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#i guess???? mostly in the tags whoops
grace-nakimura · 5 months
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whoops. (1/2)
rating: pg-13 at the most, and most of it is for language. pairing: past - and kind of present - grace nakimura/gabriel knight. trigger warnings: pregnancy. mentions of the occult. grace's lack of brain cells (affectionate). not beta'd. summary: eight weeks after the events that took place in rennes-le-château, grace finds her hopes into being a big damn hero put on a hold. also known as, no one is going to write it, jane has left us on read about it, so i'm going to do it.
eight weeks.
In hindsight, she should’ve known something was amiss; no, it wasn’t her being late, either. Grace had dealt with irregular periods since she was thirteen. After the first month of nothing, she didn’t think much about it. She was too busy settling into a flat in Mumbai and chalked it up to her body working like it usually did—coffee and those powdery doughnuts convenient stores like to sell—to pay too much attention. Then the second month went by, and Grace said, “well, might be stress,” because she was once again going halfway around the world trying to be a Big Damn Hero. 
Better reasons this time around, but the same story.  
Her jeans fit a little tightly. Her breasts were sore, tender really. It was the heartburn—Christ. She was thirty. Surely, thirty was too young to worry about heartburn? Especially after eating a jalapeno, when she grew up eating spices that were way warmer—that made her suspicious. Maybe she was sick; maybe it was some sort of stress of moving across the world, with only a letter to a man she would always love more than he’d love her, and a short phone call to her parents in New York.  
Sometimes she thought about e-mailing Gabriel.  
She never did. Not because she hated him, but because she was afraid he hated her.  
I wouldn’t blame him if he did, was what she told herself, because for all his faults, she wasn’t always innocent either.  
“You’re young,” Gerde had told her when Grace chalked up the courage to give her a real, sincere apology. Grace had bristled at that at first—twenty-four wasn’t young; she was a grown woman—but Gerde just gave her a knowing look that said, see? Then they shared a beer and spent most of the night talking about history, about philosophy, and for a rare time she saw how Gerde spoke about the late Wolfgang without hedging on sadness, but a sort of fondness, and Grace remembered thinking, wow, I hope I love someone like that one day.  
She had a photo of him, of Gabriel, in her wallet. Of course, it wasn’t only him, but Mosley was there, too. Gabriel had his arm around his best friend while looking into the camera with a smug grin.  
Out of all the things she missed about Gabriel Knight, it was that smug grin of his. 
Eight weeks. Eight weeks passed and she spent it making her small flat livable, while pouring herself in whatever Chandrel threw at her. Mostly, it was meditation—apparently, she had trouble centering herself and opening her mind, ergo, she was stubborn—and research. Which was fine. Learn how to count before you could add or subtract. Didn’t stop her from being restless and wanting to advance when she was four, and it was still the same at thirty.  
What gave it away, what finally made her think, huh, my body has been acting weird so I should investigate it, was the smell of incense. It was during a meditation with the other initiates when something when she got a whiff of something so foul, so unimaginably rancid, she shot up from the pillow she saw on to throw up her breakfast in a potted plant.  
“Meditation isn’t for everyone,” a Nigerian undergrad named Aretta joked, but her brown eyes were sympathetic when another wave of nausea hit.  
That day she purchased three pregnancy texts. She realized a little too late where she purchased from did not have an English translation so, with swallowing her pride and humiliation, and because she felt she needed to apologize for what happened earlier, she handed the sticks to a baffled Chandrel who was outside, trimming the weeds on his knees.  
“Sorry about...” she trailed off, not wanting to allow the word ‘vomit’ to escape her mouth, ‘else if she thought about it too much, she might repeat it. Chandrel was proud of his garden, and he had been nothing but a good friend; he didn’t deserve that. “Um. I don’t... I know a few words in Hindi, but I don’t know if this is Tamil, or...” 
“Marathi,” Chandrel said with bemusement. Sometimes, when he spoke to her, it felt like he was speaking to a child, and while a part of her wanted to bristle like she did when Gerde called her young, a larger part of her allowed herself to be humbled. Maybe the meditation thing was working, or maybe she was simply growing up. He took the tests—a brow quirked knowingly—with brown eyes staring at the results for a moment, before handing them back to her. “Congratulations are in order, I assume. Or condolences.” 
Whoops. 
twelve weeks.
She had typed out an e-mail to Gabriel about, oh, five thousand and twenty-two times. Sometimes she just ranted at him, blamed him, as if she wasn’t a willing participant; as if she hadn’t thought about what happened—although maybe she would’ve wanted the situation to be a bit different—a thousand times before it did. Sometimes she gave into self-flagellation and apologized to him. For envying him. For wanting to be him at some point, even if half of that want was merely her doing her best to ignore the growing unrequited feelings that blossomed without her saying so. For leaving without a proper goodbye because, despite it all, he changed her life for the better.  
She went to New Orleans to grow up, to make her own choices, and applying for that job at Saint George’s did exactly that.  
The ones that she’d never send were the ones to which she told him she loved him. That it was fine that he didn’t feel the same, she heard him tell Mosely as much, and what happened, while it meant a great deal to her, probably wasn’t the wisest idea for either of them. That wouldn’t change how she felt and maybe, someday, they could continue being friends. Just friends with a Whoops in their lives.  
Sometimes she wrote letters, actual handwritten letters, even if the new millennium was dawning and no one wrote letters anymore. Hell, it took Grace weeks to convince him to use a computer than his typewriter.  
She knew she could call. At least, she could call Gerde, who was a good friend, had been a supportive friend even if their initial meeting was awful, if only to reassure her that she was fine. She hadn’t spoken to her since returning briefly to Rittersburg to collect her things. They had hugged, Gerde had wished her well, and while the woman wanted to pry, she had the grace to keep any questions silent.  
Every e-mail was deleted; every written letter was crumbled up and tossed in the bin.  
“I have bigger fish to fry,” she had told herself, unconsciously rubbing the small bump. Most women don’t show their first time around, or not really, but Grace found herself rubbing that spot where the smallest of bulges formed more and more as of late. “I still have to tell my parents.” 
Thinking about telling Gabriel made her heart hurt; telling her parents made her heart go into overdrive into a flat-out panic attack. Not good for Whoops, the doctors had said, so she decided not to tell them. At least, not yet. Maybe when she could look her very, very traditionalist parents, who came to America when she was three so she could have the best life possible, in the eye and say, “well, you always wanted to be grandparents!” without dying from sheer terror. 
“What are you going to do about Whoops?” Aretta had asked, braids placed in a bun on top of her head as she walked with Grace arm and arm toward some hole-in-the-wall food joint that Grace had been constantly craving, regardless of heartburn. While low-rise jeans were becoming a style, Grace enjoyed the high-rise variety, especially when she knew soon most of her blouses would not fit. They were already snug at the bust area, much to both her horror and slight amazement. “Have you considered—” 
“Everything,” she told the younger woman with a great big sigh. “I even started to make an appointment at the clinic like you suggested, but...” 
Aretta did not, nor would she ever, judge, and merely offered a small smile. She and Gerde would’ve gotten along a lot quicker than she and Gerde did. Then again, that was Grace’s own blunder, not Gerde’s. “It was only a suggestion, Grace,” Aretta soothed, “the choice is yours alone. It is your body, after all, not mine.”  
Grace nodded and offered a small smile.  
Having their fill of samosas with chola, they spent the rest of their time going over the bestiary sitting crisscross-applesauce in the middle of her flat, that still had yet to be fully unboxed, scribbling their own experiences—well, Grace’s, anyway, since all Aretta knew was what her mother had taught her—in the margin of their notebooks.  
Whoops still hovered in the background. Hard not to when all she felt was bloated, gassy, or rarely—and she counted herself grateful since her mother had often said that carrying Grace meant she was spending more time over the toilet than having any sort of pregnancy glow—throwing up. Tucking her raven hair behind her ear, thinking she ought to give it a trim because it was growing too long, she blurted out, “What if I keep it? Whoops? I mean, it shouldn’t be too hard, right? Women have kids alone all the time.” 
Aretta made a noncommittal sound, and Grace continued, “I don’t need Gabriel. He always said he was terrified of settling down, anyway, so, me not telling him is just honoring his wishes.” Another noncommittal sound came from Aretta who, if Grace was anywhere but her head, would think it almost sounded amused. “He compared me to a nagging Ikea furniture, anyway, so there’s no loss there. Really. Also, my parents? Well, they can’t kill me if I show up in Manhattan in a year from now just, you know, shoving a baby at them and say, surprise! I can say I adopted it!”  
“Mmm,” and for being younger than Grace, with those dark discerning eyes and a patient grin. “It is your choice, like I said,” and this would be when she finally would take her eyes from the notebook she had been scribbling on, a toothy grin that showcased her gapped teeth she wore proudly. Not like Grace. Grace begged for braces to correct hers. “You do not need to convince me, Grace, but I think you need to convince yourself.”  
Which, when Grace came down from the neurotic burst, she had to release it like the gas that kept her up all night, she allowed. And after a long moment, after deliberating every pro and con, imagining every sort of scenario, Grace was left with this. “I want to keep Whoops.” 
Aretta snorted, “You might need to figure out a name other than Whoops, then.”  
twenty-four weeks.
It was closing in at the cut off where she could travel internationally. The midwife she had been seeing so far had told her she was pushing it, but since her pregnancy was going on without a hitch, then it should be fine. The old woman even gave her a doctor’s note in case there was any trouble.  
Aretta drove her to the airport. Chadrel had to run the academy but gave her his blessing. “The both of you are always welcome back, Grace,” he had told her. 
“It’s not forever,” she reassured him with a laugh. She never got to get her hair trimmed, decided to wear it in a braid because it was the easiest thing she could do in the mornings. “We’ll be back soon. Just need to tie up some loose ends.” 
A knowing look, “I take it you aren’t going to the States?”  
“Not until Whoops is born and I can hide behind her, because I’m pretty sure my mother won’t kill me if I’m holding a baby.” It was the only thing that kept her nerves at bay, really, when it came to telling her parents. They were traditional, yes, but Grace knew they loved her more than life itself. She was their only one, after all. They never understood her wanting to go to New Orleans, or wanting to go to Germany, or even India, but they had supported her, nonetheless. 
Mostly, she just didn’t want to disappoint them.  
Just like she hoped her daughter, her Whoops, wouldn’t be disappointed by her.  
Funny. For a while, she had thought she was carrying a boy; she had assumed that most of the Ritters were males, anyway.  
She had written to Gerde a week before she bought her ticket. She hadn’t told her about Whoops, yet—which was a bit mean, really, just showing up pregnant, but for all Grace wanted to be a big damn hero she was mostly a big damn coward—but did ask if she could stop by. This sort of thing was a conversation one had in person, not phone or e-mail or letter.  
Of course, Gerde had written. We left your room the same. Gabriel has been out a lot, recently, but I know he would be happy to see you. 
“You’ll call, or write, when you get there.” No questions, but straight facts as Aretta pulled her into a hug, which she returned as best as her bump allowed. Although small, it still made moving around difficult. “You gave me the address to that big fancy castle. If you don’t write, you bet your ass I will.”  
And with that, Grace boarded the plane, not yet waddling like a duck, thank God.  
While Mumbai wasn’t as cold as Germany, and she would spend a great deal of the flight burning up, she dressed in her warm maternity clothes. Rittercastle was in the mountains and while she remembered it being picturesque and almost something out of a fairytale, she also remembered how cold the castle was even with heating installed, and how she spent more nights next to a fire than not. New Orleans spoiled her. She grew up with the cold. Now she couldn’t stand anything below fifty degrees. 
Two things that were fortuitous when Grace Nakimura made it to Rittersburg Castle: one, light snow which made finding a cab to take her to her destination rather easy; two, when she arrived, Gabriel wasn’t there, which would give her even more time to explain herself. 
She used that time to explain to Gerde who, when she opened the door to greet her, noticed her bump as soon as Grace walked inside.  
“You’ve been busy.”  
Grace smirked, “you have no idea.”  
And that was how she spent the first night in Rittersburg after many months; sipping hot cocoa, sitting on the couch beside Gerde, telling her everything that happened. From Chadrel, to what happened in France, telling her about Aretta, and then to Whoops. Gerde snorted into her own cup of cocoa at the nickname. “Whoops?”  
“It felt appropriate,” Grace defended, “and nothing seems to fit her.” 
Gerde’s blue eyes twinkled. “Her?” 
Grace gave an almost shy smile, nodding. She felt ridiculous for being so bashful about Whoops. From the moment she felt her fluttering about inside her, letting Grace know that under no uncertain terms she was there, to even showing everyone at the academy the sonogram photos she had taken. It was ridiculous. She knew this was ridiculous, entertaining raising a child, but as every single day went by, she couldn’t see a life without Whoops.  
