Tumgik
#carry on series rp
fabledenigmatvgif · 8 months
Text
Carrie Coon
In the Source Link, you will find a completed gif pack of actress Carrie Coon as undercover reporter Doris Hall in the last episode released of the canceled series - The Playboy Club.
There are 090 gifs in this pack.
If using, please credit FabledEnigma. I do not mind if they are used in fanfic, gif hunts, gif crackships, etc, I would really like to see what happens with them.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Source - FabledEnigma
9 notes · View notes
bilestat · 2 months
Text
.
2 notes · View notes
rphelperblog · 2 years
Text
Leia Organa Quotes Rp Meme
Tumblr media
Inspired by @stcr--bcbe​
“I knew there was more to you than money.”
“Your friend is quite the mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything. Or anybody.”
“I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but from now on you’ll do as I tell you, okay?”
“This is some rescue! You came in here, but didn’t you have a plan for getting out?”
“Looks like you’ve managed to cut off our only escape route.”
“I’m surprised that you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.”
“Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it you’ll never make it through the night.”
“You have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them.”
“You make it so difficult sometimes.”
“Well, I guess you don’t know everything about women yet.”“You don’t have to do this to impress me.”
“Someday you’re gonna be wrong. I just hope I’m there to see it.” 
“We have powerful friends. You’re going to regret this.”
“I know. Somehow, I’ve always known.” 
“You’re a jittery little thing, aren’t you?”
“It only takes one to sound the alarm.” 
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I just never should have sent him away. That’s when I lost him. That’s when I lost you both.” 
“No matter how much we fought, I’ve always hated watching you leave.”
“Would it help if I got out and pushed?”
“Hope is not lost today… it is found.”
“get your head out of your cockpit.”
“Wipe that nervous expression off your face.”
“It's a wonder you're still alive.”
“I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.””
“We have powerful friends. You’re going to regret this”
“She was very beautiful. Kind, but sad.”
“Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it you’ll never make it through the night.”
“This mission is everything. We cannot fail.”
“I’m surprised that you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.”
“Put that thing away, you’re gonna get us all killed!” 
“You certainly have a way with people…
“What precisely am I supposed to know?”
“We’re going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer.”
“I know what you’re gonna say. I changed my hair.”
“Do me a personal favor? Be optimistic.”
“You needn’t worry about your reward. If money is all that you love, then that’s what you’ll receive. “
“Well, I guess you don’t know everything about women yet.”
“Don’t tell me what things look like. Tell me what they are.”
“You think I want to forget him? I want him back.”
“There is still light in him, I know it.”
“You Came In That Thing? You’re Braver Than I Thought!”
23 notes · View notes
zsakuva · 1 month
Note
How do you come up with so many intricate plots and characters? They seem so… human? I’m very surprised you don’t read much! I guess what I’m asking is, what’s your creative process? Do you take inspiration from aspects of yourself, or is it more of a form of escapism? When you write your plots, do you imagine yourself as the character, the audience, or both? 
Another thing that truly amazes me and makes your channel stand out a lot is the way you give the listener a voice. It feels like each listener is so different and unique, and *actually* interacts with the character. It also feels like you’re never spoon feeding us information? All the questions do get answered, but it’s different style imo. Usually, in most ASMR RPs I’ve heard, the speaker will repeat what you said verbatim, (eg. “You think XXX?”, or “You want me to XXX?”), and the frequency at which these types of phrases are used makes it *seem* like a RP. Of course, it’s a challenging medium - the audience needs to know whats going on somehow, but you manage to achieve the same in a much more subtle way. It makes me wonder how long you spend planning out your content haha.
Final question, do you prefer to type or handwrite your plans, scripts, etc? I’ve always preferred planning on paper, even though it’s a bit impractical haha. Also, would you mind showing us your handwriting? I think it says a lot about a person! There’s the stereotype that people usually have a certain handwriting that corresponds to their major/occupation, and if I remember correctly, I think you studied film? I’m just curious hehe. No pressure, of course!
Sorry for sending you an essay, I hope you have a restful and comfy Friday! 
Thank you!
Honestly, I don't know how I do it myself considering my memory is absolute shit! Though I don't read much, I learn about characters through other mediums such as television shows and movies. I'll try and break this down for ease of reading!
~My Creative Process~
When making a character or series, it all depends on where my initial inspiration began. For example, with Niall, I wanted to create an M4M series exploring a character who carries trauma of being forcibly outed, betrayed by someone he confided in, and how those events affected him through his adult life. The core of Niall's story was confronting fears that manifested due to the Listener's actions in school, and finding that there was a way to heal, albeit slowly, and a hope to love despite external animosity. Niall exists because I wanted to tell a particular story.
With Zaros, he first came about because of The Noble Trials plot. I knew that he would be different from other characters, so I'm using this series as a means of testing my skill with a new editing style, story format, and new world setting. Although it's more work, I have the most fun with The Noble Trials and making its lore (though I'm always a sucker for that)!
I go into creating characters with the belief that they are all extremely flawed. Whether that be by nature or nurture, there will inevitably be some slew of events in their pasts that shaped the way they act in the current timeline. This also extends to the Listeners so they aren't rigid, boring, and an empty shell. Characters can clash, but they can also change with and for each other. A good example is Isaac's story. He was scarred by his past, and was willing to confine Pickle in the house if it meant not losing someone he cared for again. Pickle was also scarred with abandonment and instability, wondering if they would ever find a home. Isaac gave them a place to belong, and Pickle gave him consolation and courage to face the unknown.
When I write, the character's actions must reflect the backstory in which they were crafted, so I always need to dive into their heads.
~Listener Dialogue~
This requires much more thought to make interactions seem authentic, but there's a fine line between repeating words verbatim and not alluding to any sort of context. I dislike repeating the Listener's words so I try to indirectly insinuate what they were saying whenever possible. If I can do so with SFX alone, that's a bonus! But when scenes contain heavy dialogue, it can be difficult to get the message across without being heavy-handed with repetition, unless that's the purpose of a specific moment.
~Handwriting vs Typing~
I always handwrite my outlines! On some occasions, I can start and finish a script without the help of one, but my workflow tends to include writing an outline of some kind, and it has to be done on paper! I feel like the ideas manifest quicker that way.
However, I always type my scripts. It's much easier to edit, share with other voice actors, and there's a level of professionalism in formatting that motivates me to write more!
Here is an example of my writing. This screenshot was part of a Twitch stream!
Tumblr media
42 notes · View notes
riacte · 4 months
Text
One of my fav parts of the fire imp rp is when False saw them doing their stuff and said “I’m leaving” in a tone that clearly indicated she was going to Leave Them Alone to carry out their Weird Theatre Gay Shit. And Ren, the guy who was longingly pining after Martyn on stream for months and talking about wanting to collab with him (“Martyn can do anything he wants with me”?????), instead of taking this golden opportunity handed to him on a silver platter, because they’ve never done a collab outside of Life series and MCC, immediately went “where are you going? 🥺”
Ren’s unstoppable force (urge to roleplay with Martyn) meets his immovable object (urge to cling onto False no matter what). And False was like “yeah you’re weird” but also stayed the entire time and put it in her video. So it turns out nobody really left anyone alone. They had a moment alright.
57 notes · View notes
angeart · 4 months
Text
AU Masterpost [tags]
I think it's time. So I can keep track, and you guys know what's out there and how to search for it <3 I'll try to order AUs based on how much there is to them. Some AUs will only have a single thought/art underneath their tag, but there might be more added to them in the future, and if you're curious about anything, you can always ask. (I'm very easily convinced to drop rambles, as has been proven in the past—)
Help Me To Breathe [hmtb]
my main multi-chapter story, set in s8 boatem. deaths abruptly hurt on hermitcraft, and each respawn makes it worse. scar dies a lot by grian's hands, before grian even learns (the hard way) that things hurt now. welcome to a scarian angst hellhole where 3rd life flashbacks hit like bricks and guilt is mercilessly spilled everywhere <3
this fic is the epitome of it gets worse before it gets better. trust me.
cws: violence, ptsd, anxiety attacks, delusions, unhealthy coping mechanisms, suicidal ideation, suicide, temporary character death... please check tags on AO3 which i try very hard to keep updated
tags: #hmtb - an all-encompassing tag for fic updates, rambles, and art. (sometimes #hmtb art is also used in tandem, where relevant.)
fic: Help Me To Breathe on AO3
*
Hunted hybrids [hhau]
hermitcraft s8 got code-attacked and all the hermits got scattered into different worlds, lost and stuck in unfamiliar places, not knowing if their home still exists. the au follows scar and grian who ended up in the same world (although originally unaware)—a world dangerous and hostile to hybrids. grian is an avian, scar is a vex, and they're hunted relentlessly. also, it's permadeath <3
this au is self-indulgently used in RP and co-owned by linkito
cws: violence, blood, dehumanisation of hybrids, self harm (feather plucking), mentions of suicidal ideation
tags: #hhau
this one got out of hand so >> hhau masterpost <<
*
Boatem circus
scar, a sea-lion hybrid, builds a circus as a safe haven for all the hybrids and misfits that have nowhere to belong and need a place to heal. they all carry their own traumas and wounds, and scar gives them what they never had: gentleness and options and freedom to roam or leave. but it's not easy, navigating a growing community of varying triggers and buried pasts.
