#(Also I might just use my original brush for short stuff like this while my new brush can be for bigger projects 💪✨)

[whereismyhat5678]

Guys, guess what time it is✨✨

[ashestoroses018]

Lost & Found

Slight Steve Harrington/Reader

Summary - You're F/N Henderson, or N/N for short. Your rabbit goes missing. Steve and the Original Party(tm) help you find her.

“Dustin! Where's Pepper?” you call through the house, looking for your pet bunny.

“I-I have no idea where she is, N/N.”

You run your hair through your unruly curls, annoyed that your brother has no idea where your beloved rabbit is. “I can't go out until I know she's safe, Dusty. Especially after Mews disappeared a few months ago. I don't want that to happen to my baby.”

Dustin walks up to you and pats your shoulder lightly. “I'll help you look for her until Steve gets here, okay?”

“You and Harrington are getting awfully chummy, huh, Dusty?”

Your brother nods, his curls bouncing. “He's really badass--”

“Language, Dusty.”

“--Sorry. He's really cool. I used to think he was a jerk, but he's actually really nice.”

“Well, maybe Mr. Nice Guy can help find Pepper when he gets here.”

“But we were gonna play DnD here with the guys.”

“Steve Harrington plays DnD, Dustin? Seriously? You know we don't lie in this house.”

Dustin's voice gets a whiny tone to it. “ He's not gonna play. Steve's just babysitting, because you and Mom are out tonight. Or at least you're supposed to be.”

“What kind of eighth grader needs a babysitter, Dustin?”

“Look, Steve's my friend, okay?”

You sigh. Ever since your dad passed away, Dustin has had a sincere lack of any real male figure in his life. For a while, now, he has leaned on his science teacher a bit much. Maybe Steve Harrington is a good alternative.

“Yeah, okay. Maybe I'll stay in tonight.”

“Oh my God, don't threaten me like that, N/N!”

Your face falls. “I wasn't threatening. I thought it might be fun. You used to want me to play Dungeons and Dragons with you guys.”

“But you're gonna make me look so uncool in front of Steve!”

“What's uncool about me?!”

“Have you seen the way you dress, N/N? You dress like you just stepped out of 1975. It's 1985, and you're a high school senior. Not a mom!”

“Wow, okay. Hurtful.” You're only slightly joking. His words had hit a little bit harshly. Are you really that uncool?

“I-I'm sorry, N/N. I didn't mean that. I'm just...you're you, and Steve is Steve. He's a really cool friend to have, and I really don't want to lose him for any reason, you know?”

“Fine, whatever. As soon as I find Pepper, I'll be out of your hair, okay Dusty? Then you won't have to worry about me embarrassing you.” You stick your tongue out at your baby brother (you can't call him your little brother, anymore, because he shot up by nearly a foot during Christmas break!).

“Just in case he shows up, can you, like, put your hair up or something?”

“Why, what's wrong with my hair?” you ask, a tone of warning laced through your voice.

“Nothing...I just think you look really pretty when your hair is up, with some of your curls around your face.”

A grin lights up your face at your brother's sweet words. “You're such a little charmer. You're gonna be a heartbreaker, Dustin Allen* Henderson, you know that?”

Ruining the sweet moment, your brother does his infamous growl. “Dammit, Dusty. I take it back. You need to quit that shit. Anyway, can you go look under the couches and stuff while I put up my hair?”

Your brother nods, so you head off to the bathroom you share with your mother and sit down at your shared vanity. Maybe you can even wear a little bit of makeup. Actually...you know what? If your brother is so convinced you dress for the wrong decade, you're going to prove him wrong, dammit.

After you've brushed your hair into a quick ponytail, carefully leaving some curls around your face, as Dustin suggested, you run to your bedroom and pick out the trendiest clothes you own. They just so happen to be overalls that you choose to pair with a thin, brown belt, and a nicely fitting white crop top. Scrunching your face, you also elect to wear some bright pink hoops, because, God dammit, you are a trendy 18 year old young lady, not a mom .

Bringing the clothes to your bathroom, you quickly change into them and put on some light makeup. You double-check your hair and makeup, making sure your appearance works well.

“N/N! Where are you? The guys and Steve are here! You can leave.”

You roll your eyes and head to the living room. “Thing is, dipshit, I can't leave without knowing where Pepper is. Have you found her, yet?” When you walk into the living room, you're met with stunned silence and wide eyes from all the males in the room.

“What the hell are you wearing, F/N?” It's rare that your brother uses your actual name, so he must really be shocked.

“Well, you told me that I dress like a loser, so I decided to actually dress up for once.”

“Aren't you just going to the library to study?”

You shrug. “Who says I can't dress up to go study, shitbag? Hey, guys. No girls tonight?”

Mike shakes his head. “Jane is... studying with Hopper, and Max got grounded for getting detention.”

“Um, you could...study here, keep me company while these losers play Dragons and Dungeons,” says the Steve Harrington, looking at you with an indecipherable expression.

“Dustin said I'm not cool enough for you guys, though,” you say, sticking your tongue out teasingly at your brother.

“Oh my God, N/N, this is why!” Your brother's face is turning bright red, and you can't help but laugh at him. However, you're quickly brought back to reality.

“Actually, I can't do anything until I find my rabbit. Boys, have you seen Pepper?”

The kids respond with a chorus of nos and shaking heads. You sigh, feeling deflated. What if she got crushed under a piece of furniture, or something? You knew you should have replaced her cage, instead of letting her get away with a loose cage door.

Steve looks up, suddenly. “What does, uh, Pepper look like?”

“She's white, with brown patches. Floppy ears. 'Bout this big.” You hold your hand out a few inches.

“Oh shit! Yeah I saw a rabbit like that!”

“Seriously? You're a lifesaver, Steve! Where did you see her?”

“She was hopping around in your front yard. Um...she ran away when I drove up, though.”

You bite your lip, trying to hold back tears. “Domestic rabbits can't survive in the wild. I've gotta go find her!”

Without waiting for a response from anyone, you slip your sneakers on and grab your coat, bracing for the early February weather. Luckily, there hasn't been much snow, so you don't have to worry about your baby being camouflaged by it.

Clicking your tongue in a sound you know she'll recognize, you begin slowly traversing your front yard. Come on, Pepper , you think. Where are you?

“Want some help?” someone suddenly asks you, tapping on your shoulder lightly.

You turn around, only to see four boys staring at you sheepishly, Steve standing behind them, looking almost...smug. If you were to hazard a guess, you would be willing to bet your limited money from working at Burger Bob's that Steve Harrington had put them up to this.

“Yeah, I'd like that. Thank you, guys. You remember what she looks like?” Your brother's friends nod in unison, wandering off.

After a moment, you turn to your classmate. “Thank you for putting them up to this. I'm not sure how you managed to pull them away from DnD, but I appreciate it, Steve.”

The boy flushes – whether from the cold or your words, you can't be sure – as he runs a hand through his absolutely perfect hair. “Don't mention it. You looked really sad, F/N – “

“N/N,” you say gently, correcting him.

He coughs quietly. “N/N. Anyway, I just wanted to be able to help, and I can't leave those kids unsupervised. Mrs. Byers would kick my ass.”

You nod. “Yeah, she's super overprotective of Will, these days. Thanks again, Steve. I'm gonna go keep looking.”

“Sure. I will, too.” He smiles gently down at you.

Twenty minutes later, Steve comes running up to you, a squirming bundle in his arms. You run to meet him, taking the rabbit out of his arms, tears springing to your eyes.

“Oh...Oh my goodness. Steve. Where'd you find her?” Before you can answer, you whisper comforting words to your rabbit. A moment later, you look up to see his bewildered face. “Steve Harrington, I could kiss you right now. You just saved my rabbit's life. You're literally my favorite person in the world, right now.”

[coulsons-fullmetal-cellist]

Looking Back

(Dieter x horror loving female)

Words: 967

Summary: while at an exhibition with your fiancé, you encounter someone from your past (check out my masterlist to check out the timeline)

Warnings: lost romantic potential, Dieter being Dieter, an underrated pioneer of animation gets a mention so please check them out before or after reading this

Artwork is a sculpture by Spas Kirchev

“I’m so glad you suggested this! Although you should have started with stop motion with shadow puppets.”

“I was getting there but was distracted by all the history stuff. I did get you interested with early German cinema though.”

“That’s true.”

The two of you were having a date night. Your fiancé Dieter had mentioned an exhibition by some animation students presenting their final year project.

The theme was Lotte Reiniger, a pioneer of the animation world who used shadow puppets as her medium. These students were to pick a piece of music and create their own short films inspired by Reiniger. Several clips from her over 40 films were dotted around the exhibition in between a few small alcoves where the students’ films were being presented.

You just came out of one short film based on the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. The small dark space encouraged much snuggling.

“Look,” Dieter pointed out to a screen on the wall. “The Adventures of Prince Achmed is the oldest surviving feature length animated film. It predates Snow White by a decade. Then Walt went and stole her ideas and never gave her credit, the bastard.”

“I thought you loved Disney.”

“I love the films but the man himself? Don’t get me started on his original idea for Epcot.”

“You are adorable when you’re in history mode.”

“Not sexy?”

“A little bit. But you’re always sexy.”

“You’re always sexy.” You tried to brush off this compliment but stopped dead in your tracks and hid behind his broad back. “What is it honey cakes?”

“I just saw someone from my past.”

“From New Zealand?”

“No, from when I first moved here. I made friends with this guy called Orfi.”