“You haven’t told Gabriel,” Gerde surmised. Grace nodded, causing the blonde woman to place her cup on the coffee table in front of them, and gave her a look that was far older than a woman of her age. Sometimes Grace forgot she was technically older than Gerde with how she carried herself. Just like Aretta. “I am going to be honest with you, Grace, he’s been—sad.” Gerde made a face as if saying, no, that wasn’t the right word for it, and began again. “He still jokes, he still writes, but there is something missing. He still talks to his grandmother, but that seems to be the only thing that really makes him happy.” 
Well. Shit.  
“You think Whoops would make him happy?” Grace asked, incredulously; easier to be obtuse than understand that, with how Gerde sounded so somber, Grace had to at least be partially the reason for his moods. Grace wasn’t arrogant enough to assume she broke his heart, but she knew that, while he’d never return her feelings, he still cared about her. That they were friends.  
Gerde allowed Grace to take the easy way out, if not for now, with how she snorted once more. “For a man who swears he is terrified of the idea of family, he keeps his own close to his heart,” which was fair. Rebecca Knight all but raised Gabriel, after all; if Mosley and Grace were his friends, Rebecca was his best friend, his world at that. And the fact he did mourn Wolfgang, even if he only knew him a brief time, the reason why he began the journey was to honor him in some way. A sense of duty.  
Well, that was how Grace saw it, anyway.  
She also remembered how he would always make time to visit his grandfather’s, his mother’s, and his father’s tomb, too.  
“I’m afraid,” Grace admitted, still sipping on her beverage. “Not...not just for me, you know, but her. I know Gabriel can be the world’s biggest ass, so can I, and I am not worried about him being an ass to her—damnit.” A groan. “I chose to be a Schattenjäger. Gabriel had to become one.” 
“And you are afraid that your daughter will not have a choice?” Gerde summed up effortlessly. “We all have a choice, Grace. That is one choice she will not have to make for many years yet. If I were you, I would focus on telling Gabriel—” 
“Tellin’ me what?” A heavily accented voice accompanied by boots on the castle ground. 
Grace began to choke on her cocoa, causing Gerde to move and pat her back. 
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Hi! Love your posts. Can you write crush headcanons for each of the turtles, like how they develop it, how they may act around them, and maybe ask them out? Thank you! Hope you have a great day!
TMNT crush headcanons:
Leonardo:
• Leo developes slow but meaningful crushes! He's very careful, and guarded of his feelings similar to Raph, but in his own way. His crush starts with feeling inspired by his person of interest, someone who makes him want to better himself in any way by either observing their passions, talents, and skills, or who encourages his limits to discover his own.
• He's thoughtful but very subtle about his affections towards someone, he doesn't exactly want them to know
• Observant, attentive, and a classic romantic is how he is—that last part, in his fantasies, at least. He dreams about being able to provide everything his crush could want or need, even though he can't always do so due to how they live
• Leo asks his crush out after a series of escalating gestures of love so it doesn't really catch them off guard. Asks them to meet him alone to talk because he has something important to say, and then makes the confession.
• "I know you have to know what I'm going to say, you're nervous, I can tell...I probably shouldn't have been so cryptic when I asked you to meet me in the dojo by yourself." He softens his posture a bit, to seem less tense. He'd lit several dozen candles scattered all over the room, partially for himself while he meditated to calm his mind a little, mostly to create an atmosphere. "You've become a close friend of mine despite everything, you know you're always welcome in our home, right? And you can come whenever." There's an awkward pause—he doesn't know how to continue with what he's saying. "Ah, anyways—I was saying...I enjoy your company, I would be honored to show you some stuff I know, in exchange for some of your time. Only if you'd like." God, he hoped that you would.
Michelangelo:
• Mikey couldn't hide his growing feelings, even if he wanted to. And it didn't take much for him to fall fast and hard for his crush; the attention he got was addictive and he wanted to give it back tenfold! He always wanted to feel wanted and accepted by others, so even though he couldn't have that from the rest of the human world, the fact that he had that from you was more than enough for him. He was grateful.
• He's his crush's biggest fan!! If there were merch, he'd wear it proudly even if it embarrassed you
• Creative and artistic; he painted and redesigned one of his old longboards just for you. It had some of his old pop-art on it, graffiti style, random sketches and doodles, and every sticker he could find. He tried to remember everything you liked to put it on the things he gave you, whether it were poster collages he made for his wall art or putting love onto the bottom of a skateboard. Big gift giver, so expect to get a LOT of stuff from him—even sentimental items he's nostalgic over, even if you feel bad to receive those things from him. He has a lot to give. 😌
• Mikey confesses by accident one day when he doesn't even mean to—he's playing around with you as usual and gets talkative when he's feeling excited, so it just slips out. Mid-play.
• "Ha-hah! That's what I'm taking about, I love you, Y/N!" There's a pause where it has to compute for a second. "Wait, did I just say that out loud?" He's serious for a moment—he can't believe he actually said that. But the next beat, he's back to smiling at you, laughing, maybe trying to deflect the hint of embarrassment he felt (which was rare for Mikey). "Yeah, I did say that out loud, I guess. Whoops...oh—now, tag, you're it!"
Donatello:
• Despite his brains and his intellectual nature, Donnie is an emotional person and actually falls in love almost immediately when he encounters that perfect person. He gets stars in his eyes and runs his own compatibility tests through his mind as he learns more about them, and annoyingly, they're stuck on his mind even when he's trying to work on his experiments and projects.
• Helpful, playful, a little stingy with your time lol—when he wants to spend time with his crush, he wants his brothers away because they take the limelight without thinking sometimes. Always offering to help you with homework or if you need anything fixed around the house, he's volunteering for that. Broken cabinet? Fixed. Wifi isn't working? No problem. Pipes under your sink leaking? He's been fixing up the Lair for years!
• Donnie is not shy. Let's say that rn. He's 👏 confident 👏. He's a little bit of a showoff competing with his brothers to snatch your attention, even if it's just games.
• He asks you if you'll have him on a date one night on your way out of the sewers. He'd been looking for the prime time to hit you with the question and was a little nervous to do it with his peers around, so he dropped the question when you went to leave for the night. "I know you're leaving—and this will only take a minute! But I had something to ask you." He lets you get curious. He holds up the keys to his prized possession, the Shellraiser, that he dreamed about driving you around in. "Ever gone on a joyride through New York in a souped-up garbage truck? No?...do you, maybe, want to do it with me? As a friend thing? Or maybe as more than just...friends?"
Raphael:
• Raph was completely UNready to admit he was getting soft for you. Or ready to commit to feeling the uncomfortable—but tantalizing—feelings you gave him. In honesty, for a good long while, Raph didn't let you know in the slightest he was getting his heart stolen over the course of the months he knew you.
• Very much puts off his crush with his prickly demeanor. But underneath that tough exterior, he's secretly taking every chance he can get to try to impress you in the ways he knows how; if there's any heavy lifting to be done, you bet he's volunteering himself out for that before anyone else can.
• Acts too good for sappy things until the moment his crush is being vulnerable—it disarms him, he's a protector at heart. He wants to be your shield from everything bad in the world, which is a lot.
• Raph plays the long game with his crush hinting over and over again he's in love, with no luck at times. It frustrates him but it's a challenge. He won't be outright and say it; everything he does is subtle, but the second your back is turned, he's making it known he's got your attention just to pull one over on his brothers (in good humor!)
• Makes his crush work with him to get the confession out, low-key. He makes you guess until you finally start to piece everything together. He will not be saying it with his words, but he'll definitely show it.
• "Y/N. C'mere," he says. "What're you still doing here this late, dummy? Already said it's not safe to walk home alone." Silence. "Agh, I did it again. Ignore my crap. But I mean it, stop goin' home alone, you know I told you I'd come too. And if I ain't available then I'm making Mikey go. Hear me? Stop acting like it's a burden or whatever..." He's kicking himself mentally for being unable to say what he actually wants to say. He ruffles your hair roughly to deflect. "See, now ya look silly like you act. Come on, let's go. I like you better safe in one piece than ending up in the back of some guy's van."
I lost all of my TMNT gifs from my old phone 😭 The post feels bare without it, but anyways, this is my first post in over a year so i hope it's good! 🐢🐢🐢🐢
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krirebr · 1 month
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Wearing that scarf just for you. 😉
Whoops! Accidentally wrote a tiny sequel to this. Written on my phone, unedited.
Warnings: explicit language, references to breath play, 18+ - Minors DNI
You're at another cocktail party. You always seem to be at these things. This one is mostly filled with your parents' well-to-do friends. An obligation. You never would have heard the end of it from your mother if you'd skipped it.
Your boyfriend is at your elbow. Partner, now? You guess? You're living together. And it's fine. No. It's great, that's what you mean. Your parents love him. Your friends love him. You can feel him itching to buy a ring. And that'll be great too. It will. It will. Your whole life mapped out before you the way it's supposed to be. Every day, just like the day before. Forever. It'll be great. Just what you've always wanted. That's what you tell yourself every night as you try to fall asleep with his large arm thrown across your chest, suffocating you, and his snores filling your ears.
Some old-money asshole is talking to you about joining the yacht club or something equally inane. Your boyfriend is carrying the weight of the conversation, and you let him. That's when fucking Ransom swans in.
He's still in his tan overcoat. And his scarf. That scarf. There's no reason for him to be wearing it. It isn't the season for it. You're suddenly slammed with a memory of the last time you were together.
The way he'd wrapped that scarf around your neck, both ends held tightly in one fist as he'd pushed inside of you. The scarf squeezing around your neck, cutting off your moans and-
Something touches your arm, and your whole body jolts. "What!" you snap. You come back to the present. Your boyfriend is staring at you. Other people are, too. Your panties are damp.
"I was just asking if you wanted another drink?" Your boyfriend asks, bewildered.
"Oh," you take a deep breath. "Sure." After an awkward pause, you tack on a belated "thanks, sweetie," through gritted teeth.
You look back towards the entrance to the party and suddenly find your gaze locked with Ransom’s. And the asshole fucking winks.
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tiddygame · 2 months
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hello im sorry i wrote more for @myriadblvck ’s streamer au ghoap
I time travelled and around 4,000 words magically appeared in a document titled: "you didn't juju on the fucking beat soap" I think I was possessed by something. anyways here’s that:
tw: is it a panic attack? is it just typical ghost angst? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just be careful it's mostly fluffy (ghost is mean to himself cause he almost kissed soap on the forehead)
also i just realized after i wrote this whole thing, this is based on my general knowledge of dog tags… as an american. writing about the british military. so if you know your shit about the british military, uhh sorry in advance. my bad. from a very brief search i think a lot of it’s the same or at least same enough but this might hurt for people that know a thing or two. whoops!
fun fact: did you know for a brief stint (iirc, >40 years from around 1960s to 2010ish) the american military was printing soldiers’ ss numbers on their tags? yeah can’t imagine why they switched back to serial numbers.
Ghost had been pacing outside of his office for three minutes before he actually entered. When he did, he didn’t say a word. Just sat down in one of the chairs, fidgeting. It wasn't that uncommon of an occurrence, he was normally either gathering his thoughts before talking to Price about something more personal or hiding from what/whoever he didn't feel like dealing with.
When it came to mission debriefs, he was clear and concise. However, personal matters were a different story, and based on the way he anxiously opened and closed his hand, he'd guess this was a personal matter.
Price didn’t ask. He knew that whatever it was Simon needed to say would come out eventually. For now, he continued filling out paperwork and trying to figure out what it was that had Ghost so worked up.
Honestly, there wasn't much guesswork involved. Chances were, it was probably yet another leave request. He knew from Gaz (who was such an awful gossip he sometimes wondered how the man made it through interrogation training) that Simon had been visiting some social media person he had taken a liking to.
(Look, yes, Price knew about Twitch and live streaming and everything. He’s not actually that old. However, as long as he kept up the front of the old man who complained about the keyboard on his phone being too small, he didn’t have to deal with social media. Sure, it caused all of them to joke that he was geriatric and on his last legs, but he was able to convince Roach that he doesn’t know what TikTok is, meaning he wasn’t in charge of reviewing all the bullshit he and Gaz posted. A fair trade if you ask him.)
He also knew that Gaz was convinced the two were in love to the point that he and Roach had a bet going to see when they would get together. Price thought it was rather stupid, but he had to admire their ability to keep it under wraps; if the lieutenant found out they’d been placing monetary bets on his love life, he had a feeling he would need to find replacements for the 141.
Regardless, Price hoped that one day Simon would tell him about the friend but, until then, he was happy to fill out any paperwork that would get the poor man off base. God knows that idiot needs a vacation.
Simon was bouncing his leg, messing with his fingers, and staring off into space.
Three of his nervous habits at once? He must be even more worked up about this than Price thought. But, he was a patient man. It was about seven minutes of companionable silence before Simon spoke.
