#but that was a while ago i dunno if it could go any further

[devotion-disorder]

When I first met Harper I thought, “Omg finally someone normal and nice in this town!”

Then I found out I was very wrong🧍‍♀️(i am not complaining tho)

bro SAMEEE my first time playing and my pc faints twice and got the hospital cutscene where harper is mildly concerned and i was like!!!!!! i cant believe theres someone in this godforsaken place who actually cares about the wellbeing of pc and is not just trying to manipulate them!!!! they even gave me pills to lower my trauma!!!!!! so i went to the friday sessions almost religiously and -oh. why did i think there’d be any beacons of purity in rapechestershire (except robin)😭😭😭 so naturally, i do what any sensible player would do and try to grind what paltry affection there is to grind for harper

#ask #anon #i guess from a gameplay standpoint i really walked right into it so. props to vrel and the team honestly #i think ive reached 15% max relationship with harper #but that was a while ago i dunno if it could go any further

[celtic-crossbow]

Blood Ties Chapter 26

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Mainly just pregnancy stuff

A/N: I hope I pulled this off while keeping our archer in character. Be gentle.

gif by @daryl-dixon-daydreams

You knew it was bothering him, it was evident in the way he moved. The jerking slices of the knife as he made bolts while he sat cross legged on the old railing across from you. You were perched on the porch swing—he had all but jumped up and down on it to make sure it would hold you safely—just watching him, guilt flaring to singe the inside of your chest. He wanted to go on the run, get the things that you and the baby needed, but you were scared. Hershel had said the baby could come any day. It was at your insistence that Daryl wasn’t going. You didn’t have to try hard, mind you. He was worried about leaving you as well.

Still, it wasn’t sitting right with him for the others to be risking their necks for his baby.

“Maybe you should go.” You finally said, picking at your thumbnail. You saw his movements come to an abrupt halt before continuing.

“Nah. Ya need me here.” He sniffed, starting up on another piece of wood. He had legitimate bolts with his crossbow, so you could only assume he was just trying to keep his hands busy. He was so undeniably torn and it was showing.

“I think you should. You know what I need. You’ve read the books. Maggie will be there to help with the medical side of things, the list Hershel made.” You sat up straighter, attempting to massage the little foot away from your ribs. Of course, Daryl noticed.

“S’wrong?” He was climbing off the rail and made it over to you in one long stride, giving you a once over before he sat down. He didn’t ask before taking over for you, lightly rubbing over the little form of toes with the smallest, gentlest of smiles. You’d almost consent to constant discomfort if it meant you’d see more of that expression.

“Thumper has a personal vendetta against my ribcage.” Your head found your partner’s shoulder, watching that same laser focus that had moments ago been on the wood he was carving now honed in on you. For a moment, you were just a couple expecting a baby. For a moment, the world hadn’t ended. For a moment, you had managed to find perfect. “I love you.”

Daryl’s hand froze but for a mere heartbeat before his fingertips continued chasing little toes as if he were playing a game with the baby, when in reality he was simply trying to divert the tiny digits away from your ribs. “So ya keep sayin’.”

“So you keep saying. Is that all you’re ever gonna say?” You weren’t angry, not even frustrated. There was merely a soft curiosity that sat in the back of your mind; along with the little voice that assured you Daryl was yours and you were his, even if he could never say the words.

“Dunno.” It always unsettled you when he spoke so quietly, small and fragile as if he feared his words would end in some sort of pain. God, you wanted to bury his father in a gopher hole, maybe even his mother and brother. It was normal for a person to be unsure of feelings, to question and explore before accepting what they were, good or bad. Daryl didn’t have that capability. He questioned. He explored. And then he feared, good or bad. He didn’t think he deserved good and he was so attuned with bad that it’s what came naturally in his own reactions. Perhaps he thought you were trying to fix him, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. You didn’t see anything broken. You saw someone who had never been shown what love was supposed to feel like. He wasn’t broken, he just needed to learn, and Daryl was good at learning. 

Still you persevered, your fingers finding their way into his hair, delicately tracing the scar from Andrea’s bullet. “Do you love me, Daryl?” Maybe narrowing it down to a simple yes or no would make it easier for him. Maybe you were pushing him. You would need time if the answer was no but you would be okay. He cared enough to be with you, to raise Thumper as a family. In the end, that was all you needed.

But then his hand stilled on the center of your swollen belly and he lifted his head to seek out your gaze. Even with all the emotion stirring in those stormy pools of blue, you could easily see the fear, but there was something else. You continued to run your fingers through his hair, the color darkening somewhat as it grew. Even with that comforting gesture, you held his gaze, heard his breath stutter, watched his lips move so, so nimbly without a sound. His free hand came up to brush back your own hair, tenderly tucking it behind your ear. As he leaned toward you, the corners of your mouth lifted into a welcoming smile.

“Y/N, I—”

“We’re heading out!” Glenn called from the doorway before stepping onto the porch. Daryl pulled away fast, his hands on his knees, eyes downcast. 

You were going to absolutely torture Glenn before you murdered him.

“You sure you don’t wanna go, Daryl?” Rick had joined Glenn and was checking his weapons before he finally looked up.

Daryl, though, only had eyes for you; his bowed head angled to see you, questioning. 

You sighed with a smile, giving him a nudge with your elbow. “Go. Try to find those bra pad things. Cloths suck and they hurt my nipples.” There was no deeper shade of red that could color his skin. You laughed, loud and true. “Go. We’ll be fine.” Licking his lips nervously, Daryl nodded and left the swing.

T-Dog held out the archer’s bag and crossbow. “Thought you might change your mind. Went ahead and grabbed these.” He only received a nod. 

The group began to descend the steps, but Daryl paused at the end, looking back to you. He closed the distance in seconds, a finger hooking under your chin to lift your face higher, even though you were already looking at him. “Be back ‘fore dark. Promise.”

That earned him one of your sweetest smiles. “We’ll be waiting.” You patted your belly. The rough hand at your chin, moved to your jaw, his thumb stroking the apple of your cheek. “I love you, Daryl. Be safe.” He hesitated, long enough for something to stir in your chest. Hope? Excitement? Then he merely nodded and was gone.

You and Lori were given the least strenuous tasks. She was not far behind you. A few weeks, her belly almost as prominent as your own. Luckily, you found it helped for folding clothing before stuffing them in the correct bag. Your bare feet were propped up in a chair across from you, your ankles swollen, squeezed by the socks that you had to wear to keep them warm. Your body just ached all over. Thumper Dixon was playing field hockey with your internal organs and the nausea you had definitely not missed was threatening to make a comeback. You just felt awful.

“The last month is the worst.” Lori commented while packing away some of Carl’s clothing. “And it’ll take a while after the baby comes to feel human again.”

“Growing a human fucking sucks.” You groused, one of Daryl’s few shirts lying spread over your torso. “And goddamnit, I have to pee. I always have to pee.”

“Means you’re hydrated at least. Silver linings.” Lori tittered. If anyone had been watching the two of you battling to your feet, it would have been worthy of more than a few chuckles.

“Thanks for going with me. Daryl would have a kitten if I went alone.” When you straightened, there was an immediate feeling of change in your body that had you looking to Lori, eyes wide. “Holy shit, I can breathe but I feel like I’m gonna piss my pants and my hips hurt.”

She smiled and placed her hands over her own round bump. “The baby dropped. You're carrying differently now. I wish we had a mirror.” 

“Carrying differently? What do you—oh.” You immediately noticed when you began to massage the taut skin that the swell sat lower. You suddenly couldn’t remember a word the old man had said. Were you about to go into labor? How would Daryl know? You couldn’t do it without him.

“Easy, Y/N.” At some point, the other woman had crossed the small space and put her hands on your shoulders, your stomachs brushing against one another. “It just means the baby’s getting ready. Though, I think after this run, Daryl should probably consider staying behind on any others.” You nodded, trying to get your breathing under control. In through the nose, out through the mouth. “Let’s go take care of business and then let Hershel do his daily thing, okay?”

You nodded again, a jerky motion while you trembled. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” You followed behind her, trying to keep your mind on the fact that if you didn’t empty your bladder within the next couple of minutes, you would still be incredibly anxious but you would be so with wet pants. “Maybe the little gremlin can’t reach my ribs now.”

You felt like crap. All day, you felt heavy and sluggish, swollen and nauseous. By late afternoon, you just couldn’t stand it anymore. 

“Carol.” You spoke her name quietly, leaning onto the dusty countertop to pillow your head on your folded arms. You saw the concern on her face when she turned from canned foods with which she was planning small meals. You couldn’t even wave away her worry. “Do you need my help right now? I think I’d really like to lie down.” 

“Y/N, what’s wrong?” She came to place a hand on your back, rubbing softly. It only succeeded in making your yearn for Daryl to be there, easing your fears in his own Daryl way. He would probably already have an aneurysm when someone told him that you’d done work, light as it was. And then you needed to tell him that the baby had indeed dropped. God, even if you didn’t tell him, he’d notice with that keen eye of his. Your stomach had shifted, still round but lower. There was so much pressure on your pelvis that you thought the bones might separate at any moment. Lori had promised that what you were feeling was normal, that it was simply new and you would take a day or two to adjust unless the baby decided to make its debut before you could.

“I just don’t feel well.” You stood straighter, nodding that she could remove her hand and you were fine. “I’d rather have Daryl come back to me feeling like shit and resting than to me feeling like shit and trying to help get things done.”

“I can’t argue with that.” She laughed. 

Carol was about the only other person in the group that Daryl dropped any of his walls around. With Rick, it was all business. There was respect there, but not yet friendship. You could see it though, the subtle changes in your hunter. He was getting comfortable around these people. It was a snail’s pace but if they were anything like you hoped they were, he would be granted their patience. God knew, he had earned it. 

“Come on.” Carol urged. “Let’s get you settled.” 

With each step, you whined, feeling less and less like the woman you had been only months before, like she had been left behind somewhere, starved or trampled by a herd. “I hate this. Is it wrong to hate this?” You grimaced at Carol who only chuckled breathily, her hand resting on your cheek.

“It’s not wrong. This is a lot. Our bodies do a lot.” A couple of soft pats and then she bent down to straighten the bedroll and arrange the blankets. 

You were watching, actually finding yourself excited to be off your feet and deciding that a nap wouldn’t be so horrible when there was a strange feeling low in your belly. It started as a gradual tightening but soon turned into an unyielding cramp, your stomach hard beneath your hands as you grabbed for your sweater. You gasped Carol’s name, could hear her clearly calling for Hershel but you couldn’t seem to respond, swallowed up by every fear that had been looming like a dark shadow for the past few weeks. The pain wasn’t even horrible, not like you had imagined at all. But it was terrifying. The only thing you could think of to do was hold the area that housed your little Thumper and whimper out Daryl’s name.

A bed had been cleared, dusted, and made for you in the downstairs room. As you laid there, resting, and stared at the half empty cup of water on the bedside table, you overheard Beth and Carl animatedly re-telling how two walkers had shuffled by the driveway gate. The children had hid and remained quiet, reporting that no others were seen once those two had moved on. You weren’t naive enough to hope that it didn’t mean more were coming. The group would need to pack up and head out likely within the next day or so. 

“Braxton Hicks.” Hershel had stated matter-of-factly. He had expressed that he was actually surprised you hadn’t experienced them before then, added that maybe you had but they were so mild that you just didn’t notice. You had two more instances over the course of three hours but nothing since then, though your body seemed to be in a constant state of dread, waiting for another to happen; for it to be more than what Hershel had said. You were waiting for something to be wrong.

Beyond the dusty, tattered green curtains, you could see the light fading. Daryl would be back soon. Would he blame you for bringing this on by doing a little work? Would he be angry? He’d be beside himself with worry, that much was a given. Hershel had said you could do small chores, that it was good for you to be moving, but what if Daryl didn’t see it that way? The morning had started so perfectly. The conversation had been left unfinished but it didn’t seem to have been heading anywhere bleak. 

“Ugh.” You didn’t know what was more exhausting, your body or your brain. Each time you closed your eyes, your mind ran rampant with each and every wildly negative scenario it could possibly conjure. You groaned and rolled to your other side despite the effort and apprehensiveness of even moving. Letting your eyes close yet again, you fought against the intrusive thoughts, forcing images of what Thumper might look like instead. A little girl with Daryl’s eyes and your smile. A little boy with unruly light hair like Daryl’s had been, a constant scowl. You laughed softly, wetly, shedding a few tears around your smile. No matter the sex of the baby, you hoped for Daryl’s eyes. They were the one thing to always gave him away, no matter what expression he wore. With a baby that couldn’t communicate needs and wants, you would at least have that in your corner.

At some point, you must have dozed off, opening your eyes to the sound of the old truck Daryl was driving. Looking to the window, you could see the faint light of dusk giving way to the moon. He’d kept his promise, albeit barely. You didn’t care as long as he was back. Shifting and struggling, you finally made it upright just as you heard Glenn’s all too cheerful voice, though you couldn’t make out the words. Rick’s few words trailed right after. Then there was Daryl. He spoke but then there was nothing more than hushed tones. Hershel offering the day's events, most likely. A thud was followed by echoing stomps of boots pounding against the hardwood floors.

“Where is she?” Daryl roared, closer to the door.

“She’s fine, son. She’s resting. This is normal. It just caused a bit of a fright. She just—”

“Where. Is. She?!”

The old man must have nodded or pointed because the next thing you knew, the door was swinging open with Daryl’s silhouette backdropped by the soft candlelight in the other room. His shoulders were heaving in what sounded so close to sobs that you squinted your eyes for a chance to catch his expression before he moved, startling you with how quickly he had one knee on the bed and was leaning in to check you over himself. He was filthy, mostly dirt and grime, but spots of walker blood and a cut across his cheek that was no longer bleeding. 

“What happened?” You asked, reaching for his face but letting your hand hover in fear of hurting him.

“Don’t matter. Ya alright? Baby okay?” He was breathless, either from his haste to get to you or maybe just with worry. He was touching you without hesitance, his hands in a mad rush to feel your face, neck, your belly. You watched his eyes go wide and knew exactly what it meant. “Why’s it look diff’rent?” 

