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angel-riki · 3 years

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Dazed & Dreaming {Ch. 2}

summary: Y/N's life was always quite normal, some may even consider it boring. However, Y/N enjoyed her simple life and the little pleasures it brought. Unfortunately, that all changed the day she found out her best friend's biggest secret. Her discovery leads her down a rabbit hole of a new and confusing world she never knew existed. She must now navigate this new life filled with love, fear, and the supernatural. What awaits her down this path?

pairing: enhypen x reader (vampire au)

warnings: light swearing

word count: 1,569

chapters: [Ch.1] [Ch.3] [Ch.4]

~~~~~~~~~~

You bit into your second piece of toast of the morning as your phone buzzed in your pocket. After rummaging around for a few seconds, you retrieved your phone. You smiled at the notification, it was from Jake.

Jake: "We're here :)"

You quickly typed out and sent your reply as you hurried to finish the rest of your breakfast,

Y/N: "Ok, omw!"

One huge bite of toast and a painful swallow later, you were gathering your things and scurrying out the front door. You half-jogged down your driveway until you reached the car, greeting the boys like usual,

"Good morning," you said cheerfully as you climbed into the back seat.

Heeseung had been giving you rides every morning now for a couple of weeks, it had become your daily routine. And even though you insisted that you could walk, the two boys wouldn't take no for an answer. You eventually accepted their generosity, however you still felt a bit guilty. Fortunately, this new routine had allowed you and Heeseung to grow much closer over the past weeks. Now, you considered him a friend instead of a mere acquaintance. This was a relief as you had gotten much more comfortable around him. Although, Heeseung was just good at making everybody feel comfortable. He was just so charming and kind. This made it a lot easier for you to manage your nerves, but a lot harder for you to keep your crush on him from growing.

*****

The bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch. Relief washed over all of the students' faces as they were freed from a horrendously boring lecture. You shared that relief as you packed up your stuff and strolled out of the classroom. You made a quick pit stop at your locker before heading down to the cafeteria.

After grabbing your food, you walked into the bustling dining space. Gosh it's so crowded, where are they? You scanned the tables until you noticed someone waving at you rather enthusiastically. Shocker, it was Jake. Heeseung was beside him, smiling and waving at you as well. You waved back before heading over to where they were sat. You set your food on the table and pulled out the chair in front of you. As you sat down, you noticed that Heeseung didn't have any food. How strange, you thought.

"Heeseung, where's your lunch?" You asked, knowing there had not been enough time for him to have already finished eating.

"Oh, I'm just not hungry today is all," he said awkwardly.

"Are you sure? You can have some of mine if you'd like," You offered.

"That's okay, thank you though," he smiled.

Something was odd about his demeanor after you brought it up, but you couldn't put your finger on it. You decided to stop interrogating him as you turned to Jake,

"How was that math test you had earlier?" You asked.

"Good! Aaand I may or may not have written down that one formula I can never remember on the inside of my hand..." he replied.

"Smart move," you giggled.

"I know," he said, grinning proudly.

You rolled your eyes as you began eating your lunch. Your school lunches were mediocre at best, but it could be worse. Another day, another stale pb&j. As you ate, the two boys started rambling about their after school plans. Apparently, there were a few other boys that they hung out with quite often. You had never met them, although Jake had mentioned them here and there. Listening to their conversation, you suddenly felt a slight sadness come over you. It wasn't that you were jealous, you were just afraid that one day they would get sick of you and leave you behind. They had other friends, but you didn't. Jake and Heeseung were all you had. You shook your head as you tried to expel the negative thoughts. Why am I getting upset over something that hasn't even happened? They would never do that anyway, you reassured yourself.

Before you knew it, lunch was over and you were running late for your next class. You were speed walking down the hall when you turned a corner and ran directly into something. Or some one, rather. You looked up to see who you had just harshly collided with. You recognized him from your english class, yet you had never spoken to him before. You realized you didn't even know his name.

"Ah, I'm really sorry!" You apologized, feeling your face heat up in embarrassment.

Seeing him up close like this made you wonder how you hadn't paid more attention to him. You had never noticed how handsome he was. He had a very sharp jawline and thick black hair that dangled just above his eyes. You also noticed there was a beauty mark on the side of his nose. Wow, his nose is like, perfect.

"It's alright. It's not every day that I run into a cute girl," he replied coolly.

You thought you were flustered before? Well now you were REALLY flustered. You opened your mouth to respond but before you could speak, he cut you off,

"Your lip is bleeding," he said, his face suddenly full of concern. His skin seemed to be growing paler.

"Oh, I didn't notice," you said, reaching up to wipe your mouth. You must have slightly busted your lip when you ran into him. You looked down and noticed a little trail of blood on the back of your hand. Thankfully, it was only a small amount so you weren't too worried. You looked back up at the boy and you noticed he was staring at your mouth rather intensely, almost as if he was in a trance.

"Uh...well I better get to class. Sorry, again." You apologized one last time before hurrying off down the hall.

Weird.

*****

Your class seemed to go by faster than usual today. Maybe it was because you ended up being almost 10 minutes late after your little incident in the hallway. Or maybe, it was because you couldn't stop thinking about that strange boy. Either way, you were relieved that class was over. However, that relief quickly left you once you realized what your next class was; English. You really didn't want to see that boy again after your previous meeting. You were still quite embarrassed and his reaction just made you even more uncomfortable. You sighed as you reluctantly accepted the inevitable.

Once you were seated at your usual spot, you pulled out your notebook and a pencil. You scanned over yesterday's notes as your teacher began the lesson. Everything was fine for a bit, until you began feeling eyes on you. Maybe you were just paranoid, but you could've sworn you saw that boy from earlier staring at you every so often. You attempted to pay attention to the lesson, but you couldn't. He was making you incredibly on edge. You put your head down in frustration. God, can't this day just end?

*****

You tapped your temple with the end of your pencil as you tried to make sense of your chemistry textbook. Although you were reading the words on the page, you weren't absorbing or internalizing any of it. You sighed and defeatedly closed your textbook as you decided to call it a night. You had been at the library studying for hours, you hadn't even noticed how dark it had gotten outside. You packed up your belongings and threw on your coat and scarf before heading out of the library. A shiver passed through your body as you entered the cold evening air. You began walking at a faster pace than usual, trying to get back to some warmth as soon as possible.

After a couple of minutes of walking, you could feel your cheeks stinging and you could see your breath in front of you. I need to get home faster, I'm freezing. You thought while looking around for a shortcut. You found a path down the edge of the forest that seemed to be the quickest route home. You sighed as you hurried down the deserted trail. As you continued on your way, you started to get an eerie feeling. Perhaps it was just the setting you were in, but you were considerably creeped out. You never liked walking alone at night, I mean, who does? Suddenly, as if on cue, you heard something behind you. You whipped your head around as you scanned the area for any potential danger. You didn't see anything but you could've sworn you heard another set of footsteps following close behind you. Maybe you were just being paranoid again. You turned back around, sufficiently scared at this point as you anxiously jogged the rest of the way. You sighed with relief as you made it to your house safely. You opened the front door and locked it behind you, not daring to look back out into the night. After shaking off your uneasiness, you headed upstairs and changed into your fuzziest pajamas before crawling into your warm bed. You quickly melted into the soft blankets as you drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ooooh, spooky ending! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter which was full of foreshadowing ;). I know it's taking a while to get all the boys introduced but I promise it'll happen soon! Thank you for reading! I’m also uploading this series on wattpad if you’d like to support it over there!

~Elle <3

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htfanimevocagirl02 · 3 years

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Keroro♀ genderbend headcanons Pt.1

-Girl Keroro just as selfish and greedy as male Keroro but hides it in fear of her reputation and looks due to the expectations from everyone as the one wearing the keron star and the leader unlike male!Keroro. She kind of just grew up to be insecure of herself since all of people practically know her as her father was a great figure in the past and she thinks everyone expects her to be one as well (even though they weren't)

-She is more sinister and scary. Inheriting her mother's personality and her father's strength she's very lovely, reserved and polite but she could kill you if you did a wrong move because she's always on edge as a leader. She rarely argues, is more level headed and patient from getting used to Giroro's temper and Dororo being so weak and slow in the past.

-She is still much kinder, hardworking and intelligent which she had become after first entering the war with Giroro and Dororo, learning about teamwork and looking after each other, helping her understand about being just being nice to everyone more and how rewarding it is to be diligent as a soldier. Ever since, she worked and studied even harder than she already was to become a good leader and friend for Giroro and Dororo.

-Trained and learned how to battle and fight as well, thinking Sergeants were useless if they didn't know how to fight themselves and depended on their soldiers and ended up pretty good at using sabers and guns. She had high expectations of herself too, that it ended up making her tired out but even though she wants to rest, her fear of disappointing anyone made her continue to work more.

-Naturally she was already a pretty strong, kind and scary person from the start as a child despite looking very lovely and angelic, being a social butterfly and loved by everyone at her school. She liked making friends too which was how she met Giroro and Dororo, and was so protective of them from anyone who always ended up respecting her in fear whenever they run into her.

She was really kind and gentle to Dororo because he was the most nicest as well, even though she was originally going to be friends with him because he was rich but she still often liked to lightly tease him and Giroro a lot by scaring them with spooky stories when she has the chance to. Dororo loves her dearly as his precious friend and is very protective of her like Giroro as she was the first friend he ever had and she was the only one who listened to his words and noticed him.

-She may appear like a doll but she's actually a tigeress. She trains soldiers very well and is a really great commander in the battlefield, yet so harshly and hisses at them with fangs scarily so no one would take her lightly all because she looked cute, earning her the nickname 'the deadly empress'. Everyone was so afraid of her but they still admired her as she comforted scared soldiers during wars without any shame, as her heart ached for them since she also gets scared often in battles.

-Giroro and Zeroro had crushes on her even until the present day. Giroro liked her because of the way she made being strong look so lovely, charmingly. Zeroro liked her because she was the only one who would listen to him and protect him, admire how hardworking she is and loves how always kind she is despite being so powerful like a heroine.

-She dated Giroro and Dororo before but ended up in good terms just as friends even though the two boys still loved her--Giroro a bit secretly, pretending they're just friends and Dororo being more open and willing about it. Keroro is still very affectionate with Dororo compared to Giroro who acts all blushy and tsundere whenever she shows it to him, so she doesn't do it.

-As she doesn't like feeling intense all the time, Keroro doesn't treat her platoon like soldiers but just as friends like Giroro and Dororo, trusting them and even letting them lead missions as well--putting them before anything because she admires each of their skills and potential that everyone appreciates her ways of leading (she only did it to make herself appear more greater but it had made her feel good in a way so she ends up glad that she chose to do that).

-She doesn't feel comfortable with Tamama's closeness on her but she still finds him cute like a young soldier and treats him nicely--the same with Kururu who she thinks is creepy and weird but likes how great he is in their platoon and work, respecting him and his peculiar sense.

-Is absolute best friends with Pururu, since they're both gals in the army, they often have each other's back and talk to each other when they need a girl-to-girl talk or make fun of the boys in the team. Keroro actually had a little crush on her because of how beautiful and cool Pururu looked in her eyes even though she was pretty and cool herself as well.

-But she never knew anything about what everyone thought of her because she never showed she was insecure and suffered to the present despite everyone having so much high praises of her. When her parents and friends say how great she is at her studies or how beautiful she looks, she just dismisses it as that's what parents and friends would say out of being nice, and it isn't true.

-Also befriends Zoruru, being the first one to notice him. He ends up crushing on her as well and becoming friends with Zeroro, making less resentful of Dororo. When they separate because he goes to train under Jirara's arm and she had to go training in army school, they sent each other letters and Zoruru still treated her friendly as the same as before, not minding her affection like hugs. In fact he likes it while pretending not to.

-He was actually part of their platoon with special permission from the Keron HQ to have another person in the platoon until one day Garuru came and asked Keroro if he could recruit Zoruru in his team with interest about him. For some reason Dororo and Zoruru wasn't in good terms so she decided to have Zoruru himself decide, and surprisingly, he did just to get away from Dororo at least. As a small parting, she gave him a lucky charm to keep close much to Zoruru's shyness and he gave her one he made himself to return the gesture.

-She learnt how to manipulate people into making them think she's a good and talented person or make people feel sorry for her so she wouldn't worry about disappointing anyone but ends up turning into a good person at the end which she finds pretty funny.

-She ends up being the one with the scar on her eye after protecting Giroro during an argument in a battlefield and while telling her she shouldn't have done that, he's felt so surprised guilty as a friend despite fighting that day and ever since has treated her gently compared to everyone else. Whenever he sees the scar on her eye, he sort of crumbles inside with sympathy since she had a pretty face.

-So because of the expections, she actually succeeds in invading earth after finding Giroro, Tamama, Kururu and Dororo and made their base in a remote island instead of the hinata house quickly. And when she wins all the admiration and proudness from everyone, that is when she feels all the efforts she made was worth it and even gets upgraded from being a sergeant to a commander. But instead of thinking she could rest, she only thinks she has to do better now and works even harder.

-She has a whole fanclub and statues of her around Keron planet in pride (though she doesn't know what to feel about the fanclub), and her parents are all so proud of her, mostly her father going around and showing her off with a picture of her in his wallet which makes her so happy that her father is proud of her and trusts her even though she was a girl.

-She can still cook amazing home meals and great at making the house look so clean as its what she liked to do to help her mother. She often made food as a child to give it to Pururu, Giroro and Dororo to eat which she still does until now, And Pururu appreciates the healthy food she makes for her skin and body, often being too busy to make any meals.

-She actually liked to play the piano and cook meals as a hobby before (she doesn't like anything deemed boy-ish so gunpla is out of the picture), that she's really good at singing and performing but now she rarely does it now. Wanting to provide the best, she now just sits at her office and works without breaks or sleep, and trains her platoon everyday. Coffee has become her fuel and constantly has dark under eyes which she covers with makeup.

-Giroro and Keroro have a nicer relationship because Giroro appreciates her skills a lot since she has also helped make him climb up the rank as well and rarely ever fights with her due to her nature to settle things calmly and he kind of learns from her as he admires her, knowing the sacrifices she made over the years. Keroro respects his fiery temper and soldier way, taking it as his style instead of thinking he needs to relax with laziness and infuriating him that way.

-Because she managed to invade earth, Giroro doesn't actually get to meet Natsumi and Dororo doesn't change to being nice. She makes humans into slave soldiers and has Giroro in charge of leading them and lets Dororo make his own ninja clan with humans. Kururu is in charge of hacking through all systems in the world to keep things in check while Tamama watch over the earth.

-It's not exactly seemingly great than normal but they at least conquer earth and make their dream come true just like that. Natsumi and the others end up as brainwashed soldiers while the platoon become rich and upgrade higher in their rank. But I could imagine Natsumi somehow break out of her brainwash and attack Giroro who falls for her. Keroro wouldn't return earth to normal for her own glory but for Giroro she would allow Natsumi to stay unbrainwashed.

-Giroro would probably ask Keroro to release Fuyuki and Aki as well in Natsumi's request who was feeling lonely without her family but not wanting anymore humans, she would put down that idea until Natsumi gets mad and Keroro almost kills her in warning that she lucky enough to be let alive with a collar to keep her tracked. Natsumi ends up crying and lashing out at Giroro who feels guilty that he couldn't do anything to convince her.

-Keroro would ask Giroro if he had lost his mind as an invader and reminded him what could happen if the Keron HQ found out, making him feel more on edge and find things difficult. She would find Giroro and his crush being an annoying obstacle to the earth invasion, even pondering how to make him fired until she realized what she's thinking and feel guilty as his friend.

-Other then that, Giroro thinks she's crazy for working 24/7 and yells her to take breaks or she'd kill herself, trying to drag her out of her office but always end up failing incredulously from her willingness to finish work. Dororo and Tamama also plead her to stop working but she still doesn't listen due to her habits (since when he was younger, he learnt to act sort of manipulative to make her feel guilty and get her closer to him like a yandere). But it doesn't always work and that is when Mois and Pururu comes in.

The boys would always ask the girls to force Keroro out of her office to go shopping or go out to special places to get her to finally rest and take a breather. Everytime Pururu comes to do a health check up on everyone, Keroro's health is so bad the medic gets so livid and scolds at her as her body is so burnt out and is always so low on iron, blood pressure....etc. from only working all the time. Keroro ends up sitting there in shame while being reprimanded while everyone else sighs/is concerned. But too bad she's married to her job.

#sgt keroro #why am I doing this #I still love stg keroro #I have also found my love for fem keroro have you seen how cute she looks with cute cat ears?

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frozenartscapes · 4 years

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Pumpkins - A World Without Gods Fic

Byleth heaved the large, orange vegetable up onto the kitchen table with a grunt, the weight of the object causing the whole piece of furniture and the cutlery on it to shake.

Edelgard did the same, though her pumpkin wasn’t quite as big so it didn’t land with the same intensity.

“Alright,” Byleth said as she playfully dusted her hands, “Let’s get started, then.”

“So remind me again why we’re making...what was it again?” Edelgard asked.

“Jack-o-lanterns,” Byleth told her, “It’s another Halloween tradition.”

“I figured as much. I was mostly just wondering why carving up perfectly good pumpkins to turn them into decorations rather than food seems to be so popular,” Edelgard said.

Byleth merely chuckled. “Don’t worry, El. These pumpkins aren’t that great for food. They’ve been growing them this way for decades specifically for making Jack-o-lanterns. That’s also why we got a couple of those small ones, which are good for eating.”

“I...see,” Edelgard replied, glancing at the two pie pumpkins sitting on the counter.

“So... Do you know what you’re going to do to yours?” Byleth asked, pulling out a couple of markers and offering one to El.

“I think so... I did a little research beforehand when you told me you wanted to do this, although I know right now that many of the designs I saw were far too complicated for me to execute,” Edelgard said, taking the marker and beginning to sketch out a simple face.

“Yeah, some people are crazy good at this. Although most of the time they’re professional sculptors.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I’m maybe average at this? The building does a contest but I’ve never won in the years I’ve lived here. I mostly just like the tradition.”

“I’m hoping this will turn out all right. It’s not the same as cooking, but I also can’t say I’ve ever been...careful when it comes to blades.”

Byleth laughed. “I’ve seen you use a dagger just fine, and you were pretty good with a sword,” she offered, “But yeah... Your style definitely was more about doing damage rather than precision.”

“I never really had the patience,” Edelgard admitted with a sigh.

They finished their designs and now it was time for the “fun” part, as Byleth called it. “Ok, so you want to take the knife and cut a circle around the stem. Make sure you cut at a bit of an angle so that the piece you cut doesn’t just fall through,” she explained, demonstrating on her pumpkin.

Edelgard nodded and followed along. Once the hole was made, she glanced into the pumpkin with a grimace. She had never...dealt with a pumpkin before. She knew of them. She had eaten food made with them. She knew of the general concept of their most popular uses, including these jack-o-lanterns. For some reason, though, she never really thought about what might be in a pumpkin until it was staring her in the face.

