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mushroomwoods · 7 months

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wounded bird

Sky is nothing short of loving, especially when his loved one comes down with a sickness.

character — sky, romantic.

cw — none, pure fluff, sickfic.

the client wish, the client has. for my dearest @yourlocaltreesimp, who seems to be suffering right now. i hope you get well soon, darling, but if i discover you were reading this while you had a headache instead of going to sleep, I'll chase you fr. watch out, fir. also, I've mever written a sickfic so forgive me if it's not good enough hakdbdk.

To say your vision was blurry was an understatement, things were so mushed up together in your vision that you weren't even able to notice when someone entered the room you were staying in the inn, hadn't they made enough noise to wake up a whole battalion.

You could hear a soft swear, though it wasn't anything nearly as colorful as the one Legend used to spew when things didn't go his way in battle, but this was enough to tell you just who it was.

“Sky?” Your voice was hoarse, far more than you could remember before you went to bed. Actually, just how did you get in bed?

Before your mind could wander any further, a cool hand made contact with your forehead, the feeling immediately lightening your mood up as you pressed further into the calloused touch.

“[name], [name], wild made a light soup for you.” His voice was soft as a whisper, mindful of the way your ears were ringing.

He said nothing when you lightly shook your head, and when you saw him turning back, you figured he would go back to the group, so you closed your eyes.

A few hushed voices sounded by the door, but you could barely tell what they were saying, not that you cared when your head was ringing so much. Just as you were ready to turn your back and try to drift back to sleep, the mattress dipped beside you, the hand returning to your face.

“[name], dear. I'm gonna sit you up, okay?” Sky didn't wait for an answer, warm arms wrapping around your body as he carefully lifted you up, you head resting against his chest as he shushed any groans of pain that fell from your lips. “Have some water, please.”

He lightly tapped at your lips, refusing to give you the cup even when you tried to take it from his hands, a quiet “let me help you, dove” whispered at your ear. He tipped the cup in your lips, the liquid bringing you a faint sense of relief for a brief second.

“More?” He asked and only then you noticed just how thirsty you must've been, mouth still dry. You nodded and he repeated the process all over again, as many times as you wished.

You could see from the corner of your eyes how he smiled softly, a hint of sadness permeating his touches as his patience never wavered while he helped you.

When you laid back onto the bed, his hand took yours in a warm embrace, his voice quiet as he told you about how the day had gone without you around, about how he missed you the whole time he to spend apart from you and how he wished you'd never have to go through any sufferings, no matter how small it was.

He smiled every time you laughed at something he said and nodded along when you made small breathy additions.

He stood by your side until your haggard breath turned into soft snores, only then letting go of your hand and getting up from the floor he sat upon, kissing your forehead and then going out again.

The whole week was spent at such fashion, and even when you said you didn't want to bother him, Sky's only answer was to smile whilst saying that helping his love would never be a bother.

On the last day, Sky deemed that you were already healthy enough for him to at least get his so desired cuddles, his body pressing tightly against yours in the small inn bed.

“You're gonna get sick.” You said, voice lethargic from how much rest you had over the last few days.

“No worries, dove. I'm strong enough.” His hands caressed your hair, your face flushed against his chest hearing the light thundering in his ribcage as he talked.

“I missed you so much, dove. To have you by my side.” His voice was muffled above your head, heart racing a little from what you could feel. “I hope you never get sick again, my dear.”

You hummed in answer, mind already far off into dreamland, his voice lowering significantly as he lulled you to sleep with his soothing voice and calming touch.

“Good night, my dear, get well soon.”

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader #lu sky #sky lu #sky x reader #fungi's delicacies

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yellowhollyhock · 2 months

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Day 4 Sunset

Raph and Mikey 2012 soft moment

tw grief, canon character death

“You know what I miss?”

Raph jerked his head up, refocusing his attention on the dark expanse of the universe splayed out in front of them. “What, Mikey?” he asked groggily.

Floating through space with no traditional passage of time was really throwing off his sleep schedule. He’d tried to ask Donnie about it, but that had just led him to talk himself into a frenzy, which led Fugitoid to give them all a headache-inducing education on how time is tracked in open space, which helped Raph sleep the once but did absolutely nothing for his circadian rhythm.

“I miss sunsets.”

Raph stifled a yawn and sat up straighter in his chair, glancing over at his little brother. He was staring out the front window with wide, sad eyes—and not the wide, sad eyes that meant he was about to get his way. A deep, detached, mature sort of sadness that scared Raph a little. His voice was soft with a type of melancholy that placed Raph’s internal clock at about three a.m., because that was the time of day for this kind of melancholy. For these kinds of conversations.

“Yeah. Me too.”

Sunset was uniquely precious in their family. That was the time of day they gathered and watched through the sewer grate while the city shed its blaring daytime hustle and was bathed in colored streetlight. The time they could step outside and be part of it.

As much a part as mutants ever could be, anyway.

A quiet sniffle pulled him out of his thoughts, once again bringing his gaze away from the black window and towards his little brother. Mikey turned to the side, swiping at his eyes and snout.

He never used to hide his tears, back home.

With a wet chuckle, Mikey turned to face him again. “Remember how Leo would wake us all up early to make sure we didn’t miss it?”

Raph rolled his eyes. “That was only when we had a mission he was stressed about or wanted an early start on. You’re the one who never wanted to miss a sunset.”

Mikey smiled tiredly. “I did like seeing them. I wish I’d liked them more while we still had them.”

Raph held his breath, his own feelings of profound loss at the memory of their planet scattering into the universe like powder dissolving in liquid pushed to the side while he waited to see what his brother needed.

Sure enough, the tears were flowing freely before long. “I really miss Master Splinter.”

Raph stood up from his chair and moved to stand by Mikey’s, putting an arm around his shoulders. “Me too.”

They cried on each other’s shoulders, Mikey sobbing openly, Raph weeping silently. If Leo or Donnie were there, they’d probably tell them that if they could just stay focused, they were going to see Splinter and planet earth again. They just needed to hang on.

Well, Raph wasn’t them. He didn’t know what would happen in the future, he just knew that right now it hurt.

As Mikey’s sobs petered off, Raph pulled back with one last fortifying shoulder squeeze. “Hey, you know what? Someday you’re gonna miss this view, too. Think about it. How often in our lives do we get to see the whole expanse of space just laid out in front of us? It’s kind of cool to learn about all the different planets, right?”

Mikey giggled. “Now you sound like Donnie.”

“Yeah, well,” Raph rubbed his head fondly, “Maybe we should listen to him.”

Mikey hummed. “I’m worried about them,” he said softly. “Him and Leo.”

Raph nodded. “Yeah, well. They’re just focused right now. You know how it is. Once the problem is solved they’ll be ready to process, and you and I will be here, right?”

“But what if it doesn’t get solved?”

Raph’s heart ached, visions of Splinter’s limp body laid out in front of them filling up the dark void. No more sunsets, no more training. Nothing.

“Well, then I’ll be really ticked off,” he said gruffly, he moved back in to put Mikey in a headlock, “That out of all the creatures on planet earth before it blew up, I got stuck with a roommate who snores.”

Mikey giggled and snorted, pushing Raph away. “You snore too.”

“No way, I sleep like a princess.”

They laughed together, not full laughter, but enough to exhaust their meagre energy.

“Thanks, Raph,” Mikey said, voice suddenly chipper. “I feel lots better. We should do fake sunsets every day.”

Raph frowned. “Fake sunsets?”

“Yeah, you know, to get us going. Just like imagine the colors and talk about stuff like we used to. Well, we didn’t talk then because we’re ninjas and we were under the street, but we kind of talked to each other with our minds.”

He blinked. “What?”

“I’m gonna go make breakfast and yell at Leo for sleeping in.”

Before Raph could process that statement, the chair besides him was empty, and his brother apparently, fully awake.

And he was alone in front of the window.

“What time is it?” he hollered, in spite of knowing Mikey wouldn’t hear him.

Maybe he should bite the bullet and ask Fugitoid again. They really needed to all sync up their internal clocks.

Oh, well. Future Raph’s problem. He settled back into his chair to sleep, gentle shades of orange and red backlighting neon lights blending into his dreams, finally fading to purple, blue, and black.

#tmnt #tmnt 2012 #2012 raph #2012 mikey #these little goobers have grown on me #march for raph

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markrosewater · 2 years

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Not really a question, just sharing from the perspective of someone selling out and moving out of magic for a time, possibly forever.

