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mayans-sauce · 3 years

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Interstellar: Chapter 1

Pairing: younger! EZ Reyes x Astra Beckett

Word Count: 1.9K

Warnings: cursing but other than that none.

Summary: Ezekiel and Astra get accepted into the space program. For context: both of them are 27 in this and EZ is more on the skinnier side to begin with.

Let me know if you want to be tagged/removed for this story!

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Introduction

Chapter 2

⭐️Interstellar Masterlist⭐️

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The Year 2052

Astra burst through the front door of the house, almost screaming at the top of her lungs, “IT CAME! IT CAME! Dad, it finally came.” Her dad got up from where he was working on the kitchen table. “From the academy?” “YES! We need to call EZ.”

Astra pulled out her laptop, calling EZ on a video call. He answered within a second. “I was just about to call. Did you get yours?” She held the big envelope in view. Felipe and Marisol were standing right beside their son, waiting for him to open up the envelope. “Let’s open them up and then read it at the same time,” EZ said. She could see the terrified look on his face; hers must look the same as well. This was the moment of truth, what both had been working towards for years. Tearing it open and pulling the letter out. “Alright, EZ, on three, and then we read it. Ready?” “1, 2, 3.”

Dear Astra Beckett,

The Celestial Academy would like to congratulate you on your place in our space program.

“WE GOT IN!” EZ and Astra exclaimed at the same time. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.” Her dad embraced her hard and tight. A single tear was falling off his face. In the background, it could be heard EZ’s parents congratulating and hugging him as well. “What more does it say?” Felipe asked his son. EZ read the rest of the letter.

We would like to welcome you and your family for a tour of our top-class institution, where you will be getting an introduction to our one of a kind program, our teachers and teaching, our revolutionary technology, the dormitories, and so much more.

We can’t wait to make you a part of our family and spend the next five years with you, making you a one-of-a-kind astronaut.

“We did it, Astra.”

“We did it, Ezekiel.”

Packing a few clothes, some books, space-themed posters and decorations, her telescope her dad got her when she was ten years old and a few other things. She didn’t need a lot with her since this was a new chapter of her life, and she was sure she would buy a lot more stuff in the five years they would be there.

The next day

The next day they were early on their way. The drive to the academy wasn’t a long one. It was just 4 hours from Santo Padre. It was a nice little road trip for all. EZ’s brother Angel tagged along as well, who was also a good friend of Astra, so it was good that Felipe had space for all in his seven-seater car.

The Celestial Academy was like a little city, a city full of nerds and the newest technology in the world. Just getting into the area required special permission, and guards were standing at every campus entrance.

“Holy shit,” Astra and EZ said at the same time as they entered the gates with the car. The buildings stood tall and proud, different holograms showcasing the academy’s various aspects, hovering supply trucks moving from building to building with supplies, and so much more. It was so much to take in, and it would take a long time for them to get used to it all. Felipe parked the car at the visitor’s parking garage.

The walk up to the academy’s main building was short but long at the same time, with the nerves running through both of them. Astra could feel her heart almost jumping out of her chest with how fast it was beating. She grabbed EZ’s hand for comfort. “It’s gonna be fine. We can do this,” he comforted her. She knew she would be able to do this with her best friend by her side. “I know. I’m glad I have you by my side EZ.” He smiled at her, showing that he was grateful that she was here with him as well.

When they entered the building, they were welcomed with a big sign that said “Welcome New Recruits” written on it. They followed the rest of the people into the big speaking room where all the other recruits and their families were seated. The lights dimmed down, and the one and only founder of the academy walked out on stage and started speaking but not before getting a big welcome from everyone.

“Welcome recruits. My name is Damien, founder of this institution, and it is my pleasure to welcome you all here. When I started this program some 30 years ago, I didn’t think that it would turn out to be the best and most desirable space program in the entire world. But in the 30 years we have operated, around 200 individuals have become world-class astronauts with various specialties.” The room burst out in applause. “For the 30 of you that have made it into the program, I congratulate you for the hard work and sacrifice that has made it possible for you to have been accepted. But there is no time for celebrations yet. Not all of you will make it.” The room was dead silent now. “Almost 50% of you will buckle under the immense pressure of the program and leave within the first year. That’s when the real competition begins. Just 6 of you will be picked out for space travel after three years here and start the real training while the rest of you will be guaranteed education and a job at this institution. It’s going to be a hard five years, folks. The rest of the people on this campus, and I wish you good luck.” Damien got sent off with applause and hollering from everyone in the room. “Fuck, that was scary,” EZ whispered to Astra. “We can do this, Ezekiel. I know we can.” Now it was her turn to encourage and comfort him.

There was given some information about what was going to happen throughout the day. Free food, games, and a tour of the facilities was on the plan before eventually, all friends and family needed to leave.

Later in the day

After a fun last day with the family, it was time to say goodbye. Astras' dad tried his best not to cry, but he couldn’t help himself. His little girl was all grown up, and now her real journey would begin. “Dad… don’t cry… it's gonna be fine,” Astra hugged her old man as hard as she could. “I’m just so proud of you, my little star. Your mom would be so proud,” he said as he kissed her forehead. “Stop it, now I’m the one that’s crying.” “Just promise me you'll visit… I’ll be all sad and alone in the big house without you.” She nodded her head at him, “I promise I'll visit as much as I can… I promise, dad.” “Pinky promise?” Holding his pinky out for her to interlock with hers, she gladly did so, “I promise.”

“Come here, Ezekiel. My little astronaut,” Marisol hugged and kissed his cheek repeatedly. EZ loved his mom and the affection she would give him, but now it was kind of embarrassing since there were so many people. “Mom… mom.” “I’m sorry, baby. I’m just so proud of you, and I love you so much.” “I love you too, mom.” He gave her a final hug before he moved on to his dad. “Proud of you, son.” “Thanks, pop.” They gave each other a quick hug.

Last but not least, it was Angel’s turn to say his goodbyes. “Proud of you lil bro, you fucking space nerd.” “Shut up, Angel,” EZ said playfully before giving his big brother a big hug. “Don’t cause any trouble now that I’m not there.” Angel held his hands up in defence, “Hey, can’t promise anything.” EZ just shook his head at him.

Saying the last goodbyes to each other, and then they left, leaving Astra and EZ to watch them walk away. When they were out of sight, he turned towards her and grabbed her hand, “come on, let’s get settled into the dormitory.”

Astra walked into her assigned room and was greeted by the girl she was going to live with. She had already set up most of the stuff on her side of the room. The room was huge and spacious, and it even had a private bathroom. “Hi, I’m Mia, nice to meet you,” she reached out her hand, which Astra gladly accepted, “I’m Astra, it’s nice to meet you, Mia.” “I hope you don’t mind that I took the left side of the room.” “Go ahead, no problem.” They talked and got to know each other as they packed out their things and put them in place. Astra liked Mia a lot, they had a lot in common, and she knew that they would be great friends. “I can’t believe we are here; it’s so surreal,” Mia said as they got done packing out and sat on their beds. “I know, right! I’m afraid that I’ll wake up tomorrow, and it was all a dream,” Astra answered.

Before bed, all the recruits meet up with the teachers to get their plan for the next few upcoming weeks and the whole five-year plan as a whole. EZ was already buddies with his roommate, Mateo, and all 4 of them clicked immediately, already forming a good group and friendship of their own.

Later in the evening

Astra was trying her hardest to fall asleep; it was a big day tomorrow, the first official day ever, but her mind was racing like crazy, and she couldn’t get it to quiet down. She decided to get up and go out to the common room to take her mind off it for a while, sitting down by the window that overlooked the futuristic town. After a few minutes, footsteps could be heard, and she turned around to see who it was. Her frown turned into a smile when she saw him coming towards her.

“Couldn’t sleep?” EZ asked as he sat down beside her. She shook her head no, “my mind won’t shut up.” “Yeah, me neither.” They sat in silence for a few moments before EZ spoke up. “In 5 years, we will be up there,” he pointed towards the sky. “You don’t know that Ezekiel… there are 30 of us, and only 6 make it.” “I know we'll make it. We have each other, Astra, and you are the smartest girl I know. Even if I don’t make it, you will.” “You know I will never go if you aren’t going either.” “I know… but I will force you to go. Even if I have to push you in the spaceship myself.” Astra looked down on the floor, getting shy for a moment, “I know you will, Zeke.”

She started biting her nails, a habit she did when she felt nervous, and EZ knew that, he knew everything about her. “Hey, stop that,” EZ took her hand in his, “it's gonna be fine.” “It’s gonna be fine,” she repeated in a whisper.

They sat like that for a little while longer. Just holding each other’s hand and looking up towards the sky, getting prepared for the next five years of their life.

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Let me know what you think❤️

Interstellar Taglist (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @yourwonkywriter @spnaquakindgdom @fuchszie @noz4a2

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kayywinchester · 4 years

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This Life

Jack Kline x Reader

Word Count: 1,768

Warnings: fluff, heavy kissing. That’s pretty much it.

Also on AO3

The cool ground beneath you soothed your skin. The stifling, humid air around you wasn’t cooling off nearly fast enough. Even now, at just after midnight, there was a thin layer of sweat down your chest as across your brow.

But, the slight discomfort was very much worth it. The stars were so visible from the hunter’s safe house that Jody had asked Dean to meet her at earlier in the day. And now, you were stuck there for the night.

Southeastern Kentucky was nothing like the bright lights you had lived under for most of your life. The Los Angeles skies were riddled with light pollution, and you rarely had any luck finding a quiet place to relax anywhere in that city. The red clay dirt and tree-lined mountains that surrounded you were oddly calming and incredibly beautiful.

And, the best thing was, Jack loved looking at the stars just as much as you did. Sam had given him a book about astronomy a few months back, so Jack took advantage of every opportunity to show off his newly acquired knowledge.

“And up there, that’s Venus,” he whispered beside you, his light golden locks resting gently on his hand. “It has the slowest rotation of any planet we know about, and takes about two thirds of an Earth year to rotate just once. Oh, and its days are longer than its years!” You turned towards him just in time to catch the sweet grin across his lips. You found the information interesting but found it hard to focus.

But, that’s how it usually went when you were around Jack.

You turned back to the sky but didn’t ask another question. You just laid there and enjoyed one of the few moments you had alone with the handsome young Nephilim.

Jack let out a deep sigh and turned his head towards you. “Y/N, if you could be anything, what would you be?”

You chuckled and turned to him. “You mean, for a living? Besides being a hunter?” Jack nodded. “Huh, I never really thought about it.”

“Why not?” he asked innocently. You shrugged.

“I don’t know. I mean, I studied Anthropology in college, but that was only because my dad urged me to.” You stretched an arm above you for a moment, then turned yourself a little bit more towards Jack.

“He urged you to go to college, even though he trained you to be a hunter?” Jack questioned, tilting his head ever so slightly.

“Yep. It was all part of the plan. You learn a lot of useful information in Anthropology classes, even if it’s only described as ‘folklore’.” Jack slowly nodded, but you were confident he was still a little confused. But, it didn’t matter. You didn’t want to talk about school. Those weren’t exactly the years you reminisced about as you drifted off to sleep each night.

“But, to answer your question, I’d probably work with animals. Like, as a vet or something,” you explained, enjoying the hint of a daydream that clouded your mind.

“You like animals? Did you have pets as a kid?” Boy, he was full of questions, wasn’t he?

“I had a dog, a terrier thing that my dad adopted from the pound when I was in seventh grade. We named her Sugar, and we had her for ten years or so. She went on hunts with my dad every once in a while, but usually stayed home with me and mom.” You cleared your throat. “But, that was it. I really like cats, but never had the chance to own one.”

Jack nodded, still smiling. “I like animals too. Cats are a little hard to read, but I’ve met a few that have walked up to me when I go on walks. I really like old dogs. I feel like they have amazing stories that they can never tell us.” You giggled as you unknowingly scooted a little closer to Jack.

“What about you, Jack? What would you want to do with your life? If you could choose?” Jack pursed his lips and furrowed his brow, then smiled yet again.

“I would like to explore space,” Jack answered innocently.

“As an astronaut? Like, actually going up into space?” Jack nodded.

“I’d also love to help discover new planets and stars. Maybe they would name one after me!” you laughed, making Jack laugh a little.

“I think that would be a great idea, Jack.” You turned back up to the sky, rolling back onto your back. “That sounds really cool.”

“Yeah, but I like this life better,” Jack rebutted. You turned your face back to him.

“Oh yeah? And why is that?” Jack was quiet for a moment.

“Well, because I met you in this life. And I don’t want to live a life without you in it.” Your heart nearly jumped out of your chest at his words. Sure, you had only known Jack for a little while, and like Dean, believed he was evil at first. But now, he felt just like a peer, like a hunter in training, eager to learn.

And, above all else, he was a friend.

You stared up at the sky in a state of shock. “Um, wow, I don’t know what to say to that, Jack.”

“You don’t agree?” You shot back to him.

“What? No! I mean, of course I agree! I just didn’t think you felt that strongly about me.” You let out a long, deep sigh.

“What do you mean? Of course, I do! You’re my friend. And I’m really happy when I’m around you. I want to spend time with you, like all the time. And I’m sad when you’re hurt or when you’re not around,” Jack rambled. He rolled completely onto his side and smiled over to you. “I always have the urge to be near you, like sitting next to you or hugging you.” That last sentence almost made your stomach leap into your throat.

“You—really?” You pursed your lips, then turned onto your side to face Jack.

“Yeah. And, um—” Jack swallowed hard. “I’ve also thought about kissing you.” That was it, your heart was going to burst through your chest. There was no question.

“K-Kiss me? Wow.”

Jack’s eyes suddenly widened. “Is that not okay?”

You shot up onto your left arm and shook your head violently. “No! I mean, yes! Jack, that’s totally fine. I just, I didn’t know you felt the same way.” You paused for a moment, watching the sweet smile return to his face.

“The same way? You want to kiss me too?” You simply nodded, fighting the urge to giggle. You felt like you had a middle school crush again.

“Yeah, Jack. I have for a while.”

Jack inched forward a little. “Do you mind if I kiss you now?” he whispered. His gaze flicked down to your lips. You grinned and nodded.

“Go ahead.”

Jack blinked, then leaned in, stopping just short of your face. A shuttered breath escaped him before he closed the gap between you, pressing his lips firmly against yours. At first, his movements were awkward, applying a little too much pressure. But, he quickly captured your lip between his teeth, unleashing a completely different side of him.

Jack pulled away abruptly, panting a little. You stared at him with wide eyes and huffed.

“Where the hell did you learn that?” you breathed in shock. Jack’s cheeks reddened and he turned away.

“I watch a lot of romance movies. I like to pretend it’s you and me.” You couldn’t help but giggle at how cheesy he sounded, but it didn’t matter. You loved the softness and hint of edginess that was radiating from him.

“That’s… adorable.” You reached out and took his hand in yours. Jack blushed and quickly looked away again. You tried to follow his gaze but squeezed his hand instead. “Would you like to kiss me again?” His eyes snapped back to you.

“Yes,” he breathed just as he leaned in, without hesitation this time.

Jack’s movements were a little frantic, but you didn’t mind taking the reins. Jack pulled his hand from yours, smoothing it up your arm, shoulder, neck. The moment his hands snaked up into your hair, you leaned back, pulling him down with you. He quickly found his way on top of you, hovering over you as he slowed down, softening his touches.

You both stayed like that for what felt like an hour. But, the sound of footsteps on the dirt behind you quickly ripped the two of you apart.

“Oh, I wondered where you two went. Watching the stars, huh?” Dean chuckled mockingly. “I can see you’re very interested in the stars.”

“Oh, shut it, Dean,” you hissed, lifting yourself from the ground. You patted the dust off you and turned towards the older Winchester.

“We were watching the stars most of the time,” Jack defended innocently.

“Oh, I bet you were seeing all sorts of stars,” Dean teased as he turned to walk away. “Glad you two are alive. Goodnight,” he saluted, heading back for the small cabin. You rolled your eyes then turned back to Jack.

“He really knows how to spoil a special moment.” You ran your fingers through your hair and waited for Jack to dust himself off. His hair stuck up in a few places, making you smile.

“Yeah, but we’ll have another chance to do that, right?” Jack met your gaze. You nodded.

“Oh yeah, I think I can make that work.” You shot him a wink, then held out your hand. “C’mon. Let’s get to sleep. I’m sure it’s well into the morning right now.” Jack took your hand.

“Are we all going to fit into the cabin?” Jack asked, suddenly concerned.

“We’re gonna have to. I have a sleeping bag, and I found another one for you. Sam and Dean claimed the rooms, since there’s only one twin bed in each room. The couch is open too, but it’s a loveseat, so it’s a little bit small. Cas said he’s just going to hang out in one of the chairs. So, we have the luxury of sleeping on the floor in the main room.” You led Jack up the front steps of the tiny cabin and reached for the door.

“That doesn’t sound too bad. As long as you’re there too.” His sweetness made your stomach flutter.

“Oh, I’m here. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” Jack stared at you in confusion. You huffed a laugh, then leaned over, pressing a kiss onto his cheek.

#jack kline #jack kline x reader #jack x reader #jack kline and reader #jack kline fluff #jack kline x reader fluff #jack kline reader insert #dean winchester #supernatural fanfiction

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purplesurveys · 3 years

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1161

survey by pichu4850

What color do you think of when I say...

Anger? Red, or a really bright red-orange.

Confusion? Gray.

Inspiration? Sky blue. Both word and color give off calming vibes to me.

Shy? Something like an off-white shade, and maybe even pastel pink.

Agony? Olive green was the first color to come to mind, though I have no idea why.

Sleep? Dark blue, like the night sky.

Chipper? Yellow.