au put together with stiffyck
cws: ptsd, panic attacks, fear of fire, loss and grief, mentions of captivity/torture/abuse
tags: #boatem circus au
fics: don't be afraid, little bird (there are no cages around you now); elegy
[AO3 series link]
*
Sleep demon Grian
grian is a sleep demon, existing in the dreamscape, able to manipulate dreams and thriving on giving people nightmares. he meets scar in a dream, immediately intrigued and amused by his reactions, and he keeps coming back to him. scar, despite all the nightmares being thrown at him, catches a glimpse of his perpetrator, and grows curious in turn. they start talking, everything eventually culminating into a ritual and a summonning circle. grian, in the waking world, needs to learn how to exist somewhere where he can get actually hurt, and come to terms with the fact that he has locked away memories and trauma.
cws: injuries, fear, panic, nightmares(?), trauma, violence, memory repression
tags: #sleep demon grian au
au rambles: here
fics: the nightmare snippet; even if it hurts (and even if it isn't a dream) you can have a home here
*
Cursed forest
found family boatem, where each of them carry their own heavy past and an attached curse. they thought they'd never find a place to settle that'd accept them and let them heal. but they found each other, deep in a hidden away forest, littered by bones and flowers, death and hope. (honestly, just see the au rambles.)
au put together with stiffyck
cws: animal death, necromancy, grief and guilt, body horror
tags: #cursed forest au
rambles: here
fics: even with death haunting your footsteps, your flowers will bloom again
*
Misguided Heroes
scar is secretly hotguy, a hero meant to protect the people. grian is a shopkeeper at barge, but with self-proclaimed king ren wreaking havoc on economy and making life of ordinary citizens so much harder, he decides to secretly play vigilante, cuteguy, and stage a one-man rebellion.
also, scar and grian are roommates.
au for rp with sima <3
cws: injuries, illusions messing with perception/reality, [to be determined]
tags: #misguided heroes au
*
Ari au
grian is ariana giande (ari), a famous singer beloved by the crowds. except things start getting a bit too out of hand. there are stalkers and people who think they have the right to ari's personal life, the right to see and dictate everything. the press gets out of hand. maybe the crowds get too rowdy. maybe—
more scared and overwhelmed by the second, grian gets a bodyguard. that bodyguard is scar. things continue to escalate though, and by the time ari calls a break in her career, everything's irreparably breaking down around grian.
(If it wasn't clear yet, this is one very dark, very heavy, very human story. There's love and so, so, so much despair. Things go wrong and then worse.)
au with Ben
cws: papparazzi hounding, stalkers, lack of privacy, blurring of self, drugging and [attempted] SA, self harm, overdose, medical trauma, restraints, seizures, ptsd, depression, suicidal stuff
tags: #ari au
*
Ghost Scar
grian is a paranormal investigator. scar is a ghost. they meet, they talk, and grian resolves to do his best to make scar feel less lonely.
cws: dead character??? he's a ghost dw he's fine-
tags: #ghost scar au
fics: you exist in silence (i'll help you make a sound)
*
Silly vampire Scar
scar is a vampire living in a mansion too big and too lonely for him. grian and mumbo are survivors in a world riddled with monsters, which they learn to hunt and kill. one night, they seek shelter in what seems to be an abandoned mansion—
cws: general vampire stuff, [to be determined]
tags: #vampire scar au
fics: [one day]
*
Cuteguy au
things do be angsty in this one. scar is hotguy, grian is his sidekick cutecuy. one day, things go wrong and a building explodes with scar still inside. the body is never found. hotguy is presumed dead. that is, until cuteguy comes face to face with a new villain that is oddly familiar—
idea loosely bounced off of stiffy's TOGH au
cws: blood, violence, delusions, brainwashing, grief, loss of identity, presumed major character's death (twice. wild. huh.)
tags: #cuteguy au
*
Papers please au
what it says on the tin. scar lives with his cat jellie in a cold, small, state-provided apartment and gets assigned a job as an immigration officer at a border checkpoint. he... isn't great at the job, but doesn't have a choice, and needs the money to keep them fed and healthy. grian is the head of resistance, because of course he is <3
cws: dystopian world, cold, hunger, sickness, potential pet death, injuries
tags: #papers please au
*
Spirit au
grian is an avian living freely in a patch of forest. that is, until he gets caught by people who think hybrids are on-par with working animals, and is shackled and hurt and trained, to serve. there is a looming war, and flight-capable carriers are very valued (but not much cared for). scar is a vex hybrid, coming from a settlement that's kinder to hybrids, who also gets captured. they meet in captivity, and things happen.
cws: hybrid slavery, hybrid dehumanisation, loss of freedom, abuse, warzone stuff
tags: #spirit au
*
DL rp au
grian and scar in double life, soulbound and with vague memories of previous life games. their soul connection transfers not only all the pain and injuries, but also emotions. and they both feel. a little too much. (they're a mess, but also in love, as they should be)
au for rp with sima <3
cws: they very sad; self destructive tendencies (sorry there's no self in this one, they are linked and there's always collateral-)
tags: #dl rp
*
Half sea town au
a town half-submerged into the sea. the upper half is reserved for humans, who are seen as better, richer, the posh and the nobility. the lower half, the submerged part, is slum-like, reserved for seafolk, seen as lesser. many seafolk learn to live on land, to improve their standing (not necessarily living situation; they do need water). mumbo lives amongst the nobility. scar lived his whole life in the sea. grian, even though he belongs to the seafolk, lives on land. mumbo's best friend, forever trying to be something he isn't.
a crackers collective au
cws: er.. class divide?, self worth issues, needs denial in a way?
tags: #half sea town au
*
The underwater au that somehow fails to have a name the first thing i ever posted on tumblr woo.
an underwater au set somewhere in the wide, deep sea. merfolks. mumbo is a prince, grian, jimmy, and joel are his guards. scar is a deep-sea fish, and tales say those are scary and horrendous and dangerous. (he's just a silly guy, pls)
stiffy/crackers collective au
cws: injuries, idk
tags: #mer au
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
smaller aus/ideas:
last life scar: #post-ll scar's issues with touch
fixing double life scarian: #fixing dl au
puppeteer scar: #puppeteer scar au
cannibal scar/forest (the game) au: #forest au
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
others' aus that i have yoinked and might have content for:
#grumbo apocalypse monster au - ben's au that i slinkered my way into &lt;3 - ben's au masterpost here - grian is very much a (horror) creature :3
#space grian au - also belongs to ben. also burrowed my way in to this one. hehe. (ben none of your aus are now safe from me.)
#snifflins au - crackers group au, based on that one time jimmy and scar were piglinmynose, and joel and grian were sniffermyfeet - twisted into snifflers and piglin hybrids (snifflins!) in the aftermath, trying to get used to their new bodies and instincts and needs.
#desert alien scar au - belongs to stiffy
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ a whole bunch of aus (some collective ones) that i haven't talked about on tumblr yet <3
(for example, the zombie whisperer scar/dancing zombies au - postapo, (mum)scarian, with one redscape-focused fic (written for stiffy): the blooms in a dead world)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(if i missed any cws for any of the aus, please let me know!)
reinstating that if you're curious about anything, i don't bite! come ask!
[my AO3]
40 notes · View notes
casp1an-sea · 1 month
Text
I am just Hux atp
HAN IS 29
(no I am not I swear ignore my theme I actually despise him)
Hi my name is Caspian Re (Re pronounced Rey) You can call me either of my first names or alternate! Calling me Caspian Sea is also fine. I also go by Cas for short or if your name is Xen, Luc, or Levi, Casserole is fine 😒 
(I love silly nicknames even if they make no sense or calling me the name of a character you associate me with)
I primarily post about Twisted Wonderland, Star Wars, Marvel, and 2000s kids shows like Octonauts
Age: 18
Birthday: 10/13 
Gender: Trans masculine/Demi Male but I may just shorten it to Trans (pls only masc terms) 
Pronouns: He/Him, Ey/Em/Eir/Eirs/Emself on most days I have no preference but if it’s a day I do I’ll let you know
Sexuality: Bisexual or maybe just straight up Gay (idk I had an existential crisis about men today)
Zodiac: Libra Star, Pieces Moon, Aquarius Rising 
Personality type: ENFJ
If you send me an ask or msg pls feel free to mention your pronouns 
WE SUPPORT PALESTINE HERE 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
Hotlines to call Incase of emergency
Tumblr media
Master List:
Pls check out my OCs, as well as my Octonauts Intern AU, and my fics located in my writing post :)
commissions: Closed
requests: open!
(I’ll do short writings, picrews, and possibly art if I’m in the mood. I’ll totally do my doodle style of you or a character.)