Byleth simply shoved her hand in without question, removing it with a handful of seeds and pumpkin guts and dumping the goo in a bowl with a wet splat. Edelgard gulped, then carefully stuck a hand into her pumpkin. Her finger brushed against something cold and stringy, and with a small squeal, she yanked her hand back out.

“Why is it warm?” she demanded when she heard Byleth chuckle.

“We were keeping them inside, El,” Byleth reminded her, “Trust me: it’s better than if they were cold.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Edelgard commented, attempting to clear her pumpkin out again. This time she got her hand in far enough to grab a clump of goop, but the squishiness of it made her retreat with a gag.

“Here,” Byleth said, offering a large spoon, “You can scrape the sides and bottom with this, then just turn the pumpkin over the bowl. It’s less messy that way.”

Edelgard let out a deep breath, accepting the spoon with a grateful smile. “You’ve clearly done this a lot,” she stated as she got to work, finding the spoon method much better.

“It’s funny. I used to get together with Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn and do this sort of thing a lifetime or two ago. It’s interesting to see how the holiday has changed over the decades,” Byleth said, “Pumpkin carving thankfully has stayed more or less the same. While costumes and candy and decorations and parties have all changed, good old pumpkins have been a nice constant.” For added emphasis, she patted the pumpkin lovingly before reaching in to clear out some more seeds.

A nervous smile made its way across Edelgard’s face. “Ah... And how did...they...find the holiday?” she asked, trepidation growing at the reminder of her former enemies.

“Flayn has always been intrigued by it, so of course it’s Seteth’s worst nightmare,” Byleth replied casually, “Rhea’s kind of indifferent on it. But she really doesn’t like carving pumpkins.”

“Really?” Edelgard asked with an eyebrow raised.

“She doesn’t like the guts,” Byleth said.

“I can’t fathom why,” Edelgard returned dryly, turning her pumpkin over the bowl and shaking out a clump of seeds and goo.

“It’s just seeds and mushy squash,” Byleth teased upon seeing El’s face, “Goddess knows you’ve dealt with much worse.”

“It’s the texture,” Edelgard insisted, “I don’t like how it’s slimy, warm, and sticky all at once. And don’t remind me about worse things because then I’ll start to picture them.”

Byleth laughed again, dumping out the last of her pumpkin guts. “Sorry. I should’ve known better,” she said sheepishly, “How’s it going? You get it mostly cleared out yet?”

Edelgard did a final scrap of the sides of the pumpkin. “About as clean as it ever will be,” she replied, “So now we can start carving?”

“Yep.” Byleth reached for a knife as Edelgard did the same. “Just work slow, and be careful not to cut yourself. Blood might be spooky but parents tend to be more approving of fake blood this time of year.”

Edelgard chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind, my Teacher.”

Byleth smiled at the nickname. They were well passed their time spent as student and teacher, but Edelgard kept insisting that Byleth had never truly stopped teaching her new things, now more than ever. So the name stuck.

She realized she had been watching Edelgard carving for perhaps a little too long. She couldn’t help it, though. For as silly and casual as this activity was, Edelgard was approaching it with the same intensity and focus as she did whenever she was learning a new fighting stance or battle strategy.

Byleth blinked a few times before snapping out of it. As much as she would have liked to keep admiring Edelgard, she had her own pumpkin to carve.

“How are you making out?” Byleth asked after a few minutes, finishing up the last few details of her carving in the process.

“Almost... Done!” Edelgard proclaimed, leaning back to take in her creation. The pride in her expression fell away, however, as she studied her work. “Hmm... I feel like it’s missing something...”

“Hang on,” Byleth said, getting up to retrieve a couple of candles from the counter. She set one in each pumpkin, flicked off the lights, and with a snap of her fingers, both jack-o-lanterns lit up in all their spooky glory.

Byleth’s had a large, fang-filled mouth stretching from one side of the pumpkin’s face to the other, and two pointed eyes that seemed to narrow menacingly. Edelgard’s had the classic triangular nose and eyes, but a toothy mouth that was frowning rather than smiling.

“He doesn’t look very happy,” Byleth commented lightly.

“I thought the frown would make it less friendly,” Edelgard mused, “But now I’m not... Oh! I know!”

She quickly left the kitchen, only to return moments later with the plastic bloodied axe Byleth had hung up over the fireplace. After making another quick cut in her pumpkin, Edelgard then stuck the fake weapon inside, giving it the appearance of having just been attacked by an axe murderer.

Byleth couldn’t contain her laughter. “Oh Sothis, I love it, El!” she said.

“See, now he has a reason to be unhappy,” Edelgard replied with a small chuckle of her own, “And you did say fake blood was ok.”

“I did say that,” Byleth conceded, “I can already think of multiple morbid little kids who are going to love this pumpkin.”

---

A few days after Halloween, Byleth returned home after work to an envelope that had been tucked under the door.

They had won the pumpkin carving contest.

#fe three houses #a world without gods #edeleth #edelgard #byleth #ss/modern!au #fanfic #i just have a feeling el wouldn't be a fan of the inside of a pumpkin #she doesn't mind the carving part but the scooping part freaks her out #later byleth shows her how to get pumpkin puree from the pie pumpkins #and to el's immense delight byleth allows her to cut both of them in half with a small handaxe she keeps with the camping gear #'for just this once it WILL be faster to just use an axe'#el: *mysterious wind blowing her hair* my time has come #and yes there are multiple kids in their building who think el's pumpkin is amazing #and for the ones who don't it's easy enough to show them that it's just a prop #like the pumpkin is wearing a costume too #el just can't get over how kids are allowed to be morbid in this day and age #and it's not...scarring for them #they're perfectly normal kids #perfectly HAPPY not-traumatized kids

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actualfarless · 3 years

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Confessions

Unknown to you, your girlfriend is part of a secret organization sworn to stopping an ancient evil. Unknown to her, you are that ancient evil.

Story below or read on Wattpad

“So, I have something to tell you.”

Rylie stared at me with her baby blue eyes from over the top of her knees, clad in her fluffy unicorn pajamas. Biting her lip, she wrapped her arms around her legs, doing her best to look at innocent as possible. It was the same as when she told me she loved me for the first time. Same as when she told me about her parents. Same as any serious conversation.

I smiled the best reassuring smile I could. “Yes, Missus Thelpty?”

“Thelpty-Grey. Future Thelpty-Grey,” Rylie corrected with a grin. She played with her wavy brown hair, not so subtly flashing her tattoo. She always lied about the heptagram on her wrist and I never pushed. Despite how much she pretended, Rylie never liked talking about herself. She would let me know when she was ready. Probably curled up on the couch in unicorn pajamas, staring at me with innocent blue eyes.

“Yes, Missus Future Thelpty-Grey?”

“Kay, so, you know how I, like, love those weirdass horror-scifi books?”

“Which ones?” I teased. I knew which ones. I first met her in the bookstore when she was buried in them. The local shop received a collection of the old ones, and she bought all of them. Every copy, even multiple versions of the same ones. ‘In case there was a misprint,’ she later told me. The author was prolific. For a normal person, it would have been an extraordinary purchase.

But that was Rylie. She won the lottery twice and was set for life.

The horror-scifi clashed with the fluffy unicorn pajamas, but that was Rylie. Half magical horse, half spooky space thing, entirely lovable. I guess that was part of why I liked her so much. She knew what it was like to live with a split life.

“The ones by Crofte.” Rylie’s smile didn’t slip, but her tone shifted. She looked past me, taking a deep breath. This was way more intense than the first ‘I love you.’

Not as intense as her proposal.

“Ah, yes. The spooky ones.”

“The spooky ones,” Rylie agreed. “Well, I’m part of a group. The Val Crofte Literature Club.”

I was well aware of the VCLC. Rylie received a box filled with new books from them every month, marked by seven circles. She told me they represented the seven classical planets in Crofte’s work. Rylie talked about them a lot. For Crofte-heads, a name Rylie used to refer to the group once, which I would never let her forget, the classical planets were the key to understanding the meta-story.

It also had something to do with alchemy. I had a hard time getting into them. They hurt my brain. I had no clue how one man wrote so much.

“Yeah, your nerd group.”

“They’re not nerds! Well, not all of them.” Rylie stretched, again flashing the heptagram. “It’s not just about the books. It’s about the meta-story. We, uh… we…”

Rylie struggled to get the words out. A nervous blush spread across her face.

I took her hand, careful to avoid the tattoo on her wrist. I never told her, since it was impossible to explain, but the design was unpleasant. Every time I touched it, even the slightest brush, it burned. Like a hot stove, but through my whole body and prickly. “It’s okay, Rylie. You can just admit to being a nerd. We��re engaged. I know this now.”

“There’s more to it, Aaron.” Rylie bit her lip, still uncertain. Then, a serious expression suddenly took her face. Not the way the faceless steal faces in the Crofte books. She simply decided to be straightforward. “The VCLC believes that the books aren’t just stories.”

“They’re damn good ones!”

Rylie didn’t laugh. That hurt a little. “They - we believe that Val Crofte is trying to warn us about creatures. Monsters. Eldritch beings.”

My heart thumped. Did she know?

“Val Crofte isn’t one person. The members of the VCLC embed codes in the books whenever we learn something new. Some of us are trained to hunt these things.” Rylie paused, looking sadly at her hand which I no longer held. I hadn’t realized I’d been retreating. But it was starting to make sense now. “Not me, of course. I’m a researcher for the VCLC. I study the codes, sort out the truth from fiction, then pass it along to the hunters. They’re usually about lesser beings. Mimics. Vampires. That sort of stuff.”

A weight was lifted off my chest.

“Some of them are about great ones.”

And put right back on.

“The VCLC has had a few names. We were inspired by Lovecraft. The name too.” Rylie’s excitedness took over as she continued her tale. She stood, pacing in front of the couch now. My eyes were focused on the seven-pointed star on her wrist. How it moved with the way her hands tensed. “There’s been so many stories, Aaron. We’re dedicated to stopping evil, great and small. And now… now there’s rumours, Aaron. Rumors of something big. The kind of monster that could destroy the world.”

Rylie paused, impressing the dramatic weight of this realization with her blue eyes and gestures. “A real Lovecraftian nightmare, Aaron.”

I couldn’t hold it back anymore. “Is that tattoo VCLC?”

Rylie looked shocked, as though pulled from a dream. She held her wrist out to me. “This? Yeah. Ish. The members of VCLC get a tattoo on their wrist so we can recognize each other. But it’s also a sigil of protection. In Crofte’s books, it’s a symbol of power. It shows control over all of the elements. And all of the planets. The classical planets. They’re-”

“The ones that count,” I finished. That was something Rylie said a lot. It was a popular phrase among the books’ protagonists.

With a laugh, Rylie sat down next to me, snuggling close and wrapping her arms around me. “They are actually good books too. I was a fan of Val Crofte before I even knew about the VCLC. And not all of our members are full members. Some of them are just fans. You should give them a shot.”

“I will,” I lied. At least now I knew why the books hurt to read. It wasn’t just poor worldbuilding.

“You don’t think I’m crazy, do you?” Rylie asked, staring with her innocent blue eyes. Eyes that concealed secrets all too well. I gave her my best reassuring grin.

“No, Rylie, I don’t. I love you. I know you’re telling the truth.” I sighed. It was my turn to share. “In another life, I was called Thorn. Thorn A. Laytep.”

I took a deep breath. In a thousand lifetimes, I never told anyone this secret. But it was time.

“Before then, I was known as Nyarlathotep.”

<<>>

“Before then,” Aaron said slowly. His lips were pulled tight, replacing his usual smile with something stern. He was like that sometimes. Aaron liked to joke, to laugh, play. He brought out my childish side. That was what I loved about him. Then, rarely, he was serious. I loved that too. I could tell him things - important things - and he’d meet me with the same sincerity. “I was known as Nyarlathotep.”

My heart thumped. The name alone made my tongue numb and he said it with ease.

I laughed, pulling him tighter. He got me. “Nice.”

“I’m not joking, Rylie,” Aaron said. “I am… I was Nyarlathotep.”

“I know.”

Aaron stopped fiddling with the drawstring on his sweatpants. I tried many times to get him better sleepwear, even getting him more boyish pajamas, since he didn’t like my totally cool unicorns. He never wore them. I wasn’t upset, though. Aaron liked what Aaron liked. I loved that about him.

Aaron liked grey sweatpants and octopus shirts. “You know?”

“Well, like, I didn’t til you told me. But I know you’re not joking, Aaron.” Aaron Thelpty. Oh my god, I was such a dumbass. Seven years of piecing together puzzles for the VCLC and I never cracked the one that kissed me awake every day for the last three. I laughed again. “You really like anagrams.”

Aaron smiled. He had a nice smile. I loved that about him too. “That I do, Missus Future Thelpty-Grey.”

My heart hurt again as the feeling of guilt shot through me. I’d been with Aaron for so long now. We met when I was doing research on a local cult for one of our hunters and I just felt pulled to him. The same way Argent was pulled to the moon when she first arrived on earth. A connection that transcended the physical form and joined them in the spirit. With that first connection, Argent was soulbound to her element.

They were really good books. I wished Aaron would actually read them.

“If there is a future Missus Thelpty,” Aaron said quietly. His brown eyes were wet and he bowed his shaved head. In my initiation to the VCLC, they asked me to read - not recite, they were clear about that - read some magic text. My eyes burned. My blood boiled. It felt like my body was trying to tear itself apart from the inside out.

They later explained that the test was to see if I had any latent magic ability. I didn’t. But I still wanted to join the VCLC and contribute to the metanarrative. So they let me be a researcher.

Aaron’s sad look hurt worse.

“You said you were Nyarlathotep-” a figurative bee stung my literal tongue - “Gnarly-thep in another life. What does that mean?”

Aaron sighed again, moving away from me.

“I was beaten. A group of kids figured out how to stop me, at least for a little bit, and Nyarlathotep was defeated. Well, banished,” Aaron said sheepishly, “for a thousand years. Then he- I came back as Thorn. Thorn was angry. He wanted to get revenge on the kids who beat him before, but they were gone. So he lashed out.”

“Like Aurum,” I whispered.

“Uh, yeah.”

“You haven’t met him yet,” I told Aaron excitedly. “He’s Argent’s… He’s related to Argent, soulbound to the sun. He’s all about the heart and lavish things, but he has, like, a bit of an anger issue.”

“Yeah,” Aaron said with a soft laugh, watching me walk around our living room. “Like Aurum.”

I hadn’t realized I was pacing. Val Crofte’s books got me so excited. It was definitely the excellent world building. I carefully readjusted the painting of the eclipse I had commissioned and sat back down next to Aaron. “Sorry, go on.”

“I… We? Thorn realized he wasn’t as strong as Nyarlathotep. He was a little superhuman but he wasn’t a powerful space being. He was just a strong man with a little bit of magic.” Aaron paused, reluctant to finish his story. I encouraged him with the sweetest look I could muster. He told me once that he could never resist my smile. I loved that about him. I didn’t tell him I had the same problem. “Thorn got himself in some trouble in the Americas. He didn’t live past the twenties.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Aaron quickly said. “I don’t consider Thorn part of me. I don’t even consider Nyarlathotep part of me. I have memories of them. Vague memories. But I don’t have any powers. I definitely am not an eldritch monster. At least not any more. Whatever I used to be, I’m not anymore.”

I searched his face, looking for any sign that he was lying. The VCLC texts warned that Nyarla… Aaron’s alter-ego a master of deceit. Supposedly, he delighted in pain and trickery. But those were just stories shared by strangers. Research from unconfirmed sources. Some members claimed that garlic could outright kill a vampire, but it rarely did more than give them a stomach ache.

The VCLC wasn’t always right. They were just a bunch of nerd books.

“Aaron Thelpty,” I said, tracing the Sigil of Seven on my wrist. It was meant for protection from physical and spiritual harm. But I traced it whenever I needed to feel brave. “There are thousands of stars in the sky. There are hundreds of worlds. They all have their theories. Their rules. But what they think doesn’t matter. What they say doesn’t matter. Because, despite the trillions of lives on those worlds and between those stars, only one matters to me. You. We are soulbound. There is nothing that can break that bond. I’m here for you, Aaron. I’m here for you.”

Aaron gave me the most confused stare I’d ever seen from a thousand-year-old being. “What?”

“It’s from the books. It’s what Luna tells Argent in The Rise of Neptune. It means, I love you. I don’t care about your past. I don’t care what the VCLC says about you or your followers.” I took Aaron’s hand, squeezing gently, and looked him straight in the eyes. His soft brown eyes welled with tears. Not the painful ones that made me want to peel my skin, but the ones that made me want to wrap him in my arms and kiss him.

“I love you, Mister Future Thelpty-Grey.”

#short story #this one is also from reddit #from 2019 #its the one folk liked the best so i wrote a second part #the reddit link is somewhere but i'm too lazy to find it

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headoverjojo · 4 years

Note

Aaah La Squandra with a Witch S/o please! One with all the spells, potions/cauldrons and familiar. It would be also funny to think of their reactions XD

Hi there darling! Ooooh it was so fun to write those hcs while I was doing the usual HP marathon :,) (And yes, you said please and I’m grateful, thank you :3) Soooo, here we go! I apologise for possible mistakes here and there, I’m too tired to revise now, unfortunately, but I hope to be able to do it soon! And I hope you’ll like my answer :3

La Squadra di Esecuzione with a witch s/o

(Under the cut for length!)

Risotto Nero

Risotto was enchanted by his s/o’s energy. When he was with her, he always felt a sort of thrill, like sparkles. It made him feel… alive. He always craved to be with her, to talk with her, spending his time with her… she was so knowledgeable! She was the only one he liked to talk to for more than few minutes. She had such a peculiar view of the world, it was so refreshing… she saw magic in everything, from a gust of wind to a starry night. His world had always been full of darkness, gloom and regret; his s/o slowly started to make him to see the world in another way, in a more positive way. And she always took care of him! She always claimed she preferred herbal infusions to meds, and she loved to prepare herbal mixtures for her boyfriend. He soon noticed that, as he drunk her herbal tea on a daily basis, he was starting to feel less tired, to feel well rested even if he slept just few hours, to feel energetic and lively as he hadn’t do in ages. It almost seemed… magic!

And he was right, even if he found out just after a while, when his s/o finally decided to reveal to him what she was for real. Risotto didn’t find really hard to believe her; all in all, stands exist, so why witches should not? After a first moment of surprise, he grew more and more curious about her witchy life: how was being a witch in the 21th century? She was so glad to show him her real nature! For the first time, she brought him to her home, and he was immediately thrown into her magic world. Her house was almost like he was picturing it: there were dried herbs hanging on wooden beams, candles, thick and old books… on her clothes hanger there was even a pointed hat! In the centre of the “living room”, there was even a boiling cauldron! She explained him what she did, and that she wasn’t an evil witch, of course, but one who liked to help people. She even prepared for him one of her “herbal teas” -he now knew those were potions- to soothe his tiredness, while he was there with her!