Beautiful? Red, the way roses are.

Morning? Light blue or yellow.

Would you rather be named...

Andrea or Aimee? Andrea.

Emily or Erica? Emily. I know an Erycka that I’m not too fond of, so this is an easy pass.

Kelsey or Casey? Casey, though I’d mix up my name a bit and have it be pronounced and spelled as Cassie.

Madeleine or Marina? Eh, not really a fan of either but I’d mos likely go for Madeleine.

Alec or Aaron? Alec.

Ryan or Ross? Not a fan of both names as well though I’d probably go with Ryan, but only as a feminine name.

Dylan or Daniel? Dylan.

Jack or Jordan? I guess Jack, if I have to pick.

Gabriel or Gavin? Gabriel.

How often do you...

Brush your teeth? Once or twice a day.

Eat breakfast? Twice a week, during weekends; though sometimes I’ll end up skipping it for an entire week altogether.

Check your email? I literally never check my personal email anymore after having gotten hired, but I know I should quit that habit and check it every once in a while just in case an intriguing opportunity might come my way. My work email is a different story; I have to use it everyday. I open my emails even during weekends so that when I report to my shift on Monday, my Gmail won’t look as clogged.

Go to the mall? When quarantine protocols loosened up a bit I used to go either on Saturdays or Sundays for some me time as well as some much-needed time away from the house, for the sake of my mental health and sanity. But now that we’re going through another surge in cases, no one’s allowed to go out again and malls are back to just keeping the essential stores open.

Go to the beach? A few times a year, at least before the pandemic. I haven’t been to the beach since 2019.

Play card games? Only happens once in a blue moon, when I get together with friends and someone happens to bring a deck of cards. This isn’t a usual occurrence with any of my friend groups, though.

Have at least 20 minute phone calls? Never. I have 20-minute Google Meet and Zoom calls instead.

Paint your nails? They are never painted.

Wish you were happier? Every now and then.

Did you ever want to be...

A veterinarian? Yes, when I was younger. I once stumbled upon an interview with a horse vet on one of my kid’s almanacs and thought what they did was so cool.

An astronaut? Yup, definitely became a big obsession of mine at one point in my childhood. I still think it would be cool to go to outer space and should the opportunity ever become accessible in my lifetime, I wouldn’t want to miss out on it.

An artist? Not really. I knew from the get go I wasn’t meant to be one.

A school teacher? I would guess yes, but I definitely wasn’t as interested in teaching compared to being an astronaut or like a firefighter.

A housewife? Lmfao yeah. This was the answer I would give when I was like 8 up until I was probably 10 and I knew it stressed out my Asian mother big time. My grandpa got a kick out of it, though.

A firefighter? Yes. This was up there with astronaut.

A princess? Not so much.

A lawyer? I definitely considered law for a brief period, but it was already during my latter college years. There wasn’t enough time to mull over it. But hearing all the law school horror stories from my friends kind of made me relieved I didn’t push through with it; I knew I wasn’t passionate enough about law to want to go through all the hardships that come with law school, so I was fine letting that dream go, and still am.

A doctor? This was never a dream of mine.

Would you consider yourself...

Materialistic? Yes.

Pessimistic? It comes out occasionally, but I don’t think it’s a main trait of mine that people would generally see me as.

Avoidant? Not so much. I can be shy and anxious sometimes but I get over it at some point.

Sarcastic? Only occasionally. I wouldn’t say I speak the language.

Talkative? Definitely not. I hate being in the spotlight, and whenever it’s my turn to share a story or talk in a group I usually have the tendency to rush through it or make it as short as possible so as to return the spotlight on someone else. I’ve always been more of a listener.

Strange? Maybe not strange but weird to an extent?

Intelligent? I guess in some ways.

Lucky? In some ways I am, but I also got handed the short end of the stick in other contexts.

In the next twenty-four hours, will you...

Talk to someone you care about? Probably. I talk to at least one friend a day.

Go to work? Yep, I’ll finally be going back to work since the Holy Week break is over. My workaholic self felt kinda unsettled with all the free time, so I’m actually kinda relieved.

Go to school? I’m not in school anymore.

Be in a different city? Nope, it’ll be working from home for me like usual. We were initially allowed to book visits to the office if we really needed to go there to pack some goodies and stuff, but because of re-heightened Covid protocols our admin has once again prohibited anyone to go there for the meantime.

Read a book? I highly doubt it. I haven’t read any in months.

Watch a movie? Nope. It’ll be a Monday coming from a 4-day break, so it will be incredibly busy tomorrow as there would be a lot to catch up on.

Go to a dentist/orthodontist appointment? No, I won’t.

Do your laundry? My parents probably will seeing as our hamper was nearly full the last time I checked.

True or False: Family...

I have two brothers or more. I only have one brother.

My mom lives with me. This is technically true but isn’t phrased right in my case. I’m currently living with my parents.

My grandparent(s) live with me. No, we moved out of our duplex (where I did use to live with my grandparents) well over a decade ago.

I have half-siblings. Don’t have any.

I am the oldest in my family. Eldest child, that is.

I am an only child. I have two other siblings.

I have 15 cousins I can name off the top of my head. Easily. My first cousins are less than 15 in total, but I know a good number of my second and third cousins as well so this is a cakewalk.

The nearest Aunt or Uncle lives less than an hour away from me. The aforementioned duplex we moved out of is just at the next village; we didn’t move too far so that we can continue visiting them.

True or False: Food...

I am allergic to chocolate. I’m not, fortunately. I’m not crazy about chocolate but I’d be pretty miserable if I could never have it either.

I like vegetables more than fruit. Infinitely more, hahaha. I hate fruits.

I have tried pizza dipped in ranch sauce. Ranch isn’t a very common dressing where I’m from, so it’s not usually offered in restaurants. Given the chance, though, I’d definitely try my pizza with ranch at least once.

I've never eaten kiwi fruit. True, but then again I’ve never eaten most fruits and don’t plan to.

I love junk food.

I love to try new food.

Ketchup goes best with fries (chips). I don’t like ketchup and barely put it on anything.

I like fried rice. I haven’t met an Asian who doesn’t like fried rice.

I can prepare dinner for myself (using a stove or oven).

I hate sushi.

How many...

Pairs of shoes do you have? A little over 10, maybe? I don’t feel like counting in my head rn.

Songs do you have on your music player? I don’t have a music player anymore.

Hours of sleep did you get last night? Around 4.

Times have you had alcohol? Like, ever since I started drinking when I was 18? I never kept track lmao but if I would guess, maybe around 50-60 times? I’m not a regular drinker; I drink probably once or twice a month at most.

Books have you read/started reading in the past month? None.

Windows in your house/apartment are open? I know my parents and sister have their windows open at the moment, so that’s 2. Mine are usually open as well, but I’ve turned on my aircon so I’ve closed them for the night.

Pets do you have? 2.

Kids do you have/want to have? I’d cut it off a a maximum of 3 kids, but having just 1 would already be so nice.

Minutes does it take to get from your home to school or work? I work from home, but in the two times I went to the actual office it took anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour.

Have you ever...

Spilled a cup of grape juice on the carpet? I don’t think I’ve ever even encountered grape juice in my entire life.

Played spin the bottle? I don’t think I’ve ever played this. My friends and I usually resort to truth or dare.

Played Twister? Yes, and there are many fond memories that come with it as well. So when I was 7 years old I befriended Katreen, and her mom and mine hit it off instantly so they started this arrangement where every Friday, her mom picked me and my sister up from school along with Katreen and her sisters, and we’d stay for several hours at their place until my mom would pick us up. Her mom was an amazing host and every week we’d play Twister, watch Pokemon, read books together, etc; anything to keep us comfortable and entertained.

Been caught doing something you weren't supposed to be doing? It’s bound to happen every now and then.

Walked out of a movie because it was horrible? I’ve gotten this feeling a few times but I always stayed in my seat because I paid for the damn ticket.

Given the finger to someone on the street? Oh most definitely, as well as drivers passing by. And it’s always been towards men that are being disgusting pigs.

Been so sad/angry that you started laughing? Sure.

Been in a wedding? Yes, but I only got invited as a kid since I was usually picked to be one of the flower girls. I haven’t been to a family wedding since 2007.

Been in a situation where you almost died? Probably not died but almost substantially injured, sure.

Misc...

Are you stressing out about anything right now? Just worried about the deluge of tasks that will inevitably come at me tomorrow but knowing how easygoing my bosses are, I know I’ll be able to ease up soon enough.

Do you think before acting or act before thinking? I used to be the latter but I now see the importance of first considering possible consequences of or how others would be affected by my actions.

Do you act upon your emotions and instinct, or logic and reasoning? Again, I used to be one of these, this time the former. Now that I’m at a much more stable and peaceful place in my life I try not to let my emotions get the best of me.

What are some personality traits you find appealing in a potential partner? I had a number of negative experiences in my last relationship so forgive me for scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to my expectations lmaaaao – I’d love for someone to be sensitive to my needs and feelings, and for them to be able to own up to their mistakes or hurtful habits and know how to apologize and be open to changing if it’s for their self-improvement.

How have you changed as a person in the last 5 years? I tolerate less bullshit now. I think I’ve also grown to be happier and a lot more stable, emotionally. I also have a better sense of what I want out of life and where I want to be, and I’ve also learned to be more sociable and open up to people.

If you could do anything you wanted right this moment, what would it be? Order sushi :(

Is there anyone you can totally relax and be yourself around? Yes, that’s what my friends are for. If I can’t feel comfortable around my friends, I’d view that as a problem.

Did you ever wanted to say something to someone, didn't, and regretted it? No.

Are you scared about the future? I’m scared of the idea of not meeting some of my goals, like having a family; but I’m also excited about what the future could bring me.

#survey #surveys

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ceratinus · 3 years

Note

Can you write a story about like doppelgängers?? Like that one astronaut one where there’s a guy outside the ship asking to be let in but also the same guy inside saying that the other is a fake!!

I hope you like this, it felt nice to stretch my creative muscles in this direction thank you ^_^

Idk how much this counts as a Doppelgänger but-

June 29th, 1992

Grace fidgeted with her necklace, twisting the little plastic charm over in her hands as the old camp bus rumbled over pockmarked dirt. Each hole was marked by a loud thud and she would bounce slightly in her hot vinyl seat, one hand leaving the charm necklace to hold her bag, just in case. This was her third year at Camp Clearwater, a run down summer camp full of noisey bunks, sticky benches, and a small lake buzzing with mosquitoes and every nasty bug children dare each other to touch without getting scared. She sighed and looked out the window, squinting at the hot sun. Her mother had told her to pack sunglasses, but Grace had forgot. Again. The bus rounded a corner and started its descent down to the campgrounds, hitting every bump and hole head on.

Giving a small grunt as she hiked her backpack onto her shoulders, Grace made her way off the bus with the other campers, taking in the familiar scenery. There came a shout, the head counselor was beckoning the "mayflies" over to a corner under a tree. That was her this year, not old enough to be a senior at the camp, leading songs and getting time with the canoe- but two years too old for the best beds or using the dilapidated playground. Grace bet her legs still wouldn't touch the ground on the monkey bars, unlike everyone else she hadn't grown an inch. She ambled over to the circle under the tree, looking for a familiar face in the group. Her summer camp friend was Sid, who always got to the camp a week early with the kids from the southern town closer to Clearwater. She was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was late. Somehow.

The head counselor shouted at them to sit down in the grass and Grace obeyed, dropping herself and her enormous bag onto the cool earth with a thud. Everyone else had done the same, whispering among themselves and exchanging far-fetched stories of school conquests back home. The two other southern kids were sitting in silence, glued together. Grace leaned over and tried to ask about Sid, but a harsh whistle from the head counselor made her snap back around.

"Welcome to your third year Mayflies! Very happy to see you all here again. I assume you all know the rules by now, but just in case: No swimming in the lake without councilor supervision, no going anywhere without a buddy, and curfew at sundown! If we see you out after dark without permission you will be confined to my office for two days, meaning you will not only miss any activities, but you will also have to deal with me!"

She gave a loud, barking laugh, then continued her lecture. Grace was starting to lose focus, tuning her out in favour of ripping small bits of grass from the ground. Each little bit felt like some small rebellion, like she was sticking out her tongue at the councilor and her yearly mile-long list of rules. Something grabbed her attention though, pulling her out of her trance by the roots of her hair. It was a gasp from the kid sitting next to her, making her snap back into focus. The head counselor was still talking her nonsense, but there was someone next to her now. Someone tall, very tall, and with short red hair mostly covered by a camp ballcap that was casting a shadow over most of his features, making them blurry and hard to make out.

"And before I forget, I have someone I'd like you all to meet! This is our new camp counselor, Max. He will your primary counselor this year and I hope you all treat him with the same respect you treat me. Remember, you're big kids now, with bigger responsibilities. I expect nothing less than perfection. "

She gestured to Max, letting him take the stage while she strutted off to talk to other groups. As he came into the shade, the shadow over his eyes softened, and she could see a pair of watery green eyes. They looked like the algae sludge that covered logs close to shore, smelling of rotten plant matter and sticking to your hands if you touched them. It was when he spoke, however, that her blood ran cold. His lips peeled back,

"I know... I am new here, but hopefully that does not stop us. From becoming familiar. I am looking forwards to us getting to know each other, and I promise I will do everything in my power to make this a.. memorable experience for you all."

Was there something about the way his jaw moved when he talked, or maybe it was his tongue, clicking and rolling around in his mouth like some fattened grub? Was it his hands, or his eyes, that twitched in such an unnerving manner? She didn't know, only that something about Max made her sick. Her palms were tingling, right in the deep middle groove, her stomach doing cartwheels up near her lungs. He was done with his little speech and stood back in apparent expectation, being met with small claps and welcomes from some of the campers. They were dismissed to unpack, Grace picking up her backpack and sprinting to the cabins as fast as she could.

The inside of the Mayfly cabin was one of the oldest, and it showed. She was lucky enough to get a top bunk, but almost wished she hadn't as she stared up at a fat brown spider crawling across a beam on the ceiling. The other campers were on the floor, still talking about one thing or another, she didn't feel like joining them. Sid would have usually crawled up here with her, tucking her long legs into her chest and leaning against the back wall regardless of spiders or rusty nails. Sid was brave and impressive, always the first on the slack line or to jump off the pier. Grace had never been brave or impressive, but Sid never cared. And now she was gone. Grace tried to rationalize that maybe, just maybe she had decided to miss this year, take soccer or stay at home where she probably had loads of friends, cool ones. Yet, something just wasn't sitting right. Her mind kept peeking back at Max, turning his orange dead-leaf hair and sticky eyes over in her head. She turned over in her cot and slowly started unpacking in some effort to get rid of her worries, she was here to have fun. Or try at least.

A The Little Mermaid blanket with a picture of Ursula's human form gasping in rage on one side, Ariel on the other. Her camp pillow, stained on one side from her first year at camp, boring stuff for cleaning she left in her bag alongside the sunscreen and underwear. Two chapter books, one new and one already read twice, a stuffed caterpillar, and a Walkman plus four casettes. She popped open the little door where she put the tapes and gasped with delight. Sitting in the slot was a new cassette, popping it out revealing a note from her father.

"Dear Gracie, have lots of fun at camp. Stay safe and try not to miss us too much. Love, Dad and Mom."

The next three days passed uneventfully, eating greasy mess hall food and trying to get a chance to speak to the two southern kids. They were joined at the hip, never farther than a couple feet from one another, and never ever speaking to anyone else. Everytime she crept closer or sat next to them during dinner, they became silent almost instantly. Only their eyes belied a great fear.

Max was another story. Aside from his strange inflections- which he was mocked for mercilessly in the Mayfly cabin after curfew, he seemed perfectly normal. Normal like jerky or dried fruit. There was just something missing that made the throat dry up and the tongue swallow back. She watched him eat at the counselor's table once after being unsuccessful in her attempts to interrogate the southern kids about Sid. He was holding pleasant comversation with another counselor, tapping his fingers along the dark wood, plate empty. His mouth kept moving, but one eye slid away from his acquaintance and locked with hers. The floor dropped out from under her as he slowly blinked then went back to ignoring her. It was clear as day he knew she had been looking at him, her entire day out on the water was spent in fear. She looked down at her reflection on the lake and thought she saw someone behind her, but there was never anything there.

He caught her after dinner, speed walking towards her cabin. A warm feverish hand clamped down on her shoulder, any semblance of a scream dying in her throat. She turned around, hands shaking as he looked down at her. His face was twisted in something like.... concern? He bent down to her level and suddenly Grace was feeling somewhat confused. With both hands resting on his knees now he spoke softly, how one does when they are trying not to scare a wild animal.

"I know. That we may not have started off on the... right.. foot. But I don't want us to be strangers, eh? Please, let me talk with you by the water and hopefully I can remove some of this border between us."

Why she followed him she never knew, her legs just turned to reeds, and the wind was blowing in that direction. Sitting on the old camp log in the sand, he motioned for her to sit down next to him, and she did. His voice was still soft, trying to be friendly, honey sweet and non-threatening.

"I am aware... that you have been attempting to talk to Michael and Lucile about something. And that something is your friend. Sidney. Yes?"

Her hands dug into the wood, trying to keep them from shaking. How did he-

"She talked about you a lot, truth be told. Was very.... sad to go without getting to see you. But. We had issues between her and another camper. Two, Michael and Lucile, actually. I am. Technically not supposed to talk about this with campers, but you seem trustworthy. I can trust you yes?"

Trust her.... she nodded, if nothing else out of instinct. He nodded back, clicking his worm-tongue and looking out at the water.