“Orfi?”

“It’s short for something, I never asked though,” he turned around to face so you could continue. “We became fast friends, always having the randomest conversations and hanging out occasionally but then he just dropped out of communication. It was only later I found out from other friends that he got himself a girlfriend. Her name was Dizzy or Dolce, or something.”

“What a dick,” you shrugged. “Wait, did you have romantic type feelings for him?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I trust myself enough to see if it was going in that direction. When I look back on it, there was a possible maybe but by that time, it was too late.”

“Were you ready by the time we met?”

“We met at the right time,” you looked over at your former friend. “I should really go and say hi to him, but I’ll go alone; you might be too distracting.”

“Because of my devilish good looks?”

“That too, but also you’re an award-winning actor.”

“Is that all anyone focuses on?” you patted his shoulder as you made your way over.

You must have willed yourself over there, the ground feeling like mud under your feet. Your hand felt heavy as you raised it into a wave, catching his attention.

“Oh hey, fancy seeing you here.”

“Well, you know it’s early German cinema so…”

“Yeah, couldn’t help but think of you.”

All those past emotions hit you like a sudden wave in the ocean. You tried to not get caught in the current and be lost in the past and decided to go forward with the conversation.

“How is…sorry, I forgot her name.”

“Disay? Oh no, we’re no longer together.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, it didn’t work out. Looking back, we just weren’t meant to be together. Now I’m single for the first time in a long time,” the laugh was awkward. “Let me guess, you’re still single?”

“No, I’m with someone.”

“Is it serious?”

“We’re getting married so yes, it’s very serious.”

“Oh, uh, congratulations.”

“Thanks,” you looked at the ring on your finger, not noticing the look of sadness on his face which had gone by the time you looked back up. “It was nice seeing you.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“I’ll message you some time.”

Those emotions you thought you had were gone like the tides of the ocean. You waved a small goodbye and tried to not make it look like you were rushing back into the safety of your fiancé’s arms.

“He looked like an Eeyore.”

“Did he?”

“Almost like you were the one that got away.”

“Was I?”

“I think you were. And you know what, fuck him.”

“Yeah, his loss.”

“He was too stupid to realise he had the most amazing, beautiful, caring…”

“Dieter, we don’t need to go through the alphabet.”

“Well, an alphabet list of what makes you, you and he was an idiot to see you.”

“I’m glad I have you, I think I made the better choice. Definitely the most handsome choice.”

Dieter gave a small cursory glance over at the other man. “He has a bit of an Oscar Isaac look about him.”

“He does now that you mention it.”

“Wait, you know who he is?” you nodded. “I thought you only knew actors if they were in a horror film.”

You gave him that look that he knew oh too well.

“Okay, what horror films has he been in?”

“Annihilation, that’s the one with the scary bear,” Dieter shuddered at the thought. “I think Ex Machina is more of a thriller.”

“Those dance moves were thriller,” you looked at him in surprise. “I’ve seen the clips.”

“And you’ve learnt the moves?”

He held you close, almost as if he was about to launch you into a waltz, “Of course I have.”

“You want to show me some other moves, don’t you?” he mumbled something affirmative into your lips.

So he took your hand and led you out.

As you left the exhibition, neither of you looked back. You only had the future to look forward to.

Lovingly tagging @boliv-jenta @simpingcowboy @ellenmunn @o-sacra-virgo-laudes-tibi @chaithetics @myloveistoolittle @cevans-is-classic @glshmbl @cupcakehp @gswizzsstuff

[happyinjection]

♠️♥️High Card Short Story 10 “A Visitor at Sunfields” (3/3)♦️♣️

While the three were having a small talk, something suddenly occurred to Finn, which led to an unexpected development!

Original: https://twitter.com/highcard_pj/status/1674621279737901061

Author: https://twitter.com/poipheno

Artist: https://twitter.com/ebimoji3

Our conversation with Bernard-jiichan carried on for a little while. I spoke to Lindsey on the phone once a week, but we did not get to see each other in person often. Moreover, this time jii-chan offered his persective on the stories I’ve told him, so it might sound like something entirely new to Lindsey.

As expected from jii-chan, he took good care of me. I guess that is fitting for a gentleman.

Obviously I could not talk about the X-Playing cards, so I had to cut a large part out of the whole story about my job, but then again there was not much I had to do everyday as a High Card member. So far it’s enough to give Lindsey the gist of my daily routine.

“Oh, that’s right! I forgot about the most important thing.”

I yelled out.

“What is it?”

“Come to think of it, you mentioned that you might be going on a date today, didn’t you? How did it go in the end?”

At my words, Lindsey retreated and blushed.

“Wha……! Finn! W-what are you talking about?”

His eyes darted around helplessly while he was trying to steal a few glances at jii-chan.

“You told me that earlier on the phone, though? You were asked out on a date.”

“N-n-no, not at all. That’s totally wrong. I was just invited for a dinner… I already turned it down anyway.”

He put his hands forward, shaking them lightly.

“Clyde, wasn’t it? Stuff like accidentally touched hands when picking the same book at the bookstore… it sounds right out of a rom-com film!”

“H-hey, watch it. Don’t make fun of the adults.”

“At first glance he seemed to be tough, yet the eyes behind his glasses looked very kind, right?”

“I never said that!”

I pointed straight at Lindsey.

“Come on, take out your phone right away. Now make a call and tell him you want to meet up.”

“Ehh. No way, no way….. I’m unable to go either way because I have to keep an eye on the kids.”

“What do you think I came here for? I’ll babysit for about the next 2-3 hours. I’m definitely free.”

“But….. I’ve already refused him once, so…..”

“In that case just go on the next day. I’ll take my annual leave! Isn’t that right, jii-chan?”

As if pondering about it jii-chan remained silent for a moment, before giving Lindsey a small nod.

“I can’t guarantee that Leo-sama would approve your leave, but personally I will coax him to do so. However if it turns out that he still wouldn’t allow it… then, I hope you don’t mind if I come here myself.”

“H-how could you possibly say that! Bernard-san!”

“I knew it, jii-chan, you’re always a real one. Come on, it is already settled. Let’s make that call. Y’know what, I’ll do it myself.”

I straightened up and just as I was about to swipe Lindsey’s phone from inside his pocket, Lindsey turned his back on me and glared over his shoulder with a look of disapproval on his face.

“I-I got it, alright…..”

“Come on, make that call right here!”

“I’m not calling anyone!”

While saying so Lindsey fled from the room. I cackled out loud, and jii-chan had a faint smile.

In the end, Lindsey eventually went on a date with Clyde. Initially he appeared to be reluctant to go, yet he brushed his hair, trimmed his beard, and put on a suit which seems to be reserved for special occasions. The usual Lindsey is homely and easily forgettable, but he is honestly a handsome guy. Perhaps he used to be quite popular.

Once, I asked him if he was ever going go get married, but he said that he was too occupied with the orphanage to consider marriage. Apparently, he had been separated from his partner then.

However, I remember that at that time, with a smile blooming on his face as he hugged me, Lindsey told me that he was truly happy just to be with us.

That said, Lindsey also had his own life. He deserved a chance to spread his wings a little. If I managed to do well at Pinochle and get a raise, on top of buying the property, I would also be able to hire people. That would make things easier for Lindsey.

——Just like that, 3 hours had passed. Somehow Bernard-jiichan still kept up with me at the orphanage.

But our presence really did gave rise to a big fuss. Afterall, seeing an unusual visitor, moreover one who was willing to play with them, made the children very excited.

The first thing we did was to play chase. The kids had limitless physical stamina, and that aside they took turns playing, so I became reasonably exhausted. On the other hand, perhaps because jii-chan had a great sense of when to use his stamina, although he must have been running as fast as I was, he did not even seem to be out of breath.

Soon after that, a magic show was set up in the cafeteria. Jii-chan made use of handkerchiefs, trump cards, and other stuff which we already had at the orphanage, and tricked them to disappear or change—thus the kids got excited all over again.

The kids did not even spare a glance at me, but they seem happy nevertheless. Finally, as jii-chan said, “won’t we play together again when I visit?” the show came to a close.

At around the same time Lindsey came back home, so I asked, “how was your date?”, and while looking embarrassed he gave me a V-sign using his fingers. It was known for a fact that this guy enjoyed romance novels and films, but when it comes to his personal romantic ventures, I had no clue about what kind of guy he was. I really did not get what a V-sign means, but I guess I’ll ask him on the phone next time.

Then when the night fell, jii-chan and I hopped to our cars and returned to the branch office. The kids waved their hands at us as they usually did, but this time I’m sure they were directed at jii-chan.

♠️♥️♦️♣️

TL Note: Sorry for the delay! Enjoy!

[shadow-drygan]

medea-and-morticia:

Hi! So, I have received several messages about where each of the parts of my Stevonnie cosplay came from. Read on and behold, all your questions shall (hopefully) be answered…

My cosplay, as a whole: 

What changed between the final test in this pic and what I wore at the convention: On the actual day of the con, I had a better gem, flip flops, better makeup, and a cheerfully colorful string handbag with my wallet, keys, and other important stuff in it.

Links to the parts:

The Wig. 

I took a real gamble on this one… Most of you will probably want to get a cosplay wig and curl it yourself, but I bought this wig and it worked very well for me, once I let it sit in fabric softener overnight and brushed it carefully. Once it had attained ideal softness and puffiness, it was fixed with hairspray. I placed the front edge slightly behind my actual hairline, which made it look more natural, but that trick only works if your natural hair is a similar colour and texture to the wig. For maximum realism, you might want to consider getting a lace-front wig instead of this one.