Lastly, she made him meet her familiar, a wonderful big black cat with a long and fluffy fur. She was a bit worried, as her familiar was really selective and aggressive with people he didn’t like, but, in the end, she had nothing to worry about. Her familiar loved Risotto! He let Risotto per him, and he purred as he comfortably spread on Risotto’s lap to enjoy his caresses. She was amazed! She never saw her familiar act like this… and she took it as a good omen. Risotto was really her soulmate!

Prosciutto

Prosciutto never believed in magic. He is a practical man, who believes in what he can see. This doesn’t mean he won’t ever believe in magic; after all, stands exist. He can see them, so they exist. If he’ll ever see real magic, then he’ll believe in magic. And, well, with his s/o, he might even start to believe that magic is real. She’s the most incredible person he has ever met; she’s smart, witty, she seems to know things out of this world. Sometimes she even seems to prophesy few events, especially when he’s about to go on a mission - “business trips”, as he calls them-; every time she told him to be extra cautious and careful, she was right and, thanks to her, he saved his neck more than one time. Even when he came home injured, she prepared for him a couple of herbal balms to apply to his wounds. He liked them; they soothed the pain and it seemed that, thanks to those balms, his wounds healed faster. He didn’t know if it was just an impression or something more… but it did work, and this was enough to make him happy.

He finally found out the truth when his injuries were too much even for her balms. She hastily carried him to her home, to heal him properly. When he finally woke up, he found himself in a real witchy home: there were candles, ancient tomes, herbs, crystals… even a broom in a corner! And, when his girlfriend came in again, with a fuming cup, she explained him everything, even showing him what she could do. With a simple spell, she fixed his ripped jacket under his marvelled eyes. She showed him how she could manipulate the light, and she reassured him: she was a good witch who had just good intentions! He needed a little to absorb everything; his world had been completely changed! Still… he wasn’t angry or scared; he was more… marvelled and curious. When he came to her kitchen, where she was mixing something in a big cauldron, he asked her how she could do that. How did magic work? Where did she learn to use it? There were so many things he wanted to know!

While she was filling him with information, her familiar, a majestic barn owl, flew inside. The owl perched on his witch’s shoulder, staring at Prosciutto with his intense black eyes, as he was studying that peculiar human. She huffed a laugh, petting the owl, and told him to be good with their guest; even if a little weary, the barn owl approached Prosciutto. Just when he was sure that the man wasn’t a treat for his witch, the owl warmed up on him, becoming friendly; now he was sure that man would have been stably part of their life!

Pesci

Pesci was always fascinated by witches, wizards, magic in general. He even bought the first Harry Potter books when they came out, charmed by the magical context. When he shared his passion with his s/o, he was amazed to find in her a fellow enthusiast! She too seemed to have a deep knowledge of magical lore, and she loved to read books about wizards and witches with him, often pointing out few affirmations and fixing them, or laughing at others, saying that it was too absurd even for witches! And, when Pesci asked her how witches actually did a certain thing, she always knew the right answer. However, Pesci never thought she was a real witch; she had an incredible imagination, but witches, wizards, dragons… they didn’t exist in real world. The existence of stands was already weird enough, but, somehow, justified: stands were, all in all, the embodied full potential of a person. But what was magic, then? A more sophisticated form of stands? Or something else? He often pondered about it, before sleeping, but he never got a real answer until his s/o invited him to her home for the first time.

The moment he entered their home, it was like being thrown into a witchy house. It wasn’t dark or gloomy, but full of colors and light; a lot of weird plants were around, on the various tables and even hanged on the walls. A lot of books were scattered around, and she apologised for her messy house, while she trotted around picking up books and papers. While he was distracted, she whispered a spell, sending the books on their right places on the many bookshelves. However, Pesci turned around in time to see the last couple of books flying on their own to their spots. He couldn’t speak. Just… how?! There weren’t threads, it wasn’t a trick! Could that be… real magic? He had to know. And his s/o, instead of trying to deny or justify what just happened, told him the truth: she was a witch. A real one, you know… spells, potions, pointed hat, flying broom, boiling cauldron and so on. Pesci felt like he was about to pass out. His beloved s/o was a witch! That was amazing, fantastic!! He wanted to know more about her and her world! His genuine enthusiasm made her huff a laugh and sigh in relief. She was so scared to be rejected!

Lastly, he met her familiar, a funny small bat. Seeing that Pesci was a little uncomfortable, she reassured him: her familiar was a fruit bat! And, after few mango slices, he became really affectionate, rubbing his tiny head on Pesci, who was, by now, totally enamored. Her familiar was so cute, just like her!

Formaggio

In Formaggio’s opinion, magic and such were just crap, bullshits that parents invented for their kids to make them fall asleep faster. Formaggio didn’t grow up surrounded by tales before sleeping, magic and books; his childhood was made of violence, empty alcohol bottles and hours spent hiding in the closet, trying to escape his drunk father’s rage. He was the product of his childhood: a pragmatic, disenchanted man who hid himself behind a funny façade. And, being so pragmatic and tied to the real and concrete world, he liked how his s/o, instead, seemed more carefree, more interested into things out of this world: magic, esoterism, spirituality… it wasn’t so bad. Around her, nothing was what it seemed, and it was impossible to get bored; she just seemed to attract weird and unexplainable events that even a pragmatic person like him couldn’t justify! And he found it extremely intriguing. He wanted to know more about it and about his s/o! And he had the chance to do so when he could go to her place for the first time.

It should have been a normal movie night. Usually, they did it in his flat, but, well… Illuso still had to clean it from his last target’s blood, so it wasn’t a good idea to go there. His s/o didn’t hesitate a second, and, instead, invited him to her house. He entered her home, curious, but she wasn’t the one who had opened the door, as her voice was coming from a bit far, maybe from the kitchen. He looked around, and the first thing that hit him was that her house had… spooky vibes. Candles, books, herbs, little gems… everything was scattered around, but, in that mess, Formaggio didn’t feel a sort of caresselness, but it was like everything was right where it should have been. He stopped in his tracks when he eyed a couple of cauldrons, one slightly bigger than the other, on the big table. The ladles were… moving alone. He scurried near, to check if it was some kind of trick, but nothing. The ladles were just common wood ladles and they were moving alone. Now that he paid attention, there were many things that were moving alone. He spotted a book flying to its shelf, crystals were vibing… he understood what was going on, even if he was still baffled. And, when his s/o came in with a owl perched on her shoulder, his thoughts got a confirmation: she was a witch. He wasn’t scared, or horrified, tho. Deep in his heart, he had always known it. He just huffed a laugh, when he saw his s/o’s anxious face, and hugged her tightly, making her sigh in relief. Finding out that his girlfriend was a witch wasn’t surely enough to make him break up with her!

Melone

Even if Melone is a doctor, a scientist, he hasn’t a closed mind. He’s always open to new theories, new researches and, why not, new conception of reality; all in all, stands, which shouldn’t exist, according to science, exist. So why should he ban something from existence because he can’t see it, or because he still doesn’t know it? This part of him makes his s/o glow in happiness. It makes her comfortable enough to talk about what she knows; herbs, stars, spells… Melone never thought she was just making it all up, or that she was crazy. He thought that she believed in those things for real; and he honestly found her knowledge really fascinating. He often mixed his science to her knowledge, sometimes for work, sometimes just for personal researches. She was baffled and delighted by the results. A wonderful union of science and magic… this was the future! It opened up to so many possibilities… After the umpteenth experiment, she decided to finally reveal what she really was. She wasn’t scared or uncertain: she knew that, deep in his heart, he already knew. And that he would have accepted her as who she was, without rejecting her.

She chose to invite him to her home, in order to reveal him her true self. Entering her home, Melone was welcomed by herbs and plants. There were plants everywhere, potted plants, plants in tiny glasses filled with water, plants in big vases… and the aroma of dried herbs filled the air, so fresh and balsamic… her house smelled of clean, of healing herbs. It made him feel… safe, comfortable. He entered her living room, and, on a big round table, he saw a lot of small pewter cauldrons, various vials and glass ladles. His s/o was carefully putting in the nearest cauldron what seemed a sort of chopped root. She smiled at him, when she saw him, and she just said: “Mandragora. It’s really good for healing potions.”. She knew Melone had understood everything the moment he had entered her house. And Melone didn’t complain, he wasn’t shocked or scared or disgusted. He just smiled at her, reaching her side and, with a kiss on her temple, he asked her what kind of potions were boiling in the cauldrons. She was a witch, evidently, and so? She was a good witch, a healer. A sort of doctor, like him. And he loved her, witch or not.

While she was explaining him her potions, an ermine climbed him, perching on his shoulder. His s/o was incredibly surprised: her familiar usually wasn’t so open to people he had never seen… Melone had to be really special! Not that she doubted it. She had always known that her Melone was an incredible person!

Illuso

Thanks to his stand, Illuso always lived between two worlds: the real one, and the world behind the mirror. He, better than anyone else, knew that reality wasn’t just what they could see and touch, but that there was way more, things that humans still couldn’t analyze, things that humans couldn’t comprehend. He had always been fascinated by these things, things that were beyond human perception and, sometimes, knowledge. He met his s/o thanks to this attitude of his, all in all; both were attending a seminar about paranormal events. After the seminary, they kept chatting, and he was so interested to her theories, her thoughts… it seemed like she knew those things for real, like she practiced them every day. It made him incredibly curious… he wanted to go deeper, to know her better. From friends, they became lovers, and he had never felt so blessed. She was everything he would have wanted and way more; with her he could be totally honest, for the first time, even vulnerable… he even revealed her his stand power. His honesty and trust made her feel grateful and honored; she wanted to return them fully, revealing her most precious secret: her true self.

Illuso came to her home through mirrors, like she allowed him to do. His eyes widened when he saw all the candles, the self-moving objects, the spell books… and his girlfriend, busy disinfesting a curtain from small, winged creatures. When she spotted him, she smiled shyly, hoping wholeheartedly not to scare him, or worse. She didn’t have to worry, however: he wasn’t scared or angry, but just genuinely fascinated. He was loving everything: her house, her wand, her spellings… she was a witch. He, who had always searched around for paranormal events and people, had the “paranormal” right at his side. And he was happy to finally see her like who she really was, without masks, without fear. He would have kept her secret to his grave, and, meanwhile, he would have done everything to help her with her… witchy things, as much as he could. She felt tears building up in her eyes when she heard his words; she couldn’t be happier!

After a while, and while he was browsing one of her book, a big crow, the blackest crow he had ever seen, perched on his shoulder, cawing. He turned to it, curious, meeting the crow’s black, intelligent eyes. She came with a couple of mugs, surprised to see her familiar on Illuso’s shoulder. And he wasn’t even aggressive… this meant just one thing: her familiar had accepted Illuso in their family!

Ghiaccio

To be honest, Ghiaccio never stopped to think about magic, or if it could exist. He simply didn’t care; he had a job to do, he had to focus totally on it, if he didn’t want to die. If something proved itself to be true and real, then he had no problems in believing in it; he did so with stands. One moment he didn’t believe in their existence, the moment he had obtained a stand he started to believe in them without hesitation. His s/o had to spend with him a good amount of time to understand it once and for all. She wanted to be sure he was more than ready to know her secret… and, meanwhile, she enjoyed her time with him. When he wasn’t angry or nervous, Ghiaccio was a really interesting person, knowledgeable, reliable, precise… she liked it so much. And, as further proof of his sincere love for her, he didn’t get angry at her when she was messy or when she rambled about spells, potions, herbs -fictional things, he thought-, as he would have done, instead, with basically everyone else. This and other factors, in the end, convinced her it was time to tell him her secret. She wanted their relationship to be as more honest as possible, and it couldn’t be so, if she was hiding from him what she truly was!

She straight up said she wanted to talk to him, at her place. Ghiaccio was a bit nervous; first of all, a “We need to talk” wasn’t a good sign, ever. Second, he had never been at her place… so it might be something really good or something really bad. He bought a nice bouquet while he was going to her place, hoping that, in case, those could at least sweeten her and make everything less painful. When he entered her place -he had seen strange places, but hers was the strangest of them all, and not in a negative way-, he immediately prompted her to tell him what she had to say: did she want to broke up with him? She had to tell him immediately! His vehemence startled her, but then she laughed, caressing his cheek and telling him that no, she didn’t want to break up with him. She just wanted to… tell him something and then he should have decided what to do. So, without waiting more, she spilled the truth, while petting a big fluffy cat: she was a witch. And she could prove it! With a simple spell, she turned a book into a tortoise, under Ghiaccio’s incredulous eyes. So… so it was all true… magic was real. And she had proved it… after that, he had no more doubts and he accepted it easily: it was true, he had seen it. And he was glad his s/o decided to be totally sincere with him; it was really meaningful to him!

#jjba #vento aureo #la squadra di esecuzione #risotto nero #prosciutto #pesci #formaggio #melone #illuso #ghiaccio #fem s/o #witch s/o #reactions hcs #headcanons #sfw #anon ask

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cleaverbilt · 3 years

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There's a quiet chirp, a quick and familiar greeting that tails the slow creak of the study door, a thump of a familiar tail against it to make sure it shuts. Sz'xi walks softly, watching her claws, and there's a cursory glance around the room - a song and dance they know well, making sure that no one will overhear. This study may be soundproofed, may be protected with the full force of all they've been familiarized to, but it's useful to doublecheck. It's helpful, to make sure you haven't overlooked something.

Only then does Slz'Exkii slink up to the desk, already pulling aside a particularly cushioned chair and draping herself over it, eyes wide as she looks up at her older sister. Blue eyes. Not fully slits, a bit too broad for that. Sitting in a particular place between intense interest and a hesitation, a fear, something that she can't fully get rid of.

She's silent for a few minutes. Not daring to speak up. Considering her words before she does so, more out of trying to handle the bombshells of her own emotions and thoughts before she more fully breaches the topic and brings them forth into sound and understanding.

"T'gyt," she starts slowly. Holding the words between her teeth like she's trying to savor them or soften the blow or both. Like she could tame them into silk and pearls and they would behave. "I... I have been thinking."

Not always the most promising, with Slz'Exkii, but she tries her best in the only ways she can.

"I - You know my friends, yes? And how some of them have royal titles, or are similarly in positions of authority to landfolk? And they have their royal families, or families who are also powerful, or are used to that, or just raised them or-

Well... I have been... Confused. I don't understand it. Why are their families... "

Nice? Gentle? Loving? Saw them as people? Didn't make them live in fear that they could be un-made the second that they expressed even the stray thought that something was wrong?

"So much closer, than what we have? You know how Daddy is, but the others... They do not have parents like him. Who- who do not make them feel the way he wishes for us to feel towards him. Or who have to keep a watch on their siblings, like we do for - you know.

I know why we have to have this, why we are supposed to have it, but-

But I'm confused. Why does it work for them? Why do they not have to hurt? Why does the Merkingdom need us to bleed for it while the others are permitted to... live?"

A hand rests heavy upon Slz'Exkii's head, clawed fingers stroking soft pink strands with a tenderness only familiar to her little sister. She's not ready for the whole truth, not yet-but it's high time she receives a piece of it.

"Because the Kingdom doesn't need us to bleed for it, Sz'xi. They tell us it does, lest it cease to function, but in truth not a single kingdom requires blood. Kingdoms..." How to put this in a way she'll understand? "Kingdoms...are like Spooky High. They are built not with stone and maintained with blood, but rather with systems meant to benefit all persons within them, regardless of if they are authority or attendee. As in the case of Spooky High, you have your principals and your teachers and your staff to plan curriculum, maintain the learning facility, and provide meals and other such necessities while students are within their walls. In return, students are what allow Spooky High to remain funded and functioning-in simple terms, it's a balancing act. A coexistence necessary for both parties to thrive. Are you with me so far?"

"Ideally, things should function the same way within our kingdom. Those in power provide and protect those without, and in return those without give us the resources necessary to continue providing for them. But that's not how it works, in our kingdom. You know what nobles are like-they'd do anything to get their hands on more power...even if it means teaching us that we must bleed and bite and butcher to maintain a system warped and twisted, entirely unrecognizable from what it could be, from what it should be. Father is the simply latest link in a very long chain-and he has brought down Laudanda and Amanda with him."

Bellanda pauses, eyes flicking away from Miranda's own in thought. After a moment of consideration...she decides that perhaps it is time to tell her a bit more of the Queen was really like. "I've never told a soul this, and you cannot either-but your mother...after I came into the world, your mother realized this very fact. That they pit us against each other to keep us bleeding, to keep us weak, so we're too distracted by one another to identify the real problem. She was of the belief that it was too late for her to change-that she became another link long ago...but she knew you and I had still had a chance. She did everything in her power to keep me away from the courts, and when you were born...she knew she wouldn't be here to protect you. So I took up the role in her stead."

"They want us to despise each other, Sz'xi. They want us to rip each other apart to become the oil that fuels their death machine. They're terrified at the mere thought of the fact that we are capable of existing as others do, because it renders their power obsolete, their machine defunct." Both of her hands come to grasp Miranda's tight-as though she's scared she'll slip through her fingers. "Don't let them trick you-don't let them tell you that this hell is the only way we can be. You and I are proof that it isn't-because I love you. Because your mother loved you."

"Because, despite everything, we have chosen to love."

#sharpen up the blade || ic #one of four; visage of war || self #a pair of pitied twins; burdened by our destiny || miranda vanderbilt #(bell vc: today i will incite rebellion in my younger sister)

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roxannarambles · 3 years

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Firewatch Review: Where There’s Smoke

This is a repost on a new blog. The original post was on Mar 4, 2016.

Contains major, major spoilers including endgame. Do not read if you haven’t played!

When I first started into this game I thought it was a horrifically depressing introduction. It opens telling a tale of a man and a woman who fall in love and it’s a lovely story and then the woman falls ill from a rare hereditary disease and slowly gets worse and loses her career and the man loses the wife he knew and struggles to care for her and it’s fucking awful. Then the game opens with the man– you– taking up a summer job in a park near Yellowstone. He’s done this to get away and have some time to think about his life.

He works in a watchtower. Lone rangers station in these towers to watch the horizon for signs of fire. He has little to do but keep an eye out and sit alone in his station up there. His only company is his supervisor, in the nearest watchtower over, whom he speaks to via walkie-talkie. (these are the days before cell phones) Her name’s Delilah.

All I was really told about this game is that it involved exploration and was story-centric. And that’s an accurate description. And while it starts off with a rather depressing backstory, the main part of the game is not all bleak and bleary. It is a story about the interaction between Henry and Delilah. There is a mystery plot involved in the game as well; the game starts off with small park dramas and tasks to ease into things, then develops a mystery, which eventually gets rather intense. But entwined with this mystery story, always central and foremost, is the character-driven plot of these two.

The voice acting is fantastic, and the writing is excellent, so it carries well. Dialogue writing is certainly not everyone’s strength, but the writers here did a very good job. The two characters have excellent chemistry; it flows naturally and is very enjoyable. The quips and interactions are fed in small bits steadily throughout the game as you explore, providing an enjoyable regular stream of interactions. It’s a satisfying blend of exploration and conversation.

The game is atmospheric and beautiful to look at, and that’s not something to dismiss either. Those factors really do add something special to a game.