Magic feels like its “not the product for me” anymore. It’s not really one thing; it’s changes that have chipped away what i do like about MtG over time. The thing that I wanted to share is that there are… anthology, I guess? games? Like Fortnite, Smash Bros, Kingdom Hearts, etc. where a selling point is that you mash all of these characters from these other IPs together and tell a story or play a game. And thats popular, I get that - but it was never for me. Magic adding other IPs like this takes it from an IP that wasn’t about this in some sense and turns it into a way that (apparently, will be?) about this. That’s the biggest thing turning me off from Magic as a whole at this point.

I get the concept that it’s a win for the (for example) Warhammer player who wants to play a card game, the Magic player who likes Warhammer, and saves the potential risk of creating a Warhammer Card Game that will inherently not reach a wide audience relative to magic. I just…. I just don’t enjoy the idea of playing Magic cards against Warhammer cards against Godzilla cards against Fortnite cards, or whatever is likely to end up happening. The flavor and power tuning mismatches bother me, and really the fundamental idea of trying to compare power levels of things from different IPs doesn’t appeal to me.

I hope this is useful feedback; i’m not really mad, just processing letting go of a game that I’ve played a very long time.

I get asked a lot why Magic players stick with the game as long as they do. The average length of a Magic player (now well over ten years) is longer than the average game exists. Why is that?

I believe the number one reason is the game’s evolution. It isn’t a game that sits still. It’s constantly adapting. It’s not the game I initially fell in love with in 1993. But then, my wife is not the woman I fell in love with back in 1996. In both cases, they changed and got even better.

One of the most endearing qualities of a trading card game is that the constant creation of new content allows the game to push into areas it hadn’t before. It lets the game grow. It allows it to adapt to the needs of its playerbase.

There’s a common misconception that R&D decides how the game changes. That we’re the arbiters of what the game should be. The reality is we’re just responding to what we’re hearing from the audience. Not necessarily what’s being said about what the game should be in social media posts, but more in watching how the game is played and talked about when the players are just enjoying it.

When Aaron first suggested Universes Beyond, it came from him watching the audience connect Magic with other IPs of their own accord. For example, one of the most popular pastimes on Blogatog has been people getting me to identify what colors characters from other IPs should be. Aaron wasn’t trying to make the players change to accommodate Magic, he was trying to make Magic change to accommodate the players.

I understand that as Magic constantly evolves, that it might shift away from what you, as an individual, most enjoy about the game. Trust me, living in a world focused on eternal Magic causes me all kinds of headaches, but I get it’s where the gestalt of Magic players want it to be. And I’ve learned to embrace and enjoy what others love about the game.

Every major shift scares some portion of the playerbase, because change is scary, but history has shown that when players give new things a chance, most grow to enjoy it. But not everyone. People drift away from the game for all sorts of reasons, and that’s okay.

I just suggest that some time in the future you peek your head back in and see where Magic is at. We’ll keep adapting and growing it, and maybe when you check us out again, like the game, you might be in a different place, and you’ll find a connection as you did when you first found the game.

Thank you for all your years of playing. I hope one day to see you again, but even if I don’t, I’m glad Magic was able to be the game you loved for as long as it was. Hearing that means a lot to me.

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hexhomos · 1 year

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i rlly want to write longer fics but i can never get past the first 1k words no matter what 😶 how TF do you write up to 30,000+???? pkease im DYING

This is a question I often battle with myself and it's one without an universal answer, imo. I can offer you advice that has worked for me, but you'll have to administer it following your own habits!

I’m putting this post under a readmore because it ended up being fairly long. (Tips, resources, links and book recs below cut)

In the throes of intensive fixation, I managed to write Catafalque's 32k in about ~2 months. But I think it's important to be clear here: 2 months of active, every day writing, even when I was feeling kind of meh about it, and I had already spent the previous November thinking about a lot of the themes / scenes / structure of the fic before I got to the writing part itself. I was also helped plenty by the fact that the fic is borrowing time locked events from Arcane's canon, and I knew exactly how things would play out for these characters ahead of time, meaning, I could explore alternate possibilities without a lot of stuff bogging me down. Readers would know what I was talking about by implication! I can just go on and on about feelings and abstract concepts and it's fine!

Compare it to my latest fic though (’Meat gets caught’) which sits at a hefty 6k, but also took… about 2 months of flubbing in the backburner, LOL. The Idealization period for this fic was considerably larger for a Way Smaller Output, since I was juggling characters people are mostly unfamiliar with, events they had no baseline for, and establishing a set character dynamic that is clear to me, but not to others, all in very a short allocation of paragraphs.

Now here's what I mean by the above: There is no standard speed to writing, and you should be aware that the process Will Be Different from author to author *and* project to project. It is a fallacy to believe success follows only one mold.

Ideally, you should stop thinking about big numbers altogether. Focus on the NOW. You want to finish a story you think might be kinda long, but you lose steam when trying to write aaaaaall that bullshit? ok then here's tip number 1 --

1) Just write 300 words a day. Every day. Make it a hardset goal, and avoid skipping this daily exercise as much as possible.

300 words a day for 30 days = 9000 words, easy. The objective here is giving you a task that can be completed without a daily headache. Maybe your minimum can be 200 words, if you prefer - so long as you write them. Pick a frequent or comfortable timeslot to do it, and make this a routine. Focus on finishing scenes, finishing a chapter, finishing whatever section you're already on. Keep going until you reach the end of your story.

You can edit it tomorrow, or when you're closer to completion. (I do a lot of fiddling with my words! I'll often edit my stories dozens of times, more if you're counting section rewrites or re-arranging paragraphs. Editing is your friend. Wait a little bit to see where you've messed up though. Fresh text is tricky.)

The good thing about setting this bar low, is that if you can only write your minimum of the day, that's perfectly fine. Close the doc and let it rest. But just the act of starting and working on the thing by itself is a surprisingly potent battery - there's days where i find a good rhythm for things and end up hammering a whole 1k, since my hands are already on the keyboard.

Tip #2, following on the footsteps of the above:

2) Use a different font color for each day. Make your progress actually *visible* while you're composing the document.

This can be as simple as alternating between black and dark blue to keep it non-distracting. (You can use other, crazier colors if you're into it though!) It's immediately rewarding to be able to scroll back through what I've already written and see that organic growth - days I wrote little, days I wrote a lot, how the text is still changing and being affected by what i do. I have an issue with abstract goals, I *like* being able to see how much progress I've made, and it gets me hyped to pinch in a little more.

3) EDITING IS YOUR FRIEND.

first drafts look and read like gummed up garbage. You should give imperfections a license to exist.

That's ideal! Don't be discouraged. Trust that you can come back and fix things when you have a better grasp of the whole piece. You can always edit it later. Remember: Polishing your text with time is not a bug - it's a feature.

4) BE FUCKING INDULGENT.

Writing is an inherently embarrassing act. This is self explanatory. Now, since you’re already there, just make the most of it.

If you’re really on the path towards a long con of a plot, make sure to sprinkle in gifts for yourself. Write about something you enjoy. Put in details that make you laugh. Make your characters go on your own big wubbyland adventure. ‘writing for an audience’ instead of for yourself can quickly kill the enjoyment (and drive) of anything.

5) Lost or confused? Think of your INTENT, FORM, and STRUCTURE.

I can't remember the last thing I wrote without an outline to guide me as the months wore on. I think it is deeply important to write down somewhere accessible, somewhere you can look back on:

What is the intent of this story? What am I trying to say?

This is a little cheat just for yourself, so you stay on topic. And you can broaden that question with a few more qualifiers if you like:

What is the sequence of events? What *themes* am I trying to convey? What are the major beats/ scenes/ actions taken? Can you break it down into a clean list of bullet points, one for each step of the story? that might help you a LOT. More than you'd think. If you find that helps you - make it a checklist. Make every little turn of the story into a micro goal that can be reached through narrative, and go ticking off the boxes until you’ve covered the whole thing.

You can even make this into a dedicated planning document by itself, put your themes, keywords, and bullet point outline all in one place. So when you're in the process of writing and your mind goes a little blank, all the refreshing elements are saved up nicely somewhere. Feel free to cheat.

...So that's INTENT and FORM -- what about STRUCTURE?

Mary Robinette Kowal did this great explainer on the structure of short stories and how to plan them, and the ideas she introduces here can be used to write fiction of *any* length. I highly recommend giving it a listen. If you're not used to thinking about story structure, this can be very clarifying! And if that's already something you worry about, the formula she provides is a great starting point to baking your own sourdough.

Structure is a broad subject depending on the specifics of your fiction, and this is where we begin to run into things like ‘Genre’ and ‘Point of View’ and the rubric stretches really wide.