Crop Top.

There are many coral-coloured shirts that are almost right, but I chose this one because of the higher, t-shirt style neckline. 

Star.  

I freehanded my star on a piece of paper, cut it out, traced it onto the linked vinyl transfer paper, cut out the proper star, and then ironed it on. Easy as pie! If you want a very precise star, you can use a printed template, but as Steven’s tends to be a little asymmetrical anyway, I didn’t bother. Besides, the star would mostly be covered up by the…

Overshirt. 

This took some alteration. I simply couldn’t find the right shirt readymade, but this looked close enough to be useable. So I bought it, hacked off about five inches, hemmed the bottom (by hand, as I was too lazy to set up the sewing machine) so it wouldn’t tear, and ironed it well. Done!

Also, one note about colour… Many Stevonnies seem to go for blue or turquoise shirts. I was originally looking for a blueish one too. However, if you compare  shirt colours available IRL with Stevonnie’s in any screencap, their shirt is mint as often as it is blue. Blue still looks really nice and like Stevonnie, though, so don’t worry if you’re already cosplaying them and have a blue shirt!

Gem. 

Okay, this is where things get weird. I ordered the pictured gem, but it actually didn’t arrive in time so I quickly made the gem I wore to the con out of a plastic cup, paper, rice, glue, and duct tape. In the end, that gem looked just more like the one from the cartoon, though less realistic than the one linked here. If I get enough requests, I might make a tutorial for the paper gem, but the gem linked here is lovely and should work perfectly! (Oh - you’ll need some sort of glue to stick it on. I used nail glue and it stayed on me all day, but false eyelash glue or spirit gum would have been easier to remove at the end.)

(PS - The gem in the pic of me above is actually a failed attempt made of foam. If you’re better at carving foam than I am, you could probably make a nice one that way!)

Shorts. 

Unfortunately, I can’t really link you to mine because I’ve had them since I was fifteen. Just go to any old store and try on several pairs until you find something that looks right. Remember to turn up the cuffs! (Are they still called cuffs when they’re on shorts? Oh, the great mysteries of life.) 

Feet. 

Hopefully, you’ve already got these. If you want them to stay clean and unhurt, though, at least wear flip flops or sandals. 

Things to keep in mind:

While I am a huge believer in body-positive cosplay and think anyone of any size or shape can cosplay any character they want and look great, I can’t deny that one of the things that makes Stevonnie work so well for me is that I’ve got the same kind of figure they’re drawn with. I’ve seen amazing Stevonnie cosplayers of all shapes and sizes, though! Please don’t let what I said there discourage you from cosplaying them! Just, keep in mind that I’m VERY lucky in this regard. 

There are, of course, many ways to make yourself look more like them: choose your shorts carefully to round out and widen your hips, cut your overshirt longer or shorter as you need to, wear a longer or shorter or straighter or curlier wig… I wore makeup, for example, to make my face look younger and fuller, like theirs. But really? It doesn’t matter, you don’t have to do that stuff! Hell, one of my favourite Stevonnie cosplayers’s shirt is a rather dark blue, and another one wears capri shorts instead of short shorts. Their cosplays are still completely recognizeable as Stevonnie. Stevonnie is an experience, remember: a lot of the resemblance lies more in the attitude than in the clothing, and the main point of cosplaying them at all is to have fun with it. And don’t worry about not being recognized: the SU fandom will know you’re cosplaying Stevonnie as soon as you step out in a mostly accurate shirt-and-shorts combo, and they will LOVE you. (Especially the young fans, they’re the most fun to meet IMO!)

So, what are you waiting for? Just do it! (And link me to your cosplay when you’re done, I’d really love to see it! ♥) 

How to Get my Stevonnie Cosplay

[wuzhere75]

More goofy idiots; high school musical edition. Also yeah I probably just could have gotten away with Kinkajou (also yes both her and Qibil’s names are misspelled AF in the image I’m not fixing it right now) plus the actual protags but I need to practice for Arc 3 which aparently has like several dozen pseudo-protagonists, which I’m probably going to do in a slightly different style because I like the idea of trying sketchy line art with the procreate brush pen.

Okay now time for the actual headcanons

-I originally was going to give Moon a way different design (her horns where going to be long and curved like ibex horns/crescent moons but I couldn’t get that to work in the sketch; she was going to have a split color design, like one side of her body was going to be light and the other dark like a half moon), but then my brain went “albino=white/pink with red eyes, that’s moon-y because the moon looks white from earth sometimes and blood moons are a thing so red”. I do like the sketch I came up with. I still think I could have gone harder with the wrinkly skin and underbite, since I imagine it those are details frequently found on Nightwings from the volcano.

-I think Moon being a twist villain, or at least an untrustworthy character, would be kind of interesting. Like if she had been the final POV character instead and she’d been kind of this ambiguous, somewhat suspicious guide to the Darkstalker stuff.

-The entire modern Icewing royal family is considered somewhat strange looking by that tribes standards; unusually short horns, typically no fur, and oddly dark and saturated colors. I’m not from a place that gets snowy, white winters that often. More “everything dies back and it gets muddy, foggy, and frosty”, thus Winter’s color palette.

-I have a headcanon that firescales/fireless twin sets are technically identical (Sky being NB), it’s just due to the presences of no/too much fire, their features develop differently. Peril has far richer and saturated colors than Sky, but their actual patterns are identical. Due to her fire, Peril’s feathers never properly grew in (she’s like the sphinx cat equivalent of a Skywing), while Sky by comparison is very floofy. However if you peeled Sky (shaved off their feathers), they would have the exact same body shapes and features as their sister. Also the aforementioned color patterns are based of the American Kestrel.

-I have a couple of old Turtle designs kicking around my Procreate; I originally was going to use one of them (which I might post at some point to embarrass myself), to inspire this one. However, I ended up creating something entirely new. My original design had him as a lot more solid, gross yellow-y shade of green, with no tan underbelly or needle. However I discovered that the underbelly and needle would give him some nice resemblance to his sister Tsunami. Also I was using mata-mata turtles as one of my primary design references and damn those bois got schnoze.

-Turtle also would have been an interesting twist villain. Like if we got faked out like “he’s too suspicious to be the bad guy” and then he just is.

-Funny thing about Qibil; I always mis-remembered Qibils earring as having a black diamond earring rather than an “orange sunstone” one. Perhaps I was confusing his drip with Blister’s. He gets both as a treat. Also the reason why he has the classic fan depiction head sail strandy-thingy because of the scar his mom gave him. The sail behind the scar grew back all delicate and long; he’s let it grow out to see how long it can get.

-The little unneeded spite for the series/fandom I have for some reason built up on Qibil for some reason. Maybe because seemingly the rest of the fandom worships the little guy. I’d probably like him if I actually read the books, but I have developed a stupid re-write of him where he is sort of like the annoying little brother of the Jade Winglet and Jade Moutain as a general who thinks he is hotter shit than he is that nobody dares talk down to for fear of bringing mama Thorn or big sister Sunny down on their asses. He’s tried to flirt with everybody in his winglet and they’ve all pushed him away with some degree of gentleness.

-IDK who was the first fan artist to do magenta-yellow-cyan Kinkajou but it sure as hell works. I have a headcanon that younger Rainwing dragonets tend to have brighter, saturated comfort colors (image the “crayola water marker base pack” color palette). However as Rainwings mature, they tend to “mild” out their comfort colors with more varied hues. Thus, she used to have the neon pink-yellow color palette when she was younger. Also she kind of ended up looking kind of like a lychee or rambutan and I love it.

-I didn’t have too many thoughts on Umber. I mostly just focused on making him look different enough from Clay while still making him look like a possible sibling.

-I thought I was going to put more effort into Carnelians design, but I ended up just yeeting something together based off the real world carnelian stone.

-I know Anenome is described as being pink and blue/white in the books, but where I live we have neat little pink tipped green anemones so that’s her color palette. Also I imagine she wears a lot more jewelry when she’s at home but she just took a few things with her to school.

[page150]

My Baby 💎 Latrelle x Reader

Request: None

Pronouns: None Stated

Word Count: 1615

Warnings: angst , really small mention of blood

“What did I say about getting blood on my carpet?” You mumbled, dabbing the cut on Latrelle’s cheek with a soft tissue.

“Not to,” He replied.

You shake your head, tossing the bloody tissue into the trash can. He was bruised up bad this time. Cuts on his face, a black eye, he was even limping. The blood that dripped from his nose onto your white carpet seemed less of a problem compared to him.

“I’ll clean it for you.” He squints his eyes shut as you clean one of the bigger cuts on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it, you need to rest.”

You glance at the time. You had woken up an hour ago to the sound of someone knocking at your door. Of course it was Latrelle, beat up. You knew he had been messing with César again.

You wondered why it was so hard for Latrelle to leave César alone. César rarely messed with him. It was always Latrelle actively making things tense for everyone. He made it hard to be in a relationship with him, while also respecting César and his friends. You toss Latrelle a blanket and a pillow from your bed, before climbing in.

“You can sleep on the couch. Then leave in the morning.”

“Babe, you really gonna treat me that way?”

“Yes, I am because you had the nerve to wake me up at 3am to bandage you up because you were starting some stupid b.s. with César.”