“Thumper dropped.” His eyes were dancing back and forth as he flipped through his mental catalog of reading material and Hershel’s words. Relief was evident in his posture when he recalled what he had been searching for, but he was still tense.

“Hershel said ya was crampin’. The fake shit. Does it hurt now?” You shook your head and watched him finally sink onto his hip beside you, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Shouldn’a gone. Ya didn’t need to be alone through that.” 

“Hey.” You leaned as far as you could, to guide his hand away with one hand while the other used his chin to turn his face toward you. “I wasn’t alone and we’re okay. It’s just my body getting ready.” Daryl’s head tilted, his expression displaying his gratitude for your attempts at consolation but also heavy laden with guilt for leaving you there. “Daryl, you had to go.”

“Didn’t hafta do nothin’. Could’a stayed right here where ya need me to be.” 

He hadn’t asked what you had been doing. Maybe it wasn’t that important to him after all. He seemed to be more concerned with what happened and how you currently felt than anything. You truly needed to start trusting him as you wanted so badly for him to trust you. Your palm left his face and wrapped around the back of his neck, not needing much pressure to pull him to you for your lips to press against his. It was gentle and chaste, his hand leaving your belly to cup your jaw.

“We’re okay and you’re here now.” You soothed, kissing the corner of his mouth. “Just—no more runs until Thumper’s here, okay?”

“No more runs.” He agreed, his eyes closed, forehead against yours. “Ain’t leavin’ ya again.” His hand lowered back to your belly, rubbing back and forth. It was always the most tender thing you’d ever seen from him. You didn’t think him the type but he actually seemed to be calmed by the action. “D’ya need anythin’?”

“Just you.” You let him help you lie back, but he didn’t follow. 

“Need to clean up. I’ll be quick.” He made to stand up but you grabbed his forearm and pulled yourself up again, not stopping once you got there. He gave in to your incessant tugging and wrapped his arms around you. “You’re gonna need to change too now.” You sniffled, trying hard not to cry, but you were just so overwhelmed with relief that he was back in one piece, that nothing bad had truly happened, that he was going to stay. “Don’t cry, woman. M’here.”

“I know. I’m just—I’m happy. I have you and Thumper. And—I don’t deserve you, Daryl Dixon.”

Daryl scoffed, rubbing his cheek against the crown of your head. “Ya deserve way better than me, Sunshine.” He took a deep breath that actually shifted you against his chest and then he was tightening his embrace. “But I love ya. An’ m’here unless ya tell me to get lost.” He pulled away before you could say anything, heading quickly for the door with one last look before he walked out. You were stunned frozen, silent. 

He said it.

He said it and you could feel that he meant it. His actions had always conveyed it, but hearing it from his mouth was everything. 

Thumper rolled and kicked before going still, reacting to all the emotions you were feeding to them through your bond. When you laid down again, it wasn’t hard to fall asleep. No wicked images formed behind your eyes. Just those words replaying in your head, a baby’s tiny hand gripping a large finger. A child’s giggle. And then his voice again.

Your eyes didn’t want to obey when you bid them to open, the mattress dipping beside you, the sheets moving. A warm arm pulled you against an even warmer body, enveloping you in a veil of safety.

Everything would be okay.

Because you loved Daryl.

And Daryl loved you.

#murda writes #daryl dixon #blood ties #daryl dixon x reader #the walking dead #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x y/n #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon smut #daryl dixon x female reader #daryl x female reader #pregnant!reader #daddy!daryl incoming #daryl #the walking dead daryl #daryl dixon twd #the walking dead daryl dixon #daryl dixon the walking dead

[nishloves]

finding kwon soonyoung;

hoshi (svt) x reader // words : 1.1k // fluff oneshot // no warnings

"soonyoung!" you huff as you strode past another park, settling deeper into your warm jacket as you turn to look at under the slides and climbers.

sighing when you couldn't find him.

"did you find him, y/n?" you heard seungcheol call out to you as you cringe, a little embarrassed for not being able to find a 178cm man.

"i couldn't," you reply, your voice soft as seungcheol sighs, an easy smile on his face.

"don't worry— he's too good at hiding," he says, patting your back to comfort you as you frown at him, "no because- how did he even hide? is there any place to hide?"

"dunno— let me go search for jeonghan though," he said as he waved at you, running across the to the different block as you waved back at him.

why were grown up adults even playing hide and seek?

was it because you told your sibling that it'd be hard for a grown ass adult like you to hide among the many parks and soonyoung took an offence to it? or was it because all of you were reminiscing back to your childhood— to your better days as you indulged the neighborhood kids for a few games of hide and seek.

but fuck, was it hard?

even though you were split between the seeker and the hiders team, it was hard— specifically hard to find jeonghan and soonyoung as you panted, too tired to go further and so you sat on a nearby park bench.

you called him, thinking that he won't pick up. yet he did.

"hello?" his voice was light, almost like a whisper as you chuckled, imagining him hunching and hiding some place absurd as he picked up your phone, only to whisper a darth-vader like hello due to bad connection.

"come on out, the game's over."

"it is?"

you smiled, "yeah!"

"it hasn't been thirty minutes yet— i myself have a watch."

"but it is over— we are all tired."

"make me talk to cheol then," he said as you sighed at him, knowing full well that he wouldn't leave his hiding spot because of your small lie.

"you don't trust me?" you asked, your lips in a pout as the line was quiet for a while, you wondered if he was still there?

"you've been staying with jeonghan quite a lot."

you chuckled, "that's valid."

"come on, soonie~" you whine, "give me a hint!"

"no can do y/n, i am afterall a tall man hiding in your plain sight."

you frantically looked around the park as you could hear him giggle, his breath light as he tried to control his laughter.

"where are you?"

"find me."

"soonyoung, i—" you sigh, your shoulders slunched as you copy a pitiful posture, knowing that he's seeing you, "come on, tell me where you are— i won't tell them."

he was quiet for a while as he asked you, "you won't?"

"i won't." the biggest lie a seeker tells.

"then," you heard him shuffle as you yet again tried to spot him, but to no avail.

"look inside the tubes."

you stared at the cylindrical white huge tubes at the very edge of the park, you remember peeking inside them a while ago, "but I already looked there?" you said over the call, trudging across the park as you spotted the same man you had been finding, a widespread grin on his face, his eyes crinckled into crescent moons.

you couldn't betray him.

"hey," you said as you ended the call, shoving him further inside as you settled yourself next to him, you cheeks a little hot.

"you didn't call out to them," his voice was bewildered as you noticed his strong gaze on you while you scoffed, "you really believed i would break my promise like that?"

you nudged your shoulder with his, happy to have an excuse as you relished your time next to him— too happy— considering that you were sitting inside a dirty tube, playing hide 'n seek with grown men.

"we didn't promise anything," you could feel his grin on you as you panicked, 'you could still rat him out' you heard your inner voice say, but would you?

"should I call them over then?" you asked, knowing full well that you wouldn't.

you heard his chuckle as he grasped your hand in his, his thumb rubbing your knuckles, "no."

you could feel your smile widen as you looked at his dopey smile— oh, how badly you had wanted to win, but your heart wouldn't let you make them find him.

"i looked here a few minutes ago," you said, changing the topic, "i didn't see you."

"maybe you didn't look well enough?"

"I'm pretty sure that I did."

"then maybe, I changed my spot."

you pouted at him, you could see his eyes widen slightly in the dark as you felt his lips on the back of your hand, your cheeks seething as he pulled you further inside— normally, you would have been severely revolted by this gesture, but today was special— special in a way that each moment with him was making your heart race.

"next time."

"next time?" you asked.

"next time," he said, "next time, if I ever hide from you, I'll tell it to you then."

your heart warmed as you stared at him, not willing to pull your hand away from his, you could hear your teammates call out to you, seungkwan especially loudly, you saw soonyoung flinch— as you noticed that a good five minutes were still left.

would you sacrifice a game for a mere five minutes of intimate moments?

you didn't reply back to them as you pressed your lips on his, hearing him sigh contently as he pulled you closer to him, in that cramped space.

"next time," you said, "don't hide from me."

you felt him grin against your lips as you buried your face in the crook of his neck, a cheesy smile on your face as you said, "even if you did, i will find you."

"and i'll let you."

"I'll find you before that!"

"bet."

#kflixnet #caratlibrary #caratsland #seventeen #kpop #kwon soonyoung imagines #kwon soonyoung fluff #kwon soonyoung x reader #kwon soonyoung #kwon hoshi #hoshi x reader #seventeen hoshi #hoshi #hoshi fluff #soonyoung fluff #soonyoung imagine #soonyoung #svt #svt imagines #seventeen imagines #nish recs #kpop fluff #seventeen fluff #svt hoshi #hoshi svt

[storiesandthingsofthatnature]

To Feel Adrenaline

Part 2

Summary: Pino ventures to a district that is new to him and meets a stalker that is quite the character

Word Count: 1.3k

Pairing: Pinocchio x G!N!Reader

Warnings: Violence but that's about it :3

Disclaimer: Nothing to report~

A/N: Hey there! I'm back with a Lies of P fic! This is going to be a series based on feelings so if you guys have an idea for a prompt around a feeling do let me know and I could add to the series ^^ As for the Leon x reader series, I don't think I will be continuing with it. I dunno, it all depends really. I just don't have any further idea for it and I honestly don't like how the writing came out. But, like I said, we shall see.

Btw, the district I mention is just one I added. Gemini talks more in here because he deserves more lines, the reader is a very...Interesting character and just know that this is set after the puppet king defeat as that's where I'm at in the game so no spoilers please :'D

Anyways, enjoy! And do let me know what you think ;; Comments, reblogs and likes are always appreciated as well <3 Thank you!

Pino walked on soft footsteps, the puppet trying to evade the more basic frenzied puppets to preserve his stamina. He was currently out scouting an area that he hadn’t traversed yet, Gepetto wishing his son a safe trip but not before leaving him with a warning. “Rumor has it that there is an elite stalker in that district. I hear they keep to themselves and don’t really associate with anyone, but I have no idea how they will react if they figure out who you are and who you are with. Please be careful, my son.”

So far there were just the usual maid and butler puppets with the occasional harder opponent. But it was nothing that Pino really had to worry about, his swordsmanship and defense sharpening evermore with each battle. Each encounter something that he kept with him, memories that helped him along the way. However, he was not lax. His father’s words were still in the back of his mind and it seemed that Gemini was thinking the same thing as well. “What do you think they’re like, this “elite stalker.” Gemini mimicked Gepetto. “I’ve heard about that one woman who is supposedly the best of the stalkers, but I didn’t know that there were others. Hmmm, we shouldn’t take this lightly, huh?” 

They had only just beaten The Puppet King not too long ago, Gepetto practically forbidding Pino from continuing on his journey for the moment. “My son needs his rest. And I just want you to be safe, for once.” His father had said and Pino had agreed reluctantly but on the condition that he was still helpful to Gepetto and the others in other ways. So here he was, scouting out a district that was a little bit past Malum district. He knew he shouldn’t go out too far and go to places that aren’t really necessary, but was mostly curious as to what was out here. 

Pino wondered if he would actually stumble upon this stranger but suddenly, the amount of puppets in the area began to dwindle as he traversed further into the district. Further until there were none and just the sound of the sprinkling rain pattering against the cobblestone street was all that was left. A nervous chirp sounded from Gemini,” I dunno if I should be grateful that there are no more puppets or suspicious…Be careful, pal.” For assurance, Pino reached back and gently patted against the top of Gemini’s lantern. He may get annoyed with the cricket puppet at times but he was still a very beloved companion. 

Suddenly, fast approaching footsteps crept up from behind Pino, the puppet jumping to the side to dodge an incoming attack. “I thought I had rid this place of you guys. Ya’ll just don’t quit!” The newcomer said, obviously annoyed at Pino’s presence. They shouldered their weapon as they recentered themselves from their attack and turned to Pino. “Well, you’re an interesting one! You’re obviously not like the others either.” While they mulled over this, Pino couldn’t help but tilt his head as he observed the stranger’s animal mask. He knew that stalkers usually wore masks to show rank but he had never seen this animal before!

“Hm?” You question the puppet’s curious look, your free hand aligning with his line of sight and you meet your mask. “Oh! Ah yes! Not the usual get up, right? I thought - Donkey mask? Bunny mask? Those are quite boring. I had to go for something more, well, me!” It was a dinosaur mask that you adorned. More specifically a T-Rex mask. “I would have gone with a velociraptor, but I found out that they’re smaller than I originally imagined so, T-Rex it is!”

There was a moment of silence and Pino could swear that this was probably one of his most strangest encounters. “Eccentric. The answer to my earlier question is eccentric.” Gemini chirped, Pino giving a small nod in agreement. You give a hum,”I’m actually quite curious as to why you’re not attacking me right now. I had heard a rumor that there was a puppet made by Geppetto that is actually good but…I just don’t know. Sorry, but, do you mind if we have a sparring session? I see a person’s character better that way.” You bring your weapon back to hip height, the candle light from the street lanterns creating a gleam across the blade. 

It was nothing spectacular in appearance but when you wield it, it didn’t require aesthetics. “Well at least they were kind enough to ask.” Gemini surmised, Pino giving a single tap to the glass. A sign that he needed Gemini to be silent from here on so he could concentrate. “Good luck, pal.” Was what he left Pino before settling into his lantern further for the fight.

Pino unsheathed his weapon as well - The Puppet Ripper that he had received from Alidoro after defeating The Puppet King. He wanted to try it out and now seemed like a good time. You hum in amazement from the looks of the scythe. “Woah, that looks terrifying. Please mind that thing would ya?” You laugh and Pino couldn’t help but knit his brows at your odd wording. But suddenly, he felt your presence behind him. He noticed just in time to block your advancement, you giving a small sound of amazement. “You actually blocked that! Impressive!” You praise and then jump back, landing lightly on your feet.

