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neewtmas · 5 months

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12 days of Christmas // A Lockwood & Co Advent Calendar

DAY 2

Happy 4th of december! Today I'm posting a fic, and it's a Lucy x reader one. I feel like there are wayyy too little Lucy x reader fics, and I want to do something good for everyone with a crush on Lucy hehe. I wrote the fic with a fem!reader in mind, but there is literally zero description/pronouns, so it can be read by everyone.

I hope you enjoy!

I'm so sorry it's technically a day late I forgot it in my drafts

day 1 day 3 day 4 day 5 day 6

The Letters I Never Sent

pairing: lucy carlyle x fem!reader/gn!reader

wordcount: 2.3k

summary: You are Lucy's closest friend, but move to London before the events of the Mill. You don't hear from her for a long time, until you meet her again by chance (I promise it's better than this description lol)

masterlist

advent calendar tags: @givemea-dam-break @wellgoslowly @maraschinomerry @losticaruss @oblivious-idiot @uku-lelevillain @avdiobliss @strawberryloveyyy @strawberrycowgirly @demigoddess-of-ghosts @thefriendlyneighborhoodmomfriend @boookfreeak

You tried to smooth out the piece of paper that you had carelessly stuffed into your pocket 20 minutes ago. It had a list of different supplies on it, written in the scrawly handwriting of your supervisor that the wrinkles in the paper just made even more illegible. You knew for sure that you needed new saltbombs, so why not start there? You made your way through the tall shelves, each one filled with all kinds of different ghost-fighting paraphernalia. When you turned around a corner, you finally spotted the salt bombs you were searching for. As you started loading them in the bag you brought, you saw movement in your peripheral.

A girl dressed in blue was browsing the shelves just as you did minutes prior, and you only glanced over for a second before resuming what you were doing. But as she disappeared behind the shelf it hit you like a ton of bricks. That hair, the outfit - you knew her. Forgotten were the salt bombs, and you almost dropped the bag as you rushed over to where the girl just stood. You skidded around the corner and came to an abrupt halt as you came face to face with her. She gasped and took a step back, but when she took a closer look at you, her eyes widened. "Y/N?" It was her. "Lucy!"

This time you dropped the bag of saltbombs and without thinking, moved forward to hug her. At the last moment, you hesitated, not sure if it would be even okay with her, but the next thing you knew she had enveloped you in a bone-crushing hug. You buried your face in her hair, taking in the familiar scent you had missed so much, and you stayed like that for what felt like a few seconds and an eternity all at once. When she released you and took a step back again, your knees felt a little weak.

"Y/N, how have you been?!" Her gaze fell on your grey uniform and her brows furrowed a little. "Are you working for Fittes? You never told me!" You bit the inside of your cheek. That was true, you never told her you worked at Fittes. You never told her anything, for that matter. You thought of the pile of unsent letters you had buried in the corner of your least used drawer at your small apartment. You mentioned Fittes there. But there were other reasons why you had never dared to send these letters up north to Lucy. You shrugged. "They were the only ones that would take me. It's not that easy without a grade four." Lucy smiled bitterly. "I know."

You took a closer look at her. The outfit she was wearing didn't correlate with an agency you knew. But she was wearing a rapier - and you currently were in a shop for ghost hunting supplies, for that matter - so she had to still be in business. "Are you a solo agent now?" You couldn't help your mind immediately wandering to the both of you fighting ghosts together. For her, you'd quit immediately. Lucy shook her head. "We're a pretty small agency. Lockwood & Co? We've been in the papers a few times." You rarely read the paper, but even then the name rang a bell. "How are you doing there?" "It's great. Lockwood and George are… we're like family now." You could tell she meant it from the way her eyes lit up when she talked about them, but you couldn't ignore the tight feeling in your chest. Just some time ago, she had said that about you and Norrie.

BEFORE

You walked over cobblestones that slowly turned into a dirt road, hands clutched together. You had walked that street more times than you could count, and thinking about how this might be the last time made your heart hurt. When you reached the small house of the Carlyle's, you knocked on the door, and almost immediately it flew open to reveal Lucy. She grabbed you by the arm and pulled you inside. "My mother is gone right now", she said, and you let out a breath you were holding. Mrs. Carlyle was… unpleasant, to say the least. It pained you to know that you got to leave this town and Lucy was stuck here with a mother that saw her as nothing more than someone to earn her money.

Lucy's room upstairs was warm and cosy, and the both of you made yourself comfortable on her bed. You let your gaze travel over all the photos pinned to the wall over her bed, pictures of the both of you together, with Norrie, some of you alone. Lucy turned on her side so that she was facing you. "Are you excited for London?", she asked and started tracing the pattern of your sweater on your arm. That was something she had started doing some time ago, and you were still not used to it. "Yes", you croaked out as you stared at the ceiling, desperately trying to ignore the feeling of her gentle fingers. It was quiet for a moment. You didn't dare look at her. "I'm gonna miss you, you know", Lucy finally said, voice just above a whisper. You finally turned your head to look at her. Her eyes sparkled with tears in the warm light of her bedside table lamp and you swore she had never looked prettier than in this moment. It took everything in you to not lean forward and kiss her senseless. There was no reason to ruin your friendship now. Instead, you forced yourself to turn your head back, tears now prickling in your eyes as well. "Well, I'm gonna miss you more." She scooched over, closer to you, and rested her head on your shoulder. Without a word, you wrapped your arm around her and closed your eyes, soaking in the moment.

You were still thinking about her as you watched the meadows flow past the train window. To think that for the longest time, moving to London had been your biggest dream, and now you had to try your hardest to find even a spark of excitement in you. Your dream had always involved Lucy and Norrie. The three of you were supposed to move down there together. But now your aunt died and had left you a small apartment in London and your parents had more or less just kicked you out.

The next few months you spent working for Fittes, every morning coming back to your apartment that felt empty and cold with just you in it. You were writing a lot of letters. Some to Norrie, most to Lucy, none to your parents. But you didn't send any of them. Until the day your supervisor handed you the daily newspaper with a pitiful expression and you had to read about how all your old colleagues had died in a tragic accident. Everyone, except Lucy. Your supervisor sent you home that day and told you to take some time off. You cried on the way home, and when you arrived at your apartment, you sat down at your desk and wrote a letter to Lucy. You never received an answer.

TODAY

You smiled. "That sounds great. I'd love to meet them sometime." You had to know who it was that she had replaced you with. Lucy checked her watch. "You can come join us for dinner tonight." She cleared her throat. "Just if you want to." "Yes, of course! I wouldn't miss it." Lucy smiled brightly at you. "Fantastic. I gotta go now. 35 Portland Row, at six?" She hugged you again, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek. "I'm so glad to have you back", she whispered in your ear before she stepped back, giving you a little wave and walking off. You didn't know how long you stood there, frozen in place, the feeling of her lips lingering on your skin.

At precisely six o'clock, you stood in front of 35 Portland Row. You rang the bell, and a few seconds later the door opened. In front of you stood a boy, taller than you, but about the same age. Weirdly enough, he was wearing a shirt and tie, and you briefly wondered if you were underdressed. But then Lucy appeared behind him, in the same blue outfit she was wearing earlier, and you relaxed a little. The guy smiled politely, extending his hand to you. "I'm Lockwood." You shook his hand. "Y/N." The three of you stood for a moment before Lucy opened the door wider. "Come in! Dinner is almost ready." You stepped past Lockwood into a hallway that was filled to the brim with stuff. Much of it on the wall looked like old artefacts, while the floor was littered with shoes, bags, salt bombs, and a single rapier. Lucy kicked it to the side. "George is in the middle of a deep clean", she mumbled, a little embarrassed. But you didn't mind, it was cosy. You could already start to understand why Lucy liked it here. It felt more like a home than one with Mrs. Carlyle in it ever could. Luy led you to the kitchen, where the table was already set with four plates. The guy on the stove gave you a slightly awkward smile and introduced himself as George. You sat down on the chair that Lucy offered you and your gaze fell on the table cloth that was covered all over in drawings and notes. You immediately spotted some of Lucy's sketches.

The stew George had cooked tasted fantastic. The atmosphere was nice, conversation flowed easily. You talked about how your first few weeks in London went back when you started at Fittes, and Lucy told you the story about how she ran away from home and ultimately ended up at Lockwood and Co. After dinner, Lockwood and George busied themselves with the dishes, while Lucy led you up a few staircases to a room in the attic. When you climbed the last little steps up into her room, you could immediately tell it was her she lived here. It had the same cosy atmosphere as her old room. You sat down on the edge of the bed, clasping your hands in your lap.

Your eyes travelled around the room, over to the sketches hung up on the wall next to the window. Finally, you took a look at the photographs above her bed. There were photos with Lockwood and George, of course. But there were also photos of Lucy and you, and of you alone, several of them. Lastly, your gaze fell on a photo of Lucy, Norrie and you. Your throat closed up as you looked at the bright smiles and happy faces. You'd never get that back.

"I'm so sorry about Norrie", you said quietly, not looking away from the photo. "I should have stayed." Lucy had laid down on the bed behind you. "You couldn't have done anything. I couldn't either." Her voice was full of so many emotions, anger, grief, sorrow, and regret. You clasped your hand tighter, fighting back the tears. "I sent you a letter", you said. "Afterwards." Lucy was quiet for a moment. "Do you wanna lay down?", she asked, and without thinking, you curled up next to her. That position was so natural for you, you had spent so many hours like this - and you had no idea how much you had missed it. Lucy moved so that her head was on your shoulder. "I left a few days after it happened", she said quietly. "My mother probably threw it away."

"Oh." A small part of you was relieved. You thought maybe she had thrown it away because she hated you for leaving her behind. "I thought about you a lot after you left", Lucy said and started tracing patterns on your arm. Heat rushed to your face at her words, and you tried to calm down your heartbeat that had picked up at her touch. "I thought about you too", you said with a hoarse voice. "I wrote you so many letters." Lucy turned her head up towards you. "Really?" You tried to ignore how close her face was to yours. "I sent none of them", you admitted. "Why?" You could tell from her tone that she was hurt.

"I was scared", you simply said. Lucy didn't say anything, and you could tell she was waiting for you to continue. "I wrote about…" You trailed off. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was the moment you'd confess your feelings for her, and she'd either throw you out of the house and would never want to see you again or… But no, you didn't allow yourself to get your hopes up. Instead, you slowly moved your hand over next to hers so that your fingers were touching, just to gauge her reaction. You half expected her to pull away, but instead, she interlaced her fingers with yours. "You wrote about what?" She was looking at you again, and just like that, you forgot how to speak. "I -" She moved impossibly closer. "Yes?" Your heart skipped a beat. "Can I kiss you?", you breathed out, almost inaudible. She squeezed your hand, smiling up at you before she leaned in. "I thought you'd never ask."

Thank you for reading, feedback is appreciated :)

Here is part 1 of the advent calendar

#lucy carlyle #lucy carlyle x reader #lockwood and co #lockwood and co x reader #lockwood & co #lockwood & co x reader #lockwood and co advent calendar

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atla-suki · 5 months

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sokka’s treatment in lok was astonishing tbh but i’m actually glad he was dead by the time the series started bc toph being a cop??? aang being an awful dad???? they would’ve ruined him and suki’s characters lbr.

as far as any possible kids go idk we didn’t meet suyin till book 4 we barely saw izumi i think they just didn’t want to make the new series be a atla reunion plus lok was only meant to be one season so they were making that shit up as they went along lmao. and back in 2012-14?? they didn’t know themselves what happened to sukka lmao.

sokka and suki are definitely the type to break up bc of long distance but then find their way back to each other a few years later especially as they settle into their roles in life.

while bryke definitely neglect suki and sokka to some capacity also they do have a soft spot for suki after bringing her back. many don’t consider her to be team avatar but they’ve stated they do so idk ! she shows up a lot in the comics which have obv been created post-lok and it’s been said that they’ll utilise it’s plots and characters in shall see in future projects (crane fish town becoming republic city maybe??? where suki currently is working?? and sokka later lives!!)

i’m p sure suki will be in it at some capacity anyway and that there’ll stick with jennie as she’s one of the few asian og va’s. she’s doing a lot of work atm for avatar studios.

also random but i literally found out today that it’s not bryke-confirmed that mai and zuko end up together. it was a comment on a panel by the old comic writer. it’s not technically canon. izumi is the spit of mai anyway but hmm! interesting!!

btw btw suyin’s father was def a sandbending outlaw who toph had a secret relationship with that couldn’t be public bc of her role as police chief x

oo big ask ok let me break this up into different paragraphs …

fist point - one thing i will admit about lok is that it fell short in incorporating the original characters into the new series in an interesting way with enough verisimilitude (realistic-ness) that it didn’t feel like they were just throwing a popular character into an episode for the sake of it. such as the whole ‘aang is a bad dad’ thing because they under-utilised him as a mentor figure to korra and instead focused on his supposed favourite son (i have thoughts on this re. aang NOT being a ‘Bad’ dad but i will make another post on it if u are interested (or have i alr made one? i’ll make another one.))

i have to agree that they would’ve probably done something shitty to sokka or suki if they were included. especially with the entire first season of lok being about bender/non-bender equality… i can just imagine they’d make sokka say something dumb about the equalist movement being 100% Bad instead of him actually supporting some of their completely valid arguments. idk. i’m sad there’s no sukka but at the same time…. quit while ur ahead yk.

second point - sukka long distance relationship is so real ESPECIALLY during their first few years together. i can see them just kinda calling it off because of commitment issues due to their work, etc. but not ever really losing feelings. they’d be endgame tho🥰

i can absolutely see suki being in upcoming projects! especially since she and the other kyoshi warriors expanded their reach across the nations - it would be hard to ignore them completely if we’re assuming they’re including comic canon into the universe. i hope jenny returns!!

third point - yeah! how crazy that maiko as izumi’s parents isn’t canon confirmed… though she’s so clearly mai’s daughter. i wonder if mai’s role will be expanded in upcoming projects / if she’ll be featured more. hmmm.

fourth - would honestly prefer this to the theory sokka is her father lol. it kinda baffles me that TOPH became a cop.. not bc she opposes authority - there’s something different about enforcing it than there is having to follow it. i can see toph in authoritative positions, and she fits them well. but i think it baffles me moreso because why would toph even work as a COP? isn’t that boring as hell for her?? go do something awesome like probending or professional underground fighting (adult blind bandit anyone?? this would make a good fic) or literally just construction idk i feel like toph isn’t a Hard Worker type that would want to be stuck in such a rigid career.

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submissiveking99 · 9 months

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Venom Family Tree

Ah, so we all know this guy

This lovely goop guy

Or gal

Or.... It

The Symbiotes are basically non-gender. But they do kind of... Borrow the gender of their host

It's a bit wired. Partially because of how long Symbiotes have existed and how the view on gender identity, different writers opinion in said identity and different writers preferences have changed and been used over the years

But.... Yeah

Technically Symbiotes, or Kylntar (as their species is officially referred to as), have no gender and reproduce asexually

They have a set number of eggs and only reproduce every.... Randomly, lol. The next generation is always stronger than the last

And, today, I'm gonna be going over Venom's family tree!

Aren't these babies cute?

Hehehe

Okay. So before I start, a few things

1- I will be giving brief summary's to each Symbiotes birth, any special abilities and what not plus my opinions

2- I'll be going over every Symbiote, starting from Venom. Going through all the clones, children and offshoots that happen from Venom down. I am not going to be going 'up' Venom's tree, so no seeing Venom's Great Great Grandparents of whatever. Especially as they have never been shown

3- this is based off my knowledge and while I know a lot, don't know everything and haven't read every run. So may have small errors or forget things. But it shouldn't be too bad, especially since I'm not going into too much detail

4- I am NOT going into detail about storylines so some of these might be very odd and confusing but I do not have the literal hours needed to explain ever single one of them to the degree they need. Especially since I hate or have not read some of these storylines

So.... Let's begin with the most famous Symbiote, and the family.... Patriarch? Matriarch? Originator?

Crap

.....

Look! It's the title card!

Venom

I should not need to explain where she is from... I'm using female pronouns here because I use She-Venom as a muse

Her backstory has been changed a bit over the years. Details being added, shuffled and what not

But what you need to know: she was on a place called Battle World and bonded with Peter Parker/Spider-Man, becoming his new suit. The two worked together for a few months. Peter found out his new costume was alive and using his body as a puppet for joyrides at night

He removed Venom. Venom found Eddie Brock, who is a pathetic and disgusting human being. Their combined hate for Spider-Man turning them into Venom

And Venom had many adventures

One thing I need to explain is that Venom was not originally called Venom. We do not know what it's original name was, or if it even had one. It took on the name Venom when it bonded with Eddie as they where going to be the "poison in Peter Parkers life"

THE CLONES

Haha! I bet you where al expecting us to go to a certain red murder machine first, didn't you?

We'll get there, I promise. But first, we NEED to go over clones first.

Because, yes, Venom has some clones.

And they are important to some later entries on this post.

So first we have....

Mania

I know what some of you are thinking "Wait, that's just Venom in a teenage girl!"

You'd be right... And wrong!

During a period where Venom was a good guy, and bonded with Flash Thompson as Agent Venom (the best host that Venom has EVER had IMO), they found a facility that had Venom's severed tongue. This, if I am correct, was from a previous host between Eddie and Flash, the Symbiotes tongue being cut off in the middle of battle.

Well they ran experiments and mutates the tongue into its own Symbiote, which bonded with Flash's gym student Andrea Benton who became his side kick

The Symbiote and her got along fairly well. Although it was eventually stolen from her. And if I remember correctly, killed

Anti-Venom

After Eddie sold off the Symbiote, after finding out he had cancer (a weird lie thing that's been retconend like three times and I don't want to get into it), Eddie met up with Martin Lee, also known as Mr Negative.