And here’s the thing. I fell in love. It was such a compelling story. And the characters felt so real. I found myself deeply engrossed in the mystery and unable to stop. I found myself deeply emotionally invested in the characters and I truly cared about them. They were relatable human beings. And I loved Delilah. She was the light in the dark. The beacon in the middle of the loneliness. My lighthouse; my watchtower. Quippy, caring, flawed, human. I shared my troubles with her, and she listened.

Early on in the game, one of the conversation responses caused Henry to say something that annoyed Delilah and kinda offend her a little. I had accidentally overheard a phone conversation she was having (she left her walkie-talkie button depressed) and it sounded like kinda maybe she had been talking about me? So I asked her, were you talking about me? She was confused and surprised at the accusation and no, it had just been a conversation about work, and besides, was that really any of my business?

So the good mood killed, she stepped out for a while and I couldn’t talk to her anymore on the walkie-talkie. ‘Cause she was annoyed and didn’t feel like talking. And the thing is– I felt so bad. Like, I really felt sorry and wanted to apologize and felt I’d been a bad person for accusing her of that, and I wanted her to like me. And I didn’t want to be left alone. It was hauntingly quiet, unlike the rest of the game, when Delilah wasn’t there for company. I think this plot point was especially effective because it was in the middle of what had been at that point the deepest conversation we’d had so far, and we had been really bonding and sharing. But now I’d screwed it up.

Eventually Delilah forgave us for our rude question. And I cannot tell you how much of a relief it was. Heck, I thought I’d lost my chance and it would never be brought up again and I’d never have a chance to apologize, but she brought it up later. (She actually apologized for being so snappish over it, and said she knew what it was like to get too lost in your own head out there and start imagining things.) I felt so much better knowing we were cool again. It was that delicate part of a budding new friendship, you know, and I didn’t wanna mess it up. I really commend the game for including the callbacks to previous conversations. It enhanced the feeling of history between us and internal consistency throughout the story.

There have been many people online complaining about the way the game ultimately ended. In my humble opinion, those people are missing the point of the game. Indeed, with games like these, that have a somewhat open-ended conclusion (and there’s plenty of stories that fall into that category), how you interpret the ending and its meaning says a lot about the person who played the game. The whole point of an open-ended conclusion is for a person to think and draw conclusions, after all, but many people seem to fail to realize this.

One game that comes to mind is ‘Presentable Liberty,’ a game that you spend in a prison cell for the vast majority of the time, reading letters that are delivered to you. It had a very open-ended and nebulous ending. But that game made so many people think, and I think Firewatch makes you think a lot too.

I won’t lie, of course; I do somewhat understand where the critics are coming from. In some ways the ending did feel anti-climactic to me. It felt like it was possibly building up to something and that payoff never came. Yet … that experience in and of itself was fascinating to me.

Let me explain in detail. First of all, I reached the conclusion of the mystery plot. Plenty of people bitched about this online as well, but I loved the way it concluded. The plot was suggesting a very exciting but rather typical video-game story where a government conspiracy was uncovered that was studying human subjects (perhaps a psychological study of the effects of isolation in people), and Henry and Delilah were the subjects in these nefarious privacy-violating experiments. However, this “plot twist” of a secret government study ended up being a false twist. Instead, the story ended up in a less typical direction. As it turned out, the group of mysterious people behind all the spooky hijinks wasn’t that at all … it was one man. One lonely, desperate man living as a hermit with a tragic, awful secret he was hiding about an accident during his job as a fire watch. It was our fears and paranoia that had conjured up this imaginary, yet very real-feeling plot of conspiracy and subterfuge.

And I loved that. I loved that it was something driven by a simple lone man who was guilty and afraid. I loved that was the explanation, that it was something so prosaic rather than fantastic and fanciful. Like the best horror stories are about man as being the worst monster instead of werewolves and vampires, this showed the best mysteries were about human loneliness and desperation and guilt rather than complex conspiracies or extraordinary mojo. Indeed, you felt bad for the man who had been unintentionally tormenting us this whole time.*

After this conclusion to the mystery plot, hot on its heels– literally, because you were being chased by the spreading wildfire– was the conclusion of the Henry/Delilah plot. I was rushing out of there to rendezvous with a rescue helicopter so I could escape my post before fire consumed everything. They landed near Delilah’s watchtower, before I had made it to the rendezvous point– I’d been busy tracking down the ending to the mystery. She told me the helicopters would make another pass for when I got there, but … she might just leave now since the current copter was there.

“Wait for me,” I said into our walkie-talkie. I wanted to leave with her. Together. She was very reluctant when I begged this of her. But she finally relented that ok, ok, she’ll wait. I hollered I was on my way. I rushed as fast as I could.

I finally reached the spot– it was Delilah’s watch tower. The point in the distance I had always gazed upon but never had been to until now. But something didn’t feel right as Delilah was oddly silent on the walkie.

I entered the empty watch tower. I saw a small sign, “Pork Pond” attached to her wall and smiled faintly. I *knew* she had that sign. I put on the radio headset and called.

Delilah answered, in a tone that made it clear she knew I wouldn’t exactly be pleased to be listening to her voice over the radio waves yet again instead of seeing her standing there. She asked me not to be mad.

“I’m not mad, I’m just …”

“Disappointed?”

And yes. I was. That was it exactly.

It hurt. I genuinely felt sad and hurt that Delilah had left without me. It felt like she abandoned me. She stammered about having not want to meet me in the shadow of that poor dead child I had just learned about, but … it still hurt. After all we’d been through the least she could have done was waited. And you’ve no idea how much I had wanted to finally meet Delilah in person, dang.

But I pondered it after, and it made a lot of sense, her actions. She had been afraid to meet me in person, I think. It would have made the whole thing even more real, you know? If it was just over the walkies, fine. But … in person would have made it too real. Delilah was afraid of getting attached. Not just because she had had her heart broken by her long-term boyfriend and was afraid of getting close again to someone, but probably for more practical reasons too. Henry was still married, for Pete’s sake, and in a very complex situation with his sick wife. Any smart girl would want to avoid getting involved with a guy who’s still married. So her early departure and lukewarm response to me asking for her to come with me back to Boulder, well, it made sense.

As much as it had hurt for her to not wait, I understood and forgave her for it. In a way, I suppose, it may have made it easier for us both not to face the anguish of a relationship not working if we never saw each other in person to begin with. But … fuck. Had it been me, I would have wanted to see her in person anyway. I would have asked her to wait. At least for a goddamn hug.**

We spoke on the radio as I waited for the helicopter to swing back around to pick me up. We talked about our future plans. We both didn’t know what they would be. Delilah thought I should go back to my wife and do my best to make things right. Somehow.

And it ended once we were pulled into the helicopter.

People online whine that this ending was a 'cop out,’ not a real conclusion. I don’t believe that. I think the entire point was that feeling of uncertainty about the future and that missed chance at getting together with Delilah. Life is uncertain so often. We don’t know how to fix things, what to do, and what things mean. It’s our search for meaning that is so valuable. This game was a reflection of life experiences many can relate to. Not necessarily all the details– a wife that fell ill with premature dementia– but the general themes? Absolutely. This story is about people struggling to cope with loneliness, seeking to connect with others, struggling to deal with hardships in life, seeking purpose and meaning, seeking direction. And it does not provide solid answers at the very end, but that’s OK. It doesn’t have to. It’s OK if the players can provide some of the answers. Sometimes asking the questions is as valuable as providing the answers in a story.

And yeah, sometimes the guy doesn’t ‘get the girl.’ Sometimes relationships don’t work out. (Especially if the guy is still married and needs to deal with some shit before either staying with his wife or breaking up and pursuing something else.) That doesn’t mean our connection with Delilah that summer didn’t have meaning or purpose or value, just that … such things don’t always have a future as a long-term relationship.

I earnestly believe the ending to this game was fine as-is. I might even say it was a perfect ending. Although I admit I desperately wanted to meet Delilah at the very end***, I’m pretty sure my sense of diappointment and feeling of sorrow at not seeing her were kind of exactly the point of the story. All in all, it ended on a tone that was sad and nebulous, but not deeply depressing. There was still a sense of hope about things, and I think that’s important.

(Amusingly, much later I learned there is an option at the very end to NOT enter the rescue helicopter. It leaves without you if you wait long enough, implying suicide of your character Henry. Much darker option than the one I describe above. But again, in stories like these, it depends on player’s reactions, input, and interpretations too, and fortunately most do not have quite that bleak of an interpretation of the tale– and quite that bleak of a choice.)

So many of us sit alone in our own watchtowers, isolated, searching for any meaningful human connection we can come across. I think the themes of connection and isolation were masterfully explored in this game. You really fuckin’ felt it, you know?

And to me, it’s noble. That human beings stand in this intense loneliness but continue that search, and they sometimes find somebody. It may not always end well, but that doesn’t mean you should stop the search and that you won’t find another. Or even rekindle old flames.

Either way, you shouldn’t stop searching the horizon.

————–

Footnotes:

* That’s not to say the dude wasn’t guiltless in his actions. I think it was rather awful of him to just leave his poor kid’s body down in that hole instead of facing up to what had happened, going home, letting people and loved ones know what went on, etc. Also pretty stupid of the guy to pressure his son into doing that dangerous rock-climbing when the kid didn’t have the skills. But, ya know, you felt bad for him too.

** I should note, I have no idea if Henry should break up with his wife Julia (& tried things out with Delilah) or not. I had no opinion on it because who knows? Choices like that are friggin’ complex. Seriously.

*** And yes, I realize the game never had a model for her character anyway, so from a technical standpoint it would have been impossible, but it’s best to use in-story explanations for events, not technical explanations.

#firewatch #game reviews #mystuff #spoilers

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boimgfrog · 4 years

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Spoon facts + backstory

(This is rly long I'm sorry)

Spoon was born into old money as Augustus Whitemire

Spoon uses he/him and they/them pronouns. His preference between the two switches, but he's mostly indifferent.

Spoon is pansexual and very flirty. Not because he's pan, just because he doesn't know how else to show affection other than shitty pickup lines

Spoon was tutored privately until he proved too much of a "challenge" for private education, leading to him boincing between various private and charter schools, until he ended up at WV Academy for Boys (a name that doesn't apply to him because he's not a fucking boy mOm-), right outside of Kepler.

Spoon spends a lot of time in the forests outside of the campus. He skips class and sneaks out most of the time (what are they gonna do? Expel him?)

He likes the quiet, and he also likes stacking toads on top of each other

Besides climbing trees and making up ghost stories, he also likes pretending to be a swashbuckling adventurer, ridding the woods of scoundrels and naredowells

Even though he'd never show it, Spoon craves validation. Show him even the slightest bit of pride and he'll be glowing for days.

Spoon is dyslexic

Outside of his school uniform, Spoon doesn't really have much of a wardrobe. His parents send him new clothes every few weeks, but they're all fancy or hard to move in. (Basically I'm saying TAKE THIS KIDDO SHOPPING LET HIM TRY ON DRESSES AND SHOPLIFT FROM HOT TOPIC)

Spoon has a little doggy (a fact that came from my own little doggy repeatedly interrupting me while i was filming for this nerd)

Spoon decided they wanted to join the Hornets after stumbling upon the gang doing stunt practice out in the woods

Spoon planned for a solid week how he was gonna convince Hollis to let him join,, only for the plan to go out the window the second he realized how intimidating a beautiful biker can be

Instead, he stole a motorcycle parked out front (a vehicle he DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO OPERATE SPOON WHAT ARE YOU DOING-)

The motorcycle was Keith's

After being chased into the woods, crashing the bike, and being interrogated by Hollis while being held up against a particularly uncomfortable tree, Spoon was finally able to state his case

Except that he was mildly concussed and full of adrenaline at this point, so while he MEANT to say, "I'm sorry, I know, please let me join your cool gang!!"

What he actually said was: "I know,,,join,,, me? Me gang???"

Hollis was extremely confused

It was as this point that Ronnie, who'd been holding back their laughter, doubled over and stumbled onto the ground, hardly able to breathe from how hard they were laughing

Bow was recording the whole thing, also laughing

Bee was, and still is, impressed that Spoon managed to say anything at all. (Also she was laughing)

Hollis was not pleased at all with this situation, but this was also the first time they'd seen Ronnie laugh this hard, and it was nice to see them smile.

Plus, they saw a little of themselves in this stupid, rowdy teenager. Being a part of a team had helped them shape up, maybe it'd help this kid as well?

With a sympathetic look at Keith (it was his bike that Spoon had crashed after all) Hollis announced that Spoon was on a trial run. If they could prove themselves a useful and productive member of the team, then they could stay.

Ronnie is kind of Spoon's nest-mentor, as they're part of the reason he got accepted in the first place

Bee and Spoon are fucking chaotic after Bee teaches Spoon how to use a butterfly knife

Bow and Spoon like to vibe and gossip abt the other Hornets. Sometimes Bee will drag Ronnie to their slumber parties and they spend the whole night playing truth or dare and placing bets on who Hollis likes

Spoon always has some kind of injury. Bee starts giving him cutesy bandaids and stickers to cover up his smaller cuts and bruises and it's honestly life changing for him

He likes to follow Ronnie around like a duckling when he's bored, asking them questions about their life, telling them about his own, bragging about the cool kickflip he did earlier that day.

It's sweet and intensely annoying, he knows that, but he doesn't stop because Ronnie's cool and they let him ramble about his childhood

Spoon has ADHD

Spoon is a horrible cook, absolutely shit at it. (He grew up with private chefs, he never needed to know how)

Despite being the sole heir to a vast family fortune, he doesn't have a whole lot of spending money. His parents started cutting his allowance after he spent $5,000 on white claws for a secret party he hosted at one of his old schools.

Speaking of old schools, Spoon's been to a lot of them.

His favorite was a private school he attended in Georgia. Turns out there's a lot of really repressed, really gay students in Georgian private schools.

By the time he left, he'd kissed half the boys in his dorm and 1/3 of the girls in the other one, it was a fun year.

Spoon is also demiromantic. He's only had a crush on one person, a girl who used to attend his parent's parties when they were younger

They haven't spoken in a while, but Spoon still regards her with fondness, even if he doesn't like her like that anymore

Spoon stims by bouncing and punching his fists together

He also licks things he shouldn't a lot, nearly gave Hollis a heart attack when he tried to lick Bee's open butterfly knife

He's got annoying youngest sibling vibes, but he's also really eager to please (even if it's hard to tell sometimes)

He likes hiding in small spaces

He also like climbing things

He sprains a lot of ankles by jumping off said things

He's baby

He's freakishly good at claw machines

Seriously how is he so good at claw machines

He hoards the stuffed animals and trinkets he wins, (they're the only thing he rly has that are his) but if he thinks you're worthy, he'll give you one

He has echolalia

(Ronnie and Spoon doing the Hannah Montana Woahs as a Marco Polo call signal)

He likes playing silly kid games like four square and kickball cos he never had that growing up

He loves audiobooks and podcasts, especially the spooky ones like nightvale and tma

Spoon lovessss spooky stuff, cryptids, ghost stories, unsolved murders, it's his favorite thing in the world

He has and will continue to hyperfixate on true crime podcasts and buzzfeed unsolved

Spoon bites his nails

Spoon likes small things, tiny objects, trinkets, jewelry, anything that he can easily carry and travel with. (Also he thinks they're cute)

He gets along well with most people (he was raised to be charming and polite and it shows) but he refuses to befriend his roommates

He's tall, but he's also lanky. Ronnie likes to joke that he'd blow away if they attached a sail to him

Gosh Spoon loves animals so much

If Spoon were to ever discover cat ears, it'd be over for you hoes

He really likes being part of the Hornets, even if he has to actually study at school now so he can stay in WV

One time Ronnie crashed one of the fancy dances his school has, smuggling him out and taking him for ice cream. They spent the night poking fun at Spoon's dumb outfits and throwing things off high surfaces. It's one of Spoon's fondest memories.

#this is so long im sorry #but i #lomve themn #spoon #jay says a thing #ocs #my ocs #ronnie rumbles #ronnie rumble #bee (buzz)#bow (not the she ra one)

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toloveawarlord · 4 years

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Black Army Mischief Maker (Ch.3)

You can find chapters 1 &2 in my masterlist in my bio!

Characters: Finley Godspeed and Black Army

Tagging: @plumpblueberry and @christmaswarlock for their love of this Godspeed child.

A/N: Finley is back at it again. If you want to learn some elephant facts, this is the place. Finley knows whats up.

Someone new had arrived at headquarters.

Not a member of the army. A woman that the young Godspeed had never seen before. Someone that needed their protection. As such, a room needed to be prepared, and the only one available needed to be fixed up. Finley had begged to tag along into Central Quarter on the shopping trip.

It turned out to be quite more boring than she’d imagined.

Seth meticulously began his search for the right sheets, comforter, and even the cushions to be on the couch. Reaching their tenth store, Finley began to drag her feet. “This isn’t the adventure that I thought it would be.” Falling forward to rest her forehead against his leg, she poked at the holstered gun for entertainment. It swung slightly, reminding her of a pendulum.

“I told ya this wasn’t going to be fun this time, bug,” Fenrir answered with a pat to her head. No amount of explanation before they left had swayed the child from wishing to come with them. He chuckled at her dramatic whine and fascination with the holster. “Hey, I know. Why don’tcha pick somethin’ out for Alice. It might make her feel more welcome.”

Give her a task and three... two... one...

Instant results. Finley gave a small gasp and her feet became spring loaded as she bounced uncontrollably in place. “I can? I can pick her something out? Anything I want?”

It took one nod of approval for her to set off further into the store in search of the perfect item to give to their new guest. Anything chosen would be vetted by Seth. It must match the decor and color scheme of the bedroom.

The store employees had a front row seat to free entertainment. Around and around, Finley circled, and weaved past displays of trinkets. Occasionally, she leaned in to study an object before shaking her head and continuing her search. Standing up on her tiptoes, she carefully took the glass item off the shelf and returned to her father’s side. “This one. It’s the one I want to give Alice,” Finley stated, cradling with both hands as if it would break at any moment.

The Ace of Spades cast a curious gaze down at her but broke out in a wide grin. He ruffled her short hair and voiced his approval. “It’s perfect, bug.”

****

Seth spent way too much time decorating the room. Finley remained grateful that she could not help and patiently waited on the couch where she could cause no trouble. The soldiers at the mercy of the ten of spades were under intense scrutiny. One millimeter off from Seth’s vision and they received an ear full. The moment it ended, they scurried off to escape their strict supervisor.

“You did all this for me?” Alice asked, arriving with Fenrir at her side. Her steps into the room slow and eyes wide to take in the beautiful result. She’d insisted that they didn’t need to redecorate the space but lost to the relentless army leaders.

Finley climbed to her feet on the couch, holding out the small gift bag towards the woman with the biggest smile. “I bought this for you! Welcome to Black Headquarters! We have lots of fun here and you’ll be safe!” From Ray had told her, Alice had nowhere to go and needed their protection. He didn’t say from what, but Finley knew there was no place safer than here.