Fandoms, Writing, Moots and Tags, OCs, Comfort Characters, Just a list of Monsters I associate with myself, Moot Trail Mix Recipe, ART, Gender Envy >:(
rp accounts: @robinbanks-accidentally (TWST), @spring-chicken (OC)
Tumblr media
Likes: Star Wars, Marvel, Twisted Wonderland, the Life Series SMP, RPs, Random Generators (its an addiction), 2000s Kids shows, Doll customization, folklore, cats, singing, art, musicals, being in musicals, and weird sea creatures especially sharks :)
Dislikes: Sweets, Rey (if you are a Star Wars fan and you like her respectfully pls do not talk to me about her you will get your feeling hurt), Religion (pls do not talk to me about Christianity or Catholicism it makes me uncomfortable), Mean people that disrespect me or my friends, Racists, Homophobes, Transphobes, Ableists, Sexists, etc. 
Tumblr media
Fun Facts: 
I am Left Handed 
I am Hungarian and I love talking about my culture or my grandfather’s story if you want to ask
Romantically I am single but I do have a platonic partner, hi XEN 🫶🫶🫶🫶
I’m a Hufflepuff my Petronas is a field mouse and my wand is Willow wood with a Phoenix core
My favorite color is green 
My favorite food is Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers or Chinese food  
I am going to be a film major 
I have two cats named Lilo and Stitch (both girls), and I also have multiple fish and a snail 
I take care of crested geckos at school so now I want one I love those little guys
I’m in my schools broadcasting class
I’ve performed in Willy Wonka, Newsies,  Little Mermaid, Bye Bye Birdie, Christmas Carol, and Shrek, and played the roles of James, Arista (Ariel’s sister), Young Fiona, and the bird that sings in that one song in Shrek . I’ve also had solos in Try Everything, American Tears, Fields of Gold, an Mo Town Medley 
I Did competitive gymnastics for 13 years starting when I was 3, before I retired I was in XL level gold. 
I played Violin in elementary school and during Covid in freshman year I played chimes cause that was the choir alternative 
I watch lots of weird 1990s to early 2000s sci-fi shows typically from Australia, there’s suprisingly a lot of them 
I play Minecraft but I am bad at it lol
I play DND 
Tumblr media
Where else to find me?
YouTube: @antosaurusrex3752
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ANTosaurus1357/
My Change.Org petitions:
17 notes · View notes
flowur-the-weirdo · 6 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Pose Pack #20: Iconic Horror Poses Pt 1
It all started with a request from https://www.instagram.com/gbfrenchchic for the Bates Hotel pose and that pose just inspired me.  I have a lot more poses coming in this series, but I didn't want to make the packs too large. I do get a bit carried away in that respect. Anyway enjoy! 
Download for free (as always) here:  SFS 
Download from CurseForge: CF
(As always there may be some clipping. Should be able to be used with both male and female sims.)
You will need Andrew's Pose Player or WW Poses and either the Sim Transporter or MC Command Center.
TOU: Please don't alter, claim as your own or redistribute.
@ts4-poses
💗🌸👽🌸💗
I hope you enjoy! Feel free to tag @flowurtheweirdo (Twitter, FB and IG) or @flowur-the-weirdo (Tumblr) I’d love to see what how you use them.
Check out my Instagram stories:
🧬Thirteen🧬 , 🗝️The Secrets of Ravenwing Manor️🗝️ 
🃏The Mystery of Sorrowbrook🃏 📸Tristan Hendrix RP/Storytelling📸 and ❄️Frost de la Strange❄️
🌼Don't forget to check out my 🎮Sims 4/Gaming🎮 YouTube channel and my 🧩Jigsaw Puzzle🧩 YouTube channel!🌼
46 notes · View notes
Text
Dead Fandom - Should You Even Bother?
The TSP RP fandom used to be incredibly active but life and dwindling interest has deactivated a lot of blogs, leaving only few roleplayers remaining, bravely writing through the drought, believing that one day, we might get another influx of new blogs to carry us through the year.
But seriously, if you want to roleplay for TSP, don't let the low activity discourage you. There will always be at least one person (most likely me) who will stubbornly continue on writing.
If you find yourself lacking in TSP partners, you can expand to other fandoms. The Stanley Parable famously gets along with other games, media and meta-narratives, so try your luck!
Some great crossover options are
Portal
Severance
There Is No Game
Superliminal
House of Leaves
Homestuck
The Magnus Archives
Presentable Liberty
Half Life
Analogue Horror and ARGS
Break The Game
Doki Doki Literature Club
Welcome To Night Vale
Loki series
WOE.BEGONE
Doctor Who
Supernatural
Undertale
Yuppie Psycho
Pony Island
Silent Hill
The Backrooms
ESC Game
American Arcadia
Ib
Slay The Princess
Rick and Morty
The Secret Series
...and basically whatever else you can come up with! There are also tons of amazing fandomless blogs to interact with, don't rule anything out!
25 notes · View notes
rebellionbladed · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media
Because when I arrive, I, I'll bring the fire Make you come alive, I can take you higher What the saints forgot, I must now remind you Let it rock, let it rock, let it rock
Tumblr media
Independent Ask/RP blog for Dante Sparda from the Devil May Cry series. Canon divergent & beloved by Scion.
Singleship only; He is taken by Charlie Morningstar (who is currently carrying his children) written by Wards [hxllishrebuke].
Note: Due to the adult nature of both the blog and the content of Devil May Cry, this blog will not be open to anyone under 18.
This blog will also involve Hellaverse, heavily, seeing as his main (and only) ship is Charlie Morningstar.
15 notes · View notes
surrogate-fawn · 10 months
Text
Quartz and Sea Glass
((Drabble/Short story based on the backstory a rp with @mittysins of Fawn's first step into the world of surrogacy.))
{This drabble is a sequel to "The First Goodbye" and is Part Two of a planned series based on the rp between Mitty and I. This drabble will not make sense without the context of Part One.}
TW: Mentioned miscarriage/stillbirth, infertility, family abandonment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't put me on a pedestal for what I decided to do with my life. I ain't a saint.
I'll fully admit that I became a surrogate for selfish reasons. When I discovered there was a market out there of couples who needed a healthy body to carry their baby, I did not give a single shit about helping them -- all I cared about was the money.
I was twenty years old and homeless, still living off minimum wage. Can 'ya really blame me?
Lord only knows how that little worm of an idea got into my brain. Maybe it was during a mindless re-watch of season four of Friends. Maybe it was seeing something on the news. Or maybe it was during one of those three-in-the-morning anxiety attacks -- the ones that had me scribbling down as many outlandish solutions to my life as could fit on a napkin.
Not a lot of good ideas came about that way.
However it got there, one day I found myself seated at a library computer searching up as much information as I could find about surrogacy. As soon as I saw the rates some of these couples were willing to pay, I was sold. Fifty to sixty grand -- paid over the span of months. That sure as hell beat $7.25 an hour! The fact I could be eligible for certain state benefits on top of that money didn't hurt, either.
Best part? The one obstacle that could've been in my way had been crashed down a year ago: at least one healthy and successful prior pregnancy.
This was it. This was my way out!
But I hesitated.
As I sat there, staring at the Google search results that led me down the rabbit hole, I wondered if I was really capable of going through it all again. Not so much the physical symptoms, those all passed as soon as the pregnancy was over.
I was wondering if I could handle saying goodbye again.
My son's first birthday had just passed. I'd put a candle in a cupcake and blown it out for him the day of, alone in my room and still in my UDF uniform after work. I'd wished I'd known what name they gave him. The "Happy Birthday" song is a 'lil hard to sing without a name. I'd just called him "my baby" in the song. At least it fit. He would always be my baby, wherever he was and whatever he was called.
I blinked at the blue-tinted monitor. The screen was getting fuzzy and my eyes were stinging. I force-closed the dozens of tabs I had open, shut the computer off, and began my walk back to the women's shelter.
No, I couldn't. Money or no money, I couldn't go through it again. I never...never wanted to go through it again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A week later, I made another trip to the library to borrow some time at the computer. I couldn't afford a laptop or smartphone, so it was a trip I usually made every other day; but work had been leaving me too tired to swing by.
I found an email waiting for me in my inbox, from a surrogate agency site I remembered looking up. In my mad scrolling, I must have signed up for their mailing list without thinking about it. It was from the highest-rated site I'd found, so at least I didn't have to worry about it being a phishing scam or tied to some baby black market or whatever.
I almost deleted it out of reflex, but the subject line read: "The Basics of Surrogacy, Free Information Guide". A brochure? Not an ad pressuring me to join so they could start taking a cut of my pay? Sure, I'd take a brochure.
So, that was the moment I made the best decision of my life: I opened that email.
I'll spare you the business side of things, but once I got in touch with the agency it all started falling into place. The whole process was much more voluntary than I realized. I spoke with several surrogate mothers who had been matched with clients through the site, and they all stood firm that nothing was done unless both the surrogate and the parents agreed to it. I would have a say in who I matched with. I would have a say in how much I was to be paid. I would even have a say in what the birthing experience would be like!