When in doubt about structure (and genre), my rule of thumb is always:

1) Find something similar to what I’m trying to do

(what are things similar to this? what are the most popular examples of this? how were these things written, to express those ideas?)

2) Read up to see how they do it

(separate the stories into their barest components - how are the events presented? How is style used? How are characters developed -- what pushes characters into developing? What are the recurring themes? What connects this fiction into a cohesive, recognizable whole?)

3) Try to apply whatever notes I took from above ^^^^ into my own project

This might be obvious, but ‘questioning my story’ or ‘questioning my characters’ is usually how I begin developing all of my writing. You might be more attracted to another method! (and that’s okay) but this is the stuff I can offer.

More vaguely useful resources on structure/plotting or literary theory;

Ellen Brock’s (Novel Editor) Advanced Story Structure series

‘Monkeys with Typewriters’ by Scarlett Thomas (book)

‘Steering The Craft’ by Ursula K. Le Guin (book)

‘Story Genius’ by Lisa Cron (book)

If you read through *just* the intro of some of those you’ll notice that they all have very different takes on these topics (and some may even contradict the others,) which is what I think makes for the best path to self-discovery. Explore different stuff, test it out, throw it away if it doesn’t work etc. And while I can’t post direct links here lets just say these are all. ummmm. Very Findable in the internet! Get an epub reader. Highlight a bit.

now that structure is over and done with, let’s move onto my last tip:

6) Seriously reconsider the size of your story.

A lot of people really don’t like being told this, but someone has to do it.

You’ll notice that a lot of my above advice (and resources,) errs on the side of assuming you want to write something at least as long as a 200-300 page novel. I can’t really blame them, since that’s just the state of the industry and ‘what sells’, and these ideas are so prominent they have transferred to nonprofit hobby spaces to the point people tend to think that bigger IS better -- but consider, maybe it isn’t.

Maybe the story you’re trying to tell can be condensed into a 15k word oneshot.

Maybe you can *actually* get it done if it’s a collection of important character-related scenes split into 3 chapters, instead of a whopping 50.

Maybe the concept eluding you thus far can become stronger if you let go of the preconception that it needs to be a drawn-out epic, and just write it as a potent roller-coaster ride that ends before the hour is up.

I’m not saying you need to undo all the work you’ve already done - but consider the whole! Making the scope of your writing smaller works on your favor. Unless you have a natural knack for it, I really, really wouldn’t recommend making your first serious attempt at longform writing a 100,000 word behemoth. ‘Done’, as a goal, is immediately more achievable than ��Perfect’!

You can get a lot of mileage out of short stories and oneshots, and it can be more satisfying for you, as a writer, to complete whole projects in a realistic timeframe.

anyway. Maybe this will help you, or maybe it won’t. But in any case: I wish you the best of luck in this journey and I hope you can find what works best for you!!!

#hexposts #meta tag #i guess #resources #writing resources

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crimson-calligraphyx · 1 year

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10: Bad Decisons

A/N: This chapter contains sexual content and drug usage.

Noah

We’re two weeks into our tour, only having one week left now, and although I was having a blast, I was riddled with the guilt of distancing myself from Olivia. After I had realized my feelings for her, the anxiety I accrued around her became unbearable day by day. I hated to admit it, but when the day came for us to leave for tour, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. It’s not that I didn’t want to be around her, it was the fear of the possibility of getting sick again that compelled me to stay away from her. I know that running away from Liv wouldn’t necessarily stop that from happening, but the distance made the anxiety more manageable.

Today was a little difficult to keep her off my mind as we relaxed on Hampton Beach, the color of the ocean slapping me in the face. As amazing as it was to witness the world in its true beauty again, whenever I saw the color blue, my mind would immediately flood with the image of Olivia’s eyes. The sorrow in them when I made her promise she would be alright before I left haunts me at times—deep down I could tell she had been lying. I wanted to check in on her, but every time I typed out a text, my stomach would churn, which resulted in me deleting the message to calm my nerves. I had to focus on the road ahead of me; I couldn’t risk the distraction if she wasn’t doing well, knowing I would stop what I was doing to help her.

Suddenly, there was a beer dangled in front of my face, drawing me out of my thoughts. I looked at the hand that was holding the bottle, seeing that it was Jolly. “Ah, such lovely beach side service,” I chimed as I accepted the drink. He rolls his eyes with a smirk, “Yeah, yeah. You looked a little thirsty.” I chuckled as I took a sip. “Thanks man, I knew I could always count on you.” He sat down in the beach chair next to me, cracking open his own drink. “Look at that dumbass,” he laughs, motioning ahead with this beer.

Folio had bought a cheap skim board from one of the shops on the strip, and it was the most amusing thing watching him try to ride the wave back to shore. I will give him credit; the more he tried, the more successful he became. I kept observing as he lost his balance and fell backwards into the sand, a wave crashing over him immediately after. When the tide receded, there was a strip of seaweed stuck to his head, cascading to his shoulders. “Nice hair!” I called out to him. He scrambles to his feet and promptly whips the weed back into the water, flipping me off in the process. Jolly and I laughed. “Gotta hand it to him, he is persistent,” Ruffilo comments as he plops in his chair. He tosses the both of us a bag of chips, digging into his own. “Wow, this service is impeccable!” I chuckled as I popped open the bag of Doritos. “Appreciate it, man.” “Don’t say I never gave you nothing,” he retorts, shoving me playfully on the shoulder. “You’ve given me plenty of headaches,” I shove him back, sliding my sunglasses down and wiggling my brows at him. He rolls his eyes, “You’re unbelievable.” “I know,” I say smugly, settling back into my beach chair.

When we returned from the beach, I looked in the mirror and cringed—I clearly did not keep up with applying the sunscreen as my face and the rest of my body was very much burned. I lightly rubbed my cheeks, my skin being tight and hot to the touch. This was going to be a difficult performance, seeing as my whole body stung with each move that I made. “You should’ve brought me sunscreen instead of chips,” I whined when Nick came into view in the mirror. “Oh, you’ll be fine,” he says as he pats me on the back. I jumped at the pain, glaring at him when he laughed and walked away.

I was not exaggerating one bit when I said that this performance was going to be difficult. From the heat of the lights and the sweat I produced from running around the stage, my body was on fire, and I could not wait to peel these clothes off and crank the AC on in the bus. No matter how much I wanted to run off the stage to do so, the energy from the crowd convinced me otherwise. It was captivating to see the sea of smiles ahead of me, many of them singing along enthusiastically. Even the ones who didn’t know the lyrics were matching the drive of the rest of the crowd, and that right there put a huge smile on my face.

That grin only grew wider when we exited the tour bus later in the evening, being met by a small crowd of fans waiting timidly. To be honest, we had been cooling off in there for quite a long time, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that they waited as long as they had. It was such a surreal feeling after hearing some of their stories—some traveled several hours to see us, some were honest and didn’t even know who we were but wanted to show us their appreciation of our music, some had expressed how much our music had helped them through dark times. I never thought that what I created to escape from my demons would help others to escape their own, but I am more than pleased to know that it does.

As the time ticked on, we genuinely were enjoying our time chatting and taking pictures with these kind strangers. I hadn’t realized how late it was getting until Jolly politely announced that we’d be heading onto the bus shortly. Glancing at my phone, I saw that it was past midnight and mentally agreed with him. I started to say goodbye to the remaining fans just as one woman anxiously made her way towards me and quietly called my name. I turned my attention to her as she nervously brandishes her arm, displaying a tattoo that read ‘For better or for worse, this is my burden to take’. I grinned when I realized they were lyrics to “The Fountain”.

“If it’s okay… Could you sign my arm, please?” she asks in a small voice. “Of course I can,” I smile, accepting the sharpie she was holding out to me. I held her arm steady as I autographed right below her ink. “You better get that tattooed,” I teased her as I handed her the marker back. She looks down at her arm in awe for a moment or two before bringing her attention back to me. “Thank you so much,” she says happily, “you have no idea how much this means to me.” “You have no idea what it means to me that you tattooed our lyrics on you,” I chuckled, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze. The grin on her face grew wide, reaching her blue eyes that were glossed over with tears of joy.

My mind immediately flashes back to the last image I had of Olivia—blue eyes that were glossed over as she tried not to cry the day we left for tour. Blue eyes that were screaming the truth when her mouth was spewing lies about how she was going to be okay.

I wished the woman in front of me a good rest of her night before I made my way back onto the bus and rushed to my bunk. I pulled the curtain closed for the little bit of privacy it would allow as I dialed Liv’s number, my stomach cartwheeling with each ring. I wasn’t sure what the urgency was, but I felt like I needed to get ahold of her; I needed to know that she was okay. I needed to see for myself if she had been telling the truth when she said that she would be fine.