Alice accepted the gift and pulled the glass trinket from within. Up in the light, she observed the pale blue elephant. It matched the colors in the bedroom, but how this particular object had been chosen alluded the woman. “Thank you, it’s quite beautiful,” her warm words paused with realization, “I’m sorry, I never asked your name. I’m Alice.”

“I’m Finley. I’ve been reading a book about elephants and they are really cool. Did you know that they spend twelve to eighteen hours a day eating?” She spouted off the fact before bouncing up and down on the cushion. “I wish I could eat for that long. There would be so many yummy things I could eat in that amount of time, like crepes, ice cream, brownies, cookies, cookie brownies.”

“You might make yourself sick eating that much sweets,” Alice replied, finding it impossible not to like the young girl. She had a lot of experience with kids eating too many sweets, since she worked in a bakery.

A hum passed the child’s lips and her head tilted in response. “But Luka doesn’t have that kind of time,” she said as if that were the only problem with it. Nothing satisfied her more than the Jack’s cooking. Her gaze snapped back up to Alice. “And Elephants can consume 300 to 600 pounds of food per day. That’s like 8 to 17 of me.”

Fenrir leaned against the door frame, making no effort to reel in his wild child. Her rambling would go on for a while if he did nothing. “We did the math on it,” he interjected, confirming her statement.

“Wow, that’s quite a lot of you for an elephant to eat.” Alice laughed in response.

“Oh, and Elephants can swim underwater and breathe through their trunks. I have to hold my breath when I swim. And, and, their trunks can grow to be six feet long, which is almost as long as Sirius is tall.” Finley stuck her arm out and waved it like how she imaged an elephant’s trunk would move.

Alice cast a glance at the Ace standing in the doorway. “She’s passionate about elephants, isn’t she?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and found herself laughing more at the elephant sounds that Finley was attempting.

“Yeah, that’s right. She bought an information book about Elephants last month. It ain’t got any stories, and very few pictures, but she has me help her read it every night. That’s why she can recite it from memory.” Fenrir loved how much his daughter liked learning. She would be starting kindergarten next year, and formal teaching wasn’t his thing. He let her decide what kind of things she wanted to study.

“How about the elephant go check on what Luka’s cooking for tonight. Maybe he’ll give you a sample.”

All three turned to see the King of Spades eyeing the young Godspeed with amusement. He adored her like she was his own. At the moment, he wished to discuss some important things with Alice and Fenrir, but the very loud and literal elephant in the room made that quite difficult.

Finley hopped off the couch and took off at full speed for the kitchen. She hopped down the stairs, crouching low and then jumping as high as her legs would allow until she’d reached the bottom. “Luuuka!” Finley took a deep breath once she entered the room. Everything smelled delicious. “Can you make me enough food to eat for 12 to 18 hours a day?”

“No.” His answer the obvious one and it didn’t faze the girl at all.

“Okay.” She relented easy and skipped across the room to stand at his side. She held up her index finger to make her next point. “If I were an elephant, you would have to. That’s how much they eat.”

Luka brushed the chopped vegetables into the pot of boiling water before giving in to the conversation. “It’s a good thing you aren’t an elephant, then.” He couldn’t imagine her eating more than she already did. She was healthy and active, but she ate nearly as much as a grown man. If no one stopped her, Luka feared she would eat herself into a coma.

“You are making a lot of food though,” Finley muttered, standing on her tiptoes to snatch a lost piece of broccoli off the counter. As she chewed it, she gasped loudly and inhaled a little bit of the vegetable. Her hand covered her mouth as she coughed until it cleared. It didn’t deter her excitement. “Are we having a party?”

What the child loved nearly as much as spooky things, was a good party that lasted well past her bedtime.

“We’re giving the little lady a welcome party,” Sirius cut in, returning from the dining hall where he’d been setting the table. With this much food involved, Luka couldn’t be expected to do it all alone. Everyone needed to pitch in.

Oh! I wanna help. Can I?” The second she got permission, Finley dashed across the room to retrieve the wooden two-step step stool, crafted from a woodworker’s shop in a town nearby specifically for her. It hit the cabinets under the counter with a thud and creaked as she climbed up.

Sirius came in and out as dishes were completed, taking them away before the girl growing ever hungrier with every delicious item that Luka and Sirius had made. The sun had slid down beyond the horizon, leaving only twinkling stars and the bright moon illuminating the dark landscape outside the window.

With the last dish done, Finley stepped off the stool and collapsed into a puddle with a growling stomach. She did enjoy cooking, but this had drained her of all her energy. She laid flat with her forehead pressed to the floor and arms out, sprawled out like a starfish. “If I were an elephant, I’d never be this hungry, ever.” The words muffled by the tile beneath her.

Luka simply stepped over her, shaking his head with a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Elephants don’t get to attend parties, do they? Don’t you want to be Finley and be allowed to come to the dining hall?”

A moment of silence passed over the kitchen.

“Okay, I want to be Finley again.” Clambering to her feet, she staggered forward, moving a little too fast for her weary legs. She made it to the door before being snatched up into someone’s arms.

“Good, cause everyone loves ya as Finley,” Fenrir said, placing a kiss on the side of her head. He lifted her up higher to sit her on his shoulders. Her fingers weaved into his hair, petting him affectionately. “Let’s go party, bug!”

The dining hall could not have fit any more soldiers. The table lined with all the delectable foods and desserts that had been made. Various bottles of beer and alcohol were spread out on a table pushed into the far corner. As full as it was, not a single one spoke. Everyone stood looking at the other door, awaiting their guest of honor.

As the door creaked open, Alice’s features lit up with a mixture of thankfulness and embarrassment. A chorus rang out from all the soldiers and the small girl sitting on her father’s shoulders. No rehearsal led to an out of sync round, but the message came loud and clear, setting the festivities off.

“Welcome to the Black Army!”

#this kid is an absolute riot #she has no chill unless she is hungry #ikemen revolution #ikerev #fenrir godspeed #luka clemence #sirius oswald #seth hyde #ray blackwell #finley godspeed #black army mischief maker #ikerev next gen #ikerev oc #look at me #i'm two for two #maybe I be able to post tomorrow too

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comicteaparty · 4 years

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Webcomic Recommendations

Check out this plethora of webcomic recommendations archived from Comic Tea Party’s Webcomic Recommendations Channel!

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Children of Shadow: Ashes https://spiderforest.com/comics/children-of-shadow-ashes/ Genre: Anthro/Horror/Urban Fantasy Trigger Warnings: Rated Mature for blood, gore, and intense scenes Reasons: Some of the most lovely pencil work I've ever seen, well-rendered animal art and a compelling world!(edited)

Heirs of the Veil https://spiderforest.com/comics/heirs-of-the-veil/ Genre: Drama/Urban Fantasy Trigger Warnings: Rated PG-16+ for transphobia, dysphoria, mental illness, blood, trauma, body horror Reasons: Absolutely gorgeous artwork, really compelling illustrations of the lgbt experience

Aloe https://spiderforest.com/comics/aloe/ Genre: Adventure/Drama/Sci-Fi Trigger Warnings: Rated Teen for violence and blood Reasons: I'm normally not into sci-fi but this comic is so bright and colorful, I really love it a lot. Also the main character is non-binary!

Millennium https://spiderforest.com/comics/millennium/ Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Sci-fi Trigger Warnings: Rated PG-13 for Mild Violence and Mild Language Reasons: Lovely art, fun characters, and an engaging space world! I love it so so much.

Sombulus https://spiderforest.com/comics/sombulus/ Genre: Adventure/Comedy/Fantast Trigger Warnings: Rated Young Adult, no warnings Reasons: An absolute blast, super fun story and characters, with a nice long archive too!

Arbalest https://spiderforest.com/comics/arbalest/ Genre: Fantasy/Horror Trigger Warnings: Rated Mature for partial nudity, blood/gore, sex, themes of abuse Reasons: A really compelling story in a non-traditional narrative style, and super spooky to boot.

And finally, to top this off, I'll drop in my own comic as well! Court of Roses https://spiderforest.com/comics/court-of-roses/ Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Comedy Trigger Warnings: Rated Teen, for Fantasy Violence and Alcohol Use Reasons: Because this is my comic and it's my pride and joy and I love my bards a lot. :3

AntiBunny

Dead Winter http://deadwinter.cc/ Genre: Zombie Apocalypse Trigger Warnings: Violent Reasons: Well it's a straightforward zombie survival comic. What's impressive is how well the artist has studied comics as an art form and put thought and purpose into every panel.

HiddenElephant

http://welcome2earth.webcomic.ws/ Snarky alien crashes onto Earth. Not enough people are reading it in my opinion.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/ Genre: Action, Comedy Trigger Warnings: Blood, Dismemberment Reasons: A recommendation for @Goobatron . It's my comic. The creator is me. Super Galaxy Knights is a story about Mizuki Sato, who goes on adventures through a strange world, making friends along the way. The dialogue is like... 70% banter, 30% total non-sequiturs. The art style uses 3D models, in like a weird cel-shaded style that's meant to be reminiscent of games like Wind Waker and Dragon Ball FighterZ. And there's also a bunch of animated panels/pages. There's also a ton of really strange characters. Like there's a dude whose power is that he always wins knife fights. There's a wizard who shrinks hot dogs and carries them around in capsules. Etc. One warning - the early pages are a bit rough-looking. Some have been redrawn recently, but others haven't yet, so it can be a bit jarring to go back and forth between styles.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Clockwork http://www.clockwork-comic.com/ Genre: Fantasy / Drama CW: Some language and violence Clockwork is a comic about Cog Kleinshmidt, a moody teenager with an uncanny talent for repairing machinery. He feels he’s a nobody, but is swept into the turbulent world of politics, and is forced to learn magic in a world where magic is strictly forbidden. The art in this comic is incredibly polished and lively, and the characters are all instantly endearing. The writing is also top-notch. The first time I read it, I was completely sucked in after only a few pages. It’s currently on hiatus while the creator prepares the next chapter, but it’s well worth the wait.(edited)

Moral_Gutpunch

Micheal Morbius: Freelance Vampire http://freelancevampire.thecomicseries.com/ Genre: Drama, comedy Trigger: mentions of death and violence, talk of abusive relationships, mention of rape. It's all in dialog. Micheal Morbius, from Marvel comics, struggles to adjust to a as normal a life as a vampire can have. He helps a friend get back on her feet, he goes through therapy, and he's visited by Spider-heroes, this time a new one. Meanwhile, a true monster lurks int he shadows. The art isn't good, but the story and dialog are worth it. It's my comic. I hope after I get a few more pages going people will enjoy the story. It's a story I've been wanting to write for ages and I figured I'm not going to write for Marvel anytime soon (yes, I checked copyright law, Marvel allows this). Dedicated to Stan Lee.

Pakky

The Boy Who Fell http://boywhofell.com/ Genre: Drama, Adventure, Action, Comedy TW: Violence, blood, fighting, ptsd, suicide, death Synopsis (from the website): The Boy Who Fell revolves around an innocent, softhearted and almost-spineless boy named Ren who suddenly finds himself in Hell after accidentally falling off a school rooftop. He is then forced to partake in a tournament full of powerful and vicious beings in order to attain his only way of going home: an all-powerful wish from the ruler of Hell himself. As the story progresses, lines between allies and enemies are blurred, dark pasts are revealed, political issues come to light and all the while, Ren slowly realizes that in order to survive this journey, he might have to give up the very things that make him human I love this webcomic and have been following this artist for over 10 years now and recommend their work to anyone who will listen haha! Super long running webcomic with a well developed storyline and world.

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

Broken http://broken.spiderforest.com/ Genre: Horror Trigger Warnings: Military, death, monsters Reasons: Broken offers a very interesting twist on the concepts of fairies, presenting you with a fairy general on the battlefield fighting against corrupted abominations. The concepts and worldbuilding here are very interesting and the battle/action scenes are great. Often makes use of animation and some HTML/CSS for extra effect. Of Magic and Muses https://xiicomic.com/magic-and-muses/ Genre: Magical Girls, mystery Trigger Warnings: There's a big monster at some point? Reasons: It's a magical girl story! Except nobody knows what's happening, the powers the girls get are maybe not of a friendly nature and they wear armor? The escalation of events is suberb. It has a large (and growing) cast, but each character has their own unique personality, making them super easy to follow and love. Ghost Junk Sickness https://www.ghostjunksickness.com/ Genre: action, sci-fi Trigger Warnings: violence, limb loss, death Reasons: There's a lot to be said about this comic! I really like the characters, who are deeply flawed and charming and make a lot of mistakes (the main duo having an especially interesting, yet sorta problematic dynamic). The worldbuilding is interesting and quirky to match. The mysterious bounty The Ghost is a looming presence, and apparently we'll be learning more about them soon. Super exciting and fun action scenes too!

Desnik

https://monsterhead.net/ Genre: LGBT+ American rural occult fantasy Trigger Warnings: Animal death, mild body horror Reasons: The author/artist is an OC-loving member of the LGBT+ community, and her work deals with self-love in the face of weird circumstances. Love the colors, Carter is an appealing and relatable main character, and the worldbuilding is something I've never seen before.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

http://www.phantomarine.com/ Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural Trigger Warnings: Death, Mild Body Horror, Mild Violence, Mild Language Reasons: ...This is my comic! (edited)

Phantomarine is a spooky-but-sweet fantasy webcomic about a ghostly princess and her perilous journey across a haunted sea, hoping to save her soul from a devious, shapeshifting death god known as the Red Tide King. Expect all manner of maritime mysteries – monstrous sea creatures, sacred lighthouses, strange afflictions, accursed marauders, feuding gods, grand sea battles, and a heaping helping of humor in-between.

eliushi [Keyspace]

https://tapas.io/series/KEYSPACE-A-Winged-Tale/ https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/keyspace-a-winged-tale/list?title_no=322364 Genre: YA Science Fantasy, LGBT+ Trigger warnings: Mild body horror/violence/monsters, death Reasons: My comic Blurb: Florence thought her idyllic life living with the winged beings would last forever. However, when her mother disappears from a mysterious expedition, she fears for the worst. Through exploring hidden laboratory tunnels beneath the forest, facing Machines from a century-long war against humans, and seeking guidance from the Lost people from a civilization gone by, Flo and her winged friends must piece together the past in order to save all those they love.

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

O Sarilho https://www.sarilho.net/en Genre: Post-Apocaliptic/Sci-fi Trigger Warnings: War, military, death Reasons: I make it Short description: A small team goes on a mission to enemy territory to find the remains of an ancient satellite and they end up finding a lot more. There are computers and dams and electricity-worshipping future romans (edited)

GGY

Tile: Over 8 Miles https://tapas.io/episode/859067 Genre: Drama, Comedy, Slice of Life Reasons I make it: Cause its fun and I enjoy sharing the existence of my characters and their life outside my brain

Emma (Friends or Lovers?)

Dreamwalker Felix by KT and TK https://tapas.io/series/Dreamwalker-Felix and https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/dreamwalker-felix/list?title_no=182487 Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural Trigger Warnings: There's some body horror in there Reasons: The art is just beautiful, and it has tons of funny moments Friends or Lovers? by yours truly https://tapas.io/series/friendsorlovers and https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/friends-or-lovers/list?title_no=49520 Genre: Romance/school slice of life Trigger Warnings: Mentions and depictions of bullying Reasons: It's my comic, so I'll just quote a reader: "Your comic is more accurate to real teens in love in high school than most. It's really good stuff"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Earth in a Pocket http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/ Genre: Retro Sci-fi, Iyashikei Trigger Warnings: none Reasons: This comic posted its final page very recently! It's a relatively short read; very gentle and hopeful without being cavity-causingly sweet. The creator has put together such a heartwarming story that I've been adoring for a while. One of my faves, now complete!

renieplayerone

O Human Star https://ohumanstar.com/ Genre: Scifi, Robots, Drama TW: Dysphoria, Depression Reasons: The characters are so well written and emotional, plus I love the simplistic color palette. They get across the journey of self-discovery in such an interesting way.(edited)

carcarchu

Arcane Flames https://tapas.io/series/Arcane-Flames Genre: Fantasy Trigger Warnings: death? Reasons: I've been following kutty sark for many years now and I've really been looking forward to this comic which I'm pleased to say even exceeded my expectations. Fantastic art and the tone of the story is just lovely, i adore al'vis

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

https://sfeertheory.com/ The art is incredible. Every character, even the background ones, is full of personality. I love a good underdog story, and Luca's speech in chapter three made me scream into my hands and tear up. I can't recommend it highly enough

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

http://secondcrimeanwar.thecomicseries.com/

The Second Crimean War is a powerful and fun story in an alternate 1990s decade in Ukraine. The art is black and white and improves in leaps and bounces as you move on in the story! The story itself draws you in from page one. There's suspense, there's (black) humor, there's atmosphere and adventure. Highly recommended if you like war/action/suspense.

varethane

Have you ever read Nasty Red Dogs? https://nastyreddogs.com/

oh golly, haha

yeah, it's a fun and twisted and surreal little tale, the early parts especially are like walking through a really bizarre dream that if you describe it, it ought to be called a nightmare, but at the moment you're in it, it doesn't FEEL like one lol

the creator also does a comic called Feast For A King, which I think is more well-known but I haven't read yet (will at some point tho): https://feastforaking.com/comic/

kelly-zine

Title: Zyra Slash Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Slice-Of-Life TW: None (for right now at least, it just started!) Reasons: I love Alex and their characters so much! ZS is a project I’ve been following and chatting with them about for a long time and it’s amazing to see it come to fruition. I think you’ll like it too. (Note that it’s on hiatus at the moment!) https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/zyra-slash/list?title_no=373763

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Title: Ark https://www.arkcomic.com/ Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Anthro TW: violence (nothing heavy yet, but my Spider Senses are tingling) Reasons: A 1920s-inspired, extremely believable fantasy setting. Hints of racial tension and a possible war brewing on the horizon. It's pretty early in the story, so hop in and claim the front row seats for this gorgeously illustrated comic! (edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Tamberlane https://www.tamberlanecomic.com/ Genre: slice of life, heartwarming, Anthro It has a cast of colourful characters. Charming story of a clumsy bat named Belfry who adopts a little human. Various animal neighbors to love

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I found one of the Chinese webcomics I use to follow, is now on Webtoons. They rename the title to: The Emperor's New Body because it's about body swapping and has interesting depth while some silly hijinks https://tapas.io/series/the-emperors-new-body(edited)

trinketfox

May as well rec my first ever favorite webcomic! Warrior U! https://warrior-u-thecomic.tumblr.com/ It's so expressive and funny that I've always wished it would become a show on cartoon network or something. Only the first few pages are still up on this tumblr since the official site is down, but all chapters are on the artist's gumroad!

It's an episodic comedy fantasy that goes from page-long gags to full episodes. Reccomended for it's humor and a really fun art style.