What finally sealed the deal for me, though, was the fact this company only dealt with what I learned were called "gestational surrogacies" -- meaning none of their surrogates were the biological parents of the babies they carried. I'd have someone else's egg inside me -- I would essentially be a walking incubator. That sounds kinda weird when you think about it, but it solved the biggest issue I had with tapping into this gold mine.
Not my baby? Not my DNA? Fine by me. I decided I'd gladly get paid fifty grand to sit around and grow someone else's kid. Sounded like the easiest job in the world.
I sent my application in two days later.
Two months, a psychiatric assessment, and dozens of medical tests later, I was in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Tariqs weren't the first couple who asked to meet with me. There were two other couples I had a first meeting with, but neither of them clicked with me the way Ray and Tess did.
We met for the first time at a park situated alongside the Tennessee River, bundled in jackets to keep out the early-autumn chill. There just so happened to be a food truck parked by the entrance we agreed to meet at, and Tess declared we should get to know each other over lunch. Seeing as I had skipped breakfast to make it to work on time, I didn't mind the idea.
I was standing off to the side while the Tariqs ordered from the truck, counting out the amount of cash I had on me, when suddenly I heard Tess call me over.
"Which one 'ya want, shug?" she asked, pointing to the menu plastered on the truck's side.
They bought me a chicken panini and a hot hazelnut macchiato, insisting it was their treat. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have needed the rest of that interview -- I had already chosen to be their surrogate in my head.
Buying me food is a fantastic way to get to get me to like you.
We sat at a picnic table beneath the golden oak trees and got to talking. Raymond (or Ray, as he preferred to be called) was a second-generation Indian immigrant and Tess, his wife, was a born-and-bred Knoxville gal. They lived on the rural side of Knoxville, just barely inside the city limits, in a 1960's farmhouse they'd refurbished themselves. Both were in their mid-thirties by the time they sought out surrogacy; up until that point, they'd been though quite a battle with infertility:
They'd been trying throughout their four years of marriage, but Tess could never carry to term. The few times her pregnancy tests would come up positive, she'd bleed a few weeks later. Although they weren't opposed to modern medicine, they'd preferred to try more "natural" methods to solve their fertility issue before going to a doctor. Such methods included the Kama Sutra, meditation, crystals, herbal blends and -- of course -- prayer.
Just the year prior, it seemed their home remedies had worked when Tess finally made it into the second trimester with a baby boy.
They'd lost him in a stillbirth days before the third trimester milestone.
Piled onto that tragedy, the hospital discovered Tess had a defective uterus -- it was physically impossible for her to carry to term. So, that's where I came in.
As I told them about myself, they were delighted to know I came from a household that had rather New Age ideas about life. I didn't mention that I no longer lived by those ideas -- it would've opened too many questions.
However, I certainly understood the good home remedies could do! I was more than happy to trade my recipes for salves for Ray's tips on where to buy the best beeswax in Knoxville. So happy, in fact, that I got carried away.
"My mom makes beeswax candles," I said, hurrying to swallow the bite of panini I had in my mouth. "She used to scent 'em with oils from her flowers, but the oil would seep right outta the wax once it got warm." I chuckled, feeling my nose crinkle in the embarrassing way it does when I laugh. "Sometimes, at dinner, we'd light one of her candles at the table. We'd blink and suddenly there'd be a puddle of rose oil dripping onto the beans and cornbread!"
"Maybe I can help her out with that," Ray said with a grin. He took a quick sip of his coffee. "My grandparents keep bees over in India. My family has a lot of tips on how to melt and mix the wax."
I almost choked on my food when I realized I'd brought up my family. Shit...now I had to be careful.
"Maybe," I said with a causal shrug. "She's back home in West Viginia with everyone else. It's a little hard to make time to see 'em."
"Oh, I'm sure," Tess nodded. "It's the same with my daddy's side of the family. We're just so far apart we forget 'ta check up on each other as often as we should." She finished off the last of her bagel. "And with you, Fawn, you work full time with a little 'un at home. I'm sure 'ya family understands."
I didn't blink for a while. I just stared at the river until the cold breeze dried my eyes out. "Oh, well..." I cleared my throat, "I don't have a little one at home."
Tess looked confused. Ray looked mortified.
"But it says on 'ya file you were pregnant last year?" Tess half-asked, half-stated. I could tell from her tone that there was no malice in her. She'd clearly read my profile and made assumptions.
I smiled, maybe showing a little too much teeth. "Yeah, I was. Very healthy pregnancy, very healthy baby boy, but I don't have a little one at home."
Ray put his hand over his wife's wrist, his sea glass bracelet quietly clattering on the wooden table. Tess went pale and her look of confusion faded into a silent scream.
"Oh. I'm...I'm sorry," she stammered. "I didn't mean 'ta-."
"No, no! I don't mind bringing him up!" I said, a nervous laugh jittering my lungs. "I never get the chance to talk about my son, but I think about him all the time!"
I surprised myself when the expected sorrow didn't come. Instead, excitement filled its place -- an odd sense of relief that I could let out some of the thoughts that had been haunting me.
I proceeded to word-vomit about how wonderful it was to be pregnant with my son, and how angelic his parents were to me, and how I knew he would be okay -- even if I missed him -- and so forth and so on. I honestly don't think I stopped for breath.
I saw Ray and Tess glance at each other from the corners of their eyes as I rambled, a pair of knowing grins on their faces.
I'm no mind reader, but I think that's when the Tariqs made their final decision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tess was with me for the embryo transfer, her ring-laden hand resting on my arm as everything was prepped. I was bloated as a water balloon from the multiple fertility drugs I'd been plunging into my veins -- every day, might I add -- for the past month. I sure was hoping those suckers worked, because being in a permanent state of PMS was ass. Total ass.
I reclined on the exam table, legs up in those familiar stirrups and my hips covered by a thin sheet of paper. I inhaled through my nose as the doctor inserted a long, thin tube of plastic through the ring of my cervix -- the end of which was attached to a syringe full of clear fluid. Somewhere in that syringe, three little embryos floated around -- and one of them was hopefully about to nestle into its new home.
I watched the fuzzy grey blurs on the ultrasound screen as the doctor angled the wand to see what he was doing. As I watched each of the three tiny balls leave the tube...I just hoped those fertility drugs didn't work too well.
Tess grinned down at me once it was over, her blonde braid falling over her shoulder. "We got three good un's in there," she said. I noticed she was clutching the quartz pendant around her neck like a string of prayer beads. "I'm sure one of 'em will like 'ya enough 'ta stick around."
I think she was just as worried as I was. Tess's egg retrieval, the test tube fertilization, the freezing, and my daily injections all combined into almost three months of prep work just for this ten-minute procedure.
And if it failed, we'd have to do it all over again. And if that failed, we'd do it again. And again.
"Yeah," I sighed, lowering my legs from the stirrups, "I hope you're right, Tess. 'Cause if not, I swear to God I'm gonna have-."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A girl!" Tess screeched to the high heavens, throwing herself against Ray in an attack hug. She jumped for joy while hanging from his neck, almost pulling the poor man to the floor. "It's a girl, Ray! We're havin' a girl!"
Ray laughed, backing up from the table so his wife didn't mule kick the ultrasound technician. "I don't know, Fawn," he said, looking my way with a huge smile and a raised eyebrow. "Do you think it's a girl?"
"Not sure," I said, my nose crinkling in a snicker, "but I think Tess said something about it being a girl."
"Shuddup you two," Tess giggled, sniffling as tears began falling down her cheeks.
Ray held his wife's face in his hands and gave her a kiss deep enough to explore the sea floor. The technician and I decided to focus on the ultrasound images to give the couple some privacy.
I craned my neck to look up at the screen. What had been a microscopic ball four months ago was now an apple-sized baby girl with wiggling arms and legs, and -- thank God -- there was only her in there. The other two embryos had never taken, but this rowdy little girl had held tight. I smiled as I watched the rapid flutter of her heart beating, amazed at the sight. I remembered being just as amazed by my son's heartbeat, what few times I'd gotten to see it.
"Look how active she is!" the technician said, pointing to the baby's constant wiggling. "You should be feeling those little dance moves of hers very soon."
Ray and Tess returned to admire the fuzzy images on the screen. Tess was drying her eyes on her sleeves, and Ray's smile may as well have been glowing. He had his arm around Tess's shoulders as they watched the miniature dance party going on inside me. The sea glass bracelet rattled as his hand came to rest over his heart.
"That's our daughter, Tess," he said. His voice broke a bit as he repeated: "That's our daughter."
"Yep," Tess sniffled, hugging her husband's torso and resting her head on his shoulder, "that's her."
I watched them hold each other like that until the technician turned off the wand and wiped the gel from my slightly rounded belly.
The Tariqs had already begun the steady payment plan we'd agreed to. Even after the agency took its cut each month, it was still more than I'd ever made in my life. That had been why I'd agreed to do this for them, after all.