Pino had no idea how you had gotten behind him so quickly, but he didn’t have time to think it over before you were coming at him with another attack. Your jabs were super sonic, your slashes nearly invisible. Pino was having a hard time keeping up, receiving small hits of damage as his blocks weren’t perfect. “I wonder how long you can keep up with me.” You say as you hit him with a heavy blow, Pino sliding back until he hits a wall. You advance quickly, hot sparks of iron lighting the area you two fought in as your blades hit with such ferocity and determination. 

Pino could feel his stamina reaching its max, the puppet needing to find a break in the fight to have a small rest to regain it but you were adamant on keeping him from doing just that. He had no idea where you kept all that energy but he really wished he could tap into it somehow. He could feel the ergo that surged within him pulsing rapidly, like a heart rate that was skyrocketing. Even with the pupper king he hadn’t felt this sensation before, the fear that he may not be able to pull through this if this keeps up. 

However, your hits subsided and your blades crossed, scratching metal a cacophony in both of your ears as you created a stalemate. Your eyes looked deep into Pinos’, [e/c] meeting iridescent blue that held hints of worry yet shone with a burning fire that screamed “I will fight until I can no longer move.” You give a breath of a laugh and jump back, the young puppet practically collapsing from the broken tension. “You have some sharp skills there.” You praise once more as you sheath your weapon. “Thank you for the sparring session! I really needed that.” You walk over to Gepetto’s puppet, Pino swearing that if he held the ability to breath he would be doing so very heavily right now. You hold out a hand, a small smile gracing your lips. “Nice to meet you. My name is [Y/N] The Fossil. I hadn’t thought that I would meet a well mannered puppet ever again but here you are.” 

Pino felt like he just experienced whiplash, the sudden change in conversation throwing him off. But yet, he took the outstretched hand, a small shake creating the catalyst for you and Gepetto’s puppet.

#lies of p #lies of p fanfic #p x reader #pinnochio #gn reader

[howlingday]

an au where jaune becomes a sheriff of a little town in the DC universe after he learns he has super powers he also takes up search and rescue training ems training and even volunteers as a firefighter. his rouges gallery is his friends from beacon who aren't evil they just produce the normal amount of collateral damage associated with them while they try to fight the small time gangs in vale. he also occasionally gets called up by justice leaguers to help either with combat or just to talk (mostly just to talk so many of them have mental issues they need help with) take us through a day in the life of sheriff jaune arc a guy who just wants to help without causing any problems

Sheriff Arc

You ever have a really bad day? Like, even worse than what you were trained for? Like, for example, you work in a sandwich shop and some fancy-looking guy comes in and tells you he wants soup. You don't make soup, but they're insistent, and it's obvious they're not leaving, even if you call the police? Well...

Jaune: Still no sign of him.

Radio: (Muffled chattering) Copy that, sheriff. What's your plan.

Jaune: I don't want to waste chopper fuel, but-

Radio: I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU WASTE! FIND MY NEPHEW!

Yeah. That's the soup lady. Or, well, she's a farmer, but a really importantly farmer. Her nephew, whom she holds guardianship over, ran away from home. Can't imagine why with such a lovely aunt to take care of him.

But that's not fair to her. She's just worried about her nephew. And I honestly can't blame her. If Adrian suddenly disappeared, I'd be looking all over for him, come hell or high water.

Wait a minute. High water.

Jaune: Hey, when was the last rainstorm we had?

Radio: Two nights ago. Lasted pretty much all day, morning to night, and got up to about seven inches. We needed it.

There's a river that runs through the forest. Well, maybe "river" is being generous, but the rain could have upgraded the stream to a river, and the pond in the woods into a swamp.

And the old tunnel by the pond into an underwater cave.

Jaune: I've got a lead. Send a boat crew to the pond, and bring scuba gear.

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

The Rat Tunnels. An old relic from the Great War. It was first built for smuggling purposes, then when the Great War broke out, it turned into a bunker for... well, anyone who could get ahold of it.

Then it was left alone when the war ended. Could be anything in there.

Well, anything except people, I hope. As spacious as it may seem at the entrance, you have to be pretty small to fit yourself inside. About as small as a rat.

Jaune: (In scuba gear) I'm going in. (Dives)

Everything is soaked around me. The bank is supposed to end way lower than where it is now. But it didn't, and now it's soaked into the bunker.

To say everything was dark inside would be an understatement. So dark, you can't see your hand in front of you. And dark means cold, and that's exactly what it was inside, too. Gotta move fast, or else hypothermia will settle in.

Really hope this kid isn't catching it.

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

???: I'm looking for Jaune Arc.

Jaune: I am Jaune Arc.

???: The REAL Jaune Arc.

Jaune: I am the real Jaune Arc.

???: I'm looking for Sheriff Arc.

Jaune: Oh... You could have just started with that.

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

I can feel my fingers tingling. Definitely not good. I could pull back, but until I find him, I can't pull out. Just a little further.

Keep going forward.

Jaune: (Slaps out of the water) Found him! I'm gonna need a medevac. He looks real cold.

Radio: Negative, Sheriff. Just got word of another heavy rainstorm coming in. Heli won't fly in this weather.

Jaune: Shoot. I dunno if this kid will last much longer in here. Can we get a second diver in here with a spare bottle?

Radio: Negative. Everybody's too busy with other tasking.

Jaune: ...Mm. Can't climb out. What do I do?

???: Sacrifices must be made...

Jaune: Huh?

???: He must live...

Jaune: What the hell? Who's there?

???: Breathe.

???: Help him breathe.

Jaune: ...What I would give for an extra pair of lungs.

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

Ruby: Come on! It wasn't me!

Neptune: Uh-huh, and who else graffitis roses all over town?

Ruby: It's not all over town. It's just the parts of town not already tagged... I'm assuming.

Neptune: Yeah, sure, and-

Radio: All units. All units. Requesting Arc recall at earliest convenience.

Neptune: Ah, crap... Listen, I... Wait. Where did she?

Ruby: (Peeking from the roof) Heh heh heh... (Sneaks off) Now to help Jaune!

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

Everything hurts. My lungs feel like they're gonna pop, like my chest is on fire. I'm getting air now and then, but it's just little air pops of oxygen. I'm really far from town.

But I gotta keep moving. The kid's passed out, in my arms, breathing in from my tank.

I know what you're thinking right now.

"You're the worst Sheriff I ever saw!"

"Who trained you to be an EMS?"

"What qualifications do you have to do all of this?"

To answer those questions in order: I know. Nobody. And none.

I'm just the guy who would blindly dive into a dark, cold, underground tunnel just to save some kid's life. Because it's my job, and there's nobody else who can do it.

I can feel myself fading...

Fading...

Fadi...

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

Jaune: HAAAAAAAAAA! Hah... Hah...

Ruby: You okay, Jaune?

Jaune: Ruby? What... How did... Wait, the kid! Did he-?!

Ruby: Relaaaaax, Jaune. Oscar is fine. He's with his aunt right now, and the town's okay. Mostly.

Jaune: Mostly?

Ruby: Well, there were a few of you who kinda poofed, and you kinda left Neptune in charge.

Jaune: Oh... Alright... That's fine, then.

Ruby: Uh, did you miss the part about Neptune being in charge?

Jaune: If that's the worst problem there is, I'm pretty sure I can handle it.

Ruby: Well, it's not technically the worst.

Jaune: Huh, what do you?

???: Sheriff Arc.

Jaune: Huh?

Batman: I have some questions for you.

#rwby #sheriff arc #jaune arc #rwby au #ruby rose #neptune vasilias #ozpin #oscar pine #batman #bruce wayne #dc

[lynnie-ee]

Hello hello!,I love your writing and was hoping to request a lil floyd leech x gender neutral reader oneshot?,where he realizes he has a crush and tries to figure out how to ask his crush out?

╰┈➤"A weird sensation of hunger has taken over Floyd, and with the help of Jade and a bag of chips, he might discover the cure."

╰►Gender neutral reader, oneshot, 1.3k words.

╰►Note: Thank u for requesting! 💫. English is not my first language, so feel free to tell me if there's any grammatical mistake <3.

╰►Masterlist.

⤿

"Jadeee, I think I'm hungry."

"... Care to elaborate?"

"I have had a weird feeling ever since yesterday, so I'm probably hungry. Can you get me something? I'm tireeed."

"We ate lunch ten minutes ago."

Jade quickly discarded his brother's comment, as he seemed to find a cereal bar in his pockets a few seconds after they spoke. He thought it was a mere small complaint that was now satisfied.

"Heyyy bro, I think I'm still hungry."

He was wrong.

After that day, the second-year student complained about his hunger every two minutes, no matter where he was.

At class, at the cafeteria, in the middle of his shift at the Mostro Lounge, and Jade could have sworn he heard him mumble about it in his sleep.

“Are you sure you’re just hungry?” Questioned the Octavinelle vicehousewarden, while he folded his clothes, as Floyd was laying on his bed on the other side of the room, with a frown on his face.

“Of course it is, why else would I feel that weird thing on my stomach and face? Sounds like I should go buy some takoyaki. Maybe Azul would want to join me, hehe.”

“On your face, you say? Do you think that’s normal when you feel hungry?”

“I mean, it never happened to me before, but I guess it’s because I’m really really hungry or something.” He replied with a relaxed voice.

“… Don’t you think it has something to do with the fact that almost every time you complain about wanting food, the prefect of Ramshackle is near you?”

The other twin remained silent for a few seconds, as he reflected on his brother’s question.

“Uhm, I don’t think so. Besides that I like them, I guess.”

“You mean, romantically?”

“Yup.”

Jade stared at his brother with an amused smile, and then chuckled, not really surprised at his sudden confession.

“Since when, may I ask?”

“Dunno, but I realized a few seconds ago, so thanks, bro.”

“You’re welcome, Floyd, but please confess to them before you spend all your money on snacks, if you can.”

“I’ll try, bro.”

⤿

⤿

“Aw, this one sucks, shoulda bought the pizza-flavored chips.”

The second-year eel complained with a frown on his face, as he was laying in the middle of the sports field, a bag of potato chips in his hands. It has been a couple of days since his chat with Jade, and he still didn’t know how to confess to his dear Shrimpy. He just wanted for them to get together without having to investigate human courting, as his brother suggested to him.

It sounded boring, but he understood the prefect might feel better with a familiar approach for them, instead of the traditions Floyd learned ever since he was little.

"Hmm, I think I saw someone give flowers to his partner a while ago, maybe if I give them a bouquet of dandelions? Maybe no, Sharksucker might want to eat it, humpf."

"Floyd?"

Even though his eyes were fixed on the sky above him, he could easily recognize the voice that called his name, his mind quickly imagining their curious gaze at him even when he didn't actually turn his eyes towards them.

"Shrimpy~Come here, do you want chips?" He lazily extended the bag in their direction, and the prefect was able to spot an amused smile on his face.

"Sure."

(Y/n) sat next to him, without questioning further about why was he lying in the middle of the field when he was supposed to be at the cafeteria, as it was lunch break. It was fine, either way, they also didn't want to explain why they were walking in the middle of the field when they were supposed to be at the cafeteria. Definitely not because they were looking for him, of course.

"You've been pretty busy at Mostro Lounge lately, haven't you?" The prefect asked, as they picked a few chips from the bag.

"Yeah, Azul has been making me work extra hours to pay for all the food I eat in my shifts."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because I got hungry, duh."

"Makes sense." They shrugged off the comment, as they ate one of the chips. "These are awful, the pizza-flavored ones we ate yesterday were a lot better."

"I was thinking the same, but they're more expensive now and Jade says I shouldn't spend so much money if I want to get out of my extra shifts." He pouted, suddenly getting up from the grass to sit properly, looking at (Y/n), who smiled fondly at him. "I think we should date, y'know? I like you a lot, Shrimpy."

"Sorry?!"

The prefect widened eyes gazed into the relaxed ones of the eel, as he didn't seem bothered after such statement. Bewilderment could be read on the first-year's face, as they scanned Floyd's face in an attempt of looking for signs of it being a joke. They found nothing.

"You mean, like, being lovers?"

"Lovers, high school sweethearts, spouses, you call it. That's how humans address each other romantically here, right?"

"Yeah..." They tried to speak through their bashful state, as they felt their cheeks being warmer than usual. "It's just that...I didn't expect you to confess so suddenly."

"I just felt like it, it's better if I get it out of my system fast, I guess."

Well, maybe the prefect should have expected a confession of that kind, now that they thought about it.

"But what do you say? Wanna be my partner? I promise to squeeze you carefully, and to buy you chips as soon as Azul pays me~."

(Y/n) laughed nervously, not knowing immediately how to answer. The expectant eyes of Floyd were kind of hypnotizing as they silently hurried them up to speak.

But his entire expression gave them a different feeling, a sensation of honesty and fondness they didn't see before on his face, as they never dared to look at him for too long due to shyness. He looked so adorable, so genuine at that moment, the prefect couldn't help but want to see him more often in that state.

To be able to admire his features as he smiled, when he got bored, when he felt relaxed, when he was angry, when he was comfortable, when he was being himself.

Most of the students of NRC found the demonstration of his moods scary, as they said he was unpredictable and intimidating, but (Y/n) knew he was just being honest. Not a single trace of falsehood was spotted in his voice as he proclaimed his intentions of being lovers.

"Of course. As long as you buy different chips, these ones are really bad." They pointed at the bag that now was laying on the floor, as they chuckled.

"Woohoo!"

Floyd suddenly celebrated, quickly throwing his arms around the prefect's body, in a hug that was significantly softer than his usual squeezings, but that still had enough strength to tackle them into the grass of the field.

"Careful, careful! You almost throw the chips out of the bag, don't waste your lunch in that way." The first-year laughed once again, as Floyd nuzzled his head into their neck.

"Don't worry, Shrimpy. I'm not hungry anymore."

⤿

⤿

⤿

╰► Bonus:

"Here ya' have, a pretty dandelion for a pretty Shrimpy." Floyd extended a small flower he found nearby to the magicless student, who received it with a fond expression. "Careful not to let Sharksucker see it, though."

"Uh? Ruggie?"

"Yup."

"And why would that be?"

The eel scanned his surroundings suspiciously as if he was about to reveal a big secret.