He rolled his eyes and tried to get in the bed with you. “You know it’s the life I live y/n. I have to keep them on their toes or they’ll get comfy. You can’t change me baby”

This pissed you off. You pushed him off of the bed. “No because I know the life you live. I'm not trying to change you, it’s just when you're messing with him that’s when I get mad. Do you know how hard it is to watch you run and start a fight with César and have to baby you back to health, only to look Monse in the eye the next morning to say hello. It’s really freaking hard.”

He throws his hands up, “Whatever you’re bugging. You always take things too far y/n. I wasn’t even really messing with him. It was only him and his girl. He was on me for no reason so I had to say something. It wasn’t my fault he was acting all tough like he was gon do something.”

Your eyes widen and you sit up. “Monse was there?” You ask.

“If that’s her name then yeah.”

“You fought him while Monse was there!” You yell, throwing a pillow at his face.

The pillow hits Latrelle hard. He throws it out your bedroom door, turning to look at you, his mouth turning into a scowl.

You return the face, “You’re lucky he didn’t have a gun, Latrelle! You know he gets protective when he's with his friends. You know this!”

“You need to calm down. Why are you getting so emotional?”

“Why am I getting emotional? I’m getting emotional because one day you might not knock on my door. You might be bleeding out in the street, because of your dumb decisions. I would never forgive myself if you…” You felt tears start to roll down your cheek, but you don’t stop yelling even though your voice is breaking with sobs.

“Please break up with me if you are going to keep doing this. Please. I can’t keep helping you like this. I can’t keep defending you. Don’t you love me? Why can’t we go to the park or on dates like we used to? Why will you ignore my texts for days but feel fine with coming to my door bloody. You said you love me so why don’t you act like it?”

Latrelle stared up at you from his place on the ground. You were full on crying now. Fat tears slid down your face onto your sheets and you put your head in your hands. You heard Latrelle get up but you didn’t feel his warmth on your body. You didn’t smell his cologne or feel his tight hugs. He had gotten up and walked out the door.

You got up and threw on a robe, suddenly self-conscious of your outfit even though it was just a shirt and shorts. You ran out of your bedroom, into the hallway, all the way to the front door, but he was gone. He hadn’t even locked the door behind him.

Opening the door you step out. Your hot face was cooled by the wind. It fluttered around you, shaking the trees. The only light there was was the moon and the streetlights. No stars, no cars, not even a firefly and not even your boyfriend.

Shutting the door you slide down with your back against it. You reach the floor and wrap your arms around your knees and continue to cry. Your heart began to ache at the silence. He had left you. He had walked out and left you.

You fell asleep there. On the wooden floor, in front of your front door. In the morning you woke up to your alarm blaring from your room. Your cheeks were still stained with tears, your eyes bright red and it seemed hard to keep them open. All you wanted to do was sleep a little more. To move to your warm bed and fall back asleep, but if you missed a day of school it would make your parents come back sooner. You got up and went to your room to change. You chose a random black sweatshirt and jeans.

After washing your face, brushing your teeth, and eating a little bit of breakfast you start the walk to school. It was one of those mornings where you wished you had more friends, so you wouldn’t have to walk to school alone.

Your lack of friends was one of the things Latrelle liked about you. To him you were safe. Not always the center of attention, but not a nobody. You were a good enough kid that with him being your boyfriend, it made him seem like a better person. In a way you hated him for that. It made you feel more like an accessory than a significant other, but in an attempt to not start crying again, you stop thinking about it.

You walk into the school and head to your first class, then the next. They all go okay. As you walk to lunch Monse gives you a small smile. You smile back, but notice that a lot of people are looking at you. You look down at your outfit. Your jeans weren’t open, the sweatshirt wasn’t backwards. You sit down at your usual lunch table and suddenly the cafeteria doors are swung open. You didn’t care enough to look up.

Someone sits right in front of you. You start to eat your apple, it’s juices dripping down your mouth.

“y/n I’m sorry.” Latrelle mumbled.

“Are you?” You questioned. Using the back of your hand to wipe away the sticky juices.

“I got you this.”

You look up and see a single flower. “You got me one flower that I’m supposed to carry around school.”

“Dang why can’t you be happy,”

“I’m done explaining stuff to you and your dumb attempts of apologizing. You can go.”

Latrelle places the flower on the table. You start to eat your sandwich.

“Look, I’m real sorry y/n. I shouldn’t have walked out on you. I shouldn’t have treated you like that. I was just frustrated. I didn't want you to have to deal with me any more that night. I even apologized to César. Well I didn’t apologize because I aint no punk, but you know I gave him a nod. Babe, I hate when you're angry at me.”

You start to eat your sandwich, but you weren’t hungry anymore. As you get up from your seat to throw your trash away, his hand goes around your wrist. His brown eyes looked into yours, but you removed his hand and walked away.

He followed you into the hallway.

“Y/N please.”

You turn to face him, sticking a finger into his chest. “Look you can apologize all you want, but unless you’re really going to change, leave me alone. I told you, I rather you break up with me then to keep lying and doing stupid stuff.”

He pulls you into an empty classroom. He kissed your neck and rubs his hands on your back, You kiss back. It continues for a few seconds. You and Latrelle make out in an empty classroom until he pulls away and hugs you. His hugs were always almost too tight. He hugged you like he never wanted to let you go, like he never wanted anything to get to you.

“I swear I won’t do anymore stuff like that.” He whispered. He pulled a box out of his back pocket. “Here’s your actual gift.”

Inside the box was a cute gray bracelet with your birthstone in it. Your name and his are written in cursive underneath it, along with your anniversary date. “You really did this for me?”

“Yeah, you my baby. I had to search up ideas. I know you like cute things like this.”

You felt your cheeks start to warm up. The bracelet was exactly your size and you couldn't stop looking at it. “Thank you baby.”

“Anything for you.” He put one of his arms on your shoulders. “You wanna get out of here. You look tired.”

Ignoring your other classes you say yes and walk with him out the back of the school.

Author's Note: Fun fact this was originally going to be a César post, but I decided I wanted to do a cuter one for him. But omg I wanted this to be for him so bad. Be on the lookout for my next post because it will def be a César one! Anyway Requests are still open! Please like if you enjoyed and follow. We're almost at 50 followers and I have a huge surprise when we reach 100 <3!! Have a wonderful day ~c'k

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Fully Completely 1

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series), attempted violence, mutual irritation.

This is dark!Loki x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Series Synopsis: There’s a new face in Birch and he’s come to haunt your door.

Sister series to Smalltown Bringdown, When the Weight Comes Down, and Little Bones

Note: I did not plan to get the first part done so soon. I will probably be setting time aside as I write this to also work on some original stuff. When it comes to that, I’d love if y’all might let me know what you think would be a better medium to release it? Kindle, Patreon, etc. I’m really not sure but if it was Patreon it would like be two series running at once with a chapter of each a month + Q&A and maybe some bonus materials? I am a noob at this shit and it wouldn’t be for a while yet.

Anyways, I’m rambling...

Thanks to everyone for their patience and feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Chapter 1: She simply slammed the door

💀💀💀

The garage smelled like oil and snow. The cold air seeped under the closed metal door as you sat on the low stool and affixed the new headlight to the propped up Harley. It was only the start of an impractical rebuild; your brother wanted everything metal replaced with chrome. You thought it was obnoxious but the parts were paid for and you could never complain for money.

You were funded exclusively by the town’s club, your garage not far from The Asp where the members hung out and revved the engines you found yourself looking at more often than you liked. You were good at what you did though and privileged for it. You had the protection of the club without having to devote yourself truly to its bounds.

You checked the wiring and rolled away from the bike to change the station as the radio crackled. The snow kept setting the speaker to static and the noise was driving you mad. You flipped the switch to play the cassette stuck in the drawer, the old stereo beaten up and filthy. Springsteen’s gristled tones filled the shop and you wheeled back to your brother’s ride.

With the storm would no doubt come more work. Your fingerless gloves itched more than they kept you warm. Your fingertips were numb as you touched the frigid metal and the sweat of your palms made the fabric uncomfortable. You were used to it, rather tolerant as your task kept you distracted.

You were interrupted as you bent to look under the tank and get a good look at the exhaust and the rest of the beast’s entrails. You had the new pieces still wrapped and didn’t intend to do it all at once. Jerome could wait for his tacky redesign.

A loud banging came at the metal door and you glanced over in irritation. Anyone in Birch knew to come in the painted door to the left and not hit the large one. You huffed and stood with a groan, your hips sore from the low stool. 

You fixed the front of your fleece-lined denim jacket and pulled the tail of your plaid shirt from inside your jean pocket. You’d been hunched over so long you were all wrinkled. You went past the large door and into the small entryway off the left of the garage and opened it with a tinkle of the rusty old bell above.

You stuck your head out into the gales as the snow continued to fall and squinted at the man in his thin jacket. He stood beside the long luxury car as another man with wild orange hair remained in the driver’s seat and blew into his hands. They were out of place in the small town and you could tell by the way the man scowled at the door that he knew it.

“Hey,” you called to them, “there’s a place down the street. I don’t do walk-ins.”

“Oh, hello, Miss…” he let his voice trail off as he neared and you stared at him rather than provide your name. His accent, his attire, the curl of his lip, it was clear what he thought of you and the bodunk town, “actually I was referred by an acquaintance. One, James Barnes.”

“Bucky?” you furrowed your brow.

“Mm, yes, that one,” he said, “my car will need detailing. We had some difficulties on the motorway.”