Shaking Martian's hand, Mr Negative's powers being strange and about 'inverting' people, it mutated the reminder of Symbiote cells attached to Eddie's white blood cells. Creating an artificial, lifeless, Symbiote.

This Symbiote, dubbed Anti-Venom, has the ability to remove impurities in people's blood. This includes symbiotes, radiation, narcotics, viruses, and other diseases. He can actually remove Peter's spider power through touch. It is also immune to fire and sonics

This Symbiote died when Eddie sacriviced it, using it as part of a serum to cure New York from the Spider-Island situation

Anti-Venom II

After Eddie Brock took Venom back from Flash Thompson, he eventually got a new Symbiote. A clone of the original Anti-Venom, becoming Agent Anti-Venom

All the powers of the original, plus the ability to heal with a touch

He, unfortunately, died alongside the Symbiote as he over used it's healing powers when Norman Osborn has merged himself with the Carnage Symbiote to become the Red Goblin

Anti-Venom III

And now we get to one I didn't even know about until recently

During Knull's invasion of Earth, Flash Thompson's mind emerged form the Symbiote Hive Mind and took control of one of the Symbiote Dragons. Using it to revive his own corps and continue the fight

....

And now I am moving on

April Parker/ Mayhem

Look, she's from an alternate universe but any excuse to talk about my girl

April is from the MC2, an alternate universe where the 'present' MCUniverse started 15 years earlier and we are now following the second generation of heroes. April is a clone of the daughter of Spider-Man, Mayday Parker, who was stolen as a baby by Norman Osborn. April's DNA being spliced with that of the Venom Symbiote to make a human/symbiote hybrid.

Believing herself to be the real daughter of Peter and MJ she refers to herself as April, as April comes before May, and has to struggle with her rage issues

THE CHILDREN

Here we go! The part I knew you where all waiting for!

Venom's seven children!

Yep, you read that right. Seven

....

Well, let's go!

Carnage

Carnage is the first of Venom's kids. Birthed when Venom first reunited with Eddie Brock, the two escaping his cell and leaving their offspring to merge with the murdered Cletus Cassidy.

Not going into detail. You know Carnage.

Super powerful, dangerous and super insane.

....

Although technically Cletus has not been bound to Carnage for decades. His original Symbiote dying years ago, then he got a clone of it (kinda) from the Negative zone, then it mutated his blood and he WAS the Symbiote, then he bodned with OTHER Symbiotes. And.... It's insane.

And they keep making him more over powered and over using him.

He's just boring to me

....

And yes I used a picture of She-Carnage. Was technically a thing in the comics for like two panels. Let me have this

The Life Foundation Symbiotes

Now here we go. The first obscure ones you might not know

Gonna go over the backstory here, so I don't have to keep going over it

The Life Foundation kidnapped Venom and removed what (they thought) wher all its eggs. Aiming to make an army/bounty hunter group to send out for money

They are all massively underused characters that, when used nowadays are used very badly

However they are all heavily violent since they where basically robbed away at infancy

Riot

First off we have Riot

Very similar in appearance to their parent... There is nothing known about Riot personality wise

Mainly using blunt weapons like hammers.

You'd think they where the physically strongest, but we have no idea

Lasher

Lasher seems to be the loner of the siblings, for a lack of a better term. Again, because of that lack of personality being shown

And it mainly fights with long range tentacles

Agony

Agony is Venom's first daughter, I use that term as Agony has shown a preference for female hosts

Agony had a unique ability, an acidic spit she uses as projectiles

Ironically it feels as if Agony has the least personality, even though she was been the one with the most focus in recent years. Because her hosts have been the focus

Phage

Phage is... the orange one

I guess they want to live a quiet life as they bonded with a dog to just act as a guys hunting dog. But at the same time Phage does not seem to have any special powers

Hybrid

Now we get to an interesting one

Hybrid is a fusion of Riot, Phage, Lasher and Agony. After their original hosts where killed they where taken in by the US Goverment. In fear, and an attempt to escape, the four merged together... into one Symbiote

The four where scared, alone. Overwhelmed children.

They mered with... I beleive he was a cop. And they where a hero.

...

Until Eddie Brock, on a quest to kill all Symbiotes, blasted them with a sonic gun. Killing their host. And then leaving them for dead. Leading to the goverment getting hold of Hybrid and seperating them, the four symbiotes left in a catatonic state for years.

Scream

Scream is the last of the of the Life Foundation Symbiotes. The leader of the siblings.... And the one who got the most focus over the years

Her personality a strange mix of a loving mother and a needy child. Super interesting. And she tends to use her hair as a weapon.

Her current host is Andrea Benton. Unfortunately I've not been a fan of what they did with her recently

Because they just did a repeat of "Scream says how much she needs Andrea, Scream is possessed by a demonic Symbiote, Scream takes full control, Andrea tries to stop her, Andrea gets mad" with the latest one ending with Andrea trying to kill Scream during the 'trues to stop her' step and Scream getting angry as she... Changes

Silence

Silence. Here we go, but of a complicated one.

It is unclear is Scream DID due during that moments, and the reminance of her formed a new Symbiote with the Anti-Venom cells that Andrea used to try and kill her

Or if Scream fused with the cells and evolved

Either way, now we have Silence. Who is... Well she doesn't talk so if she's a new Symbiote we don't really know her personality.

Sleeper

Sleeper is Venom's final, and newest, child

Venom grew pregnant and hid it from Eddie. Wanting the new child to be one free of malice and to be happy

Shit happens

And while Sleeper is a good guy... He controls a comatose body/controls a body 100% and has the host in a coma

THE GRANDCHILDREN

And now, with those kiddies out the way....

Well, some kids had their own bundles of.... I was gonna say bundles of joy. I guess .... Bundle of chaos?

Anyway. Up first we have ...

Toxin

Toxin is Carnage's first child.

The strongest solo Symbiote.

Carnage burried it when it was born and planned to kill it, while Venom wanted to turn it's grandchild into a weapon

Toxin merged with a police officer and became a hero instead, the two having to hold back the Symbiotes violent tendancies

I feel like that desire to be a hero is why it looks so similar to Spider-Man.

Currently Toxin is partnered with a pre-teen child

Raze

Raze is Carnage's second child, I think second at least, and... Was basically here and then gone just as fast

Carnage just spat Raze out at one point and was basically Carnage's lacky for the one story it was in, before being absorbed by its sibling Symbiote

Scorn

Scorn is my favourite of Carnage's kids

Basically the Carnage Symbiote gave birth when possessing a woman missing her arm. It's Symbiote mass combining with her robotic prosthetic arm

And they became Scorn. A Techno-organic Symbiote who has technokenisis

....

Then they character assasinatsd her and... Yeah. She dead now

Misery

This is the newest Symbiote on the he list

Misery appearing only recently

I have not read the book she debuts in. But as I understand it, she is a fusion of reminance of the Carnage Symbiote merging with reminance of Anti-Venom (see, reason we had to go over it so early)

So it's basically a clone of Carnage fuse with a clone of Venom's clone

Jubulile van Scotter's Symbiote

And this is probably the most obscure of the kids!

Because the Symbiote does not have a name!

This Symbiote is one of Carnage's spawn/clones. But because it bonded with a person with zero malice inside them, the Symbiote did not develop claws and fangs.

Jubulile gained her Symbiote when Carnage was trying to get the power of a god

Jubulile absorbed the power of her sibling Raze and a few other Symbiotes, becoming a holy knight and killing the evil god

And I believe that was her only appearance.

....

And that's it.

To that's all the Symbiotes that have spammed from Venom's lineage one way or another

I hope this was helpful and feel free to share your thoughts and point out anything I got wrong

I love making nerd talks like this. They are fun

#mun talks #nerd talks

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moondal514 · 4 months

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Some fic reading numbers to wrap up 2023

(Yeah yeah I know I’ve posted a whole bunch of fic rec lists this week but this is the last one, I promise)

In 2023, I’d say my fandom habits could be summarized into this: 1) the AFTG brainrot finally eased back a bit so I could truly return to my default state of being a multi-fandom whore, 2) I went back on my bullshit of reading fics for fandoms I’m not in/haven’t thought about for many years, and 3) I’ve finally entered the danmei realm, years after everyone else around here lol (and if you listen carefully in the distance, you can hear the frustrated scream of my former roommate that I’ve pissed off by only just this year checking out and loving the stuff she rec’d for me to read/watch years ago lol).

In 2023, I bookmarked on ao3 1207 new fics read for 46 fandoms (though only about 850 are in my public bookmarks). The fandom I read the most for was MDZS, managing to unseat AFTG as my most read-for fandom this year, accounting for about 345 of those new bookmarks.

Below is a multi-fandom list of 10 of my favorites of all the fics I read in 2023. I limited myself to only choosing fics that are complete standalones cuz otherwise I prob wouldn’t be able to limit it to only 10.

In no particular order:

Fandom: Attack On Titan

The Means by calacreda

'He hears him say “Do not tell a soul, Levi” and wants to laugh. Tell anyone? To what end? So that others have the images that Levi now has running through his head; of grabbing hands and harness marks, hard words and soft lips, of lies upon lies upon lies in a desperate attempt to get to the truth?'

Levi begins to notice Erwin leaving HQ alone and not returning until the dead of night.

Slow-burn, pre-show Eruri.

This fic is here to commemorate the 4 days of absolute insanity in March I spent binge-reading hundreds of thousands of words by this writer despite me knowing barely anything about these characters

Fandom: Simon Snow

Where the Sand Meets the Sea by waterwings/ @amywaterwings

This is a world where magic has moved on.

Where stars fall from the sky.

Where time is less a linear progression and more a slow dance.

And where Simon and Baz start to switch places, which will—inevitably—change everything.

5th ever fic to make me cry (and 1st fic not in the AFTG fandom to make me cry, whoop), the kind of fic that really lingers with sticky fingers on the brain

Fandom: Word of Honor

Strange Pilgrims by inkmyname/ @inkmyname

“Can I have all the wine in the world?” “Yes.” “Can I have all the treasures in the ocean?” “Yes.” “Can I have all the stars in the sky?” And because it wasn’t in Zhou Zishu’s nature to deny Wen Kexing anything, he said yes. From the western mountains to the eastern seas. Some seventy years on, Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing wander together.

This fic had me chewing on drywall cuz it’s so good

Fandom: The Vinland Saga

neither sword nor crown by arahir/ @arahir

Canute does whatever he can to keep Thorfinn, though it might cost him everything.

“You want to kill me now.” The words steal his breath with their truth. Thorfinn looks at him, from under his filthy bangs, eyes piercing and bruised. Something in Canute’s chest flips over at that look, at how wounded he is. He’s broken. He’s been broken from the first moment they met, but now he’s lost even Askeladd to hold his pieces together. “But if you fight me like this, it’s not fair. You have to wait until I get stronger. Be my guard until then, and I’ll duel you, warrior to warrior.” Thorfinn’s gaze is unflinching. Canute reaches behind him and pulls the dagger from the folds of his fur-lined cloak. The blade is a part of Thorfinn, like the crown is a part of Canute, now. He hands it over, hilt first. “Or, you can kill me today. Right now, right here.”

Wouldn’t be me unless there was at least one amazing historical fiction-esque fic, from a fandom I’m technically not in, on this list

Fandom: All For the Game

If Suddenly You Forget Me by sambutwithbooks

There’s a ring in the bag they give him, along with his soiled uniform.

The blood doesn’t bother him, even if his stomach clenches as he remembers that it’s his-it's the ring on a chain that snags his attention and holds it.

A wedding ring.

----------

Fifteen years post-canon, an accident on the court wipes Neil and their life together from Andrew's memory. It takes a while for him to find his way back to it.

Made every criticism I’ve ever had of the amnesia trope die a slow and miserable death (also 4th ever fic to make me cry)

Dream clouds, ghost ground (I’ve been looking at the sky to show me where I went wrong) by Ateiluj/ @awildtei

Cass Spear deals with her son’s death, the truths that it reveals, and how it all reshapes her past with Andrew.

One of the most incredible character studies I’ve ever read across any fandom, period

nocturnal animals by animediac/ @jaywalkers

“He was an addict,” Taylor says roughly, turning away to unplug the blender. “He wouldn’t accept help and he didn’t care who he hurt with it by the end.” “He was our brother,” Abby says, sadly. “I know,” Taylor tells her. “That was the worst part." — Memory takes the graveyard shift. Abby Winfield works nights.

Absolutely devastating Abby Winfield backstory that had me curling up into a ball on the floor

Fandom: Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Tarnished Gold by Prim_the_Amazing/ @primtheamazing

Becoming emperor of the cultivation world will start with a first step as small and basic as becoming Head Disciple of Huan Hua Palace. For that, he must steal the position away from the current Head Disciple. Luo Binghe will sabotage, upstage, and completely and utterly best him.

The road to destroying everything and everyone who has ever wronged him, to becoming the highest ruler so that no one will ever have the right to control him ever again - it will start as simply as ruining Gongyi Xiao’s life.

Compared to everything else he’s already done, this should be easy.

Luo Binghe brings all his skills of cunning and brutality to bear on Gongyi Xiao, Head Disciple of Huan Hua Palace Sect. It… doesn’t go too well for him.

This fic had me saying “just one more chapter” long into the night until I was literally staring down the epilogue at some ungodly morning hour

Fandom: BBC Merlin

Whereat the Two Swore On the Field of Death a Deathless Love by horsecrazy/ @cbk1000

In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy. But not quite in the way you think. 'The Once and Future King'/Merlin mashup; now with 50% more gay.

One of the most incredible things I’ve ever read in my life, this writer is single-handedly responsible for reviving my Merthur obsession 3 years after it’s mostly died down

Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi

我拿青��赌明天 / I’ll wager my youth against tomorrow by tombenough_and_continent/ @hunxi-after-hours

The dust of this mortal world cannot fall upon him—he is a strand-dancer, a weaver of time’s tapestry, dispatched by Gusu Lan’s Symphony to climb upwards into the knots and gnarls of alternate timelines and coax them towards the future in which Gusu reigns, benevolent and peaceful and supreme—the future in which Lan Wangji himself is sung into existence. He is here to change the past and deliver the future into being. It would not be wrong to call him fate. (or, This is How You Lose the Time War, but make it wangxian)

Still screaming crying throwing up over this fic cuz nothing gets me quite like a beautifully written mash-up of 2 of my fave pieces of media

Thank you to all you fic writers out there for getting me through another year. Cheers to a new year of more wonderful writing!

#fanfiction wrapped #fic rec #fic rec list #aftg #vinland saga #aot #mdzs #simon snow #svsss #bbc merlin #tyk

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maybeimamuppet · 2 months

Text

picking teams- chapter 14: cady

hello everyone!! boo surprise sunday post!! because!! TODAY IS MY THIRD WRITING BIRTHDAY WOOOOOO!

today three years ago i posted my first ever oneshot (i think technically it was on the 4 bc it was late at night but the intention was to be today so i’m sticking with the 3). i can honestly say i was expecting NOBODY to read anything of mine and that this would be something i did for maybe a few months and then dropped like all my other hobbies.

and here we are three years later! so i’d just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s supported me through this little journey over the last three years. i feel like i really have a community and a little family here. i appreciate every single pair of eyeballs that has ever laid eyes on a fic of mine, whether you comment and i get to know who you are or you’re just a lurker. whether you’re new or you’ve been here the whole time. thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here for and with me <3

anyhoo! mushy stuff over for now lol please enjoy this chapter :)

tw for

broken bones

and as always if i missed something please let me know so i can add it in!

——————

Cady goes back to school that Wednesday.

Her parents let her have one more day off to recover and finish the homework she had been putting off. Cady's still not feeling 100% after her episode, as Janis put it, but she can't afford to miss any more school. Or cheer practice. She's gotten more than a few threatening texts from Regina.

She runs into Janis briefly going into homeroom, since it's in the same classroom as Janis' first period. She smiles, mostly at the ground, and Janis surreptitiously brushes her hand against Cady's and gently links their fingers together before walking off like nothing happened.

Cady blushes furiously and heads to her seat. She hunches in on herself to scribble something on a piece of notebook paper she rips off and folds up. She's so focused on making sure nobody sees what she's writing that she almost misses Ms. Norbury trying to take attendance.

"Cady. Caaaady. Heron. Hello."

"Wh- oh, uh, here," she stutters. Ms. Norbury arches an eyebrow and ticks her off on her computer. Cady trills her lips and tucks the paper into her pocket.

"Glad to have you back, Cady," she says once the bell rings.

"Thanks! Uh, see you this afternoon!" Cady says, rushing out the door. They already don't have much time to get from class to class, and she has a stop to make this time.

She tries to act like she's just leaning casually against the wall and she doesn't have to be across the building in two minutes. Once she looks around to double check nobody is watching, she carefully slips the note between the slats in Janis' locker and rushes off to her class.

Hopefully she gets it.

—-

Cady looks up from her phone in fright when she hears a murmured, "Hey, sweet thing."

Janis is peeking around the corner of the bleachers, lunch in hand and a confused look on her face. Cady spotted this during a rainy-day indoor practice last week. The bleachers are completely solid, so nobody can see in. "Did anyone follow you? See you?"

"Nobody important," Janis shrugs as she puts her food down. "Whatcha doing?"

Cady sighs in relief upon hearing confirmation that nobody will see them together. She leans in for a kiss and gets a sweet little peck. "I want to have lunch with you! It's like our own little place!"