SteffieMusings

Nebula Beings https://tapas.io/series/Nebula-Beings Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror/Thriller Trigger Warnings: Violence, scary imagery (especially in chapter 7), talks/implied past abuse Reasons: It's a fun series and the two main characters learn to overcome challenges during their travels.(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

http://humoncomics.com/elftaken-1

Very short comic about the fae!

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

For anyone who wants really strong character development/plot/art in general, I’m recommending Heir’s Game https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/heirs-game/list?title_no=1445 For slapstick humor and characters with strong platonic bonds I give you Waffles and Pancakes https://www.webtoons.com/en/slice-of-life/waffles-and-pancakes/list?title_no=1310 And because why not, and if you like Victorian romance with a cute bickering couple, I give you Miss Abbott and the Doctor https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/miss-abbott-and-the-doctor/list?title_no=707

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Encephalon Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror Trigger Warnings: Blood, Gore, Strong Language A rescue crew sent to an abandoned space station comes face-to-face with a bio-computer experiment gone horribly wrong. A sci-fi webcomic with body-horror elements. Very creepy stuff! It's just getting started, but after seeing the rest of the story in thumbnail form (my IRL friend is the making it), it's going to AWESOME places. Please check it out! https://encephalon-comic.com/

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

This is: Mirror Mirror for 'Brain' short story contest entry. The 1st ep caught my eye and I'm invested in it https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/mirror-mirror-b/list?title_no=427186(edited)

carcarchu

https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/freak Genre: fantasy Trigger Warnings: violence? Reasons: sakon's art is brilliant and incredibly consistent. season 1 is now available to read for free!

sagaholmgaard

Genre: Supernatural, urban fantasy, slice of life Trigger Warnings: Maybe abusive parents? idk i feel like it will be explored in the future Reasons: I love the art style and the latest chapter have some CHAOTIC ENERGY and im living for it!! https://tapas.io/series/bygonesbe

GGY

Just got back from hiatus! If y’all are interested in some slice of life + comedy drama I’d like to share my webcomic Over 8 Miles: https://tapas.io/series/O8M/ep39

carcarchu

Veni Vidi Vici https://vevivi.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-1.html Genre: slice of life, comedy Reasons: reading this comic feels so comfy and it reminds me of being in roman studies class again. you can really see the love and care that Ruby has put into this comic and her passion for ancient rome is really on full display in this work

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

This is the comic books for Cafe Suada I used to read way back. It's a fun slice of life about a teahouse shop keeper rivals with a coffee shop manager https://tapas.io/series/Cafe-Suada The artist used some traditonal tea staining for the textures. The story inspired me to draw my own slice of life series(edited)

sierrabravo (Hans Vogel is Dead)

The Strange Tale of Oscar Zahn https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/the-strange-tales-of-oscar-zahn/list?title_no=685&page=1 Genre: Paranatural Investigation with just a dash of Cosmic Horror Kinda spooky, some light/fantasy violence From the website: Follow the journey of the world's greatest paranormal investigator - Oscar Zahn. Friend to lost souls, enemy of evil, he may lack a body but that doesn't mean he's missing a heart! The art is INCREDIBLE, the tone is really fun with some neat Hellboy vibes, it's complete and it's a good binge read. I really enjoyed it!

carcarchu

Short story about a cat, make sure you've got tissues ready https://akimiya.tumblr.com/post/129049384624

boogeymadam

just caught up with wychwood and it's such a huge treat!! there's some amazingly fun worldbuilding, a lot of intrigue about how the protagonists came to have the powers they do, and the motives behind the things that made the world the way it is * _ * it's also got soooo many pretty derelict environments, cool creature design and fun training montages! http://wychwood.sevensmith.net/comic/1

Yung Skrimp (Carefree)

I started reading Cloven Hearth, it’s interesting and has a really cool art style

https://twitter.com/ruinationcomics/status/1254126660007399425?s=21(edited)

carcarchu

Hana and Mr. Arrogant https://www.ciayo.com/en/comic/hana-mr-arrogant Genre: romance Reasons: Easy breezy read, with nice art and a super likeable heroine! Nothing we've never seen before, but delivered with genuine heart that makes it stand out

LabsZach

This one esp, with the greenery shifting into dirt, roots, and mushrooms, and how it compliments the figures on it is just aces. https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/cloven-hearth/touch-of-the-divine/viewer?title_no=396780&episode_no=14

boogeymadam

recently binged malverav's comic Love and War and it is sooo satisfying, about 2 competitors in a medieval tournament involving jousting, archery and more! The banter between Svanhildur and Marinelle had me grinning a lot. Also, it's a wlw rivals-to-lovers romance aka a GREAT kinda love story!! (my favorite kind ) it's on tapas https://tapas.io/series/Love-and-War/info

carcarchu

cronaj's sports comment got me thinking about this and how damn good it is https://tapas.io/episode/968762 Genre: Sports, drama Reasons: it's insanely creative and the art is so intense, i found it extremely memorable and powerful to read(edited)

carcarchu

Came across this stunning webtoon today. It was originally published on taiwanese webtoon and the author has decided to tl into english to share with a wider audience https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/intertidal/list?title_no=371176 Really gorgeous traditionally drawn comic and a lovely poetic writing style

carcarchu

the winner of this year's eisners awards for best webcomic. definitely worth checking out! https://friedricecomic.com/

#ctparchive

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eliasbouchardisarobloxthot · 4 years

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chapter 1 of an au i am writing

this is jokingly titled “power of friendship au” in my doc, but that’s essentially it - tim, sasha, and jon (for now) team up while they’re all still interns to befriend all of the creatures they meet! the timeline is obviously a bit different from tma canon, but it will still be mostly non-spoiler. this chapter in particular has only mid-early season one spoilers, so you all should be fine! as usual, under the cut...

"We are not supposed to be doing this," Tim hissed, but he made no move to run.

Jon wasn’t listening. The box of cigarettes in his hand was nearly crushed, but he stood his ground as they made their way to Old Fishmarket Close.

"Do you really think we're gonna—" Sasha's voice wavered. "I mean, the file in Gertrude's office said it’s not—it isn’t always there, right?”

“We’re going to find it,” he said resolutely. The hills were high, higher than any of them had expected, but they managed to make their way up to the alleyway that was listed on the map.

It was dark out. Jon convinced them all earlier that day to come with him and help after they left for the night, and Tim was doing a very bad job of hiding the fact that it made him incredibly nervous to be out this late. The streets were nearly empty—at nine o’clock on a Tuesday evening, no one was going to be out and about.

A quiet voice echoed from in the alleyway—”Can I have a cigarette?”

Sasha screamed. In her haste to wrap herself around Tim for safety, she nearly hit him in the face. Somehow, though, Jon stood his ground.

“You can have a cigarette if you come out of the alleyway. We know what you are. We just want to talk.” He set the pack of cigarettes down just a bit out of reach, then sat down in front of the alley with his legs crossed. “We can wait here all night.”

“Wait, what? Maybe you can, but some of us have work tomorrow. Or have you forgotten about our literal job? The one we met at? Earth to Jon, but we do still have to work. In the twenty minutes it took us to get here, capitalism as an institution has not yet been overthrown.”

“Shut up, I’m trying to concentrate.” Jon sat there staring at the alleyway. “Come out of the alley now, please.”

His stare was incredibly intense, seeming to cut through the darkness obscuring the figure and illuminate the alley. As they sat there in the alley, a voice that was most certainly not the one from before—and was also certainly not human—echoed out from the alley.

“Fine.”

“Come out where I can see you,” Jon said.

The vaguely human silhouette in the alley warped and twisted, changing from human to inhuman in barely a second. It skulked out of the alley, sitting down across from Jonathan.

He could see how from certain angles it could maybe look sort of human. If it tried. It reminded him of one of those optical illusion sculptures in museums—from one angle, it looked like a giraffe, from the other two elephants. Except from one angle, this thing was human, and from the other… well, most definitely not.

“Do you have a name?” Jon asked. Somewhere, quiet static hummed.

“No,” it said. “You call me the Anglerfish, though.”

“Do you want a name?”

“Maybe. If you pick a good one.”

“Louis,” Tim said.

“Felix,” Sasha said at the same time.

“No,” the Anglerfish said, decisively.

“You’re a fish, right? What if we just call you Ariel?” Sasha tilted her head to one side, thinking hard. “You look like an Ariel.”

“Ariel as in The Tempest?” Jon asked, looking confused. “I mean, sure, the water reference is there—”

“Ariel as in The Little Mermaid, you fucking idiot,” Tim said with a sigh that could have shaken the city down.

“Never seen it.”

“What’s a mermaid?” the Anglerfish asked, testing the word out in its human voice.

“Oh my god. Firstly, your name is Ariel now.” Tim pointed at the Anglerfish. “Secondly, you get a pass for not knowing because you’re a spooky monster thing. Thirdly, Jon, how have you not seen The Little Mermaid? Did you just straight-up not have a childhood?”

Jon didn’t reply.

“So we’re going to my apartment and renting it off Netflix and—I can’t believe I’m having a slumber party! I’m not a kid anymore… but it’s necessary. Objectively speaking.” Sasha looped her arm through Jon’s, pulling him to his feet.

“Are we sure this is necessary?”

“Yes,” Sasha said, glaring at Tim. “I think I actually have some microwave popcorn we can make, do a full movie night.”

Jon sighed, following Sasha as best he could.

“What’s a movie?” Ariel asked quickly. “What are those?”

“You have a lot to learn,” Sasha said, with a wide grin. “But if you like it here and want to talk about it more, then… well, you can just chill with us!”

—

“What did you say your name was again?”

“Patel? Amy Patel?”

“Alright, Amy, and do you think you can tell me some more about how this all happened? I know you gave your statement to Gertrude already, but—”

“Oh, no, it’s no trouble,” Amy said, gesturing into her flat. “I moved, but I still have my address down if you want me to give it to you. And, er, the flat that used to be Graham’s, I can get you that address too if you need it.”

Sasha shook her head. “You don’t have to give us all that. Just by letting us in you’re doing enough already.”

Amy smiled in that bemused sort of way that older adults tended to smile at younger ones, with a look in her eyes that said something like “who are these little children and why are they trying to be professional around me?”

“We should—I should have introduced myself.” Jon gestured to Tim and Sasha. “That’s Tim Stoker, this is Sasha James, and I’m Jonathan Sims—we work with the Magnus Institute, under the head archivist. We’re only interns, though.”

“I’d noticed,” she said. “Come on, sit down. I’ll put on some tea if you’d like?”

“Tea would be lovely,” Sasha said before the others could interject. “Now, can you tell us a bit more about your experience with Graham?”

“Oh, well, where to begin,” Amy said, pouring milk into a saucepan on the stove. “I mean, I’ve told you basically everything in my statement already. You contacted me saying there was an update a while back, but honestly I’d almost forgotten about it. The whole thing. It was a few years ago now, so… yeah.”

“Alright. Um. Do you—can you tell us anything about what you do now? Like, the sorts of jobs you’ve been doing, or—”

“Yeah, uh… yeah. Like I said in my statement, I do statistical analysis mostly. Been taking a few more classes sort of in the field of criminal studies—” she waved her hand— “all that sort of stuff. I actually did take a liking to it, might try working with that sort of stuff in the near future. I’m already looking for applications."

"That's very interesting, Amy," Jon said, fidgeting with the packet of cigarettes in his pocket.

"It really is," she said as she strained the chai, setting four mugs on the table and sitting down next to them.

Jonathan had taken the box of cigarettes out, and was now shaking them absentmindedly a few centimeters away from his face as he thought.

"Oh, can you not smoke in here?" Amy asked quickly. "It's just—my landlord hates when people smoke inside, we have an area over outside for it—"

"I don't smoke," Jon said, looking somewhat confused. Sasha took the cigarettes from,him and put them in her pocket.

"They're for our friend Ariel, Jon just carries them for it."

"It?" Amy looked more confused than ever.

"She eats them," Tim explained. "And she told us to call her 'she' in front of other people, Sasha."

By this point, Amy had taken a long drink of chai.

"You kids work with monsters. Right? All those things in the statements. Other people have to have given statements, there's got to be some others that are true."

Jon nodded solemnly. "We've been looking into other cases with provable aspects—yours does, by the way, we know yours is at least partially true."

"How comforting," Amy said with a wry smile.

“And… well, this is going to sound very bad, but I would prefer it if Tim stopped sleeping with people to get information.”

“Hey! That was one time!”

Amy laughed. “So you’re asking me to help you get information. Right?”

Jon nodded, having started to fidget with the cuffs of his shirt once Sasha had taken away the cigarette box.

“I mean, I do have access to quite a few databases. If you wanted my help, though, you’ll have to promise something.” It sounded like she was talking to some unruly teenagers.

“Certainly.” He tried to look as professional as possible.

“Please just take care of yourselves,” Amy said with a sigh. “You guys are just kids and you’re running yourselves into the ground, and you’re putting so much work into this—I’m scared you’re going to either get hurt by one of these things or hurt yourselves trying to befriend them.”

“I—” Jon tugged at the button on his sleeve for a moment. “I understand where you’re coming from here, I really do, but there’s, there’s just so many and I want to give them a chance. Because we still have to—if there’s any chance they’re a good person, deep down, I want to help them.”

Amy sighed, leaning back in her chair. “If you’re serious about this—”

“We are,” Sasha said quickly.

“Then I’ll help you.” She picked up a pad of paper sitting on the table and scribbled something on it in smooth, curling handwriting. “That’s my phone number for my work phone, just call it if you need anything. I usually have it on me.”

She thought for a moment. “Give me a sec. You’ll want this.”

Leaving Jon, Tim, and Martin alone at the table, she walked into her bedroom and returned carrying what appeared to be a very old, very worn-out three-ring notebook. There were dividers of various colors separating things, a bookmark that was just a piece of ribbon stapled into the spine, and a label on the front that read “MONSTERS”.

Jon flipped through it quickly, looking through the sections. The dividers were labeled with different numbers, and at the front was a table of contents with each number labeled with a small explanation of each different number.

“This is incredible, Amy,” he said, turning the pages reverently. “There’s so much detail here—this could be more than we have at the Institute, really.”

“Well, I have had a bit of help,” she said amusedly. Opening up the cover, she moved her hand over something inside and set it down on the table. As she did, the inside cover was revealed.

“Is that skin?” Tim asked, looking disgusted. “Ew.”

“What, am I too gross for you?” a voice suddenly said. Sitting on Amy’s sofa was a man who looked to be about Tim’s age, with his hair long and poorly dyed black. All of his joints were tattooed with tiny open eyes, and he wore dark eye makeup in circles around his eyes that trailed down his face. The clothes he wore were ripped and tattered, but it was obvious that they had at one point been a t-shirt for a band, a leather jacket, and a pair of dark jeans.

He was also hovering several feet in the air.

“Nice to meet you, everyone,” he said with a grin. “I’m Gerard Keay, and I used to work for your boss.”

Jon stood there open-mouthed for a few moments. “Sorry, what?”

“I used to work for Gertrude. That’s your boss, right? She still there?”

“Yeah, she’s still there. Uh, just—you’re a ghost, aren’t you.”

“Yep,” he said, leaning back to hover above the couch with his hands behind his head. “They taking the book with them, Amy?”

“I think so. Because, well, they’re—I think they’re more able to investigate these things than I am.”

“Shame,” Gerard said with a sigh, pushing off the wall and sighing. “You were cool. Plus you didn’t mind if I listened to music on your phone while you worked.”

“You can still see me sometimes,” Amy said with a laugh. “Not like I’m dead. And besides, that wouldn’t really be too much of a problem, would it?”

Gerard rolled his eyes. He very pointedly turned away from Amy and looked at the interns, hovering in a cross-legged position in the air. “Well. My life is in your hands now. I mean, not really life exactly, I’m still dead, but my existence is in your hands. Don’t fuck it up.”

“We won’t,” Tim said.

“Well. This has certainly been informative.” Amy moved closer to the door. “Thank you for giving me Graham’s old notebook, and for a very interesting discussion. I assume I’ll be hearing from you shortly?”

“Yes. I think we’ll start at the beginning? What’s the oldest entry you have in this book?”

“That’d be… the one right at the start of section three for distorted reality. He likes to hang out in graveyards, you’ll probably be able to find him pretty quickly. Blond hair that’s all long and frazzled-looking, tall, kind of thin—if you see him in a reflection or through glass he looks tall, unnaturally tall, and his hands look all gross and creepy.” She shuddered, moving to open the door. “You still have my number?”

“Yep.” Sasha held up the page.

“It’s really been lovely,” Jon said. “Thank you.”

“No problem at all,” Amy said. “I’ll see you all soon.”

thats all folks! thank you so much for reading it. i may upload chapter 2 soon, but that is it for now!!

#text #fanfiction #original work

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danbensen · 4 years

Link

…or how tracking my life told me I was abusing coffee and social media

So there I was, my nails digging into my palms, my right molars pressed into each other. The air hissed in through my nose as my vision narrowed to a point. It was like hurtling down a roller-coaster. It was was terrifying, and I had no idea why it was happening.

I’d be doing nothing especially ominous – sitting down on the couch, carrying my younger daughter, thinking about bread – and suddenly I’d be gripped by this intense sensation of danger. BREAD! The image of a whole-grain loaf gained the mass of a church bell. DOOM! It rang. Toll the yeasty knell, oh brazen fate, for all men shall one day die. Die, oh, mortal flesh. Die and meet thy baker. (whoo! I am so sorry about that pun. Deep breaths now…)

Tiny drops of steam Ebb and flow before the light With each of my breaths.

It was ridiculous, but of course knowing that it was ridiculous didn’t help. I was like a cat, freaking out for no reason. Or was there no reason? Aren’t I supposed to listen to my body, now that I’m meditating and whatnot? But what exactly was my body supposed to be telling me? Avoid carbs? Run from the couch? Something about my daughter…? Yeah, If I searched hard enough for a reason to be terrified, I’d surely find one. Now there’s a reason for fear.

So I meditated more. I stopped using social media. I took my daughters to the park and watched the sky as it changed from brass to rose and the street lights blinked on. I talked to Pavlina. And I realized that over the course of the past month, I’d gone from drinking two cups of coffee a day to four.

The trees turn black and The sky, indescribable. Look up and it’s changed.

Scheduling is hard. My older daughter’s in first grade now, and school starts at 8:10 in the Center. The younger one’s in kindergarten, which starts at 8:30 in Levski G. At some point, it would be nice if Pavlina and I could go to work, which is back in the Center. If we want to have breakfast and drink our coffee in peace, we need to wake up at 6:15. Three hours later, I’m finally in the office and I’m tired. That scares me because I associate being tired with being sick. Fatigue=death.

I’m supposed to listen to my body, but my body is a stupid animal. It’s not going to say, “you’re drinking too much coffee.” It says “coffee reminds me of being happy!” and “not being productive scares me!” It says “I’m tired! I must have cancer again!” It’s up to me to keep track of what I’m doing, cut out the distractions, and give myself enough mental room to notice the patterns.