"There were old grudges from their town. A feeling of replacement. Jealousy over what one felt to be the other taking a spot that was rightfully theirs. I think. The two started harassing Sid, and. It got bad enough that.... she had to leave. For her own comfort. The head counselor does not like to talk about these things you see. She does not want any one to be afraid. Of anything but her."

His laugh was almost imperceptible, more of a wheeze. It crept out between his teeth, grating on her ears and buzzing in her skull. Her entire body was buzzing, she wanted nothing more than to run, run far away from Max. But something was keeping her there, something new. He said he trusted her, he was talking to her like a person, more than most anyone but Sid talked to her. Sid... Michael and Lucile would do that? Drive away her only friend over some petty grudge? She didn't know what to think.

"I hope, you think about all consequences of your actions. Before you do anything. Some may ignore a... great deal before they find people a problem instead of a background."

And he was gone. Loping back towards the camp, leaving her with the last glow of a dying day.

That night her dreams crawled in and out of terror, she drowned in a green pool of algae before a hand pulled her out, a tall figure wearing Sid's face. It smiled at her with a mouth that stretched outside of its face before dropping her through rotten wood boards, down into a loud noise outside her window. She bolted upright, heart fluttering, skin coated in sweat. There is was again, a sharp tapping on the window by at her feet. Grace took a sharp swallow and crept over the edge, peering down to Lucile's drawn face. They met eyes and she immediately tucked out of view, leaving Grace with the option to go back to her Not Sid and worm-eaten wood or gather her courage and sneak out the door.

Michael wasn't there, and Lucile immediately stepped around the corner of the cabin when she saw Grace, beckoning with a single hand. Grace's feet stayed firmly planted on the porch, her eyes darting back and forth, looking for a counselor that might catch her. Lucile looked back over and made a pleading noise, grasping at something in between them with her hands. It was a please, plain and simple. When Grace still wouldn't budge she sighed and ran over, dragging Grace behind the corner of the cabin. She tried to protest, but Lucile immediately clamped a hand over her mouth and yanked her down to the ground where the two were completely concealed by grass and weeds. Grace met her gaze, a wild one at that. Lucile was more rabbit than person, eyelids twitching and pupils like two small dots despite the dark. To Grace's surprise she spoke, barely a whisper but fervent all the same.

"I can't say much or he'll hear me. The old storage cabin down the old trapper's trail. It's all there. All there all there all-"

Her muttering cut out and she started to get up, not bothering to brush any of the dirt off her nightgown. Grace tried to grab her, saying,

"Who? What's down there... what did you do to Sid?"

But Lucile just shook her head, a tear falling down her cheek as she turned her head and ran back to her cabin.

The rough dirt and stones hurt Grace's feet as she raced down the old trail, lungs heaving and legs carrying her as fast as they could. She gripped her necklace as she ran, the little butterfly becoming slick in her sweaty palms. Trees blurred past her, snapping into her face out of nowhere and making her face sting. The storage cabin came into view, its decaying shape sitting squat and rotten in the small clearing. It held a kind of menace, sending daggers of fear right into her chest, catching her breath and pinning it to her spine. She wanted Max to be right, she wanted to get caught after hours and spend two safe but boring days inside, away from two people she wanted to be nothing more than lying bullies. But, bullies don't get that afraid, she'd never seen someone who was supposed to be a bully that terrified in her life. The door to the cabin was unlocked.

Rot.

Rot and webs and death. The entire inside was covered in webs, carrying something akin to the dead squirrel she had found while helping her dad clean out the yard. Something deeper though, heavy and oppressive. It crushed her and pressed all the air out of her lungs, filling them instead with this foul smell. She started heaving and ran over to a corner of the room to vomit, hand against a wall for support. As her eyes opened she looked down and gave a small cry, involuntary and painful. She screamed and backpedaled, trying to reach the door as quickly as possible, away from the hand of her decaying friend.

She raced out of the cabin and looked up, then froze in her tracks, face already hot with tears. She needed to get out, go back, do something, get her mom tell someone she just wanted to be safe where was her mother where was Sid why that couldn't have been no no no-

He was standing at the end of the pathway, maybe fifteen meters away from her.

She screamed, loud and rough like clearing all the dust and rot from her lungs. He didn't hesitate, just sprinting at her, and she ran as well, back behind the storage cabin and on the continuing trail, wherever it went.

His feet made no noise as he hunted her down the trail, but she heard his voice getting closer and closer. That and the sound of wet popping and cracking, the breaking of bones and tearing of muscle. The silence of his movements was getting more irregular, segmented and jittering. A wet voice gargled at her, rotten breath clawing at her neck.

"I. Told you hhghhhgss told you told you.... stupid little girl."

A wet skinless hand pinned her to the ground, rolling eyes aflame with hunger, fat tongue quivering among needle point teeth. It leered down at her, tracing her cheek with a single boney finger, hissing,

"I think I'll have your hide."

#asks #writing #horror #body horror

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echodrops · 4 years

Note

*Slides in on a office chair* Now that you shared some of your HaaH headcanons for Shiro and Hunk, can you do Lance and Lotor?

Didn’t want to post these until I finally had some time to update them a bit and trim out spoilers, but I got a second last night, so here you are:

HaaH Lance and Lotor headcanons:

(Under the cut to save everyone’s dash)

First, a warning: Neither one of these characters’ backstories or plot event headcanons remotely line up with the show, one because I originally wrote most of this stuff around the time season 2-3 was being released and two, because I stopped watching Voltron after season 6 and have no intention of watching the rest of the show due to my dislike for the directions the writing took. I went back and updated some stuff, such as the names of some of Lance’s siblings, to more closely match what came later in the show… but for the rest… I’m just gonna do my own thing and pretend canon does not exist.

Lance:

- The literal definition of “rich as fuck.” When relaxations on economic policy were passed in Cuba that increased opportunities for private business, Lance’s grandfather made a solid deal for three massive sugar refineries. Today, artisanal coffee houses across the world utilize the sugar refined in Lance’s family’s factories.

- Grew up in a giant villa on the peninsula just outside the town of Varadero, on a sprawling property that included a long stretch of beachfront and individual bungalows for visiting family members and the family’s several live-in staff members.

- The whole family is incredibly down to earth despite this. Lance’s aunt and grandmother insist on having a hand in every family meal, Lance’s parents always make time to be involved in the children’s activities, and Lance was taught from a very young age never to take advantage of people, regardless of their position in the world.

- Lance is the baby of his immediate family by almost ten years. He was an accident that occurred after Lance’s mother believed she was too old to become pregnant. Of course his parents never treated Lance like an accident and loved him, but still, Lance has never been able to shake the idea that he wasn’t planned—and therefore he wasn’t wanted.

- He has four older siblings, two sisters and two brothers.

- All of Lance’s siblings are extremely successful in their careers. Lance’s oldest sibling, his sister Veronica, is a captain of the Cuban Navy and commands the impressive warship Audaz. Lance’s second oldest sibling, his brother Yuniel, is a decorated conservational ecologist working to protect Matanzas’ native forests. Lance’s third sibling, his brother, Marco, is a famous solo folk musician who made it big in Cuba. Rachel, Lance’s closest sibling, runs an immersion-based cultural heritage museum that preserves the rich and complicated history of Cuba and its people.

- In short—Lance grew up surrounded by the rampant success of his older siblings, watching as they excelled at everything they pursued—which just bred a greater and greater sense of insecurity in him, as he feared he would never be able to measure up.

- On Lance’s eighth birthday, in an attempt to cheer up his very depressed youngest son, Lance’s father dragged the family’s telescope down to the beach so that they could watch a space shuttle launching from the cape in Florida. At first Lance couldn’t work up the slightest interest, but when he finally saw the huge plume of the shuttle, arcing off into the unknown depths of space, he had a Moment™. Lance knew, right then and there, exactly what he was going to do with his life, something that none of his siblings had ever achieved: he was going to go into space and explore worlds unknown.

- Lance decided that he had, absolutely HAD, to go to Galaxy Garrison when he grew up. This part worried his parents, who pointed out that Garrison was not only in another country but also a solely English-speaking school and extremely competitive. Nonetheless, Lance was determined that he would not settle for anything less than the absolute best.

- Was totally that space obsessed kid. Still thinks Black Holes are the coolest thing in the universe. His parents bought so much “Astronaut” ice cream that they probably kept that entire industry afloat.

- Lance attended Garrison’s summer Astrocamp in Arizona when he was nine. Quickly made friends with his cabin-mate, Hyrum Tava. The nickname “Hunk” came about from a slip-up when Lance tried to compare his new friend to one of his favorite American cartoon characters, the Incredible Hulk.

- Even after leaving the Astrocamp, Lance and Hunk stayed close friends, exchanging frequent emails and phone calls, which helped Lance stay on top of memes popular trends back in the states.

- Shiro was Lance’s cabin leader at the Astrocamp, and his kindness and exciting stories about actually visiting space(!!) made a huge impression on Lance. Lance… may or may not have had a celebrity shrine to Shiro made of photos and news clippings taped to his wall for several years. Whatever, every kid does it and he took it down eventually, gosh!

- Identifies as bisexual, but has never successfully dated anyone, male or female. Due to several bad experiences and close calls, Lance doesn’t talk about his sexuality or express any attraction to men except around people he is extremely comfortable with. Hunk has known for years, of course. (In fact, it was Lance’s struggle with his feelings that helped Hunk develop strong sympathy for LGBT people, despite the fact that his religion is very against it.)

- Never had a real kiss. Might be just a tiny bit desperate to have a real first kiss.

- Also might buy a bit too much into the idea of needing to be stereotypically attractive to fit in. Although his nightly beauty regime is now a comforting routine, it originally stemmed from Lance being extremely self-conscious about his looks. He’s more comfortable about his body than he used to be, but he still frequently compares himself negatively against others; do you know what kind of hell it is to have to share a locker room with people like Shiro?

- Cries at the drop of a hat. Sad book? Sad movie? Abandoned kitten? Dropped something on his toe? Tears times ten thousand. Lance was never pressured by his family to “man up;” in fact, he was always encouraged to empathize, so Lance is extremely sensitive to others’ feelings. (He and Hunk are a great fit in this regard.) He can perceive even minute changes in people’s emotions and is always ready to cheer up people who are down.

- He can’t read Keith for crap though. Not really his fault. Keith’s a literal alien.

- Lance’s extreme empathy actually backfires on him. Because being sensitive to others is second nature to him, it’s often hard for Lance to remember that not everyone is as perceptive as he is. Lance has, many times, mistaken the other paladins’ obliviousness for indifference. Everyone on the ship cares deeply about Lance and would never want him to feel bad about himself—but not everyone on the ship is perceptive enough to notice when Lance’s insecurities are affecting him.

- Wasn’t put in the cargo pilot classes at Garrison because of his flight test scores—most green cadets have zero flight experience and all do pretty badly at first. Lance was placed in cargo class because he scored too high on a combat sensitivity test, indicating that he was a poor fit mentally for becoming a soldier. Fighting monstrous looking aliens is one thing, but Lance would have coped very, very badly if he’d ever been required to kill another human being.

- Struggled to fit in at Garrison. After the crushing disappointment of ending up in cargo class, Lance also dealt with a lot of people treating him like an outsider because he was an international student. “Why is someone from Cuba trying to join the U.S. military? Are you a spy?”

- Couple that with the complicated student visa process and how his status as an international student might affect his ability to take part in Garrison-sanctioned internships and cross-border activities, and Lance felt utterly alienated at Garrison in his first few months.

- May… or may not have done exactly what his parents taught him not to do by looking for a scapegoat to take out his frustrations on. Keith, the lone wolf, ace pilot pretty boy who was too cool to even talk to the rest of the cadets (really thought he was too good to even make eye contact with Lance, huh?!) was an obvious target. Keith had every single thing that Lance had ever wanted in his whole life—the combat class, the talent, the prestige, the respect, the effortless looks—and he didn’t even seem happy to have it!

- Lance had never hated anyone before in his entire life, but Lance hated Keith—Keith basically came to stand in for every obstacle in Lance’s way, every mocking insult thrown Lance’s way, every harsh reminder from the professors that he’d never even be close to good enough, never measure up when someone like that existed… Lance started to honestly believe that the only way he’d ever be able to achieve his entire life goal was if Keith was taken out of the picture—something that proved unfortunately true when Lance was bumped up to combat class the moment Keith went missing from Garrison.

- Lance never actually said any of this stuff to Keith’s face before Keith left Garrison (Lance dreaded his parents finding out he’d been rude), but he would shit-talk Keith to anyone who would listen, a bad habit that was reinforced by people actually accepting Lance more when he started gossiping and spreading rumors than when he’d just tried to be genuinely nice.

- Even though he’d like to repair his relationship with Keith now that they’re teammates, Lance has no idea how to do that after so much time has passed. He really has no clue how to treat Keith normally after building him up into such a bitter rival. It’s… a work in progress.

- A big fan of RPG games and roleplaying. Definitely gets the most in-character when it comes to Monsters and Mana. His favorite thing about meeting new cultures is discovering nifty space items that look like key items from video games. Used to play old school RPGs with his cousins every afternoon. Playing with Pidge is extremely nostalgic for him.

- Has a host of other hobbies that don’t get much use inspace but are nevertheless impressive: he can surf, dive, and was part of a traditional dance group all the up until he left for Garrison. He doesn’t tend to think much of his hobbies as they’re not exactly practical skills you need every day in a space war, but the other members of Team Voltron are quietly impressed whenever they’re reminded of the cool things Lance can do.

- Lance has the strongest bond with his lion of any of the paladins. His connection with Blue is so innate that he can actually activate Blue’s abilities from outside his lion.

- The first one of the paladins to transform his bayard and the only one whose bayard can take three forms. And no, none of the three is a sword because what was the point of that, even??? Lance can wield his standard blaster, a long rifle, and dual pistols. The strength of theshots from Lance’s bayard can be consciously controlled—his thoughts and intentions determine whether a shot has the strength to kill or merely stun.

- Lance’s incredible aim isn’t a natural talent. Actually he’s spent hours and hours in a shooting range he found in the castle, working on perfecting his shot. Just like the gladiator levels on the training deck, the targets in the range keep getting harder and harder, but Lance is progressing very well. No one but Coran knows that Lance has been training so hard with his bayard, since Lance desperately wants to pretend his skill is all natural and has sworn Coran to secrecy. Coran covers for him by pretending he’s sent Lance off on absurd cleaning missions all the time.

- Is 1000% Coran’s favorite of the paladins. Coran won’t even try to lie if asked. Although Coran has never expressed it out loud, he sees Lance as an example of the brave, kind-hearted son he would have hoped to raise—if his son had survived the war. (On Lance’s part, although he’s also never shared this, Coran reminds him very much of his beloved uncle, who passed away when Lance was very young, but whom he still remembers well and extremely fondly.)

- After his uncle passed away, Lance’s aunt moved in with Lance’s parents permanently, and Lance essentially helped to raise his two very young cousins, Nadia and Silvio. Lance does have very good experience with children—unfortunately for him, what human children respond well to doesn’t always work for Galra kids!

Lotor:

- Has not spent 10,000 years kicking about the universe. We’re not doing that weird “If he’s immortal because of the rift creatures then how come his governess is still alive?” plot hole song and dance routine from the actual show. Lotor was born after the war decimated the Alteans 10,000 years ago, but due to Haggar’s condition (aka being, you know, dead), he was essentially unable to live on his own and was placed in cryostasis very shortly after being born.

- Roughly 20 years before the discovery of the Blue Lion on Earth, Haggar used advancements in quintessence manipulation technology to successfully revive the infant Lotor. But she didn’t wake him for no reason—she has a very specific intention for her son, a long endgame plan, of which Lotor and even Zarkon are currently unaware.

- We’re also not doing that dumb “How could Haggar—the only remotely Altean-looking being in all of Zarkon’s presence—possibly be my mother?” plot from the show either. Lotor is aware that Haggar is his mother, although he has never been able to infiltrate her research facilities and therefore has no idea how an Altean scientist ended up where she did, looking like she did, and siding with the Galra against her own people.

- Because his parents’ past and his own origins are such a mystery, Lotor is obsessed with learning the truth of the war, the Alteans, and every hidden secret from that time period, including Voltron and the mysterious “rift.” He devours any information he can get on this period of history, and especially on Alteans, voraciously.

- But even though he’ll take any pieces of information he can get, Lotor’s real favorite obsession is mythology. He’s a deep lover of folklore and fairytales, bestiaries and local legends, and more than one assassin has traded a good story in exchange for having his life spared. Lotor may or may not hunt for space cryptids in his spare time. However, no single legend occupies Lotor’s mind as much as the legend of the mythical realm of Oriande, home of the ancient Altean alchemists. As practical as he tries to appear, Lotor has never given up his deep-down childish wish to be the one who finds the promised land of Oriande and prove it is real. But when he thinks back… Where was it that he first heard about Oriande, again? Who told him…?

- That entire thing with the hidden Altean colonies is just… not going to happen. The writers were bad and they should feel bad. Although Lotor has looked, after 10,000 years and plenty of centuries of hiding any Altean connections, distinguishing those who still have Altean blood has become essentially impossible.

- Part of the reason Lotor has looked for Alteans is that he was born with a bizarre grab-bag of Altean instincts and abilities and no guidance on how to deal with them, because he’s certainly not going to reveal to Haggar that he has unexplained talents like precognition and the ability to speak to planets. Growing up with half of his bloodline extinct has been ROUGH on Lotor.

- Speaking of growing up… Even though he remains the crown prince on official record, Lotor took the first opportunity he could to leave his parents’ sphere of influence, and he has not physically been back to Galra Central Command in more than ten years.