“Right,” you tried not to scowl, “well, if he sent you, I guess I can help.”

You left him and the door clattered behind you. He followed a few steps after as you went to the switch and pushed it to raise the wide door of the garage. You waved in the driver of the car and he carefully pulled in beside your brother’s bike. 

He got out and you were surprised by his size, he was taller even then his companion and wider; neither could be described as short. You lowered the door as the thinner man walked along the shelves and the long table along the other side of the garage. The bigger man stood by the car and tucked his hands in his pockets.

“Not much better in here than out there,” the dark-haired man turned back to you, “you have heat in here?”

“You need a better coat,” you said as you rounded the back of the car, “and some boots.”

You glanced pointedly at his leather shoes and bent to reach under the table. You pulled out the space heater and plugged it in as you set on the wood. You cranked it up and smiled at him tritely.

“So, what’s the damage?” you asked as you looked to the other man.

“Headlight, maybe,” he said in a peculiar accent, “some scratches. We had a bit off a run-in.”

You neared and bent to examine the front of the car. You sighed as you tilted your head and clicked your tongue. It was easy enough to beat out the dents and buff out the scratches with a quick refinish. The headlight would need to be replaced and you knew they didn’t carry anything for that model in town. No one there was pretentious enough to drive it.

“If you want the headlight done before you leave town, it’ll take some time to get the replacement,” you warned.

“Oh, and how do you know I’m leaving?” he taunted coyly.

“Well, I know you’re definitely not sticking around,” you scoffed.

“Why wouldn’t I? A quaint place like this, I’m sure there is so much to explore,” he said dryly.

You had no delusions of what Birch was but it wasn’t the part of outsiders to deride the dead end. You stood straight and put your hands on your hips.

“You can go back to your castle, my lord, but you will have to wait out the storm,” you sneered. “Two days for the scratches. If you want to take it back after that and wait for the headlight to arrive, that’s fine with me.”

“Two days for the scratches? Surely you could do it before the morning,” the black-haired man insisted.

“I could but I have other work to do,” you replied, “so you can be patient and take your turn in line after all the hicks who live here.”

You went back to the table and grabbed your phone from where you tossed it earlier. You unlocked it and searched the model of his car and scrolled through the parts list. 

“You’re Bucky’s guest so I’ll send the bill to him?” you asked, “though you do look to be able to afford it yourself.”

“You can invoice him directly,” he assured, “so you’re one of them?”

“One of them?” you repeated as you focused on checking out. The damn internet kept cutting in and out.

“My brother, those men in this town, I never knew a woman--”

“I’m not a biker. My brother is in the club,” you assured him, “so that big blond dope, he’s your brother?”

“Regrettably, yes,” he slithered, “Loki Odinson,” he introduced himself as he rubbed together his hands, the leather gloves doing little to protect his fingers, “my driver is Korg, and you’ve yet to tell me with whom I am trusting my property.”

“Again, there is a shop down the street. Prices aren’t bad,” you finished up your purchase and tucked your phone in your jacket pocket.

He met your eyes as you turned to him and he looked down his nose. You kept on and brushed past him as you went back around the car and sat by your brother’s bike.

“Sorry about the boss,” the other man, Korg, intoned, “he can be a bit--”

“Don’t apologise for me,” Loki snipped, “I needn’t atone to her.”

You rolled your eyes and wheeled around the side of the bike, “if that’s everything, you two can head back out. I’ll let you know when the car’s ready.”

“We might wait for the snow to calm,” Loki suggested.

“I close in an hour, you’re not staying here all night,” you sniffed.

“Trust me, I have no special desire to spend more time with you than necessary,” he retorted, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a woman so volatile as you, dear, and I’ve only just met you. I never expected you people to have very many manners but perhaps what I did presume was too much.”

You bared your teeth but kept at your work. You would worry about kicking him out when you finished the wiring.

“To be fair, had you not spoken first, I might’ve assumed you were a man,” he added.

You paused and glanced down at the open tool box. You weren’t unused to the comments, you weren’t girly in any way but it wasn’t like you were trying to be a man. You wore what was comfortable and in your work, practicality prevailed over aesthetic. Yet, your years of ridicule as a kid made you less tolerant of the comments and those had stopped long ago because you made sure they did.

“Oh, darling, have I upset you?”

“Don’t call me that,” you said as you reached into the toolbox.

“Well, you’ve not given your name and I’d hate call you what I truly think of you--”

The wrench flew from your hand as you stood and spun to him. It barely missed his head and bounced off the wall and plunked onto the table beside the heater. His eyes rounded and the other man looked at him. There was a thick silence as you glared at him.

“If you weren’t a friend of Bucky’s, I wouldn’t’ve missed,” you hissed, “now I will kindly, before I reach for a bigger wrench, ask you to leave.”

He pushed his shoulders back and tilted his head as his lips thinned dangerously. He swallowed and beckoned the other man with two fingers. His cheek twitched as if he would grin and he nodded subtly.

“Well, darling, how amusing you are. These brutes must adore you,” he snarled, “the exterior does indeed say it all.”

You bent and reached for another tool blindly. He blinked and quickly dodged as you flung the next wrench and he followed his henchman to the entryway. Your temper was a match for many men. It kept you safe.

“Barnes did not say his mechanic was a madwoman,” Loki called back as the bell rang.

“What, are you going to tattle on me?” You stormed towards the doorway, “you precious little princess?”

“Princess?” he met you in the doorway as Korg behind him held the door open and the snow blustered in, “I know Barnes will do me no other favours, but do you think he’ll do you any?”

“Get out,” you spat and shoved him, “I don’t need men to take care of me and I have no problem in proving that.”

He bit the inside of his lip in a crooked smirk and winked before he turned away and strutted out into the snow, shielding his face from the wild winds. Korg trailed behind him and the door sprang back into the frame. You crossed your arms and glared at the peeling paint. 

You were tempted to tow his car out and let it weather the storm but you were smarter than that. If he was doing business with Bucky, you would be a fool to get in the way of it. 

💀

The snow dwindled to a lazy dusting, the ground thick and treacherous. That day, you started early and around noon, you headed across the street to the diner for your usual lunch of a club sandwich and black coffee. You didn’t have to order as all the waitresses knew what to expect. You weren’t unfriendly but your association made many standoffish.

You tapped on the lip of your mug with your thumb, fingers hooked through the handle. The sleepy town felt dead in the winter. You were used to the dullness of Birch but tolerance was hardly happiness. It was home, where you’d grown up and you had no certain desire to get out, but you wouldn’t mind a little more than what was expected.

You yawned and gulped down the last of your coffee. It was bitter and left a few grounds on your tongue. You leaned back and grabbed the monthly newsletter from between the salt and pepper shakers. You read through the fun facts which weren’t very fun or even new. They were copy and pasted out Guinness and Reader’s Digest.

You looked up as you sensed someone approach your table but it wasn’t the waitress. The man from the day before slid coolly onto the seat across from you at the booth and smirked over the table. You raised the newsletter again and folded it backwards to read about the weekly knitting circle down at the rec center that was also the library.

“Good afternoon to you too,” Loki said, “it must be fortune I ran into you, I was hoping to inquire after my car--”

“I told you, two days,” you said tersely as you continued onto your horoscope …‘a new force will bring change’... You hated this tripe. You swore, every month they just switched the blurbs under each sign and hit print.

“So be it,” he cleared his throat and you lowered the paper as he shrugged out of his jacket.

“What are you doing? I eat my lunch alone,” you said.

“Well, to be frank, I was pointed here on the promise of some famous cabbage soup,” he explained as he folded his jacket over the seat next to him, “you looked like you needed company.”

“I don’t,” you assured him.

Kimmie came over and set down your sandwich. She greeted Loki and you saw the way she eyed his tailored suit. He stuck out in the town of flannels and denim.

“Hello, sir, can I get you something to drink?” she asked.

“Tea, English breakfast,” he ordered smoothly.

“Oh, sorry, we only have um, um, sorry, peppermint, earl grey, ginger lemon, and green,” she listed off as she tried to remember them all.

“Earl grey,” he sighed, “and a menu.”

“No, no menu,” you insisted, “and you can take his tea to another table.”

“And when we’re through, I’ll take the cheque,” he ignored you and snickered under his breath.

“Kimmie, can I get a to go box?” you asked as you shimmied off the seat and snatched up your coat, “I have to get back to work.” You took out your wallet and counted out the usual amount plus a tip, “thanks.”

“Of course,” she smiled awkwardly and glanced between you and Loki.

She scooped your sandwich back up and scurried away with it. You felt him watching you as you walked away and went to stand by the till as you watched Nora flit into the kitchen. She packed up your food and returned with the box. You took it and headed for the door, ignoring the arrogant out-of-towner on your way.

“Wait,” Kimmie called out your name and you turned back as she held up your keys, “you dropped these.”

You met her halfway and took them from her with a mutter. Again, he was watching you… or still watching you. She spun and promised she’d have his tea shortly.

“Hmm,” he hummed and you head to the door again, “interesting, I never would have put the name to the face.”

You pushed out into the snow and gritted your teeth. You thought of getting the work on his car out of the way quickly so he would leave you alone but your spite made you want to put it off entirely. Whatever. He’d be gone soon enough.

[blakelywintersfield]

Minors

Okay so, I originally wrote this in response to this post (my friend's reblog is linked instead of the original because OP either deleted it from their blog I guess?), but I feel like this constitutes as its own post.