"That it is," Janis agrees with a chuckle. "How's your day been?"

"Good! I got a hundred on my math test," Cady says happily.

"Of course you did," Janis laughs. "What'd you tell Regina?"

"About what?"

"Where you are," Janis says as she takes a bite of her... probably turkey sandwich. Cady's eyes widen. Shit.

"I... didn't tell her anything," she says quietly.

Janis quirks an eyebrow. "Better come up with something quick."

"Why?"

"She's gonna grill you like a war interrogator," Janis snorts.

Shit. She's right. "Uh... um..."

"Just tell her you skipped lunch," Janis shrugs.

"Skipped it?" Cady asks.

Janis shrugs again. "I dunno. That'd probably work."

"I'll think of something," Cady hums, pursing her lips and taking an exasperated bite out of her celery stick. Janis smiles at her like she's some cute little animal.

"So... any particular reason you're slipping notes into my locker and sneaking around with me behind the bleachers?" Janis says with a smirk as she scoots a little closer to Cady.

Cady groans as she's suddenly reminded why she had done this. "I have to go to Regina's after school. We're having a costume fitting for the holiday parade."

Janis looks at her oddly. "You're in the parade?"

Cady nods eagerly. "Mmhmm! I get to be an acro elf!"

"A what?" Janis giggles.

"I get to dress as an elf and do tumbling and acrobatic stuff next to Santa's float!"

"Oh," Janis says. "Stevie loves that one. I didn't know it was us."

"They choose the best cheer team in the region to do it. Apparently this is the first time in, like, ten years that it's been North Shore," Cady explains.

Janis snorts. "That makes more sense."

"I'm really excited. But I have to spend a lot of time with the Plastics, I won't have as much time free after school," Cady says apologetically.

Janis shrugs. "It's just a parade. Once it's done your schedule will calm down a bit and we can spend more time together again. Not like we're breaking up."

Cady giggles. "I still have my knight in shining armor to come save me from the Plastics if I beckon her."

"Damn right you do," Janis smirks, leaning in for a kiss.

Cady happily leans in too, smiling to herself as their lips touch. She's suddenly very glad she totally ate it at their last practice and spied this hideout behind the bleachers from the ground.

"Might need to save you already," Janis hums as they pull apart, looking Cady up and down with a small grimace.

Cady sheepishly looks down at her bright pink crop top she'd decided to wear today. She tugs at her collar, suddenly self-conscious. "You don't like it?"

"No, no, you look cute," Janis says. Something in her tone tells Cady it's a half-truth at best. Oh well.

“Thanks," she says. Janis takes another bite of her sandwich and sprawls on the hard floor of the gym with her head on Cady's lap.

"Oh, get this- my math class this morning," she says. Cady tunes out almost immediately, stroking some stray hairs away from Janis' forehead and just watching her mouth move. It's probably nothing important. God, she's gorgeous.

What is she going to tell Regina?

I got sick- ew, no.

I had to talk to a teacher- too easy to mess up if she comes from the wrong direction. They'd get suspicious too easily.

I- oh, fuck it, I'll think of something.

She continues munching on her lunch and half-listening to Janis speak. Janis doesn't seem to notice or care one way or the other. Cady smiles and pulls out her phone to check her messages. She thinks of something then.

"And then-"

"Have you... told anyone about us?"

Janis pauses mid-sentence. "No."

"Not even Damian?" Cady asks shyly.

Janis shakes her head. "I kinda still don't believe it myself. I wanted to keep it to myself for a while."

"You don't wanna tell people?" Cady asks with a frown.

"No! No, I do. Some people," Janis says. "I just wanted it to stay between us for a little bit. And I figured I should check with you before I told anyone. But I'd be fine telling a few people now."

"Oh," Cady says.

"Do you want to?" Janis asks, sitting up and brushing her hair out of her face. Cady thinks for a moment before she nods.

"We should probably tell Damian, at least. He'll find out sooner or later anyway."

Janis sighs. "True."

"You don't want to?"

"No, I'm just preparing myself," Janis says, looking at Cady out of the corner of her eye with a small grin. "Might as well get it over with, I guess. C'mere."

Cady frowns in confusion and scoots closer. Janis pulls out her phone, opens the camera, and leans in. Cady catches on and gently rests a hand on Janis' cheek, smiling into a sweet kiss. She can feel Janis smiling too as she hears the camera shutter snap and they break apart. Janis sneaks a quick peck to Cady's nose, making her blink in shock and giggle quietly.

Janis opens her text conversation with Damian and types out a message. Cady hugs her arm and leans in over her shoulder to read it.

snarkisian: hey babe

cupboard: whaaaaaat do you want

snarkisian: Sent a photo: things have developed

Janis' phone starts ringing almost immediately. Janis frowns at it as Damian's contact photo fills the screen and it buzzes in her hand, but she hits the green button and the speaker so they can both hear.

As soon as she does, a piercing shriek rings out from the speakers. It's loud enough that Cady practically feels her brain dislodge and start rattling around in her head. She thinks she might've heard him all the way from the cafeteria, too.

As soon as that happens, he hangs up. Janis and Cady both blink at the screen for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter.

"I don't know what I was expecting," Janis sighs affectionately as she slips her phone back into her pocket. Cady feels her own buzz against her leg and pulls it out to see several incoming texts from Damian that mainly consist of ABSKEOWIWHWJWJABDHWOWOA.

She clocks the time, then, and jumps. "Oh, shit!"

Janis startles. "What?"

"I have to go, lunch is almost over," Cady says, frantically packing up her things. "Bye babe. See you later."

Janis blinks in surprise, but returns the quick kiss Cady gives her before Cady goes rushing off. She has to find Regina before the bell rings. Not that Regina has ever felt much urge to listen to the bell.

She tries to think of an excuse as she hurries through the halls towards the cafeteria. Nothing really comes to her. She skids to a halt next to some sort of booth when she sees Regina and Aaron standing close to it.

"Hey!" she greets brightly after smoothing down her hair and adjusting her shirt. They both look at her. Aaron quirks his head when he sees what she's wearing, but he gets a faint smile.

Regina checks her nails and says, "Hey. Where have you been?"

"Oh, um..." Cady says. Shit. She wracks her brain trying to think of something. What did Janis say? "I skipped lunch."

Regina cocks an eyebrow. "Why?"

Cady smiles as she puts the pieces together. "I'm... trying to lose weight. So I look more like you guys. I just had one of these diet bars."

"Diet bars?" Regina questions. "Let me see."

Cady happily hands over the whole box of Kälteens. Regina holds it between her hands to try to read. Aaron peeks over her shoulder to try to see too.

"It's all in Norwegian or something," Regina says, looking at Cady in confusion.

"Swedish," Cady corrects before she can stop herself. "There's... um... this ingredient in them that you can't get here yet. My mom used to use them to lose weight in Kenya."

"Hm," Regina nods. "Can I keep these?"

"Sure!" Cady says brightly. She has a feeling Regina would've kept them even if she said no. Works for me.

"Now, are you getting me my candy cane?" Regina hums. Cady frowns in confusion before she realizes she's talking to Aaron.

"What happened to losing weight, those things are pure sugar," Aaron chuckles. Regina brushes his hair off his forehead and runs her fingers through it so it stays out of his face.

"But it's such a nice thing to do for your girlfriend," she pouts. "And stop pulling your hair down, you look so hot with it pushed back. Don't you think so, Cady?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, way hotter," Cady says. Two months ago that would've made Cady want to go for the jugular. Now? She couldn't care less.

Aaron sighs and begrudgingly leaves his hair the way Regina sort of styled it. "Alright, move over, since you so desperately need this candy cane."

He leans over the booth selling them to fill out one of the paper slips that'll eventually get tied to a candy cane and passed out in class. Cady giggles into her hand when she realizes Damian is the one in the budget Santa Claus costume behind the booth.

"Cady, remember, student parking lot after school," Regina says as she laces her pink-taloned fingers through Aaron's and leads him off to... wherever they're going. Most definitely not class.

"Got it! Bye," she says. She can feel her face relax as soon as they're turned around and can't see her anymore. Cady goes to the booth and leans across it. "Hi Dame."

"Ho ho ho, happy holidays! Would you like a candy cane?" 'Santa' replies. Cady laughs again.

"Hey, does Regina ever send any of these things?" she asks.

"Nah, she only gets them," Damian replies in his normal voice. "You want any?"

"One please," Cady replies, taking a pen with a smirk on her face.

—————

Cady sighs a little to herself as she follows Regina and the others into her house. Gretchen and Karen chat with Regina's mom. Regina huffs and rolls her eyes, straight off to her bedroom. Cady says a quick and polite hello and takes a handful of the offered snacks. She nibbles on the sunflower seeds while she mulls over what to do next.

Regina took the bars. As long as nobody recognizes them, she should be in the clear there. How can she make them work faster? Kälteens do work quickly, but Cady wants results as soon as possible. For Janis.

What makes you gain weight quickly? Cholesterol, but Cady doesn't want to do anything permanent. This is just to teach Regina a lesson, then she can lose the weight again. Sugar? Yeah. Carbs.

Cady smiles to herself as she puts a plan in place.

"Alright, you girls go find Regina. You'll do great," Mrs. George says after however long. Cady jumps when she remembers where she is.

"Thank you, Mrs. George," she calls as she goes running after Gretchen and Karen up to Regina's room.

"You're welcome!" the woman calls after them.

Regina tosses a hanger at her as soon as Cady walks into the room. "Here. I know, the costumes are fugly."

"I think they're kinda cute," Cady says, holding the outfit out so she can see it all.

"The hat has fucking jingle bells on the top, Cady," Regina huffs, handing Cady hers. She shakes it a little bit, and sure enough, there's a quiet jingling. "Go make sure it fits, but we really just need to work on making sure the hat doesn't hit the ground or fall off while you tumble."

"Okay," Cady says. Gretchen and Karen just changed in front of each other, but Cady sneaks off to the en-suite and locks the door behind her. She looks at herself in the mirror and takes a deep breath.

Janis was right, I do look Plastic, she thinks. Cute, though. Her loss.

She carefully takes off her clothes and tugs on the red-and-white striped tights. She has to jump to get the super stretchy material all the way up, but she manages with only one faceplant. Then comes the green dress, with gold buttons down the bodice, short sleeves with puffed shoulders, a belt at her waist, and red and gold trim around the hem with a collar to match.

It's not a great fit. Hesitantly, she unlocks the door and steps back into Regina's room with an, "Um."

Regina looks at her and laughs. "I kinda thought that would happen, these costumes are all huge. I swear they think we're all fat cows or something. My mom will tailor it for you."

Cady looks down at the very strangely fitting dress. There's a lot of space in between her belly and the dress, and not a lot in between it and her boobs. The skirt hits about mid-thigh, which is entirely too long, if Gretchen and Karen's are anything to go by. The sleeves are both uncomfortably tight in her armpits and loose everywhere else.

Other than that, it's great. At least the tights fit.

"Go change again, she'll get your measurements before you leave."

Cady nods and slips gratefully back into the restroom. She snaps a quick picture before she changes and sends it to Janis.

She's stuck with the dress over her head when she hears her phone go off, presumably with Janis' answer. She wriggles more in a ditch attempt to free herself, which gets her nowhere even faster.

Eventually, she escapes, heaving for breath and her hair all frizzy. She peels off the tights and puts on her non-elf clothes. Regina takes the hanger as she passes her on her way into her bathroom while Cady is occupied checking her phone.

jayjay: cutie

cadygirl: You like it?

jayjay: ofc i do

jayjay: my dorky little elf

cadygirl: Hey!

jayjay: do u get ears and shit

cadygirl: Yeah

cadygirl: Regina's really mad about it

jayjay: holy shit that's amazing

jayjay: reginald in elf ears

cadygirl: I don't get it I think they're cute

jayjay: i think ur cute

"Who are you texting?" Karen asks. Cady leaps a solid foot in the air as she materializes over her shoulder. "Not enough emojis."

"Um..." Cady stutters. Her immediate instinct was to blush and press her phone to her chest so they can't see. Now Gretchen and Karen are both looking at her suspiciously. "Uh... my... g- boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?!" Gretchen squeals sharply. "You can't get a boyfriend without telling us!"

"I can't?"

"Not without your best friends' approval! You wouldn't buy a skirt without asking your friends if it looks good on you," Gretchen hums.

"I wouldn't?" Cady replies in confusion.

"Exactly!"

Cady just blinks.

"So who is it?" Karen asks eagerly.

"Oh, you don't know him," Cady says immediately. Because it's not a him. It's not technically a lie. Right?

"He's not, like, thirty, right?" Gretchen asks in concern, the furrow in her brow deepening the longer Cady goes without answering.

"No! No, ew," Cady replies with a grimace. "Uh... he... goes to another school."

"Which one?"

"Um... do you remember that school we played right before Thanksgiving break? The away game when we stayed at the hotel?"

"Roosevelt?" Gretchen asks. Sure.

"Yeah. He goes there," Cady replies. "His name is... Jasin. With... an I."

"Ooh, unique!" Gretchen coos. "Is he cute? You have to introduce us soon!"

"Well, I don't think he's... everyone's type, but I think he's cute," Cady replies sheepishly.

"Aww, you're blushing!" Karen says. Cady blushes harder.

"Shut up," she scoffs. Karen's face falls. "No, wait, I didn't mean it like that-"

"It's okay," Karen says quietly.

"I'm really sorry, Kare," Cady says. Karen gives her a look Cady can't read. Not that Karen is ever easy to read.

"Don't worry about it."

Cady gently squeezes her arm. Karen smiles faintly at her.

"Do you have pictures of him?" Gretchen asks eagerly.

"No," Cady says immediately. "Uh... he's really shy, we don't, like, send pictures of ourselves much. We just like to see each other in person and text and stuff."

"Aww," they both coo. Gretchen continues, "Well, get one soon! We gotta make sure he's hot enough for you."

"I'll try," Cady giggles. "Oh, could we like... not tell Regina right away? It's all new, still, I don't want her to freak out about our image if we break up or whatever. We've only been together for, like, two weeks."

"Our lips are sealed," Gretchen replies immediately.

"But I'm not using SuperGlue as Chapstick again," Karen adds.

"No, that's okay, K, don't do that," Cady says immediately. "Thanks guys."

"Alright sluts, put on these... eugh. I can't even call them hats," Regina says as she parades back into the room. She chucks one at each of them rather aggressively. Cady's ends up hitting her full force in the face when she's too slow to react.

Regina watches as the three of them carefully push all her very expensive furniture out of the way so they have enough room to flip without fear of crashing into anything. Cady asks why they're not just practicing outside, and Regina goes on a solid ten minute rant about being seen in those costumes more than they have to. Cady doesn't speak for the rest of the evening.

—————

"Did Regina's boobs get bigger?" Cady hears the boy behind her in chemistry class ask about two weeks later, apparently as a conversation opener with his equally-jock-douchebag lab partner.

"Dude, totally," jock-douchebag replies. "Aaron's a lucky guy."

"Isn't she still dogging Shane?" bro number one asks. Cady tries to hide a shudder at the mention of his name.

Bro the second shrugs. "Probably."

Dammit, we made her hotter, Cady huffs to herself as she slides her goggles down over her eyes and turns on the bunsen burner. She looks over and sees Janis with a similarly disgruntled look on her face.

She gestures subtly for Cady to focus. Cady snaps back into the real world, this time before she can set herself on fire. She risks one glance back and sees Janis chuckle to herself, biting her lips to stop before anyone can see and ask what she's laughing about. Cady smiles to herself and buckles down to set some Doritos on fire. Not myself, thank you very much.

—————

Cady is laser focused in calculus another two weeks later. Not on calculus, but... she's there, it's fine.

She jumps and bangs her knee against her desk when Santa Claus slams the door open with a bellowed, "HHHHHOOOOO!"

"Jesus Christ," Ms. Norbury sighs, picking up her shattered chalk bits after she dropped it in shock. "Make it quick."

"One candy cane gram for Shane Oman," Damian says, adjusting his very poor quality fake beard as he hands Shane his candy cane.

He holds it between his first and index fingers like a pair of dirty underpants and leaves Shane to snatch it. Damian wipes his hand on his red velvet Santa coat like Shane has some sort of hetero cooties he might catch.

"Four for Glenn Coco!" Damian continues. "Hohoho, you go, Glenn Coco. Two for Caddy Heron!"

Cady frowns in confusion. Two? She only bought one. She takes them with a smile as Damian wiggles his way between the rows to deliver them. "Thanks, D."

Damian winks at her and moves on to deliver the next few candy canes to the lucky recipients.

Cady checks the tags on hers. There's the fake one, the one she wrote herself. She smiles to herself as she reads the little red slip of paper on the second one.

Merry Christmas my little elf

<3, J

ps ur short lolololol

She rolls her eyes as she reads the very loving message from her girlfriend and unwraps the end of the candy cane. She sucks on it as she continues pretending to pay attention when Damian leaves and Ms. Norbury can resume her lesson.

——

"Sorry I'm late!" she pretend-puffs as she stumbles her way into the gym. Regina just glares at her from across the room, but Gretchen comes scrambling over to join her as she plops her still-open bag on the ground. "God, I was in the middle of a problem when the bell rang, I didn't even have time to get packed up-"

"You got a candy cane?" Gretchen asks softly. She picks it up and unfolds the tag to read.

"Oh, yeah, Regina sent me one! Isn't she just the best friend?"

"R-Regina?" Gretchen squeaks. "Thanks for being such a great best friend. ...Cute."

"She didn't give you one?" Cady asks with faux-sympathy. She's heard it from the mouth of the lioness herself. There's no way Gretchen got any.