“Hey, it's Liv,” I hear her voice and I let out a sigh of relief. “I’m unable to come to the phone right now, so please leave a message after the beep.” I felt my heart sink with disappointment when I realized it wasn’t actually her answering the phone. It was worrisome that she didn’t answer, knowing that she absolutely would have, but I kept trying to convince myself that she didn’t because of how late it was. After I left her a quick message, I found myself staring off into the darkness of my bunk, wondering when I’d hear back from her.

Olivia

The last couple of weeks have been torture as I continued to deal with work and the constant reminder of my father's passing. I tried my best to find solace in venting to Vic, but quickly gave up when the comfort just wasn't the same as confiding in Noah. There was this added peace that consumed me with his gentle voice that I didn't receive from Victoria. I haven't found an inkling of that peace since Noah left for tour, seeing as I haven't heard a single word from him.

I found myself dabbling in bad decisions to distract myself instead. I skipped out on the bar, finding myself in stranger's homes, ingesting whatever it was they offered me, not even considering the consequences.

I was currently being dragged inside a stranger's tiny apartment bathroom while a crowd of people were shouting drunken obscenities behind me. I had no idea whose house party this was, but I didn't give a flying fuck, so long as it kept my mind occupied.

The man in front of me takes something out of his pocket and dangles it in front of me, a devious smirk playing on his lips. I took note of his eyes, pupils dilated to the point I couldn't make out what color they were, most likely influenced by the contents of what was in the baggie in front of me. "You ever done coke?" he asks as he opens the baggie up. I shook my head no, having his grin spread further across his face. He dips his finger in it, slipping it into my mouth and running it against my bottom gums. I playfully take his finger between my teeth, giggling at the sensation that crept in my mouth. He removes his finger and pours some of the powder onto the counter, spreading it into two lines as neatly as he could.

He leans over, snorting one line as quickly as he could. He sniffles and clears his throat, motioning his head towards the one remaining. Without hesitation, I mimicked his actions and inhaled the drug, feeling it burn my sinuses and hit the back of my throat. "Oh, God," I groan, "that tastes horrible." "Yeah, but you took it like a champ," he laughs, promptly palming my neck and planting his mouth to mine. Within seconds, our tongues are battling for dominance as he effortlessly picks me up and sits me on the counter. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist, my hands fisting his hair to keep him close to me. He presses his groin against me, brushing his erection against my panties as he hikes my dress up. I moan desperately into his mouth, arching my back into him.

He pushes my underwear aside, sliding a finger between my folds before rubbing my clit with the pad of his thumb. My hips buck into his hand, allowing him full access to drive his fingers deeper, curling in just the right way. I groaned as my legs started to tremble and pushed him away from me, sitting up to unbuckle his belt; his pants hit the floor within seconds. I fisted his length, guiding him to me as he quickly slid in while he hungrily attacked my neck, biting and sucking aggressively. He yanks me closer to him, forcing my legs around his waist again as he plowed into me, growling in my ear.

I wasn't sure how long this lasted, but he finished inside of me and dressed quickly. "Thanks," he says before he left the bathroom, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I took the time to clean myself up, taking note of the mascara running down my reddened cheeks as I silently cried. My eyes were sunken in and so, so hollow, I didn't even recognize myself anymore. What the fuck was I even doing? Did I really think fucking random people and taking random drugs would make all my problems go away?

I left the party immediately after that, just wanting to get home and shut the rest of the world out. Thankfully the party was just around the block from my place, so it would be relatively easy to find my way home through my high. God, how I wished Noah were here to walk me home like he had that first day we met. The selflessness, the calmness, the comfort that radiated off of him was something I could really use at the moment. I missed him so much, it was becoming painful without his presence.

I didn't even realize that I had left my phone in my bed the whole night until I crawled into it upon arrival. When I picked it up, I saw that there was a voicemail from Noah—my heart pounded with anxiety and excitement. It was like my wishes were being granted, wanting nothing more than to hear his voice. With shaking hands, I fumbled with my screen until I finally hit the 'play' button to hear the message.

"Hey Liv who's unable to come to the phone right now—this is after the beep, so I'm leaving a message," I let out a laugh, hearing him make fun of my greeting, "just wanted to call and see how things are going for you. It's been non-stop on my end, so I'm sorry you haven't heard from me at all. I miss—" he clears his throat. "I can't wait to see you and fill you in on everything. Call me when you get a chance." I cover my mouth and let out a sob, overjoyed that I finally got to hear from him...and was he about to say that he misses me?

|Chapter 11|

#bad omens band #bad omens #noah sebastian #jolly karlsson #nick ruffilo #nick folio #fanfic #fan fiction #fanfic writing #romance

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saidrabbles · 2 years

Text

psychic

pairing: nam joo-hyuk x reader

warnings: none

summary: what you thought to be a normal sunny day became one of your hardest yet, but you didn’t want to bother your boyfriend with your problems. except you didn’t know that he knew you more than you think he did.

today was one of those days where the sun was shining so bright, with no clouds in sight. birds were chirping, enjoying the sun rays and the food that was in the tiny birdhouse that you've fixed on ur humble balcony. you found yourself smiling, thinking that it was going to be a gentle day for you.

but boy were you wrong. as soon as you've reached your workplace, your manager was scolding you, screaming about how bad the brand design turned out to be and how disappointed he was. you were working as a graphic designer, designing various things from logos, product packaging, posters, advertisements and more. you were a nervous mess. you had to send in the final logo design to the clients tomorrow morning, and so you had less than 24 hours to create a new logo. from the typography to the design and color time of the logo, everything was to be edited. a week's work had to be re-done in hours.

you sat on your desk, trying to process on how you should handle this situation. the first thing that came to mind was to text your boyfriend, to try and get some reassurance. you texted him asking what he was doing and when he told you he was at the shoot, filming action scenes you couldn't bring yourself to worry him with your problems when he was already pre-ocuppied. so instead you decided to wish him good luck and told him you'll see him later in the evening. he sensed that something was wrong, he could see the tiredness in your texts. it was weird, they were only texts after all. but he couldn't shake the feeling that you're not okay. before he could press the call button, the director called him for another scene.

you didn't how time passed, but when you looked up from your desk, you saw no one in the office. they all had left, leaving you in your focused state. you started hearing rumbling sounds screaming at you for eating nothing throughout the day. you sighed, and got up to pack your stuff. you were in a daze the whole way back home, thinking about your design and if you'll be able to submit it on time. you had ordered chicken to help cheer you up and give you strength to pull an all-nighter.

you opened the door to your apartment, eager to throw yourself on the couch. before you knew it, tears started rolling down your face. you were crying. you could hear yourself sobbing, as emotions overtook you. the stress, the pressure, the expectations that others have and that you have were all weighing you down. after a while, you had stopped crying, relieving some of the pent up feelings but resulting with puffy red eyes.

you put the cold metallic spoon on your eyes, hoping the puffiness would calm down. just as you were wondering when your food will arrive, you heard your door bell ring. wasting no time, you rushed to open the door. there was the chicken bag alright...but the person holding it was not a stranger. "joohyuk...?? what brings you here at this time..? and why are you holding the chicken i ordered?" joohyuk stood there, feeling his heart sink. you had been crying. no ice can remove traces of what had happened earlier, and your voice confirmed it. he didn't want to bombard you with questions though. "oh this? i saw the delivery guy standing in-front of the apartment and i immediately knew it was for you, this is your favorite chicken place after all" he gave you a warm smile. you tried your best to give a smile back.