I know this may sound like an overbearing parent "don't trust strangers on the internet" talk, but like. I don't think a lot of you understand just how quickly a situation can escalate; it's scary. I mean that not in a condescending "you think you're untouchable you stupid little child, you don't really know what the world is like" way either, but as in, I don't think internet safety is being taught realistically, so those things you're told to watch out for are far-fetched or already seem suspect.

Predators don't work the way TV shows joke that they do -- most predators aren't going to try and message you at random posing as a teenage girl and attempt to strike up a friendship. A lot interact in community spaces like tumblr, where some level of anonymity is allowed, and it's not odd for there to be people of both minor and adult ages. They interact with a variety of people -- not just targets. They will have full-fledged social circles. Their blogs and social interactions will look like literally any other person's on here.

Then, of the different blogs they follow, they end up interacting a lot with a certain user. Maybe the kind of humor clicks, or similar opinions, or interests. Nothing out of the ordinary; that's how people make friends. Maybe then they start by sending an ask, or a message, or whatever, and that continues for a bit until you two are kind of acclimated to one another, and then, as far as everyone is concerned, it's just a new friend! Neat! That's how you make friends on the internet. They most likely did this with their other friends on tumblr. Nothing weird. In this hypothetical, the minor party has their full name and city public.

But then this person you make friends with -- the way you would any other person on this website -- turns out to be 10+ years your senior. Which like. Honestly, you don't have to cut them out of your life and block them immediately, but you inform them you're 10 years younger than them. A responsible adult would respond to that knowledge with anything from the range of "oh holy shit you're baby uhh I feel a little weird interacting with you so personally" to "oh goodness you are a youngling I will now enter caregiver/parent-like mode". And there will be an established tone from there of "we may still interact but there is going to always be a set emotional distance". It'll have a different dynamic/feeling to the friendships you have with people your age. And it should. Both parties can still care about each other! But this isn't someone you would like. Hang out one on one with. You wouldn't hang out with your mom's friend one on one, or at your teacher's home alone. That'd be weird, right? That should be the same kind of vibe you get with any adult "friendship" you make online (I put friendship in quotes because I feel like... there's a better term for it, or should be one that establishes that adult/minor relationship, but if there is I can't for the life of me remember it).

But maybe that person doesn't go down that path. Maybe it comes off that way at first, but there's a subtle level of emotional manipulation that is subtle enough that you're not certain you can accuse them of being manipulative. "Oh wow, you're so much younger than me... do you still want to talk to me / be friends / etc.? I can leave you alone now if you want." Warning sign #1: they are pressuring you to make the decision; they are placing responsibility on you. And it might feel a little mean to just drop communication all of a sudden because of age -- you got along fine before. Why should that change anything? That's a rational thought process, but it's also the one that benefits them too.

So hypothetically, you say "no it's okay, we can still talk. we were talking just fine before we found out each other's ages so why should that change?" And then maybe the conversation continues normally from there. But then they continue interacting with you as your peers would. You guys talk about stuff that's been stressing you or your problems, just like you would with your peers. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Warning sign #2: That form of emotional connection isn't normal with an adult/minor relationship. I have minors that follow me. They have talked to me about their problems, and I've offered advice and wisdom; I don't condemn that because, well. As adults, we should help guide the younger if asked. But when it comes to my troubles, I limit how much I discuss with them. I don't bring them up myself (it's often brought up by the other party because I'll post about it on here, like a vent post or whatever). And while I don't brush them off with a short "don't worry about it", I make it clear -- I appreciate that you care enough to make sure I'm okay (because their sympathy / care is just as valuable as an adult's), but even if I'm not okay, the burdens and problems surrounding my troubles will be dealt with by me. I don't ask them for advice. I don't goad them for sympathetic words. And it's not that I believe they couldn't give good advice, or their sympathy means less, but an adult should not be relying on a minor for those levels of emotional labor. That established emotional connection where both parties exchange advice and comfort is how predators manipulate their victims because it's subtle and seemingly harmless, and difficult to paint them as a bad person when you have that level of emotional trust.

And once that emotional connection is established, that's when things can escalate, and get scary, quickly.

One day while talking they will probably bring it up -- the way one of your peers would. Something along the lines of "hey can I tell you something?" or "there's something I want to tell you but I'm afraid you won't want to talk to me anymore if I do" etc. etc.; with that peer/peer dynamic, that'll make you anxious, sure. You'd probably get anxious if they were your own age and said that too. So then, it comes out in some form that "I like you, but like... as more than a friend" or "I think you're really cute; I have for a bit now actually" or something similar. Obviously then it's uncomfortable.

But then you realize -- this is an adult. This is someone who has access to transportation. This is someone that doesn't have to report to someone (i.e. a minor can't just say "I'm going out of town for a week bye!" like your parents would, or SHOULD, be like "uh okay where are you going, who are you going to be with, why, etc. etc. etc."). And they know your full name and a general idea of where you live. You could just block them then and there and remove that information from your blog. But what if they already saved it? What if they already used one of those websites where you can look up a person's address by name for $5? What if they already know where you live, and they had planned on asking to meet up? They might know where you live. And you can't confirm or deny that they know. You can't say for sure if you removed that information before they saved it and used it for that purpose. Suddenly, there's the very real possibility that a pedophile that admitted to being attracted to you knows where you live.

Then what do you do? You should tell your parents or a trusted authority figure. But you're also a teenager and there's the likelihood that your parents might brush it off, or get angry with you, and you might get your internet taken away, etc., which is stressful because that takes away a major social area. To build upon the anxiety with that, there's the risk of unknowing if this person does know where you live, and if they do, if they are just unstable enough to do something drastic, like, y'know. Kidnap you. Because they know where you live. And they may know your school schedule too. And if your parents or trusted authority figure doesn't know about this situation, you may end up a missing child never found at worst, or found with far more trauma (5 years of life being kidnapped as opposed to a few months) that could've been avoided had someone known the situation.

But to 100% ensure your safety, it would have to be reported to the police. Because your parents can't do anything about the fact that a pedophile on the internet might know where you live. They can't confirm or deny that they know, and if they did, there's not much they can do other than keep an eye out for someone that looks out of the ordinary. But if they're most likely not home at the same time you are all the time. So, having the police involved ensures your safety -- if you open a case. You can report it to the police, and they'll ask: do you want to press charges (because it could be considered a form of child endangerment). If you say no, then that guarantees if you are kidnapped, that person would be the first they'd look to as a suspect. But to avoid that kidnapping risk at all, you'd have to say yes. And you're a kid that's now having to get involved in court just to avoid any risk to your safety because a pedophile may or may not have your address and may or may not be someone that would abduct their target, and so even if they didn't have your address and wouldn't kidnap you, you are now in a legal situation, which is. extremely. stressful. As someone's who's dealt with the court system a lot it's stressful no matter what.

And sure, you could omit the last step. But then you'll have that looming anxiety for as long as you're a minor that there is a possibility this person may show up at your house at some point. And that anxiety is fucking torture. I know it firsthand, I know all of this up to the legal portion firsthand, because this is exactly how I got tangled up with a pedophile in high school. That anxiety can make you paranoid. It impacts your sleep, which impacts your emotional tolerance and your concentration. It looms and there's nothing you can do to get rid of it other than convince yourself "they probably don't have my address; they probably won't find me". And that logic becomes sounder as time passes. But it requires time to pass, and in the meantime, you sit in constant suffering suspense.

It's just not fucking worth it, okay? You might think "this would never happen to me" but like. I was the fat emo weirdo in high school, literally considered attractive by no one and told so by peers and I still had it happen to me. So don't think "I'm not appealing enough" or whatever. Put self-esteem issues aside here, because to them, you're underage and at a power dynamic disadvantage not just physically, but most likely emotionally too. They care that you're a certain (under)age and can be manipulated into sexual acts. They will target you no matter how ugly you think you are or how unattractive your peers have convinced you.

So please. As an adult, that went through this situation (and could've had it turn out a lot worse tbh) -- do not disclose your real name (especially last names), location more specific than country, phone number, or school publicly online or to anyone you cannot 100% trust. I practice half of these in adulthood just to err on the side of caution since a full name and phone number alone could be used to find my address, and there are some preeeeetty unstable people out there. As a minor, absolutely no one needs any information unless you plan on meeting them in person, which should only be done after you've gotten to know them extremely well and both parties' parents know and are involved. It doesn't need to be on your public profile, and it shouldn't be on your public profile. I want your social media experience to be as enjoyable as possible, I don't want you feeling like you have to constantly keep an eye out for predators. But to keep yourself as safe as possible, don't purposefully make that information public. It's simple, but it’ll help you avoid so much potential stress.

Please stay safe.

[wesimpforxiao]

Say My Name and I’ll Be There:  4.1

Author’s Note:  So I’m thinking of updating every other day or every two days? I tend to write compulsively and neglect my schoolwork lol.  Juggling this with work and school will be difficult if I post every day (I can’t help it though, I love updating every day!) So yeah.  Also if anyone has chapter filler ideas or prompts they want me to write out, message me or comment below! Back to the story!

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Xiao had just cleared a band of hilichurls when he came across the small stuffed bunny lying on the ground.  It was tattered and worn, but still held its original color.  He picked it up and dusted it off, glancing in the direction of the crying girl at the top of the hill. She had been crying over her stolen toy so Xiao took it upon himself to return it to her.  

He may or may not have destroyed a portion of the rice crop in doing so...but no matter! The girl was happy now.