“I need replacement dog tags. I seem to have lost mine.”
Price looked up. He could see the chain around his neck and the outline of them still under his shirt.
"You do?" Price shuffled his documents around, eventually finding a blank piece of paper he could write on.
"Yes sir."
“And do you know what happened to them?”
“I believe they were knocked off during the fight from the last mission. I didn’t notice until later that night when we were back at base.”
Price paused and looked up from where he had been writing.
The last mission had been an odd one. Ghost normally stuck further away, their eagle-eyed lieutenant typically stayed at long to mid-range, watching for hostiles and making sure whoever else was in the field wouldn’t get caught off guard by someone they hadn’t seen.
During the last mission, he decided to engage at close range, a far cry from his usual approach of sniping hostiles from the shadows.
At one point, their lieutenant had been tackled and almost strangled. The fight had pretty much ended, his attacker was the only one left there. Ghost, being The Ghost, dispatched him with ease, but it stuck out to Price. Ghost may prefer to stay further back, but that didn’t mean that his hand-to-hand combat skills were lacking by any means.
He remembered thinking at the time that it was a clumsy mistake, that Ghost would have had to be intentionally trying to fuck up to get knocked down. He assumed the man had just been caught off guard, but he knew that theory wouldn’t hold up to any scrutiny. Ghost isn’t one to get caught off guard.
What was stranger yet still was Ghost specifically pointing it out in his mission report, calling even more attention to it.
Price set his pen down and leaned back in his chair.
“You planned this?”
“I plead the fifth,” said the British man.
Price just continued to stare, curious to see if this was actually going where he thought it was going.
“Is this off the record?” Simon eventually asked.
“Of course,” almost everything the 141 did was of dubious legality. Not reporting a conversation about possible wasted assets was far from the worst thing that had been swept under the rug.
“Then yes.”
“Why?”
Simon didn’t answer. Price waited, giving the man time to gather his thoughts, but based on the way his mouth opened and closed before he slumped in his chair, it seemed he didn’t know what to say at all.
Price had an inkling he might know what this was about.
“You know, Gaz likes to keep me informed,” Ghost looked up at him, somewhat panicked yet resigned, like he already knew what Price was going to say.
“He tells me you have a certain someone you’ve been visiting?”
“Yes.”
“Is this person a friend or…?” Ghost once again paused, calculating the potential consequences of his available responses.
He didn’t answer.
“Hmm,” Price paused, wondering how far to push before he continued, “You want to give this person your old dog tags?”
“Yes.”
Of course he would pre-plan “losing” his dog tags. Price mentally chuckled, leave it to Simon to be such a sap that he wanted to give someone his dog tags yet still make sure to follow protocol so he never actually risked going without them.
He had to hand it to him, it wasn’t a bad plan.
Price had a smile now, knowing his grumpy hard-ass lieutenant had a sweetheart he wanted to be sappy with.
“Romantic or platonic?” Price tried again.
“… I don’t know,” he’d never seen Simon look quite so… forlorn.
Hmm… That would explain his hesitancy.
He was pushing how much Simon was willing to divulge.
“And does this person know the significance of you giving them your dog tags?”
Well, curiosity killed the cat…
“No, they don’t.”
…But satisfaction brought it back. How interesting, the plot thickens.
“Do you plan on telling them?”
There was a long pause, after which it dawned on Price, “You want to give them your dog tags because they don’t know.”
It wasn’t a question, he already knew. Simon somehow slumped further, attempting to hide his face as if he weren’t wearing a balaclava.
His grumpy hard-ass lieutenant. Absolutely smitten with someone yet too shy to say anything, deciding on a quiet confession, one they likely wouldn’t pick up on.
Price chuckled, jotting down the necessary information he would need when he got his hands on the right paperwork, polishing up some of the details of Ghost’s story to make it more believable, before reading off what he had written to Ghost to make sure he got everything right. Ghost nodded once, and that was that.
“Replacement tags will probably be here in two to three weeks.”
“I would like to request leave for two to three weeks from now.”
Price handed him the form, having already grabbed it. He noticed how the man seemed to calm at just the thought of getting to visit his mystery person.
Oh, he thought to himself.
I am definitely joining Roach and Gaz’s bet.
<><><><>
They were lying on the daybed in his streaming room, or, well…
No, that’s not quite right.
Simon was lying on the daybed.
Johnny was lying on top of Simon.
His computer was still softly playing quiet (non-DMCA) music from where his stream had just ended. Instead of turning it off, he had decided to unplug his headset and leave it on, the music just loud enough to be heard.
Simon was sleepily scrolling through his phone, trying to pretend like he hadn’t almost dropped several times while dozing off, desperately trying to stay awake. Johnny had watched his struggle and decided to lay down right on top of Simon, not even trying to pretend like he was trying to fit on the remaining space on the daybed. Why would he when Simon was right there?
It was meant to be a joke, having thrown himself on top of him to annoy the man into sleeping on an actual bed (he claimed he wasn’t tired but the comically loose grip on his phone and the waking world said otherwise.) However, unfortunately for said sleepy man, Simon was very, very comfortable.
His head was resting on Simon’s chest, arms under his back like he actually was just a pillow, one hand reaching higher to feel where Simon’s hair had begun to grow out slightly.
I wonder if he would let me help him cut it…
Simon had said he was like a clingy cat, his free hand running through his hair in the same manner one would pet a cat to prove his point. The joke's on him though, he likes it.
Simon had tried to stop but Johnny didn’t let him, threatening to tickle him if he did.
(“I’m not ticklish, I just don’t want you throwing a tantrum.”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say,” he was definitely ticklish, and one of these days he was going to prove it.)
At some point, Simon had given up on keeping a grip on his phone, letting it drop to the side. They would probably have to go digging through the cushions to get it out of whatever crevice it had fallen to. As of right now, the idea of ever leaving his spot was comical at best.
The sun had begun to set, orange and pink tinted light filtering through the sheer curtains, making everything look more like a dream. Or maybe it was just the proximity to the man below him that was making him feel so serene.
Johnny took a second to inhale and exhale slowly, appreciating the moment. He hoped that this memory, this beautiful tranquility with Simon, would be something he cherished for a long time to come.
He knew that they had things to do. Soon, Simon would be catching a flight at some ungodly hour, headed back to save the world yet again. But for now, he was happy to nap away in their own little bubble. He never was a religious man but here in the arms of Simon Riley, he was tempted to think heaven was real, and that it was right in front of him.
“I almost forgot,” Simon mumbled, not sounding any more awake than he looked, reaching up for the collar of his shirt. Thankfully, the hand that was running his hair remained. He didn’t like proving the cocky bastard right, but he probably would have thrown a tantrum had he tried to remove it.
“They had some fuck up along the line or something and accidentally printed me an extra set of dog tags. I was just gonna toss ‘em but thought you might want—”
Johnny was now wide awake, sitting up and yanking the chain out of his hands.
“Don’t you fucking dare throw them away, of course I want them!” Simon’s face reddened, a frequent treat for Johnny now that he had gotten more comfortable going without the mask. Simon might have been good at keeping a poker face, but without his mask, he was a blushing mess.
He wondered if the blush was from his obvious jubilation at the gift or if it was because he was now straddling the man. Such pesky details, however, (even ones that would keep future Johnny awake at night) were far less important than examining the necklace in his hands.
It was obvious this was the older set, the metal worn and dented in some spots though the writing was still clearly visible.
“Calm down, I’m not going to take it from you,” the gruff tone was severely undermined by the aforementioned blush. It was hard to sound tough while half asleep on a daybed and being used as another man’s pillow.
Johnny stared at them for a little bit longer, feeling every dent and wondering the story behind how they got there, before putting them on.
He smiled at the man under him, “How do I look?”
He was going to joke, asking if he looked like a rough and tough soldier ready for war, but something in Simon’s eyes made him stop short.
He was looking with… with… Reverence was far too intense of a word for the softness of the moment but it was the only word that came to mind.
Simon reached up with his hand, grabbing the tags, his knuckles grazing his chest.
Well, that’s just fucking unfair.
Simon was supposed to be the blushy one. Not him, goddammit!
Though, he thinks when they make eye contact, they end up tied for who is blushing the most. They stare for a while, maybe it should have felt awkward but it was too adoring for either to feel any form of uncomfortability.
Neither moved.
It was Johnny that broke first, smiling at him, yet again tracing all of the scars he could see. It was his new favorite hobby, especially when Simon would blush making the scars on his face all the more visible.
He took one more second to sleepily appreciate the man before him, then went back to using him as a pillow. His hands went back to where they were before, one under Simon’s back and one playing with his hair. His head, however, did not fall back to his chest, instead resting in the crook of his neck and shoulder.
Simon’s hand returned to running through his hair, his other now coming up to rest on his back, rubbing up and down a few times before the sleepiness from earlier fully returned with his hand stopping somewhere around the small of his back.
Johnny leaned up slightly and gave a chaste kiss to the part of his neck that he could reach, then settled back to where he was. The hand in his hair paused.
“Thank you, Simon.”
A second of delay, and then the hand continued.
“You’re welcome, Johnny.”
Simon shuffled slightly, getting comfy before—
A kiss, on his forehead.
He couldn’t stop the blush and smile if he wanted to. He snuggled closer before drifting off to sleep.
When he woke, he was in his bed, practically tucked in. His window had been opened slightly, blackout curtains that had been drawn closed now swaying slightly with the breeze. When he focused, he realized he could smell petrichor and hear heavy rainfall outside with the occasional grumble of thunder.
There was a note on his nightstand. As he expected, it was Simon’s handwriting, apologizing for not waking him up before he left. It said that he had made breakfast for him (pancakes, with enough for when his sister would inevitably try to steal them), that he made sure to lock the front door, and left the window cracked.
He giggled sleepily at the last line. Regardless of the context, it always made Simon anxious to have the curtains open, much less to leave a window open. But, he also must've known how much Johnny loved the rain and set his worries aside, just this once, so he could wake up to the rain.
He set the note down and flopped back onto his pillows, his hand felt something cold and he remembered.
The dog tags.
John MacTavish is no stranger to crushes and heartbreaks.
He's had high school sweethearts, been in and out of love, he knows his way around the world of dating. Which is why he most certainly does not squeal and kick his legs while holding the tags like some kid with their first crush.
He did it like a grown man, thank you very much.
He grabbed his phone and sent Simon the worst pun he could think of; it was tradition at this point to send him some god-awful joke before his flight.
Simon has probably already forgotten about the whole exchange. He probably woke up and assumed he threw them away when he noticed he wasn't wearing them. It was probably stupid, an insignificant gesture with no meaning. But to Johnny, it felt like everything.
He sighed dreamily at the ceiling and felt the cool metal once more. Thunder roared outside. He thought about how he had felt in the man's arms. Thought about how much he wanted that again.
God.
His phone dinged and he immediately reached over to grab it.
I'm fucked, aren't I?
<><><><>
Elsewhere, Ghost was in an airport terminal, having far too much time to think.
Over the weekend, it was almost impressive how many times Ghost had talked himself into and back out of giving Soap his dog tags. He really hoped he hadn't made a mistake.
Simon felt the spot that Johnny had kissed and wondered if he remembered it. Wondered if he had meant it.
Simon thought about how Johnny had looked cradled in his arms when he carried him to his room, the way he had reached out for him when he laid him in bed. The way he had grabbed his wrist and clung to it, grumbling when Simon tried to pull it back.
If asked, he'd say that he had woken up late and that's why he was so far behind schedule. He'd keep the part where he sat there, kneeled in front of Johnny's bed, waiting for him to fall back into a deep enough sleep to pull his arm away all to himself. After all, it would have been rude to wake him up, no?
He had made sure to plug up his phone and, upon seeing the forecasted weather, hesitated before opening the window. It was only barely cracked, just enough for the sounds of the outside world to shamble in, but not so wide as to worry about water damage. He stared at it, convincing himself not to worry and that Johnny would like waking up to the fresh air.
He turned back to make sure the man was still asleep, still comfy, but stopped for a moment. He approached the bed and hesitated before running his fingers through his stupid haircut, almost wishing the man would grab his arm and give him an excuse to stay.
He didn't. Simon did, however, lean in to give him one last kiss on the forehead as some stupidly sappy goodbye, before his brain turned back on and he ripped himself away.
What the fuck is wrong with you? What? He grabs your arm in your sleep so you feel entitled to be able to kiss him?
Simon backed away, staring at the hand that had just been in his hair. He felt dirty.
For fuck’s sake, relax. It's not that big of a deal, you did it earlier; the man fell asleep in your arms, a forehead kiss isn't too much of a stretch.
He went to the kitchen and scrubbed his hands for a while, only stopping when he thought about how much water he was wasting. He still felt dirty.