- Lotor is effectively a universal wanderer. Aboard his personal ship the Urbanus (a Destroyer-class star cruiser which has been heavily modified and improved by Lotor himself), Lotor and his generals travel wherever they like, both within the Galra Empire and outside it, dodging Haggar’s frequent attempts to re-exert control over Lotor and even more frequent assassination and kidnapping attempts from Zarkon’s enemies.

- Although Lotor has a very specific goal in mind, progress on this goal has been slow and painstaking, and he’s often left waiting for the next bare bones clue to chase after; this has resulted in the young prince having an unfortunate abundance of free time, which is dangerous for everyone involved. In between progress on his mysterious life’s goal, Lotor and his generals frequently get into trouble with small planets, local governments, militaries both official and off-the-books, giant monsters, and at least two hundred museum curators. They may or may not be wanted for grave-robbing in 13 different star systems.

- Basically he’s space Indiana Jones, if Indiana Jones was still 20 and also purple and also not being paid enough to be a good guy.

- All that said, as much of a devil-may-care rogue as he’d like to be seen, Lotor did spend all of his childhood under the thumb of the empire’s brutal authoritarian dictators, and he is therefore every inch a crown prince; as befitting one of his stature, he speaks eight languages fluently, flawlessly matches his formal dress to the occasion, knows exactly which piece of silverware to use when, can engage in political battles of wits and diplomatic machinations with the best of them, and has been training in armed combat since he was three years old. Lotor’s impeccable manners and steely leadership ability were literally beaten into him, to the point that now, even among trusted allies, he sometimes finds it difficult to turn off his cold, calculated princely persona.

- Not that his generals really let him get away with that kind of thing for long. Only those who have lived with multiple older sisters can truly understand the constant state of teasing and mortifying blackmail that Lotor lives in. On official record, Lotor’s generals are a crack team of terrifying bodyguards; in practice, they’re more likely to be dragging Lotor for all he’s worth than rescuing him. They might keep up formal appearances in front of others, but they’re effectively a close-knit family behind the scenes.

- It’s not a coincidence that all of Lotor’s generals are women; besides generally being awful, most Galra men make Lotor uncomfortable. From a human standpoint, Lotor is ridiculously tall and powerful; but from a Galra standpoint, Lotor is a thin, unhealthy-looking thing whose stature doesn’t command authority or respect in the slightest. It’s exhausting feeling like you have to constantly prove yourself, so Lotor prefers to spend time with a group that doesn’t invite negative comparison.

- However, it should be noted that a Galra man having only female friends has completely different connotations than a human man having only female friends—Galra women are, on the whole, considered more aggressive, bloodthirsty, and over-bearing than Galra men, so any Galra man who would choose to surround himself with that many women must either be out of his mind or incredibly badass.

- When asked what it’s like to live with four beautiful women, Lotor is basically ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ personified. Despite living together for years, none of the generals are romantically interested in Lotor and he’s not romantically interested in any of them.

- Many people have incorrectly assumed that Lotor and Axca are a pair, but Lotor helped Axca escape from a slave colony and she will never let another man touch her in her life. Axca is extremely grateful and loyal to Lotor, but given that Axca was Lotor’s first real friend, he’s just as grateful to her.

- If you think I’m killing off Narti, you’re out of your mind.

- Despite the fact that Lotor does not feel connected to the Galra Empire or the Galra as a whole, he’s somewhat more traditional and more likely to conform to Galra social standards than he wants to admit (even to himself). He insists that he has no interest in upholding the classic values of the Galra or meeting their expectations for how a prince should behave—but in truth, it’s impossible to fully kill that deep-down desire to just fit in. When push comes to shove, Lotor always finds himself falling in line with the Galra’s oldest and most deeply ingrained beliefs.

- With Lance in the “has never had a real kiss” club. Is not with Lance in the “wants a real kiss” club. Lotor is actually uncomfortable with being touched by strangers (36 assassination attempts will do that to you) and doesn’t make real friends, let alone anything closer, remotely easily. Some people are open books; Lotor is that one book from Harry Potter that bites people’s fingers off when they try to open it. Once you’re in his inner-circle, he’ll let you hang all over him, but before that, the space bubble is ten feet in every direction.

- Doesn’t actually put any special effort into his appearance. He just Looks Like That™.

- In fact, he actually kind of hates that stupid cowlick hair that’s always in his face but no matter how many times he cuts it off or slicks it back, it just keeps falling right back in his eyes. He’s basically given up at this point.

- His sword’s name is Eris and it was actually forged in the heart of a dying star.

- Kova the space cat hates Lotor. Lotor hates Kova. It’s a mutually antagonistic relationship. Somehow though, Lotor never makes any effort to get rid of Kova and Kova never takes the opportunity to leave. No one else understands it either, especially since Lotor gets along great with basically every other animal he meets.

- He’s not a pacifist by any means, but he is painfully practical and knows that, on occasion, sparing the life of one’s enemy nets more gain than indiscriminately crushing opponents beneath his heel. More manipulative than outright aggressive, he’s easily capable of twisting even the worst of situations to his advantage. Has an unfortunate tendency to be overly cunning—sometimes the tricks and twists he comes up with are unnecessarily full of flourish just because he thinks manipulating people like pieces in a board game is extremely entertaining. Riddles and mind games are Lotor’s favorite—the more convoluted, the better.

- Although most people refer to him by the basic “Prince Lotor” (Lotori Ahn in Galra), Lotor’s full name and official title is Lotori Kir Ahnja Avel i’ya ne Daibazaal, His Royal Highness Prince Lotor of the First Star. As the emperors and empresses of the Galra are said to be physical representations of the goddess, the firstborn children of emperors/empresses are always called “the first star,” after the supposed first creation of the goddess.

- Extremely competitive, but mostly about weird things—like sure he’s going to win if you challenge him to a swordsmanship duel, but challenge him to a staring contest? Your eyes will rot out of your head before this boy will blink. Do not think he will let you beat him in a spelling bee. More than once the generals have had to drag him away from getting involved in the bizarre competitions of the alien cultures they come into contact with. He was 1000% ready to learn to knit eight-armed sweaters with Rikrik fur, thank you. Would totally take up pig-farming JUST to win an Earth state fair.

- Likes to collect interesting artifacts and trinkets of lost civilizations by force if necessary. His ship is basically a floating museum at this point. The generals are starting to worry that they’re going to have add a whole ‘nother deck for all the war prizes Lotor wins himself. Lotor’s gathering hobby extends to games too—he’s a big fan of games that involve sets of items, like Renni, the Galra collectible card game. Would 110% be that Magic the Gathering nerd back on earth.

- In terms of other interests, Lotor is the picture definition of a Renaissance man. Although he’s not a flawless genius savant in every field, he is wicked smart and has studied a vast array of subjects; he’s a capable engineer, a skilled mathematician, a deft philosopher, a good scientist, and extremely well-read, and he is not going tolet you forget any of those things at any point in time. Lotor is always going to be better than you, please just accept your fate.

- Art is… another story. He might be able to sketch detailed architectural blueprints without breaking a sweat but ask him to draw a dog and you’re going to be in for some trouble.

And that’s more than enough for now I think! XD

#lance mcclain #prince lotor #lotor #Voltron #voltron headcanons #voltron fanfic #Home and a Half #HaaHVLD #echo answers asks

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overbearingwatch · 4 years

Note

Do you have any Pharmercy unrequited love HCs? I've been feeling sad lately and Idk...I just like reading equally sad things :p

I don’t have very many unrequited love hc mostly because at my heart I’m all about that hurt/comfort vibe, buuut I’ll give you what I’ve got! (Some of these were modified and turned into fics at some point 😅) I hope things get better for you ♥️ enjoy the angst below :’)

1. Fareeha was engaged once, but it fell through when her fiancée died. Fareeha’s never really moved on from this. Angela reconnects with Fareeha when she joins Overwatch and although they’re close, inseparable at times, and Angela is coming to terms with the very real reality of her falling in love with Fareeha, Fareeha is intimately closed off - kind but distant, friendly but with no friends to speak of. When Angela learns the whole story she’s not sure 1) that Fareeha will ever put herself in the vulnerable position of loving again and 2) that she knows how to be the emotional support Fareeha clearly needs. It seems pointless to bring up her own feels in the shadows of that love.

2. Right before Fareeha left for the Egyptian military, after a particularly bad fight with Ana about the whole thing, Fareeha asked Angela on a date - it was a genuine approach but born of a deep loneliness and fear of going off with no clear tether to the world. Angela, knowing her primarily as Ana’s daughter and not as much more, politely turned her down, which Fareeha expected even when it stung, and the next day she departed. Fareeha sometimes sees Angela’s name in the news: when she achieves a medical milestone, speaks at conferences, that sort of thing. She’s not idealistic enough to believe that even if Angela accepted the invitation they’d still be together, but the crush never really goes away, even though they haven’t spoken in years.

3. Angela and Fareeha get divorced. Fareeha wants it, Angela can’t really argue it - given their work they hardly see each other enough and important things are falling through the cracks. Fareeha moves on, Angela does not.

4. Fareeha had a crush on Angela as a teen, and she’s seen her in and out of relationships for most of those years and well into her young adulthood. Even when she’s older, it doesn’t feel right for Fareeha to approach Angela like she might have a shot so she just ... never does. They become friends, pen pals, colleagues eventually, when Fareeha makes it back to Overwatch, Fareeha never tries for more.

5. Moon goddess Mercy falls in love with a mortal astronaut, Fareeha, but mortals age and die, age and die. Mercy does all she can for Fareeha short of revealing herself as immortal, hoping Fareeha will see her for what she is, hoping she won’t. Always remembering why she keeps her distance: mortals age and die and she will not.

#pharmercy #post from the void #ask

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bluemoon-writer · 4 years

Text

Childhood Friends AU: Max and Markov (Marxkov)

Part 1- In which Max ‘makes’ a friend

(2.6k words)

Masterlist Here

A/N: I got a bit carried away while writing and this became less of a list of bubbly making headcanons and more of a tragic origin story, so it’s a little different from the Marikim headcanons, so let me know what you guys think.

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-Max’s mother, Claudie, gets pregnant with him at age 18

-he was an accidental pregnancy

- his father, Adam Kante, had just enlisted in the French Armed Forces and his mother was just starting university

-it wasn’t ideal circumstances, but his parents loved each other and didn’t want to give up

-So his dad proposed, and was stationed in Paris until Max was born

-unfortunately, then he was sent off to an overseas base

-Luckily, Claudie’s brother steps up to help out.

-Two years older than his sister, he was very different from her and her husband. While both of them were disciplined and fact oriented, he was more laid-back

-His dream was to be a stand-up comedian, and his stage name was Mark Oz

-He worked at night so he was able to watch Max during the day so Claudie could go to school

-With Adam away for so long, Mark became a father figure of sorts to Max

-They would spend most of the day together, and Mark realized early on that he had a child-genius on his hands

-So he bought extra learning material for Max

-He encouraged Max as much as could to peruse whatever academics interested

-Max was only 3 though, so nothing truly interested him more than Transformers

-Mark played the cartoon as background noise one day, and Max was instantly hooked

-He watched every episode

-For his birthday, he received only Transformers figurines

-when he started school he would draw new transformers in Art class

-For his 5th birthday, his mom bought him a robotics kit (a child-friendly robotics kit)

-and his Uncle bought him a coding Manuel

-Max found his new passion

-him and his uncle spent days building simple robots

-he was so fascinated by robots that he spent most of his free time learning more

-he dreamed about one day creating his own transformer

-and his Uncle helped him.

-He was never super academic but was still had the family brains.

-He full heartedly threw himself into Max’s passion

-inadvertedly, it helped his career. He created one of the most unique stand up comedy routines ever heard in Paris, those lucky enough to see it raved about it for years

-Mark Oz was finally hitting it big time, and he did not give a shit

-the only person he cared about making smile everyday was his nephew

-together, the two of them continued to hone Max’s robot building skills

-Mark bought a big black notebook and in it he wrote down every robot Max wanted to build

-max would dictate the details and Mark would write it, and then Max would attach a picture he drew of it

-despite being a child genius, he was still a child and had atrocious handwriting

-Slowly they were crossing robots off the list, starting with the most simple

-a basic walking robot

-eventually, and Mark didn’t know how long it would take, but they’d get to their last robot

-a fully functioning AI

-When Max turned seven he started taking advanced classes

-His mom had just finished her PhD, one of the youngest ever to complete the program, and was considering applying to become an astronaut

-Both Mark, Max, and her husband encouraged her to go for. Adam offered be discharged from the military to look after Max, but Mark insisted that he wouldn’t mind taking care of Max

-“Neither one of you should put your dream jobs on hold. I’ve been watching Max for seven years, I love the kid, and I’ll take care of him for the rest of my life if he still wants me around.”

-And Mark kept that promise

-Unfortunately, he kept it because his life was cut short.

-It was after a late show, the driver was intoxicated and didn’t see Mark crossing the street.

-Claudie withdrew from the astronaut program and took up a job as a train driver so she could be around for Max

-Adam returned from his deployment, but things just weren’t the same. He enlisted in a third campaign after a month

-Max was devasted. His uncle was the only one who understood him.

-He didn’t speak a word to anyone for a year.

-His mom is concerned, but therapists insist that Max just needs time

-Meanwhile, Max works his way through his robot list.

-His mom offers to help him, but he refuses.

-If he can’t build them with his uncle then he’ll build them alone

-a year later he’s halfway through the list

-His mom almost cries when he asks her to come see his robots

-He spends the entire day showing her the different ones and explaining what they do

-After that, their relationship improves greatly. Max talks a lot about everything he’s interested in

-Claudie is barely able to keep up

-She’s afraid that he might have an unhealthy attachment to his robots though, and is afraid of what will happen when he completes his list

-So she introduces him to a new hobby, video gaming

-Mark had tried to get Max into it a few times but Max was more interested in Robotics and programming at the time

-Now though, in memory of his uncle, he gives it a go

-and fucking loves it

-He and his mom spend the weekend playing old games that his uncle had

-He doesn’t give up on his robots though

-Two years later, he’s down to the very last robot on his list

-His father comes home that same week, his three year campaign ended

-Once Max started speaking again, his father would video call him. Max would show him his latest robot, and his father, who didn’t know a thing about robots, would ask him as many questions as he could come up with about it

-It was slightly awkward at first, seeing his dad in person, but soon it faded away

-Max still didn’t want help with his robots, but he was more than happy to play video games with his father

-his dad was skilled, particularly in fighting games, and Max almost never beat him

-at first

-his dad taught him a few tricks, and Max practiced and practiced until he could beat his dad

-Max was doing pretty good

-Still, though, he seemed to have an aura of sadness around him

-His dad asked him one day what games he liked to play with his friends

“I don’t have friends”

-It was the advanced classes. They were filled with older kids, and none of them wanted to befriend a 10 year-old

-His parents decided to pull him out at the end of the year.

-For college, he’d be going to a regular (though very good) school with kids his own age

-Francois Dupont had a great reputation, and offered him an academic scholarship

-His dad enlisted in another campaign

-Max was sad to see him leave, but was feeling happier than he had been in a while

-He continued to work on his last robot

-He turned 11 and started school at Francois Dupont

-He had no idea how to interact with kids his own age

-He was seated next to a hyperactive kid who introduced himself as Kim

-They were in the very front row and Kim joked that the teacher was already trying to keep an eye on them

-it wasn’t very funny, but Max almost fell over laughing

-“Wow, if you thought that was funny, just wait till you meet my friend Marinette!”

-“I’m sorry its just that…I would never disrupt class. Knowledge is the most valuable thing we can gain, and I intend to gain as much as I can.”

“I don’t know man, that sounds kind of like something a mad scientist would say.”

“well, I am trying to build the world’s first sentient AI in my mom’s basement.”

-Being at a regular school is a relief to Max

-The homework is extremely easy in comparison to what he’d been doing before, which gives him more time to work on his robot

-(bare with me through this next part guys, I do not know anything about science, mechanics, or engineering so this will probably be a heaping load of bullshit)

-the biggest difficulty in the creation of this robot was not creating an AI, many people have done that before, but rather figuring out how to allow it to feel without programming emotions into it

-Max had been doing a lot of research on Markov chains lately

-He believed that being able to code the ability to predict events would lead to a breakthrough on how to code the comprehension of emotions

-but the Markov process and chains were extremely complicated

-but, Max was out of ideas

-so he spent weeks reading about all the research and experiments. He read about modern day applications of it, analyzed the codes he could get his hands on

-and then he made his own.

-He didn’t need his AI to study systems, but rather humans

-ideally, if he did his code right, the AI would scan the web for all examples of human behavior to catalog and process it. Hopefully, then it would gain the ability to comprehend human emotion

-Max figured he would know if it worked if it was able to predict how people would react to different things being said to them

-sure enough, he was right…in a way

-Max didn’t think he’d be able to achieve true sentience like what the transformers had

-He was trying to give his AI the ability to understand emotions, not the ability to feel

-and yet, somehow, from the first day the robot was online, he seemed to have emotions

-it confounded Max

-He spent all of winter break talking to the robot

-trying to determine if it really felt

-He started just by talking to it

-it had access to all the knowledge on the internet, yet it seemed to have trouble grasping many theories about philosophy and morals

-Max accidentally stayed up the entire night discussing moral relativism with it

-He counted it’s ability to ask questions and hold a conversation in it’s favor

-however, that’s what Max was aiming for in the first place, and it didn’t convince him it had feelings

-he had to admit though, he truly hoped it did as he was quickly considering the robot as his first true friend

-in the weeks they spent talking Max told the robot his life’s story

-and the robot replied with genuine sympathy

-Max connected with it in a way that he’d only connected with one other person before

-he showed it a video of his uncle’s stand up routine

-when the robot started laughing Max was blown away

-not by the laugh, but by it’s reaction to it

“Oh no! Max, I am afraid I had a malfunction! Do you think it is possible for auditory signals to transmit a virus?”