"Seagull has told me things about him." He said whispering.

"C'mon, what did Rook tell you?"

"I'll tell you if you give me a kiss~."

"Floyd!"

⤿

⤿

⤿

#twst #twisted wonderland x reader #disney twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland oneshot #disney twst #twst x you #twisted wonderland floyd #twst oneshot #twst floyd #floyd leech #octavinelle #lynnie's request #lynnie's post

[iamnotoriginalphil]

Hey, would you be able to write a Larissa x reader where the reader gets a nosebleed or is over exhausting themselves from using their powers too much and she’s there to comfort and take care of them?

Thanks!

I dunno why but this one made me really happy while I wrote it. I hope it does the same for you as you read it.

You squeezed your eyes closed, concentrating as hard as you could. A persistent throbbing in your temple had started up half an hour ago and didn’t look as if it would be going away any time soon. Your arms felt leaden when you tried to raise you hand.

You pressed your palm to the clock, feeling the vibrations of the gears turning inside. Taking a deep breath you pressed your awareness out further, taking in every minute detail. With a grunt you felt the gears begin to slow, a sharp pain beginning behind your eye.

Strong arms caught you as you slumped back, a warm body pressing against you, steadying you. You tried to shake them off, wanting to try again. You’d been so close. Just one more go and you’d have it.

“Darling, I think it’s time to stop,” Larissa murmured into your ear.

“No, I can do this.” Your voice came out through gritted teeth, “let me do this.”

“You’re bleeding.”

You hadn’t even noticed the blood flowing from your nostrils. With a hand you dabbed at your upper lip, fingertips coming away bright red.

“Oh.”

Gentle hands guided you into a seat. Your head swam and you had to close your eyes to ignore the dizziness you were feeling. Soft hands rubbed calming circles over your back as a cool glass of water was pressed into your hands.

“Darling, you need to take care of yourself,” she said.

You blinked your eyes open, finding her crouching in front of you. Her hand landed on your knee, steady and warm, grounding you in the moment. She passed over a handkerchief, tilting your head back, fingers slipping into the hair at the nape of your neck. You sighed, eyes slipping closed as you pressed the white material to your face.

“I was so close,” you said, “I could feel it.”

“You’re pushing yourself too hard,” she replied.

“I just want to get it right.”

The frustration was palpable but there was nothing you could do other than give it another try. Larissa would bite your head off if you tried. It wasn’t worth it. All you wanted was sleep.

“You will, darling. I know you will,” she said

Her fingers were massaging your head and she kept murmuring praise to you. You let your eyes stay closed as your muscles began to relax. You could let go of your failure for the night.

“Drink, darling.”

You chugged the cool water out of the glass, passing it back to her along with the bloody handkerchief. She took both, not commenting on either.

“Can we go to bed?” you asked.

“Of course, darling.”

Strong arms hefted you out of the chair, cradling you close to her body. You rested your head against her shoulder, wrapping your arms around her neck. She held you so gently, like you were something precious. You wanted to stay in her arms forever.

She placed you down on the soft mattress of your bed. Kneeling in front of you, she pulled your shoes off, helping you shimmy out of your trousers. You shifted up the mattress, slow and tired. Just being awake felt like a chore.

She tucked you into the bed, stroking your hair back as you laid your head on the pillow. You let your eyes close. You felt the mattress shift again as she disappeared from your side. You tried to open your eyes but it was like rocks were sitting on your eyelids. You whimpered, reaching out to her.

Strong arms curled around your body as the mattress dipped beside you. You rolled over, burrowing against the warm body. Fingers trailed over your back in a slow and steady rhythm. You let out a long breath, turning to jelly in her arms.

She always made you feel sad and secure and taken care of.

#larissa weems x reader #larissa weems imagine #larissa weems #principal weems x reader #principal weems imagine

[tboygareth]

wip wednesday snippet from ch2 of greatest hits

ch2 coming to ao3 this upcoming saturday

“Hey,” Steve says. He’s laying on his side, facing Eddie, his cheek smushed against the pillow as he looks at him. Eddie looks back, feeling a little like he’s drowning; Steve’s face is in shadow, his hair haloed by the lamplight behind him. “On a scale of one to ten, how weird was it?”

Eddie sighs. So they’re really doing this. Talking about it.

“I dunno, man, it was…” Thrilling. Humiliating. Insanely hot.

“Kinda hot, right?”

Hold on. Kinda what? 

“Steve -”

“You were into it.”

“Are you making fun of me right now?”

“No,” Steve says with a laugh. “C’mon, man. You were into it. I was into it. It’s only gay if you make it gay.”

“Yeah, I think me being gay kinda makes it gay, Harrington.”

There. He said it. It’s out there now.

“Oh,” Steve breathes.

“Yeah. Oh.”

“I mean. You know I don’t - you know I’m totally cool with that. Because, like. Robin.”

“This is a little different.”

“Sure, but…” Steve isn’t looking at him. “Not necessarily in a bad way.”

“Listen, I can go sleep downstairs. If you want, like, some space or whatever.”

“Don’t be stupid. I told you. It doesn’t matter.”

“Not even after…?”

Steve smiles. He finally looks up at Eddie, turning over onto his back and curling an arm behind his head to see him better. 

“Nah. Makes more sense now, though. Why you were so into it.”

“Now you are making fun of me.”

“I’m not, I swear.” Steve smiles at him again, but this time the energy behind it is different. It makes Eddie’s heart race, makes him want to run. “We could always… do it again.”

They shouldn’t. Eddie really should put a stop to this, if for no other reason than to save his own fucking sanity. He half lost his mind the last time, and this time, if they do it again, it will be with the knowledge that Eddie is doing it because he likes it. There’s no way this is normal, just something that guys do.

Eddie remembers, vaguely, the time he and Gareth found Gareth’s dad’s stash of Playboys; it’s been years ago now, when they were still in middle school. They’d been just a couple of boys in the throes of puberty and Eddie had still been trying to parse out exactly who he was. That had never progressed any further than uncomfortable giggles about boobs and bush.

That had been nothing like this.

“This is a terrible idea.”

Eddie doesn’t put a stop to it. He doesn't say no. He doesn’t tell Steve, I don’t want to be your experiment, because it’s a lie. He doesn’t say, I won’t be able to keep this platonic, because it’s true.

Steve reaches behind himself to click off the lamp, and they are plunged into darkness.

Eddie can’t help but think he would be taking advantage of Steve if he gives in to this. Steve should think about it, he should examine why he enjoys masturbating with other guys. They shouldn’t do this, not when Eddie has more skin in the game than Steve does. The mattress moves a little as Steve shifts on the bed. It’s so fucking quiet in here Eddie wonders if Steve can hear the way his heart is pounding, the way his breathing has quickened.

“Eddie?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s it like?”

“What’s… what, like?”

Hesitation for a moment, and then, “Guys. Y’know… sex…”

Eddie scoffs, rolling his eyes at himself in the darkness. “I wouldn’t know. I, uh, I haven’t actually gotten the chance.”

It’s silent for a while, and Eddie is just beginning to think maybe Steve won’t try and goad him into this.

“Well, how would it, uh…” Steve trails off here, like he’s unsure of what he’s trying to ask.

Eddie puts on his most teasing, suggestive tone and asks, “Do you want me to explain the mechanics of gay sex to you, Harrington? Should I go into detail?”

“Oh, Jesus Christ.” It comes out a little muffled, like Steve’s got his face covered. Eddie laughs a little. It’s nice hearing him squirm. Feels kinda... powerful. “How did you learn if you’ve never done it?”

“Books, skin mags. The ancient Greeks did it all the time, apparently. They fucked so much there’s like, paintings on pottery and shit.”

“No shit?”

“No shit. The how is common sense if you think about it. Straight people do butt stuff all the time.”

“Oh, my god,” Steve says. He sounds flustered.

“You asked!”

tag list: @delta-piscium @matchingbatbites @rugbertgoeshome @outpastthebrakers @helixferrano

#wip wednesday #bee's blurbs #steddie #fic #greatest hits

[flutterbyfairy]

i have a neurologist appointment in about a month that i'm quite nervous about due to previously being dismissed/not having my concerns listened to, so gonna post this to ask for some advice on getting Taken Seriously or if anyone knows things about the type of condition i might have about what i should be asking them to do/test.

might be quite long so putting it under a read more, and tw for medical stuff and doctors being dismissive. also i am So So Tired and therefore not able to think very clearly so apologies if i've messed up any of the medical info about conditions i mention and apologise just generally for the rambliness of my writing.

summary of why i'm going:

bunch of disabling symptoms that have continually progressed over the past 5+ years, including: muscle weakness, fatigue, muscle twitches/small spasms, nerve pain, blurry vision, lack of coordination (have this from autism, however has gotten significantly worse recently so might also be related to neuro stuff). first symptoms were difficulty having my arms over my head (like having to take multiple breaks while putting my hair into a ponytail because i couldn't hold my arms over my head for the like.. three minutes to do a ponytail) and blurry vision (that optometrist has said seems like might be due to a systemic disease because of how variable it is) since i was 13, which was seven years ago. i started getting more impairing symptoms when i was 15, and began needing a wheelchair for anything that required standing or walking for more than 10 - 15 minutes. i'm currently 20 and need my wheelchair whenever i leave the house, i can't leave the house or do things around the house often, i can stand for a max of like four minutes and can't hold my hands above my head for more than like 30 seconds to one minute. pretty much all my symptoms get a lot worse with any exertion.

GP thinks i have myasthenia gravis, but the test for acetylcholine receptor antibodies was negative and he doesn't have the ability to do other tests.

the neurologist has already said he thinks i have functional neurological disorder and that i should do CBT and pysio to improve my functioning (i already know CBT is horrible for me, i'm in other therapy which is good, i've done some psyio before but she just taught me some stretches and that was it, more psyio could be good but it'd have to be with someone who isn't trying to do a graded exercise therapy type thing since i get PEM). he has mentioned doing a spine MRI but this hasn't been done yet. he said he doesn't want to do further testing for myasthenia gravis but i will probably try to get him to agree to doing a repetitive nerve stimulation EMG or something.

i also have scapular winging on the side of my body with worse muscular symptoms which has also caused a lot of nerve pain, and i might also have some sort of spine issues (straightening of cervical lordosis was seen on a CT scan, they said it was probably due to muscle spasms, and i get a lot of neck pain which might be due to that? as well as a ton of back pain along my spine. might have CCI but haven't been tested yet). since it seems like i'm getting some structural changes in areas where i also get a lot of the pain and weakness and spasms i'm hoping if i bring that up the neurologist might maybe look more at organic causes + the state of those structural changes but i dunno.

he did a basic neurological exam in my initial appointment with him and said that i have give way weakness/waxing and waning weakness because when he got me to do the pushing my limbs against resistance i could do okay for a couple seconds but couldn't maintain it. he also said in the letter that i had positive hoovers sign however i am.. very confused by this because from my understanding hoovers sign is mainly looked at when someone has one limb that's at least somewhat "normal" and one that either can't be moved or is very weak, and then the person can't move the weak leg but when asked to push the stronger leg against resistance they push the weak leg down. both my legs are strong enough that i can stand and whilst one leg is a bit weaker they're relatively similar. i lifted and pushed against resistance with both legs so.... i am not sure how hoovers is applicable here? does anyone know why it was applied and if that was correct or if i should be challenging that? he's saying that the give way weakness and positive hoovers are indicators that the problem is "non-organic" and therefore should be treated with CBT and pysio.

i'm not sure what i think is actually going on. i think myasthenia gravis might make sense, but also so could other neuromuscular diseases like a mitochondrial disease or something. also very possible it's myalgic encephalomyelitis (aka chronic fatigue syndrome) but obviously that one is a diagnosis of exclusion so i want to rule other things out if possible. i want to know what's going on so i can have the best chance of being as well as is possible for me. i know CBT is not right for me and whilst some type of pysio could help a bit/prevent some decline (based on past experience i know it won't Cure Me but obviously it can help a bit to build some muscle or maintain range of motion and things like that which are important) if there's other things i can do on top of that i want to.

i've tried to do research to work out the best tests to ask for and i think EMG might be good but also know a normal EMG doesn't typically pick up myasthenia gravis so it needs to also have repetitive nerve stimulation i think?

i can't see a different neurologist at least not anytime soon, so i need to get this neurologist to do as much to help as possible. a social worker from where i get therapy is coming to the appointment to help me so that should be good but i need to work out what the best way to advocate for myself is and what tests are going to be the most useful to ask for.

if anyone has any advice for getting doctors to take you seriously or for any tests i should be advocating for or conditions i should be looking into or anything i would really appreciate it <3 (emoticon description: heart)

#in case it's relevant: i also have type one diabetes autism and POTS #things i've had ruled out : FSHD and multiple sclerosis (had brain mri and spinal tap) tho a nurse told me she thinks i should get checked #for multiple sclerosis again because it can have false negatives? not sure #FSHD was tested through a research project thing and the result was negatiev #medical tw #doctors tw #gonna put this in a couple of tags so people who have had similar experiences/might have advice might see it #cripplepunk #actually disabled #neurological disease #neuromuscular disease #ME/CFS

[invisibleraven]

“ maybe i’ll stay here, stare at you all night. “ “ i'd appreciate it if you don't. “ = MASSIVE WILLEX VIBES.

All his life, Alex was told he had to adapt-get used to things. don't like broccoli? Too bad, it's what we're eating with supper and you can't get up until it's all gone. Not a fan of church camp? Well that's unfortunate because you're still spending all of July at Camp Enlightenment hearing about the wonders of Jesus.

So Alex adapted, made himself accept things just to get by. Like powering through his anxiety as best he could when his parents refused to get him meds. Drumming helped with that, but it wasn't until he started seeing a therapist who got him some Ativan in college that Alex knew what it was like to live.

He made himself small, invisible, straight until he couldn't keep it in any more. And found out no matter that he hadn't changed really, this new part of him made his parents incapable of loving him. So Alex refused to adapt, refused to take it back, and left home.

But this? This is something Alex doesn't know how he can adapt to.