That ultrasound appointment is what changed my outlook on what I was doing.
These two people. These two amazing people, so overcome with joy because I was carrying the baby that they could not.
I wasn't an incubator anymore. I felt more like a nanny, protecting their baby for them until she was strong enough to come out. They'd wanted this baby for so, so long -- and I was the one making that dream of theirs come true.
I knew what it was like to desperately want to hold a baby you were unable to have. I may not have been able to heal my own hurt, but here I was...healing theirs.
I wasn't doing it for the money after that.
I never did it for the money again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five days after my twenty-first birthday, I woke up to a rather nasty surprise at one in the morning. I'd gotten kicked in the bladder, and my bedsheets and pajama bottoms were damp and sticking to my skin in the humid July air. Fantastic. Not again.
With a groan, I rolled out of bed and started shuffling my way to my door. I held the weight of my belly in my arms as I made my way to the upstairs communal bathroom, hoping to take the pressure off my hips.
I blinked against the harsh florescent light as it sputtered to life over the toilet. With a gruff sigh, I shut and locked the door.
"Suri, you gotta stop doing this," I slurred, my mouth too tired to move. "I'm letting you use my uterus as a bed and breakfast. The least you could do is not try to pop my bladder every night."
Surinder. Her name was Surinder, but we'd been calling her Suri for short. Ray picked it out. He liked it because it was based on the name of a Hindu god and also sounded like the word 'surrender' in English. Tess had fallen in love with the name. Me? I would've just stuck with 'Suri'. I knew exactly what kind of teasing she was in for at school with a name like 'Surinder'.
You can't exactly walk into public school with a name like 'Fawn' and not get laughed into oblivion.
At least the nickname gave her an extra name to fall back on. If that didn't work, she also had her middle name to use: Elora. I would've done the same back in high school -- I did have three to pick from -- but 'Aspen', 'Coriander', and 'Medulla' wouldn't have made the teasing any better.
I'd gone in at age eighteen and erased two of those names. It was just "Fawn Coriander Sequioa" now. Still not a normal name by any means. I often thought about going back into the records and legally changing my last name, just like my parents had done when they'd joined the commune before I was born.
I didn't need my last name. My family didn't want me anymore.
Alexander may have opened up a whole new world for me, but he made sure I burned every bridge behind me as I crossed it. I was already beginning to question my parents' worldview by the time I started dating him, but he took that little spark of doubt -- a spark that, if left alone, would've grown into a steady burn-away of my old ideals -- and fanned those embers into an uncontrollable hatred.
"They're a cult, babe," he'd told me. "Why can't you see that? I can take you away from that bullshit that says you gotta fuck other guys to be happy. I only want what's best for you, and for us."
After months of letting my teenaged angst and frustration boil over, it happened. An argument started between Mom and I over something asinine, and the geyser fucking exploded.
I parroted everything Alexander had been telling me. I told my parents they were nothing but sexual perverts who wanted me to be a whore all my life. I told them how their "woo-woo" medicine got kids killed all over the country, and that blood was on their hands. I told them how much they'd fucked up in raising me.
I told them I hated them.
I told Dad I hoped the next woman who sucked his dick bit it off.
I told Mom that if it was her, I hoped she died choking on it.
The last time I saw Dad, he was throwing everything I owned out of my bedroom window until I was on the sidewalk surrounded by broken furniture and muddy clothes.
The last time I saw Mom, she was sobbing face-down on the couch and refusing to look at me.
Even now, I would be willing sell my soul -- to lay down and die -- just to undo what I did that day.
I didn't give a shit at the time, though. I picked up what I could carry off the front lawn and walked to the nearest payphone to call Alex. I had to tell him I was finally free.
Free.
Right.
What a fucking joke.
I splashed some cold water on my face to wash off the nighttime sweat. Suri rolled one of her feet against the top of my belly, causing a little moving bump that I playfully poked with my finger.
"I'm going to bill you for all those crazy dance parties you're having in there, missy," I said with a grin, a lot less frustrated with her than I was a second ago.
I grabbed a washcloth to start cleaning myself off, but the realization dawned on me and I stopped cold. That was her foot. Her foot was at the top of my belly...which meant her head was angled down...which meant there was no way she'd kicked my bladder.
As I stood at the sink trying to solve that puzzle, I found the missing piece. My belly clamped down hard enough to pitch me forward. I grabbed onto the sides of the sink with a small gasp, feeling the muscles of my torso all tighten and shrink in the direction of my uterus. As it did, a little more dampness spread across my pajama pants.
Oh fuck.
Oh, holy fuck!
I left the bathroom in as much of a jog as I could manage, rushing back into my room and to the brand-new cell phone charging by the window. I had no idea how to save numbers on that thing, so I manually dialed Ray's number. His was the only one I could remember.
The other side of the call rang for a solid thirty seconds before Ray's sleep-drunk voice picked up:
"Hello?" he grumbled. "Who is this?"
Oh, right. He probably didn't have my new number saved, either.
"Ray, it's Fawn," I said, noticing too late that my voice was trembling. "You and Tess need to come pick me up...like right now!"
I heard a rustle on the other end, and suddenly Ray sounded very much awake. "Fawn? Fawn, what's wrong?!" I thought I heard Tess say something nearby, probably on the other side of their bed. "Why do you need us to get you?! Suri isn't due for another two weeks!"
"She...she had other plans," I said, taking a deep breath to steel my nerves. "My water just broke."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ray's face was illuminated by the highway streetlights as he glanced back at Tess and I in the backseat of the car. "How's it going back there?" he asked, flicking his gaze between us and the road.
"Aughh!" I groaned in response as a contraction stole my ability to speak. I tried to lift my hips off the leather seat as more fluid leaked from me, but the seatbelt held me down. I was already sitting in a small puddle of it, and I was worried I was ruining their upholstery. I was still dressed in my pajamas, but I considered them a lost cause.
"We're doin' fine," Tess said, slipping her hand into mine so I could squeeze it -- which I did. "Focus on the road, Ray."
Tess had buckled herself into the middle seat of the minivan, giving her enough room to tend to me while I was strapped in the window seat. I sat with my legs as far apart as the seatbelt would allow. I could already feel the baby pressing through my cervix, and I recognized the pounding pressure that came with it.
The contraction lasted about forty seconds, and it left me reeling and panting. I had no idea when to expect the next one. "Why is this happening so fast?!" I asked, my voice shrill with anxiety. "I was in labor for over a day last time!"
"It's probably not happenin' as fast as 'ya think, doll," Tess assured me, giving my hand a pat. "You could'a slept through most of early labor. Second baby always comes faster than the first, 'ya know."
No. No, I did not know!
"Tessie, how close did the doula say she was?" Ray asked, obeying his wife and not taking his eyes off the road that time.
Tess's face was bathed in white light as she quickly checked her phone. "Ten minutes," she said. "She'll be waiting outside the house when we get there."
Just before she put her phone away, I saw her clutching the quartz pendant again.
Just as promised, the doula was parked outside the Tariqs' farmhouse when we got there. She climbed out of her car as soon as our headlights lit up the gravel driveway. Ray parked the minivan with a lurch and jumped out to start helping her carry things into the house.
Tess helped me out of the car, letting me use her as a crutch as we hobbled up the front steps.
"You ready 'ta do this, Fawn?" she asked.
"Are you ready to do this?" I rebutted.
Tess paused for a second, and then rubbed my lower back as we reached the porch. "Not really," she said, "but no one ever is."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Turns out, I wasn't as deep into active labor as I thought I was. In fact, I'd barely started it. The doula told me I was six centimeters dilated, and that I'd likely been in labor for close to twelve hours at that point.
"No, that's not possible," I protested from my reclined position on the sofa. "I wasn't having contractions until now."
"Trust me, you were," the doula grinned from her place between my knees. She slipped off her blue latex gloves and tossed them in the trash as she stood up. "I'm willing to bet they were just really mild up until you started leaking."
It was a relief to know my water breaking didn't mean I was going to deliver right there and then; but it also sucked knowing I was still in for a long ride.
I spent the rest of that night laboring around the farmhouse. It was so nice to not be stuck in a hospital room that time. I was free to do as I pleased, which Ray and Tess were sure to make clear.
Ray opened a few of the windows to let the sounds of crickets and frogs in, as well as the sweet-smelling breeze of the countryside. Meanwhile, Tess made it her life's mission to make me as cozy as possible -- no matter where I ended up. Thanks to her, pillows followed me from the sofa to the floor, from the floor to the recliner, and then back to the sofa.
Eventually, I got too restless to sit still and I needed to be upright. I was on my feet for the rest of active labor, hanging from the edges of furniture or leaning on either Tess or Ray for support during the contractions. Neither of them minded a bit.
It didn't hurt any less than the first time I went into labor. At times, I was so overcome by the increasing horrible sensations that I began screaming. Each time that happened, either Tess or Ray (whichever I was currently clinging to) would wrap their arms around me and the other would redirect my focus.