Not a stretch? You don't get to decide that. How would you feel if someone tried to kiss you while you were unconscious? If they said that they felt they should be allowed to do so because you fell asleep?
He had started making pancakes. Something quick, easy, and reheatable for when Soap woke up. Like making him breakfast would make up for trying to kiss him in his sleep.
Why can't you just be normal?
Eventually, and after a run-in with Soap’s hell-spawn of a twin, he had to leave. The time on his phone showed that he should probably already be halfway to the airport by now but he has always been a selfish man.
He had snagged some paper and left Soap a quick note, hoping the apology would make him feel better about worse sins than not waking him up. It didn't.
He stared at the man for a second, admiring him, before he reminded himself that he was a fucking creep and left.
The storm left the flight delayed by 1.5 hours. Ghost had sat waiting, wireless headphones on and connected, but not playing anything. He had far too much time to think.
Simon thought about how Johnny had looked, his dog tags around his neck, silhouetted by the fading light, the sun behind his head as if even the stars knew they could never compare to him.
He stood and started pacing. Amongst the screaming children, feuding families, and people who think they're entitled to listen to their music without headphones, one middle-aged man having an existential crisis didn't stick out.
He thought about how he had never understood weighted blankets so well until Johnny had thrown himself on top of him. It should've hurt. He should've been annoyed. Instead, Simon selfishly hoped he would never get up.
It took him a while to put his finger on what he had been feeling exactly. Finally, he realized.
There, in that moment, he had never been so happy to be alive. It was a startling emotion to discern amongst the swath of negativity he normally felt. It startled him so much, he had snapped out of his reverie and stopped short in his pacing. When he checked the time, he saw he had one missed text from Johnny.
Soap (art streamer): i was trying to think of an airplane joke but none of them landed
Simon chuckled and sat down; he almost forgot about their dumb little tradition.
Ghost: Disliked.
Soap (art streamer): everyone is so mean 2 me 💔
Ghost: It is not my fault your pun was so Boeing.
Soap (art streamer): well i thought i could wing it
Ghost: Did you look up what giving do-
Ghost: About the tags, you
Ghost: I think you make me want to live
Ghost sighed and fell back further into his seat, coming to a conclusion that his subconscious had long ago discovered.
I'm in love, aren't I?
Soap (art streamer): speechless huh? finally, the Wright reaction to my comedic genius
Ghost: Absolutely awful, Mactavish.
Soap (art streamer): :D
Took you long enough, dumbass.
<><><><>
Soap’s twin spent a good bit of time staring at her brother's new accessory.
“Is something wrong?” he challenged, hoping she wasn't in a bothersome mood.
She failed miserably at hiding her shit-eating grin but didn't care.
“Nope!” she replied.
She had run into Ghost early that morning before he left.
"Detergent."
She was pretty sure he never even learned her name, just jumped straight into calling her detergent.
"Ghoul," she greeted, glaring at the man.
Being required by law to not trust him, she checked on her brother as he was still gathering his things and noticed the necklace.
“You gave him your dog tags,” she accused, like she was framing him for murder.
“Yes, I did,” he replied casually, as per usual robbing her of the fight she so desperately wanted to pick.
“Did you tell him what it means?”
“...What does it mean?”
Damn, he was good. If she wasn't convinced that he was the devil incarnate, she might have fallen for his feigned ignorance.
“100 bucks and you buy my silence.”
“I don't know what you mean.”
“200 then.”
“It doesn't even mean anything.”
“Hmm. Well, I suppose you might be right… JOHN!” their neighbors were probably going to complain.
“What the fuck are you doing?” ooh he was getting panicked now.
“If it doesn't matter then you won't mind me telling him to look it up,” she started walking to his room, “JOHNSON!”
“Fucking Christ, woman! Just— Fucking— Here.”
He pulled out his wallet and started counting bills. Damn, that was easier than she thought.
“What did you say? 100?”
“Nope! That was before inflation. Now it’s 300.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? You said 200!”
“So you admit you tried to scam me?”
“Just take the 100 and g-”
She didn't even get to yell, he reached for more before she could finish taking a deep breath in.
“Just shut the fuck up! Here! Three fucking hundred!”
She was tempted to raise her price further, but she was no gambler, she was a strategist. She knew a defeated man when she saw one. If she played this right, she could extort money out of him for a long time to come.
Something, something, vampires not fully killing their victims and all that.
She took the money, counted it, and then held out her hand to shake.
“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Wraith!”
He didn't shake her hand.
“Christ, both of you are awful.”
He packed his stuff and left, broke, broken, and defeated.
She ate as many pancakes as she could, rich and victorious.
She thought about how much power, how much blackmail she had in this moment.
“I’m fantastic actually,” she walked to her room.
I am going to be so fucking rich by the time they get their shit together.
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Text
Headcannons I have for the 2012 TMNT brothers
Warnings: none
Some of these things might contradict some small things in the plot, I've been rewatching as much as I can of this show and some of my knowledge of the show also comes from when I was younger and watched the show
Tags: Tiny bits of Angst, Fluff, Brotherly Bonding, No Beta-we die like Master Splinter,
Leonardo
He only drinks water and tea, man's never had any soda or anything in his life, claims it's "unhealthy" and "would ruin his physice"
He doesn't take many breaks, so his brothers have to either convince him or force him to rest or relax, he always protests but he's grateful for his brothers
He only listens to traditional Japanese music or Rock music, no in-between
Can't get through the day without making atleast one Space Hero's reference (can't remember the name of the show)
Feels guilty about every unsuccessful mission, even if it's not his fault
He has a tendency of waking up in the middle of the night to check on his brothers, with all the nightmares and guys they have to fight, he gets concerned about what may happen, so he checks on them alot
Dude feels like absolute SHIT when he gets yelled at by shredder, wether it be his own fault or the team's fault, he just feels like he should have been better and he sulks in his room everytime
Sometimes he likes to listen to Donnie, sometimes he understands what he's talking about (if Donnie dumbs it down a bit), he does like to hear about what new things he's made to benefit the team
Every so often, he likes to help Mikey plan a prank on Ralph just for the hell of it, and it's even funnier because Mikey always gets the blame
Sometimes when he sleeps, he likes to be in his shell, there isn't any reason, he just feels safe in there
Most of his brothers are pretty good at speaking Japanese, he is pretty much fluent in it
He knows sign language, he got bored one day and decided to learn it, he tells himself that if there is anyone with a hearing or speaking disability or anything like that, that he'll be ready and prepared to help them
He always thinks of others before himself, even if it costs him
He has a bunch of quotes taped up on his walls, some are kinda cringe, but some are actually pretty dang good quotes
One song he related to alot is "No Pressure" from Encanto, you'll never guess why
Raphael
He gets nightmares alot more than his brothers, only Leo and Master Splinter know about it
He tried to get into Leo's Space Hero's show, but he got to annoyed at the nervous side character and gave up trying
He made Spike a little skull helmet out of cardboard once to "protect him" (even tho he has a shell) but once Mikey discovered it, he accidentally broke it, Raph has never let him live it down
He's got undiagnosed Bipolar disorder, this often makes him feel so confused about his emotions and he often hates how he's feeling because he doesn't understand why he's feeling that way
As much as he didn't trust Leatheface, he related to him alot, having an anger you can't control
Raph has had many nightmares of his anger getting in the way of him protecting his brothers and it scares him all the time, Master Splinter often has to comfort him and remind him that if he was fully in control of himself, he wouldn't hurt his brothers, angry or not
He wishes he could get a tattoo, but he knows that it would get him an ass whooping, still, if he were allowed to, he would have gotten one of him and Spike on a motorcycle on fire with sunglasses or something
Raph has shitty eyesight, it's one of the reasons he's always squinting (plus the fact he's mostly angry) but he can never find actual glasses with the right prescription in any sewer, or any glasses for that matter, Splinter knows all about this and has trained him extra to help him with this disadvantage
Sometimes he feels bad for hitting Mikey, but only when he realizes that he's hurt him more then he thought, this often leads him to making it up to him in small ways, like, watching him do something dumb, or trying some of his horrible food, he rarely apologizes, so this is his way of apologizing without saying it aloud
Has a problem with misplacing his sais (his weapons) and this often leads him to basically tearing the house apart to look for them...only for Master Splinter to show him where there are (and they were right Infront of him the whole time)
He's super insecure about the fact he's the second shortest turtle, but he won't tell his brothers or else he knows they will make fun of him, but his brothers already know he's insecure about that, they just don't want to get their ass whooped by Ralph
His brothers like to joke that he never had a rebellious phase, but that he was born a rebellious phase
His favorite color isn't actually red, it's actually silver, but his second favorite color is red, he knew he wouldn't be able to get a silver bandana, so he just went with red
Donatello
He hates the nickname "Don" it kinda sounds weird to him and when his brothers call him that, he cringes on the inside
He's got Undiagnosed OCD, he constantly does little things (like flickering the lights up and down, or tapping on things a certain amount of time, washing his hands a bunch, ect ect) because it makes his mind feel at ease
Because of his OCD, he has alot of intrusive thoughts about dangers that might come to him and his family, which also brings him many nightmares, which is another reason he does alot of the little "rituals" as his brothers like to call them
Dude is VERY superstitious, tends to avoid going under ladders, using an umbrella indoors, and other things, he knows it's silly, but his mind feels alot better when he avoids these things
He likes to read human biology books because he's so fascinated by the human body and how it works
He got his tooth gap when he was first practicing the bo staff, he was trying to make it spin really fast, and it hit him straight in the face, right where he got his first grown up tooth, poor guy
He's the most flexible of the turtles, the others don't know this cause he doesn't like to show off
He strangely enjoys yoga, when he doesn't have any ideas of what to make, he'll do a couple poses with some calm music before he comes up with an idea
This man felt like he went to HEAVEN when he figured out about caffeine, it's really hard to get your hands on coffee when you live in the sewers, but he tries to find ways of getting some, or some kind of energy drink
He needs the caffeine, especially with how late he stays up, Master Splinter has said it's bad for him before, but he doesn't listen
He's terrified of being picked up by his face again, so he made a helmet specifically for his face....it broke within the first seconds of having it and his face got picked up and shaken like a rag doll again...
Michaelangelo
Undiagnosed ADHD
Due to his undiagnosed ADHD, people think he's dumb, but he can be pretty clever when he wants to
He has little freckles every where, and sometimes he likes to play connect the dots with them
He may seem dumb, but he's actually amazing at math, he doesn't see it as a problem and solution, he sees math as a pattern or a puzzle
He likes to put stickers on his shells sometimes when he finds stickers
When he tried some of Donnie's coffee, everyone thought he was gonna explode or be over hyper (even tho he's already over hyper), and they all tried to quarantine him away from them so he wouldn't break anything, but they were all super shocked to see that he mellowed out due to his Undiagnosed ADHD
Some of his stims include: swinging his nun-chucks in circles, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, tapping in rhythms, making strange sounds or repeating small phrases, bouncing up and down, waving his arms all around, ect ect
He feels like he's the black sheep of the family since they all think differently than him, but alot of times, he tells himself it's cause he's so superior that they all can't catch up with him
Very confident and enthusiastic
He doesn't like tea, and calls it "dirty leaf water"
He uses his bandana like a napkin sometimes, so it has random stains in it that he can't get out
He's got dimples
He's very touch starved, he's so used to people bonking him on the head, that when he receives positive affection, he gets really happy
Whenever he gets overstimulated, he hides in his shell, his brothers think he's being lazy and sleeping, but sometimes Donnie or Master Splinter will bring him water or food, they don't understand why Mikey does this, but they do care for him and want to help
He absolutely hates the winter, it's to icy for skateboarding and he slips all the time
One of his dreams is to finally surf, but since he's a turtle, he can't, but he can have dreams
He's an amazing dancer and can dance to anything, he could even bust a move to Beethoven or the Nutcracker if he wanted to
He loves graffiti, sometimes when he finds old spray paint cans with some paint in them, he makes the most of them and uses it to make some of the coolest art you've ever seen
He unironically calls everyone 'bro' or 'dude' regardless of gender or species
He could talk all day about the ideas he has, they aren't very good ideas, but they're ideas
He doesn't know his lefts from his rights and often has to do the holding up the fingers thing, worst part of it is, sometimes he forgets which way an L is
He has terrible short term memory, but absolutely amazing long term memory, he can't tell you what he ate 2 seconds ago, but he can dang well tell you one of the storys Master Splinter read to him when he was super young
King of memes, constantly has a 'Boufa', 'updog', 'deez', or 'sugontheez' joke ready
He mumbles in his sleep and it's the funniest thing ever, he says just random shit, sometimes he doesn't even say coherent sentences
Once made a "that's what she said" joke, but he doesn't understand what it means and he said it at a time when it didn't make any sense
All of Them
They all have little tails
They are all box turtles without the markings
They all need therapy
They all need a hug
They all can and do go into their shells
They have all broken atleast 2 bones or more in their body
They all were homeschooled by Master Splinter
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I hope you enjoyed this! 👾💜
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rocketturtle4 · 9 months
Text
The Eclipse Takeaway - It's about the kindness
Alrighty folks I hadn’t decided whether I was going to write this post or not because all of ya'll already know the show is great, but right now I feel like doing it so might as well.