"What do you mean you're a vampire?" he hisses at Willie during one of the dates.

"I meant what I said," Willie said with a shrug. "I got bit back in the eighties. Stupid mistake really, trusted this guy who promised me the ability to skate forever."

"But-but I've seen you out in the sunlight!" Alex protested.

"Oh yeah, that's a myth," Willie replied. "I mean I burn like super easy now, but SPF 100 exists for a reason."

"And the blood sucking?"

"Only with consent, and never enough to turn someone," Willie said. "I usually just go to this vamp friendly butcher instead. I can eat regular food too. Just no garlic obviously, gives me wicked hives."

Alex spends a lot of time that day learning all about vampires. Yes, the stake through the heart thing is true, but that would kill anyone to be fair. Willie does have a reflection, but is also allergic to silver in the worst way. He doesn't have a coffin, but he does tend to sleep later in the day. But he also works at a club for vampires at night, so the nocturnal thing makes sense.

Alex however, is not nocturnal, and by the end of it, is yawning. They'd gone back to his place hours ago. Willie had laughed at the inaccuracies in a vampire movie he found while they shared popcorn and soda. A completely normal night, if not for how WIllie popped his fangs out when Alex asked and just... never sucked them back in.

He yawned again. "Okay, time for me to hit the hay. See you tomorrow?"

"I dunno, maybe I'll stay here, stare at you all night," Willie joked.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't," Alex said wryly.

"So no to snuggles then?"

"Not if they are gonna be creepy Edward Cullen snuggles, no."

Willie barked out a laugh. "Fair enough." He pulled Alex in for a kiss, sweet and tender. "But if you change your mind... well you know how to find me."

Alex snorted. "Yeah, I'll call if I change my mind about being stared at all night, sure."

"Sweet dreams Alex."

Alex nodded and waved as Willie took off. He curled into bed, and almost immediately fell asleep, his dreams full of blood red imagery, Willie in a fancy cape, and some fun in a velvet lined coffin.

It was a weird dream.

And when he wakes up, it's still dark outside, Alex feels... lonely. Restless. So he pulls out his phone.

'The offer for snuggles still open?'

Willie texts back, 'On my way spider monkey.'

Alex grumbles at that, and really hopes that nickname doesn't stick. He had just gotten Willie to stop calling him hot dog after the incident on their first date. But he still smiles when Willie arrives a few moments later, spooning him back to sleep.

And he's still there in the morning, snoring softly in Alex's ear, though the blackout curtains are decidedly more closed than they were th night prior. Alex grins and snuggles further into Willie's hold, wondering what small sacrifices he could make to wake up like this every morning.

He turns and looks at Willie, thumbing over his brow, his cheekbones, the plush fill of his lips. Only to have Willie crack open an eye at him, smiling. "Creeper."

"You love it."

Willie pulled him in for a deep kiss, neither of them caring about morning breath, panting as they pulled back. "Yeah, I really do."

#filled prompts #ficlet #willex #julie and the phantoms

[linkspooky]

Your Choujin X writeups are great, it's a shame the fandom is so small that they get relatively few notes. I'm glad you appear to have a more sympathetic view of Azuma than most CX readers I've seen. I think I remember you predicting before the time skip that Azuma would be the one to leave Yamato Mori, but recent chapters look more like Tokio will diverge from them - any predictions for the how our main trio may be split up?

This is a great question anon, and my answer is... I dunno. By which I mean to me it could go either way at this point. Me and my friend have actually debated on this, which one is more likely to side Sora and which one is going to stay with Yamato Mori. I'm still leaning towards Azuma leaving Yamato Mori, but there's evidence for both sides of either Azuma or Tokio leaving. Predictions about the Azuma and Tokio breakup underneath the cut.

Evidence of Azuma Leaving

The first piece of evidence is that Azuma is pretty clearly headed for a negative character arc, to parallel with Tokio's growth. While Tokio grows more self-confident and independent, Azuma in turn starts to feel inferior and resentful. Azuma states it pretty clearly at the end of their first fight, he's no longer Tokio's hero, the relationship they had in the past where he was the one who Tokio looked up to is gone now. Azuma can't really handle the shifting power dynamic because he was as dependent on Tokio as Tokio was on him.

Instead of bridging the gap in their relationship, Tokio leaving has made Azuma even more distant from him. Azuma isn't even on speaking terms with Tokio right now. When he's introduced to Tokio, the first thing he learns is that Tokio freed an entire province from a dictator while Azuma just a few days ago failed to stop a plane crash resulting in the deaths of so many people.

It's not like Azuma wasn't training while Tokio was gone, and yet from Azuma's perspective it seems like Tokio is still leaps and bounds ahead of him. Which could push him to conclude that Yamato Mori is not enough, either out of a desire to be stronger, or personal resentment for Tokio.

Evidence number two, Tokio and Azuma are a clear parallel to Sandek and Batista. The two of them trained alongside each other to be heroes, probably all their lives, only for one of them to betray the other. Batista is the one who either left Yamori, or fled after his brother attempted to kill him. Azuma is the Batista in that parallel, he has the ability that's less powerful than Tokio's, and Batista has multiple times took a vested interest in him even asking Zora if she could hand off Azuma to him.

Azuma also made Tokio promise to kill him if he ever went rogue, which is another parallel to Sendak being commanded by their profit to kill Batista.

Why go so far to make this continued parallel throughout the story, unless Batista was planning on inviting Azuma to their side?

The third is more recent and may just be me going out on a limb here, but Azuma met this clearly supsicious girl searching for corpses on the beach, and didn't really investigate into her any further. Noh Mask met with her shortly after this scene and dragged her into a bigger conspiracy with The Tower / Zora's followers, so she's going to be plot relevant and the fact she ran into Azuma isn't a coincidence. After all, every single detail that happens in a story is purposefully put there by the author to mean something. IE, if they ran into each other once it's likely they'll run into each other again.

One more important detail is, Azuma's not dumb. He found her right next to a washed up corpse, and even the girl thought she was done before at that point. Only for Azuma to quickly change his tune and act totally oblivious. This is the face he makes, before he smiles and offers her crabs instead. It's likely he actually knew what she was doing there, but for some reason decided to let her go, maybe to investigate her further instead of blowing his cover right there.

While Tokio is the one who is more curious right now about hearing what Zora has to say, he's also steadily growing and gaining influence in Yamato Mori.

It's Tokio of all people who spoke up against the Opium mission, and Tokio who convinced the higher ups to listen to his plan instead. He's once again the one gaining more strength and confidence, while Azuma's position in Yamato is stagnating. Sato even makes a comment along the lines of Yamato's soldiers not being what they once were.

If Azuma isn't making progress with the Yamato Mori, if he's stagnating and not getting any better that's even more reason for him to want to leave.

Evidence of Tokio Leaving

The first and most obvious is that Zora is pretty desperate to choose Tokio as her successor. Tokio is also the one who seemed to have inherited the most power from Zora, as she comments that being an iron choujin makes Azuma unworthy of the mark. In the parallel between the big three Choujin X of the past, Tokio is clearly the parallel to Zora, he uses the same wings and scythe swords she did. Azuma is the parallel to Queem because they both use recurring tank and gun imagery in association with their characters, and Azuma's choujin power seems to have come about because of his obsession with war, weapons, the military, etc...

Tokio is also the only one who's spoken in favor of listening to Zora about her prophecy. Azuma's been keeping his head down the entire time just listening to orders in Yamato Mori, Ely even points out that Azuma didn't speak up when he disagreed with Tokio. It's Tokio who's questioning authority and speaking up directly in front of them.

Tokio is also the first person who sympathizes with Zora, when the whole of Yamato Mori who are the ones who cast her out seem only intent on hunting her down. He's expressed a clear interest in talking to her.

Tokio also has been diagnosed with a clear case of Kaneki Ken SyndromeTM! By which I mean Ishida Sui reuses ideas from previous works all the time, and in Tokyo Ghoul his last manga he had the hero defect from Anteiku when he became too afraid that he lacked the strength to protect his friends. Tokio seems to suffer from a similiar fear of losing people. He even resolves to strike Zora down if the danger becomes too much and just ignore her prophecy.

Tokio has also already left once, leaving both Ely and Azuma without a word because he feels he'd become too dependent on them if he stayed. His growth was also jumpstarted when after the island arc he wasn't able to contribute a single thing in the battle because he wasn't strong enough. He could leave for a similiar reason, if Yamato Mori isn't enough to protect his friends he could try to go off on his own and work from the outside instead.

The last piece of evidence is that we still have Tokio's prophetic dream to worry about. Considering Tokio shares so many of Zora's powers, he might have even inherited some of her future seeing.

Tokio hasa dream of a ruined Yamato, and an Azuma who turns around to face him and declares that the disaster is all his fault. Tokio defecting / siding with Zora could start the chain of events which leads to this. In a version where Tokio defects, we could see an arc of Tokio joining with Zora, only for Azuma to hunt him down while working with Yamato Mori.

It still fits the general pattern I outlined before of their positive and negative charater arcs, if Azuma stayed with Yamato Mori he might become more like a blind servant to justice, hunting down Tokio no matter what the cost without listening to his friend. Especially if Tokio really is the cause of a disaster.

To mention Ishida's previous work again, Tokio shares a lot of parallels to Arima Kishou, to the point of even wearing glasses like him and having worsening eyesight. The fact that Arima for most of his life was a blind follower of the CCG is not a good thing and led to his tragic ending as a character. So Azuma's character could follow the same general pattern if he chooses to stay with Yamato Mori and hunt down Tokio after he defects.

There's plenty of evidence for either side of the argument, so we may just have to wait and see how it plays out. Considering it's Ishida though, it'll probably be painful when the boys finally do break up.

#azuma higashi #tokio kurohara #choujin x #choujin x meta #cx meta #choujin x theory #ishida sui #metasks

[glassbirdfeather]

Yo! I'm new to tumblr, kinda. Made an account a buncha years ago but now I'm actually using it! I didn't think Elden Ring was talked about here, but seeing a multi paragraph essay about Mohg's horn surely changed that. But with all of that out of the way, I'd like your perspective on something. It seems many tarnished online believe that embracing the Flame of Frenzy and robbing Melina of her purpose as a Finger Maiden is "saving her". This is very obviously wrong, or else Melina wouldn't vow to kill you if she felt she was being saved. She doesn't merely vow to kill you, either. She explicitly plans to bring you Destined Death. She is going to ULTRAkill you. Yet many tarnished still interpret the Flame of Frenzy as an option to "save" Melina. This confuses me, and I was wondering if you had any idea why this interpretation is so popular.

Well, you're definitely saving her from self-immolation, people are right about that. Whether her existence as a "burned and bodiless" spirit is one worth 'living' is up to interpretation. She may not think so.

But perhaps she does. After all, Ranni seems… fine? With not having a flesh body? Sleeps a lot, but plenty of people do. Sellen doesn't care. Stick Melina in a doll and maybe she'd be pretty cool with it. The key thing here is, if she does think her existence is one she could enjoy if she had another way, the absolute destruction of everything forever-and-always is not something she considers an acceptable trade.

You can reverse the Frenzy ending with the needle so she survives, but doesn't come after you during the end cutscene because you're not burning down the world--of course, it isn't a stretch to think she still resents you. Whether or not you take this as her letting go of her vow to ultrakill you, since this keeps her from ending her existence, some people consider it worth her eternal grudge.

Personally, I consider Melina the not-irritating version of Fi from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I don't think her character arc was handled very well, I think she didn't demonstrate much personality, and I think there was not enough agency to her to feel like she was ever a 'real' person instead of a gameplay mechanic with a voice. She went from "I need to go here to find my purpose," to "This is my purpose I was given by someone else and I'm going to do it," so any motivations or desires she might have beyond that are up to fandom interpretation.

Why is this interpretation so popular? I dunno, not to be flippant, but, uhhhh, maybe people don't care to look much further than "Oh noes, mah waifu's on fire D:" and don't consider why she might be okay with or even want that? There can be fandom spaces for thirsting after your favorite Elden Ring girlie AND spaces for in-depth, canon-focused lore discussions. Not everyone is into both. Just. Make sure you know which one you're in.

On the other hand, I'm sure there ARE some people who will insist that this is the best ending because you save her, and that means it's definitely a black-and-white choice and of course she's better off this way. There's no nuance there, because, after all, being alive(?) is better than being dead!

And those people are lacking in critical thinking skills and media literacy because their education system has failed them. While I could go down the rabbit hole of why that is (at least, in the USA), that's probably not what you were looking for with this ask.

----

Funny enough, I think Melina shows the most of her own values and perception of the world right outside the Frenzy Flame Proscription where she pleas to you that births continue and there is still beauty in the world.

#raybytheway #melina #elden ring

[sims3fiend]

Sims 3 performance tweaks

OLD OLD OLD OLD OLD OLD OLD OLD

GO HERE INSTEAD THANKS BYE

Updated 24/11/23 - RIP DXVK 😭for now

Updated 12/10/23 :) - added some more details, including important info about ObjectSizeCullFactor, which could be the holy grail for potato PCs. Also updated the linked files.

I figured I'd make a proper blog post instead of just random scattered discord posts. Here are some of the things I've done to improve my sims 3 performance, and (mostly) remove stuttering, as well as some stuff to increase the graphics quality. I don't know how accurate any of this is, but it's helped my game a lot  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Please note that I have a 2070, and I would recommend having >2gb for your GPU if using these tweaks (and just in general). While these settings and tweaks might help you if you're on an older card, I have no way of really checking that.

This guide is mostly focused on reducing stutter, with a few tips thrown in for reducing memory usage for the girlies with the large luxurious games and Error 12 problems.

Stutter?

Stutter (or frame drops) are sadly a part of the sims 3, th-e-y're th-e frequ-ent hitches where the game "freezes" for a second, often when moving the camera.

The main tweaks will help reduce stuttering while the game is paused, sadly while playing the game, you're still gunna chug along. Object and sim loading/unloading/displaying/hiding causes a large amount of the stutter, so unless you have an older computer, most of the graphics settings aren't going to help you, but will (in a few cases) help with reducing memory usage.