"Thank you Mr. Adeptus!"  She gave him a toothy grin and hugged her bunny close.  "Thank you so much!"

"It was no trouble."  Xiao didn't return her smile and began to walk across the bridge that oversaw most of the rice crop.  What was it with mortal children and material possessions? Was it like him with his yaksha mask and spear?

"Mr. Adeptus sir, would you like something to eat?"

"Mortal food is not to my liking."  He continued to walk away despite hearing her disappointed 'oh.'  His eyes landed at the top of another hill, where the hall of Quince Village sat.  I should check on her Granny while I'm here.

"Welcome to my humble home!  How may I--" Granny's eyes widened significantly when she caught sight of Xiao.  "Oh my, it's been some time.  Is she alright? Has something happened?"

"Mm."  Xiao flicked his gaze around the building before he closed the distance.  "She's fine.  The Fatui will pose a significant problem.  They may come to you first."

"Oh," Granny rolled her eyes.  "Don't worry about me then, dear.  Just make sure she's safe.  I can handle the Fatui's interrogations just fine."

"There's no telling what tactics they may use or what they're after.  Make no mention of my interactions with you, nor how you found her.  It is for your own safety."

"Consider it done!  Now, would you like a cup of tea?"

...........................

"Wait, what?" You and the rest of the adventure team had returned to Quince Village on your request.  

Well...when you say 'the rest of the adventure team,' it was just you and Aether.  Diluc and Bennett had returned to Mondstat on your way here from Liyue Harbor.  After your little confrontation with Childe, he claimed there was unfinished business with the Fatui in the harbor and had to remain there.  You didn't believe it one bit.

"Yeah! Do you think he doesn't like me?" Lil Luo's shoulders drooped in sadness.  She held her tattered bunny tight against her chest.

"'An adeptus that doesn't smile," Aether met your eyes.  "That sounds like Xiao."

"W-well, when was he here?  When did this happen?"  You had to refrain from shaking her little shoulders for answers.

"U-um, maybe a week ago?  I saw him a couple more times after that, but he never smiled back at me..."

"Xiao," you whispered to yourself and scanned the fields for any sign of him.  "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Four days ago, I think."

"You want to look for him, don't you?"  Aether raised a smug brow.

"Can we?"  You pleaded.

"We're here on your request.  Might as well stay a bit, right?"

"Thank you so much!"

"You can just repay us with food," Paimon popped up and was practically drooling at her own imagination.  Aether nodded in agreement.

The three of you--correction, two of you-- climbed the hill to the village center while Paimon floated carefree alongside Aether.  The second you reached the top, you were greeted with a disturbing sight.

Fatui agents.

"W-what the hell?"  You instinctually grabbed the hilt of your sword, as did Aether.  "What are Fatui doing in Quince Village?"

"Paimon has no idea.  Let's get them!"

"Doesn't your Granny live here?" Aether sent you a worried look.

"Yes, she does."  You marched right up to the nearest agent and puffed out your chest.  "Excuse me, what's going on here? Why are you morons moving my Granny's stuff out of the house?"

"Who're you callin' morons?" The agent scoffed through his mask.  "Shouldn't you be in school or somethin'?  Scram.  Get out of here.  Damn kids."

"This is MY house," your blade pressed against his neck in a flash.  "Get off of my property."  Aether followed your lead and drew his weapon too.

"I'm afraid it isn't your home anymore," an all-too familiar deep voice flowed through the air. Zhongli shot the agent a look that caused him to leave the situation to the consultant.  "I sincerely apologize for not being in touch recently.  The funeral parlor has been quite backed-up lately thanks to Hu Tao's mismanagement."

"What are you doing here?" Paimon asked the question that was on all your minds.  "The funeral parlor is so far south of here."

"The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor serves all of Liyue," answered Zhongli.  His piercing eyes turned their attention to you and Aether.  "As you know, the parlor is partnered with the Fatui."

"And? That doesn't explain why you're here," you snarled.  Don't get anything mixed up; you were happy to see him.  But the Fatui at your house? Not as much.  

Zhongli released a short sigh and closed his eyes.  "We received a call from one of your neighbors.  It appears your grandmother died last night of a heart attack."

Something hard panged within your chest and it was suddenly difficult to breath.  "That's not...possible."

"Hey," Aether wrapped an arm around your shoulders as the world seemed to sway beneath your feet.  He slowly led you to the ground.

"That's horrible," Paimon muttered.  "Was it...painful?"

"Paimon!" Aether hushed.

"No.  It was rather quick.  She had not suffered long."  Zhongli knelt so that he was eye level with you.  "I had sent someone to meet up with you in Dihua Marsh, but it appears as though the messenger never met you.  My apologies for the oversight, dear friend."

"Then," you gulped, "why are the Fatui here?"

"Your grandmother had signed the house over to them a day or so before she passed."

"What? Why would she do that? She loves this house!"  Your tears dried before they had the chance to fall.  Your fists tightened as you struggled to determine who the enemy was.  Was it Zhongli?  He was technically Fatui if he worked with them.  Xiao could have been wrong about him.  "Who's in charge here?"

Zhongli almost appeared hesitant to answer.  Xiao managed to reach the grandmother in time, but it appears she still had to make some sort of arrangement to guarantee everyone's safety.  To think that Childe had somehow known to come here--

"Tch."  You stood up and brushed past Aether, heading directly toward the Fatui agent that had the audacity to tell a twenty year old to go back to school.  "Hey, dumbass!"  You gripped the collar of his coat and yanked him close.  "Tell me who's in charge here."

"Heh, want to fight your way out of a contract, eh?  Don't you worship the God of Contracts?  You're not gettin' your stupid house back."

"Tell me who sent you."

"A certain Harbinger," the agent taunted.

"Give me the name!"  You back-handed the masked agent hard enough to hurt him and split your knuckles wide open.  The blood splattered onto the wooden floor and soaked into his jacket.

"Hey, wait!"  Aether grabbed your shoulder.  Zhongli watched him do so.

"You're in luck, sweetheart.  You'd give quite the show badmouthing Childe."

"Wha--"  You stumbled backwards and knocked into Aether.  The two of you shared a look of shock, concern, and betrayal.  "This is all under Childe's jurisdiction?"

"Uh-huh," the agent lifted his mask slightly and wiped at his busted lip.  "He should be on his way back to Liyue Harbor by now, if you wanna try and take it up with him.  But I'm tellin' you he ain't gonna budge."

..........................

You stood alone in the rain.  Zhongli had arranged for a proper funeral and had refused to charge you for the provided services.  He had even managed to retrieve one of Granny's necklaces from the Fatui's grasp, and gave it to you.  He and Aether were alongside you, what...twenty minutes ago?  They decided to leave you alone in front of the new gravestone to grieve.  The funeral was simple, per your request to hold true to Granny's wishes.  The entire village had grieved with you.

"I'm sorry I came too late for a visit, Granny." The words came out robotic and emotionless.  The look on your face was blank.  You placed a small bouquet of glaze lilies on top of the stone; Zhongli had you sing to them before picking them.  "Things got busy, and Childe...well, I'm sure you met him, didn't you?"  You let out a dry bitter laugh that blended with the sound of raindrops.  "I love you.  Thank you for taking care of me even if I was a brat sometimes."

Could it be that you had been the cause of her death just like you had caused your parents'?  Just how much blood was on your hands?

You felt nothing yet everything at the same time.  Your eyes were dry.  After the initial shock, you hadn't shed a single tear.  Thus was your usual reaction to death; you were usually at peace with the idea of it.  If it was their time, it was their time.  But you were not convinced her death was caused by her heart.  

Childe.  Could he have resorted to such extremes to get the house? Or was it for something more?  Perhaps he was the true danger Xiao had warned you about.

Your chest ached, desperate to release the pent up storm of emotions whirling through you.  The wind picked up for a moment.  "Xiao?"  Your hoarse greeting was met with a grim-looking yaksha.  It was possible you were just imagining him in a time of need.  You hadn't seen him in a month now.

Xiao blinked and gave you a once-over as he stood beside you.  He had heard your sorrow like it was blaring in his ears.  His eyes fell to the gravestone, and his expression saddened further.  "She's dead." His question of disbelief sounded more like a tactless statement of fact.

"Yeah," you half-winced, half-scoffed at his remark.  "She's dead."  You knew all too well that he didn't mean any harm.  "Why're you standing in the rain?"

"I don't concern myself with the weather, but you should be inside.  Mortals are fragile."

"I don't particularly care at the moment." Your words cut through the rain like a blade of ice.  

She has lost all of her family now, Xiao realized.  He watched you with admiration at how strong you were acting even though it was clear you were trying not to break.

"I came back to visit and check in on her," you opened up after a few minutes of silence.  His glance towards you prompted you to continue.  "And then a little girl told me an adeptus had saved her toy bunny.  That was you, wasn't it?"

"Mm."

"Did you...see her?  My Granny?"

"I have spoken with her several times over the course of several years.  I did not think it would be the last time.  What happened?"

"Heart attack."  You swallowed.  "When I reached the house, the Fatui were clearing it out."  You caught the color draining from Xiao's face.  "What? Do you know something?"

"So my suspicions were correct," Xiao muttered distastefully.  He looked around the graveyard.  "You're sure they all left?"

"Yes.  Zhongli said that before she died she had signed a contract to hand the house over.  But she wouldn't do that so easily."