“how did today’s shooting go?” you asked as you set the table for the both of you. “it was okay, but the director has such a high voice that left me with a headache” he laughed. this put a small smile on your face. he was hesitant but the more he looked at you, the more worried he became. “how about your day?” you felt yourself tear up. “it was...okay” he suddenly remembered the design you’ve been working on for a while now...could that be it? “today was the day you presented the results of your design right! how did that go?” shit. how’d he remembered? you were panicking, you felt your happy facade break down. you put down the bags on the table and looked at the ground. you couldn’t hold it in anymore. “baby, talk to me...” he pushed on. “he didn’t like it, he hated it...and i have until tomorrow to give him the results he wanted” you were sobbing at this point. panicking, Joo-hyuk takes you in his assuring arms, holding you while you let it all out. “my confidence is close to non-existent now...i don’t i can make it on time” he rubbed the small of your back gently. “it must have been so hard for you, my love... you’ve done such amazing work and his opinion should never be the reason to lower your confidence...” he held you tighter. “don’t forget that art is subjective...there’s no right or wrong in it” he gently spoke. you put your head closer to his chest like he’s hiding you away.

after a while, you had stopped crying and released every bit of frustration left in you in his arms. you slowly looked up at him. “how do you know when i’m not okay? how can you read through me...” you were searching for an answer in his eyes. “when you texted me earlier, the way you typed was too short, and you usually use so many emojis, so i could tell that something was up. when i came and saw your puffy eyes, my feeling was confirmed.” he caressed your soft skin. his eyes looked sad. “joo...what’s wrong?” he suddenly held your face with both his hands and kissed you. the kiss had no trace of lust, but rather a reassuring, gentle kiss that had nothing but pure love. he pulled away, resting his forehead on yours. “don’t ever hold back from telling me about your worries and feelings.” he whispered. he opened his eyes and looked at you. “i want to be always here for you, and i can’t do that if you try to hide your worries. i want you to share your sadness, pain, and struggles with me.”

you felt tears well up in your eyes. but this time, it wasn’t sadness. “what did i ever do to deserve you?” you breathed out. “i’m the one to say that” he smiled. he pecked your lips once more before leading you to the dining table. “let’s recharge our energy and then i’ll be by your side while you ace that design, hm?” you laughed. “are you confident you won’t fall asleep?” “and miss out on a chance to stare at your breathtaking face?” it was his turn to laugh your flustered expression. you both continued laughing as he continued talking about that loud director. you were truly lucky to have him by your side.

a/n: yes i miss 2521 :")

#namjoohyukimagine #namjoohyuk #kactor #actors #namjoohyukoneshot #oneshot #fanfic

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pbandjesse · 4 months

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I am wrestling with emotions. Or my lack of emotions. Because they accepted our offer on the house. There was a little back and forth. But they accepted. And we move forward with an inspection. But I'm not like screaming excited. I am measured. I am thrilled they said they accept the offer, but it is only one part of the process. This is just the first time we have gotten to this part. Next comes the inspection. And then we have more steps. I will not be excited in a real way until we have the keys in our hands. But this is huge. Maybe it'll hit me tomorrow.

Today was an alright day. I think the emotions and everything from signing paperwork and getting excited last night made my sleep very very weird. Very weird dreams about camp. I woke up not feeling great.

This sort of unwell feeling would linger through the afternoon. I had a little headache, I had a lot of pain in my eyes, my body ached, I just felt very unwell. I slept an extra half hour and left later then normal but it was okay. I still beat everyone to work.

When I got to camp I was just not feeling good so I had my breakfast hoping it would fix me but it did not. I would go up to the attic to sew for a little while. And would eventually come back down as Heather and Sarah came in.

I would switch between computer work, to sewing, to knitting. I tried to stay busy.

When I got bored I would take some walks. I went to the lodge to measure a piece of furniture and found the fire marshall there checking all of the fire extinguishers. We had a really interesting conversation about the origin of phrases and how when he was a kid the idea of being send away to camp was scary and viewed as a punishment. But he thinks our camp is beautiful. Very nice old man.

I went and found Joe doing some plumbing work in the musuem. Took the whole sink off the wall. We chatted about buying a house and the stress and excitement of that. And then I went back to the office.

But only for a moment. I would get a mug full of dried corn to try to make friends with the crows on the field. And when that didn't work I went and laid in a bed in the pioneer cabins for a couple minutes.

I had lunch and continued working on my sewing. I went through both spools of thread I had at my desk but I am almost finished sewing all the pieces I had already made and now I get to figure out what I still need to make to finish the piece. Very exciting.

I would spend more time playing with chatgbt to create program ideas I can build on. And then I decided I wanted to start plotting out my temperature blanket for next year. I did a rain blanket earlier this year but that was just until mother's day. For this one I was each month to be a 20x20 square. So making that on my look I had a lot of math to do. 4 rows of 3. So it will be around 60x80. Give or take. I also picked a bunch of really nice colors. I think it's going to be a really interesting one.

The afternoon would drag a bit. But Heather's daughter Sophie brought their dog Timber to camp and they were so cute!! Some kind of Chihuahua/pincher something or other. They apparently love wearing sweaters and has the softest fur.

After everyone left the office to do other tasks, me and Heather had a really nice conversation about camp and some issues I've seen and things we want to see moving forward. I am a pretty positive person, glass half full, most of the time, so I really hope everyone can live up to my expectations and we can have the best summer. And stop comparing it to 2019!!

I continued to work on my knitting until my stomach started hurting and I thought maybe I was hungry. So I said goodbye to Heather and headed to Wawa for a sandwich.

This did not go super well. Firstly something was wrong with the screen and I clicked whole wheat and had to ask the lady to change it and then when I tired to pay on the self checkout I hit cancel when I didn't mean to and get stuck on the help screen with the machine yelling at me and finally someone came and helped but I was feeling very stressed. And while my sandwich was fine the bread was very crumbly and it did not have enough mayo. I was glad I ate but it didn't make me feel as much better as I had hope.

And then I got stuck in so much traffic. With people driving so stupid. But I had good music and the sun was mostly not directly in my eyes. And I got home by 5.

James beat me home again by a few minutes. And we talked about our evening. We thought maybe we would go see lights but decided to wait for Monday when it might not be as crazy. Instead we chilled together on the couch while I finished my knitted square example for the temperature blanket. So I have an idea of scare and what it might look like and how my loom will work. I pulled the extra pegs out to make it the size I need so hopefully I will have no mistakes.

That took a good long while. And I was mentally really tired after that. I really struggle to hold numbers in my head and had to keep asking James to help me. I would get confused when I would start like say row 34. I would say I'm starting 34. And then get half way through and be like wait. This is 35. I finished 34. Or did I? Maybe this is 33. And that happened on every single row. So I would announce when I was starting and the number. And then I would announce I was done and James would tell me the number I just finished. It helped with not having to count over and over. For the real one it will be easier I hope. Because it's just two lines a day (I'm going to do the highs and lows instead of just the highs).

Harold the realtor would call us around 7 and let us know that the seller said no. Unless we didn't get an inspection. And we were like. Hmm that doesn't make us feel great. This is dumb it's off the market, what is a week going to hurt you for us to get an inspection. So after discussing it with Harold and taking his best judgement and advice we asked for a 5 day window for an inspection. And it took almost an hour of waiting. But they came back with a yes!

So now we have next week to get an inspection. Crazy. Absolutely crazy. Cutting it so close to Christmas for serious but like. What a Christmas gift it could be. And I'm trying to be realistic. Something could go wrong. But also it could be fine and great. And we could have the keys in hand by the middle of January. And then me and Jess go to Disney World to celebrate.

I am trying to be normal about everything but also it's so exciting but also never wracking. Dad called and it was exciting to hear them excited but also I'm trying so hard to not get my hopes to up so I don't become so sad. But also the day dreaming is so real.

I would take a shower and try to feel normal. My stomach is all in knots so that is tough. James sent a follow up email to Harold just so we know what we have to do and if we need to make the inspection appointment ourselves and if so if I need to be there. So many unknowns.

Now me and James are in bed. And Sweetp is running around being a baby criminal. And we are laughing about being poisoned by internet culture in very different worlds. And I feel happy and excited and nervous. Send good thoughts.

I am excited to have the day off tomorrow. I hope to clean and sew and wrap some Christmas gifts. I love you all. Goodnight!!

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aintinacage · 1 year

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Tag: @silent-sentry (co-writer), @locitapurplepink (ask to be tagged)

The Hooded Figure

Akkar manages to finally look over Omega fully, who is staring at his laser sword. He picks up the lightsaber and activates it carefully so she can study it. “I’ve never seen a real lightsaber before,” Omega squeals. She looks at it very intently, admiring the way it glimmers and shines, lighting up the whole room. She studies the craftsmanship of the hilt, the details and designs. “Did you make your lightsaber?”

Gently, he takes her hands, laying them around the hilt and putting his over her much smaller ones. She can feel the Force transfer through his hands to the lightsaber. It is a pulsing warmth with a calmness to it as it flows through her like a warm spring breeze. "I did. The crystal called out to me, and I picked every peice, modifying them as I liked before I put it all together." He explained softly, just letting her feel the presence of such an important symbol of the Jedi.

“Whoa! That feels so cool!” Omega remarked as she felt the force flow through her. “Hunter, you have to feel this!”