Gretchen shakes her head frantically. "She never sends them."

"Oh. Weird," Cady replies. "Well, you can have that one if you want. I had another one."

"I have to go," Gretchen chokes around floods of tears. Shit. Maybe Gretchen is a little more fragile than she thought.

"Gretchen," she says pleadingly, running after her friend to the bathroom.

"Well, i-if you and Regina are best friends now... then you can be in charge of keeping all her secrets," Gretchen says as soon as the door closes behind Cady.

Cady just nods. She can tell Gretchen is about to ramble, she doesn't dare interrupt her.

"Like, for example, she bought you those shoes just to make fun of you! Be-because she knew you wouldn't be able to walk in them. And she's not really blonde!"

Cady's eyes widen. She's not? Her eyes flick to the door as she hears a shocked gasp come from the other side. Was that... Damian?

"Her natural color is dark blonde. Also she totally cheats on Aaron!"

Cady almost chokes.

"Every Thursday she says she has a cheer intensive but she totally just stays behind to hook up with Shane Oman in the lion costume!"

"She makes him wear the costume?" Cady asks in disgusted horror.

"No! They're both in the costume!" Gretchen bellows, snapping the candy cane in half and dropping the pieces to the floor. Cady's jaw drops.

"Oh my god."

"And I never told anyone because I am such a good friend! I-I'm gonna go fill up my water bottle. Cover for me?" Gretchen sniffles. Cady nods.

Gretchen ducks out of the room. Damian enters before the door even closes, and Janis slams her way out of the stall. Damian hysterically whimpers, "I wear that costume!"

"Cads, that was amazing! What did you do?!" Janis says with an adorably delighted smile on her face. She rushes up and grabs Cady by the arms, spinning her around before she leans in for a kiss.

"Just a little Christmas magic," Cady responds with a grin of her own as soon as they break apart. "I sent myself a candy cane but I signed it as being from Regina."

"Clever girl," Janis coos in a horrible accent. Cady giggles.

"Okay, I gotta go! Love you guys." Janis gets another kiss and Damian gets a quick hug before Cady runs back to the gym to start their last parade practice.

————-

Cady grumbles as she wakes up the next morning. It's barely morning, the sun hasn't even risen yet. She has to be in the city, an hour away, two hours before the parade starts at 8:00. And she has to be there with her hair and makeup already done.

She does consider herself a morning person, but four in the morning is a bit much for anyone.

She grumbles as she hauls herself out of bed and stumbles to the restroom. She turns on the light and resists the urge to wince and close her eyes. How am I meant to be a jolly elf on five hours of sleep?

Cady opens her eyes extra wide, looking a little past unhinged when she sees herself in the mirror, to let the light in and hopefully wake her up.

By the time she's done brushing her teeth, she doesn't squint in the light anymore. She still grumbles sleepily as she washes her face, though.

She brings up the photo Regina sent (accompanied by many profanities) of what her makeup should look like so she can copy it. It's honestly not very different from her usual cheer makeup. Foundation, lots of gold eyeshadow, black mascara, red lipstick. Pretty much the only difference is the bright pink blush that she leaves in neat little circles on the apples of her cheeks instead of blending it up her cheekbones to look more natural. It's a little more rag doll than elf, but maybe it'll work better with the costume on.

She does her hair in two french braids, parted as close to even as she can get down the middle of her head and twisted intricately so they won't fall out after a morning of being mostly upside-down. She gives up on each braid a bit before the end, and ties the bands around halfway down instead of at the ends. Kind of a cute look, she thinks, as she fluffs out her curls at the end of each braid.

"You ready, binti? Have a Kälteen bar," her mother says when she trudges her way downstairs. Cady grabs the bar and takes a disgruntled bite out of it. She nods.

"You're sure this Regina friend can bring you home? We have to leave right from-"

"Right from the parade, I know, Dad," Cady says. "I quadruple checked, I'll make it home fine. Have fun at the vet conference."

"Oh, we will," her mother promises. "There's a keynote speaker on upgrades in euthanasia technology."

"...Cool," Cady replies.

"Right?! Alright, go get in the car. You sure you have everything?"

"Yeah. Regina has my outfit, I'll get changed there," Cady says. She looks down and brushes some wrinkles out of her Christmas jammies that Janis bought her. She smiles at the memory. My little dork.

"Time to hit the road, then!" her dad says. Cady shrieks as he hoists her off the ground and marches out towards the car.

"Dad!"

Her dad just starts bellowing the chorus to I Love a Parade, probably really irritating their poor neighbors. Cady gets affectionately tossed in the backseat, and her dad continues singing as her parents get into their spots up front and start the drive to Chicago.

————-

"Binti, we're here," her mother says. Cady jumps and snorts, bashing her head against the window she had fallen asleep against. "Ooh, be careful."

"Shit," Cady hisses under her breath, rubbing her new sore spot.

"Language," her dad chides, only half-serious.

"Sorry daddy. Have fun in Peoria. I love you," Cady says, bending at a weird angle to hug her parents goodbye. They can only stay long enough to see the beginning of the parade, so she has to get her goodbyes in now.

"We will. Be safe, have fun. No boys," her mother says, gently patting her back.

"I know, I know. You don't have to worry about that," Cady chuckles. Really. You have no idea.

"Atta girl. Go get em, tiger," her dad says, opening the door for her and sending her out. "Love you!"

"Yeah, love you too," Cady says, briefly walking backwards to talk to them. She gives them a final wave before she turns around and starts running to her team's meeting spot. "Yeesh. I'm sixteen."

Regina, once again, chucks her costume at her as soon as she's within sight. Cady manages to catch it this time, and looks around for somewhere private to change. The only place is behind some trees, so she heads that way.

Regina's mom is a talented seamstress and tailored Cady's costume to fit her perfectly. Almost too perfectly. It's so tight against her chest and her belly that she can barely breathe, and the skirt juuuuust barely passes her bum. The candy cane-esque tights are all she has left to protect her modesty.

The shoes with pointy toes and jingle bells are a recent addition, and she jangles her way back over to her friends. "Hey."

"Hey!" Karen greets, too brightly for six in the morning.

"Are your costumes, like, really tight?" Regina huffs, shifting her arms around to try to stretch the fabric a little. "They were huge, my mom can't have fucked up the tailoring this bad."

"Mine's okay," Cady shrugs. Her hat jingles for emphasis.

"Ugh, I'm gonna go see if she has any safety pins," Regina grumbles. Cady's phone pings as she stomps off through the frost-covered grass.

jayjay: good mornin buttercup

cadygirl: >:|

jayjay: what ?

jayjay: not a good morning??

cadygirl: Sent a picture: It's 6 in the morning and I look like this

cadygirl: And I'm cold >:|

jayjay: aww

jayjay: someone's grumpy

cadygirl: Yeah >:||||

jayjay: steve and i will be there to see you

cadygirl: Yaaaaay 🥰🥰

jayjay: that easy to cheer you up huh

cadygirl: It'd be even easier if you bring me food

jayjay: little conwoman

cadygirl: Whaaaat nooooo

jayjay: i'll take you to breakfast after

jayjay: hobbit

cadygirl: Hey!!

jayjay: not because you're short

jayjay: this time

jayjay: bc they're hungry all the time

cadygirl: Oh

cadygirl: Still v rude of you

jayjay: if i take you to get a happy meal will that make up for it

cadygirl: Yes <333

jayjay: done

jayjay: see you soon peanut

cadygirl: See you soon gorgeous 😘

Cady suddenly feels much warmer as she puts her phone back into her bag. She and Gretchen glue each other's ears on and the whole team does a warmup and stretch routine together. Cady rolls out her wrists and finally smiles as she gets into her spot.

——

The parade is more fun than she was expecting. It's less intense than what she has to do at games, more walkovers and limbers than tucks and punches. She gets a little dizzy, and it's hard not to get run over by the float on the rare occasions she fumbles a landing, but it's still fun. For once, the smile on her face is genuine the whole time.

She waves dorkily when she passes her parents. They both have their phones held up to film and proud smiles beaming across their faces. They wave back just as dorkily before they duck out and are off to their seminar.

Cady doesn't get to do much in the way of the more limber skills anymore. It's fun. She kind of misses doing skills just for fun, for herself. As long as she stays in her spot she can do whatever she wants to. She does all sorts of front walkovers, back walkovers, aerials, the occasional handspring. It's refreshing.

Whenever they come to a stop is when things get interesting. Nobody wants to see a parade stuck in place, so they practiced lots of choreography for that. One of the floats ahead of them gets stuck on a corner, and Cady does a vaulted flip off of Regina's crouched form like a really, really elaborate game of leapfrog. Regina acts like she's dancing with her and whirls her back around so they're in their right spots before they get going again.

Towards the end of the parade, Cady hears a, "Hi Cady!"

She's not supposed to, but she looks over. Stevie is waving eagerly to her, her arm linked with one of her friends. Janis is behind her with a cute grin on her face as she sees Cady in all her elvish glory. Cady wiggles her fingers back in greeting, and kisses the tips of her fingers twice before blowing the kisses in their direction. Janis smiles wider and sneakily blows one back. Stevie just squeals and dances around with her friend. Cady adds a little more flair to her skills than she needs to just for them.

Things stop and start a lot more as the first floats get to the end of the parade route and have to navigate pulling off to the sides of the road or getting where they need to be. Cady and Regina do their series of tricks at least six times. They start adding little bits of flourish to it when it begins to feel boring and repetitive.

Apparently a little too much flourish. Regina does a dramatic turn before she crouches to be Cady's vault.

Cady's already running.

She has no time to stop as Regina's safety pin breaks.

And her costume comes off.

Regina screams and bends down to try to grab it. Cady slips on the fabric and goes head over heels the wrong way. Cameras are already out, pictures and videos being recorded. Apparently more people from North Shore make the trip out to see the parade than they thought.

But Cady can't hear the shutters clicking or the agitated murmuring over the pop her ankle makes as she lands, and the roaring of blood in her ears as a horrific pain radiates up her leg. No, no, no no no nononono.

One of the coaches was walking alongside the float in between them and the crowd to make sure it all went smoothly. She rushes up and helps Regina get herself situated. "You alright, Heron?"

Cady can only sob. My ankle is broken. My ankle is broken and it really hurts. My ankle is broken and I may never be able to tumble again. My ankle-

"Whoa, kid, hey," her coach says. "Can ya walk? Right flank, fall in! You're down a man!"

Cady hops and hobbles her way to the end of the route and sits down on the curb, cradling her ankle and sobbing.

"Are your folks around?"

Cady shakes her head. "Re-Regina's take-taking me home."

Her coach hums and nods. "She ran off. Hope she's okay, too. Dang, kid, that looks gnarly."

That only makes Cady cry harder. What if I just did my last flip?

"I'll uh... go keep an eye out for George," her coach says. She does have the decency to bring Cady her bag. Cady debates texting her parents to let them know, but they're probably already halfway to Peoria. And they were so excited about the keynote, she can't drag them away from that. She'll just have to suck it up.

The pain is... almost bearable. It's not, but she doesn't exactly have much choice. Her sobs slow, and before too long she's just sniffling on the side of the road and holding her sore leg.

She about jumps out of her skin when she hears a, "Caddy!"

"Jesus Christ, Janis! There's people around here!" Cady hisses. Janis' face falls a little.

"Sorry."

"What are you doing here?" Cady asks more gently.

"There's already like, seventy different people sharing videos of you and Regina falling, what the hell happened?"

"I think the Kälteen bars backfired," Cady sniffs, shutting one eye as a wave of pain radiates from her ankle.

Janis frowns. "What do you mean?"

"She's gained so much weight her costume didn't fit," Cady explains through half-grit teeth.

Janis snorts. Cady glares at her. "Sorry."

"She safety pinned it on and it broke and I slipped on the costume," Cady continues. "And I fucked up my landing and I think my ankle is broken."

"Yikes," Janis says in concern.

"She was supposed to take me home," Cady says, trying to stretch out her leg and wincing in pain. Janis winces too.

"Damian and I will take you to the hospital, don't worry about it," Janis says immediately.

"Don't- ow- don't you have Stevie with you?" Cady asks in concern.

"Nah, she wanted to go to her friend's house, I'm free of the child until tonight," Janis replies. "Can I see?"

Cady looks at her hesitantly. Janis looks back. She doesn't push. There are a lot of people around. But Cady needs the comfort of her girlfriend right now. She nods.

Janis carefully eases her stupid jingly boot off her foot, pausing whenever Cady makes a pained noise. By the end Cady has her bottom lip so firmly between her teeth she can taste blood and her eyes screwed shut. It's still not enough to stop a few pained tears slipping out and down her face.

It becomes quickly apparent that Janis has absolutely no idea what she's doing. She gives Cady's foot a gentle, inquisitive poke and pulls back like she's been burned when Cady squeaks in pain. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Cady says, looking at her through squinted eyes and trying to remember how to breathe.

"It's pretty swollen," Janis says in concern. "And bruising already."

Cady sniffs again, looking down at her stupid candy-cane patterned lap. Janis gently tips her chin up.

"It'll be okay, Cads," she murmurs.

"But what if it's not?" Cady hiccups. "What if I never walk on it again? What if I can never do another flip?"

"And what if it's totally fine? What if it turns out to just be a bad sprain and you're back on your feet in a week?" Janis retaliates.

Cady feels her lip tremble. Janis might be right.

But they both know she's not.

"They're coming, hide," Cady says when she hears the cheers coming down the road. Thank god Damian's almost here.

Janis looks at her oddly, sadly, but she obediently ducks behind the tree line to wait for the crowd of people they actually know to clear out.

"Cads! Hey, coach told me you fell, what the hell, babe?!" Damian says as soon as he sees her, sprinting full tilt over to her. "Oh, yikes."

"Is it bad?" Cady asks, feeling tears brimming behind her eyes yet again.

"It's not... great," Damian replies hesitantly. "Can you move it?"

Cady sniffles. "I don't know, I haven't tried."

"Can I?"

Cady nods. Damian carefully braces her ankle with his large, warm hand and gives her foot a gentle wiggle. Several people look in their direction at the noise Cady makes in response.

"Alright, well," Damian says in a voice a solid three octaves higher than normal.

"I'm sorry," Cady sobs.

"Babe, shh," Damian soothes. "I will donate you one of my feet if I have to. We'll go get you patched up and all that, don't worry about it."

"But how will you be a big Broadway star someday if you only have one foot?" Cady giggles wetly.

"I'll manage. Is that Janis peeping at me through the bushes over there?"

"Probably," Cady replies with another giggle. She turns around and sees a familiar pair of blue eyes poked out from behind a gnarled old tree trunk. Janis ducks back behind it when she sees she's been spotted, and Cady smiles. "Yeah. Dork."

Damian smiles too. "She really loves you. Let me text her so she doesn't get picked up for stalking or some shit."

"She does?" Cady sniffles.

"Girl, are you kidding? We haven't had a conversation where you haven't come up at least once since September," Damian says absently as he taps out a message to Janis.

Janis is close enough that they hear her phone ping and her muffled, "Shit!" Cady can't help but laugh.

"Alright, she'll meet us at the car and we'll take you to the hospital."

"Thanks, papa elf," Cady grins. Damian laughs and tosses Cady onto his back to carry her the half-mile back to the parking lot. "These bells are infuriating."

"I think they're fun," Damian replies, a hand over his heart. He wiggles his head to make his hat jingle for emphasis. Cady giggles.

"Thanks for taking me home. I dunno what happened to Regina," Cady says quietly.

"Nobody does, she disappeared after the... incident," Damian replies. Cady frowns.

"Weird."

"I took over on your side so it was still balanced, but apparently she just ran off naked through the woods. Guess you can cross that off your list," Damian says. Cady laughs.

"You make a great elf," she replies. "Your ear keeps poking me, though."

"Sorry," Damian chuckles. "Alright, madam, we have arrived at your chariot."

"'Sup nerds," Janis greets, pushing herself off Damian's mom's car with a small salute.

"Caddy gets front seat privileges, she's broken."

"Ugh!" Janis groans sarcastically. Cady giggles.

"Um, actually... can I sit in the back with you?" she mumbles shyly.

Janis smirks. "We gonna make out?"

Cady rolls her eyes. "Corndog."

"What?!" Damian giggles.

"Is that not right?" Cady replies shyly.

"Did you just call me a corndog?!" Janis cackles.

"Someone tell me what I meant to say!" Cady insists.

Damian barely manages to put her down safely before he almost collapses to the ground in laughter. "Did-did you mean horndog?"

"Yes!" Cady says. "Stop laughing, it's not funny!"

"Yes it is!" Janis chokes through her laughter.

"People are staring, shut up!" Cady hisses. "Stop laughing!"

"Okay, okay," Damian says, wiping tears from his eyes. "Get in, sluts and slurs."

As soon as the doors close, Janis and Damian burst into laughter again. Damian can barely turn the key to start the car, he's laughing so hard. "I didn't mean to say corndog, stop laughing."

"You're so cute," Janis hums, still giggling to herself. "How's the ankle doing?"

"Hurts," Cady sighs.

Janis pouts and pulls Cady into a cuddle. Cady leans into her shoulder with a wince as another burst of pain radiates up her leg. "Poor baby."

—-

After an interesting drive to the nearest urgent care, Janis scoops Cady out and carries her baby-style into the waiting room. The pain is starting to get to Cady again, and she winces and cries quietly as Janis cradles her in her lap.