"Look at me, doll," Tess said, taking my face in her hands while Ray held me upright.
I was hyperventilating and sobbing my way through a nasty contraction and had forgotten how to use my legs.
"Look at me," she repeated gently. "Focus on my face. See my eyes? My nose? My mouth?" she pointed to each feature as she listed them. "Just think about what'cha see. Think about every detail 'ya can."
It was a technique that sounded stupid on paper, but in practice it was very effective at keeping me grounded. If I counted each of Tess's eyelashes or tried to trace the shape of her mouth in my mind's eye, then I didn't focus on the pain.
I could do it. I knew I could. I'd done this whole song and dance before without painkillers. I could do it again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At ten in the morning, eight hours after arriving at the house, I finally felt the shift that told me I was almost done with this.
I was kneeling on the hardwood floor of the living room, my thighs supported by the shallow birthing stool the doula had brought. Beneath me was an absorbent blue pad. Based on the design of the packaging it was pulled it from, it was supposed to be for potty training puppies. Weird...but if it worked, it worked -- and it was certainly needed. The head was descending quicky, and a few bloody strands of cervical mucus were dripping from me as the last of it gave way.
I'd shed the damp pajamas I came in, but the sweat rolling down my back made me shiver each time an outdoor breeze came through. Tess draped a thin blanket over my shoulders and stayed at my back, her hands never leaving my upper arms as I bowed my head and wailed through a transition contraction.
Ray knelt a few feet in front of me, the doula at his side. He looked a strange mixture of nauseous and excited -- we had decided he would be the one to catch the baby, and the doula was talking him through the process ahead of time. I noticed he was holding a hand to his heart as he listened to her, the sea glass bracelet hanging from his wrist.
We all knew it was about to happen.
When the head finally lodged itself into my birth canal, I said nothing. I just acted. I gripped the front edges of the foot-tall birthing stool and let out a feral growl as I started to push. A chorus of encouragement came from the people around me:
"That's it, doll! C'mon!"
"Go with the urge, Fawn. You've got this!"
"Very good, that's what we like to see."
Having gravity on my side this time made pushing feel much less like a chore. I could feel Suri working her way down each push I gave, and she usually stayed where she was once I let up. Kneeling on the stool seemed to be easing her down exactly where she needed to go.
I let out a yelp -- of surprise more than pain -- as I suddenly felt her head pressing against the skin of my perineum. The pressure opened my lips up like a flower, and the doula shined a flashlight underneath me to confirm her head was visible just inside the bulge of my lips, sitting there ready to crown with the next push.
And holy fuck, did she crown! The burn started the second her scalp met the outside air.
"Oww! God-fucking-damn it!" I white-knuckled the wooden stool, a strangled scream leaving my throat as I felt the head bulge out further, peeling my vagina apart like some demented fruit.
Ray scooted closer, rubbing alcohol up and down his arms in preparation to catch. With the doula watching over his shoulder and aiming a flashlight down so he could see, Ray slipped his hands beneath me. I felt his fingers prodding the skin around the head.
"Just like that, yes," the doula told him. "Help her open, this baby seems to be eager."
"No shit!" I roared, my arms trembling as another push sent the head rushing downward. "Fuck!"
I felt Ray's fingers trace the circumference of his daughter's head as more of it emerged, heard the quiet squelching of the afterbirth coating his fingers. When I no longer had the contraction to help me, I let up. Ray kept trying to massage my vagina open, even as I was trying to rest.
"Stop!" I snapped, and he withdrew.
Tess was hiding behind me, her hands on my shoulders the only reminder she was there. She peeked over my shoulder at her husband during the brief lull in my screaming.
"How far is she out?" she asked, unable to see for herself.
The doula craned her neck. "Almost fully crowned."
"She has so much hair," Ray said with a breathy laugh.
"She does," the doula agreed with a grin. "Her daddy's hair, too. Very dark."
I tilted my head to the side, panting heavily but morbidly curious. "Can...can I feel?" I asked.
The doula took my hand and lead it below my belly. I gasped in awe when I touched the hot, gooey ball of hair sticking out from my body.
"Woah..." I muttered, not sure what to else to say.
My fingertips wandered between my legs for a few seconds, and it was both fascinating and horrifying how my anatomy felt nothing like my own body. Everything was stretched and moved around, and it didn't feel like I was touching anything resembling a human body part -- save for the head sitting where a head shouldn't be. Frightened, I pulled my hand back just in time to bear down against a new contraction.
"Hands out, Ray," the doula gently encouraged. "Here she comes."
I felt Tess press her forehead into my upper back. I think she was feeling faint.
"Ah!" A sharp cry, almost a bark, shot from me as the head reached a full crown for a few terrible seconds. Then, with a wet slip, her whole head came free.
"Holy Mother Gaia..." Ray marveled in a half-whisper. His hands cupped the head hanging under me with the most attentive care in the world.
He didn't have much time to admire the view, I wasn't done pushing. I screamed through closed lips as I felt the ring of flesh just behind my skin get stretched wider than it had ever been. I knew something was wrong as soon as that stabbing, tearing burn began. Suri was two weeks early, but she suddenly felt bigger than my son had been.
"Pull her out!" I begged, remembering what the doctor had done. "Just pull her out!"
"Can't," the doula said. "Her hands are up by her ears, there's nowhere for us to grab."
"Take it slow, Fawn," Ray offered. "I've got her, there's no reason to rush."
I took a few quick pants and rested, hoping the stabbing burn would lessen if I let myself stretch out. It's no wonder it hurt so bad delivering her shoulders, she was making this part more difficult than it needed to be.
Tess's hands lightly squeezed my arms and I felt her hiding her face in the blanket draped over my back. Yeah, she was definitely on the verge of passing out.
Gravity was pulling on Suri even as I was trying to let myself stretch, and the shifting pressure triggered me to push without the aid of a contraction.
"Aughh, Suri come on!" I begged, pushing so hard my vision was going double.
Maybe saying her name was intimidating enough to get her to move, because with that push I felt her arms pop free. Ray gasped, and I felt his hands shift to support her upper body as the rest of her slipped out of me. I heard fluid splash and splatter onto the puppy pad, and just a second later, Ray lifted a small blue baby up from under me.
"Get her breathing," the doula urgently instructed. "Turn her over and rub her back. Support her head."
Ray obeyed, gently flipping Suri over on his lap and rubbing his large hand over her back. Her head hung disturbingly limp on her neck as he jostled her around, but I knew that's what it was supposed to be like. It still looked scary.
Suri splayed her arms out, as if she's been surprised, and let out a gurgling wail as her first breath.
"There she is," Ray sighed with releif, turning her back over to hold her in his arms. The doula whipped out a small towel and draped it over her body to keep her warm.
Tess came back to life and rushed to be beside her husband the instant she heard the baby cry. The moment she saw Suri in her daddy's hands, she dropped to her knees and covered her mouth. Her eyes spilled over, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Oh, Ray!" she cried, her voice shaky and breaking. She reached out and pet her daughter's wet mop of black hair. "Ray, she's beautiful!"
Ray couldn't answer, he was too choked on tears of his own. Both parents held their daughter between their bodies, too joyful for words to express. Their tears and shared kisses told the story, though.
As for me, I wasn't too sure what to make of the situation. She was out, she was healthy, and her parents would be taking it from here. My job was done; but it did feel a bit...abrupt.
"Fawn," Tess turned to me, uselessly trying to dry her eyes, "do you want to hold her?"
I didn't think, I just spoke: "Yes. I've never held a baby before."
Ray and Tess lifted Suri up to me. Ray adjusted my hold so I could support the places that needed it, and Tess made sure the bloodied towel was in place so Suri wouldn't get cold. Within seconds, there I was with a minute-old baby in my arms, sitting against my bare chest.
I stared down silently at the tiny person who had been living inside me the last nine months. She was screaming her head off, but her lungs were sounding clearer each time her mouth opened. Her pink, toothless gums reminded me of a fish's mouth.
"Hey, Suri," I said, my voice sounding far away. "Must feel better out here, huh?" Suri wailed again, unhappily flailing her arms and legs around. "Or not."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I rested on the sofa, extra puppy pads beneath me, as the doula and the parents did the 'lotus ceremony' on the other side of the room. I'd had to sit on that stool for an extra twenty minutes until the placenta passed -- Ray and Tess wanted to have a lotus birth, where the cord was burned through only after the afterbirth was delivered.
I didn't want to know what they planned to do with the placenta itself.
Ray had offered to drive back to the women's shelter later that day to grab my duffel bag for me. In my panic, I'd completely forgotten the overnight bag I'd packed. So, for the time being, I was naked and covered only by the thin blanket Tess had given me.
The lotus ceremony finished up, and Ray and Tess pulled up some chairs to sit beside me. Tess had gone topless and had laid a sleeping Suri carefully across her chest, doing skin-to-skin so they could establish the proper mother-baby bond. Her eyes were red and raw, and fresh tears were falling from them.
