciation time! Every week, I’ll be posting a snippet from everyone’s blogs that I felt was jaw-droppingly fantastic, as both a thanks to you for being here and putting your character on the dashboard, and so other members can appreciate your artistry as well. There is no doubt in my mind that writing is, perhaps, the most grueling fucking hobby in the world. It’s hard to do, difficult to grapple with, and often time consuming, but the fantastic part is that we do it anyways, and everyone else gets the opportunity to read it. I don’t want this blurb to get too long, so I’ll be shutting up shortly, but I’d like say from the bottom of my heart that I am grateful that you’re all here!

AGRIPPINE: Who is this noble who speaks with more authority than Agrippine has in their entire body, who calls them champion yet treats them like a child? It’s hardly an offense to their pride, of which they have so little. Even they can’t deny they have swum too far into the deep end, over their head and out of their league whilst at court. No noble lies awake in the dark, haunted by what they do not remember and what they may never find.

BEAU: It’s against her very nature to step out of the shadows and into the opening, to be so vulnerable. Her heart is racing, at the sight of the ghost in front of them as their footsteps grow closer and closer. Closer than they’ve been in so long, there’s no doubt in her mind now as she catches surprised but so familiar brown eyes.

CECILE: It is still a regular occurrence that Cecile brings flowers to her mother’s grave, and shares a peaceful silence with her final resting place. She still talks to her, sometimes. But these days, more often than not her worries are not things she can say aloud, even in the quiet of the graveyard, for fear of who may be listening.

CYRIL: She wanted out of there. Cyril can still feel the tension she felt back in that room surrounding her, even as she put as much distance between her and that place. She’s used to gilded halls and marble floors, not blood pools growing bigger by the heartbeat. Her bubble had burst and Cyril was afraid.

DEGARE: Degaré knows well that anything whispered over a flagon is tricky, fickle, maybe even downright false. It could be fact, could be fiction—himself, he doesn’t much care. Whether the honest truth or little more than a myth men tell themselves, he knows one party likely to be interested.

GISELE: Surely, the word Lady has never been uttered with such distaste, so jarringly, transparently through gritted teeth in an otherwise lyrical performance, like a pianist striking a discordant note midway through a scale. “Is your nobility nothing more than a hat you don only when convenient and matching your dress? Have you been attending Court only to gawk at your own gowns, as though this were nothing but a showroom for your wares?”

HELENE: She knows what Helene has done, all of the sins and all of the misery exacted on behalf of Celestine, but she could never truly understand that power was merely secondary to order. Order kept her lands green, order kept violent warfare on the streets, and order prevented yet another King of Fools from emerging underneath the rot and filth that seemed to only well up in the streets where the nobles dared to tread.

ISEULT: Names had never been his forte— he’d sooner know her by her blade of choice, in all the places it’d previously clashed with his. As was the Guild and Underworld rapport: the honest sellsword awaited their turn at the billet bank, the successful one poached theirs. No contract passed without protest, and Iseult knew by sound alone he’d had the (mis)fortune of crossing theirs in the field before.

LIANE: Undoubtedly, they take her for a fool, nearly retching on their own tongue in the hopes of cradling Liane’s undivided attention in the palm of their hand like a child who wishes to thieve shining stars from the night sky. She has half a mind to disregard the act, to leave well enough alone, but a trail of vines thorn around her blackened heart as she teeters on the brink of hunger, and as luck would have it, Sidonie Dupont appears to be ripe for the taking.

MATTHIEU: Matthieu gnashes his teeth together. He catches his lip in the press: vice-grip, vice-sanction. He thinks about his friends, now notches in the frame of his bed; crosses and circles, sleeping together with the rest of his kills. He thinks about the weight of Leon’s hand. The way it perched on the back of his neck, the tight sound in his throat when he whispered into his skin. Maybe we’ll go somewhere, you and I. What do you say? After this is over.

PATRICE: The adrenaline had kept his mind far from the stinging feeling of the cut across his bicep, but now, the warmth of blood flowing down his skin, a calm river compared to the pounding of his heart, that made it feel as if his veins were roaring rapids in contrast.

REGIS: Long strides take him past rows and rows of soldiers who have made themselves into the shape of ornamental decorations. They do not blink. They do not breathe. They dare not move. An occasion of some kind has called Alain here today, thus his presence, but Régis is here with other intentions.

SAINTE: Sainte knows that to outsiders, her morals may look skewed. How can one take a man’s head off his body, and still feel wrong telling a lie? Perhaps she’s balancing things however she can. Some things, she feels, have been set out before her by Odeline, so very clearly. Other decisions are hers to make alone, and feel, therefore, much more muddy.

SAVATIER: A wild, young world is often violent; but the bloodshed committed in the name of order has always left Savatier with a strange taste. He’d live freely before the displacement, knowing no rulers nor loyalty aside from that to the earth’s phenomena, and Odeline. Odd, to be asked to pledge similar faith in an Empress who has sacrificed nothing besides familial blood.

SIDONIE: If one looked closely enough, they would notice the fire brimming in their gaze— a stilling anger that they attempted to reel in as they watched her, completely unmoving. They loathed the way the nobles looked upon her as if she were their courtly pet. As if she’d been there for to sole purpose of their entertainment, and not a living, breathing human. They would never know her— never learn her in the way she had, but this Violaine did not mind.

VIOLAINE: If only I could spend a lifetime impressing you, they do not say, because admitting such would turn what was previously palpable, present occasionally in her lingering gaze, or even the hesitation of her whispers, into something tactile, permanently cauterized into the webs of their affections. So soon they would not sully their mind with doubt.

YVON: From within her sleeve a stretch of white is drawn, the watery silk reminiscent of the shucking of milky, pale meat from a sea creature’s gold shell. Yvon extends the square in pinched fingers, pearlescent and thin as it hangs in the air between them. Here, a thing from within my husk.

ZHENYA: Such was the nature of the tenuous push and pull by which they were bound; in her furious suspicion and flaring spite, Gisele burned, and with his chilled apathy and callous disregard, Zhenya only ever stoked the flames.

#faimquotes #long post / #no i will NOT BE PUTTING THIS UNDER A READ MORE