Luckily, people are so focused on their own injuries or other ailments that two Christmas elves and their art freak barely catch their eye. There's a mother there with a clearly sick little boy snuffling into her shoulder, a duo of frat bros who are clearly drunk and each cradling one arm close to their chest, and an old man in the corner filling out a crossword puzzle from 2011.

"How did your hat survive that whole thing?" Janis asks as Damian plops into the seat next to them with Cady's paperwork.

"I glued it to my head," Cady sniffs. Damian drops his pen in shock.

"You what?!"

"Only in the front, I used clips in the back," Cady replies. Damian sighs and rests his hand on his chest.

"Do not scare me like that," he replies. "Cads, when's your birthday?"

"July thirtieth," Cady says softly.

"Hey, my birthday's in July too!" Damian says. "Twinsies."

Cady can't help but giggle at his desperate attempt to cheer her up. "When's yours?"

"The thirteenth," Damian says.

"Man, I'm still the baby!" Cady huffs. "Miss January over here."

"Not my fault my parents know how to celebrate Easter," Janis shrugs. Cady gasps.

"Janis Sarkisian, we are in public!"

"Whatcha gonna do about it, tiny?" Janis retaliates. "Since we are in public."

"Hmph," Cady grumbles. She cuddles closer into her girlfriend's warm neck.

"You okay?" Janis whispers against her forehead.

"Hurts," Cady whispers back. "Are they gonna see us soon?"

"Probably not," Janis sighs.

Damian goes to hand in her paperwork at the front desk. Beyond that, all they can do is wait.

And wait they do. But, eventually, a nurse calls Cady's name and Janis stands to carry her back. Damian follows quickly, running after them through the winding halls.

"Alright, what seems to be the problem?" the nurse says. She does a double take when she sees the elf with one shoe on sitting on the exam table. She snorts a quick laugh but bites her lip to stop herself.

"I think I broke my ankle," Cady says softly. The doctor looks down at her one exposed foot and winces.

"It looks like that might be the case, hon. What happened?" the nurse asks, taking Cady's vitals. "Cross your arm over your chest."

Cady does when she fastens a blood pressure cuff around her wrist. "Um, I was in the parade this morning and I slipped on... something. I fumbled a flip and landed on it weird."

"Did you hear a pop when you landed or was it just a feeling?"

"I heard something pop, and I can't put any weight on it," Cady says anxiously. "And it's a little numb, and kinda... tingly, I guess."

"Mm," the nurse hums. "I'm gonna try and move it a bit, you let me know if anything hurts, alright?" Cady nods and braces as the mere brush of her fingertips against her ankle sends more waves of pain flooding up her whole leg and out her toes. "That hurt?"

"Mmhmm," Cady squeaks.

"Hm," the nurse hums again. "I'm gonna get the doctor to get you an x-ray, alright?

"Thank you," Cady says. She looks down at her lap with a quiet sniffle. She shakes her other foot and humphs at the jingle she gets in response.

"You okay, Peanut?" Janis asks quietly.

"What if it is actually broken?" Cady asks desperately. "I'm the head flyer, broken bones take so long to heal! It'll be weeks before I'm back in, what are they gonna-"

"We have protocols for this kinda thing, Cads, it'll be okay," Damian says. "We get injured all the time. I broke my wrist cheering in middle school and everything was fine. You just gotta take your time to heal."

"But-"

"If it is broken and you try to do anything you could hurt yourself permanently," Janis says. "Repetitive fractures? You have to rest. And we don't know for sure that it's broken yet, it might just be a bad sprain."

Cady sighs and nods. "Thanks for coming with me."

"Anytime, babe," Damian says, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders and resting his head against hers. Cady blinks as his elf ear almost pokes her in the eye. Janis joins in too, and gets a jingle bell up the nose.

Her little crew gets left behind as Cady hops after the doctor towards the x-ray room. She holds as still as she can on the uncomfortable table and listens to the deafening clunks of the machine as it whirls around her foot. It's so loud she's a little worried it'll explode, but the doctor eventually returns from behind the lead partition and leads her back to her room to wait for the results.

It's a very quick wait.

"Your ankle is broken," the doctor says as soon as she walks into the room.

Cady feels her face crumple, and Janis wraps her in a tight hug as Cady lets out a quiet sob. "It's okay, Peanut, shh."

"It'll heal fine, no surgery needed. We call it a nondisplaced fracture, so none of your bones have actually moved out of where they're meant to be. You just need a cast for a little bit and you should be back to normal."

"So-so I'll still-still be able to-to cheer?"

"Not for six to eight weeks, but yes," the doctor replies with a smile. Janis squeezes her tighter as Cady releases a sob of relief.

"I told you," she murmurs, kissing Cady's cheek. Cady sniffles and leans into her shoulder. She needs Janis right now.

"Technically you broke your leg, the bottom part of your fibula here, and there's a hairline fracture in part of your tibia. But they're not displaced enough for you to need surgery, just a cast and no weight bearing for a good while."

"O-okay," Cady sniffs.

"You might wanna... de-elf yourself before we get the cast on, though. Unless you want to keep those tights for a few weeks."

Cady takes the wheel of possible cast colors and the pajamas Damian hands her from her bag. "These are cute! Where'd they come from?"

"Janis got them for me," Cady says with a sniffle as the doctor leaves and Janis and Damian both turn around to give her some privacy to change.

"Oh, did she now? How very soft of her," Damian hums. Janis shoves him. Damian sticks his tongue out in her general direction, unable to tell quite where she is with his hands firmly over his eyes.

"Shut up," Janis responds.

"Stop fighting, you can turn around now," Cady says once she's back in her comfy pajamas. "Which color cast should I get?"

"What's your favorite color?" Damian asks.

"Yellow," Cady replies.

"The purple is cool too," Janis says, tapping the little swatch of it. Cady nods.

Damian leans in close to see all the options. "I like the green."

"I like green," Cady acknowledges. "The Plastics will kill me if I get anything except pink, though."

"Pfft, who cares about them? Regina did this to you," Janis scoffs.

"Because we made her gain weight," Cady retaliates. "This light pink is cute."

"Do whatever you want, Cupcake."

"Cupcake?" Damian responds immediately, accompanied with a gag.

"Look at this little faaaaace," Janis coos, leaning harder into it and squishing Cady's cheeks rather than trying to fend off her friend. Cady goes along with it too, batting her eyelashes coquettishly at him. "Isn't she just the cutest widdle thing?"

"You two are gonna ruin my life together, aren't you?"

“Mm-hmm!" Cady hums happily, her cheeks still smushed in her girlfriend's hand. Damian rolls his eyes. Janis gives Cady's squished-out lips a kiss before she lets her go and smirks at her friend.

"You're the one who was literally speechless for four hours after we told you we were dating," she responds.

"I was in shock, shut up."

"Because your matchmaking never works?"

Damian huffs. "Whatever, it does."

"Name one time."

"This!" Damian insists, gesturing frantically between the two of them. Janis rolls her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Princess," she replies. Damian smiles.

"Thank you."

The doctor returns towards the tail end of that argument and shoots Cady a confused look. Cady just shrugs a little. She hands back all the cast swatches and goes with the light pink she had liked. She does really like it, and the Plastics won't crucify her for it. Well, they might anyway for what happened at the parade, and for needing a clunky, bulky cast in the first place. But at least this'll show she has decent taste and the ability to match.

Janis and Damian each take and squeeze one of her hands as her bones are painfully squished back where they need to be and wrapped in layers upon layers of fabric. The pink shell finishes the job, and Janis asks the doctor for a Sharpie so she and Damian can be the first to sign it.

"Do it small," Cady insists. Damian shoots her a strange look, but they both sign their names in the smallest letters they can right by her toes. Janis adds a little heart by hers for good measure. "Thanks, guys."

Cady gets fit for a set of crutches. It takes a while and she ends up with kids size ones, but eventually she's clicking slowly across the parking lot and finally on her way home.

"Jan, you wanna come over?" Damian asks. Cady pouts a little. She knows he and Janis are best friends, and that they definitely hang out without her sometimes, but it's not like Damian to ask with Cady right there.

"Nah, I gotta go get Stevie," Janis replies. Damian nods. Cady is confused when they pull into Janis' driveway. She should've been dropped off first. Her house is much further out of the way. "Bye Peanut."

Cady returns the kiss she gives. "Bye, baby."

Damian gags in the front seat. "Bye, dumbass."

"Bye, slut," Janis replies, blowing him a kiss as she climbs out of the car in the most complicated way she can and runs into her house.

Damian puts the car back in gear and keeps driving. Cady is more confused when they pull into his driveway. He turns the car off and gets out, leaving Cady alone in the backseat.

"You coming?" he asks, knocking on her window upon noticing she hasn't moved. Cady jumps.

“You're not taking me home?"

"I am not leaving you alone to navigate that house with one foot. But I'll take you home if you'd rather be there," Damian responds.

Cady shakes her head. "No. No, uh... thanks."

"Of course," Damian replies. "Now come on, cripple, my mom'll make us milkshakes."

"Your mom?" Cady asks with a smile.

"Oh, shit, you haven't met her yet! Uh, be ready for like, a lot of hugs. And she might cry. She's a big empath."

"Okay," Cady giggles. "She sounds great."

"She is," Damian says with a small smile. He unlocks the door and drops their stuff in the small area for shoes and coats and bags. "Ma, I'm home! And I brought Cady!"

Stanley comes running down the hall as soon as she hears the door. Damian protectively stands in front of Cady so the excited pup doesn't knock her over, but Cady smiles and rests her crutches against the wall so she can give the sweet little thing some scritches. "Hi, Stanley! How are you, baby girl?! Oh, yes, hi! I missed you too!"

"Stanley, gentle, Caddy's broken," Damian says. Stanley actually does calm a little bit, sniffing curiously at Cady and wagging her entire rear end instead of jumping on her like she did last time.

"Hey, baby girl!" Damian's mother greets, coming down the hallway in such a blaze of glory that it's immediately apparent where Damian gets his showmanship from. Cady looks up and smiles as she wraps him in a hug.

"Hi Ma," Damian responds, hugging his mom back and handing Cady her crutches again.

"How was the parade?" his mom asks, leading the two of them down the hall. She clocks Cady hobbling after them, then. "Ah."

"Yeah, she broke her ankle," Damian responds.

"At the parade?! Oh, honey!" his mom says immediately, wrapping Cady in such a tight hug she thinks she hears a few of her ribs pop. "You poor thing! Oh, come in, come in, sit down. Damian, help her to the living room, come on now."

"Can we go to my room instead?" Damian asks. His mom rolls her eyes.

"Yes, go ahead. It's on this floor, Cady, don't worry baby."

"Thanks, Ms. Hubbard," Cady replies with a smile. She gets another tight hug and actually has to cough a little when she's released to get her breathing back in a normal rhythm.

"Of course, baby! What kind of milkshakes do y'all want?"

"Oreo?" Damian suggests. Ms. Hubbard looks to Cady, and she nods eagerly. "Please."

"Coming right up."

"Thank you," Cady says as she's off back to the kitchen.

"Don't mention it, baby!" she calls back.

"Your mom is great," Cady says. Damian nods. Cady squeaks in surprise as he hauls her onto his back and starts carrying her down the hall towards his bedroom next to the garage.

"She is."

"She's very comforting," Cady continues. Damian nods again. "I see where you get it from."

"D'aww, thanks," Damian coos. He's actually blushing a little bit, and Cady smiles as he rests her down on his cushy bed. He fusses over her like a worried mother, helping her take her makeup and ears off as Cady looks around his bedroom for the first time. She's been here before for movie nights, but only ever in the basement.

None of the actual drywall is visible; completely plastered over with posters of drag queens and black-and-white photos of old Broadway stars. Cady can barely breathe for Judy Garland and Cher and RuPaul. There's fairy lights of all colors hanging from the crown molding, illuminating and twinkling over a full wall of Playbills in protective clear plastic sleeves. The furniture is a bit plain by comparison, but it all just feels like Damian's spirit has exploded into the room. It's amazing.

"Your room is so cool," Cady says.

"Thanks!"

"You have a lot of Playbills," Cady continues. "Have you actually seen that many shows?"

"God, no," Damian chuckles. "The top row there are the only ones I've seen in person, the rest are from eBay."

"Cool," Cady replies.

"Has Janis taught you about musicals yet?"

Cady shakes her head with a smile. "She said she wouldn't be able to do it justice."

Damian snorts. "Yeah, right. She just doesn't want to sit through them."

"She doesn't like them?"

"She only watches them once a year on my birthday and if I sing a lyric that could even approach being from a musical she'll punch me in the jugular."

"Really?"

Damian nods, fiddling with the mouse to wake up the computer and typing in his pin. "You've brought a lot of her walls down. So... thanks for that."

"I'm glad," Cady replies softly. "She deserves it."

"She does," Damian agrees. He shrugs suddenly. "Anyway, what do you want to watch?"

"You pick. I don't know anything," Cady giggles. Damian nods and opens a folder full of bootlegs. He murmurs the titles under his breath until he lands on a good first musical for her.

"Ooh! Okay, here, you'll love this one. The movie is good too, but the stage production is amazing."

Cady cuddles into his arm and peeks at the file name. She squeals, "Lions?!"

"Lions is an understatement for The Lion King," Damian says. Cady wiggles excitedly as he opens it and makes it full screen. "Can you see?"

"Mmhmm. Thanks, D."

"Anytime, Little Slice."

His mom pops in with their milkshakes a few minutes in and seems completely unphased seeing her son cuddled up with a girl she's known for fifteen minutes. Apparently this is normal for him. "Thank you, Ms. Hubbard."

"You're welcome, sweet girl. Y'all just holler if you need anything, alright? Ooh, Lion King. That's a good one," she replies as she leaves again.

"Cady's from Kenya," Damian explains.

"No shit?" his mom replies, making Cady choke on her milkshake in shock.

"Um, yeah, I just moved here this summer," she says.

"Ain't that something. Alright, have fun, you two."

"Thanks, Ma," Damian says as she shuts the door behind her.

They sip at their tasty milkshakes while they watch. Cady might be in love. She's immediately bopping along to all the musical numbers and oohing and aahing over the special effects.

Damian looks at her expectantly when the curtain call is over.

"That was so cool!" she squeals. "Can we watch it again?"

Damian laughs. "I'm glad you liked it. You like musicals now?"

Cady nods eagerly. "Yeah."

"Good," Damian says with a victorious smirk. He takes a picture of them cuddled up together and sends it to Janis with a caption reading, I win Caddy likes musicals. He gets an eye roll emoji in response and clicks off his phone with a smug grin. "Let's try something else, but we'll come back if you want to after."

"Okaaaaay," Cady huffs jokingly.

They watch about four more, occasionally shifting positions to keep comfy on Damian's plush bed. The milkshakes are long gone, but neither of them care.

"Thanks for taking care of me," Cady murmurs after the last one. Damian gently bumps into her.

"Anytime. Sorry Janis was busy, I know she wanted to be the one to kidnap you."

"No, it's okay," Cady says immediately. "I love her, but she'd be so worried she'd barely let me move. Not that that's bad, she's just... a lot, sometimes."

"You love her, eh?" Damian teases. Cady blushes. "Oh, shit, do you?"

"I mean... we've only been dating for a month," Cady begins hesitantly. "But... I might... already love her, like, a lot."

"D'aaawww, my little gaybies," Damian squeals.

"Shut up," Cady scoffs.

"She loves you too," Damian says matter-of-factly.

Cady looks at him. "She does?"

"I told you earlier. This bitch will not shut up about you. I've never seen her like this. It's kind of freaky," Damian chuckles. "Always, have you seen Caddy's eyes up close? They're such a pretty green. And she's sooooo tiiiiny, she just fits in my arms like a puzzle."

"She did not say that."

"On RuPaul she did."

Cady blinks. "Did I break her?"

"Honestly? Maybe. But I like it. She's annoying sometimes, but this Janis seems... healthier."

"Good," Cady replies.

"You, on the other hand," Damian replies, looking pointedly at her left foot. Cady giggles.

"It's fixed, I'll be okay," she replies.

"You got lucky there, kid. I really thought you were gonna need surgery," Damian says.

"I did too, honestly," Cady admits.

"...And now I think about it, Regina is a little chubbier."

"Right? It totally worked!" Cady squeals. Damian laughs. "Now we just have to get people to stop treating her like the queen bee and get Aaron out of her clutches."

"Godspeed, soldier. Doing the lord's work," Damian says with a salute. Cady giggles. "Do you, like, wanna go home?"

Cady sighs. "I should."

"Bitch, is that what I asked? Do you want to or not?" Damian insists.

"I mean... it's always weird there without my parents," Cady mumbles, fidgeting with her fingers. "But I don't wanna impose."

"Hold on," Damian says. Cady jumps when he turns his head to the side and hollers, "Ma!"

"What?!" his mother yells back.

"Can Cady sleep over?!"

"Her folks okay with it?!"

"Your folks okay with it?" Damian asks Cady in a much, much softer tone. Cady nods in confusion. Damian yells back, "Yeah!"

"Then she's always welcome! Dinner's in half an hour!" his mom replies.

"Thank you!" Cady yells.

"You're welcome, baby!"

"See? Problem solved," Damian says. Cady giggles.

"You're the best, D."

"And don't you forget it."