@wen-kexing-apologist @plantsarepeopletoo @thegalwhorants @grapejuicegay @dropthedemiurge you all enjoyed my eclipse journey so tagged in case you want to read this
I already did a much more self-indulgent post of how Akk affected me personally but I wanted to talk a bit about how much the kindness in this show resonated with me.
The Stairs Shot
The first time I was utterly struck by the kindness of the show was with this moment with Khan and Ayan on the stairs
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After watching Khan spy Ayan with first Akk and then Thua, combined with his previous warnings to Thua, on how dangerous Aye was, I full expected this confrontation to BLOW UP.
The framing of this initial shot and the power dynamics implied by this difference in height did nothing to temper those expectations
And yet…
It doesn’t blow up, and not just because Ayan keeps a level head, but because Khan never loses his in the first place. He approaches the conversation softly, mostly trying to make sure that Ayan isn’t toying with Akk or Thua’s feelings and then apparently giving him his blessing to date Thua, even as Ayan correctly notes that Khan wishes to date Thua himself (even if he can’t admit that out loud.) This scene also resonated with me for the way, as both parties speak with kindness they move closer onto the same level (literally) as Ayan moves up the stairs.
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The kindness makes them more equal.
This got me thinking about the way kindness to used in so many parts of the show to connect our isolated characters in together.
Khan being Bruce Wayne
Khan choosing to reach out to Thua via an anonymous internet friend is a beautiful example of this kindness, not for how it helps Thua (who I’ll get too) but for how it helps Khan. The closeness he gains through anonymity to check in on Thua and try to keep him safe makes him realise how much he wants to be able to do this in person. Which in turn leads to him prioritising Thua over his prefect responsibilities when he goes to the rally and reveals his identity.
Khan choosing kindness once, makes him more able to choose kindness again.
Uncle Dika
It is clear from the beginning of the show that Dika’s presence had a pretty clear impact on the school when he was there, at least for our main cast. Akks visceral feelings of betrayal at his absence come from the belief that someone he trusted has abandoned him for (he believes) no reason.
Dika’s kindness is seen again in the moment in episode 7 when Khan is acting out different characters (specifically the teachers) for his friends to guess and when he acts as Dika his words and actions are unbelievably kind and EVERYONE knows immediately who he is enacting despite the length of time it has been since they saw Dika (it’s also realistic enough to trigger poor Ayan)
Ayan himself is obviously a wonderful example of his uncle’s kindness with every flashback we see of them (and Chadok and Dika as well) is irrevocably altered by Dika’s kindness even though, with Dika’s death, we see Chadok’s regression and fear forcing him back into a space of repression and unkindness.
Ayan
Ayan is undoubtedly the heart of kindness in this show and it was so unexpected to me that, given what he knew from the beginning about Akk and his Uncle’s death, he continues to choose to be kind. This kindness is shown throughout the show to be the means of far greater change and persuasion than any other tactic used (Fear, Anger, Defiance, Hate, Financial Enticement, Neutrality etc.)
We see this with the World Remembers Gang, when he successfully gets them to leave their location with a quiet suggestion that they’ve done enough that day (Leading Akk to even more suspicions whoops)
We see this with Khan in the above conversation and again later with his encouragement to Khan to tell Thua the truth
We see this with Thua and the way Ayan notices he’s not okay and sets up the conversation with his mum. Ultimately, in my opinion, it is Ayan’s kindness that convinces Thua to fight for the change (regardless of what you think of his methods) where all the other pressure he was under only left him to sink down, Ayan’s kindness causes him to rise up.
Akk
Before I talk about Ayan’s kindness with Akk, I want to talk about Akk’s kindness with Ayan, because their entire relationship comes about (in my opinion) because even as they are suspicious of each other, they do remain fundamentally kind. We see this in the early stages most clearly in this moment
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And when Akk asks the teachers to be responsible more managing Ayan.
But even before this, the sitting together in class and the volunteering to help train him in the martial arts class weren't steeped in malice. Yes, these things were about keeping tabs (and maybe wanting to be close for unacknowledged reasons) but regardless of complicated motivations Akk takes these things seriously and does not use them as a chance to bully or otherwise make Ayan’s life at school more difficult (think semantic error style) even if he wishes Ayan would just follow the rules already.
Additionally a key moment of understanding and softening between them comes from a moment of pure human kindness, when Ayan see’s Akk feeding the dog.
This friendliness builds up because as Akk remains kind, despite his suspicions, Ayan responds with kindness despite his suspicions (and actual knowledge of Akks actions)
Ayan again
Ayan’s support of Akk through all this is incredibly central to the story so I’m not going to go into it in detail. His kindness towards Akk extends to the point of covering up his wrong doing as he sees Akk for who he is and prioritises Akks mental safety over finding out the truth of his death. But all this came about because throughout their initial antagonism, harm was never Ayan's primary intent.
Another moment
Another moment which struck me on my initial watch through was this moment
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Where Akk apologises to The World Remembers gang even as he follows his orders and takes away the things they’re using to protest. (I think it's around episode 10?) The shock and confusion on their faces as he does this, and their immediate relinquishing of their things compared to their loud anger over his removing them on other occasions (when in the past he stepped forward not with apology but instead with anger) highlights to me how he has changed, and how his new kindness de-escalates the situation (in much the same way Ayan’s had some episodes earlier).
Related thoughts on the Isolation of the Characters
The isolation of Akk, Thua and Khan at the start of the show is a grounded foundation. Akk is desperately scared of being perceived as weak (in terms of his authority and management - this later is added to by his fear of being gay), Khan is desperately scared of being perceived as Gay, Ayan is isolated as a newbie and Thua is isolated as an ?out gay person in the school. (Thua’s identity seems to be known by his classmates but not his teachers so not sure on the details here but he is definitely isolated). It is these characters reaching out to each other in kindness, and continuing to reach out to each other in kindness despite the difficulties that arise as their identities shift and grow that results in positive change within themselves and within the school.
Brief mention of Thua
Just to officially state my opinion on the record I am absolutely including Thua as part of this without caveat, he is the most isolated character and his change is wrought by Ayan’s kindness causing him to wish for change. His anger came from a place of hurt and I don’t view his actions as more extreme than Akks, especially as neither the banner or the fire were likely to hurt anyone. His goal of drawing attention to the wrongdoings of the school made sense and though it was NOT driven by kindness, it was pushed on by the desire to have a kind place for all people, (especially LGBTQIA+ people).
Forgiveness
I loved how everyone in episode 11 got to be angry, Thua at Ayan, Ayan at Chadok, Khan and Wat at Akk etc. They were allowed to have these emotions and express these emotions and in doing so they didn’t end their relationships or loose their friends. Everyone’s anger was used to create understanding because THEIR ANGER WAS MET WITH KINDNESS.
The forgiveness of ALL our teenagers in the final episode underlined this theme of kindness with the welfare teachers standing up for Akk and Thua, The World Remembers gang forgiving the boys because they sincerely apologised and were regretful.
And of course Akk coming out to his parents.
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Final thoughts
Kindness isn’t perfect of course, in some ways Akks parent’s kindness lead to his own warped self image and Ayan’s kindness to Thua in part lead to some of the not kind choices he made.
Many shows have examples characters choosing not to forgive and that is a valid and healthy choice (one we could all stand to make more often). I’m not saying that always being kind to everyone is the right choice, and it’s certainly not a sustainable one.
Instead I’m highlighting how this show used kindness in defiance of isolation, in defiance of jealousy, in defiance of anger and in defiance of hate.
For the record, rating wise this show got 97% making it equal third overall out of 77 BLs and counting. I loved it for so many reasons and I honestly can’t wait to watch it again.
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veilder · 9 days
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The more I read the little snippets (in mostly tags) of your asexually the more I wish to bow at your awesomeness! I honestly wish I knew someone like you when I was growing up. Keep being your awesome self 💜
Aw, well thank you, that's so sweet! And honestly? Me too! XD Because it's weird, isn't it? Growing up and going to school and just... having such a different experience? Everyone is out there flirting and going out and getting boyfriends and girlfriends and whatever and I'm just over here watching Naruto and playing Fire Emblem. XD But the truth is, I didn't really "figure out" what was up until my 20s. Figured out that there was a completely different set of parameters I might fill, y'know? That I wasn't just weird or religious or even defective, but a whole, complete person who just so happens to live outside of majority parameters . And it was so nice to realize that it wasn't just a me thing, too! And also relieving because, like... Even if you're not consciously aware of it, there is so much pressure put on you as a teenager to date and find a partner and, yes, even to have sex. Enough that even I, who had no desire to, always sort of felt like I was missing out. So yeah, it was a big weight off my shoulders when I learned the term asexuality and looked up what it meant and how it might apply to me. And also to realize that I'm not alone in feeling that way! Honestly, I feel like figuring I'm (very probably) asexual was not only a huge step in my development, but also was really one of the first things I felt adult about, y'know? Like, this is something I never knew as a kid, something I figured out all on my own, and something I can own and be proud of. It set my brain to a different wave, like... Kind of fuck what society expects of you, y'know!? Fuck me working in a male-dominated, physically demanding field! Fuck me plodding along after my parent's very backwards beliefs! Hell, even stupid shit like fuck shaving my gd legs, who came up with that, it's so stupid?! But I guess in that way, it's been quite pivotal to me as I've matured. And like... let's say I do eventually find a partner and decide I wanna settle down and shit and I find out that whoops! Maybe I wasn't as ace as I thought I was, lol! Then no biggie there either! Because fuck static sexuality, you can change whenever you want! Doesn't mean that the process of getting there wasn't worth it or that you didn't learn anything along the way! In that way, I think being ace will always be a part of my identity at this point, even if things change further down the road. XD Anyway, this is getting quite rambly. Forgive me, it's 4 am and I should've gone to bed already, but your ask was so nice and I wanted to reply. :) It's really nice to know that my offhand little ramblings might mean something to someone somewhere. That maybe someone will stumble over them the same way I did in my early 20s, just learning that there was more to society than straight and gay. And yeah, it would've been nice to be aware earlier, sure! But isn't it a nice thought to think we could be that person now? Like, what's that one post? About being the person you needed when you were younger? Like, what a wonderful thought! Let's, you and me, strive for that, eh? And get some more of that casual acceptance out there. ^_^
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zombiethingy · 29 days
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Filth part 4 for WIP Wednesday? The name has me intrigued 👀🩵
Thank you for the ask!!! I was struggling so much with getting past that scene (writing dialogue is not my favourite) and that was really the kick in the butt I needed to get it done 😅
It's the 4. and most likely last chapter of "not strong enough (to stay away)" [here's the AO3 link. Rated E and read the tags!!! It's definitely not for everyone!]. I called the first chapter/draft "filth", because it's mostly a kink fic that somehow grew a little plot and got sweet, and kept it up for the other chapters too xD
Buut this snippet isn't smutty at all (sorry I guess 😄) and here it is:
He pokes his head into the kitchen, taking a moment to appreciate the view – Steve's ass framed so lovely by his shorts and the apron around his waist – before he announces his presence. "I still got a few minutes to call Wayne, yeah?" he asks. "Sure, the food still needs a bit longer," Steve answers, looking back to Eddie over his shoulder and smiling. Wayne answers the phone gruff as always. "Hi Wayne," Eddie says. He's sure he can't keep the giddiness out of his voice. And yeah, Wayne doesn't say much, but the way he says it is a dead giveaway that he's onto him. "Eddie, nice evening?" he asks. "Yeah, that I had! So nice," Eddie answers, still trying to keep his voice neutral – and failing. "Good," Wayne huffs. "Gonna spend the day too?" "Yeah, I'll probably not be home for dinner if that's alright." Eddie hopes that's okay with Steve as well, he forgot to ask, whoops. "Sure is, son," Wayne says, calm as always. But then it comes: "Enjoy the day with your boyfriend." "He's no–," Eddie sputters, "no, he's not." He chuckles while Eddie whines, "Wayne, no–". Wayne hangs up.
And here's the post with my WIPs: link. I could use some more kicks in the butt 😁 And check out Finn's works too while you're at it 💜
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amusingmusie · 2 months
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Hello Musie! I hope you are doing well on this out of touch Thursday. Would you be comfortable with sharing what inspired you to begin writing? Do you have a muse of your own that inspires the way you build dynamics between your characters? I was curious if you had anything that you had outside of source material (ie Hazbin) that helped motivate you?