“What? No, that’s laughter. It’s natural, especially when you’re listening to someone as funny as my uncle.”

“Yes, the brother of your mother. You mentioned he had a career as a comedian, and a quick scan of the web shows that he was quite successful.”

“Yeah, he was.”

“You sound sad. Were you close?”

(it’s only because it’s a robot and has advanced hearing sensors that it’s able to hear Max’s “Yes”)

-Max really hopes the robot truly is sentient

-What finally convinced him is when he heard it cry

-He’d left it in the basement to get eat dinner, promising to be back in half an hour

-but got drawn in to a round of video games with his mother

-sure enough, a few hours past before Max remembered he left the robot in the basement

-he shrugged it off as an accident until he got to the basement door and heard quiet sobs

-when he went down the stairs it was the robot crying

-when Max came into hearing range, the sounds stopped

“Max! You’re back! I thought you had abandoned me!”

-it didn’t seem possible, but Max could hear the happiness in the robot’s voice

-in that moment, Max made a decision

-“How do you feel about the name Markov?”

“Like the chains?”

“Yes, but Markov also sounds like…Mark Oz.”

“…I would be honored to be named after someone who was so important to you.”

-Max introduces Markov to his mom

-She’s literally at a loss for words

-like, she knew Max was a genius, but this was something on a whole other level

-She’s incredibly proud though

-and wants to tell everyone about it

-But Max stops her

-Markov isn’t just a robot, he’s a sentient being, and more importantly, he’s his friend

-if people learned about him, they would want to take him apart to figure out how he works

-Max doesn’t want that and neither does Markov

-So his mother keeps silent

-Plus there’s still more work to be done

-Markov might be built, but there’s still a lot that could be improved

-For starters, he’s huge

-Max built him out of three old computer monitors and can’t even lift him

-luckily, Max doesn’t have to do all the work himself

-Markov creates the blueprint for a smaller body

-they go from three monitors to two to two

-but it is slow going

-the first downsize took six months because Max didn’t want to risk accidentally destroying Markov

-he’s the happiest he’s been in a while

-but Markov thinks he could be even happier

-Max hasn’t been interacting with his classmates much

-he’s on good terms with them. No one trips him or throws things at the back of his head, and he talks to some of them every now and then

-his seatmate, Kim, asks him how he’s doing every morning

-Max doesn’t realize that he could be getting an even better experience out of school

-but Markov does, he’s analyzed enough books to know that it’s vital for a young child to have multiple human friends

-so he encourages Max to reach out

-Max is hesitant, but asks Kim if he wants to come over and play video games sometime

-Kim’s response is a resounding HELL YES

-(minus the swear word bc he’s like 11)

-Max is nervous as all hell, but the moment he has a game controller in his hands it goes away

-Kim is pretty tough competition, but Max still wins most of the time

-before they know it, it’s dark outside

-The next day when they need to partner up for an assignment, Kim asks Max if he wants to be partners

-Max smiles for a week straight

-With Markov’s encouragement, Max slowly befriends most of his classmates

-He’s particularly close with his seatmate Kim and a girl from Class A named Alix

-He also meets Kim’s friend Marinette, who’s in Class A with Alix

-and her friend Nino

-Still, Max considers Markov to be his best friend

-He sits in the basement with him everyday and tells him everything that happened that day

-Markov eagerly listens to all of it

-he wants more than anything to be able to go out and things for himself.

-but for now he’s stuck in the basement

-he’s sure that one day Max will make him small enough to transport

-for now, he’s happy to listen to his best friend’s stories

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Bonus:

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A/N: I didn’t mean to make Max’s life so tragic, I swear.

If you want to be added to the childhood friends taglist or removed from it, please send me an ask or message me.

Taglist:

All Miraculous Ladybug fics:

@ravennightingaleandavatempus @crazylittlemunchkin

All Childhood AU fics:

@charlietheepic7 @krispydefendorpolice

#miraculous ladybug au #marxkov #miraculous ladybug #ml headcanon #mlb #max kante #markov

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shamemp3 · 4 years

Text

POSITIVE 20 QUESTIONS TAG GAME

@demondeals thank you for tagging me this was SO MUCH FUN!! ily!!

1. Name 4 fictional characters who showcase your personality the best, with explanations if you want.

aah this is hard okay so first and foremost peter parker. he’s one of those characters that have always been relatable in almost every aspect of life since i was a kid, especially when it comes to how he deals with his feelings and like his emotions and humor and his problems in general?? and then also jake peralta also because of feelings and how he tries to avoid them and be all!! fun fck yea!! and humor and idk?? also i love amy santiago so... third i think is percy jackson bc no thoughts head empty and he is impulsive and also brave and i would like to think that i am brave?? and yeh im trying to make this as short as possible and only vaguely explain but. it’s not working ksdfjbv okay fourth character is stiles stilinski ig?? like sarcasm and humor again, and idk this is all repeating but it all comes back to how he deals w his feelings and guilt and problems and idk the reasons are mostly the same with all these characters and yea there’s more but i feel like i am talking too much so i will stop skjdbvjk

2. Aesthetic

milkshakes and fries, neon lights, blasting the car radio, doing literally anything as long as it’s with friends, city lights, train rides at night, playing video games till sunrise, campfire smell, denim and flannels, drive-in movies

3. Favorite musical/play? (If you’ve never seen a musical or play, one you’d be interested in seeing?)

uhh i’ve only listened to hamilton which had some really cool beats! ive also listened to a few songs from dear evan hansen, wicked, mean girls, and oh now that i think about it i’ve seen the shrek musical on netflix and 10/10 phenomenal in every way that’s my favorite one

4. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

i know i’ve gotten compliments but for some reason i cant remember any?? like the second i read this question my brain went whoosh. idk probably whenever people tell me im funny or notice that im keeping my cool in a situation that is very NOT cool?? idk i really cant think of any rn jdfsbksdjb but there have definitely been compliments that i have thought about for weeks bc i was like....omg? me? kinda sad that i dont remember them i really hope i do soon bc i wouldnt wanna forget smth like that sjkdbdvhsb

5. How many times have you been in love?

i don’t think i’ve ever been in love (at least romantically)? im not certain but im 90% sure i haven’t. but when it comes to friends and family, sososos many times i lvoe them all

6. Embarrassing story or fact about yourself that makes you laugh now?

uhhh i got pantsed in like grade 7 bc i was being dragged across the floor and then this 9th grader came up to me in the middle of the hallway and yelled “HEY I SAW YOUR ASS” i wanted to perish

7. Favorite Disney/Pixar movie?

ooh probably zootopia or wall-e!!

8. Favorite flower or plant?

this is hard! i love ferns and sunflowers and hydrangeas and ooh also vines

9. What’s your favorite holiday?

i love new year’s eve! it’s just fun because we all just stay up and celebrate and there’s always this feeling of “oh i got through another year!” also 4th of july but not bc of the actual holiday just bc my old town used to have these 4th of july carnivals that were crazy fun and i used to go like almost every day when the carnival was in town

10. Name three things that made you laugh or smile this past week.

first one is my school posted a picture of me graduating on their facebook and my mom sent them the link to look at it and when they pressed on it they started replying to my mom thinking it was on whatsapp but they left like 7 comments on the school’s post in arabic so that was funny as fukckjdbf, second is atla bc i love that show and everyone is so precious, and number 3 is literally any conversation with any of my friends

11. What song would you play to introduce yourself to someone?

axel f by crazy frog. next question

12. Name something that truly makes you feel peaceful even at your most stressed moments.

probably watching one of my favorite movies (mr. popper’s penguins or itsv tbh) or like just going on any of my friend’s gcs and sending memes and stuff

13. What do you, did you, or would you study at college?

i plan on going into chemistry!! i might also minor in computer or environmental science, but i’m still undecided! crazy because up till a few months ago i had zero idea what i wanted to do and my plans kept changing like every week

14. This is kind of a weird one, but which outfit of yours makes you feel most like yourself?

probably my denim jacket or my really big red sweatshirt? idk tbh i really only buy clothes that i know i would feel myself in and that i would be comfortable, but i think those two are probably my favorites?

15. What is a quote you live by?

power of people is stronger than the people in power because i want to take down the evil government. this is the first one i thought of so it’s staying skjvbjksdb

16. Name the funniest playlist name you have.

i have ‘AAAAHHHHHHH’ and i have ‘mitten ski’ which is a playlist composed entirely of mitski songs

17. Make a reference to an inside joke you have with someone you love with zero context.

wanna touch knees?

18. What is a message you would give your younger self if given the chance?

please stand up for urself and talk ab ur feelings for the love of god it’s ok to admit to being not ok ?? also everything in the world is not ur fault, chill btich

19. Who is your favorite family member? (If you have no good blood family members, feel free to mention someone in your found family)

i can’t really do this bc i really do love all of them in a different way. i’m definitely closest to my mom because i’ve lived with her all my life, but i still can’t pick favorites

20. What’s a secret dream of yours?

to be an astronaut pls this isn’t a secret i just really want to be an astronaut or a superhero pls someone give me a radioactive eel bite or send me to space or something. also to be able to be more open w people and to visit aleppo again

i’m tagging: @natasharxmanov @anthonydarling @parkersedith @jessjones @anxieteandbiscuits if you guys want to!!! ily all very much

#tag games #this was woah #a good time

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limitless-rose · 4 years

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The Signs as things I wanted to be when I grow up

[This has literally been in my drafts since December because I wasn't sure if each option matched with the sign I chose but whatever (it's also a long post again, oof)

Also I didn't really post anything related to 2020 so... Happy New Year, let's hope something good will happen this decade!! 💖]

♈ Aries: Be part of the army. I was quite fascinated by the idea of guns and protecting the nation and actually getting my life together. I was actually thinking about it for quite a while until I realized that in order to get accepted (at least according to the Greek system) you need to have excellent grades (especially maths/physics), to be taller that 165cm and to be excellent in sports. Guess what, I don't understand physics/science/chemistry, I've been about 158cm for the past 3 years and the only two sports I'm good at are badminton and tennis (while you need to be good at running, swimming and things like that I guess 😕)

✧

♉ Taurus: A chef/baker. Cooking and baking always seemed pretty fun. I would always sit by my grandma whenever she cooked/baked goodies and observe the whole process. I also got inspired by the movies "The Princess and the Frog" and "Ratatouille" and thought that one day I could possibly come up with my own recipes and open my own restaurant. But while growing up I realized that I can't cook properly when I'm stressed/multi-tasking (I'm capable of burning the food AND the kitchen if I get slightly distracted, ooof)

✧

♊ Gemini: A TV presenter or a weather woman. My mom told me that from the age of three I would always pretend to talk to an audience and answer questions from the callers or announce news/talk about the weather. Maybe that explains why I talk to thin air (as if I was a YouTuber) about anything and everything when I'm alone. Though it sounds cool, I don't really think I could do it now because I have social anxiety.

✧

♋ Cancer: A writer. I really like writing, I don't know why. Authors have been inspiring me since my childhood, I remember I used to read so many books and try to write something of my own based on it. 😅 I like taking notes and then re-writing them more neatly. I like re-doing old homework in a different style and see if I have improved. I really like writing in a diary/a bullet journal too, I feel like it's much better than bothering others with my problems anyway. I also love coming up with random scenarios/stories/characters and writing about it but I don't know if I should share it. Idk, sometimes I feel like my writing is a bit boring or that it's nothing that impressive. So, honestly, if more people took writers seriously instead of thinking it's a hobby as it doesn't always pay well (when did the world even start revolving around money that much, oml) and if I was more confident about my work I'd definitely chose to become a writer/author (I'm still keeping it as a hobby no matter what I end up doing, lol).

✧

♌ Leo: A model. Omg, I honestly don't know why I even thought of it. Probably because I really liked watching ANTM when I was younger (and I specifically chose the American version because the one we have in my country makes me cringe a lot, just hearing girls from my school talking about it is painful). My friends also liked the outfits that I put together or how I would always pose for pictures (a few years ago, I'm too awkward now asdfghjkl). Looking at it now it's just so funny. There's literally so much competition in the name of beauty, the community can get kinda toxic sometimes and the standards are pretty high. Also I'm way too short and I still can't walk like a normal person when wearing high heels lol.

✧

♍ Virgo: A teacher. Specifically, a teacher for elementary or even kindergarten. Back then, the concept of teaching seemed pretty fun to me and I had lots of ideas about how to make class more interesting. The thing is that I have good chemistry with most kids and I actually kinda dislike teenagers because of how rebellious we can get when it comes to school (idk but like teens in my country are like pretty rude to everyone 😐). I'm not so sure about it now, though it's still an option.

✧

♎ Libra: A psychologist. I always liked helping others out and offering advice when they're having a tough time and I was also curious to see what makes each person feel angry, sad or stressed and the way they respond. It's also interesting because you can learn a lot about someone's personality, preferences and way of thinking or understand what caused someone to commit a crime. I still really like psychology and it's one of my main options for uni. The only problem is that psychology is pretty much overrated in my country so people say it's best to choose something else. 😒

✧

♏ Scorpio: A criminologist. And, surprisingly, I still want it. I was always intrigued by things that required research, was interesting in learning what caused a murder/crime to be committed and I would always watch crime thrillers with my dad. I also like it because it's a field of Sociology which is one of my favorite subjects. I'm just hoping finals aren't super difficult so I can get accepted in the college that I want on the first try lol.

✧

♐ Sagittarius: A flight attendant. Back then I found it kinda fun, as I was always curious about what going on a plane is like. It could also be because of their outfits (like the ones you see in movies or in Britney's MV for Toxic, idk why 😅). Plus I would get to travel around the world without paying as much as the passengers. But then, at the age of 14-15 I got on an airplane 4 times and I saw that it wasn't really like the movies and that literally everyone ignored the flight attendant so yeah, it's not an option anymore. ✈️

✧

♑ Capricorn: A fashion designer. So because I would always draw and constantly ask for new crayons/markers and other art supplies, my mom bought me a few coloring books that focused on fashion. It came along with stickers, stencils, ideas for Victorian dressses, advice for how to design lace or mermaid tail dresses and I was so impressed. A few years later, my grandma showed me a few dresses that she had made for my mom when she was younger (which were so gorgeous like I'm definitely going to wear one of them on my graduation day) and taught me sewing. I also got to see these small floral designs that you usually see on lingerie and it was so pretty, I wish I could do it as perfectly as her. I decided to follow my grandma's advice and keep it as a hobby instead (because she ended up doing nothing but designing clothes and repairing them which she regrets 🧵🧶).

✧

♒ Aquarius: An astronaut. This was pretty random, I have to admit. I guess I really liked space and looking at at the stars in the night sky. I read a few books about space and learned a few things about NASA back in elementary too, though I realized that it's something I could never really do, as you have to sacrifice a lot. I'm still fascinated by this profession but there's no way I could ever do it, since I can't even understand basic physics or mathematics. 🤷‍♀️

✧

♓ Pisces: An artist. Honestly I didn't really care if most artists didn't get recognition/fame or if they didn't earn enough money, I just wanted to make art because I liked it. It's also fun because while you are expressing your thoughts through an art piece, another person might interpret it differently, based on their likings and thoughts. Art also plays an active role in my life: I've been drawing and painting since I was 5 and I would always watch the show with Bob Ross on TV with my grandma. Instead of completely giving up on this idea, I thought that I could choose another profession (also my family didn't really like the thought of me doing art for a living 😐) and keep art as a hobby.

#astrology #zodiac #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces #me and my thoughts #yeah idk #for fun ig #at least for me #random

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fallingin-like · 4 years

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november 8

i just had a growth spurt (took so long, my tippy toes hurt) by @tallsinspace [requested by @gluupor]

see which other fics i’m reviewing this month! / my review request post!

maybe i’m biased because i like kid!fics but i loved this fic so so much. i love the way that andrew and aaron interact, both with each other and the other characters. the characterization on this was amazing and it’s such a hilarious and fun read!

i just want to start and say that i love this fic so so much. your writing style is so fluid and easy to read. there are a lot of writers where their fics are good, but something is missing and you can’t tell what it is. they don’t have weird plots or bad dialogue or anything, it’s just not the same. your writing is not like this. instead there is a sense of ease. i’m just carried along for the ride and i know it’s going to be good and it feels so comforting to know i’ll be taken care of. you inject subtle humour through tiny mannerisms of the characters and by slight word choices that don’t seem to make a difference, but just add this extra little something to your fic. and you have not as subtle humour so basically you’re just really good at writing a funny fic. i mean, even your summary is great.

bits that i really enjoyed (although i just want to insert the whole fic):

“andrew says right over aaron’s body, voice ominous. aaron yelps, sliding up against his headboard in fright.” right off the bat this is such a great intro! it really sets the tone for the fic and tells us some info. it’s funny and i like that

”’i just told you,’ andrew says, impatient at having to repeat himself. ‘nicky is planning things, and we need to counter-plan.’” this is an early example of the great characterization you have. this mini-version of andrew still has traits that canon-andrew carries, but scaled to something that makes sense for a child. the impatience, thinking ahead to prevent nicky from doing the thing, so good.

astronaut lamp! it’s a cute touch that tells us more info about what kind of child aaron is, but also what kind of guardian nicky is.

”aaron remembers. nicky invited matthew boyd from aaron’s class over and andrew gave him so much halloween candy that he had a sugar crash and threw up in the bathroom. he cried. his mom had to come get him. it was really bad.” something about this story i find so great. i like the kids version of the columbia trip, it sounds exactly like something kid!andrew would do. also the last sentence does so much to add to aaron’s voice and also seems like something a child would include in their retelling of a story. i love the short sentences.