————-

thank you for reading!!

i have a oneshot coming for y'all on wednesday that i'm very (cautiously) excited about and am working myself to the bone trying to get the next chapter of this and another oneshot done per my usual "schedule" if you can call it that lol.

i apologize for not being more prepared but i spent most of february auditioning for the tour!! so that took a lot of my focus but it's done now and i am back in as full of a swing as i can get lol.

so fingers crossed! and if i don't get it done in time you'll just get three of each with my next round of fics :)

thank you all so much again for being here. i love every little one of you muppets so dearly.

lots of love,

ezzy

#mean girls #mean girls 2004 #mean girls musical #mean girls the musical #mean girls broadway #mean girls on broadway #mean girls 2024 #cadnis #paint by numbers #space safari #cady heron x janis sarkisian #cady x janis #cady heron #janis sarkisian #janis ian #janis ‘imi’ike #picking teams

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coffeeandcalligraphy · 2 months

Text

After death | Lost Gods

He looks at the skyline ahead of him, its famous shapes that tourists gape at like they’re observing a gorilla in an enclosure. It’s all grey to him, not just because of the looming storm but because the grids of buildings and lights have become boring in a way that seems fatal—this city is a dead thing on earth, he doesn’t care what anyone says. It’s all post-mortem—the blinking traffic lights, shafts of sunlight interrupted by high-rises, yellow taxis honking, honking, honking, like they’re shouting a prayer. He feels sort of like that too, caught in kitschy after death.

A little Harrison art <3 !! And an excerpt from the opening of Lost Gods!

4 years ago today I finished writing his very first solo novel, Moth Work, & I’m kind of in awe of how far we’ve come in that short time… 4 novels & 2 novellas narrated by this man who’s a little embarrassing and a whole lot profound (but you didn’t hear that from me!). A few more thoughts under the cut, but here’s a little note I made myself in 2020, the only note I’ve ever made after finishing a book (possibly because finishing this one changed my life a little).

TW for mentions of: mental illness, trauma in the mental health system, internalized homophobia

Technically I finished Moth Work at 2:34AM because I lived on the west coast at the time lol.

I don’t usually celebrate or remember the anniversaries of finishing books. But I wanted to celebrate this one because a) it’s Leap Day & I haven’t been able to commemorate what I was doing during the last one for 4 years, & b) because finishing MW was such a significant accomplishment!

I started MW in January of 2019 because I was struggling emotionally. At the time, I was racing to figure out “what was wrong with me” before flying across the country for uni in the summer (SPOILER I WAS JUST AUTISTIC LMAO), which led to a lot of stressful and traumatizing appointments with doctors. I desperately needed a book to cheer me up but a different one from my WIP at the time, especially because in 2018, I’d both discovered my voice and become really afraid of messing it up!

I also was taking a religion class at the time that was emotionally difficult for me because I felt reallyyyy alone and especially isolated in my queerness that I’d been hiding for a couple years at that point (& that I literally would not talk about at all, not even to people I trusted). When it became very clear I needed an outlet to explore my feelings (of being “unhelpable,” internalized homophobia, a general sense of aloneness/isolation) the decision of what I was going to write became pretty clear.

I’d written 3 stories in Harrison’s POV that predated MW starting in late 2018 (they were also my first explorations in third person present tense, which fun fact, I only tried in his POV because I’ve always written my notes ideas in that POV/tense combo, even when I only wrote first person!). I hadn’t written in a different POV character’s head beside’s Reeve’s since 2016, so it felt natural that the second character I felt closest to (Harrison!!!) could be a narrator. Funnily at this time Lonan was my favourite so I’m actually surprised I did not choose him but can we imagine how different things would be if I had???

I started Moth Work in my notes app (ICONIC) on January 16th 2019 at 11:37pm! The first chapter came pretty quickly, is actually quite non-linear for a bit, and was overall a lot of fun to write. I’d planned for the project to maybe be a short story or at the most a novella (does this sound familiar), nothing very long and definitely not a novel. I believe the goal word count was 5k which is so funny bc that’s exactly how Changing States & Lost Gods started!!!

And then the project stagnated, it wasn’t something I’d planned to write seriously, and I didn’t pick it back up until August of that year when my therapist at the time suggested I try to complete a “reach goal” as I was reaching Crisis and I guess I was so done with everything going on in my life that I was like okay fine!!!! I will write Moth Work as a novel!!!!

This book literally flew with me across the country… I wrote a lot of it late at night in my dorm with all the lights off after a long day on campus. I wrote a lot of it in my intro to sociology lecture LMAO. I wrote a lot of it on my phone. It was the first project (no literally) where I intentionally explored queerness, especially my own feelings as a (sort of?) catholic at the time. I explored atheism a lot! Something I needed to process my own feelings about faith & God. I explored what it’s like to be this completely unhelpable person because you’ve decided there’s no possible way to help yourself anymore (hiiii Lonan). I also explored (a bit like a premonition), what it’s like to care deeply for someone you can’t help (but that you very badly want to help).

And I almost didn’t finish the book! The imposter syndrome and insecurity went crazyyy when writing Moth Work. I didn’t feel like I was writing the First Person Retrospective Flowery Literary Fiction I’d deemed as the only possible “good writing.” (Still LOVE but I really was struggling seeing a very minor style shift, which is funnily much closer to my writing now than when I was writing the “best” way.) I deleted so much from this book. I couldn’t look at it. I was so embarrassed by it!! I made ultimatums with it!! I edited it so much but still couldn’t stand it! It was literally the safest space I had and I could barely be there a lot of the time!!!

SOOOO this is why I’m very proud of me for finishing it lol & while I would typically have celebrated the anniversary idk, in 2021, bc it didn’t exist until this year it felt apt to sit with those feelings now. I’m really proud of 17-year-old Rachel who was undiagnosed autistic & convinced I was a lost cause, who was sooo afraid of being queer I could only think of that through Lonan (& sometimes still do thx king 🫡) who literallyyyyy wrote a masterpiece in my collection that contains some of my best work (even if I only realized that 4 years later) & that’s been the start of EVERYTHING!

This is so much more than a book or an anniversary!! Somehow I made it through all the things I didn’t think were possible and now have written 2 books & 3 (writing the fourth) novellas allllll in this world. AND 2 additional novels in his POV!! Also thank you baby Rachel for Jeremiah. Like hello!!!! This is the only place I felt safe to be myself when I couldn’t be with anyone else! And there’s something priceless about that…

And it’s all bc of Harrison!!! Whoever I saw in that man in 2019… girl thank you!! Can’t explain what it’s like to grow with that character (who is sooo much more than that to me). Never would I have predicted where I am now. And IMO, that’s all thanks to him so ily fictional man in my head, this is soooo his day LOL.

& if you were here since the first MW update & made it this far… I MUST KNOW!!!!

#art #GETTING GUSHY UNDER THE CUT I COULDN’T HELP IT #tl;dr ily harrison #also everyone weigh in - what’s he listening to?????#IM THINKING OF READING SOME OF MW FROM THE PRINTED COPY #AT THE STREAM TOMORROW!!! SO COME!!!!#CELEBRATE THE DAY!!! YAYY!!!

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rui-drawsbox · 10 months

Note

Hi um I really like the Arashi magical girl au so I hope it's alright if I talk a bit about what's in my head. I wrote down a few scenarios and did a quick storyboard for one (will draw everything out later). er here one of the scenarios I wrote (don't wanna make this post too long)

Scenario based on how Nazuna left Shu and how Mika does the same later

Mika: I still remember that day when Nazuna left…

Dark, dreary bg colors, Nazuna’s back is facing camera.

Mika: Nazuna-nii? Where are you going?

Nazuna pauses. He turns his head a bit. Close-up of his mouth.

Mika (Voice over): His words were a whisper… but I heard him clearly.

Nazuna: Sorry. I hope you'll understand one day...

Back in present. Mika holds a burned photo of him and Arashi. The side with Arashi is burned but bits of her hair and clothes can still be seen. (Shu was the one who burned the photo after seeing Mika look at it. Me thinks he threw it in a fire and after he left, Mika managed to salvage it but the side with Arashi is completely burnt)

Mika: I understand now. And I know what I have to do now.

Um there is a scene where Mika screams at Shu. Mika grabs Shu by the front of his clothes and flings him to the ground. Mika then walks away, now his back is facing camera.

Shu: Don’t you dare take another step or I’ll-

Mika (turns around): Or you’ll what?

Close-up of Mika’s face.

Mika: I won't let you control me anymore.

Mika walks away.

Flashback to another scene in the past when Nazuna was still working for Shu.

They have come to Earth for the first time. They somehow come across a photo booth. Mika is very excited about what it is and Shu is about to scold him, telling him that their mission is more important. Shu then looks at Nazuna, who is quiet but is clearly interested in photo booth too. Shu relents and they take photos. At first they don’t know how it works so the photos turn out goofy. Then after getting the hang of it, Shu makes them pose a certain way. When he sees the photo strip, he does admit that the humans are interesting to have this sort of method to store memories. He cuts and throws the goofy trial photos away but Nazuna secretly takes them out. Perhaps when he betrays Shu, Nazuna’s final way to move on is to burn those photos, although Mika and Shu do not know. (yes photos being burned for dramatic flair)

In present, when Nazuna meets Mika after he leaves Shu, they hang out. They see a photo booth again. Nazuna makes a small remark about the previous photo with Shu. He asks Mika if he wants to take another photo. Mika asks if the Knights could take a pic with them too. In this pic, Mika is far happier.

was thinking of parallels for Nazuna and Mika

Nazuna left quietly (was afraid of confronting Shu so he just wrote a note) Mika left with a bang! screams at Shu and grabs him by front of his clothes and throws him on the ground :D The photo that Nazuna kept of him, Shu, and Mika made him stay longer than he would have. Looking at it made him guilty for wanting to leave. Mika's photo of him and Arashi makes him realize that he has to leave Shu.

ok I will run away now. have a nice day :]

hihi! hello ask from 4 months ago haha /sobs/ im glad you enjoyed the au! sorry for not answer before haha,,

actually i loved this idea sm that i made a drawing about this at the time! i didn't liked the result and burned out lol, tried to make like a fake screenshot but it looked wonky tbh

i edited it a bit today (mabye i went overboard with those two, it looks kinda too dark even for a night and it looks unsettling lol) so it wasnt too gray (and mabye cuz i wanted to use these new cool effect in clip i learned the other day)

and my friend let me say that i loVE when photos have a heavy sentimental value for characters, im a sucker for the burned photo trope

+ Shu, Mika and Nazuna not being from earth makes me laugh for some reason, like, does this count as scifi if arashi is fighting vs technically aliens?/j

but if i think about it it would be like Madoka Magica(?), like, Arashi's cat should be an alien so why not the villians? i makes sense for me at least

also the parallels between Nazuna and Mika?!??!!"?!? im in love!??!?!??! the way they leaved Shu in such different ways?!??! the way their actions get affected by a simple piece of paper that means a lot for them?!?!??! thats my favorite part fr

and yeah go mika go! tell him his truths! he deserves it! *cheer moves*

byee! i loved this sm!! sorry for not answer this before!!!

#ensemble stars #enstars #arashi narukami #rui draw smth #?¿ it counts if its from 4 months ago?#mika kagehira #nazuna nito #shu itsuki #enstars magical knights au #(omg magical girl arashi)

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myreygn · 10 days

Note

hey rey! i have a few different characters/ships for your ask game so feel free to choose which to do!

1. shin soukoku

2. dazai & odasaku

3. geto

4. kunikida

5. giyuu

hope you have a great day/night! (btw i’ll get cracking on your most recent request for lee geto and ler gojo 😉)

oh oh oh very interesting options! i'll see if i have something for these!

shin soukoku: Fever Dream (Palaye Royale)

can you see the words i'm up here trying to preach // no need to cry, you'll never find me trying to leave // i can see that you're in pain from your pale and lifeless face // so let go and float away

it just has this vibe of hey we're both tangled up in this net of lies that other people tell and wars that other people fight and maybe together we're gonna be strong enough to end all of this

dazai & odasaku: Savior II (Black Veil Brides)

and every word that came from you has carried me // so i'm trying my hardest to be what you made // like a court jester, my smile won't fade // giving it all, rising to fall to my grave // answer the call, living in thrall, you're the one born to save

is it not giving dazai right after oda's death?? just a little bit?? their relationship is so special to me actually i don't talk about them enough (also i was so close to taking loser baby from hazbin hotel i'm sorry 💀)

geto: Joan of Arc (In This Moment)

you can crucify, you can nail me to your cross (light me up, light me up) // you can find me guilty for everything you lost (light me up, light me up) // go ahead, blame me for your sins // go ahead and sacrifice me // i'll be your martyr, i'll be your joan of arc

is this a good time to tell you that i never actually watched jjk? 😭 idk if this fits i feel like it does from the little knowledge i have but you need to tell me if it makes sense i'm so sorry (also yey thank you for writing the request!!)

kunikida: Das Herz eines Drachen (Feuerschwanz)

du hast das herz eines drachen, glühend wie gold // flieg in die schlacht, so edel und stolz // du hast das herz eines drachen in deiner brust // kämpf bis zum schluss // und irgendwann wenn wir verglüh'n // halt ich es fest, weil ich es spür // dass dein starkes herz sein feuer nie verliert // denn dein drachenherz schlägt weiter, tief in mir

i feel like it's often overlooked how much the ada members admire kunikida and this feels like it fits his leader personality so well idk. i'm recommending this song a thousand times and here's a translation for you to make you consider listening to it lol:

you've got the heart of a dragon, glowing like gold // fly into battle, so noble and proud // you've got the heart of a dragon inside of your chest // fight 'til the end // and one day when we burn out // i'll hold onto it because i sense // that your strong heart will never lose its fire // and your dragon heart will keep on beating inside of me

giyuu: 99 Luftballons (Nena)

99 jahre krieg ließen keinen platz für sieger // kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr und auch keine düsenflieger // heute zieh ich meine runden // seh die welt in trümmern liegen // hab 'n luftballon gefunden // denk an dich und lass ihn fliegen

yes it's german again my apologies and there's technically an official english version of this (99 red balloons) but honestly it's a pretty bad translation. it's a song about war being horrible and unnecessary and how we should strive for peace, the balloons being a metaphor for countries firing their weapons over every little thing, and honestly this part i put here reminds me of giyuu and sabito, or giyuu thinking about sabito post canon:

99 years of war left no room for winners // there are no more ministers of war and no more fighting jets // today i'm making my way around // i see the world lying in ruins // i have found a balloon // i think of you and let it fly

#thank you for playing!!#this was so much fun ahhh #rey answers #ask game #rey's moots #myst 🌌

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moonshine-nightlight · 1 year

Text

2023 Writing/Stories Look-Forward

thanks to everyone who's read and liked and commented and tagged and sent in asks for my writing this year!

today i sat down to sketch out a vague--and definitely not set in stone plan for 2023--and I thought i'd share it with you guys, from a very high level and with the caveat that it will likely not be followed to the letter as i always inevitably bite off more than i can chew

but i lik to shoot high! lol so here's what i've got

Main goal: finishing the first draft of Nothing's Wrong with Dale and getting it all posted. this is the goal i'm most confident about and will lik, cannibalize other parts of my plan to achieve. i also have some like bonus offshoots for Dale, but those will likely get posted after the story is over and so are not part of the plan

Short Story goals: I plan to finish both Selfish (f!naga) and Free Piano: Haunted (m!spirit). I want to put out my Sci-Fi oneshot Snapped (m!alien) and the three part Seen (f!deity) - both of which i posted sneak peeks of a little while ago for that 'WIPs u didn't finish this year' ask meme.

Then it gets a little fuzzy - i'll either do two shorter 5 parts fics (both with winged monsters f&m) or one longer fic (probably Goddaughter or Quid Pro Quo - both m!demon fics), depending on what i'm feeling like for lik April-May ish. My summer fic will be about a runalong. In the fall/winter, I'll post the rest of Free Piano: Haunted and Feral (f!hellhound).

Choosing these from all my ideas was super hard, but I think i'm happy with what i picked (and all are technically subject to change).

At least, that's the plan.

As far as the short term, i plan to finish off some shorter things now (Selfish, Snapped, and Seen - idk y they all start with 'S' lol) in January. After that February and March are literally the busiest time of year for me at work and this will not be an easy busy season so I might literally post nothing (which is another reason that part of my plan is so up in the air). I will be working a minimum of 6 days a week, 55 hours a week - likely more than that so my brain will not be up for much writing during that time.

Hiatus: Last year I was able to keep posting Nothing's Wrong with Dale for some of January, but that's not going to be the case this year - putting up half of the next 4 part arc and then not finishing it until April would be unfair imo - both to you for the cliffhanger and to me because i will be able to write them far better if i write all oft he at once/in a row. So no more Dale until April, I'm afraid. The only reason I'll be able to post some of the other things at all in January is because most of them are already partially done where as next Dale is not started.

Feel free to send in any asks about upcoming/current stories! Happy New Year!

(please note that this is me, if anything, overestimating how much I'll be able to write and asking me to change my mind about say, Dale, to be more frequent etc will not work)

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cq-studios · 10 months

Text

Haven’t posted in a hot sec and the brain rot never left, so how about some UX magic headcannons/theories (def leaning into HCs tho) with some evidence?

Before we get into the meat of this post, a quick disclaimer. I made this post with my own knowledge from playing the game (in 2020 and later) and the KHUX Wiki. I tried my best to check as much as I can but there’s just so much there’s no way every attack animation for every medal level was archived and watched by me. If I get something wrong let me know so I can make addendums.

And with that out of the way…

Have you ever noticed how flashy all the spells (and special attacks in general) in UX are? Like these kids are constantly throwing explosions and other big magical displays around. Almost all of them are akin to endgame spells in other games. Think Trinity Limit, or the BBS room clearer spells.

On top of that, from what it looks like on the KHUX Wiki, out of the levelled (-ra, -ga etc.) spells we see in other games, Cure is the only one that is stated to have different levels. The rest (Blizzard, Fire, Thunder, and Aero) are all in the “-ga” level, even on 1 star medals

^ Source ^

(Raging Blizzard isn’t actually magic, just a physical attack, still flashy tho)

So what point am I trying to make?