I've always loved to write, but always burned myself out before the ideas manifested into something more substantial than daydreams. You have inspired me to at least focus that energy into comments and questions! I just wanted to say that you have a fresh approach to building meaningful conflict between characters and developing background YT. You've got me researching New Orleans history so I can further the immersion as I read! I still cannot get over how fleshed out Nel is. I can absolutely go on, but yeah!
Thanks a million :)
Hello! Sorry I answered this so late (it's Monday for me whoops!). I can't lie, I got really excited to answer this so I can nerd the hell out and YAP PROFUSELY.
What inspired me to write- With every single piece of media consume, I immediately (and I mean immediately) begin to construct some kind of OC to throw into that universe, and Nel was no exception! I got very attached to human Alastor since one of my favorite things about Hazbin is the tradegy of the human lives the characters lived, and Alastor's death in particular seemed incredibly tragic (but deserved) that I ended up fixating on it. I think something I asked myself was "Goddamn, I wonder how people who knew him reacted to his end?". That, combined with how much I loved Al's dynamic with Husk/Vaggie (the sterner characters) birthed Nel pretty quickly after I watched the pilot.
I NEVER thought I'd post a fic. Like ever. I did not think I could do it. I've been writing for myself for years and I would write on the job (I was doing secretary work at the time), so this story slowly started building and building until I had the whole thing drafted. It wasn't going to be posted until I started casually going through the Al/reader tag and saw that there was BARELY any human Alastor. And I sorta thought weeeellll I guess I gotta be the change I wish to see, I've got the whole thing drafted, why not? I'll see how long I stick with it. The fandom was super dead at the time, so I figured my fic wouldn't be exposed to a lot of people anyway, so why not?
Then you insane (/pos) people got invested in my silly shit and I am still in fucking awe that everyone is so supportive!
As for other muses (heehee) that give me inspiration- READ DEAD REDEMPTION 2. I love the RDR series, I am obsessed with it, and I think the storytelling is so beautiful. The setting gave me a small amount of inspiration (the wilderness and the country, rugged characters) but mostly the impact of the story and writing has had a lot of influence on my creativity if that makes sense? The dialogue feels insanely natural, they use old-timey slang without it dominating the conversations, and the story flows deliciously. Like, the game has had a huge impact on my life and I think if I had half the effect on you guys with my fic as that had on me, I could die somewhat happily.
And finally, I'm glad my work has a bit of a motivator for you! I'm not the best at giving advice to get motivated to start writing (I live in hyperfixation hell), but what I can say is that when something sticks, nurture it :) Try writing for yourself and see what feels right first. You never know what it can turn into!
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momosandlemonsoda · 2 months
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Writing Patterns
Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern! (Thanks for the tag, @merinnan!)
“Hey! Hey!!” - Dance the Silence Down, Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Fang Duobing/Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng/Li Lianhua, modern AU
2. The car ride had been hell for Liu Sang. - Unlearn the Way of Being Strangers, co-written with @merinnan, cryptive, @foxofninetales, @frith-in-tombs, @hils79, mimosaeyes, MountainRose, @onmyo-jin, @rainisfalling, and @tinbramble, DMBJ, Hei Xiazi/Xie Yuchen/Liu Sang, whump whump whump
3. Liu Sang stood in the middle of Wushanju’s sitting room, face flushed, clothes slightly askew, hair escaping the neat tail he usually kept it in. - Out of Wilderness Wasted, Wang Pangzi/Wang Can, canon AU of the Liu Sang and Wang Can are twins variety
4. “But didi’s the one who wears panties.” - In a Pair of Lacy Pants, DMBJ, part of my series A Tiger is a Tiger not a Lamb set in the multidimensional queer nightclub, Club Moonlight. Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling/Wang Can in this iteration, pure smut.
5. Hei Xiazi kicked at the shattered remains of the light fixture then bent down to poke at it. - Ten Feet of Light, DMBJ, modern AU, Hei Xiazi/Liu Sang, mystery-ish
6. “Oh,” Huo Xiuxiu said, “he looks good like that.” - Nocturnal Carnations, DMBJ canon AU, smutty sequel to With Water and a Star, Huo Xiuxiu/Xie Yuchen/Hei Xiazi
7. Normally, Kim wouldn’t even be at this club. - No Rug to Sleep On or Fish to Eat, KinnPorsche, Kim/Chay, Kim turns into a kitten
8. The hypervigilance is a bitch. - A More Tangible Patience, DMBJ, canon AU-ish?, Liang Wan/Wang Can/Zhang Rishan, also porn
9. Huo Youxin had never been Huo Xiuxiu’s favorite cousin. With Water and a Star, DMBJ, canon AU, Huo Xiuxiu/Xie Yuchen/Hei Xiazi, fake dating
10. “Tianzhen. Tianzhen! Will you please stop drooling?” Whooping it up til I die of the shivers, DMBJ, gen adventures, the Iron Triangle ride again
Well, mostly I start off with dialogue or declarative statements, and not a lot of description. I guess I'm trying to throw the reader right into it!
Tagging @bbcphile, @tinbramble, @omgpurplefattie, @alxina, @mekare-art, and anyone else who'd like to play. No pressure as always!
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trainofcommand · 6 months
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Thank you, @wonkyelk, for the tag :)
How many works do you have on AO3?
289.
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
764 464.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Right now mostly SGA, but other fandoms I've written for in the last year or so include Firefly, SG1, The Old Guard, some tiny/non-existent fandom stuff (Echoes, Who is Erin Carter, etc), some original fiction. Various one-offs (Hot Fuzz, ST:PIC).
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
The Perfect Bride (SGA)
A Uniquely Dangerous Opportunity (SGA/The Old Guard)
Season's Greetings (SGA)
How to Succeed at Corporate Sabotage in Five and a Half Easy Steps (SGA) [note - I love this title so much]
In the Wind (SGA/The Old Guard)
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I dooooooo! I love comments, they make me so happy, so I want to make sure the commenter knows that. And sometimes there's a nice chat that happens too, so that's exciting!
6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
For SGA, it's Failsafe (still one of my favourite things I've ever written). For Firefly, I think it's Assessment, at least, based on the comments I got when I first posted it to...oh gosh, I think it was to a listserv and then the Firefly's Glow old archive. For SG1, it's Grey Skies, Ashen Ground (I also love this fic so much).
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
I don't know. I do write a lot of pretty happy endings, and a lot of humour, so it's hard to say.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Generally, no. I do remember getting a bit of snark about a few things I've written over the years, but that was way back pre-LJ.
9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?
I dooooooooo. I think I write a fair amount of E-rated stuff (PWPs and otherwise). What kind - I guess mostly m/m. My most common smut-related tags are blow jobs, dubious consent, and getting together. So I guess I write a lot of dubious consent oral sex romance or something :')
10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?
Sometimes! Craziest one is probably Travel Light (SGA/The Littlest Hobo) (we need more dogs in Stargate, okay??) (yes, this is a niche fic with a small audience, but it is deeply hilarious to me). Or maybe Village of the Y-arrrggg (Anna and the Apocalypse/Hot Fuzz). I love both of these fics so much.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
I have no idea!
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
I don't think so.
13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?
Heck yes, I have! Quite a bit over the years, and more recently a couple with @wonkyelk and four or five with @chaos-monkeyy. It is so fun!!!!
14. What's your all-time favourite ship?
I tend to prefer characters over ships (I will ship that favourite character will alllllllll kinds of people), but probably if I had to pick, I'd say Jayne/Simon (Firefly), just because I think they're the most frequent ship I've written.
15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?
I don't know, really. I tend to forget about my WIPs and then find them again later and remember.
16. What are your writing strengths?
I think I write humour pretty well! And I think I'm pretty good at writing porn. Maybe. I don't know. I can and will make train puns (shock, gasp, surprise).
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
I can't sustain long stories. Most of my stuff falls in the 2000-5000 range, and the longest thing I ever wrote was just shy of 10 000 words. I just don't have the capacity to write long stuff. Also, if I don't get most of a fic down in a sitting or two, I'm unlikely to ever finish it.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I'm pretty sure I've never done this. Can't say I have any profound thoughts on it.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
OZ.
20. Favourite fic you've ever written?
This one is too hard. And whoops, it turns out I've already mentioned a bunch of stuff I like. I guess I also really like the way Pieces Tossed Aside (Firefly) worked out (I had to think about a few different things for that one), and also, Of winsome mood and disposition (SGA) (it made me laugh so much to write this).
no pressure tagging, if you're into it: @chaniis-atlantis, @cuillere, @cordeliaperry, @chaos-monkeyy, @colonelshepparrrrd, @dedkake, @sparrowsarus
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keibea · 10 months
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Get to Know Me - Sims Style
i was tagged by @amuhav because she loves me and knows i love doing these things
what's your favourite sims death?
ngl i dont actually have one, im terrified of any of my babies dying so they never do...but i guess old age maybe? because that means theyve lived a long life and ive played with them for a long time?
alpha cc or mm?
alpha HANDS DOWN...i dont hate mm by any means dont get me wrong, but ill always be an alpha girl at heart. its the alpha hairs, they always get me.
do you cheat your sims weight?
only if it fits their character i guess? not usually in gameplay.
do you move objects
i move objects every single day.
fave mod?
ooofff i mean out of necessity? nraas. but just the one i love? hands down pose player. mostly because i was so excited when i finally got it to work (i was like 13 or something and before then i could not figure out how to get mods to work) so a lot of happy memories from finally getting my sims to pose.
first expansion/game pack/stuff pack?
my first ever was sims 2 glamour life stuff pack when i was a kid. if we're talking sims 3, i believe the first pack i got was generations, which is still my favourite sims pack ever.
do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?
i pronounce it LIVE, always have as far as i know.
who's your favourite sim that you've made?
well, its gotta be elodie honestly. she and eli are the longest sims i have ever had and i love them both dearly. in the sims 4, its gotta be my girl pippa. before tumblr? i had this family called the moretti's, i miss them and i think about them way too often. i loved them all.
have you made a simself?
oh yeah. loads of times. i think ive shared my sims 3 and sims 4 variations on tumblr (but they look really weird tbh). i love making myself, cause then i can wear all these clothes i cant afford in real life.
favourite ea hair
im with aimee on this one.
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im mostly joking, but usually sims 3 hairs are a no go for me, except for some store ones and the hairs that are pulled back into buns always look really nice. for sims 4, only the newer ones. the older ones are not for me.
favourite life stage?
young adult. i feel like you can always do more with young adult sims and you have so much more time (except in sims 1 i believe?and sims 2 only if u went to uni?? idk). 90% of my sims are forever young adults because i love that life stage so much.
are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?
mate ive been trying to build for donkeys years to no avail. so im almost always in it for the gameplay.
are you a cc creator?
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA BAHAHAHA HA once upon a time bro maybe. your girl tries to be, but uni is a pain in my bottom, and sims 3 loves making my life difficult.
do you have any simblr friends or a sim squad?
somehow i do?? more friends then irl anyway. the girl gang is @thesimperiuscurse , @lazysunjade & @amuhav these 3 have put up with me despite my crazy personality for an incredibly amount of time and i love them all dearly. but i have so many friends on here its crazy (more than 3 people its incredible!). obviously they havent seen my real personality yet. besties include: @catharsim , @plumbobem , @johziii , @rollo-rolls , @moonsonnet , oh gosh im forgetting people I AM SO SORRY I LOVE U ALL SO MUCH
do you have any sims merch?
bro i wish, but no money. spent it all on anno 1800. no regrets.
do you have a youtube for sims?
i believe formally i do, but i dont post anything. i do have some ideas if i ever wanted to, but my adhd brain couldnt cope being consistent so i probably never will.
how has your "sims style" changed throughout your years of playing?
as in sims or gameplay? idk ill talk about both. gameplay wise, not much, except im weirdly a lot more controlling then i was over my sims WHOOPS. but i still cant get passed gen 2 so that hasn't changed. but i still prefer family gameplay, probably always will. and challenges, always challenges. sims wise? a lot.
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this is one of the earliest sims i have photo evidence of. this was in 2018 i believe?
whose your favourite cc creator?
the people that are the cause of most of my cc obsession are @kerriganhouse , @rollo-rolls , @johziii , @joojconverts & @martassimsbookcc and probably a few more but mind blank
how long have u had simblr?
since 2020. one of the longest things ive ever committed to.
how do you edit your pictures?
with my blood, sweat and tears. im not joking, a lot of sweat and tears goes on when im editing.
what expansion/gamepack is your faveourite?
of all time? generations, no doubt in my mind. i never had any sims 1 or sims 2 expansions, so i never got to experience those unfortunately. generations was perfection though. i mean, boarding school? lifesaver. also led to the best sims series of all time: lifesimmer's generations. for sims 4 though? probably get together, purely because of the world.
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eartheats · 3 months
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hello hello! (again!)
been a bit since I did an updated one of these, huh??? but it's been about a year since i did my original one, so!!! time for a new introduction post!