If you'd like to try this out, there's the (top secret super hidden) config value prop $ConfigGroup ForceHighLODObjects 1, which forces everything to high LOD, which should make the game overall a whole lot smoother both paused and unpaused (high detail lots will still lag it when loading tho) compared to the default settings. Just add a new line under one of the settings fields with it in. Do not use this in your normal gameplay unless playing in a small map, as it greatly increases memory usage. Looks real pretty though.

!!THESE CHANGES SHOULD BE MADE ON TOP OF A GraphicsRules.SRG FILE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR GRAPHICS CARD!!

Either download one that has been updated, update it yourself, or use the tool. No longer providing my own but might in the future.

Main Performance Tweak - LODs

The main setting that helped alleviate most stuttering for me was RenderSimLODDistances in the GraphicsRules.srg file (\The Sims 3\Game\Bin). Essentially we change it to load the low quality LOD models from muuuch further.

prop $ConfigGroup RenderSimLODDistances "70, 70, 9999999, 9999999"

The values for this are highres lot distance, highres world distance, low lot, low world. In an ideal world we would be able to max out high res, but due to how the culling works, that just increases stuttering. I would also recommend turning off ForceActiveLotObjectsToHighLOD if you're using high detail lots > 1, and MinSimLOD to 0

I recommend tweaking the highres values if you get lag when zooming in.

For more memory

I would HIGHLY recommend dropping ActiveLODLimit and ObjectSizeCullFactor, as they are a much better way of reducing loaded in assets. You can be fairly ruthless with them, I recommend dropping ObjectSizeCullFactor down to <75~, and ActiveLODLimit (dunno if this actually does anything) the same (too low and the game will never load). Raise it up if you're noticing pop-in. IIRC your household lot loads everything regardless(?)

If you're frequently running into Error 12, or playing large households, I, sadly, recommend keeping "Max Detail Lots" at 1. I would also recommend DropTexMipsOnLoad = 0 (shouldn't help but it does), and maybe tweaking some of the texture sizes to lower res, depending on your preferences (a lot get crushed anyway). Other options like culling and LOD distances have basically no impact on overall memory use and are safe to increase. Make sure you're also using my memory notifier/freer thing too ;^)

Graphics

Things that didn't have any/much of a performance impact but make the game look better (in my opinion)

Clip planes

Bane of my existence

prop $ConfigGroup ClipPlaneMapViewDistances "1.0, 12000.0" This is basically how far you can see, I recommend raising this, as I noticed 0 performance hit at all, and I like to be able to see the pretty maps (You'd be surprised at how good some look!). Some maps look a little scuffed with it maxed out, or have seams, however this can be reduced with…

Fog

FogDistances I have mine set to FogDistances "300, 600, 3000, 8000" and FogCurveModifier "9, 1" This is personal preference, and I'd recommend playing around with it to find something that works for your world and clip distance. Neither options have any noticeable performance impact for me (objects still load regardless of clip/fog distance).

AllowImpostorUnload no clue what this does, I set it to false

Trees

Max em out

setting $VeryHigh prop $ConfigGroup RenderTreeLargeLODDistances "-100, 999999, 10, 3300" prop $ConfigGroup RenderTreeSmallLODDistances "-100, 999999, 10, 3300" prop $ConfigGroup RenderTreeShrubLODDistances "-100, 999999, 10, 3300" prop $ConfigGroup RenderTreeGroundLODDistances "-100, 999999, 10, 3300"

There's no real reason not to. You could change the values so it loads the low(er) res ones further away and then higher ones in after, but the performance hit was nothing for me. Having all the trees there looks reaaaallllyy nice on some towns.

Random other tweaks

Things I changed from default ShadowMapSize 4096 - I think this does something??? 🤷

prop $ConfigGroup TextureSizeThreshold 4096 prop $ConfigGroup RttSizeSmall 1024 prop $ConfigGroup RttSizeLarge 2048

these don't really have any impact, but in my mind it makes sense to increase them

DXVK and dxwrapper

!!!! THIS MIGHT NOT WORK FOR EA LAUNCHER IDK !!!

UPDATE: I no longer recommend DXVK due to it increasing overall memory usage, having said that, dxwrapper is still very nice, I'd recommend using it over LazyDuchess's ASI loader. Keeping this here down the bottom just in case.

If you are using dxvk, I use(d) dxvk-async but you should be fine to use the main repo. On top of this I use dxwrapper for the exception handling features.

One thing you'll have to keep in mind is Your Options.ini file will need to be remade if using dxvk since it looks like you've installed a new GPU.

To install, just shove the right dll's into your \The Sims 3\Game\Bin folder - d3d9.dll for dxvk, everything from dxwrapper and the ddraw.dll from its Stubs folder. If you're using Smooth Patch, which you should be, it's okay to delete the ddraw provided with it, as dxwrapper can do .asi plugin loading itself (LoadPlugins = 1 in ini). You should see a few new files pop up when you launch the game if installed correctly, dxwrapper.log and TS3W.dxvk-cache

If you're using reshade, rename the reshade dll to dxgi.dll

depth buffer might not work, I'm not 100% sure, so keep that in mind

#sims 3 #sims 3 mods #simblr #ts3

[cassiejane-writes]

A Little Bit of Love

Fandom: Ghostbusters

Pairing: Egon Spengler x GN!Reader

A/N: Request for @egonspenglersweetie​ !! I hope you get as many smiles reading this as I had while making it. It was based on this cute song by Weezer!! Everyone needs some good ol’ Egon support in a trying time❣️

New York City was not the prime location for agriculture of any kind. Emissions, urbanization and industrialization made the greenery in the city rare, and seldom private. But, there was one small patch that was all your own; secluded, well-tended, and aromatic.

It just so happened to be on top of the Ghostbuster’s headquarters. Of course, as someone that worked there, it wasn’t the worst location of them all, it was simply a challenge of finding the time to really enjoy the fruits (or rather, flowers) of your labors.

The sun was setting low over the cityscape, and after a rather long and arduous week, you found yourself kneeling at the edge of the flower bed, sighing heavily and watering the plants. Much like the psychomagnotheric slime that had wreaked havoc on the city not too long ago, it was a well known fact that plants also reacted to human emotion. At times, it was easy to spread positivity and light to the plants, offering nurturing words and smiles. 

On days like this though, it was near impossible. Instead, the plant bed was as good as a therapy room, and the plants were unwitting therapists, listening to you talk about your day, untangle your thoughts as you spilled as many words as water droplets onto them. 

“But it’s fine, it’s totally fine… You’re doing great,” you sighed to yourself, making your best attempt to feign a smile across your lips. 

“Psychomagnotheric flora,” a voice said from behind, echoing in the small foyer that led to the rooftop. It was deep and flat, though something unmistakably tinged the voice. Though you couldn’t see Egon Spengler, you could feel the glint of amusement in his eyes.

You bit your lip, realizing that he must have thought you were encouraging the plants, rather than providing yourself a pep talk. 

“A little bit of love goes a pretty long way,” you replied, though the hint of misery in your tone told the man that it wasn’t the plants that were in need of love, but rather you.

“Positive reinforcement is a proven psychological tactic with positively correlated results. The more an action is positively reinforced, the more the action occurs,” he further noted, stepping out of the doorway to stand above you at the flower bed. He had a device in his hand, which he held toward you with curiosity. His emotional reader, for lack of a better term, was whirring lowly, indicating a negative emotional reading.

“Something’s wrong,” he muttered, lowering himself to your level (though with the way his hair stood atop his head, he still had a few inches on you). 

“Would you happen to be in need of positive reinforcement?”

You turned to look at him, setting the watering can down and meeting his eyes. The always-serious doctor wasn’t quite smiling, and his dark brows were furrowed with mild concern at his readings. You offered a sad smile, and shrugged your shoulders. 

“Maybe. I know we’ve all had it kinda rough but… it just seems like- like you guys brush it off and get back so easily. I dunno… I let it all get me down.”

Egon listened intently, placing his emotional reader in the pocket of his pants. The whirring ceased as he placed his undivided attention on you, taking into account your facial expressions, and the nerves that made themselves apparent in your tone. What he was hearing was that, yes, you did need positive reinforcement. 

He drew in a deep breath, and gingerly went to place a hand on your shoulder. You could feel the warmth emanate in a wave across your neck and back, making your tension dissipate just a bit.

“Y/N, I’d say that you take things quite well. It’s natural that variables in life will affect your mood. Invariably, you get knocked down. But, you keep going.”

He took a pause, carefully choosing his words. He wanted to offer helpful reassurance, without sounding too pedantic about it. Of course, he could point out that statistically, the likelihood of them succumbing to their issues was very slim, and therefore they were stronger than they gave themselves credit for. But, he settled for something a bit more empathetic and poetic. Ray, he thought to himself, would be proud.

“Everyone is lost, in their own right. Some show it, some hide it more than others. But, metaphorically speaking, you’ve climbed mountains and swam oceans already. If you think where you started, and where you are today, you’ve made great strides.”

He offered a small smile to you, and you found the corners of your own lips tugging upward. When he wasn’t prattling like a textbook, he could be rather philosophical.

“Thanks, Spengs,” you whispered. He shrugged his shoulders, finding your own words leaving his mouth. 

“As you said, a little bit of love- or rather, positive reinforcement- can go a pretty long way.”

#egon spengler #egon spengler x reader #egon x reader #Egon x Y/N #requested #fanfiction #ghostbusters fanfiction #ghostbusters #ghostbusters 2 #song fic #comfort #fluff #harold ramis #weezer #ghostbusters 1984

[lotusthewriter]

Take her to the moon for me, okay?

Fandom: Steven Universe Rating: G Relationship: Lars & Steven (PLATONIC!) Characters: Lars Barriga, Steven Quartz Universe; other characters are only mentioned Summary: Steven and Lars watch a movie. Word count: 2.066 AO3

A/N: I actually forgot I'd finished this story, so I'm finally posting it. It was based on a drawing I made nearly a year ago, except I made the idea a lot sadder here, lmao. But don't worry, it ends on a happy note.

TRIGGER WARNINGS - past canonical death and trauma.

Once again, do NOT ship Steven and Lars. P/roship DNI.

--

“Sooo, I was thinking we could watch this one?”

Steven reveals a tape that he recorded himself.

“It’s called Inside Out! It was released a few years ago and I never got to see it, but I thought it looked cool. But uh, maybe you have a better suggestion and you want to watch something that isn’t for kids, haha…”

“Oh no, I actually like Inside Out,” Lars says, rather securely. Steven guesses he would probably never admit that if this conversation happened a couple years before.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I, er… saw it in theaters with the Cool Kids. I didn’t think I’d like it but wow, it was incredible. I wanted to cry so badly.”

“Aw, that’s awesome! But you don’t mind watching it again, right?”

“No, no. It’s been years since I saw it and I honestly want to see your reaction. I’m not giving you any spoilers, though.”

“Okay!”

Since everything else – popcorn, drinks and snacks – is ready, Steven simply puts the tape inside the VHS player. Lars is sitting on Steven’s bed while the latter stays on the floor. Lars offers to switch places but Steven doesn’t mind it. He’s so excited for the movie that he doesn’t mind where he stays.

--

“... I’ll try, Bing Bong. I promise.”

Oh man. That part still stings.

When Lars first saw it in the theater, he managed not to shed any tears in front of the Cool Kids, even though they were openly crying and hugging each other. Lars wasn’t much of a crier around Sadie, either.

Now, Lars knows it’s okay for him to cry. He’s allowed to be vulnerable. Although he might not bawl and crash, the tears come out more naturally. It feels good, even if painful.

And of course, he’s not surprised to hear Steven sniffing.

However, he notices that Steven is very affected. The boy even muttered, “no, no, no, no,” when he realized what was going to happen. Though maybe Lars is just reading too much into it. He knows Steven is a very sensitive person, so this is to be expected.

Until Steven wraps Lars in a tight hug and he’s straight up sobbing in the latter’s chest. Lars is a little taken aback by how intense the crying is at first, but he smiles sadly and rubs the boy’s back up and down.

“Hey, it’s okay, buddy,” Lars reassures him.

“Why did he have to dieeee?” Steven whines, his voice tiny as if he’s fourteen again. “It’s not fair!”

“Yeah… I know, pal,” Lars sighs, patting his back in support.

“Joy didn’t even notice him jumping out of the cart?!”

“Maybe it was the adrenaline, I dunno.”

“She should’ve noticed!”

Lars doesn’t want to say that the lesson there was that Riley was growing up and her childhood was going away. He feels like that’s probably going to upset Steven further.

“I mean,” Steven pulls away, revealing his mess of snot. Lars searches for the tissues in the room, without standing up, but he can’t find it, “Joy is supposed to make everything better, so she should’ve known! She should’ve saved him!”

“Steven, he was going to disappear anyway,” Lars says patiently. He hopes that doesn’t make things worse.

“But he didn’t deserve to die! He just wanted to be remembered!”

“She said she would take Riley to the moon for him.”

“That’s not the same thing! He was just forgotten in that dark pit! Do they even talk about Bing Bong? Or does Joy just ignore it altogether?!” Steven raises his voice. Lars starts feeling more concerned. “He didn’t deserve it! If Joy was good enough, she wouldn’t let that happen!”

Much to Lars’ surprise, Steven starts glowing pink and crying angry tears.

“If I were good enough, Bing Bong wouldn’t be DEAD!”

The shock on Steven’s face is quick to replace the grief.

Mostly because Lars is staring at him, completely speechless. Only now realizing what they’re actually talking about.

The film is not even on; the TV makes a loud, static noise.

And Lars knows that no controller could’ve done that.

Steven sees his glowing hands and gasps, shaking himself so he represses the angry pink, and Lars knows that’s awful. Steven doesn’t want Lars to see him like this. Steven doesn’t want to be vulnerable. And this is the kid who helped Lars of all people to open up to others.

The moment the older teen opens his mouth, Steven abruptly stands on his feet, dropping the juice can he was drinking and spilling it all over the floor.

“I-I’m- I’m gonna get more popcorn!” Steven blurts out and runs away, almost falling. Lars tries to reach him but his hand is not close enough.