Right. So that’s why I’m not doing social media any more. Because part of the reason I was too distracted to notice I was drinking too much coffee was the last newsletter I wrote. I posted it on facebook, which made me want to check facebook for likes and comments. And once I was on facebook, why not see what other people are posting? Oh. Oh. That’s what they’re posting. Oh no.

I debated writing this explanation. Why not just stop using social media? Why talk about it on social media? But my litmus test for whether I should write something is “will this help people?” Maybe this is helpful: social media is distracting and depressing. It fills my head with noise. Maybe you have the same problem and this is the solution.

The sky at seven The color of hope that hurts And the crying swifts

I’ll continue to post my work on my website (including these newsletters) and mirror or link to those posts on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. Readers are welcome to like and comment, but I’ll only read those comments once a week (Friday seems like a good day). Comments on my website, PMs, and emails to me will get my attention earlier. I won’t read any content that isn’t sent personally to me or that I didn’t sign up for. Hopefully that means I’ll still get news from people I care about, but not about tragedies that I have no power to solve. That way, I can continue to function from hour to hour.

What do you think? Is this going to work? Can I stay connected without sacrificing my mental health? Let me know in the comments. Or even better, email me.

In other news, I had some good writing stuff happen this month. Interchange has hit its 2/3 mark and, more importantly, its rhythm. I’ve managed to block off a fairly reliable 90-minute chunk of time in the mornings, which I use to meditate and then “speedwrite,” which means writing without thinking about what I’m doing. I generally end up with a single element of a scene, such as the conversation the characters are having, how they feel, what’s going on in the environment, or what actions the characters are taking.

Then I usually have some time after lunch (and my second and final coffee), and I can layer those scene-pieces onto each other and smooth the edges. If I have more time, I do research, which usually involves shooting messages to generous experts. In this way, the inestimable and inspiring Thomas Duffy helped me tie a ribbon around the center of my book, in which a biologist’s subconscious belief that she owns the environment she’s studying leads her to destroy it. As the forest crumbles around her, she blames herself…then makes exactly the wrong decision about what to do next. Yeah! Fiction! Thomas, I’m going to send you roses or cacti or something.

Another new tradition I’ve instituted is spending my Friday mornings not working on Interchange. It’s a little release of pressure, a chance to play and remind myself that writing isn’t just another chore I have to do. The first week, it was a short story. That one turned out so well, I’m going to try to publish it. It’s called “The Sales Event” and it’s about smart phones and general relativity. Do you want to beta-reader it?

I got another couple of “no”s from publishers about The Sultan’s Enchanter, but one of them was that very gratifying “no” that comes at the head of a long list of things I could do to fix the story. Making those fixes will be educational, even if that particular publisher still passes. Wealthgiver is rather like The Sultan’s Enchanter, after all, and the lessons I learn from one will be important for the other. The world needs more books about amoral Balkan people!

Yeah, I’m still working on Wealthgiver’s neo-Thracian language. I even posted a little of it on Tumblr. But don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten my little goats!

Kapt kapēnon ainē kesa / byźai darsai ypo dēsâ. Ēbron, aiźi, byźâs kâ / skalmon, bleptē, bystâs kâ, As tae yper iatśikan / kapâ pe ta ve abbrinkan.

There were at one time / brave goats under heaven. A kid, a nanny, and a billy goat / clever, loyal, and tough, Who would dance up / a hill for to make themselves fat.

Dâ ispilsen opē rinkon strymē / parân ân, śân târâ dymâ. Iśē iserpa źēryntē / źymlē mērē urdēnē. Byźulâs ada pyrân źilmân / dâ bolvarâs pia rhobton saimân.

But a quick-flowing river blocked / the path with an evil guard. There coiled a beast / a great water-dragon. A goat will eat green grains / but a serpent will slurp blood

Peskēnon ērga ēbron do. / Pliskon ērga śân negō. Źymlē zē semân iglytsa. / “Kis ēs tu?” Neston iglâtsa. “Semâs manon ēm ēźo.” / “San ar ēsti? Abadam so!”

First comes the kid. / It splashes with its hooves. The dragon heard this. / “Who are you?” she roared. “This only am I.” / “Is it so? I will eat you up!”

Things are heating up! I’m still not entirely comfortable with the articles and deitics, but I do like that last line. And the orthography is shaping up nicely. I love googly things over letters.

Another potential conlanging project for that other hundred years I plan to live: Western Hellenism. What if the Greeks had conquered Iberia?

And finally, PROTECTOR! This is the comic project I’ve been working on for literally six years. Words by me and Simon Roy, inks by Atryom Trakhanov, colors by Jason Wordie, and lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhadu. What a crazy, fun, glorious process this collaboration was!

Protector is a post-apocalyptic scifi story about a slave who stumbles across “a demon of the Profligate Age,” a military cyborg who’s been in hibernation for the past thousand years. The post-human robots who are terraforming the Earth are not amused, and send in some sweaty future-vikings to put a stop to these shenanigans.

There will be five issues, and issue one comes out in January. If you’re interested, please order a copy, or better yet, tell your local comic or book store to order lots of copies! Give us some numbers that will convince Image to ask for a sequel

And finally, some books and stuff

Daring Greatly by Brené Brown – this book wasn’t as transformative for me as it could have been because I’ve read Brown before and I already agree with her. Shame is bad. Vulnerability is the cure. Bam. What I like about Brown is that she collects good data, lets it prove her wrong, and suggests how the lessons from the data can be usefully applied. It’s not just science, it’s engineering.

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold – I think this was the third read. What happens when GM humans become obsolete? What happens when an engineer has a spiritual epiphany? It wasn’t quite as much fun as some of Bujold’s other science fiction, but it has a lot of heart.

Spooky Action at a Distance by George Musser – an excellent physics book, examining the concept of space, which lies at the center of the contradictions of relativity and quantum physics. If space didn’t exist, the universe would be chaos, but a lot of experiments only make sense if space _doesn’t_ exist. Great stuff, and it inspired that short story I’m so proud of.

Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood – a refreshing splash of chilly New Zealand sea spray. Phryne pursues a jewel thief and has a little bit of sex, but a lot of good food, drink, and dancing. There’s also a hakka.

Wicked Prey by John Sandford – it was actually a little boring. The police’s side of the story didn’t hold up as well as the criminals’. But this is a relatively early book in the series, which means Sandford is improving.

The Upright Go Pro – it’s a little device that you glue to your upper back so it will buzz at you when you slouch. Immediately after I put it on, I realized I have little tiny tyrannosaurus arms that don’t reach any table or counter-top. It ran out of batteries one day and man did my back hurt that night. So I guess it’s working.

Gravity by Against the Current and Brighter by Patent Pending – Good Interchange music.

Be Kind to Yourself by Andrew Peterson – It makes me feel better.

Song of Durin by Clamavi De Profundis – I haven’t gotten goosebumps from a song in a long time. It’s about dwarves.

The Twits by Roald Dahl – I read it to my older daughter and boy howdy did Roald Dahl know how to write for children. Everything seems utterly ridiculous but it all somehow satisfies. Like eating dirt cake.

Steven Universe – My younger daughter found me rewatching it on my phone and made me cast it on the big TV. Now it’s all “I wanna watch Steeben dabout a Giant Woman. I’m Pearl.” No, younger daughter, you are not Pearl. Pearl is my older daughter. My younger daughter is Amethyst. Nobody is more Amethyst than my younger daughter. (I’m Peridot)

#mystuff #newsletter #simon roy #thomas duffy #Artyom Trakhanov #writing #mental health #science fiction #thracian

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pwnyta · 5 years

Text

Nobody ASKED for any of my shitty Pokemon character doodles... BUT IM IN A MOOD.

SO yall have to deal with it.

This is under a read more so dont come at me about it being annoyingly long. Blame Dumblr. Theres a SHIT TON OF DOODLES UNDER THE CUT.

First off I wanted to give Holly a whole classroom of friends... it wasnt GONNA be an all girls school... but I kept crankin of little girly Mons....

I dont actually have a shiny Darumaka or Eevee... but theyre two of my favorite shinies...

I drew these four after so theyre a bit different in style. Shiny Swirlex has the same excuse as the other two shinies... I just love the shiny colors

They also needed a teacher so I repurposed one of my older characters because I thought itd be funny to have a swan teacher... cuz swans are so scary but they care for their babies well.

Darla and Delilah can be bothered with threats because theyre safe with Mr Shandra.

Mikhail only takes classes that are small enough to fit under his wingspan so he can keep them all safe. And Eva and Tiffany learn from the best and just get pissed off like their teacher.

((Hes more bark than bite though... hes not a great fighter and a double weakness to Electric? Garbo. But he puts up a convincing enough front.))

And because he was a swan I gave him a life mate. The only other being that gets any softness from him.

He was an ex pirate.

Mikhail has no interest in criminals!!! So the captain gave up the pirate life and married a very short tempered bird and gained a lot of weight...because I wanted him chubby.

---

‘’Spider’’, Esi, and dear ol Dad. Despite Reds best efforts to keep Esi out of Osborns hands he still ended up an immensely shady bastard but at least hes not as broken as ‘’Spider’’.

I didnt finish their moms because I couldnt settle on a design for Spiders mum....

Now Spider works for Caedere his beloved boss who would never ever lie to him ever. (Hint: Spiders nature is ‘naive’)

---

I tried revamping Ray and Hebanon... but Ray still gay as hell for his boy.

I bullied Sparky a little. He’ll probably be fine even if Rays got a Mega evo. Its the name of the game Ray... hes supposed to knock his opponent out... you cant get pissed when ever Hebanon gets fucked up in battle.

---

Did I post these? Am I ever gonna finish these character sheets? No. And look I forgot the most pressing detail of Zippos and thats his fuckin Arbok mark on his back. IM A FOOL.

Kreetan and his mum and dad.

So many little comic things I’ll never finish because theres too many and instead of just stopping and finishing something I keep adding to my unfinished doodles instead. This is why I dont take requests or anything.

I time where Leif and Cyndy actually grow up?

THEY ALL HAVE CAT EARS.

Zippo is curious.

.....AS A CAT.

Polly is here too!! And shes ready to punch someone RIGHT IN THE NOODLE.

I also thought itd be nice to draw out some other Chars of Zippo and Crizs generation.

Theyre.. as you may have guessed are not finished yet.

Clem is a timid lad, Mira... not so much. Very brave

Addy is a modest princess type

Jubilee is a sassy lass.

And Criz. A sweet bashful boy whos never done anything wrong and certainly will not die because no one would be cruel enough to let that happen.

((EYES EMOJI))

Babby Clem, Addy, and Jubilee.

WHO’RE THESE ASSHOLES?!

---

Updated Mistletoe. One spooky righteous(in his own mind) lad.

She only looks stoic to start... but shes quite the weirdo.

She just got here and shes ready to go home. What a mood.

Now for some less polished individuals....

Meh meh meh lookit me IM OMI. Im gonna put three of the exact same Pokemon in the same group so Pwnyta has to suffer tryna come up with different designs.

...But I do like them. I imagine that they remain Ekans because they wont need the mark of their tribe so no one will no where they come from. So spooky.

I was torn between the codename ‘Sundown‘ and ‘Daybreak‘ for Crobat.

By day hes a wholesome trustworthy priest... by night he tortures people for a shady shady bug man. He’ll determine if youre truly innocent.

Doc has to deal with all these fuckin weirdos... he just wants to be a doctor... BUT AT WHAT COST DOC?!

This is a sequel to the doodle comic I was makin in a previous post... Kop and Doc develop an interesting friendship (In Kops mind. Its more a ‘stalker with a crush’ situation) But hey if Kops not being paid then hes got no reason to hurt Doc.

...Docs a fun character to bully because hes so smarmy and small.

---

AND NOW FOR SOME SCIENCE BITCHES.

A man of few words and an intense curiosity with mortal beings and his own existence.

A spooky lad who doesnt quite mean to torment his subordinates... its just his Pressure.

Id imagine his form changes are a bit like Iron Man in IW when hes fighting Thanos.

I drew some more science bitches...

Some casual clothes for the original three stooges.

Shes deaf Franz! She cant hear you.

Ya know IDK if itd be ‘canon‘ that they all met as kids... I just thought itd be cute. Little psychic babies all doofin off together... the most troublesome one being asleep 90% of the time due to being an Abra.... and narcoleptic. Abra sleep so much naturally... Geller sleeps even MORE... thats why hes so incredibly smart even for an Alakazam.

I had a whole little redo sketch comic idea of Mewtwo breakin loose and fuckin shit up.... (its never been finished)

Franz tries to put him to sleep. (it doesnt work. He needs Emanuel and Nola to save him and he gets his arm broken for bein such a cheeky lad.)

Mewtwo doesnt have too much of a problem with Geller due to his soft spot for kids and pure desire for knowledge... but if hes gonna protect the other assholes then PERISH.

Dont worry though big boss Deo wont let his subordinates die let alone the second smartest after him... and saves them all pretty easy. A sharp tentacle arm through the chest will stop even Mewtwo.

Some booboos happen tho...

But hes fine eventually and finds his ex wife home watchin the kids.

Shes promptly expelled.

Geller also goes back for Dilla and steals him. Lifes too short not to adopt an ancient fossil baby.

Emanuel isnt delighted... but he doesnt have the heart to call the authorities on a man who risked his life to save him.

Fossil Mons come in two types-- Resurrected fossils which have the skin color of the primary coloring of their Pokemon form so they can be solid black or blue or red or w/e... Ancestors of ancient Pokemon have normal skin tones.

And another comic sketch idea... where Geller and Roswell are gifted with some fancy new Mega stones... Ros? Not too keen on the idea hes seen what can happen to a bitch when they Mega Evo... he aint got time for that. Geller goes HARD for SCIENCE.

Ros: Geller I know your a spoon guy but stick a fork in that bastard cuz hes done. COOKED. If he thinks im riskin my ass for his bullshit. Lets go tell him off together (im scared to go without you...)

Geller: We experiment on living things all the time for the sake of scientific progress.... are we really too good to be subject to our own studies?

Ros: YES. ABSOLUTELY.

After seeing Geller use his without hesitation, putting his body through a world of hurt for the sake of SCIENCE!!! Ros couldnt pussy out on his boy...

His Mega is just FABULOUS and now he loves it.

I was also makin a team with the Pokemon that have the highest stats (non Legends/Psudos/Megas) but I got bored after Blissey. She has a Togekiss wife I didnt finish either... Oh well.

Shes a bold lass and prefers double battles with her support wife. She doesnt like using dangerous moves as its in her nature as a Blissey to heal.

---

(I forgot his whiskers... OH WELL)

I wanted to give Flaminio some people who missed him after he got spirited away by his Ghosts.

After he disappeared people looked for him but he was never found and years and years went by and people stopped looking. Even Clove and Ceto had to move on.

Koban is a loyal bitch though and he never let it go. He still wants his friend back. Hes an old boy now... so old people probably call him ‘Nekomata‘ and wonder when his tail is gonna split.

#PKMN fanarts #RIP Omi if you get through all of this...#Pwny Gijinka mon fanarts.

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reconditarmonia · 5 years

Text

Dear Trick or Treat Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3 (and have been since LJ days, but my LJ is locked down and I only have a DW to see locked things). I have anon messaging off, but mods should be able to contact me if you have any questions.

Far From the Madding Crowd | Simoun | Spinning Silver | The Strange Case of Starship Iris

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity; stories whose resolution isn’t the sex scene.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships.

—

Fandom: Far From the Madding Crowd

Character(s): Bathsheba Everdene

One thing that always sticks in my mind about this novel is the way Hardy calls Bathsheba “the young farmer” just as he refers to the men as farmers - which, just saying, is more than most people writing about this story can do - and so, that being the case, what I’m most interested in is something about Bathsheba as farmer. One day in the life or four seasons in the life or five plantings/harvests in the life, or pseudo-academic fic about a case study of a woman farmer in the Victorian era, or a conflict between the farm and nature that Bathsheba has to decide how to solve.

Feel free to bring in other characters if it suits what you’re trying to do, but what I’m really looking for is a focus on Bathsheba’s work, determination, and process of learning. (I like how Bathsheba's relationship with Gabriel ends up playing out in canon, but I don't want shipfic.) Other ideas: something like a merchant ship AU (as the first alternate setting that came to mind where it would be not exactly the done thing for her to captain her inherited ship and make commercial decisions herself - although I do have to point out that contrary to popular belief, there were a lot of women on shipboard in the age of sail, may this be useful - but also where nature and luck/fate are as influential as they are in the original setting), or something in which the land, superstition, and ritual are more overtly magical.

I've only requested treats for this fandom, so I would prefer that the outlook of the fic, including if you decide to incorporate non-canon magical or spooky elements, be ultimately positive. A seasonal treat would be right up the alley of this request. I'd also be into interactive fiction.

—

Fandom: Simoun

Character(s): Neviril, Paraietta, Mamiina, Rodoreamon, Yun, Dominuura

This is a perennial request for me and anything would make me very happy. I'm so interested in how the war changes all the characters and their relationships with one another, how Everything is Beautiful and Then Shit Gets Real but amidst the war-is-hell there's still the creation of bonds of trust and loyalty and chances to do what's right (the bits with the Plumbish priestesses, for instance). Every character gets a chance to develop and make choices that are all brave in different ways. Would also be curious about post-canon (what happens if Neviril and Aeru make it back to the main world when war is brewing again, but Neviril has no one from the old cohort to lead because they can’t fly anymore?) and/or about magic and time weirdness retconning character deaths or disappearances.

I've requested either tricks or treats here. For tricks I'd prefer "dark" to "cynical" - throw as much shit at them as you want in terms of war-is-hell and weird magic and time horror, but I believe that the characters mostly want to do what they believe is the right thing and help each other. My treat preferences are, I think, more about thematic focus than content - if it's slice of life, how is that life striving towards their ideals even in small ways? (Helping the war orphans, flying the Simoun, growing a garden?) If it's more about Things Happening, in the war or whatnot, what do those things show about their growth or the changes in their relationships? I would also be super into interactive fiction.

As far as ships go, I'm on board with most of the canon ones (no romantic/sexual Dominuura/Limone, please) but have a small soft spot for postcanon Paraietta/Rodoreamon as well.

—

Fandom: Spinning Silver

Character(s): Miryem Mandelstam

I love hard-headed, practical, ambitious women who get into adventures because of, rather than in spite of, those qualities, and so I love Miryem and her good sense, pride, and rules-lawyering. I’m really interested in what the book does with power - Miryem’s real-world power of accounting and hardheadedness becoming magic in the Staryk world, being a queen in one world while belonging to a disenfranchised minority in another. What happens when Miryem is back in the human world, post-canon? I never got the impression that she’d be happy just avoiding the whole question of the town’s contempt for her by finding power elsewhere - what’s it like if she comes back a queen? (Can she use the mirror from Irina to do an end run around the whole Persephone setup and travel back and forth whenever she wants, and if so, what sorts of plot would make that fun to play with? If not, that’s still fine.) Or, what are some adventures in the Staryk world where she could use her Accounting Powers, other than the post-war rebuilding the book talks about? Or tell me more about Miryem practicing Judaism in the Staryk world, and the application of Judaism to that world and those customs that we get some hints of (that’s a hell of a diaspora - what would the rabbis think of it?).