"Fawn," she began, "you'll never know how much this means 'ta us."
"You're welcome," I said, offering the couple a tired smile. "She was a rowdy tenant, but I'd gladly do it again to give you guys the family you want. You'll be an amazing mom, Tess."
Tess let out a small sob that turned into a chuckle. "Thank 'ya."
Ray rubbed his wife's back, his own fresh tears falling. "We have something very special to give you, Fawn. It's...the closest thing we have to fully repaying you."
Tess nodded. "Money ain't enough. It would never be enough."
In sync, both couples removed the pieces of jewelry I'd never seen them without: Tess, her quartz pendant; Ray, his sea glass bracelet. Without a word, both new parents bestowed the items on me as if it were a coronation. Tess slipped the pendant around my neck and flipped my hair out from under the chain it hung on. Ray carefully slid the band of clattering sea-green beads over my hand until it came to rest softly on my wrist.
I looked at the new gifts with a grateful smile. "Something to remember you guys by?"
The couple gave each other one of their classic knowing grins.
"No," Tess said. "We chose these items months ago. They were always intended for who our surrogate would be."
I tilted my head to the side like a confused dog -- I guess the puppy pads were appropriate after all. "What?"
"From the day we met you, we've been praying over them," Ray explained, repeating the hand-over-heart motion I'd frequently seen him do with the hand that had worn the bracelet. "Each milestone we reached, we made sure our joy in the moment was stored in the crystals."
"Quartz is best to channel the energy of a mother, for Mother Gaia," Tess explained. "Glass shaped by the sea is best for a father's energy, for all life was fathered by the sea."
We were silent for a while, just staring at each other. The only sound was the soft cooing Surinder made in her sleep.
"We want you 'ta be a part of this family, Fawn," Tess said. "We've put a part of our essence into these crystals. Our joy, our love, our gratitude. So, whenever 'ya wear 'em, we'll be with 'ya."
Now I was crying. I opened my jaw to say something, but nothing came.
"We've talked about it, and..." Ray said with a smile. "...if you would like to, we'd be more than happy to have you stay here with us until you get back on your feet."
"Livin' out here has been much less of a headache than in the city," Tess continued. "We could help you find a nice 'lil place of your own sometime soon, a home where you can make a life for 'yaself."
There was another pause. I let tears fall silently down my bewildered face.
"You don't talk much about 'ya family," Tess said. "You don't owe us no explanation, but...Ray and I figured...you might need someone in 'ya corner."
That was it. That was the killing blow.
I jumped forward and threw my arms over Ray, collapsing into sobs I hadn't experienced in months. I would've grabbed both of them, but Tess had the baby. I didn't actually say anything to them, but I think they got the message.
Maybe there was something to those New Age ideas of theirs. As I sat there sobbing, I swear I could feel the warmth of Tess and Ray's love seeping into my skin through those minerals.
It seeped through my blood and sinew, and even though bone. It settled into the bleeding wound in my soul that refused to heal, the one that had been torn open the first time I called my family after the fallout:
My own mother, the one who promised to love me no matter what life threw, plunged the knife in and twisted it. The last words she ever spoke to me...were a threat to kill me if I ever tried to come back home.
The warmth of Ray and Tess's gift poured into that wound like warm honey -- not healing it, but soothing it for the first time in three years.
Maybe I was overthinking it. Maybe the heat in the jewelry was just from their body heat.
But I was sure about one thing:
I wasn't alone anymore.
~ END ~
82 notes · View notes
rphelperblog · 1 year
Text
Stalking Jack the ripper book quote rp meme
Tumblr media
book series by Kerri Maniscalco - feel free to change or edit change pronouns for rp purposes
“Roses have both petals and thorns, my dark flower. You needn’t believe something weak because it appears delicate. Show the world your bravery.”
“I think you’ve broken one of my ribs. Was that really necessary? Next time you tackle me, be sure it’s in one of our bedchambers.”
“Everyone deserved to live freely and in honor of themselves. A basic right should not be a luxury.”
“She’s the muscle. I’m clearly the charm.”
“Curiosity was a disease that plagued me, and I'd yet to find a cure.”
“Hearts were beautifully fierce yet fragile things.”
“One fact was slowly taking shape: I was in jeopardy of admiring him against my better judgment.”
“If you can dream without limits, you can soar to great heights. Let the magic of your imagination set you free.”
“No matter how much death and horror existed, there were still things of beauty left to find.”
“You’re both so intelligent in matters involving the mind, but the heart? It’s as if beings from other galaxies are puzzling out fried potatoes.”
“Sometimes you need to stand out in order to blend in.”
“Life was beautiful even during the darkest hours.”
“Mistakes were a learning experience, not the end of the universe.”
“Monsters were supposed to be scary and ugly. They weren't supposed to hide behind friendly smiles and well-trimmed hair.”
“What is a man's soul made of that a woman's is not?”
“Diamonds were everything I hoped to be; beautiful, yet containing unimaginable strength.”
“The world is neither kind nor is it cruel. It simply exists. We have the ability to view it however we choose.”
“Our hearts are curious things. So sentimental and easily misguided. Pull the right strings or snap the correct cords, and poof!”
“Most stories are too good to be true. That's what makes them enchanting.”
“Magic is science. It’s simply a fancier term for showing people the impossible is attainable.”
“Let's play act a murder,”
“I’d like to see you carry on with a corset digging its bones into your rib cage, and manage a skirt still covering most of your breeches and whipping around your thighs in this wind.”
“Always foster and grow that unquenchable curiosity of yours."
“Perhaps you should comment on the excellent cut of my suit. I look rather handsome today as well. Don’t you think?”
“Pretend I am as capable as a man? Please, sir, do not value me so little!”
“Passion and annoyance were fire, and fire was alive and crackling with power.”
“I wondered how I could appear so whole and serene on the outside when inside I was thrashing with turbulence.”
“Do not turn your back on a love that could jump the barrier between life and death.”
How exceptionally wonderful for him. I wished them both a lifetime of misery with ill-mannered children. I swallowed my annoyance down and plastered on a smile. “
“Pretending a monster wasn't there didn't make it go away. It only made one vulnerable to its attack.”
“Let’s have some wine and dance inappropriately. You’ve already dressed the part for me—let’s take advantage.”
“For there are no limits to the stars; their numbers are infinite. Which is precisely why I measure my love for you by them. An amount too boundless to count.”
“Love strangles intelligence, even in the best of us.”
“Humans were the true monsters and villains, more real than any novel or fantasy could invent.”
“Monsters were in the eye of the beholder. And no one wanted to discover their hero was the true villain of the story.”
“I refuse to believe you've misinterpreted my affections. I am wholly in love with you. And it is permanent.”
“Monsters are only as real as the stories that grant them life. And they only live for as long as we tell those tales.”
“You are yours to give.”
“I’ve already fallen hard. Perhaps you should have warned me sooner.”
Most people ignore what’s right before their eyes. They believe they see, but oftentimes only view what they want
“Those who deserve respect are given it freely. If one must demand such a thing, he'll never truly command it.”
“There’s nothing better than a little danger dashed with some romance.”
“Fear is a hungry beast. The more you feed it, the more it grows.”
“I love you... More than all the stars in the universe. In this life and ever after. I love you.”
“Wield your assets like a blade. No man has invented a corset for our brains. Let them think they rule the world. It’s a queen who sits on that throne. Never forget that.”
“The dead speak to those who listen. Be quieter than even them.”
“Some ghosts should remain good and buried,”
“Seeing the truth was never easy, especially when it revealed those closest to us could be monsters hidden in plain sight.”
“People were always providing in death what they would not do in life, it seemed.”
“Someone screamed; perhaps it was me. Though it would have made me happier if it were him.”
“Death was not prejudiced by mortal things such as station or gender. It came for kings and queens and prostitutes alike, often leaving the living with regrets.”
So there will be no children or any beautiful paradise in our future. Most of the time I cannot even tolerate his presence. His arrogance is… I don’t know. Annoying.”
Your association with me is growing more beneficial by the hour. Your intelligence is quite… attractive,”
“Sit here and I’ll rock you gently until you or I or both fall asleep.”
“Why don’t you talk to me about what’s really troubling you? What emotional dilemma needs sorting out?”
No man has invented a corset for our brains. Let them think they rule the world. It’s a queen who sits on that throne. Never forget that. There’s no reason you can’t wear a simple frock to work, then don the finest gown and dance the night away. But only if it pleases you.”
“I needed no man to empower me. I had my father to thank for that much; his absence in most everyday things had prepared me well enough to stand on my own.”
“Whenever I scared him, he turned into some foreign person. One who was both frightening and frightened at once.”
“One needn’t be strong in only physical matters—a strong mind and will were fierce to behold as well. “
“Most people ignore what's right before their eyes. They believe they see, but oftentimes only view what they want.”
“If you wish to go, I’ll never make you stay. I might not do and say the proper thing all the time, but I do know that I love you enough to set you free.”