”andrew says his teacher, mr. wymack, is also really annoying, but he gets angry at aaron whenever aaron says it too, so andrew probably likes him.” cute!! what a classic kid thing to do (and also a classic andrew thing to do)

-the whole bit that’s also included in the summary is so perfect. the overreaction to a playday. how dramatic the twins are.

”’but we’re brothers in real life,’ aaron says to the empty room.” oh my goodness i love this so much. it’s so telling of the rocky parts of their relationship that they still have to work out and it feels so sad

”she’s really smart, but whenever aaron tries to ask for help, she always goes red and starts chewing on her hair, and the conversation dies there.” CUTE!!

”he hears a squeak and then a thump as katelyn collapses on the ground” DOUBLE CUTE!! these kids are so adorable!! oh my goodness. and so dramatic i love the way you write them

i really like the idea of aaron constantly asking for passes to go to abby and andrew asking to see bee. it must be so comforting to them to have a safe place that they can retreat to during school after being alone for so long.

”unfortunately, nicky thinks mr. wymack is ‘kinda cute in a dad way’ so andrew can’t say he’s friends with kevin, or there’ll be a playdate again, and everything will go very badly for everyone” THIS IS THE BEST SENTENCE. nicky is hilarious as always and it is so funny to see the twins have such a deep understanding of everything to be fully in control. i can just imagine them, writing out baby causal loop diagrams to try and see how one action will affect other things.

andrew and aaron switching places in class with only neil and katelyn being able to tell? amazing

”he’s in my class because he hates you and wanted to get away from you. are you happy?” MY HEART BREAKS A LITTLE BIT AARON NO also i can totally imagine him saying this in his little kid voice, all pouty and annoyed.

the dilemma bit is soo cute oh my goodness

”you can copy my answers even though you’re mean and terrible and you tried to lie to me about andrew” I LOVE YOUR VERSION OF KID NEIL SO MUCH he is still the sassy boy that we all know him as and so wonderful

”besides aaron had been the real victim, because that was his candy he was saving for later” aaron is so melodramatic this is the best thing ever

ANDREW READING WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES IN THE DARK ON NICKY’S LAPTOP AS A KID IS NOW CANON I REFUSE TO BELIEVE ANYTHING ELSE (yes i know nicky and andrew didn’t know each other as children but sTILL)

”last time they came, he had found a massive picture book of outer space, and he and andrew had claimed entire galaxies for themselves, named stars after each other” this is the most precious thing i have ever read. bonding moments between the twins that are this soft are rare in the fandom but underrated because it’s so good. also i love how this matches the astronaut lamp

ANDREW RECITING SHAKESPEARE TO AARON bless these boys

”aaron had yelled his own name across the library, as stupid as that sounds now, and andrew for whatever reason, had called his own name back, to the outrage of every librarian in the main room” excuse me but this is the only way the twins can meet again, sorry i don’t make the rules. i think this is my favourite twin discovery i have read ahhHH you’re so good

”andrew doesn’t lie, but if you don’t believe him, he doesn’t talk either. nicky’s comment has guaranteed an evening’s worth of silence from andrew, which isn’t the worst thing in the world, but is counter-productive” wow this is such an andrew thing to do. he must have been taught through his life in terrible terrible homes that no matter what he says people wouldn’t believe him. it must have been so exhausting constantly being told you’re lying even if you’re not. it’s always so heartbreaking to read about these coping mechanisms he must have developed at such a young age to try and protect himself

”’he’s good at math,’ andrew finally says. ‘and he’s the fastest runner in the grade.’” ANDREW YOU’RE HAVE A CRUSH THIS IS SO CUTE

”’i was the weird kid for a while and i’m excellent.’ nobody responds to that.” NICKY OH MY GOODNESS

nicky buying andrew any lock he wanted no questions asked is the softest thing ever :”) what a perfect thing as the foundation of their relationship

andrew reciting either stories or horrible facts about pirates oh my goodness your characterization is spot on i cannot get enough of it

”andrew doesn’t smile but he does a happy kind of bounce when he sees the chocolate chips have been arranged into a frowny face” this is such an iconic line. you’re actually a legend

exCUSE ME AARON BEING THE MOST POPULAR BOY IN CLASS AND ANDREW THE MOST ATHLETIC my brain just exploded what a wonderful way to end the school year!! and then andrew saying he would rather hang out with aaron,,, i- have no words

”he thinks i need friends badly because he’s afraid i’m developmentally stunted thanks to my terrible parents” nicky’s response is perfect for this but this is the most neil thing eveR. he’s also so mature. what a kid.

wow finishing the fic with the twins making a deal that allows them to hang out/form relationships with other kids and yet means that they will reconvene at the end of the day and stick together?? amazing. i just. this is so so good.

i really like that you did this through aaron’s perspective. it adds something to the story-telling that i think is nice. i’m generally indifferent to aaron, but this fic really endeared me to him. i also appreciate that this is a fic where their relationship is as good as a relationship between twin boys can be (a little bit rough, but overall they have an understanding of each other and will work together to accomplish something).

this whole fic was fun and lighthearted, but clearly really well thought out. i think it takes a lot of talent, skill, and time to have it read in such an easy way. you paid homage to canon events/details but molded it so that it fit so perfectly into this au. this was really cute, i’m always attracted to kid!fics, i’d love to see more from this au! i think you did a good job fitting the characters into the kid version of themselves. i liked that they weren’t dumb little kids with no personalities, because kids are so hilarious and full of attitude. and, it’s really interesting to see nicky in this caregiver role (although he is also like this a little bit in canon, we just don’t get to see it work because the twins are less receptive), i like that he’s doing his best and it’s actually working. for once, the twins have a safe and welcoming home where they can be supported to be who they are and have someone who will protect them.

this was such a delightful read, i loved it when i first read it, and i loved it again while i was rereading to write this. you did such a good job with the characters, the dialogue, the humour. i really can’t describe how much i enjoyed this. thank you so much!!!

#i just had a growth spurt (took so long my tippy toes hurt)#aftg fic review #raelle writes

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sweetcatmintea · 5 years

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The Passion Shop

Flash fiction Friday! I cannot believe how tired I am right now XD I had some fun with imagery in this one :3 I hope you find what you’re looking for at this shop! Feedback is appreciated!

As always, the biggest of thanks to @cawolters for organising the event and to @bookenders for hosting this week!

Prompt: Shelf Life

Words: 1375 (orz)

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It took you longer than you’d like to admit to find the narrow wooden door nestled between two much larger red brick buildings. You’ve never been good at navigating but this time you have the benefit of inexperience to blame. You’re nervous. It’s understandable. This is the start of something new – a frightening concept on its own – made more so by the gravity of your upcoming decision. In another realm, you’re in front of a small tea shop. The kind that’s just always been there, smelling of old books and lavender, with floating dust glittering in dim lights. You fidget at the copper knob, seizing it only to release it again, brushing invisible faults off your clothes. Take a deep breath. Open the door.

The noise behind you vanishes, the streets muted in this space. It is no the tea shop of the other realm you enter. It’s bright, painted with glass, prisms casting rainbows wherever they see fit. It conjures images of greenhouses of magic in your mind. A fair way to describe what you’re seeing. There’s a feint twinkling you can’t place, echoing alongside a pleasant hum. Shapes of light line every surface. Rows and rows of flickers held safe within clear cake stands on airy shelves. Some move in calm orbits, path clear and predictable. Others dart sporadically within their confines. Occasionally you hear quiet plinks of energetic lights bouncing off their glass homes. The longer you stare, the more you begin to differentiate between the lights. Some glow vigorously, some faintly, some with tinted hues, some shifting in colour. Each a little different from the last.

A tall woman waits behind the counter at the end of the shop. Though she stands still, she does so with an inescapable grace. Mint and cream robes tumble around her, curling on the floor like a Luna moth’s tail. You cannot say with confidence that there are not moth wings tangled in the silk. She catches your eye, smiling warmly, politely ignoring your momentary lapse in manners. She understands your awe.

Take your hat off already!

You snatch it from your head, bobbing awkwardly, half an apology, half a greeting. You want to say something, but you stumble over yourself in your fluster. There is a strong sense of being in the wrong place, like a child who has wondered into a queen’s court. That is not the case. Remember, you are supposed to be here.

“Please, there is no need for such formality,” she laughs “I am happy to see you Little Guardian.” She beckons you closer. “You are very welcome here.” Her voice is so kind, so accepting, you feel compelled to cry. You aren’t sure why.

“You flatter me as ever, Sweet Narrator. I am happy to hear from you as well.”

Oh! T-Thank you, Lady Keeper. It is an honour. I’d bow were I capable.

“I trust you’re being kind to our Little Guardian? It’s their first day isn’t it? You will help them flourish, won’t you?”

Of course I will. You won’t be disappointed in me.

“I never am.”

She chuckles again, smiling behind her fingertips. You inch forward, peering into the dome in front of the Lady Keeper. You want to see the light. Somehow, it’s not all that surprising to see a fish no bigger than your palm, circling the air. Not well versed in aquatic life, you hazard a guess that it’s a kind of flying fish. A good guess. The lady Keeper lifts the dome, fabric slipping from around her arm, revealing many delicate golden bracelets resting around her skin. The fish darts out, nearly blinding you as it investigates your face before returning to circle the Lady. It twirled around her, weaving itself through her long satiny hair as she spoke.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

You do know why but don’t really understand why. You say as much. You feel foolish but it is ungrounded.

She nods along to your words, familiar with the story. “These,” gesturing to the fish, “are mortal passions. Each person has one. They grow and evolve, as you would expect them to, helping mortals to become their best selves, their happiest selves. They are such wonderful things, but they can’t survive on their own. Passion needs to be nurtured to fruition. You must tend to it, feed it, and, sometimes, contain it until the person is ready for it.” She cups the fish, trapping it in her hands. “Passion can run amuck it you let it. Let it burn too bright too soon and it’ll go out.” The light emanating between her fingers pulses as the fish circles. “But if you treat it properly…” Released once more, the fish speeds around the room, glowing a hundred colours at once. “It can become something else.” She fixes her attention back at you. “As a Guardian, it is your duty to pick a passion. Follow it to its person and help them grow. Do you understand now?”

You nod dumbly. Information and doubt swirls through your mind. You thought you’d be helping stop a distracted person walking into traffic, not caring for the basis of their fulfilment. It is too much for you. What if you messed up?”

You are prone to worry, aren’t you? In honesty, you wouldn’t have been accepted as a Guardian if you weren’t capable. Besides, you don’t do all that much. Your charge has the lions’ share of the work. You need only nudge them on occasion.

“Do you know which you will pick?” The Lady is patient as you try to make up your mind. You really don’t know. She points to the slow orbiting one you noticed earlier. “A passion like this is a good start. It’s simple but rewarding. This one belongs to a person who’s happiness revolves around family. They want to have a large one. It’s a nice desire, don’t you think?” She glides to another, a sporadic one. “This one is popular. The passion of a person already set to succeed. It still takes quite a lot of hard work, mind you, but they already have a good foundation to work with. They aren’t without their draws. They can be fickle and prone to temptation. These poor mortals are more likely to suffer quite the self-destructive personalities.” Another fish. “This one, well this one’s my favourite kind.” Her finger traces the glass fondly. You struggle to see why. This fish is dull, barely glowing and just a single colour. “This is an unlikely passion. A pipe dream, in colloquial terms. An artist, an author, an astronaut from poverty. Passions for something more than they’re allowed to dream of. Passions for the dreamers.” A sort of sadness tinged her voice. “They have a short shelf life. As their person gets older, the fear starts to dim them. Fear of failure fed by parents pulling them out of the clouds, disillusion from teachers and poorly chosen role models, hopelessness of being ignored. They burn out so easily.” She looks up at you, eyes glittering through long lashes with an emotion you can’t name, contagiously twitching in your chest as well. “But if you can nurture them, remind their person how much they love them, they can grow into something … beautiful.”

You know you should pick the reliable and accomplishable passion as your first. With so much riding on your abilities, you should leave the difficult ones to the professionals. You watch the fish swimming around and around. You swear it dims a little more with each lap. You ask what passion the fish holds.

You feel like you’ve asked the right question when she smiles at you. “This one is a creator. They want to be a poet.”

That’s the one you want. You don’t know anything about poetry, you’ve read maybe five poems in your life, but you want to help this passion grow. You can’t watch it die out. She releases it. The fish is much faster than you expect, zooming around your wrists, circling back and forth from the door. A delicate golden ring appears on your arm.

“It looks like you’ve been accepted. Congratulations! That passion is eager, you’d better run Little Guardian! Good luck!”

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Tag list

@cawolters, @inkovert, @snobbysnekboi, @kainablue, @i-rove-rock-n-roll, and @goblin-writer

#I'll edit the breaks if it needs them tomorrow #Flash Fiction Friday #FFF23 #short story #fiction #original story #original fiction #writing #writblr

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blackcatkita · 5 years

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Get to know my MC- Ride or Die

*These answers are set a couple of years into the future, not where I am currently writing her story and does contain spoilers.

Elena (Ellie) Lisette Wheeler

Who is their love interest?

She and Logan fell hard and fast into the kind of love that lasts a lifetime.

How tall are they?

She is 5′3 and can’t reach the top shelf. Logan will grab what she needs if he’s around, but if he’s not she will just climb up on the counter. Or the shelves at the grocery store, whatever.

How do they tend to dress?

College casual. What she wears depends on the season. The East coast is colder than California so in fall and winter it’s sweaters and leggings, sweatshirts and jeans, heeled boots or vans, whatever keeps her covered and comfortable. Warmer weather its a cute top or t-shirt with shorts or a sundress. She prefers bold colors, black or white over pastels, geometric patterns over floral and clean lines over ruffles and bows.

Do they like the way they look?

In grade school it bothered her that she was one of the shortest in her class. Her solution to the problem was trying to stretch herself by hanging from the monkey bars on the swing set her dad put up in the backyard. It didn’t work, but her dad loves telling that story. By middle school she didn’t mind being on the shorter side, she was more focused on studies and besides, who cares? Some people are short and some are tall, it doesn’t change who you are on the inside and that’s what matters. Being so focused on school, she didn’t put that much thought on her looks. She figured she was pretty cute, but when she met Logan senior year he made her feel truly beautiful for the first time. She knows she’s pretty, but she would much rather be judged on her character and intelligence over her looks.

Are they an only child or do they have siblings?

Only child, but her dad’s girlfriend has a fifteen year old daughter and a twelve year old son. If things continue to go well she might have step-siblings someday.

Are they a morning person or a night owl?

Ellie is a night owl, helpful for late night cram sessions, not so helpful for 8am classes. Her roommate Ingrid is the same way. The first few months at Langston had more than a few days of them rushing out the door to make it to class on time. Since Logan moved out east, he makes sure she gets out of bed by her third alarm when he stays over and when she stays at his apartment he gets up before her to start the coffee and make breakfast. Nothing gets Ellie out of bed like the delicious smells of fresh waffles and coffee wafting through the apartment.

Are they a cat person or a dog person?

More of a cat person but she likes dogs too. She’s never had a pet, her mom was allergic and after she passed her dad was too busy working and filling both parental roles to properly train and care for one. She would like a cat someday, but she wants to wait until she’s done with undergrad and knows where she’s going to grad school before she even thinks about getting one.

Got any favorite foods?

For someone who hates mornings, she loves breakfast. Belgian waffles, omelets, pancakes, even cereal, she will eat it any time of day. She also loves any kind of fruit with the exception of watermelon. She doesn’t hate it, she just thinks it tastes like lightly sweetened water.

How about favorite drinks?

Coffee, but that’s more out of necessity than an actual favorite. Otherwise it’s raspberry lemonade or Jarritos soda; specifically the flavors strawberry, lime, pineapple and mango.

What are their favorite movies or TV shows?

Between studying, required reading, writing papers and research, she doesn’t have a lot of downtime to watch tv but she does like cuddling up with Logan to watch a movie. She likes fantasy, sci-fi, horror (the sinister haunty kind not the stabby kind), psychological thrillers and mysteries, movies that have a twist at the end and make you think. She dislikes movies that make her sad but loves comedies that make her laugh until she cries.

Do they have any hidden talents?

She’s never met a puzzle or riddle she couldn’t solve and she slays at board games.

Do they believe in love at first sight?

No, she’s far too logical for that. Attraction is what happens at first sight, driven by the brain chemicals adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin. Considering how fast she fell for Logan, she believes there’s no set timeline for love but it only happens after you truly know someone.

What are they afraid of?

Failure, but that’s not to say she has a fear of failure in the clinical sense. The thought of failing doesn’t make her avoid trying something or subconsciously sabotage her chances of success, it makes her try harder, sometimes obsessively so. It’s just not acceptable to her, and if she does fail at something, she will take a step back, rethink the problem and try again. Oftentimes after a pint of ice cream.

What are their guilty pleasures?

Chocolate fondue, a glass of wine, reading for pleasure, escape rooms, driving with the windows down and the music blasting, watching Logan work on a car and cheering him on when he participates in a legal race.

What was their dream job as a kid?

Space Captain. Not an astronaut, a Space Captain.

Is it still their dream?

Sadly, we still don’t have starships cruising around in space but the theme is the same. Ellie is majoring in Aerospace Engineering and her dream is to work for NASA.

Have they ever broken a bone?

The summer she was eight years she built a “plane” out of her bedsheets and some wood she found in the shed. Trying to fly it from the top of said shed turned out not to be the best idea. She crashed, landing on her shoulder and breaking her collarbone. It was a minor fracture and she didn’t need surgery, but she did have to walk around in a sling for a while.

Have they ever been in trouble with the law?

Well, yeah... but they were dirty cops so does it even count?