Lars is alone in Steven’s room, the static TV his only company. The noise is too much for his ears, so he turns it off before it drives him crazy.

Still, the static is in Lars’ head. He feels so stupid for not realizing things sooner. He feels stupid for never bothering to talk to Steven about, well, his death. Lars doesn’t even like saying the word around anyone, not even himself. Which is very unlike him, Lars will admit it. Everyone else avoids mentioning the word “death”, too, like Sadie, his parents, and the Cool Kids. The Off Colors don’t even get what it means to die in the human way.

Things are okay, sure. Everyone has accepted Lars. But they just don’t touch on it. Least of all Steven, who’s trying so hard to make everyone feel better… he does everything so Lars feels accepted, pink and all.

But if Lars is admittedly not over his death, still dealing with panic attacks and nightmares even if they’re less frequent nowadays… What about Steven? What about a kid who watched his friend die? Who had no idea he could even save Lars?

Has Steven ever talked about this with anyone else?

He knows the kid, though.

Lars can’t be quiet about this anymore.

The pink-skinned teenager finally goes downstairs, yet not rushedly. Lars doesn’t want to scare Steven, who’s in the kitchen, not even near the popcorn. Steven is seen from his back, shrunk, apparently hugging himself to keep his sobs inside of him.

“Why? Why am I like this?” Steven asks himself. “Why do I just ruin everything? I’m so stupid! Urgh!”

Lars genuinely wants to cry hearing those words. But he needs to help Steven first.

Finally, he reaches the balcony, much to Steven’s surprise.

“Oh! Lars!” The half-gem dries his eyes with his sleeves. He suddenly pretends he was getting the popcorn, as well as more drinks in the fridge. “Sorry, I-I was just- y-you can go back upstairs, I’ve got this!”

Lars finally joins him, offering a hand to take some of the cans. Steven is very unwilling to hand them over, but Lars just waits and eventually the kid gives them to him. Lars just places them back in the fridge so they don’t get warm, and he closes it. Steven doesn’t protest.

The younger boy just leans on the balcony with his whole body, making a miserable noise. Lars steps closer and puts a hand on his back again. Steven doesn’t want to be seen, but it seems that he secretly wants affection.

That way, Lars is placing both hands on Steven’s shoulders, sort of massaging them. Sadie does that for Lars when the latter is tense or about to have an emotional breakdown. It looks like it’s helping.

Steven, for once, looks at his friend, his face still a mess, eyes and nose reddened. Lars has not said a word.

“I-I’m sorry I ruined–”

“Shh… don’t worry.” Lars sighs. “I should’ve talked to you sooner.”

“No, you didn’t have to!”

“Except I should’ve. You’re always helping people, but who’s helping you? Who knows what’s going inside your head?”

Steven releases more tears, unable to deny his words.

“I never bothered to ask how you’ve been. Like, actually ask. I can’t keep pretending everything is fine. I’m sorry, Steven.”

“Lars…”

“Like, seriously. You didn’t deserve to see that.”

Steven finally stands on his feet, but his head is lowered and he’s not looking at Lars.

“But you… y-you died because of me. Because I was too stupid and- and I gave out a list of everyone to Peridot, if I knew what was going to happen next I would’ve never–”

“Hey, hey, listen to yourself; you didn’t know. You couldn’t have known, Steven. It wasn’t your fault.”

Steven doesn’t believe him.

Even though Lars is not that much taller than him nowadays, he still kneels down to look at Steven properly.

“Look at me,” Lars whispers, “I don’t hate you.”

“Y-You should.”

“But I don't. Because it’s not your fault.”

Steven sobs quietly.

“I-I just… wanted to s-save everyone…”

Lars squeezes one of his shoulders.

“You did.”

Steven, eventually, grows quieter again, but still avoids eye contact.

“Maybe…” Lars thinks over his next words. “Maybe Bing Bong couldn’t make it… but I’m here, aren’t I?”

The half-gem contemplates.

“And it’s because of you. I could never be more grateful to be here.”

Steven looks genuinely shocked. Lars is smiling. Then he’s drying some of the boy’s tears.

“I should’ve told you that sooner, huh?” The older teen asks. “Well, I’ll make sure to tell you that more often now.”

The sixteen-year-old breaks, in a good way. Lars is now the one pulling him in a hug and Steven allows it this time. He’s finally opening the cracks and letting them be seen. Lars stays and lets the kid mourn the times no one ever said those things to him. He’s there to make sure Steven understands he’s not hated, he’s not expected to answer everything there is to know of the universe. Lars just wants him to be a kid. The kid he never got to be.

Steven doesn’t need to be happy all the time.

He can be sad. He can be angry. He can be afraid.

It’s okay.

--

After cleaning the room, Lars says they don’t have to finish the movie. Steven, however, is willing to see the rest. They’re both sitting on the bed now.

The part where Riley comes home…

Steven cries but this time he relies on Lars, who catches him with one of his arms.

Inside Out still ends on a good note. They hint at a sequel, but overall it reassures them that things will be okay no matter the obstacles in life.

As the credits roll, Steven hasn’t left Lars’ support just yet.

“Did you like it?” Lars wonders.

“Y-Yeah, I loved it.”

While it’s a genuine answer, it sounds like Steven is thinking of something else.

“I’m…” He gulps. “I’m glad you’re here, Lars.”

It can mean many things.

Lars grins.

“Yeah, buddy. Me too.”

Steven smiles back.

“Do you, uh, want to go home or… maybe watch something else…?”

Lars hums. “Yeah, I’d love to stay longer.”

“I dunno if I have more movies here…”

“We could just watch whatever’s on TV.”

Steven is analyzing all the tapes he keeps.

“Do you… know Camp Pining Hearts?”

Lars blinks. “You have that?”

“Yeah. I mean, what’s left of them. Peridot took all my tapes. I also heard they’re making a reboot, so maybe I could get in on the hype. But I dunno if you’re into that kind of stuff.”

Lars sighs. “Alright, Steven, hear me out. I was… the biggest CPH fan back in the day.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Yeah. Not even Sadie knew about that until recently.”

“Wow, I think you and Peridot and Lapis would get along well, then.”

“Maybe.”

“She ships Percy and Pierre.”

Lars hums, content. “Excellent taste.”

Steven laughs. “I still don’t get it, but okay.”

Regardless, the two boys get the tapes that are very out of order – and it turns out they’re the bad episodes of CPH since Peridot apparently got all the good ones – but they have a good time either way. The series is… worse than Lars remembered. But it’s fun and intriguing, honestly.

But most importantly, he likes to watch it with someone that gets it. Sadie was never into CPH even after Lars told her about it.

Steven is having a good blast with it.

Lars is having even more of a good time.

To see the kid being a kid.

#steven universe #steven quartz universe #lars barriga #fanfiction #death tw

[singularity-sam]

Insane Stories From Belobog's Trash Cans - Volume 3: The Curious Case of the Missing Child

(Disclaimer: This story contains mentions of kidnapping, depictions of bullying/negligence/cheating, and unfunny cringe attempts at humor throughout.)

While adventuring on the Xianzhou Luofu for their Trailblazing expeditions one day, the Nameless had their exploration routine interrupted by a sudden yet urgent request from the Realm-Keeping Commission. Concerned, Stelle, March 7th, and Welt all ventured to the commission’s main office to see what the issue was. Once they arrived, they met with Dahao, who informed them of the situation.

“Thanks for coming! All of you are the only ones we can rely upon to solve this problem.”, he stated, “Putting your past aid aside, this is quite a serious request I have for you all…” Welt nodded and replied with: “What is it…? We Nameless are happy to help you with anything.” “Yeah! You can count on us!”, March 7th said. Dahao thought for a second before saying, “Good. Well, um… It’s like this: A young Vidyadhara boy went missing a few hours ago. His friends reported him being escorted away by a stranger he briefly talked to, so now it’s a suspected kidnapping case…”, with a serious expression.

Feeling saddened by the tragic request, March 7th commented: “Oh no, that’s terrible! Is there anything we can do?” Welt, on the other hand, just solemnly nodded. “We would take care of it ourselves, but…”, Dahao trailed off, “Ever since the Ambrosial Arbor crisis resolved itself, we’ve been swamped with so much work. And seeing that the Astral Express crew is so reliable with helping us out in the past, I thought that you could help find this missing child. …Will you assist us?”

A brief moment passed before Stelle decided to answer his question and speak for the first time since stepping into the office. “Don’t worry, the Galactic Baseballer is on the case! Any kidnappers will have to answer to my bat hitting their face!”, she passionately said while pointing at herself. Not being put off by her usual antics, March 7th pumped her fist and said: “Ha, yeah! That’s right!” Welt shook his head and stated, “Please… try to take this more seriously. This is an abduction we’re dealing with…”, as a response. He then looked back at Dahao and asked: “So… Where should we start our search?”

He scratched his chin for a moment, contemplating what information to give to them. “I knew I could count on you! If I were you, I’d recommend searching…”, he answered, “...in Central Starskiff Haven. That’s where the kid was last seen, and his friends should still be there. I’d say you should interview them to gather evidence.” “I see… Thank you for your time. Let’s go, everyone…”, Welt said. March 7th, continuing her enthusiasm, loudly proclaimed: “Okay! We’re off to catch a kidnapper!” All three of the Nameless proceeded to start walking out of the door in the office, to begin their investigation. Dahao waved them off and said, “Good luck out there.”, with a sincere tone. And so, they headed for their destination, eagerly wanting to help this missing child…

…

Upon arriving at Central Starskiff Haven, the Trailblazers quickly searched for the missing kid’s friends. Soon enough, they found them. After some brief questioning, they were pointed in a possible direction. One of the friends, a young Vidyadhara girl explained further with: “I didn’t get a good look at the stranger, since they were too far away from where we were playing. All I saw was them leading our friend away while we were distracted. I dunno what’s gonna happen to him, so please find him!”

“Don’t worry, little one. We’ll find him, for sure!”, March 7th said in a comforting manner. “Did any of you see what direction they were heading in?”, Welt further inquired, “If you can tell us that, then we’ll be more likely to find him…” This led to another one of the children to speak up, a Foxian boy this time. He pointed to an exit across the Starskiff lane bridge and said, “That way! It looked like they were heading towards Aurum Alley. …I hope this helps.”, with a nervous expression. March 7th nodded encouragingly, saying: “You bet it does! Let’s start movin’ and find this kid, guys!” Motivated by her optimism, the three of them then started to go to the next place in their search.

…

Entering Aurum Alley, March 7th and Welt spent a few moments looking around, it was the first time they had been there (Stelle had already been there numerous times before, by revitalizing the entire location). No longer being able to contain her excitement, March 7th raised her voice, saying, “My, oh my! Hey Mr. Yang, can we stop and get some food from the stalls over there? I hear the food here is s’posed to be delicious! I need a break from all this walking…”, while pointing at the food stalls and jumping up and down. Unsure of what to say to that at first, Welt adjusted his glasses and said: “Let’s… wait until we finish our mission. The child we're looking for could be in grave danger, and I know that feeling of worrying over children… Once we’re done, then I’ll treat you all to whatever you want from here, I promise.” She gave him a thumbs up in response. “Yay, thanks! This’ll be awesome!”, she exclaimed, “Now, what do we do from here?” “Let’s ask some of the people around here to see if they have any information on the child’s whereabouts…”, he replied.

Stelle looked all over her surroundings, trying to find someone she recognized. Then, her eyes landed on a familiar face: Bailu, who was standing next to a lone food stall with pleading eyes, as if she wanted food really badly. Stelle thought she would know something about their predicament, so she approached her with determination in her steps. The other two followed after seeing this. March 7th smiled and waved once she was within speaking distance of her. “Oh, it’s the Dragon Lady. Hey, there!”, she said to her. “Huh…? Oh, it’s you three! The ones who helped me before.”, Bailu greeted them, “What brings you here? I’m just trying to get my hands on some food from here. It would be really worthwhile, since I escaped from the Alchemy Commission once again to come all the way here…”

Taken aback by her answer, Welt stuttered a bit before speaking to her: “Um… W-We have been… sent by the Realm-Keeping Commission to find a missing Vidyadhara boy, who may have been abducted by someone older. Have you seen a pair of people matching that description…?” She pondered for a moment, her dragon tail swaying back and forth, before replying with, “I dunno… It’s hard to say. What’s in it for me?”, in a cheeky tone. March 7th, who remained undeterred by Bailu’s negotiation tactics, skillfully compromised with an idea of her own. “If ya tell us, we’ll buy ya a burger from the food stall over there! Won’t that be enough?”, she offered. “YOU WILL!? Yaay~!”, she gasped while squealing in delight, “I guess I’ll tell you everything I know, then!” Welt nodded and smiled, a rare sight for him, and he said: “Exceptional work, March. That was some good negotiation skills.”

Bailu scratched the side of her head before proceeding to share some information by stating, “Here’s what I know: I saw that kid being dragged around to some of the food stalls by this grownup. They both bought and ate some food together, before they left Aurum Alley to go somewhere else. I’m so jealous of them, that food looked so good!”, with a reflective face. “Grownup…?”, Stelle asked with a serious expression, “Did you recognize who it was?” Bailu tapped her horns in a childish way to remember any forgotten details. She then gasped and elaborated with: “...Oh yeah, I remember now! It was someone I’ve seen before. I can’t remember her name, though… If my memories are right, then she’s from the Divination Commission. I’m pretty sure of that!”

The three Trailblazers were lost in their own speculative thoughts after hearing that. “The Divination Commission? Why there? Hm, we’re so close to figuring who this kidnapper is! It’s gotta be easy from here on out…”, March 7th said once she got sick of the silence. “Ahem, where’s my burger? You promised me!”, Bailu said in annoyance, “I held up my end of the bargain, now you must do yours. Please hurry it up, I’m starving here~!” But, before anyone else could say or do anything in response, Stelle’s phone received a text message notification. She pulled it out of her coat pocket and saw that it was from Dahao. Realizing its importance, she bluntly stated: “Hold on. I have to respond to this. It’s kinda urgent.” She didn’t bother waiting for the others’ reactions, so she started to read the message and tap out responses to it.