Hunter gave her a little grin, but dismissed it. “It’s okay. I have a feeling that I already have.” He gave Akkar a curious look, thinking about their encounter on Pantora, when his throbbing headache suddenly became a simple pulse. Akkar looks up the Hunter, giving a small nod in silent confirmation to the unsaid question. The ability for him to Force heal had always been his proudest accomplishment. Pulling his hands away, he gently let her hold it by herself, taking the lightsaber apart around her hand using the Force. The pieces float in the air as the kyber crystal is exposed to her. He had always looked forward to one day taking a padawan, but the fall of the Order had crushed those dreams. Being able to show a part of himself that had been hidden for almost a year to Omega lifted a weight off of him if only for right now.

Akkar looked over at a shift at the other side of the room. Wrecker was watching them intently, but as soon as Akkar's eyes met his, he looked away quickly. The Jedi smiles slightly before he too looks away so that the clone can watch in peace. Wrecker glanced back over after a moment. As clumsy as he could be, he was a very protective clone. He loved to see his little Omega, his little sister having such fun, but he was also not one to let her be so close to new people without keeping an eye on them. Not that he didn’t trust the Jedi. The Jedi were their friends just a couple months ago. He would rather just be safe than sorry.

Omega’s jaw dropped in astonishment! She had never seen anything so fantastic! She began to giggle with joy at the sight of the saber come apart. Each piece was so small and tiny, yet every piece was important. She tried very hard to study where each piece came from, knowing full well she could never remember them all. The sound of her giggle made any remaining tension in Akkar’s form disappear. He plucked the kyber out of the air and held it in his palm. "This tiny crystal is the heart of the whole lightsaber. When I found it, it had no color associated with it. It was after some time training with my saber that it took on its green color." He explained. The crystal seemed to have a pulse of its own as it thrummed gently in his hand. Then piece by piece he slowly put the lightsaber back together, explaining the whole process as he did. Slowly, his slight trembling stopped as the fear that had gripped him faded away to the back of his mind as well as the pain. He was so focused on the small girl in front of him that all else seemed unimportant.

“That’s amazing. I didn’t realize how much work and detail went into the Jedi’s laser swords. Of course I had never seen one until now. The Jedi never came to Kamino,” Omega says as he finishes putting his saber back together. Hunter continues watching from the wall. It’s always amused him how quickly Omega can win the heart of others. She did the same with Cid when they first met her.

"They are a very important part of what it means to be a Jedi. We are protectors, and unfortunately, we lost sight of that in war." He clipped the lightsaber back at his hip as he spoke.

After some time, Tech finally reentered the room carrying a couple ration sticks. “I apologize for the delay. I had to search deep for the ration sticks. They are the only food we have left.” He offered them to Akkar.

As Tech offers out the bars, his heart sinks a bit. They were being so kind to him, and he didn't feel right taking their food. He takes one that is offered but leaves the rest with Tech. "Kage don't need to eat quite as much as many species do. This will hold me over for quite a while. Thank you." He lies.

“That is only partially correct,” Tech exclaims. “While Kage’s may not need as much food as other species, one ration stick is not enough to keep you sustained, especially not in your situation.” Hunter looks to Tech then back to Akkar.

The Jedi allows a small pull upwards of his lips. "I can't get anything past you it seems, Tech was it?" He takes the ration sticks offered. He hadn't eaten enough to really sustain him in a long time so the feeling of hunger was not unusual, but the fight did take more out of him then he would like to admit.

From the front, Echo's voice rings out. "Sarge, where are we heading? Do we trust him enough to bring him back to our base?"

“He’ll be fine! Set course for Ord Mantell.” Hunter called out.

Omega was the next to chime in, “But what about Cid?” Hunter stayed there for a moment, thinking about how to convince Cid that Akkar was okay.

"As long as he doesn't prevent us from making her money, she will be fine with him." Tech says with his usual matter of fact tone before he goes to act as Echo's copilot for a while.

“True. We’re already gonna have to make it up to her. She’s not gonna be happy that we are late,” Hunter says.

"Having a Jedi around for a while will be helpful! I mean, they are about as effective as they come!" Wrecker huffs a laugh as he pats Akkar on the shoulder just a bit too hard, gaining a small, sharp intake of breath from the Jedi in question.

Omega gives him a look of hope when she notices his pain. “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you are okay. You’ll feel better before you know it.”

Akkar offers the sweet child a small smile. "You have done that well so far." He opens and starts to nibble on one of the ration bars. "May I ask how you ended up with this group, Omega?" He had been far too low in rank to know that she was a clone.

Omega was eager to talk to him. It wasn’t every day that she got to meet someone new. “They saved me actually. I was on Kamino. I watched them grow up. They grew fast, because of the enhanced genes. They were out of the lab I worked in pretty quick, but they came back.” She was a bit enthusiastic to brag about her brothers.

He listens to her talk, his whole attention back on her now that the others had settled into their roles. "You are a clone, aren't you?" He seems fascinated by this. He didn’t know much past what his clone sergeant had told him about what he knew of the cloning process.

“I am!” She quipped. “I’m technically older then the rest of them. But I was not genetically altered. Hunter says that’s why the bounty hunter was sent after me,” Omega continues.

"It was only a matter of time until the program would have been shut down and without another source of pure DNA....." Well, that answered quite a few questions. "I think Hunter is right." He pauses for a moment. "So I know Hunter and Tech. Who are the other two?"

“The big one is Wrecker. He’s the muscles of the family!” Omega puts her hand up to her face to hide her mouth, like she’s telling a secret to Akkar, “He’s really just a big teddy bear.” She looks over to see if he heard her, and is satisfied when he seems preoccupied. “The other one is Echo. He wasn’t one of the original five. He’s actually a Reg. He told me that he was under the leadership of General Skywalker with Captain Rex.” She paused after that statement to make sure everything was making sense to Akkar.

The Jedi smiles softly. "The 501st are legendary. Most of the GAR looked up to General Skywalker as a Jedi and Captain Rex as a clone leader. I think the only clone talked about more was Marshal Commander Cody." Akkar whispers the names to himself as he tries to commit them to memory. "Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Echo... Wait, isn't that only four if we don't include Echo and include you?" He goes through the names again in his head. Nope, he still could count.

Omega looks at Hunter who isn’t paying attention, then back to Akkar. “Yeah, Crosshair, but… his inhibitor chip started acting up, and then the Empire got him. I think they’re all pretty upset, especially Hunter. He hasn’t said this, but I think Hunter feels responsible because he’s the leader. He feels like he failed his squad.” Omega looks a bit sad talking about it. She only knew Crosshair for a day or two, yet she still missed him.

Akkar sighs softly. "I know the feeling." He felt that guilt, that pit in his stomach that would not go away. He missed his squad every day. It was his job to keep them safe, and when it really mattered, he had left them. Silently, he put a hand on her shoulder. "He'll come home."

Omega nods her head. “That’s what I keep telling Hunter. I don’t think he’s convinced, but I don’t care. I just keep reminding him.” She smiled at Akkar. She knew that it was a long shot, but she wasn’t going to quit, and she knew Hunter wouldn’t either. None of them would.

"Then you are a great sister." He finishes the ration bar that he had been working through. "And in my own poking around, I find something out, I will let you know. I am still trying to track some people down too."

Omega smiles, and turns to Hunter who just entered the room. “It will be some time before we get to Ord Mantell. Why don’t you rest Akkar. You can use my bunk.” Hunter motioned to the bunk directly behind him.

"Are you sure? I don't wish to intrude any further than I already have. The floor of the ship is far superior to some of the places I have had to sleep the past few months,” the Jedi said.

“No, no, no. You can sleep in my bunk. I don’t use it much anyway,” Hunter finishes as he extends his hand as an offer to help the Kage up.

He takes the hand and pulls himself up to his feet. "Thanks again for everything, Hunter."

“It was nothing,” Hunter brushed it off. He believed that it shouldn’t be an uncommon act of kindness to help someone in need. He gestured for Omega to follow him to the command deck. “Come on Omega. I need help with Gonky. He’s on the fritz again.” Hunter didn’t really need Omega’s help, but he knew how much she loved to help. Plus it gave Akkar the ability to rest in peace.

Slowly, Akkar lowered himself into the bunk. He smiled softly as he watched Omega go to Hunter’s side, a small skip to her step. They had made a good life for themselves. His eyes close as soon as his head hits the pillow. It is not long before he is fast asleep. This is the first time he really feels like he is safe.

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darkpoisonouslove · 1 year

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Griffin and Darcy headcanons?

I don't have many since most of their interactions take place off-screen both on the show and in my fics. Plus, Darcy doesn't know that Griffin is her mother and Griffin can't reveal the truth to her.