Well, all of this seems to point (to me at least) towards the fact that magic during this time was less controlled. And when you take into consideration the fact that it was very unlikely these kids were properly trained it kind of makes sense. It’s very likely that a lot of the magic here is figured out by the wielder themself or by another wielder who had figured it out and showed them how.

(Which is fun, since the longer the game was up the faster you got powerful spells, which in a way kinda makes it like you are learning the more impressive spells faster because other people had been wielders longer and had more time to figure things out)

The flashiness of everything can be explained by that too. I mean, they’re all kids after all. You mean to tell me that they’re not making everything as extra and explosive as possible to show off? Especially in the power centric place of Daybreak Town?

And if you’re thinking “well what about the other high level spells then? The ones in the other games”, I have an answer for you too. I was thrown a loop for a bit with that too because it doesn’t make much sense. Like even in Dark Road, in the same app, has the proper spell progression. But that got me thinking, what if the -ga versions of those 4 spells are the default and the “basic” versions of the spells are ones toned down for training.

Because when you think of it, we’ve never actually seen/played as a wielder who hasn’t had proper training, other than Player of course (and Roxas/Xion, who are exceptions, I’ll get to them). We’ve already touched on DR. The Wayfinder Trio are all trained by Eraqus, Vanitas by Xehanort. Sora is taught by Donald, Riku by Maleficent presumably (Dark Firaga is a tell for me). Roxas and Xion, while technically not being taught magic by anyone, already had some subconscious stuff from Sora.

So, you know, it’s possible.

Anyways that’s my thoughts. Probably not organized well because my brain’s not organized well today lol

I tried

#I think about this all the time and I finally bit that bullet and wrote it out #the only think I don’t have a real explaintion for is the cure spell #but if you ever read that Lauriam Crutches AU fic maybe it’s something like that #like the spells power is dependent on your knowledge not the spell itself #but there’s literally nothing in canon that suggests that (unless there is in which case please let me know)so take it with a grain of salt #anywhoozles there’s my random KHUX thought of the month #khux #sometimes i think about khux #(also side note for Starlight Wayfinder you sent me that ‘wish fic’ ask and then I never finished the fic lol #I’ll get to it soon just been possessed by Art Fight.#know it’s probably not a huge deal I just thought I’d let you know #keep you in the loop)

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pearlypairings · 6 months

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Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @pipergirl17- thank you darling!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Officially? 17! Unofficially inc my anon works, 22!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

225,303 which is wild to me!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I mainly write with Stranger Things (heavy on the Chrissy-centric fics with ships :P) and drop the occasional Twin Peaks one-shot.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Do or Die (first ever ST fic!)

not a sound but the wind (ST hellcheer)

Meet Me At Our Spot (ST hellcheer)

In an Envelope Marked: Harrington (ST Max & Steve friendship)

Open the Sky and Let Her Come Down (ST hellcheer)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love chatting with readers and try to respond to comments as they come in (occasionally I fall behind depending on my work sched, but I always respond!).

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

My Twin Peaks fic Twin Flames Divided is very similar to its canon source, so has to be angsty and a little out there! Definitely angstier than my usual fics!

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

So far I think Dear Donna, (my hellcheer slow burn told through letters) has the happiest, tooth-rotting fluff around. But all of my Chrissy fics have happy endings :)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I would say no, not really! Thankfully, everyone's been super supportive in the comments and on tumblr:)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Only once!! It's anon and was posted for Kinktober as like a little writer challenge for myself to see if I COULD do it. It was fun, but I'll leave the smut to the professionals lol.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I wrote on that's currently on hiatus, but had SO much fun with it! IT's a TP x ST crossover where Agent Cooper is brought into the midst of season 4's crazy supernatural murders. I'd love to get back into it, but I have other brainworms I want to work on now.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also, no, but I'd be so into that!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet! But I'd love to be a co-conspirator with my main squeeze @1lostsoul0fishbowl someday when our schedules and inspo lines up to try it!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Hellcheer has been my big one, but I'm starting to fall in love with some ST rarepairs lately...so we'll see if it stays that way.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Hmm any unfinished WIPs of mine will be finished in their own time. I have a hard time admitting one might be unfinished, because my core perfectionism won't allow anything to be left undone!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think my dialogue is a decent guiding factor in my writing! It's at least my favorite portion to write!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

In general, allowing more creativity to flow while I'm writing. I went to college with an emphasis on more direct, scientific writing....But now I'm trying to unlearn all the drills of no flowery language or complex sentences to write with better immersion and storytelling.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm not confident enough to do that, unless I'm very knowledgeable in that language. But it's rare for me to inject that into the fics I write.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Twin Peaks technically!

20. Favorite fic you've written?

That's like picking a favorite child! But back against the wall, today my favorite is there is a light that never goes out , my wip for jonathan x chrissy. It's moody, it's 80s cheesy, and it's cute :)

Tagging off the top of my head: @1lostsoul0fishbowl @hangon-silvergirl @erythromanc3r @a-strange-inkling and anyone who likes guac is welcome to answer and tag me as the source;)

#fic writer questions #pearly answers #dash game #tag game #fanfic writer questions #get to know me #pearly_pairings on ao3 #ao3 writer #hellcheer #photocheer #stranger things fanfiction #twin peaks fanfiction #hellcheer fanfiction

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feech-phylicia · 15 days

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Hey bro do you have any book recs?

*Sci fi or realistic fiction, minimal romance? I guess? Ex of books I like: project hail mary, on earth as it is on television, a quiet kind of thunder, lycanthropy and other chronic illnesses, stuff like that yknow?

Admittedly I have not read any of the books you listed but 2 of them are on my tbr

But here goes:

First I've got 2 realistic fiction stories about trans characters

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

This one has two trans characters trying to navigate both their trans identities and also high school. There's a minute where it seems like they might date but iirc they work out better as friends or something (its been a while since I read this one because I leant it to a trans friend and while it was relatable for me it was punch-in-the-gut relatable to her from page one so I've decided it's her book now lol)

Beautiful Music For Ugly Children by Kristin Cronn-Mills

I need to read this again I barely remember anything about it just that it's 100% worth the read. Also it won the Stonewall book award

Next up I got some straight up High fantasy which is not what you asked for but I can't not recommend it because it might be my all time favorite book

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The world building here is so incredible!!!! The story actually follows 4/5 separate people in different parts of the world and slowly weave each individual tale into one cohesive narrative that I personally believe is a work of brilliance. One main character is a young lesbian, another is an old guy, and another is aroace. Romance specifically isn't really a main plot point at all but there are a few romantic relationships that exist/develop and the book does a fantastic job exploring the depths and nuances of relationships and how they can affect people (romantic or plantonic). Also dragons and magic and some cool legends/myths/religions to be untangled and interpretted!!!

I absolutely love Samantha Shannon so I have also read her other books from The Bone Season series which are much more sci-fi but also a lot darker and have a much more prevalent romance between the main character and an alien. The series is also not yet finished so for all those reasons I'm not sure if it would be up your alley or not

Okay lastly some sci-fi fantasy

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

(Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, and soon Alecto the Ninth)

Okay so this one has a Tumblr Fandom and you've probably seen me posting about it sometimes technically the main two characters are both lesvians and the Fandom ships them but they never get anywhere close to a romantic anything because they hate each other and do their darnedest to piss each other off at every opportunity. There's necromancy but it's approached as science rather than magic which is really cool. There a tense mystery happening the whole time (but there's also an unreliable narrator so it takes her a while to even pick up on it). There are A LOT of catholic undertones and references in the world building and religion but in a very subversive and interesting way. I have to take notes reading these though because I occasionally confuse a few side characters and there's so much foreshadowing and parallels and minute details that can alter you perception of the story (also necromancy being scientific means I occasionally lose track of things there but I think that's just a me issue). All in all though phenomenal series lots of death though....kind of necessary for the whole necromancy aspect

Woooooo okay sorry for the essay that's all I've got for today but if you want more at some point let me know and I'll do my best!!!

Happy reading!!

#feech rambles #asks #arocrows #charlie!#books #book reccs #again sorry for the essay #please let me know if you read any of these and if you like them!!!

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yomogi-mogi-mochi · 1 year

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Pygmalion (III)

Pairings: Rook/(Pygmalion) MC// Idia/MC (Platonic)

Summary: You were frequently told that your career as a renowned sculptor did not match your dull and less than colorful personality. With your cybernetic hands, you carve the lives and deaths of those long gone‒ producing pieces which have been held in both technical and emotional high regard, dubbing you with the title “Pygm.AI.lion” despite your human heart and brain. When you accidentally still the usually flamboyant archer into silence after he comes across you working in your atelier‒ you find that you’ve become a victim to one of his ceaseless stalkings. Though, you’ve been prey long enough to know how hunt the huntsman himself.

Notes: Sorry this took as long as it did lmao I was sleep deprived then I was in 2 separate 18 hour (what were supposed to be) naps lol. Ah the human body and its wonders.

Was revisiting Paradise Lost recently and I was like wait did I accidentally create Jesus and or Lucifer imagery????? Omg. I also posted a Lilia/Reader oneshot based on the myth of Dullahan (Beloved Thy Name) ao3 link is here / tumblr link.

A lot of philosophy stuff again because I am unfortunately an INTJ with a type 5w4 enneagram AND a Sagittarius (Rook, Idia, and I have the same sign lmao) so triple whammy I love intellectualizing everything. Another very very sweet ol slow burn but I swear romance is in the air

Enjoy! Comments, reblogs, and likes cherished as always (о´∀`о)

CW: Nothing much

AO3 Link Here.

Masterlist

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 (Here) // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6

——————————————————

Rook felt a bit feverish after that critique‒ his eyes swimming as they traced the image of your sculpture inside his mind, melting slowly into the painting of clarity he had been scrutinizing more of lately. Slowly, he gathered his camera and his picture‒ searching for the points you had brought up in your critique, before staggering to his locker in the art classroom, mindlessly sauntering into the hallways for his lunch period.

"You feel it, as it feels you." He couldn't help but to echo those words in your chest, with the clarity in your voice. That was what he had searched for more than anything‒ lucidity, precision, truth above all. And you had embodied its beauty in your sharp expression that gazed far beyond that clock, time, far far beyond anything‒ piercing those eyes through his picture, through his eyes with that arctic solidity. He felt so raw in your presence, even with the layers of fabricated kindness and dramatized passion that veiled his soul‒ protected it‒ you had managed to cut him open, seeing straight through his frantic, aimless fervor in an instant. It made him restless, he knew something inside him was urging with every fiber of its being, to chase and hunt it down‒ but that would mean bursting through, shattering the picture of clarity, of truth inside his mind that he loved dearly. No, it was something different than love, something greedy, the putrid scent of humanity.

He was so lost in thought, turning that clear picture in his mind over and over‒ seeing the blemishes that kept appearing with each interaction he encountered with you‒ that he smashed right into something solid.

"-You! Watch your‒ oh. Rook."

He tiredly gazed from the brim of his hat to see Vil’s face, twisted in slight concern. His lips quickly fashioned into a smile.

“Ah, roi de poison, apologies‒ I was lost in thought.” Vil continued to stare with narrowed eyes as Rook set down his lunch on the table, settling into his usual seat across from him.

"Did something happen today? This is…unlike you. It’s a bit unsettling." The dorm leader stabbed the colorful salad in front of him, bringing it to his lips. “If you need to retire early and skip the club meeting today, just tell me.”

“Non, non. Nothing to worry about kindest Vil. I was simply pondering how well the rehearsal was going to go today‒ are you not curious to how our cast will do on its first run through? I’ve been quivering with excitement to see the freshmen flourish!” With an excitable inflection cast onto his voice, Rook knew Vil would drop the question, sighing with feigned weariness, before engaging in friendly fire.

“There’s nothing to be excited about. It’s just some first year potatoes we have to whip into shape. Honestly, I’m getting tired thinking about it.” Vil said with that sigh Rook anticipated. The corner of his lips curled further, happy for moments of simplicity like this in the spiral of uncertainty you were pushing him into.

“That is what you have me for, roi de poison. And it’ll be fun to see the potential of these first years‒ I trust your instinct with these things.”

“Hm. It’s difficult to actualize the image I have in my head for them. These freshmen are too weak willed‒ but I’ll have to manage with what we’ve got.”

Rook hummed happily, glad that he could retreat into Le chasseur d’amour for just a while, carefully constructing his elation, and the smile on his face. Control, clarity‒ then truth came to him once more, shrouding him in an air of suffocating security.

—————————————————

You felt your joints whirring a bit from how swiftly you had been walking from the art studio to the cafeteria. These old knees, you thought, choosing a box of pomegranate juice from the vending machine, they’re not what they used to be.

“(Name)! Over here!”

Spotting a flaming blue head, raising his hand to beckon you over‒ you drifted towards the table consisting of mostly Heartslabyul students.

“Hello Ortho.” You scuffed the fire on his head, drinking the tart juice from the box in your hands. “Looks good, did Idia install a digestion program in you?” You towered over his lunch tray, glancing at the steaming vegetables and tender meat. You did miss eating once in a while, but you found it to be rather a chore than anything else, disturbing your work flow whenever your stomach growled during the period of your life when you still had a human digestion system. Besides, Dr.Krios had deemed it unnecessary, instead pouring his efforts into your Orpheus protocol and transferring your soul without the demerits of your magic.

“Yeah! Human food is as good as I remember. I can have big brother install one for you if you’d like?”

You shrugged. “No need, like I said, I’m getting too old for big repairs or updates like that.” The creaking in your knees still remained. “Are these your friends, little flame?”

The two young Heartslabyul students stared at the two of you in curiosity, listening in on your conversation. “Oh, (Name), this is Ace and Deuce. They’re the same first years as me‒ and Ace, Deuce, this is (Name), a transfer at our very own Ignihyde dorm!”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Ace Trappola, the smarter and more handsome of us two.” The redhead reached his hand towards you with a crooked grin, while the first year next to him sent a questionable glare. You shook it, the metal inside your skin rattling a bit when you did. “Whoa! Are you a robot or something like Ortho?? You were talking about updates n’ stuff and your arm is so heavy!”

You released the grip on your arm, feeling the weight of your own arm‒ was it that heavy from your human one? The increased strength allowed by the automation made it difficult to tell. “I am not a robot. A cyborg.”

“Ace‒ stop being so rude! Sorry about him, I’m Deuce, it’s nice to meet you.” You took the hand of the other student with blue-black hair, quietly seeing if you could feel the heaviness of your hand in his shake. He had a surprisingly strong grip and steady arm however, so it proved useless.

“Nice to meet you two. Thank you for taking care of Ortho.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your relationship between the two of you? You seem like you knew each other before you even transferred‒ are you another Shroud sibling?” Ace asked with a fist under his chin in contemplation.

“Ah no‒“

“What’s this? Do I hear something about another Shroud sibling?” Another, taller redhead popped his head into your view, which you stared down in silence. “Wait‒ no way! Aren’t you Pygm.AI.lion? I follow you on Magicam!”

Ace snapped his fingers, pointing it at your face. “Ahh! I remember thanks to Carter now! I thought I’ve seen you somewhere!”

“…Magicam?” Must be another piece of modern technology you weren’t caught up with. So much was happening these days, you wanted to live your life simply without having to be caught up with every little thing on this planet.

“Huh? Yeah‒ see?” He shoved his phone in your face, scrolling through a page with the account name “Pygm.AI.lion”. You definitely don’t recognize this page, nor do you remember making a ‘“Magicam” account‒ so you suspected this was the doing of Jupiter Enterprises, another money hungry attempt, using you to gather the funds to pay for the research on your own body, to further blot research conducted by the desperate scientists at S.T.Y.X. You hoped Idia would take over too put an end to the ceaseless testing. “You should totally follow me back and be friends! Since we’re in the same grade and all~”

“Ah, I don’t actually own this account. Probably my manager or someone else at Jupiter Enterprises. But those are my works, and that is indeed me‒ I’m just not too acquainted with social media.” There were various pictures of you next to your sculptures, wearing the same dulled expression you always adorned during tiring galas and gallery events. Had you known they were taking pictures, you definitely would have deepened your frown just to spite them. But you figured with the tech they had been rapidly producing over the years, it wouldn’t be hard to implant a camera in corners you couldn’t see‒ just as small and precise as the ones implanted in your eyes.

“Oh that’s too bad. But we can still be friends, can’t we? I’m Carter Diamond, third year and official sweetheart of the Heartslabyul dorm!” Though he sung that sentence with a carefree lightness in his voice, you could feel his eyes shifting at your stony expression, searching for your response. Mood maker was right, you observed‒ the movement in his eyes reminded you of Rook a bit‒ except it seemed like he was using that wit to read the room rather than letting the hunger in his eyes consume him. You shook the thought of that feathered stalker from your mind, taking the hand Carter reached out to you.

“Nice to meet you too. I’m (Name), I just transferred.”

“Oh? Where did you transfer from RSA? I have a few friends there‒ maybe they know you?”

“Not from another school‒ a black carriage arrived at the S.T.Y.X lab one day, and I found myself here like the rest of the students. So I guess less of a transfer, but I’m not sure what else to call it.”

“Whoa S.T.Y.X? Aren’t they super secretive or something? Wait‒ S.T.Y.X is the one that made you then?”

“They did make my cybernetic enhancements. But I still have my human heart and brain, so depending on how you see it I suppose you could or couldn’t say they made me.”