Three random facts!

-She is a stress cleaner and organizer. If Logan comes home to a spotless apartment smelling of bleach and a re-organized fridge, cabinet, or closet, he knows Ellie is over-stressed about something and it’s time for mission “get Ellie to relax”. A bubble bath, massage, gift certificate to a spa or a sensory depravation pod, dinner out, a long drive... whatever it takes he will do.

-She loves to play in the snow and ever since Logan taught her how to snowboard, they always try to go a few times every winter.

-She is a mega fan of Harry Potter and never understood the appeal of princesses when there were witches and wizards with cool wands. Her Hogwarts house is Ravenclaw and she takes great pride in that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Requested by @annekebbphotography, I am posting this in honor of Ride or Die appreciation week epilogue hosted by @brightpinkpeppercorn @choicesarehard and @client-327. I wanted to get a fun and fluffy one-shot done for it but alas, I didn’t so that will come as a bonus tomorrow!

#choices ride or die #rodaw #logan x mc #logan x ellie #mc ask #ellie wheeler #choices rod #get to know my mc #long post

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suchagiantnerd · 4 years

Text

48 Books, 1 Year

I was just two books shy of my annual goal of 50! You can blame the combination of my adorable newborn, who refused to nap anywhere except on me, and Hallmark Christmas movie season, during which I abandon books for chaste kisses between 30-somethings who behave like tweens at places called the Mistletoe Inn (which are really in Almonte, Ontario).

Without further ado, as Zuma from Paw Patrol says, “Let’s dive in!”

1. Human Errors: A Panorama of Our Glitches, from Pointless Bones to Broken Genes / Nathan H. Lents

We have too many bones! We have to rely too much on our diet for survival! We suffer from too many cognitive biases! Reading about our design flaws was kind of interesting, but the best part of this book were the few pages toward the end about the possibility of alien life. Specifically this quote: "...some current estimates predict that the universe harbours around seventy-five million civilizations." WHAT?! This possibility more than anything else I've ever heard or read gives me a better idea of how infinite the universe really is.

2. The Fiery Cross / Diana Gabaldon

Compared to the first four books in the Outlander series, this fifth book is a real snooze. The characters are becoming more and more unlikeable. They're so self-centered and unaware of their privilege in the time and place they're living. Gabaldon's depictions of the Mohawk tribe and other First Nations characters (which I'm reading through her character's opinions of things) are pretty racist. The enslaved people at one character's plantation are also described as being well taken care of and I just.... can't. I think this is the end of my affair with Outlander.

3. Educated / Tara Westover

This memoir was a wild ride. Tara Westover grew up in a survivalist, ultra-religious family in rural Idaho. She didn’t go to school and was often mislead about the outside world by her father. She and her siblings were also routinely put in physical danger working in their father’s junkyard as their lives were “in god’s hands”, and when they were inevitably injured, they weren’t taken to the hospital or a doctor, but left to be treated by their healer mother. Thanks to her sheer intelligence and determination (and some support from her older brother), Tara goes to university and shares with us the culture shock of straddling two very different worlds. My non-fiction book club LOVED this read, we talked about it for a long, long time.

4. Imbolc: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for St. Brigid’s Day / Carl F. Neal

Continuing with my witchy education, I learned all about the first sabbat of the new year, Imbolc.

5. Super Sad True Love Story / Gary Shteyngart

This in-the-very-near-future dystopian novel got my heart racing during a few exciting moments, but overall, I couldn’t immerse myself fully because of the MISOGYNY. I think the author might not like women and the things women like (or the things he thinks they like?) In this near future, all the dudes are into finance or are media celeb wannabes, while all the women work in high-end retail. And onion-skin jeans are the new trend for women - they are essentially see-through. Gary….we don’t…want that? We don’t even want low-rise jeans to come back.

6. The Wanderers / Meg Howrey

Helen, Yoshi and Sergei are the three astronauts selected by a for-profit space exploration company to man the world’s first mission to Mars. But before they get the green light, they have to endure a 17-month simulation. In addition to getting insight into the simulation from all three astronauts via rotating narrators, we also hear from the astronauts’ family members and other employees monitoring the sim. At times tense, at times thoughtful, this book is an incisive read about what makes explorers willing to leave behind everything they love the most in the world.

7. Zone One / Colson Whitehead

The zombie apocalypse has already happened, and Mark is one of the survivors working to secure and clean up Zone One, an area of Manhattan. During his hours and hours of boring shifts populated by a few harrowing minutes here and there, the reader is privy to Mark’s memories of the apocalypse itself and how he eventually wound up on this work crew. Mark is a pretty likeable, yet average guy rather than the standard zombie genre heroes, and as a result, his experiences also feel like a more plausible reality than those of the genre.

8. Homegoing / Yaa Gyasi

One of my favourite reads of the year, this novel is the definition of “sweeping epic”. The story starts off with two half-sisters (who don’t even know about each other’s existence) living in 18th-century Ghana. One sister marries a white man and stays in Ghana, living a life of privilege, while the other is sold into slavery and taken to America on a slave ship. This gigantic split in the family tree kicks off two parallel and vastly different narratives spanning EIGHT generations, ending with two 20-somethings in the present day. I remain in awe of Gyasi’s talent, and was enthralled throughout the entire book.

9. Sweetbitter / Stephanie Danler

Tess moves to New York City right out of school (and seemingly has no ties to her previous life - this bothered me, I wanted to know more about her past) and immediately lands a job at a beloved (though a little tired) fancy restaurant. Seemingly loosely based on Danler’s own experiences as a server, I got a real feel for the insular, incestuous, chaotic life in “the industry”. Tess navigates tensions between the kitchen and the front of house, falls for the resident bad-boy bartender, and positions herself as the mentee of the older and more glamorous head server, who may not be everything she seems. This is a juicy coming-of-age novel.

10. The Autobiography of Gucci Mane / Gucci Mane and Neil Martinez-Belkin

Gucci Mane is one of Atlanta’s hottest musicians, having helped bring trap music to the mainstream. I’d never heard of him until I read this book because I’m white and old! But not knowing him didn’t make this read any less interesting. In between wild facts (if you don’t get your music into the Atlanta strip clubs, your music isn’t making it out of Atlanta) and wilder escapades (Gucci holing himself up in his studio, armed to the teeth, in a fit of paranoia one night) Gucci Mane paints on honest picture of a determined, talented artist fighting to break free of a cycle of systemic racism and poverty.

11. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer / Michelle McNamara

McNamara was a journalist and true crime enthusiast who took it upon herself to try and solve the mystery of the Golden State Killer’s identity. Amazingly, her interest in this case also sparked other people’s interest in looking back at it, eventually leading to the arrest of the killer (though tragically, McNamara died a few months before the arrest and would never know how her obsession helped to capture him). This is a modern true crime classic and a riveting read.

12. A Great Reckoning / Louise Penny

The 12th novel in Penny’s Inspector Gamache mystery series sees our hero starting a new job teaching cadets at Quebec’s police academy. Of course, someone is murdered, and Gamache and his team work to dig the rot out of the institution, uncovering a killer in the process.

13. Any Man / Amber Tamblyn

Yes, this novel is by THAT Amber Tamblyn, star of “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants”! Anyway, this book is a tad bit darker, and follows five men who’ve been victimized by the female serial rapist, who calls herself Maude. Going into this read I though that it might be some sort of revenge fantasy, but dudes, not to worry - we really feel awful for the male victims and see them in all their complexity. Perhaps, if more men read this book, they might better understand the trauma female and non-binary victims go through? That would require men to read books by women though. Guys? GUYS???

14. Ostara: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for the Spring Equinox / Kerri Connor

Yet another witchy read providing more information about this Spring sabbat.

15. Scarborough / Catherine Hernandez

This novel takes place in OUR Scarborough! Following the lives of a number of residents (adults and children alike), the plot centres around the families attending an Ontario Early Years program as well as the program facilitator. Hernandez looks at the ways poverty, mental illness, addiction, race, and homophobia intersect within this very multicultural neighbourhood. It’s very sad, but there are also many sweet and caring moments between the children and within each of the families.

16. The Glitch / Elisabeth Cohen

Shelley Stone (kind of a fictional Sheryl Sandberg type) is the CEO of Conch, a successful Silicon Valley company. Like many of these over-the-top real-life tech execs, Shelley has a wild schedule full of business meetings, exercise, networking and parenting, leaving her almost no time to rest. While on an overseas business trip, she meets a younger woman also named Shelley Stone, who may or may not be her younger self. Is Shelley losing it? This is a dark comedy poking fun at tech start-up culture and the lie that we can have it all.

17. The Thirteenth Tale / Diane Setterfield

This is my kind of book! A young and inexperienced bookworm is handpicked to write the biography of an aging famous author, Vida Wynter. Summoned to her sprawling country home around Christmastime, the biographer is absolutely enthralled by Vida’s tales of a crumbling gothic estate and an eccentric family left too long to their own whims. Looking for a dark, twisty fairytale? This read’s for you.

18. Love & Misadventure / Lang Leav

Leav’s book of poems looked appealing, but for me, her collection fell short. I felt like I was reading a teenager’s poetry notebook (which I’m not criticizing, I love that teen girls write poetry, and surprise, surprise - so did I - but I’m too old for this kind of writing now).

19. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows / Balli Kaur Jaswal

Hooo boy, my book club loved this one! Hoping to get a job more aligned with her literary interests, Nikki, the 20-something daughter of Indian immigrants to Britain, takes a job teaching writing at the community centre in London’s biggest Punjabi neighbourhood. The students are all older Punjabi women who don’t have much to do and because of their “widow” status have been somewhat sidelined within their community. Without anyone around to censor or judge them, the widows start sharing their own erotic fantasies with each other, each tale wilder than the last. As Nikki gets to know them better, she gains some direction in life and starts a romance of her own. (It should be noted that in addition to this lovely plot, there is a sub plot revolving around a possible honour killing in the community. For me, the juxtaposition of these two plots was odd, but not odd enough that it ruined the book.)

20. Beltane: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for May Day / Melanie Marquis

Beltane marks the start of the summer season in the witches’ year, and I learned all about how to ring it in, WITCH STYLE.

21. Summer of Salt / Katrina Leno

This book is essentially Practical Magic for teens, with a queer protagonist. All that to say, it’s enjoyable and sweet and a win for #RepresentationMatters, but it wasn’t a surprising or fresh story.

22. Too Like the Lightning / Ada Palmer

This is the first in the Terra Ignota quartet of novels, which is (I think) speculative fiction with maybe a touch of fantasy and a touch of sci-fi and a touch of theology and certainly a lot of philosophical ruminating too. I both really enjoyed it and felt so stupid while reading it. As a lifelong bookworm who doesn’t shy away from difficult reads, I almost never feel stupid while reading, but this book got me. The world building is next level and as soon as you think you’ve found your footing, Palmer pulls the rug out from under you and you’re left both stunned and excited about her latest plot twist. Interested in finding out what a future society grouped into ‘nations’ by interests and passions (instead of geographical borders and ethnicity) might be like? Palmer takes a hearty stab at it here.

23. The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay and Disaster / Sarah Krasnostein

When Sarah Krasnostein met Sandra Pankhurst, she knew she had to write her biography (or something like it - this book is part biography, part love letter, part reckoning). And rightly so, as Sandra has led quite a life. She grew up ostracized within her own home by her immediate family, married and had children very young, came out as a trans woman and begin living as her authentic self (but abandoning her own young family in the process), took to sex work and lived through a vicious assault, married again, and started up her own successful company cleaning uncleanable spaces - the apartments of hoarders, the houses of recluses, the condos in which people ended their own lives. Sandra is the definition of resilience, but all her traumas (both the things people have done to her and the things she’s done to others) have left their mark, as Krasnostein discovers as she delicately probes the recesses of Sandra’s brain.

24. Becoming / Michelle Obama

My favourite things about any memoir from an ultra-famous person are the random facts that surprise you along the way. In this book, it was learning that all American presidents travel with a supply of their blood type in the event of an assassination attempt. I mean OF COURSE they would, but that had never occurred to me. I also appreciated Michelle opening up about her fertility struggles, the difficult decision to put her career on hold to support Barack’s dreams, and the challenge of living in the spotlight with two young children that you hope to keep down to earth. Overall, I think Michelle was as candid as someone in her position can be at this point in her life.

25 and 26. Seven Surrenders, The Will to Battle / Ada Palmer

I decided to challenge myself and stick with Palmer’s challenging Terra Ignota series, also reading the second and third instalments (I think the fourth is due to be released this year). I don’t know what to say, other than the world-building continues to be incredible and this futuristic society is on the bring of something entirely new.

27. Even Vampires Get the Blues / Kate MacAlister

This novel wins for “cheesiest read of the year”. When a gorgeous half-elf detective (you read that right) meets a centuries-old sexy Scottish vampire, sparks fly! Oh yeah, and they’re looking for some ancient thing in between having sex.

28. A Case of Exploding Mangoes / Mohammed Hanif

A piece of historical fiction based on the real-life suspicious plane crash in 1988 that killed many of Pakistan’s top military brass, this novel lays out many possible culprits (including a crow that ate too many mangoes). It’s a dark comedy taking aim at the paranoia of dictators and the boredom and bureaucracy of the military (and Bin Laden makes a cameo at a party).

29. Salvage the Bones / Jesmyn Ward

This novel takes place in the steaming hot days before Hurricane Katrina hits the Mississippi coast. The air is still and stifling and Esch’s life in the small town of Bois Sauvage feels even more stifled. Esch is 14 and pregnant and hasn’t told anyone yet. Her father is a heavy drinker and her three brothers are busy with their own problems. But as the storm approaches, the family circles around each other in preparation for the storm. This is a jarring and moving read made more visceral by the fact that the author herself survived Katrina. It’s also an occasionally violent book, and there are particularly long passages about dog-fighting (a hobby of one of the brothers). The dog lovers in my book club found it hard to get through, consider this your warning!

30. Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay / Phoebe Robinson

A collection of essays in the new style aka writing multiple pages on a topic as though you were texting your best friend about it (#ImFineWithThisNewStyleByTheWay #Accessible), Robinson discusses love, friendship, being a Black woman in Hollywood, being plus-ish-size in Hollywood, and Julia Roberts teaching her how to swim (and guys, Julia IS as nice in real life as we’d all hoped she was!) Who is Robinson? Comedy fans will likely know her already, but I only knew her as one of the stars of the Netflix film Ibiza (which I enjoyed). This is a fun, easy read!

31. Midsummer: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for Litha / Deborah Blake

After reading this book, I charged my crystals under the midsummer sun!

32. Fingersmith / Sarah Waters

So many twists! So many turns! So many hidden motives and long-held secrets! Think Oliver Twist meets Parasite meets Lost! (Full disclosure, I haven’t seen Parasite yet, I’m just going off all the chatter about it). Sue is a con artist orphan in old-timey London. When the mysterious “Gentleman” arrives at her makeshift family’s flat with a proposal for the con of all cons, Sue is quickly thrust into a role as the servant for another young woman, Maud, living alone with her eccentric uncle in a country estate. As Sue settles into her act, the lines between what she’s pretending at and what she’s really feeling start to blur, and nothing is quite what it seems. This book is JUICY!

33. Rest Play Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (Or Anyone Who Acts Like One) / Deborah MacNamara, PhD

I read approximately one parenting book a year, and this was this year’s winner. As my eldest approached her third birthday, we started seeing bigger and bigger emotions and I wasn’t sure how to handle them respectfully and gently. This book gave me a general roadmap for acknowledging her feelings, sitting through them with her, and the concept of “collecting” your child to prevent tantrums from happening or to help calm them down afterward. I’ll be using this approach for the next few years!

34. Lughnasadh: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for Lammas / Melanie Marquis

And with this read, I’ve now read about the entire witch’s year. SO MOTE IT BE.

35. In Cold Blood / Truman Capote

How had I not read this until now? This true-crime account that kicked off the modern genre was rich in detail, compassionate to the victims, and dug deep into the psyche of the killers. The descriptions of the midwest countryside and the changing seasons also reminded me of Keith Morrison’s voiceovers on Dateline. Is Capote his inspiration?

36. I’m Afraid of Men / Vivek Shraya

A quick, short set of musings from trans musician and writer Shraya still packs an emotional punch. She writes about love and loss, toxic masculinity, breaking free of gender norms, and what it’s like to exist as a trans woman.

37. The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You / Elaine N. Aron, PhD

Having long thought I might be a highly sensitive person (lots of us are!), I decided to learn more about how to better cope with stressful situations when I don’t have enough alone time or when things are too loud or when I get rattled by having too much to do any of the other myriad things that shift me into panic mode. Though some of the advice is a bit too new-agey for me (talking to your inner child, etc), some of it was practical and useful.

38. Swamplandia! / Karen Russell

The family-run alligator wrestling theme park, Swamplandia, is swimming in debt and about to close. The widowed father leaves the everglades for the mainland in a last-ditch attempt to drum up some money, leaving the three children to fend for themselves. A dark coming-of-age tale that blends magic realism, a ghost story, the absurd and a dangerous boat trip to the centre of the swamplands, this novel examines a fractured family mourning its matriarch in different ways.

39. A Mind Spread Out on the Ground / Alicia Elliott

This is a beautiful collection of personal essays brimming with vulnerability, passion, and fury. Elliott, the daughter of a Haudenosaunee father and a white mother, shares her experiences growing up poor in a family struggling with mental illness, addiction and racism. Topics touch on food scarcity, a never-ending battle with lice, parenthood and the importance of hearing from traditionally marginalized voices in literature.

40. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay / Elena Ferrante

The third novel in Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet sees Elena and Lila move from their early twenties into their thirties and deal with a riot of issues - growing careers, changing political beliefs, the challenges of motherhood and romantic relationships, and existing as strong-willed, intelligent women in 1960s and 70s Italy. I’ll definitely finish the series soon.

41. Half-Blood Blues / Esi Edugyan

A small group of American and German jazz musicians working on a record find themselves holed up in Paris as the Germans begin their occupation in WW2. Hiero, the youngest and most talented member of the group, goes out one morning for milk and is arrested by the Germans, never to be heard from again. Fifty years later, the surviving members of the band go to Berlin for the opening night of a documentary about the jazz scene from that era, and soon find themselves on a road trip through the European countryside to find out what really became of Hiero all those years ago. Edugyan’s novel is a piercing examination of jealousy, ambition, friendship, race and guilt. And features a cameo by Louis Armstrong!

42. A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love and Overcoming / Kerri Rawson

So Brad and I had just finished watching season 2 of Mindhunter, and as I browse through a neighbourhood little library, I spot this book and the serial killer in question is the BTK Killer! Naturally, I had to read it. What I didn’t realize is that this is actually a Christian book, so Rawson does write a lot about struggling with her belief in God and finding her way back to Him, etc. But there are also chapters more fitting with the true crime and memoir genres that I equally enjoyed and was creeped out by.

43. The Night Ocean / Paul La Farge

This is another book that made me feel somewhat stupid as a reader. I just know there are details or tidbits that completely went over my head that would likely enrich a better reader’s experience. In broad strokes, the novel is about a failed marriage between a psychiatrist and a writer who became dangerously obsessed with H.P. Lovecraft and the rumours that swirled around him and his social circle. The writer’s obsession takes him away from his marriage and everything else, and eventually it looks like he ends his own life. The psychiatrist is doubtful (no body was found) and she starts to follow him down the same rabbit hole. At times tense, at times funny, at times sad, I enjoyed the supposed world of Lovecraft and his fans and peers, but again, I’m sure there are deeper musings here that I couldn’t reach.

44. Glass Houses / Louise Penny

The 13th novel in Penny’s Inspector Gamache mystery series sees our hero taking big risks to fight the opioid crisis in Quebec. He and his team focus on catching the big crime boss smuggling drugs across the border from Vermont, endangering his beloved town of Three Pines in the process.

45. The Bone Houses / Emily Lloyd-Jones

My Halloween read for the year, this dark fairytale of a YA novel was perfect for the season. Since her parents died, Ryn has taken over the family business - grave digging - to support herself and her siblings. As the gravedigger, she knows better than most that due to an old curse, the dead in the forest surrounding her village don’t always stay dead. But as more of the forest dead start appearing (and acting more violently than usual), Ryn and an unexpected companion (yes, a charming young man cause there’s got to be a romance!) travel to the heart of the forest to put a stop to the curse once and for all.

46. The Witches Are Coming / Lindy West

Another blazing hot set of essays from my favourite funny feminist take on Trump, abortion rights, #MeToo, and more importantly Adam Sandler and Dateline. As always, Lindy, please be my best friend?

47. Know My Name / Chanel Miller

This memoir is HEAVY but so, so needed. Recently, Chanel Miller decided to come forward publicly and share that she was the victim of Brock Turner’s sexual assault. She got the courage to do so after she posted her blistering and beautiful victim impact statement on social media and it went viral. Miller’s memoir is a must-read, highlighting the incredible and awful lengths victims have to go to to see any modicum of justice brought against their attackers. Miller dealt with professional ineptitude from police and legal professionals, victim-blaming, victim-shaming, depression and anxiety, the inability to hold down a job, and still managed to come out the other side of this trial intact. And in the midst of all the horror, she writes beautifully about her support system - her family, boyfriend and friends - and about the millions of strangers around the world who saw themselves in her experience.

48. Christmas Ghost Stories: A Collection of Winter Tales / Mark Onspaugh

Ghosts AND Christmas? Yes please! This quirky collection features a wide array of festively spooky tales. You want the ghost of Anne Boleyn trapped in a Christmas ornament? You got it! What about the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future drinking together in a bar? Yup, that’s here too!

So, what were my top picks of the year, the books that stuck with me the most? In no particular order:

Educated

Homegoing

The Wanderers

Know My Name

Scarborough

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fantroll-purgatory · 5 years

Text

World: Good Ole Alternia! Name: Nadira Pikoys (The Nihilist) - Nadira is taken from Nadir, meaning the lowest point or ‘rock’ bottom while Pikoys is the old english word for Pickaxe. Her first name is tied to how she’s at the very bottom of the hemospectrum with a working class job. Age: Not set - somewhere in the 6-7 sweeps ballpark though.

Theme/Story: Her main themes are Misfortune and Mining. Her hive is part of an apartment complex dug into a hill which is also where she mines out more apartments and precious minerals (which she sometimes keeps to herself, though this is kept hidden). She’s never gone outside of it and while there are plenty of other unfortunate trolls here she’s undoubtedly the one that got the short end of the stick. She’s struck with awful luck, if something can go wrong it will go wrong, but somehow she never seems to die - either due to some sick, twisted luck or her rustblood resilience. (I’m going to start here with my notes- Nadira has more meat to her than most trolls who are based around a gimmick, but it’s still holding her back- you’ve written a character who has issues due to circumstances, and she would likely become a very different person removed from them.) Goals: I am pretty satisfied with her design, though I do feel some stuff can be improved in general and would like a second opinion on her overall! (Me and CD had a long discussion about Nadira the other night, so I’m gonna translate what we were talking about into a review!) Strife Specibus: pickaxekind - Might as well fight with what you’re forced to do for your life, right. Fetch Modus: Boulder Modus. Items are covered in a rock (toughness depending on importance and/or size of item) which need to be physically mined to be retrieved. Blood Color: Rust Symbol and Meaning: Her EZ symbol would be Arittarius (Void/Derse, The Astronaut), but I’m using a custom symbol which is a pickaxe with an = symbol on the handle, fit for the EZ Rust symbols while not making it too simplistic. Handle: tormentedPariah [TP] - constantly suffering and an outcast - An unfortunate individual who is different from others, which is how she feels.

You’re hit on something very interesting to me here. Pariah implies someone outcast and denied by others, and if you’re saying that’s how she views herself- you don’t just have a nihilist character, you have a character with feelings of persecution. Being Pariah’d is something other people do to you. So if that’s how she feels, what does she think she’s been pariah’d for? Does she have bitterness about this outside of just the vague floaty nihilism?

Quirk: Uses –) as Prefix, putting her pickaxe at the forefront of her sentences. Puts : before her c’s so that they’re all sad :c and Uses … as Suffix to show how her sentences always feel unfinished.

Quirk Example: TP: –) :could you tone it down a not:ch…

Special Abilities: Psionics (mild strength, can bend earth if she’s particularly upset), Blindsight (able to see and navigate without sight, tying to her Void aspect) Lusus/Guardian: A pupp-sized mopdog which has its eyes covered and looks depressing just like Nadira. Acts as the canary in the mine for her. Interests: Geology, Nihilism, and later on in SGRUB develops a taste for self-expression through Fashion. (This is pretty bare bones, and highlights the fact that you’re over committing to gimmick. This fashion interest, though, has some possibilities… Because on Alternia being into fashion is seen as frivolous and abnormal (see Kanaya), and that being a growth moment for her… needs more foundation and scaffolding, though.)

Appearance:

(No comments here besides that I love this design.)

Personality:

Surrounded by misfortune and hatched in a mundane role, she’s had a pessimistic view on life since the start which isn’t leaving her anytime soon. She keeps her distance and tends to be isolated due to her lack of hobbies or things to make small talk out of. When she speaks it tends to be vague and of few words, she can’t hold conversations but she’s at peace with that just like how she is used to everything going wrong every time. An observer and despite her timidness, she is assured in her own knowledge.

(You’ve written her to fit the Classpect you’ve given her as opposed to the other way around, and it shows through here. My comment about circumstantial depression comes back here- this kind of… negative nihilism would melt away after getting into Sgrub. Because in Game, she’d be completely removed from the Alternian Caste system, which would solve, like 90% of her issues.)

Lunar Sway:

Derse cause that’s where the pessimistic and introverted peeps tend to be and she fits that bill to the T.

(She is these things, but I would argue that she may be a Prospit character! She doesn’t seem to have the Dersite core of rebellion and restlessness. She seems to just conform to what comes her way, in fact! Remember that Karkat is also a Prospit Dreamer, and he’s a big ol’ misanthrope.)

(Negative Nihilism, like what Nadira is entirely themed around, is also considerably more Prospit in nature: The feeling that everything is hopeless because nothing has meaning is not traditionally something a constantly scheming Dersite would even care about. Dersites are gonna keep going regardless if it’s right, sensible, or meaningful. They can’t not.)

Title:

Seer of Void, having lived a life full of hands-on work on Alternia she learns to lean back into her more passive role as a strategist and opens up more as a result when she plays SGRUB - becoming more talkative with her fellow team though she’s still vague as ever since that’s how dang void players are.

(Now here’s where a majority of what CD and I discussed. Is this character a Void player? Possibly. We’ll get to this in a bit.) (This is not a Seer. A Passive class reinforces her negative traits (isolation and not doing a ton with her life) while not teaching her anything of note, ESPECIALLY with Void as an Aspect. If you’re dead set on passive, the only one I can see working for a character like this would be Rogue- as the passive reorganization of Potential, stealing away the nothing of things, would help her use that rustblood moxie of hers for good.) (Aspectwise, she could be a Doom player because you’ve written her entirely around “universal suffering”, but frankly, that’s a boring take.) (You could continue with Void, because she has some interesting symbology around it- but she doesn’t have ANY of Void’s curiosity, any of Void’s doubt, any of void’s well of endless potential. She doesn’t create the earth- she destroys it and mines it out.) (Which leads me to an odd possibility: Time. Nadira has the potential to be a solid player Chosen By Time. If you played up her grim determination to survive regardless of what life throws at her, put some meat into her personality, and emphasized that Destruction angle, she’d have what she needs to handle the pressures of the aspect. Time is also the traditional wheelhouse of the Red (see Dave, the Megidos, and Caliborn).)

(The later Fashion interest is fun because that turns the arrow towards Void’s sister, Space. Her Land would change, of course, but the imagery of bringing in from the center, changing the meaning of where things are, and creating new life all jive well with her character. Space characters tend to have an interest and draw to Art, and her moving into becoming a fashionista and shedding her facade of grim disinterest would be very interesting. Space characters as well have a well-established motif of being isolated: Jade on an island in the middle of the sea, Kanaya in the sun in the desert, and Calliope in the darkness of nothing.)

I do want to throw my hat into the ring to agree with the Time/Space option in particular. Something space players also experience is Stagnation, either physically or more metaphorically in their social life, until they finally break out and go ham. That’s something I talked to SA about last night. A Space Player who hasn’t awakened yet usually experiences a lack of Lateral Movement that comes with that feeling of isolation. You say Nadira has never left her hivestem and that reads very “space player who doesn’t know they’re a space player yet.” Once she’s free of circumstance, she can explore herself and her environment more, adventure in ways she was never allowed to. I think it’d be good for her.

Land:

LOGAE (

lol gay

) - Land of Geodes and Enigma. The land is filled with rare minerals to the point where there is no soil to grow anything on, leaving the poor black cat consorts with nothing to grow their crops or get safe water from. The quest is to unleash the steamy water from the core and breathe new life into the land. This is a subversion of the common becoming rare and vice-versa, coming to accept the more dull things in life because they are special in their own way.

#burgundyblood #SA Review #submission #nadira #pikoys #nadira pikoys #rustblood #maroonblood #review #sneezingsloths

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gaylegohell · 6 years

Text

All You Zombies

Balancing on one wounded wing Circling the edge of the never ending The best of the vanished marvels Have gathered inside your door

Ch. 3

[[Need to catch up? 1 | 2 ]]

Feat: Ghost Benny, Bad Cop Warnings: SWEARS, grumpy ghosts

B walks into the museum the next evening and already he can tell Benny must be in some sort of mood. The lights are dim and the other museum workers are talking to each other in hushed tones.

B is stoic and unmoved as ever as he takes his place at the desk with his travel mug. His supervisor drops the ring of keys in front of him.

"It's been a weird day here," the supervisor says with a heavy sigh.

"Busy day?" B takes a slow sip of his coffee while a trash can crashes to the floor in the back gallery. The supevisor winces noticeably.

"You could say that," the supervisor says, edging out the door before B can get another word out of him.

And in the span of five minutes, the museum is empty.

It's quiet now that the rest of the museum workers have scurried out the door. But the air is thick and tense and it makes B uneasy. Still, he creaks up from his chair and goes about his rounds of making sure everything is locked, keys and flashlight at his belt.

"OH MY GOD CAN YOU STOP TALKING IN FUCKING RIDDLES?"

Sounds like Ben. And it sounds like he's in a foul mood.

"Ben?" B calls out, his voice echoing in the empty corridors. B's not really sure what to expect next. The atmosphere is oppressive. He wants to leave but dammit, he's not going to let Benny get the best of him.

"JUST GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, YOU'RE NOT HELPFUL! YOU'RE A FUCKING ASSHOLE."

B looks cautiously over his shoulder but he's alone with no sign of Ben. He shakes off a chill down his spine and decides the best course of action is to head back to his desk.

He cycles through the cameras for a while, nervously sipping coffee from his travel mug. It's quieted down now save the occasional crash, but he thinks it best to leave Benny alone instead of chasing after him. He's not sure what he walked into tonight but he definitely does not want to be on the receiving end of Benny's tantrum.

It's several hours later before Benny floats his way through the front of the museum, whistling some incomprehensible pop song and acting like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Oh hey there!" he says brightly and floats up to perch on the edge of B's desk.

"Hello there Ben," B says, eyeballing him carefully. "You doin alright today?"

Benny shrugs. "I mean, I'm dead. But I really can't complain."

"Sure, Ben. You just shouting at yourself today?"

Benny stares at him with a curious expression. Pity? Anger? B can't read him.

"No, that's just Viv," Benny explains, "you don't need to worry about him."

"Wait, there's...there's...you're not the only one?" B tries to keep his voice steady.

"Oh yeah there's tons of us," Benny says brightly. "Over in the F-4 Phantom in the Vietnam gallery are Cannonball Tilly and Kanga Diaz," he counts on his fingers, "They died in 1968...uhhh...there's James Dudley in the Curtiss, we think he died in 1918 but all he tells us is his name. We guess he died a pretty violent death so I can't blame him really, but he seems like a nice guy--"

B has to cut him off. He doesn't need a catalog of every dead person in the museum. Not tonight anyway.

"Ben."

"Oh right yeah and then there's Viv. They'll talk to you when they're ready though. I mean, most of them are happy doing their own thing."

"Right. So," B massages his temples and hopes one day Benny won't give him a headache. But maybe it comes with the territory. He really did enjoy his time at work, all said.

Benny's eyes are searching B's face but again B finds those blue eyes are unreadable.

"Say, Ben, I brought some music I thought you'd might like," B offers a crooked half smile and fishes around for his iPhone and the fresh batch of late 70s rock and roll he downloaded to it earlier.

Benny's smile is incandescent. "I fucking love Elton John."

B has figured out that Benny is two things: incredibly smart and incredibly bored. He's got a story about everything and before long B finds himself looking forward to his nights with Benny, walking side by side down the museum corridors while Benny talks to him about heat shields and thrusters. B's pocket radio keeps them company.

B likes the routine of it, and he enjoys Benny's company. And while Benny chatters away, B is slowly piecing together Benny's story.

He'd been an astronaut for five years, piloted countless missions. He died when the Gemini crashed. His crew was the closest thing he had to family, and as far as B knew, they had all moved on in the afterlife. But why hadn't Benny moved on? What could be keeping him stuck in the museum?

The more B pries, the more walls Benny puts up.

"I don't want to talk about why i'm stuck here," he says with unexpected venom one night. "You think I haven't figured it out after 30 fucking years? God, you sound like Vitruvius."

B turns on his heel and sets off down the corridor without even giving Benny a backwards glance.

Benny seems shocked and it takes him a full two minutes before he materializes at B's side, scowling and surly.

"Where are you going?" he demands.

B looks forward and keeps a steady pace. "If you don't want any company, fine," he says. "I have things to do." In a few short strides he's back at his desk, settling in behind his computer and trying very hard to ignore Benny's glare.

B settles in with his coffee, watching the CCTV and making notes on his paperwork. Benny meanwhile has vanished into the depths of the museum, angrily tossing around trash cans. No matter. B could do this all night.

----- "Thirty years is a long time," Benny's finally emerged two hours later, sitting on B's desk and looking somber.

B nods. "Yes it is."

"They're planning a big shindig for the 30th anniversary of the accident," Benny says. "The museum is."

"You're not really a people person, are you Ben?" B smirks.

That brings a smile to Benny's face.

"I don't want to see their families. I don't want to see their disappointment," he says after a while. He keeps his eyes down and he's unusually quiet.

B is good at figuring things out. "It's not your fault," he offers somewhat weakly. He's not even sure the specifics of the accident but deep down it must not have been any fault of Benny's. Space travel was, and still is, very dangerous and anything could happen. Even on routine trips.

They sit in silence together for some time, B idly scribbling notes and Benny picking at the seams of his flightsuit.

"I don't know what will happen after the anniversary party. Will they tear the exhibit down? I was trapped in a basement for ten years. I can't do that again." Benny is completely despondent. The floodgates are open now and there's no use containing it.

B reaches across to pat Benny's knee in a small gesture of comfort. It feels as if he's sunk his hand into a snowbank.

Benny's sad blue eyes meet B's.

"I need help."

#coppernauts #benny the spaceman #gcbc #ayz

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