“We women could be called creatures, if only the men who said such careless words accepted our claws were fearsome things when we decided to scratch.”
115 notes · View notes
zephyrrhiesfyrian · 3 months
Text
Tumblr media
mama shockwave and one of his sons uwu
Tumblr media
i just like the idea that senator shockwave is sometimes a feral c r e a t u r e who perches on various ledges and stares at passersby like a spooky owl
The following series of doodles were inspired by a short rp @bunny-fair and I did, wherein the premise was Senator Proteus was questioning why Dai Atlas would carry a sword in a gun-wielding society. What followed was Proteus ordering Sentinel to duel Dai Atlas in order to prove guns were superior-
Tumblr media Tumblr media
while you built guns, Dai Atlas studied the blade
Tumblr media
This outcome does not please Proteus >:|
Tumblr media
This outcome very much pleases Shockwave; he enjoys watching Dai Atlas being sexy uwu
18 notes · View notes
thissquirrelgirl · 4 days
Note
Are there any other characters (Marvel or otherwise) that you have thought about making a muse?
Oh, absolutely! There are a few characters that I am hyperfixated on that I have considered making a muse. However, for various reasons, I have not chosen to RP with them.
1. X-Men AoA Dark Beast (Marvel)
He is the complete opposite of Doreen Green, but I love this trash gremlin. My intro to the X-Men was the AoA series when I was about 13 years old and the character stuck with me. (Why? Because it was at the bookstore all in one graphic novel collection when I wanted to start reading comics. Allowance money well spent.)
Tumblr media
I like mad scientists. I also like villains that enjoy being evil just because they can. The kind of person who stabs you in the front with a smile.
I don't RP this character because I'm hesitant to play established male characters since I am female and I am concerned with subconsciously portraying them incorrectly -- I am also about as smart as a bag of hammers and I don't want to butcher an intelligent character.
(Shout out to @positivelybeastly for their portrayal of 295 Beast. 10/10.)
2. Captain Carter (Marvel)
I want to be her when I grow up. Please carry me away in your strong arms, you beautiful woman.
Tumblr media
Wait, why aren't I RPing this character? Maybe it's because I swoon over her too much. Or I'm lazy. Or both.
3. Iroh (Avatar the Last Airbender)
Hands-down the best character in the series in my humble opinion. I'm sure I would spend hours talking to this man if he were real.
Tumblr media
I aspire to be a wise old sage who drinks tea and gives life advice... While also being a formidable fighter fire bender. Again, he is male, and I automatically struggle with that. (Also, are there even any active ATLA RPs on Tumblr?)
4. Mephisto Pheles (Blue Exorcist)
I'm really picky with anime/manga. Almost any anime/manga that I consume is "slice of life" genera, but this is the exception. I saw an episode of Blue Exorcist on TV late one night in my college dorm and was instantly hooked with the entire concept -- and for some reason, this flamboyant asshat. Is it because he's one of the most powerful beings on earth whose middle name has to be 'Manipulation'? Is it his sarcasm? I'm 80% sure it's his aesthetic -- I'm a sucker for a top hat and a tailcoat.
Tumblr media
But, alas, he is male. And I'm woefully behind on the series. And anime fandoms scare me a little.
8 notes · View notes
polyboros · 14 days
Text
sauces2 has moved away from a lot of in-game rp because archiving it has always been a pain in the ass and there's a lot of lost scenes from s1 that we just didn't get pictures or full context from right. but the thing about minecraft-based rp is that the gameplay never stops creating insanely fun things to play with. s1 had a friend accidentally let go of their mouse during a tense moment and kill a guy and that shaped so much. and the ability to sprint out of conversations without that being realized for a while, and a lot of weird little in-game bits. and now in s2 it's: we fucked off to an island in the ocean and found an insane series of flat caverns, and realized that for several hundred blocks there was land that only registered as "warm ocean" with underwater structures spawning on top of it, and deeply fucked up caves beneath because it was Warm Ocean, and then we found a mountain on one of those islands that had aboveground deep dark and shriekers that functioned to spawn wardens. and we have decided that it's the fucked up corpse of a god, and also that we discovered it in character because like two days beforehand i had kidnapped mooshrooms from the island without realizing and my friends had been eating from them for days. and in season two it's also: my friends struggle to follow me in low light / in the nether because i go invisible and can't be seen on the minimap, and i carried around a lantern to avoid that but the lantern stopped illuminating me too, and so. declan doesn't like the fact that being a ghost makes him hard to find, he tries to stay corporeal, it kind of eats at him. and the settings it gives us! wow!!
ostensibly at this point we could give up the minecraft, we have enough infrastructure in place to continue outside of it completely, but that wouldnt be any fun!!! minecraft is so important to the whole thing!!! and interpretation of gameplay is half the fun, and and and. i <3 minecraft rp i <3 minecraft rp. thank you
8 notes · View notes
sunhatllama · 20 days
Text
20 Questions for Fic Authors
Thank you so so much @silvercap for the tag!! I love these games :DD
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
I have 22 works on ao3!
2. What is your AO3 wordcount?
237,770 words and counting :))
3. What fandoms do you write for?
I have written for a few things over the past few years, but right now I am writing pretty exclusively for Resident Evil, though I do have a Call of Duty fic in progress that might see the light someday.
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
(Im going to go with only Resident Evil ones because i said so)
1) what are you willing to sacrifice for peace? - my Vendetta fic! also the start of my connected chreon series
2) Please Don't Leave Me - a Leon sickfic I haven't gotten around to finishing yet lmaoooo (also part of the chreon series)
3) in my dreams, we're far away from here - part two of the chreon series, a 3+1 with carrying as the theme :))
4) When I need you, you're always there - another part of the chreon series, Leon has a nightmare
5) all it takes is a snap - my singular whumptober fic with hurt Leon haha (chreon ofc)
None of my newer fics are getting traction but thats okay! gonna enlighten as many people to the hurt Chris agenda
5. Do you respond to comments?
I try to! i sometimes am busy and forget to, but if i see one i usually comment back!
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
To be fair, I haven't killed anyone off yet. All my fics end happy because my poor heart can't take a bad ending.
7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
oooo, good question...either what are you willing to sacrifice for peace? or in my dreams, we're far away from here because of happy chreon :))
8. Do you get hate on fics?
I haven't yet, but I don't get too much engagement anyway. I don't think I have had the opportunity to get any. Haven't gotten any hate here either.
9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?
I do!! I used to not, but now that I kind of know how it's done, I've been experimenting and practicing. Most of my fics nowadays have sex scenes in them (or multiple) but i have written a pure smut fic.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?
I haven't! I'm not the biggest fan of crossovers and often avoid reading them because I'm not interested. Doesn't mean they're bad though. Just not my thing.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
I hope not! Not that I'm aware of at least.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
I have not (though if you wanna, please ask! I'm very open to it)
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Yes, I have! I am actually in a roleplay server and have a writing partner. We have been turning many an rp in a fic for you guys! Like I can't escape this now, unless you show me how (mine and @leon-thot-kennedy 's re 5 chreon au)
14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?
CHREON!!! I have liked a lot of ships from other fandoms, but chreon is without a doubt my favorite Resident Evil ship as well as all around ship. Other ships are just fine but chreon is my OTP, the source of all happiness in my life.
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
Oh definitely Please Don't Leave Me. I have an outline and a plan and everything, just haven't had the juice to write hurt Leon nowadays. I hope to come back to it though!!!
16. What are your writing strengths?
I don't actually know haha. No one has told me anything, but I like to think I do suspense fairly well? Not as good as other people but I'm still learning! This year marks my fourth year of writing though so that's exciting :))
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Definitely balancing dialogue, action, and internal thoughts. I always have too much of one of those. Also I tend to reuse phrases or sentence structure and I need to learn to spice it up a little lmaoo
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
I think writing dialogue in another language is perfectly fine. Especially if the character speaks another language. You just have to be aware that not everyone will understand what is being said. But if it's essential to the plot, saying that they said it in another language works too.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Star Trek (2009) or the reboot movies lmao. It's funny, I started out not shipping anyone, but then started to ship Jim and Bones. But then I watched the original series and shipped Spirk in the old series. So I actually think that this was my first foray into shipping men together. Haven't been the same since hehehehe.
I was into Star Trek for about a year and a half! longest to date and I would say it was my first true hyperfixation. Resident Evil is creeping up on length though haha.
20. Favorite fic you’ve written?
Favorite fic is hard but I actually REALLY like I can't escape this now, unless you show me how . It's my baby, my magnum opus. The best thing I have had a hand in creating (even if only half of it is mine). For fics that are purely mine, The Stars Were Out was the most fun to write with the forest and stuff. Was kind of experimental but it was fun to try and describe things a little better and draw out the scenes.
Tagging- @wisecrackingeric-2 , @spectralharvest , aaaaand i was going to tag more but I have suddenly forgotten every writer friend I know that hasn't already been tagged. If you see this, and wanna do it, go for it! <33333
9 notes · View notes