The planet that they come from - Erebhus - is where the golden eyes gene originated. Everyone who has Erebhusian genes has golden eyes, which means that Stella and Diaspro also have a small percentage Erebhusian genes in their DNA. However, Griffin and Darcy's half Erebhusian genetic makeup affects their hair color as well. Erebhus is a very sunny planet where even the nights are relatively bright. Due to the exposure to light most Erebhusians' hair tends to be in very light shades. However, as soon as they stop being exposed to so much sunlight, their hair color darkens. That's why Darcy and Griffin's hair colors can change drastically depending on where they're currently living and how much sunlight they're exposed to.

Griffin dreads the moment when other people will learn that she's Darcy's mother. Motherhood as a concept in society comes with a lot of baggage and she can already feel the judgment that will be hurled her way from people that have zero understanding of the situation that she was in. The thing that truly bothers her, however, is the fact that she herself hasn't really made her peace with what happened. Yes, she knew there was nothing else to do but she still holds resentment for herself for creating the situation in the first place. She doesn't really view herself as Darcy's mother since she didn't raise her. She just gave birth to her. And she's afraid of how Darcy will come to perceive the whole thing, especially if she hears other people's - uninformed - opinions. She doesn't want Darcy to suffer if she thinks that Griffin didn't want her.

Darcy is an extrovert to differ from Griffin, who is an introvert. It causes her to process her emotions in a different way, which in turn reflects on her magic and could sometimes make it hard for Griffin's teaching techniques to reach her. It shouldn't be a problem since many of Griffin's students are extroverts and she has had to develop different approaches of teaching to accommodate everyone. However, Darcy is very similar to her in other ways and, ironically, that makes the extrovert/introvert difference stick out way more and get in the way. Ediltrude and Zarathustra have a much easier time teaching Darcy than Griffin does sometimes.

That being said, Griffin's lessons were a life-saver for Darcy. (I have a feeling I'm repeating myself about this particular point so bear with me if that's the case.) Darcy finds it easier to push her magic out through her eyes at first but that quickly strains them and also gives her a headache. Griffin teaches her to minimize that effect by manipulating the tangibility of her own magic so that it has an easier time passing through the delicate tissues in her eyes and won't hurt her anymore. Plus, she helps her learn to channel her powers just as effectively through her hands.

Darcy prefers to be around living things even if those are animals. Her psychic magic only works on living organisms and she feels better when there are some animals or unsuspecting people around her that she could brainwash and weaponize in case she has to fight an enemy that is resistant to her psychic powers. Griffin's magic, on the other hand, works almost exclusively on non-living or dead things and she tries to develop Darcy's darkness powers more so that Darcy can rely on herself in battle. It has made Darcy feel like Griffin either dislikes her psychic powers because she thinks they're a weakness or that she's passing moral judgment for subjecting innocent organisms to mind control.

Darcy was thrilled when she came to study at CT because the castle was mostly wrapped in clouds and there was a lot of darkness even during the day. Growing up on Erebhus - one of the sunniest planets along with Solaria - with her powers was sometimes a challenge. There was way too much light and that made her powers weaker. CT's darkness not only boosts her magic, but also has a positive effect on her circadian rhythms. Griffin is glad that Darcy has finally found an environment where she could thrive but she thought it best when she had Darcy to leave her back on Erebhus because there her eye color wouldn't stick out. She was just another orphaned child and it was safest for her to be there since no one had a reason to believe that Griffin had had a baby. Plus, Griffin didn't know Darcy would develop powers of darkness back then.

#winx club #winx griffin #winx darcy #winx headcanons #ask #anon #wc rewrite

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youcanseethecosmos · 2 years

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Hi, I’ve been following your progress on the aus and stuff and I was wondering if you were okay with sharing your process? More specifically how you outline your fics and stuff like that, from the previews they looked pretty organizing so I was wondering if you were willing to share how you outline and such, if not that’s understandable I thank you for taking the time to read this and I can’t wait to see what you do with all your aus 🙂

Hi ! excellent question but I assure you I'm not organized in the slightest HAHAHAHA it just Seems that way. But thank you for believing so.

I'm assuming you're asking about the actors au since that's the only one i'm currently Actually outlining so I'll take you through my process !

I'm a person who actually thinks of dialogue first and then the scene that goes with it after. Since I was an actor and improv artist before, thinking of dialogue comes naturally to me. But because this AU relies a lot on how the story beats domino into each other, I have to make conscious effort to Know what the scene is about while writing dialogue.

My outlines can go one of two ways. But a lot of the time it's very much both these formats mishmashed bc sometimes I get ideas on the train or at work so I have to jot it down quickly:

Outline Version 1

Outline 1 focuses very much on dialogue heavy scenes. So that one leaves room for spoken words over descriptions.

Outline Version 2

Outline 2 focuses on points in the story where I don't have to have characters speaking to each other the whole time OR it's just one character ruminating on their thoughts. (Such as Hob grading papers, Desire cleaning their room, Dream in his dressing room putting on his costume, Lucienne contemplating on throwing her tablet across the room because Dream gives her a headache, etc)

Also pro-tip: change the background color of your document to something more pleasing to your eyes than the stark white. Trust me. It'll save your eyesight.

I hope this was insightful and helpful in some way! This method works best for long fics. Shorter (as in 1k-10k) one-shots I usually just write on the fly, no outlines necessary.

I hope you have a lovely day anon <3 And thank you so much for the lovely question

#lights camera action: sky's dreamling actors au #asks

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insect-biped-arachnid · 2 years

Text

Down Came the Rain

CW: kidnapping, implied use of chloroform

Someone hacked out a sputtery cough. Or more accurately, they coughed for a while. To the point where it became increasingly annoying as the seconds passed.

Locus stirred, not willing to get up just yet. He wanted to sleep for just a little bit longer.

Then the coughing started up again and Locus grew almost angry now at whoever had interrupted his sleep. That was when he began to take notice of the dryness in his throat. He swallowed and his tongue felt like sandpaper against the roof of his mouth. He gagged and coughed again. Again? Oh.

So he’d been the one coughing after all.

Before drifting back into unconsciousness, Locus leaned over in his dizzy haze and landed his head against a smooth, glassy surface. The room shook with a quiet rumble that sounded far away but close at the same time. Even the strange fuzzy chair where he was sitting shook. He knew it was fuzzy because he could feel it rub up against one of his limp hands. But it wasn’t a soft kind of fuzzy, it was a worn out, smushed, stained and matted kind of fuzzy.

That’s how the whole room felt. It felt fuzzy. It smelled fuzzy too. It smelled like human food and sweat. But it smelled fuzzy too.

The headache put Locus back to sleep.

Locus’ eyes fluttered, never fully opening, but not fully closed at the moment either. He felt lighter. That’s because there were two arms wrapped around him, carrying his body bridal style. He couldn’t tell who it was though. He could barely tell his own thoughts apart.

Voices filtered in and out of Locus’ recognition:

“Is… awake?…moving a lot…”

The hybrid recalled a similar memory, being strapped onto an operating table while doctors swarmed around him. Being suffocated with vanilla laughing gas so he’d allow them to pierce his arm without much struggle. Which they needed to do to invade his veins with sedative.

“No,” said a voice that wasn’t his. Locus could feel the vibrations of it pass through him and toward whoever had asked the question. Although he had no idea what the question was despite hearing it seconds ago. “He… partial… conscious… like… sleepwalking…”

Things went silent again, the prickly feeling in him taking over.

Then, Locus was on the floor. He caught glimpses of a pair of shoes, then a second pair. All he could gather was they were having a conversation. Not the shoes, but the people attached to the shoes, he reasoned. No, the people wearing the shoes. Shoes can’t talk.

He blinked and the door was shut. He heard it lock, but didn’t quite process any of that.

There was a quick series of thuds leading upward on the other side of the wooden barrier, like thin soles against thick carpet. Each one was quieter than the last until they either stopped for good or just grew too quiet to hear. Locus couldn’t bother to care once that headache came back to him. He groaned.

“Were you trying to kill him or something?”

“No, I just-“

With some effort, Locus sat up.

“Well then why’d you give him such a high dose? You know what that stuff can do to someone?”

Light was shining in through a tiny window way up on the wall. It was too high up to see out of, and frosted over anyway so all Locus could see were blurry shapes and colors.

“I’m sorry, I was scared he was gonna bite me. Have you seen those pictures of recluse spider bites? They swell up and get huge! I heard one could even kill you!”

This room was vacant. Concrete walls and a concrete floor. It was familiar. Except this particular concrete room had grimy walls, a wooden ceiling, and a dip in the floor leading to a tiny drain.

“So you tried to kill him first? You know there’s no point in having done any of this if we go down there later and he’s dead.”

Locus tried his best to pay attention to the voices which were growing ever quieter, but he couldn’t stop from entering another coughing fit. His throat burned as if he’d swallowed a lit match.