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(art made by the wonderful @professor-amaryllis's player!!!)
anyway, hello!!! my name is ren (they/them or ze/zir!!), i'm 24 years old and welcome to my silly lil blog! i mostly use this to reblog orthworm and orthworm accessories!!! i'm a pokemart worker who's on leave at the moment, and i'm currently sort of a student at the blueberry academy! i'm currently taking some researcher courses there, and i'm tryin' my hardest to become an authority in steel type pokemon! though, uh, most of my experience is with my favorite pokemon, who i'm guessin' y'all can tell who it is. heehee
but uh, what else...i've actually got a fair amount of experience as a steel type trainer, and most of my research is focused on orthworm! their environmental impact and their role in the ecosystem is just fascinatin' to me, especially livin' near 'em in zapapico for most of my life! that's actually how i befriended my big ol' lug of a partner, lulu, who you'll be hearin' about a LOT on this blog heehee. he's been my buddy since i was a tyke, and we've been trainin' together for almost two decades at this point!
arc, i'm probs gonna ramble forever if i keep this up. i guess i can basically summarize everythin' else!!! i used to be a student at the old uva academy, and it sucked! was a student at the new one too, but circumstances have made keepin' up with that and blueberry stuff a lil harder than expected. i got my foot in the door originally workin' at the montenevera chansey supply, so i know a lil bit about pokemon medicine too if ya ever need advice.
i'll leave y'all with a trainer card, if ya ever need to contact me please feel free to shoot me an ask!!! promise i won't bite. maybe i'll make one'a them faqs at some point...and maybe a page for my pokemon!! that'd be real neat heehee
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((ooc info below the cut!))
HELLO ONE AND ALL my name is Sable (they/them exclusively), late 20s, nothing's really changed all that much but I needed to make an updated intro for Ren at some point anyway, so now seemed to be a good time!
guess to set some basic ground rules:
follows will come from @shinydracozolt! that is my main blog full of weird shit, so uh, don't be alarmed.
Pelipper mail type things are on, but I can turn them off if I wish to. I will let everyone know if I decide to do this.
I have not Tumblr RP'd before, please be gentle with me.
Blog will occasionally dip feet into the High Stakes pool, especially with current plots going on in the background regarding Ren's mother, who's kind of a messy shitshow of a person. Ren's backstory in general is kind of a mess! Mom is evil with connections to Team Flare and dad is dead so uh. Whoops.
This blog will occasionally delve into sensitive topics, mostly with ask games and such. The ones that mostly pertain to Ren are: mental abuse by a parent, bullying at the old Uva, the massive shut in arc they had between ages 14-18, underage drinking (they still partake and aren't an alcoholic, but they and the bottom of a bottle go way back, so to speak), and occasional mentions of weed. (they themselves don't do it but a friend and coworker of theirs is a stoner. these posts will be tagged accordingly)
There will be occasional shenanigans with @ribesrubrum! Basically I had Ren befriend a canon character in their Kitakami arc and didn't want to potentially make things awkward, so they will interact occasionally. Don't be alarmed!
Lemme know if you need any trigger tags accommodated and I shall do my best! My memory is not the greatest thing in the world but I will do my best. <3
Would prefer no NSFW sent Ren's way, they are ace as hell. There may be occasional mentions of it from other blogs, but they'll be tagged accordingly.
Not exactly open to shipping with Ren because, once again, the whole ace deal, but if something starts to go that way feel free to let me know? But I am going to say no automatically if the player is a minor and the character in question is not 21+.
Can't really think of anything else I wanna say, but I mostly play fast and loose with shit and Ren's kind of off in their own little world sometimes lmao
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theselfshippingwitch · 3 months
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JanAUary - Fake Dating AU
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(Divider by @saradika)
Ship: Ray x Violet Word Count: 3088 Summary: Ray and Violet are going to Ray's hometown for his high school reunion, and Violet thought her worst problem would be figuring out how to pretend to be his girlfriend until she got there Rating: General Audiences Notes: For JanAUary run by @bioexorcizm and @eternally-smitten - Thanks for the prompt! Yeah this one got way away from me, it's super long whoops
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(Divider by @cafekitsune)
Violet stepped out of the inn wearing jeans and a blouse. It was dinner time, and she and Ray were meeting up with his high school classmates for dinner before the high school reunion party the next night. They walked side by side to the restaurant. He seemed distracted, watching the ground with a pensive expression on his face. “Nervous?” Violet asked.
She didn’t blame him. The plan was ridiculous. When Peter suggested it, her first instinct was to flat out refuse. It took coaxing from both him and her personal assistant, Steffi, to get her to agree to pretend to be Ray’s girlfriend at his high school reunion. There was no way she would be able to keep up that kind of ruse. Her fame and success had come from writing, not acting. Not that she wouldn’t be able to convince people she liked Ray as more than a friend. That part came easy to her. But how was she supposed to act like a girlfriend when she had never been anyone’s girlfriend before? 
While waiting in the line to get into the restaurant, the first person to greet them was what looked like to Violet to be some washed up high school football star. “Ray, old pal!” He slapped Ray on the shoulder just a little too hard, making him flinch and rub the spot where he hit after. “Hey, no hard feelings about last time, right, old buddy? Just a bit of dark magic between old friends!”
“Hi, Alan.” Ray sounded mostly annoyed. 
“Yeah, I mean it was just like old times, right? Remember in high school when I used to steal your bike and not give it back to you for weeks at a time…”
“The last time, you never gave it back.”
“...Or that one time I moved that carjack in shop class while you were still under the car?”
“I had to get stitches.”
“Boys will be boys, right?” 
“That’s what the cops told me.”
“And who is this gorgeous creature?” Alan moved past Ray, sliding in between him and Violet in line and leaning against the wall in front of her. 
“This is Violet. Violet, this is Alan.”
“Alan Favish, Head Quarterback for the Morrisville High Eagles, Class of ‘76. So, he guilt tripped you into tagging along, did he?” He jerked his head towards Ray as if he wasn’t still standing right next to them and hearing all of this. “Well, It’s not a total loss. I can make sure you still have a good time…”
“Actually, I’m his girlfriend.”
Alan raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “You’re dating him? Ha! I guess I’m not the only one who’s using dark magic around here. What kind of love potion did you have to use to convince her to date you, huh, Ray? Must have been some powerful stuff!” 
Violet sneered.
“Hey, I’m just joking! Meet you inside, buddy!” Alan punched Ray in the forearm, again just a little too hard, as he left them in the line. 
The second person to approach them was an older gentleman in a rather loud suit and a sash that said “MAYOR” in big red letters. Violet wondered if he wore it all the time. “Roy Stantz!” He greeted Ray.
“It’s Ray… again…” Ray reminded him. 
“When I heard our hometown hero was coming back for the high school reunion, I had to come say hello! And I also heard a rumor that you were bringing a famous celebrity author…” He turned his full attention to Violet, ignoring that Ray looked ready to say something. “Violet Bellamy, I presume? I recognize you from all those magazine covers! I’d just like to tell you what an honor it is to have you in our little town!”
“Um, Thank you.” Violet said as the mayor grabbed her hand and shook it all too eagerly. 
“The town council would love to have you do a speech at the town hall, Miss Bellamy. Maybe take a few photos to put in the newspaper and hang on the walls of my office. How about the morning after the reunion?” 
“Uh… sure.” They were taking the train at noon the day after the reunion anyway. Although Violet kind of hated the way this guy brushed over Ray for her. She wouldn’t have been as successful as she was if it wasn’t for his expertise in the paranormal. And something about the way the people in this town treated him…
They finally made it inside, and after they got partway through their dinner, a pretty girl interrupted them, smiling wide as she pulled up a chair in between the two of them and faced Ray. “Ray, it’s so good to see you again!”
“Hi, Elaine.” Ray said.
“I’m so sorry I haven't called since the last time we saw each other. I know I said I would, but I’ve just been so busy fixing up the house I inherited that you messed up while you were trying to catch the ghosts that were haunting the place, and it just kinda slipped my mind until this reunion!” She said, upbeat.
“Oh, that’s okay, it’s only been… a few months.”
“I knew you’d understand! Hey, why don’t you come over tomorrow before the reunion and help me out? I remember you being real handy back in high school. I have a few walls that still need repairing, and some electrical work, and maybe a bit of the plumbing. I know it’s a lot, but you were such a good friend back in the day, I remember how you used to always jump start my old car whenever my boyfriend couldn’t because he was at basketball practice, even when it was raining out! So, what do you say?”
“Well, I kind of already had plans…”
She laid her hand on his arm and batted her eyelashes. “Please, Ray?”
Ray sighed. “Well, maybe I can swing by really quick and take a look at the place.”
“You’re so good to me, Ray! You know, I’ve still been reading all the newspaper articles with you in them. Your success has been very interesting to me.” She winked, and left without even acknowledging Violet. 
Ray shot her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry…” he whispered to her. 
Violet didn’t respond. In fact, she didn’t say much of anything until they were back in the room at the inn. But, then she just had to ask. “Why do you let these people treat you this way?”
Ray sighed. “I don’t know. Coming back here has always felt… wrong, somehow. High school was honestly the most difficult time of my life. When I moved here, my parents had just died, and I wasn’t getting along with my siblings, and I felt so small and helpless and alone. It wasn’t until I left for college in the big city that I stopped being so shy, and when I’m in this town again, I feel like that sad little teenager again.” 
“So, why do you come back?”
“Because, for some inexplicable reason, I feel like I have something to prove to these people. Like, no matter what I do, how successful I get, I’m always gonna be that weird kid who’s going nowhere in life to them! I know it’s pathetic, but I’ve felt that way ever since I left this town.”
“Ray…” Violet wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry these people make you feel that way. And I’m sorry I got upset with you. I didn’t know…”
Late that night, as Ray slept on the cot in the corner of the room, Violet slipped out of the bed and opened her suitcase. She dug through the clothes she had packed until she found the outfits Steffi had slipped into her suitcase, despite her protesting. She looked over at Ray, who was snoring lightly. She laid the outfit neatly on the top of the pile of clothes, and then shut it again.
-
Violet stepped out of the inn wearing a halter top romper in deep red with matching red chunky heels with an ankle strap. Her short brown hair fell in a perfect wave down to just below her jawline and was piled to one side. Her red lips curled into a smile when she saw Ray waiting for her outside. His mouth fell open when he saw her. She put her finger under his chin and shut his open mouth gently “C’mon, babe. Let’s go see a girl about a house.” He couldn’t help but stare at the way the thin silk fabric of her shorts wrapped around her curves as she walked ahead of him, leading him by the hand to the old mansion on the outskirts of town. 
As they walked down the street in the middle of town, every man who passed them turned their heads to stare at Violet as long as they could. Some literally stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted her. A couple teenagers walked up to them. “Hey, are you Violet Bellamy?”
“Yeah, I am!” Violet smiled.
“No way! I can’t believe it’s really you! I loved your last book. Scariest thing I’ve ever read, it gave me nightmares for days!”
“Thanks!” 
“Hey, could I, like, get your autograph?”
At the mansion, Violet wrapped herself around Ray as Elaine approached, taking his arm in hers while the other one rested on his chest. The other girl faltered in her gait as she took in the sight of Violet, before bringing herself the rest of the way down the dirt path. “Hi, Ray! Glad you could make it!” 
“Uh…” Ray’s voice shook. He forgot what exactly he was supposed to say in response, nor could he remember to take his eyes off of Violet as she rubbed the center of his chest in a slow, steady rhythm. “Yeah, sure, Elaine.” He finally squeaked out. Violet smiled at him, pleased with his response. 
She turned that smug smile to the shocked girl in front of them. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Violet Bellamy, Ray’s girlfriend.” The hand on his arm slid up to his shoulder as the hand on his chest reached out palm upwards.
“Uh… Hi.” Elaine shook hands briefly, still in disbelief. 
“Ray just came over to see the house, like he said he would last night at dinner. Right, baby?” Violet laid her red fingertips on Ray’s cheek. He swallowed hard. “Uh-huh.” He nodded.
She chuckled. “He is so sweet. It’s one of the things I love about him. Just like an angel, sent down from Heaven just for me…” Violet let her face get closer and closer to Ray’s as she spoke. She took one last look at Elaine’s dumbfounded face before closing the gap between her red lips and Ray’s, initiating their first kiss and her first ever kiss. She hoped it was really as simple as Steffi told her it was, wrapping her lips around Ray’s bottom lip, sucking a little, and moving them slowly against his. She hoped it looked enough like they had done this before, and more importantly, she hoped Ray was enjoying it. When she pulled away, the bright red blush in his cheeks and the blissful expression on his face told her he had, to her ecstatic delight. 