Dahao: Important update in the investigation! 

The missing child has been spotted wandering 

with his abductor into the Divination Commission. 

One of our workers reported it. They are still 

there right now. You should rush over there to 

stop them!

Stelle: …

Stelle: Damn bro, that’s crazy

Dahao: If you hurry, you can still rescue the 

child. Take my advice and go!

Stelle: OK, on my way

Welt, who had been intensely staring at the chat messaging along with March 7th, looked back up at the group and said, “Well… I suppose we know where we need to go next. We should make haste, while we can…”, while tapping his cane on the ground. Stretching and sighing in preparation, March 7th responded with: “Might as well… Sorry, Miss Bailu, you’ll have to take a rain check on your burger. But I swear I’ll make it up to you, just you wait! Anywho, let’s get over to the Divination Commission, pronto! We gotta save the day once again!” Stelle nodded and put her phone away, putting on her more deadpan expression that she uses when she attempts (and fails) to be more serious.

As the three of them speed-walked to the exit of Aurum Alley, Bailu became slightly bewildered and upset. “Hey, where are you going!? I haven’t got my food yet!”, she complained loudly, “Now I’ll have to go back to the Alchemy Commission empty-handed. Hmph… You better not forget about your makeup promise now, you hear me!?” The others silently acknowledged her, but they were too focused on the potential confrontation ahead. They were just relieved that the crisis they got themselves into was finally going to end soon, at the Divination Commission…

…

At the Matrix of Prescience in the center of the Divination Commission, Master Diviner Fu Xuan and Qingque stood across from each other while conversing… with the missing Vidyadhara boy standing in between the two of them! “What is the meaning of this?”, Fu Xuan asked with a skeptical tone, “And why did you bring this child here with you?”

Approaching from the stairs leading up to the platform where this was all happening, the Nameless spotted the conversation and halted in place, wanting to eavesdrop on the situation’s reasoning. “Huh? Miss Qingque? Wait a sec, don’t tell me she…”, March 7th said with disappointment in her voice. Welt stood in place and replied with: “Let’s hear them out before we make any rash judgments.” Stelle then took his advice and stared at the perpetrators. Despite their open-mindedness, they all knew who kidnapped the missing child, so they waited for the explanation.

Tapping her feet anxiously, Qingque then proceeded to place her left hand on the child’s shoulder while saying, “This is my… kid! Yeah. I just had him not too long ago, so… I would like to request some time off work for maternity leave! I’d say about two years is good, since raisin’ a child’s not easy. I’ve been hard at work lately, and givin’ birth to my beautiful son here has put quite a bit of strain on me, y’know? Pretty please? Some rest from this job is needed for me to raise him properly in order for him to become a successful adult. Think of it as a favor for all the decades I’ve reliably worked here…”, with a mix of both mischievous and pseudo-serious expressions. The awkward and cringey silence that followed was swiftly filled by her leaning down and whispering in the child's ear: “Psst… Hey kid, do ya mind backing up my story here? I need it to sound more convincing.” The boy nodded nervously before speaking up. “That’s right, she’s my mommy! And she has to take care of me.”, he said while hugging her in an unconvincing attempt to fake affection, “Also, make sure she’s paid for her time off, since she needs to use the money to play Celest-... I mean, to give me a proper education so I can grow up to be whatever I want!”

Fu Xuan was not impressed. She just sighed and shook her head in aggravation after hearing the bogus explanations. “Really? You have got to be joking. Even I, the master diviner, could not foresee this… Never have I ever expected for you to make up a lie as ridiculous as this.”, she said. Before Qingque could rebut her, Fu Xuan countered her with: “Do not try to protest it, as your little narrative has many problems that show its flaws. For example… You claimed you “gave birth” to this child, but you have never shown any signs of being pregnant. What is your excuse this time?” Qingque scratched her head before saying, “Umm… Well, you’ve never noticed ‘cuz I’m… at the loafing gate so much, yeah! I’ve just been slackin’ off lately due to me preparing for my son’s arrival.”, in a deceptive tone. Ignoring her leaps in logic, the master diviner continued to deconstruct her argument. “Not only that, this child of yours is quite grown and developed for being born “only recently” before.”, she stated, “Add that with the fact that you are too young to have a child this old, and it weakens your fib even further…”

Feeling frustrated at being berated, Qingque then quietly said to herself: “I’m too young? Well you’re barely an adult yourself…” Fu Xuan overheard this and she stomped her feet in anger, losing control of her emotions for a moment. “Wh-What was that…!!??”, she yelled. Qingque shrugged and replied, “Nothin’ at all, boss!”, as an answer. The master diviner proceeded to take a deep breath and regained her composure. “Regardless… There is one undeniable fact that you have not considered that cannot be refuted, since it is common knowledge.”, she argued conclusively, “This child that stands before me is one of the Vidyadhara, who do not have biological parents; their entire species is centered around reincarnation. With this, your argument is voided!”

Despite being proven wrong, Qingque was not dissuaded from her goal. Through a mix of denial and stubbornness, she compromised with: “Hm… Ya got me there! And you’re right, I adopted this boy instead. I only lied about it so you would be more sympathetic, as there’s a stigma against adoptive parents…” Not seeing why Fu Xuan was upset at her, her deflective comment was followed up with Qingque saying, “But my request still stands. I wanna get some time off work so I can raise him properly. C’mon, please? If ya make it paid leave, I promise I’ll come back to this job and work extra hard once my two years of absence are finished~! And I’m DEFINITELY not lying this time!”, with a devilish grin. Fu Xuan put her hand on her forehead after hearing her comeback, feeling nauseated from her employee’s antics. “Ugh… You do not understand at all… Your words are NEVER trustworthy! Besides not ever taking responsibility in your career, your track record is pretty poor. For that, no, I will not grant your request…”, she complained, “Which makes me wonder all this time after listening to your pathetic excuses: Where did this child come from? Why did you choose him for your scheme, assuming you did adopt him…?”

“This child was abducted from Central Starskiff Haven while he was distracted from spending time with his friends. We were sent by the Realm-Keeping Commission to find him…”, Welt said in reply. The three Nameless walked over from the stairs to where the other three were standing as he said this. Fu Xuan turned around, asking: “We all meet again… What you said just now, is it true?” “‘Course it is! We worked our butts off all day to find the kidnapper on this wild goose chase!”, March 7th interrogated, “So, how ‘bout it, Miss Qingque? Why’d ya kidnap this child? You gotta tell us, if ya don’t wanna get thrown into the Shackling Prison!”

Qingque laughed awkwardly at the accusations. Realizing how much serious trouble she could be in, she answered, “Hey c’mon, don’t gimme that glaring look! I didn’t kidnap him, honest! I just bribed him with some delicious Aurum Alley food in exchange for his consented cooperation in my plan. I also was gonna show him how to play Celestial Jade after I got the paid leave. I was gonna bring him right back to his friends after I was done, I swear! I didn’t realize I kept him for this long, or that this counted as kidnapping… So, please spare me, I didn’t know any better!”, as a self-justification comment that didn’t sound very convincing for alleviating her of her crimes. She then turned to the child and said: “Hey, back me up here.” The now-found missing child nodded and spoke up in an unsure tone. “That’s right… Though, I was never told about the Celestial Jade part of it…”, he said.

Seeing that Qingque was only digging her grave even deeper, Stelle finally decided to say something about how the issue was turning out. She took both of her hands, turned them straight up so the fingers pointed forward, reeled them back before using them to point in front of her, and only said one word in the process towards her: “Boi…” While no one reacted to her memey response, Fu Xuan spoke up to give Qingque her judgment. “Your intention does not matter, the result of it does…”, she said in a judgmental tone, “Your actions are still considered to be abduction, and that is quite serious… And you committed this atrocity all for not wanting to do your job.”

She proceeded to cross her arms in resentment while she continued her monologue. “First, you faked having a heart attack last week… And now, this!”, she stated while reminiscing about said incident. She shook her head and said, “Your methods for slacking off are becoming increasingly more desperate! This is a sad sight to see, and now you must be punished for it. I cannot allow you any more pardons from them…”, while her face became more serious. Now feeling uneased by her intense demeanor, Qingque audibly gulped and asked: “...So, what now? Ya gonna fire me…? Or send me to prison…?”

In a surprising turn of events, Fu Xuan decided to give out a different punishment than what was expected from the average criminal (since Qingque is not “average” at all). “Nope. As your higher-up, I need to have some mercy on you. Sending you to the Shackling Prison will not do you any good, since confinement won’t get you to learn from your mistakes. There was a slight misunderstanding surrounding the abduction anyway…”, she explained, “And I will not fire you, either. If I were to do that, you would just laze around and not find any more work, putting your life and your family’s in jeopardy. In short, it will not fix your slacking problem…”

The solution seemed to arrive as a few Cloud Knights stepped into the Matrix of Prescience, their sights set on apprehending Qingque. “For your punishment, you shall spend the next two years working monitored, unpaid overtime. You will need to diligently work extra hours while security watches you until the sentence is over. Also, you will be forbidden from playing Celestial Jade during this period. This is all done so you cannot escape and continue slacking off in the future. And by doing so, I hope I can help you become more responsible and not resort to your rash way of handling things… Now, take her away to work right now, guards!”, she commanded with integrity.

Two Cloud Knights then proceeded to walk over to Qingque and they began to restrain her. Freaking out, she started to protest and feel more guilty about her actions than before, saying: “Wait up, hold on a second! You can’t take my precious Celestial Jade away from me. I single handedly revived that game from obscurity, it’s my pride and joy! I need it to live! C’mon Xuany, let’s talk about this! I promise I won’t ever slack off again, just don’t force me to do this, please…” Fu Xuan just scoffed at her disrespectful nickname and gestured for the Cloud Knights to escort her to the nearby teleporter instead. Qingque tried in futility to resist, kicking and screaming like a toddler, then finally shouting, “Nooo!! I don’t wanna work and be productive! You should’ve just fired me instead! Please, save meee…!!”, just as she and her guards reached the teleporter. Once they entered it, they all vanished from sight, deeper into the Divination Commission where she will be put to work.

Without a second of hesitation after making her worker suffer, the master diviner turned to the child and said: “This Cloud Knight will escort you back to your friends. Do not worry, you are safe now. Be careful around strangers from now on…” One last remaining Cloud Knight stood next to the boy, who could only say, “...Thanks…”, awkwardly in response. The Vidyadhara boy had seen too much that day and never expected any of it. Due to feeling confused and wary from seeing Qingque and Fu Xuan’s long winded argument, he couldn’t say any more. And so, he then proceeded to follow the Cloud Knight away and up the stairs, so he could see his friends one more. He didn’t even look back at the Nameless, the original ones who were supposed to rescue him, but because of unusual circumstances, couldn't at that time…

Stunned by how quickly and strangely the issue resolved itself, Welt was the only one who could break his silence to finish up the investigation. “So… At least it ended well, mostly…”, he stuttered out, “Do you… need any more help, perhaps, Miss Fu Xuan?” He didn’t get much of a reply back, since she was already starting to focus back on her duties and clean up the incident’s aftermath. “No. You have done more than enough by informing me of what happened. I shall take care of reporting about the investigation's conclusion to the Realm-Keeping Commission myself, personally. I will get in touch with Dahao later… Thank you all for your assistance in this matter, and I hope your futures have good fortune… Now, I must get back to work.”, she said. She then faced the Matrix of Prescience fully, not paying attention to anything else; she was a hard-worker like always.

Now currently having the weight of the case lifted from their shoulders, the Nameless relaxed and became talkative again. March 7th sighed and wiped her brow, commenting: “Whew… Glad that’s over! Who would’ve thought that a loafer like Miss Qingque was behind this whole scheme? It seems kinda comical in retrospect. But at least the kid’s safe, that’s what matters!” Welt nodded and adjusted his glasses while replying with, “Indeed. No one got hurt, either. That’s something we should celebrate…”, in a relieved tone.

This revived a dormant seed within her head, so she perked up and smiled brightly once more. “Ah, I just remembered! You promised us food after we finished this.”, she recalled, “Well, now’s the time to use that for our celebration for saving a child! Even if we didn’t actually do it… Still, I’m hungry as heck and I can’t wait any longer! And we should get Miss Bailu’s burger, too! Just like I said we would…” He then smiled for the first time in a long while, glad to have a chance to relax for once. “Heh… Alright, alright. I promised you, so I must fulfill it. Let’s head back to Aurum Alley, pick out whatever you like. Just… don’t get sick.”, he said. She raised her hand in the air and shouted, “Yay!!!”, in response happily. Stelle, who was too focused on her trash can-related fantasies to be fully paying attention, just nodded and stoically said: “Let’s go. Make sure to give any trash to the Galactic Baseballer for enlightenment purposes! I need it after being trolled so hard today…”

Then, they all left the Divination Commission without another word. No one was ever in the mood for Stelle’s unhinged comments. And with that, nearly everything was back to how it was before, and the Xianzhou Luofu got closer to full recovery. All the people (including the child) had a great rest of the day, except for Qingque, who was now forced to scrub the floors as punishment. Even still, she continued to fantasize about slacking off and playing Celestial Jade. So, as another “last ditch” effort, she decided she was going to fake her own death next to get out of the overtime labor… Of course, it won’t end well for her, and that’s a fact.

[Writer’s Commentary: For this story, I tried to replicate it as if it were an actual side quest that players would receive while playing the game. That’s why I went for the whole investigative angle and text message recreation attempt. Whether this actually worked out or not, I can’t say, but that’s what writing is for: Experimenting and challenging yourself! I chose Qingque as the culprit because she’s one of my favorite characters, and I feel like she would go this far to not do her job at some point (and because I’m biased). Also, I didn’t give the missing child a name or much dialogue because I am lazy… Anyway, that’s all for now. Good day!]

#—stellaronhvnters. #honkai star rail #hsr #star rail #stelle #trailblazer #march 7th #welt yang #qingque #fu xuan #hsr bailu #dahao #crack fic #crack #oneshot