“I know! I know! I just didn’t wanna get bit so I gave him a little more. That’s all.”

He hacked so violently that for a moment, Locus expected to look down and find his guts finally spilled out onto the floor.

“How much more? How much more did you give him?!”

“I- dude, just a few seconds!”

But no such thing happened. Locus coughed for a while and the voices subsided. He tried to stop himself, but that only worsened the feeling pounding against his skull. It felt like someone was hammering a nail into his head.

This was wrong. This was so, so wrong. Locus was done with the facility, he was done with tests. The Monarch had made sure of it. They’d promised him.

Gradually, though, he’d come to realize that no promises had been broken yet. He was not back at the lab and this was not a test. This was something entirely different.

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mindymortondev · 1 year

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State Machine Hell

Originally written on February 13th, 2023.

Today’s the big day, time to install the animations I’ve been working on into the game! I’ve created a little demo of all the animations flowing together in my last post. I’m actually writing this after multiple hours of messing around with code and such. This is likely going to be a difficult task.

The tutorial I’m following has much simpler art assets for it’s game and so the code really doesn’t work for me at all which means I have to research new methods to fully animate my character in-game.

For the first step, I actually had to break down all the animations with multiple steps down into separate files.

Aside from breaking down the animations, I also had to reduce the resolution of the drawings. This was already the plan from the start but now that it’s finally happened, Mindy does look a little rough around her edges, but it doesn’t bother me too much. Plus playing the game with the 4k drawing really hurt my computer’s performance.

Having to take the time to do this felt like a bastardisation of my animations, lol. It really felt so unnatural to see them so dissected in this mechanical overview. But hopefully it means I will be able to use the full range of my animations in the end!

I’m a little nervous about what this decision could mean in the future for my project. The game is currently bound to be at a 1920x1080 resolution, which is standard HD, but definitely not as nice as 4k or even Full HD. I would love to be able to scale the game’s resolution which is a pretty normal feature for computer-based games. It might be less of a problem if this were for a console release? Unsure. However, the main thing I’m wondering is if these scalable options have whole different sets of game assets at different resolutions or if they just take the high-res ones and scale them down. Apparently, the ladder option can actually impact performance though so I’m really not sure. Either way, it sounds like it could be a daunting task to work with in the future. Thankfully it’s not really a worry to me right now.

Also, I realized I never posted about this, but I decided to switch my animation process from Procreate to Rough Animator on my iPad. I’ll likely still use Procreate for initial pencil roughs since it only requires a single layer and runs a little smoother for me, but for final linework and color, it will be Rough Animator. Nothing really beats actual animation layer support. It makes life WAY more flexible.

The next step is figuring out how to make these animations work with the code logic. Essentially, I really want to avoid using If-Then-Else statements because those slow the computer down if you have too many, so a solution I found in this Reddit post is to use a system called a “Finite State Machine.” Sounds pretty cool and this video by Shaun Spalding (it’s always him) gives a very brief explanation of the concepts of a state machine. To make a very quick TL;DR version though, essentially you write code for every possible “state” the player could be in, and then you tell Game Maker Studio to load that state based on what the player does. If that didn’t make sense, try watching the video instead.

Anyways this is essentially the most likely way I can get my animations working properly. Not only that, but it also seems like it could be extremely important in developing other things later on, like climbing ladders, walking on ice, or who knows what. But basically, anything that could change the way the character moves that isn’t “left, right, and jump” will likely require its own “state” and subsequent code. Frankly, it’s a headache for me right now, especially since I’m writing this at midnight! I’ll have to spend a few days on all this, unfortunately.

To make my life easier with state machines and keep me on track with my art output, I’ve decided to invest about $5 in a premade state machine. This is essentially the wireframe for the code, but I still have to put in the effort to learn and understand it as well as code all the specifics of each state. Essentially, I bought a bike with no wheels, and I have to teach myself where to get the wheels and how to attach them to the bike.

Game Maker’s official article on Finite State Machines.

But that’s pretty much it. On a slightly different note, I am worried about other classes also impeding my progress on this project. I feel like I stormed ahead the first two weeks and now I feel like a snail. Multiple reading assignments and a couple of different personal projects are getting in my way. I’m trying to balance my stuff out, but this is definitely why I shouldn’t be my own boss!

I expect the next time I update this; it will be with more information on state systems. I don’t think I’ve ever posted a video here of the game in action directly, so I’ll link to the one I used from my presentation here--

#gamedev #original character #animation #demo #gamemaker studio 2 #Youtube

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chelleztjs18 · 1 year

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Hello you mrs. used to be a party goer lefty eyebag 😅

Well, make sure you don't pull it out or you'll get twice as much gray hair! Besides, if you look good now with your hair color, you'll probably look good when you get more gray.

I was just teasing about you not spoiling anything 😅 I like that you gave us readers a chance to explore the possibilities of what could've happened to Yelena. Same with the Natasha and R portions where you just skipped over the months, leaving it to our imagination and making it sort of free for all to think how they want to.

I kind of feel bad when I do that though, cause it was your story to tell and then me imagining different scenarios for the characters makes me feel like I'm cheating on the author's thought process... does that make sense? Lol

My favorite part with the whole fic is finding out R's past. It gave insight on how they became what they are now. And I like that in stories, cause if that wasn't in the story, I'd keep wondering the whys. I also enjoyed the detail when R was showing Natasha how to get rid of the body.

So with your husband, did you guys stay together for a bit before getting married?

Hey now, I could have asked for more songs but then you'd be writing all night and might have to make 2 to 3 days to post the response...like your stories..hahaha just kidding 🤣 but 600 songs is not that much to be honest.. how many genres of music do you like?

Wild old times huh 😏sounds like a crazy fun summer. But you never got into the pool at all? And you didn't mingle with any pretty girls back then? Cause you know, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas anyways lol

Hm, I'd have to do a rain check on my list. Summer for me was always about bbq on the grill and working lol

Okay next, top 3 songs that was your favorite from your childhood.

-CuriousGeorge

Hello hello old head who cant stay up late righty eyebag!😅

Sorry i fell asleep last night..(the irony after i call u old head who cant stay up late 😅🤣)

How r u today? Whats ur plan for today? I woke up with worse allergy than yesterday..i cant wait to get rid of that tree, i swear.. 😅🤣 i got headache all day yesterday n today i feel shitty.

Haha yeah i hv been pulling those greay hairs n it keeps grow back n i found more. Some of them even look like a silver-ish color of grey so i looks a little shinny when the light hits it.😅😅

Aw thank youuu.. i hope so too but burgundy red n grey r total different color though, so it could have a total oposite look.😁

Yeah sometimes i like to do that, leaving some space or part for people to imagine the possibilities (not pasta-bilities though 🤣)

Yeah i got what u meant with feeling bad about imagining other different possibilites that u have in mind.

Ohhh so u told me the good dark possibility that happen to yelena last night, so it means u hv cheated on my thought's process about the story??🤨 how could u!! I cant believe u do that! *soap opera dramatic scene* 🤣🤣🤣 just kidding just kidding.

Haha true, u can ask for more songs but u only asked 3 but u know what? Im gonna rebel a bit n i will give u another more of the songs that reminds me of summer (on the next answer because i need time to find it.😅)

Also it's not fair, u didnt tell me 3 songs that remind u of summer.. so give me the answer! 😅😆

I like any genres my ears found it good n enjoyable.. except the heavy metal or underground or other type of screaming rock type of genre. It drives me crazy. What about u? Have i asked u what kind of music u like?

Yep it was a pretty fun summer in Vegas. N nope, i didnt go in to the pool besides i think it's gross, i wasnt wearing swimsuit or bikini (dear god, no. 😅). I was wearing short tank top n a thin oversized shirt to kinda cover my body a bit, flipflop n a baseball cap 😅 n i was happy enough to stay at the bar have my drinks n enjoy the view of women 🤭 (in respectful way of course)

I didnt mingle with the pretty women because i was with my friends but i remember a few women smiled at me. But i'm pretty oblivious n i dont know how to flirt or if i flirt. one of my friends, he sometimes noticed n one time he said "how come everytime we r at the club, girls hit on u?"

I was like "what? They did? I dont know" 😅🤣

Well, i made out with a girl in the corner of the club there once.. but not too long because my friends were looking for me n kept calling me. 😅 what happened in Vegas, stayed in Vegas. Lol

3 songs that reminds me of my childhood, like when i was a kid? Or teenagers? Or how young? Haha. I didnt really remember my childhood to be honest. U gotta be more specific on this.😆😅

Next question?

Cheerio! (Not the cereal one)

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