Satisfied, she turned to Elaine again. “Well, we said we’d look at the house.” She looked the house up and down. “You were right. It does need work. See you at the reunion!” She led Ray by the arm away from the house and away from its now fuming mad owner. 
“Violet…?” Ray started.
“What? I’m supposed to be your girlfriend, aren’t I?” She looked up at him. As gratifying as that was, she hoped he didn’t think she had gone too far. He closed his mouth again and only looked at her with sad, pleading eyes. “Are you alright, Ray?”
“I… it’s nothing.” 
-
They spent the rest of the day walking around Ray’s old neighborhood, going by his old house and all his favorite spots where he spent his free time. That night, they went to the high school gym for the reunion party. Violet was sitting at a table covered with a blue tablecloth and gold confetti, sipping on whiskey ginger Ray just brought her before excusing himself to use the restroom. Alan sat down next to Violet and placed his beer on the table. “Hey gorgeous. Do you wanna dance?”
Violet put her head in her hand. “I’d rather die.”
“C’mon, baby, what else are you gonna do? Sit around with Ray all night? I know I could show you a way better time.”
Violet blinked. Without a word, she picked up his beer with her free hand and poured it onto his crotch. She put the cup back on the table, and smiled slightly. 
Alan jumped up from the table. “You little tramp! Who do you think you are?” 
“Well, I’m not an ex-high school quarterback desperately trying to relive the glory days that are far behind me, that’s for sure.” 
“You think that’s funny?”
“I think it’s true. I think you’re pathetic. You’ve been handed everything you’ve ever gotten because of some stupid game, and now that you don’t have that to lean on anymore you’ve realized that you’re nothing but a waste of space, and your life is going nowhere. I think you’re half the man Ray is, and you always have been, and you always will be.” 
He grabbed her by the elbow and lifted her up from the table. “No one talks to me that way, you little-”
Ray came up from behind and ripped Alan’s hand away from Violet’s arm, spinning him to face him before punching him square in the face, knocking him unconscious. He fell to the floor with a loud thud that echoed through the gym, causing everyone to look. “Well, maybe someone should, Al. It’d be the first time anyone’s been honest with you.” He crossed over to Violet, taking her in his arms. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Ray.” She put her hands on his chest. “You were incredible.” She looked over at Alan lying face down on the floor. Ray looked up and saw that the entire gym full of people were now staring at the two of them. Violet kept her eyes on him as she continued. “Ray, you’re so wonderful. You’re sweet, you’re brilliant, you’re so brave, you always do what’s right, even when it’s difficult, even when it’s a detriment to you. I’m so lucky just to know you, to have someone like you in my life. I love you.” Violet wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into the crook of his neck. 
His face heated up, but his movements were stiff as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “Violet…?”
“Yes, Ray?”
“...Can we leave?”
“Yeah. Let’s leave.”
Ray had a strange, almost angry look on his face as he walked, faster than he normally did, with Violet to their room. For the first time since she had known him, she was almost afraid to ask him what was wrong. “Ray…?”
He didn’t respond. He sat on the bed, facing away from her.
“Did I do something wrong today?” 
He stood up. “You’ve been driving me crazy, all day…”
“I’m sorry. I might have laid it on a little too thick, I guess….”
“The way you look, and all the touching, and the compliments, and that kiss…”
“Ray, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…”
“I want it to be real!” he whirled around to face Violet, tears in his eyes.
“You do?”
“I want it so bad! I’ve wanted you ever since the day we met, but today was just… I couldn’t stand it! I feel like I’ve been losing my mind all day! I need it to be real! I need to know, did you mean any of it?” 
“Ray…” Violet ran to him, wrapping him up tight in a hug. “Yes, sweetheart, I meant it. I meant all of it. You’re the most wonderful, amazing, incredible man in the whole world, and I’ve been madly in love with you from day one. You’re so far beyond anyone in this town, I couldn’t stand the way they treated you. I wanted them to see what I see in you. You deserve someone who adores you, worships you, who would never take you for granted or treat you like you’re beneath them. Ray, I want you to see that in yourself!” Violet kissed him on his lips. “I want you to realize how incredible you are, how much you mean to me!” She kept kissing him, on his cheeks, his nose, his jawline. “And I… I don’t want you to sleep on that cot tonight!” 
“Oh, Violet…” Ray wrapped his arms around her and gently guided her onto the bed, kissing her. 
-
Violet stepped out of the inn wearing a tight black knee-length dress with a square neckline, elbow-length sleeves, and a high slit up her left leg. Her brown hair was smoothed back, the tips just barely covering the top of her neck. She had left Ray lying in bed, still fast asleep. What she has to do this morning wouldn’t take long. She had a speech prepared that this town would never forget. 
When she walked into the crowded town hall, all conversation halted immediately. She stood behind the podium and surveyed the crowd, unsmiling. “Every single one of you is scum  compared to Ray Stantz. Even if he wasn’t a Ghostbuster. Even if he wasn’t famous. Even if he wasn’t anything even close to successful. He will always be twice the person any one of you are. And you’re all going to get what’s coming to you.”
Nobody could say anything. Even the ones that wanted to couldn’t seem to make their mouths move, no matter how hard they tried. “All of you will stay trapped in this town, like rats in a cage, and rot. He and I will have good fortune and happiness, and you will only have despair. I place a curse upon your town now.” She raised her hands, covered to the wrist in gloves of black silk, and whispered. “Acadiona Ludio Impbeo Angarum Noreabus.”
 She left the stage and walked through the silent crowd. She didn’t stop until she reached the room where Ray was just waking up. “I’m sorry I slept through your speech, honey. How did it go?” 
“I think it went very well. Let’s go home now, darling.”
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plnetl · 4 months
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Hi! I make a lot of traditional art, I love to draw and build in mc, I'll be posting here a lot since I am just so very front stuck.
Feel free to send asks!! I do builds based on pictures mostly because I'm still warming up to building in mc, but I'll happily build something if you give me refs and a few days lol. Here's one of my large-scale projects from a few weeks ago!! Took me 2 days to complete;
Ahh, this will be very very long 0.o so I'm just going to...
*snip snip snip...*
Much better!!!!
Okay, let's continue
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Might get in trouble for posting this because this is on a soon to be super active lore server... ewps!! Whatever. If anyone recognizes this in the near future; no, you don't. But oouugguhsh whoops whoooooooo careeeessssss!!!!!
·・❈{Basics!}❈・·
} {☼˖˚Name:
Planet , Apollo
} {☼˖˚Age:
17-18
15 bodily, don't be weird!!
} {☼˖˚Pronouns:
He/it
} {☼˖˚Gender:
Male :( (transmale :) )
} {☼˖˚Orientation:
Men :(
} {☼˖˚Species:
Uhhh!! Guess. Not human
·・❈{System Stuff!}❈・·
} {☼˖˚Source:
Lifesteal!!
} {☼˖˚Role:
School fronter/Frequent fronter , babysitter/part time caretaker
} {☼˖˚Subsystem?:
Nah
} {☼˖˚Verbality:
Meh, I'm bad at talking sometimes, but I engage in conversation
} {☼˖˚Source Talk?:
Yah!
} {☼˖˚Doubles?:
Yah!
} {☼˖˚Sourcemates?:
Yaahhh!!!!!!!! :3
} {☼˖˚What info do I need to know?:
We are a DID system!
Don't immediately ask for discord, we are anxious.
We're a therian!!
Content creator in our spare time.
I want to make this very clear that we are so very 15 years old, 19+ you can interact, just don't be weird.
·・❈{Stuff!!!}❈・·
SPLATOON!!
AUTOMOTIVE!!!!
MECHANIC WORK!!!
Building in mc!!
Grinding in mc (I've played for 57 hours in a single world that has been open since the 31st of December. This was posted on 1/8/24. I have full enchanted netherite and that huge spaceship up there.)
·・❈{Boundaries!}❈・·
} {☼˖˚Flirting?:
As a joke, yeah!!
If serious, keep in mind we're 15 bodily, have a partner system, dating another guy, and I'm mlm
} {☼˖˚Touch?:
Platonic, yeah!!! Hugs, kiss on the cheek/forehead, whatevr, as long as yr not weird abt it :3
} {☼˖˚DMs?:
Yeah!!! I'll give you our discord after a few conversations
} {☼˖˚Pings?:
Yah!!
} {☼˖˚Friend Requests?:
Yah!!!!!!
} {☼˖˚Faceclaims:
Teehee :3c
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Tags I use!!
#breakfast my beloved
-Baconnwaffles0 art I adore/my own posts about him
#plnetl text
- text posts!
#plnetl art
- my art!
#gorgeous / #oh gorgeous
- things I think are pretty or I just say "oh wow!!"
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Text
drawn arrows unseen
part 2 / previous installments/tags
Room 1046 is at the end of the hotel hallway. Mason has to walk by everyone else swiping into their rooms, two by two, whooping it up.
“Sorry you have to babysit me.” Connor says, but it’s not exactly an expression of sympathy. Sorry we’re both stuck with this, says his tone.
“I’d be such a shitty babysitter.” Mason jams his keycard into the slot above their doorknob. “Go on, burn the house down. Make some prank phone calls.” He hits the light switch inside the door and rolls his suitcase past the bathroom to size up the two beds. He claims the one that’s closer to the window and dumps his backpack on the room’s only chair.
Sprawling out, he unloops the mask from over his ears, crumples it in his hand, and drops it over the side of the bed. Won’t need that for four days. Four long fucking days of quarantining with Connor Bedard.
He’s got to make the best of it. He’s got to be nice. Leadership, or whatever.
Mason twists his head toward where Connor’s digging in his suitcase, unloading boxes of protein bars and stacking them by the television. “I’m not your babysitter. Nobody babysits you on your team, do they?” He keeps it intentionally vague because he doesn’t remember what this kid’s team is, whether he played the shortened season in the W or went elsewhere. “Where’d you play this year?”
“Regina. And in Sweden.” Connor hangs a polo shirt in the closet.
“Sweden, eh.” Mason stretches his arms over his head. “Junior or pro?”
“U20, mostly.” Connor takes off his mask and stretches out on his own bed.
“See, you’re used to playing with older guys.” Not quite the same as what Mason’s been doing, but it’s something. “Everybody here's done it.” Everybody who ends up in a Team Canada jersey is the kind of player who’s been leapfrogging their way past their age group all the way up. Mason played U18 games when he was fourteen.
“Feels different, when most of you are the same year.” Without the mask, Connor holds his mouth in a strange way, with his teeth set together and his lip curled back a little, like he’s disgusted.
Mason looks back at the ceiling. “It’s not like any of us have presented.” That’s the real difference once you get past junior. Dynamics emerge. You have to account for the advantages alphas have: the aggression, the fearlessness, the way they can tell by scent which side another alpha’s coming from or whether he’s inclined to fight.
Omegas probably have that scent advantage too, but Mason wouldn’t know. There aren’t very many omegas who play professional hockey. Mason didn’t play with any in Switzerland, anyway.
“I know, just…” Connor waves a hand vaguely at the ceiling. “Regular teams are more spread out, with ages. But you guys all know each other.”
“You know the Western guys, don’t you?”
“I guess.” Bedard snorts. “Guenther cross-checked me last time we played Edmonton.”
“Of course he fucking did, that’s just Guenther.”
[Insert quarantine montage. Team-prescribed workouts that they turn into contests over who can do the most pushups or hold a wall sit the longest. Mason begrudgingly respects Connor for holding his own. Watching hockey highlights and trading opinions, recognizing each other’s insights. Mason forces Connor to close out of YouTube to watch basketball. Mason steals Connor’s snacks until Connor finally snaps at him, and Mason corners him into reluctantly admitting that he has to bring his own bars so he can make sure they’re nut free. The inevitable bad moods of two guys penned up in a room instead of playing hockey, but the brief spats keep settling back into companionability. The kid’s easy to be around. Down to earth, doesn’t have a stick up his ass like Wright.]
Connor picks up the paperback world almanac on Mason’s side of the table between their beds. “What’s this?”
“Geography.” Mason likes to look at the flags, the maps, the information about each country. It’s nice to browse through before bed. Gets him out of his head. “My billet in Switzerland gave it to me.”
Connor flips through the pages. “What’s the capital of Finland?”
“Helsinki.” Mason rolls his eyes. “Ask me a hard one. Like, not a hockey country.”
Connor has to think about that one. “Mexico,” he  says, finally.
“Mexico City.”
“India,” Connor shoots back.
“Delhi. You have no idea if I’m right, do you?”
“No fucking clue.” Connor smirks. “Maybe I’ll study up. Surprise you.”
Mason wouldn’t put it past him. Connor’s got a gleam in his eye like he’s about to memorize all the capitals of Europe just for the hell of it. Looking at him, Mason can’t think of a comeback. “Maybe you will.” He plucks the almanac out of Connor’s hands. “Maybe you will.”
(next)
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