“Wow I’m really getting the inside scoop here!” He laughed “They totally framed you as a robot‒ even in your Magicam profile! Oh‒“ He glanced at his phone. “I godda get going early to make up a test‒ I’m already on thin ice with Trein‒ nice to meet you Pygm.AI.lion!” Waving his hand, he dashed towards the double doors of the cafeteria.

You turned back to Ortho, taking the last sips of your Pomegranate juice. “That reminds me, Ortho. Are there any Art Clubs or Robotics Clubs here? Headmage said I had to join something by the end of the week.”

“Hm…I’m not finding either of those in the school’s database…But the science club is the “anything” club‒ you can join that! Or…” He tapped his chin. “Oh! You can come with me to the film studies club today! We’re actually in need of set designers and Vil would be grateful for a S-class sculptor like you, (Name)! And you can watch me perform today‒ it’s our first rehearsal!”

“Hm, that seems entertaining. It’s been centuries since I’ve seen a play in person. I look forward to your performance, Ortho.”

Ace and Deuce exchanged surprised looks, before the redhead spoke. “Uh..D-did we hear you correctly? Centuries..? How old are you exactly?”

Ah, right. The whole time thing. That thought left a distaste in your mouth, reminded of the clocks that had descended its image upon you today. All those around you were experiencing life at a different pace, all at different points in their path towards a blissful rest you would never know. The arms on your clock moved languidly, much too large to function “the correct way” that clocks ought to‒ in accordance to the beat of the human heart. Your body felt like that weary clock‒ much too tall, much too heavy for the way your heart would reach out to the pulse of other humans, and sink into the brilliant, cindering explosion that was a human’s lifespan. That blazing light you held at multiple points in your life was all too bright, too much, blistering against your brittle body that was weighed with eternity‒ so you took it into your hands, burning, imbuing it into hard marble. Even with your magic, that fire was too wonderful to be able to be ignited properly once more‒ dying out into a swift smoke when you craved that warmth again‒ leaving you cold, and dark. So you tried to let the turbulent waves of eternity wash over you, hoping it would eventually wear you down into nothing‒ a crude mimicry of a dazzling, human death.

“It..” You stopped, counting the centuries on your hands, but heaviness in your head made memories virtually irretrievable. “It’s been about six-hundred years, I think. I stopped counting a while ago, but I can give you a proper number with a history textbook. I was born exactly a hundred years before the City of Flowers was named.” You felt a little bad that you had stunned all those at the table to silence, quietly wishing Carter was here to pick up the mood.

“…You’re from the Shaftlands?” Deuce asked, breaking the awkward stillness.

You imagined your hometown, but you couldn't recall what it looked like, who your neighbors were, the smells, the dishes, the festivals. But your memory had not failed you when retrieving the memory of that night Dr.Krios found you, the smell of alcohol and bleach still stung your nose; the phantom sensation of broken marble embedded in your skin. After that night, there was nowhere for you to truly return to, reminisce with friends what flavors, smells, and experiences you tasted during your youth in that city‒ fuck. Your memory truly was failing you‒ you tried to remember your mother’s face, but all you could remember was a distant, muffled voice and nothing else. What did she look like‒ sound like again? What did you call her? Mama? Mother? Mom? You mentally shifted through multiple faces in your mind, aimlessly matching those words to them‒ but nothing. It almost brought you to tears, but you swallowed it with the tasteless, dryness in your mouth.

“I was, yes.” Was, everything always “was”. Nothing never “is” in the face of eternity.

You had been pushing it into a dark box inside your mind for a while‒ but you knew you would have to face this idea of eternity over and over again, like some Sisyphean bastard. It nestled in your heart as a part of it for a few centuries, growing as you attempted to replace the hole people would leave inside of it with anything‒ anger, apathy, madness, something you could grip and squeeze, searing your hand to preserve something of their fleeting existence. When their body and memories began to wilt however, so did that thing in your fist‒ allowing the hollowness of eternity to fester, eating away at the remnants of your heart. So for the last two centuries, you had retreated solely to the S.T.Y.X labs, severing almost any human connections to preserve the last fragments of yourself. But after six hundred years of repeated heartbreak‒ perhaps being alive was finally getting to you. You could feel the concerned gaze of the three first years, but your mind just drew complete darkness when searching for words to reassure them.

Suddenly, your mind suspended an image in your mind‒ a moment of clarity. You rolled the image in your mind, feeling out its shape with a delicate grip. You were surprised to reveal a picture of your own sculpture, however with the touches Rook made in his own photography. It was soft‒ like fresh laundry baking under the sun‒ green like a young spring sprout, pink like the color of a human heart. It mixed together in a muddled shade, swirling in a mess, a frenzy of colors. The humanity in that grotesque, fleshy shade made you look upwards again with clear eyes‒ reminded of your own sculpture from the first night he had made his way into your atelier. Rarely did you witness where the images in your head descended from‒ but you could clearly trace those words that came from him which parted the fog of your mind.

“Magnifique….With my human eyes, that is all I can see.”

You squeezed that image of his crystalline eyes, and muddy picture in your head‒ feeling every curve, tasting every color, delicately burning that picture inside your inhuman flesh‒ hoping no protocol would overwrite the wound it made. The breath you didn't realize you were holding came out in a slight cloud once you released from your tense stomach. Were you overheating? Gods, you felt feverish, though the metal of your skeleton still moved coolly inside your blot-packed tissue.

“(-me)? (Name)?” Ortho swung a hand in front of your face, eyes swimming with concern. “Are you okay? Lunch is over soon.”

You traced the engraving that picture made in your mind. “I’m alright. Thank you Ortho." A small smile graced your lips. You looked forward to the next image that would descend upon you, itching at the tender wound stored closely to remaining human flesh. Perhaps you could look at that divine inspiration through those striking viridian eyes before you let it possess you, but it was difficult to say if there was room for more humanity inside your rusting vessel. Still, the novelty excited you.

—————————————————

Ortho showed you around the parts of the school Rook hadn't had a chance to get to during your initial tour‒ giving you detailed explanations to each and every room before arriving at a door decorated with a white plastic plate, elegant black ink indicating it was reserved for the Film Studies Club. You swung the door open, allowing the younger Shroud brother to enter before you did.

“Ah, Monsieur Doll‒ oh! And Maître d’Ivoire, I didn’t know you were a fellow fan of the drama and beauty of theater! How wonderful‒ Vil will be thrilled.”

“Ortho suggested I join the stage set crew, but I’m only here to watch. I’m between the Science and the Film Research Club at the moment.”

“In that case I cannot possibly recommend only one! As a member of the Science Club it would be a joy for such an advanced cybernetic being like yourself to join our circle, however‒ as an assistant here at the Film Research Club, we could surely use your masterful skills in designing a truly spectacular set. Ah‒ I'm so torn‒ but the Science Club has so much potential for you, on the other hand ‒ “

“Rook! A word, please?”

“Ah‒ excuse me, mes amines, duty calls.”

You nodded mutely, unable to cram another word in the ceaseless string of sentences that flew out of his mouth. Bidding Ortho good luck with a pat on his head, you sat yourself in the auditorium, mumbling to yourself how you seemed to never be able to escape your feathered stalker.

"Alright‒ look bright first year potatoes‒ we've got a lot to work on! Rook! Where are those two third years that are supposed to be here for rehearsal today? I specifically asked him to come today for just a brief run through!" The inflection of his voice reminded you of an angry, chirping bird, one which Rook reflected with a mulled rumble.

"Désolé, Vil. It seems they're stuck in detention today…perhaps we can run the rehearsal without their parts?"

"No, no." The one you assumed was Vil shook his head. "These first years will be absolutely lost without the two leads for this scene‒ Rook, you'll stand in for Hyacinthus for this scene. And…" He threw his gaze right at you. "You. I don't know what you're doing lounging about‒ but be useful and play Apollo for today."

Briefly catching the smile quirked onto Rook's face, you sighed, pushing your body off of the seat, climbing the steps of the stage and taking the script pushed towards you from Vil's hands. You've never acted before, but it was like sculpting, right? Let life, let humanity, let death possess your cold body like a sublime ghost. Like your hands which carved that glory into glistening ivory, it was now your words which would shape a life out of the breath sucked into your lungs. You were quick to memorize the words on the page, embedding them in your throat as you took position by Vil's command.

"Lie, like this." He instructed. "Loosen your body Rook, lean against their body." Vil directed your bodies at the center of the stage, embracing each other under the dusty theater lights. Both you and Rook did as you were instructed, pressing warmth against warmth. You felt him squirm under your hardened fingertips that rested on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry if my cybernetics are uncomfortable. I could try to touch lighter, if you'd like."

His golden hair gleamed like ribbons in the light, swaying as he shook his head. "Non, you're quite soft." Despite being rocked by his deep breaths close to your own, those words felt distant‒ or perhaps a better word was "distancing", or something which attempted it. It didn't feel quite far, just muffled from your senses‒ still "soft" rang clearly in your mind like a bell, echoing the warmth it brought in your chest as many times as you allowed.

"You're comfortable, then?"

"Yes." His answer came like the wind, a quiet whisper, grazing lightly against your ears. You began, words at your throat bubbling, when Vil commanded action onto the scene. You let the image in your mind possess you.

"Your hair never quite lies flat, here." You touched the smoothed sheen of Rook's hair, plucking a golden strand out and feeling its silk between your fingers. "I don't think I've ever told you how I like it."

Rook pulled the script closer to his face. "You haven't."

“I should have." You let the strand go, seeing it fall gently into the bright curtain crowning his head. Its glow reminded you of gilded gold, glowing porcelain shining through from its age. "What about this? Have I told you what I think of this, just here." Reciting the script with your body, you tipped his head back, drifting your hands at the base of his throat, feeling the pulsing beat which echoed in its hollowness.

"No." He turned his body towards you, taking one slow step back to kneel below you. Sliding his script into another hand, he kept his gaze on it, before slinking his other hand into your gloves. The metal creaked inside your skin, and you thought to cringe at its harsh sound. But the tenderness of which he muffled that metallic squeal with his palms, wrapped lightly over your gloves, stopped you from hardening your face. "And have I spoken about this?" He lifts your hand above his eyes, you follow it, hoping to catch a glimpse of green pointed towards you. "Your hands calloused, from the divine poetry you pluck from your golden lyre." A pause. "Surely I haven't forgotten‒ tell me I did not, Apollo."

"You did not, my muse." You went to cup your hands around his, like the script instructed, but you found the paper to be in your hands‒ in the way. Without a second thought, you threw it out of your hands, somewhere out of your line of sight, its spine cracking harshly against the wooden theater floors. The words were engraved in your mind already. "And what of this‒ Hyacinthus‒ have I spoken of it?" You rested a knee to the ground like him, separating each of his fingers with your own.

“No.” His answer comes even quieter this time. You don't worry if his voice carries to others as it should during any rehearsal. The mountain in his throat bobbed, the muscles near his jaw shivering.

"There is this too." You reached a cold hand towards his face‒ still the anxiety of your harsh body instilled in your mind. The skin round your metal bones, to the organs sitting, packed in your torso were all made with the violence of human desire. You searched his eyes for that same hunger, again, but you found nothing this time. The space you held, hesitant, above the pink of his face softened into a solid touch. "I know I have told you of this."

He sucked in a shallow breath you could feel under the pulse of your palm. "Tell me again."

For a moment, you felt that divine image withdraw from you. It was petrifying‒ there was no instance in the six hundred years you had lived where that holy possession left you empty before you could carve it into the hardness of reality. But when you found yourself warmed not by its fleeting light, but the one that beamed from the flush of Rook's cheek‒ you let go of that chill, drinking in the heat that throbbed under your fingertips. Still as marble, you let yourself sink into the green of his eyes, this time, which were pointed directly at your whole with what could only be described as adoration.

"-Cut!" The brightness of the entire stage lighting up once more brought you back to reality. You shrunk your creaking hand from him, cringing at the scraping sound it made under your skin. "Zephyr‒ didn’t I just tell you that it was your cue right there?? You should already be on set by 'Tell me again'. Mark that on your paper so you don't forget, again.."

You chilled your face by feeling the metal under your skin, draining yourself of the remaining pieces of that image, that heat‒ moving smoothly before you reached a hand to Rook, still on the ground with the script in his hands. He looked up at you, seeing the shadow you created, staring blankly for a minute before shaking it off in favor of his usual fox-like grin. Even in the harsh darkness, you saw that shimmer pooling in his eyes.

"Merci, mon ami."

You stared mutely, watching him take your hand, the tip of his middle finger drew softly across your bare pulse, revealed by the pull of your glove by his grip. On instinct, you pulled away while he pulled in to lift his body off the ground‒ the tendons in your arms stretching, stretching, stretching until you felt them snap beside the metal bone. Anything but your hands‒ the curse which ineptly attempted to infuse your eternity into still flesh‒ much too quick‒ gone, gone, gone, you remembered.

Rook jerked backwards while the base of your arm tore into two‒ your body falling towards him to catch him with your other arm, stabilized with your light-fast knee lunging to him. Your in-tact hand easily caught his back, while you stared, wildly, into his widened eyes. Raising him to an upwards posture with a controlled straightening of your leg, you brought him back up to the soles of his feet‒ letting go as soon as he was balanced on top of them. You felt many eyes on you once more, concentrated at your shoulder where you uniform ripped, revealing the blot that bubbled from silvery metal under your ruptured skin.

Vil turned his head towards, you his stiff body following it. “You‒“

“I know.” That answer came sharply. You inhuman brute, immortal beast, machine‒ I know, I know. In the centuries you had lived, the eyes and whispers of many never bothered you much‒ but when you felt Rook graze against your cursed hands which spearheaded your parting with human flesh, after you two had held flesh against, what you thought was your flesh once more‒ it plunged you back into that hollow body, too large, too tall for your human heart. You felt words scorch your throat.

Play the part‒ let it possess you‒ empty the cup, fill it with an image not your own.

“I’ll be fine.” You raised a hand to cover the hideous healing of your arm, spurting and gushing with viscous black ink to forge your body back to its original form. It felt cold, writhing and twitching in the air‒ a heartless mockery of warm blood which fluttered delicately under human flesh‒ one you felt on Rook’s face just a few fleeting moments ago.

You saw Ortho appear from the curtains, floating towards you, examining your arm with worry. “(Name)- are you okay?? I think you should get that checked! Brother can take a look at it‒ just in case?” He pleaded.

Shifting your head downwards to examine the blot, you made the mistake of sweeping your eyes across Rook’s‒ his lips parted slightly, eyes widened into a crystalline solidity your wavering eyes did not possess. Too bright‒ burning. It welled a tightness in your throat.

Clenching your teeth, you answered Ortho. “I think I’ll do that. Excuse me.” Your legs leapt off the stairs of the stage, body swallowed by the darkness of the auditorium, back warmed by the light that radiated off of the stage. You heard Vil clap his hands, before the murmurs of first year students began once more as you slipped out of the room. Your body moved automatically, bringing toward the courtyard, where the shed was situated. Slumping your shoulder against it, you forced your way in, stumbling onto the wooden floors. Looking around, gliding your bleary eyes across the statues‒ you recognized no one.

Who’s memories did you hold? Who’s sadness was this‒ who’s hurt? Wounds felt too large, too feverish, too alive to feel like it belonged to your cold metal body. Who’s heart was this? Take it out, take it out. Your hands, your body, your life had been one filled with that action‒ stripped of anything you embraced. But just this once, you begged the sky where divine images descended from, to take just this one thing‒ everything, if you must‒ away from you. But it was fogged from your ragged, white breaths‒ and even without it, you weren’t sure if the gods above would gift you that clarity, the hope of a human‒ for, surely, you did not recognize humanity within you anymore. You tried to remember your own face from six hundred centuries ago, one which held the liveliness, the hunger, and the grotesque flush of a human’s. But no images descended upon you, so you shook that hollowness in your metal hand, hoping to crush it into a solid form with the pressure. No tears were shed, for such pleasures were only reserved for those of animal flesh. But you wept, voice rising from your chest, becoming foreign and uncanny when they reached the throat.

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Notes:

Rook’s character kind of reminds me of Oba Yozo from No Longer Human by Dazai Osamu‒ I think one of his biggest fears is someone seeing through the mask of his character because behind it, there’s fear, anxiety, an emptiness which he seeks to fill with even just the fabrication of passion (in that way he also reminds me of Confession of a Mask by Mishima). For him, I think he’s paralyzed with choice, so he kind of overplays his character of “hunter of love” to cover up the quiet anxiety he feels about all the possibilities that are stretched out before him. But in some ways that becomes security, truth, clarity for him to the extent that the straight forward/intuitive manner in which you speak and create kind of muddles that picture of clarity for him. So theres a reality in that "hunter of love" character but its also very fragile because it was originally meant to be a stand in for something more concrete. I saw a post on tumblr with a concept drawing for his character that said “表情がウソくさい“、meaning his expressions seem “made up”/played up, so I was like ah yes, I’m absolutely going to read too much into this. And now here we are lmao

Is mood maker a phrase in English?? Lol i don’t remember lmk if its wrong

When Mitski said “Yet Now I find I’ve grown into a tall child” I felt that‒ lesbian Jesus strikes again Mitski seems to find way into my writing every time but she’s also a hyperfixation of mine

Greece actually fell like 2100 years ago around 146 BC BUT i figured with the help of magic technology/culture would move more rapidly?? So I shrunk it down to like 600 years

The play part is pulled directly from Song of Achilles lol (except I changed it to Hyacinthus and Apollo), I knew if I were to write a bit in the play I'd get waaaay into it and the chapter would take forever so, you win some you lose some I guess

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