I'm very uninterested in Miryem's romance with the Staryk Lord unless you feel like making it f/f, so while I don't require you to retcon it or break them up, I don't want a fic focusing on it. If you're interested in shipping her with Irina or Wanda, I have some previous prompts for them in my "dear author letters" tag. (These may also be relevant to platonic fic that includes Irina or Wanda - like Wanda becoming a magical gatekeeper to Miryem's land or having the "magic" of reading/writing that Miryem gave her become magic-magic in the Staryk land, or Irina and Miryem's different ideas of who their commitment as queen is to - but there's more detail and prompts in the tag.)

I'm happy to receive either tricks or treats for this fandom. I'm explicitly okay with a story in either category involving anti-Semitic prejudice, but would prefer that the dark/scary elements in a "trick" fic come from supernatural horror rather than the human capacity for racist violence. I suppose treat fic would be about finding or making one's place in the world, the place where you can use the powers that you've got and make your world safe for yourself and others around you.

—

Fandom: The Strange Case of Starship Iris

Character(s): Sana Tripathi, Arkady Patel, Krejjh, Brian Jeeter, Rumor Crew, Agent Park

I just want MORE of any or all of these people because I love them - Krejjh's dashing pilot thing ("feast on my leavings, mortality! I am danger on wheels and those wheels are rooOOOOLLING!") and what it masks, Brian's geekery and humanist passion, Arkady's tough outside and squishy center and Sana's soft outside and iron center, the crew-as-found-family, Park's fifth-cup-of-cold-coffee burnout and wry edge. Slice of life? Their backstories? Things they like or get excited about? (More about the music they like to listen to/sing/play!) Arkady and/or Sana (or other crew members) on missions off-ship, or the crew all facing a problem or a heist together? Dwarnian customs (and Krejjh introducing Dwarnian customs to their friends and how they maybe pick some of those up - or adopting human customs and how they're different)? Park adjusting to the crew and them adjusting to him (and what's his role going forward)?

I've requested treats only for this fandom, no tricks - I'm totally fine with characters' angsty pasts and angsty present feelings being included, but I'd prefer that the overall mood of a fic that involved angst be one that focused on a better future, bonds with others, a cause to believe in, etc.

I ship Arkady with Sana (that loyalty kink!), but I don't mind if a fic includes Violet/Arkady (after all, it is canon) as long as it's not shipfic/focused on their romance. Brian/Krejjh is good too.

#dear author letters #starship iris #simoun #far from the madding crowd #spinning silver

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enniewritesathing · 6 years

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The Couple Interview

Rules: answer the questions from your OC OTP’s point of view and tag as many people as you want.

I was tagged by @pink-chevalier (thank you bb <3) and... well, I’m gonna tag everyone who wants to do it!

This is a read, but this is also sort of a small primer for my newer followers.

1. HOW DID YOU TWO MEET?

Brian: “Oh, boy.”

John: “You want me to tell it, or...?”

Brian: “Nah, I got it. How can I put this? Back in our freshman year in high school, I kinda put out a hit on someone and I asked John to do it.”

John: “What?” (looks at Brian) “Well, when you word it like that, it sounds I killed the guy. I didn’t. And it wasn’t a hit. Brian ran cross country at the time and he was on the varsity team. The captain didn’t like that because Brian’s breaking records, so he tried to harass him. That is, until Brian pulled me aside and asked for help.”

Brian: “I didn’t have anyone to turn to. John was in my homeroom, and I always saw him carrying his gym bag with his gloves; I knew he fought, but I didn’t know what sport, but if it was enough to get McIntyre off my back... I asked John, which was the scariest part.”

John: “I wasn’t the friendliest lookin’ kid in the school.”

Brian: “Oh, he wasn’t. You really didn’t talk, and you were just... intense. Anyway, I asked him, even made the whole ‘you can copy my homework’ and all of that spiel, make the offer enticing because, why help me?”

John: “And you know what, I never took that offer up. I did it because I never liked the guy and two, I can’t stand it when I see someone getting harassed. And three because, Brian’s the only one to actually speak to me. Found out we have the same lunch period, so, we sat down and talked a bit.”

Brian: “And then McIntyre came.”

John: “Yeah... and I blocked him. He tried to get at Brian and next thing I know, McIntyre swings on me; I leaned back, he whiffs, I stepped in and threw a knee to his stomach -- not hard to break anything, thank god, but to send a message to him and everybody that watched: you fuck with Brian, I’ll fuck you up. Honestly? Should’ve punched him in the face.”

(Brian nods.)

Brian: “And, of course, god and country saw the whole thing, and John got suspended for a week.”

John: “And my uncle suspended me for... a month from fighting. It was worth it. I didn’t care about what my rep was. I was already the scary kid with the spooky eyes. (He shrugs) On top of that, lot of other people came forward about him harassin’ and he got expelled. I like to think of it as taking out the trash. My therapist wasn’t too happy about the whole thing... my mom was though.”

Brian: “I went over to his house. Which is in Windenburg. At the time, I lived in Oasis Springs. A loooong way off. Noelle, Mrs. Davidson came to the door. Looked at me up and down. I’m thinking this woman is going to yell at me for getting her son suspended, but... no, she asked what happened and I told her. She looks at me up and down again. She invited me in for dinner, so we could talk.”

John: “She didn’t really ground me because of what I did, but why I did it. She understands, but she also wished that I could’ve went a different way. But, after that, Brian started to come over and... that’s that.”

2. WHO IS THE MOST JEALOUS OF YOU TWO?

Brian: “Me.” (laughs) “I’m a lot better at it though.”

John: “See, I’m used to getting attention and Brian isn’t. So... when someone’s focusing solely on me, well...”

Brian: “I’ve had to do the slide in and do the clingly boyfriend thing a couple of times.”

John: “Now, Brian just wanders off.”

Brian: “I figure, eh, he’s probably making someone’s day or something, it’s no big. John’s not exempt though! We went out one time and the waiter was really flirting with me, and I gotta admit... that margarita was pretty good.”

John: “I made him a better margarita when we got home.”

3. WHAT’RE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT YOUR PARTNER?

Brian: “Just three? That’s not fair...” (John has a smug look as Brian looks at him.)

John: (kiss the air) “Hey, how ya’ doin’?”

Brian: (laughs) “Oh my god. If I had to honestly pick... (Brian rubs his chin.) Hmm. Hair, chest, and... lips. John’s hair? Look at it. It’s long and luscious. Like a cover of a romance novel. Lips? Soft and plush. I think about some of the kisses he gives two weeks later. His chest? (He grins.) Firm, yet supple. Look at that carpet!”

(John is blushing)

John: “Brian used to hate my chest hair. Like to the point of threatening to wax it off. So I said, “okay” and I did. And all of a sudden he hated how smooth I was. He couldn’t just run his fingers through it. Hell, I hated it because it just made everything sensitive. Never again. Oh, and by the way, every chance he gets, he sleeps on it.”

Brian: “You make a good pillow!”

John: “Apparently! You drool every time!”

Brian: “Alright, alright, enough about you. What about me?”

(Before John answers, Brian turns to him and bats his eyelashes (:3))

John: “I see... three isn’t fair.”

Brian: “Right?!”

John: “Eyes, Legs, Freckles. Brian’s eyes... they’re hazel. It’s easy to get lost in them, like a forest. They twinkle when he smiles. You have a wonderful smile. And his eyelashes? I’m jealous. Legs... ooh. See, I like Brian’s legs because it... kind of brings him together. He’s long and slender... like a dancer. Graceful.”

Brian: “Aw.”

John: “And a lovely ass. I can just eat it like a peach. I love peaches.”

Brian: “Yet you eat like--” (Brian pauses and turns beet red and covers his face.) “Oh.”

John: “Freckles! I can really see them now. You should see him after he’s been in the sun. There’s so many, and I wanna play connect the dots. But also, it makes him cuter than he ought to be. Like right now.”

4. WHO’S MORE LIKELY TO BE RUNNING LATE?

John: “Brian has no sense of time since he’s been a nurse.”

Brian: “I really don’t. There are times it gets so hectic in there that time is a myth and a lie. I don’t even know how I get home on some days.”

John: “It sort of bleeds over to when we’re getting ready to go out. He takes forever to pick an outfit. Hell, he has a mini fashion show to see what looks good. Babe, all of it looks good.”

Brian: “I have to be coordinated. You’d think John with (gestures) all of this, he’d be late. He’s not. He knows exactly what he’s gonna wear, how to wear his hair...”

John: “We were fifteen minutes late to see a movie because he couldn’t decide if he wanted to wear long sleeves or short sleeves. I told him it’s gonna be cold in there. It’s always cold in the theater. You’d think he listened.”

Brian: “I didn’t. Thus, we had to sneak into another showing...”

5. WHO IS THE MOST ORGANISED AND WHO IS THE MESSIEST?

Brian: “I am the messiest person alive. In our first apartment, John made a little study area for me.”

John: “I don’t remember a time where I saw the floor because papers, books, clothes... name it, it was there or on the desk. I’ve tried cleaning it up but then Brian got mad at me because he couldn’t find his notes.”

Brian: “Listen, when I got into my major, I needed to keep everything because, you never know.”

John: “We still have those books. It’s been... 3 years?”

Brian: “As much money I had to pay for them, holy shit. I digress.”

John: “I gave up after awhile and let it be, but I at least picked up the clothes and shoes. Brian claimed that he can find whatever in the chaos he made.”

Brian: “I’m jealous of John’s organization skills. I mean, he has to with all the tools he’s gotta keep track of.”

6. WHO IS THE BIGGER FLIRT? (FLIRTS THE MOST?)

(They look at each other.)

John: “Brian flirts on complete accident.”

Brian: “How so?”

John: “Your eyelashes, for one thing. You bat them. And then you have this specific voice. I call it your nurse voice.”

Brian: “Nurse voice? You don’t know what I sound like when I work!”

John: “I imagine it to be soft and gentle, like this. ‘Excuse me, can you tell me where the candles are? (in normal voice) and then you smile and whatnot. Every guy you ask for assistance, well... there’s an effect.

Brian: “Huh. Didn’t know that. John is... a bad flirt. Let me take that back, when he’s not thinking about it, he’s okay. When he is...”

John: “Before we started dating, I’d try to flirt and I wondered why Brian never really responded. Turns out I try too hard. And he knows this because I put more bass in my voice and then he can’t understand me. (laughs)”

7. WHO DOES THE MOST COOKING?

John: “I have to do the cooking, or else Brian will die of starvation.”

Brian: “John. C’mon.”

John: “He has a habit of just... not eating. Especially when he gets busy or when he��s really focusing on something. And during that time, he’ll eat like, a granola bar. That’s no calories and no energy. Or junk food. I’ve been cooking since I was 11, and I cook actual meals.”

Brian: “Are you gonna tell the story? I feel like you are.”

John: “I’m gonna. So, about a year and a half ago, I’m at work, I get a call from the hospital, where Brian works. I’m his emergency contact, so I’m freaking out. I get there, this jerk is in one of the beds. Turns out that he’s been living off of caffiene for three days and haven’t eaten in a day and a half, AND, been on 14-hour shifts. Oh, and haven’t slept since last year.”

Brian: “We’re still understaffed and... shit happens. I had to get a couple shots of adenosine, I passed out from low blood sugar...”

John: “I may have yelled at someone about his schedule. When we got home, Brian told me that he didn’t have time to eat. Even when he gets back. So, I started meal preps. Nutrient dense. I even asked his supervisor a couple of times if I could take him down to the cafeteria so he could actually eat so he’ll have energy to take care of his patients.”

Brian: “I just don’t have the time. Or, I’m not able to make the time that I need. John’s schedule is more stable than mine, so he does the cooking. Or I will starve.”

8. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT KIDS AND DO YOU WANT THEM? IF SO HOW MANY?

(John looks at Brian with a very pointed look)

Brian: “What?”

John: “Nothing, nothing...”

Brian: “We’ve talked about kids, and... John wants ‘em, I’m on the fence. But he understands that. (John nods) I love kids, but not right now. That’s a huge step, and right now, I don’t think we’re stable enough. We’re still pretty young, y’know.”

John: “Yeah, I’m not in a rush and you’re right, we’re young. On the record? Three. At least one daughter.”

Brian: “The real question is, how are we gonna address... you’re not calling yourself Papa.”

John: “Why not? I like the ring of it. Papa John.”

Brian: “Ugh...”

9. WHO WEARS THE PANTS IN THE RELATIONSHIP?

(John twiddles his thumbs)

John: “We try to keep it even. But... Brian is pretty bossy.”

Brian: “I am not. A little bit.”

John: “Let’s put it this way, any major decision, I run it past him and if he says no or maybe, I just... drop it. Brian tends to do it and then tells me after the fact. He hasn’t done it in a while.”

Brian: “I try not to, but I’m also compensating for years of not being assertive. I’m just taking it out on poor John.”

John: “It’s alright, honey. I enjoy it when you wear the pants.” (He winks.)

Brian: “John.”

John: “Huh?”

10. WHAT’S YOUR PARTNER’S LEAST FAVOURITE HOUSEWORK TASK?

Brian: “You know what? I’m not sure. I woudn’t say that John enjoys all of it, but I think he’s just indifferent to it. He’s a hands on kind of guy.”

John: “Cleaning the fridge.”

Brian: “Oh.”

John: “I’ve found a lot of science experiments in there. I made the grave mistake of opening up tupperware that sat in there for... six months. Threw up in the sink because the smell was so horrendous.”

Brian: “Ew.”

John: “I tell Brian to empty whatever he has leftover in his lunchbox into the trash. Each time he’s left something in there, he forgets it.”

Brian: “Sorry...”

John: “I do most of the chores, but Brian and laundry? Forget it. He’ll wash it and y’know, put it in the drier, but that’s it.”

Brian: “I admit, I’m lazy. I just pull out what I need from it. Even if I manage to put it in the basket, the cat gets into it and I just leave her there.”

11. WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICED ABOUT EACH OTHER?

Brian: “John’s eyes. It’s hard not to notice them. They were sad looking, but the rest of him wasn’t. I honestly thought they were contacts until he proved me wrong by touching his eye. Eugh.”

John: “They’re amber. Extremely rare in humans. Light hits it right, they look like gold. It freaks people out when I look at ‘em too long, so I try not to do that. I use that to my advantage before a match though; I always see them squirm just for a second.”

Brian: “They’re goregous though.”

John: “Hmm. I noticed how small Brian was when I first saw him. I mean, I wasn’t much taller or bigger than him at the time, but man, Brian, you were tiny. A strong gust could’ve knocked you over.”

Brian: “If you saw pictures of me back then and compared to me now, you’d be shocked by the difference. My growth spurt happened but then I was a bean pole. Even in college. Hell, I didn’t really start gaining weight until a couple of years ago. I needed a lot of sandwiches.”

12. WHAT DOES YOUR PARTNER DO THAT PISSES YOU OFF?

Brian: “John is stubborn about a lot of things, but when I have to tell him to slow down and scale it back when he’s training for a match, tournament, whatever, he just... he won’t listen.”

John: “Here we go.”

Brian: “He can be obsessive and single-minded. John will train himself to the bone. It’s happened before.”

John: “I do what it takes to win. You know that.”

Brian: “I know I’ve probably told this story before, but this nut broke three of his ribs during a match. He went on to finish it. He won. I don’t know how. After that, he collapses. I’m freaking out. One of his ribs punctured his lung--”

John: “--it wasn’t that big--”

Brian: “--and he was hospitalized. It took him three months. Would’ve been two but he caught pnuemonia trying to get back to it because he felt fine. John, I love you, but you have to let your body heal and recover or you’re gonna breakdown faster than you want to.”

John: “Oh, like you haven’t done that before. Brian used to pull so many all nighters when we were in college. One point, he didn’t sleep for three days. He was so stressed, he had a nervous breakdown. It was bad. And it pisses me off when he doesn’t take care of himself. I get it, you have to take care of a lot of people, but you gotta make time for yourself so you won’t burnout. Sometimes I just... want to swaddle you in a blanket so you can actually sleep.”

Brian: “Man... we’re stubborn, huh?”

13. WHERE’S THE CRAZIEST/WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE EVER HAD SEX?

John: (mumbles) “The hospital.”

Brian: “That was... that was interesting. John, that was left field.”

John: “Brian was on-call at the time. Basically, he had to be in the immediate area of the hospital, just in case he’s needed. It’s three days long, and he’s rotated in every... what, three months?”

Brian: “About three months.”

John: “He can’t exactly leave there, but there’s some dorms set aside for it. Bed, fridge. It’s basic. After his shift ended, he called me up wanting some food, so I cooked and brought it over. Here’s the thing. I hate hospitals. Hate’s a strong word; I intensely dislike them. Bad memories. I’m just wanting to go in, get out. But, Brian’s here. He knows about it. For whatever reason, I asked for a tour.”

Brian: “I have keys, and it was after hours, so no one was around. I explained what was in the room and, y’know answered questions he had. We get back, and John’s... bothered.”

John: “I told him about some dreams I had. Uh, they took place in the hospital and... it was very, very kinky. Let’s go with that.”

Brian: “The way he described everything, I just...”

John: “We fucked, and it was the hottest thing. Top 3.”

Brian: “We learned too... and, uhm...” (laughs) “Yeah, I learned something about John that I wasn’t expecting at all, but I was happy to oblige.”

John: “And five minutes later, he got paged so, we didn’t get to let everything sink in.”

14. DO YOU KNOW YOUR PARTNER’S LOVE LANGUAGE? IF YES, WHAT IS IT?

Brian: “Love language... oh! I’ve read about this! John’s language is... how does this work again? His language is... he does things for me so I don’t have to worry about it. Chores, errands. He doesn’t like to talk about it, he just does it. And I’m forever grateful for him. Thank you. (Brian kisses him on the cheek. John smiles.)

John: “And, Brian’s language is touch. I know it’s a part of his job too, but... after a hard match and I’m busted up good no matter what the outcome is, he’s always there for me. His presence makes everything better. Even if I’ve lost. His touch keeps me grounded, makes sure I’m alright. That’s comforting and that’s pretty much what I need.”

Brian: “That and preventing him from doing anything dumb.”

John: “Of course.” (Laughs)

15. WHERE DO YOU SEE THE 2 OF YOU IN 10 YEARS?

John: “Ten years? Married. Kids? Maybe. More cats? Probably.”

Brian: “We don’t know how Spaghetti would handle that... yes on everything else.”

#ts4 #ts4 simblr #oc: john #oc: brian #oc pair: healing hands #tagged in #a text post #non sims #couple tag interview

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