Satisfied with his scan of their surroundings, Xiao folded his arms across his chest.  "I told you I would inform you of our predicament when the time is right.  The time is now."

"After my Granny just died?"  Your undirected anger manifested at his words.  

"The Fatui are after the two of us."

"Why?"

"Our guess is they wish to create adepti soldiers or yakshas using the technique I used on you when you were a child."  Your eyes raised at 'our.'  Xiao's gaze flicked to you briefly.  "Zhongli."

"Wait, why would Zhongli be involved with this in the first place?"

"He is the former Lord of Geo, Rex Lapis--"

"Wait wait wait, he's what?!  But that's not possible, Rex Lapis is--"

"--Only a select few know his identity.  Do not go around telling."  You nodded, head spinning from all this new information.  "Childe was tasked with identifying and obtaining us.  If anyone gets their hands on an adeptus or your blood, it could spell the downfall of humankind."

"What exactly is my blood?  Why would they want me?"

"My blood runs through your veins."

"U-um...?"  You shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

"That is how I saved you," Xiao uncrossed his arms and faced you fully.  "It allows you to withstand more adeptal energy than the ordinary human, which is why I can be so close to you.  It also increases your body's healing capabilities.  It is the only reason you survived that day.  It is also the only reason you survived your lawachurl wound."

"...Why didn't you tell me this before?" You mumbled beneath your breath.  The rain hitting the earth nearly overtook the sound of your voice.  "We...We could have saved her."  Your anger leaked through your voice.  It wanted something to blame, something to lash out at.  You caught yourself before you could say or think something you didn't mean.  It was a heart attack.  Xiao is not to blame for this.  Childe is the enemy.

"Childe was listening in on our conversations.  I could not disclose this information to you so we would have the advantage to work in the dark against the him."  He stared down at the gravestone.  "I am...sorry.  I did not recognize the stress it would put her through. She was optimistic and happy when I last saw her."

You shook your head.  "I doubt it caused the heart attack.  I just want to know what they did to make her sell the house," your hands curled into fists.  "Childe will pay for this."

The two of you silently stood in the rain for some time before Xiao held his hand out to you.  "You will get sick if you stay out here longer.  Let us meet with the rest of the team."  You placed your injured hand in his, having forgot that it was aching the entire time.  Xiao's eyes narrowed at this, but he did not question you.  With your blood, it would heal by tomorrow morning.

[inkslingersworld]

Crowbar (Alternate First Meeting)

Hi guys! This here short story is my first participation in Adrigami Week! I was planning on posting it yesterday, seeing as it’s following the “Alternate First Meeting” prompt, but the time got away from me. Idk if it’s still eligible for the official reblog or not, but I still had a blast writing it all the same. Enjoy! (Contains very mild profanity)

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Her lip was bleeding. For whatever reason, Kagami chose to focus on this minute aspect out of all the other injuries she’d sustained. She dabbed it with a paper towel.

Kagami couldn’t recall how she’d gotten like this. There was so much she couldn’t recall, and the staggering immensity of all her forgotten experiences had weighed down on her for so long that when she found herself in a bathroom without a clue as to how she’d gotten there, she was able to handle the newfound situation better than someone who hadn’t been through what she had.

The only thing that confused Kagami was that her clothes were in perfect condition, despite her face being bloody and streaked with dirt. In fact, they looked as though they’d just been sewn by a master tailor. 

She brushed the puzzlement aside - she couldn’t linger here in this mysterious bathroom. Lingering got you killed.

The door opened easily at her touch, and Kagami examined the bedroom that it led into. The walls were painted in an eye-catching shade of purple, but the bed itself was small and plain. Kagami also noticed that there was no furniture other than a small nightstand and that the window was broken. It framed the outside world in jagged glass.

This aforementioned outside world was cloudy and bleak. Based on how damp the street appeared, Kagami concluded it must’ve rained recently. The buildings matched the clouds in their shade of gray, with windows just as broken as the one Kagami was using as an observation point. No street signs were visible. No vehicles, no animals, no people. Not even wind.

Kagami couldn’t care less about the lack of other individuals; her attention was pinpointed on the crowbar leaning casually against the building opposite. Without a second’s hesitation, she kicked away the rest of the glass and crawled expertly out of the window.

She didn’t know how she knew there’d be a fire escape, but resolved not to ponder on it, because every second she didn’t have the crowbar was a second where it could fall into the possession of someone else. Crowbars were tools; tools were extremely helpful.

By the time Kagami had raced down the stairs leading to the ground, she could notice how old and rusty the crowbar was. In retrospect, it probably wouldn’t be much use against some of the more contemporary weapons others owned, but in times like these, Kagami would take anything she could get.

In no time, she had dashed across the street and grasped the crowbar in her right hand. Flakes of deceased metal fell to the ground like rotten snow as she twirled it experimentally. Even if it fell apart in combat, it was nevertheless pretty maneuverable. 

“Drop it.”

Kagami turned around instead, searching for the voice’s master. She found the man in question stepping out the adjacent alleyway. His face was hidden under an old halloween mask, but Kagami could see he was wearing a green rain jacket and pointing a pistol in her direction.

Was it a pistol? Further examination led Kagami to realize it was no such thing; it was a water gun, and she almost pitied the hopeless idiot who brandished it at her.

“I said drop it!” the man shouted, though not very loudly.

“You know that’s not a real gun, right?” Kagami asked nonchalantly, deciding to break the truth to him.

The man lowered the toy firearm and hung his head. “Damn it.”

“Wait, you already knew?” said Kagami in disbelief. “Why on Earth would you use a water gun instead of, I don’t know, an actual one?”

“I’m a pacifist,” admitted the man, sounding guilty. “I’m a believer of nonviolence.”

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but nonviolence fell out of fashion a while back,” said Kagami, not knowing where she’d heard it from.

“Well, I always favored the old styles over the new,” the man said. “You hungry? I’ve got some food.”

Kagami’s mouth fell open in spite of herself. Who did this airhead think he was? You didn’t just go around offering people food. But before she’d even responded, he started walking over to her, removing his mask in the process.

Based off his recent actions, Kagami was expecting him to look innocent and tame, and she was not disappointed. However, she hadn’t foreseen blond hair and green eyes. She hadn’t expected him to look this... well, attractive.

“I’m Adrien, by the way,” he said, plopping his butt on the pavement and taking off his previously concealed backpack. “What’s your name?”

“I’m not about to tell you my name!” Kagami cried exasperatedly. “I know nothing about you!”

Adrien, who’d previously been busy unpacking, looked up at Kagami closely for the first time. His eyes widened after locking with hers and he dropped the box of Ritz crackers he’d been taking out.

After a few uncomfortable seconds, Kagami demanded, “What?”

Adrien flinched violently and faced the ground, blushing. “Nothing.”

“Why were you staring at me for so long?” persisted Kagami.

“N-No reason!” Adrien stammered embarrassedly. 

“Then why were you doing it?”

“I don’t know!”

Kagami decided not to push the topic and begrudgingly sat down; she hadn’t realized how hungry she was until now.

“So...” began Adrien slowly, seeming to regain some of his previous placidity. “I never did learn your name.”

“We’re not there yet,” Kagami grumbled, snatching a plastic-wrapped sandwich out of his hands.

“Well, what are you doing ‘round these parts?” Adrien asked curiously, putting his chin in his hands.

“None of your business,” snapped Kagami, losing some of her intimidation skills to a mouthful of grilled cheese.

“How’s the food?”

“Awful,” Kagami replied, even though it was delicious.

Adrien laughed hard. “You’re funny!”

“No, I’m not.”

“Oh, but you are!” 

“What’s your problem?” asked Kagami sternly. “You know nothing about me, I could’ve killed you without hesitation as soon as you came over here!”

“And yet you didn’t!” Adrien pointed out cheerfully.

Kagami took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. “Adrien, wasn’t it?”

Adrien nodded and smiled, seeming delighted that she’d remembered his name.

“Adrien, I don’t know what miracle allowed you to survive for this long, but in our society’s current state, you might not be around much longer. I suggest you drop this puppy dog attitude and learn to fend for yourself.”

“Why learn to fend for myself when we can fend for each other?” asked Adrien earnestly.

The sincereness of this question, contrasting with the playfulness Adrien had exhibited, caught Kagami off guard for a moment, though she soon regained her bearings.

“Adrien, no offense, but you’d be dead weight,” she stated. “Even if I wanted to stick around with you, my memory kinda wipes itself clean every six hours or so, only holding on to the most treasured information - my name, my personality, how to speak, how to read and write, knowing what stuff is, and the like.”

“No way!” exclaimed Adrien, before Kagami could continue. “I have the same thing! That’s why I started a diary!”

He zipped open his backpack again and retrieved a worn leather-bound book. Adrien opened it and showed Kagami its messily written contents.

“I originally didn’t remember how to write,” he explained, flipping through some pages to get to the beginning, “but I was able to relearn! It took like a year, though.”

Kagami peered at the even messier scrawl of a younger Adrien. She was shocked to see his name spelled incorrectly with crayon.

“How long’ve you been on your own?” she asked uncertainly.

“About twenty years, I think,” Adrien answered dismissively. “I can’t know for certain, I didn’t relearn how to understand a calendar until someone took me in when I was... fourteen, maybe?”

“Someone took you in?” inquired Kagami.

Suddenly, Adrien’s face began filled with sorrow and loneliness. “Yeah... yeah, I don’t like thinking about that.”

Noticing how sympathetically Kagami was gazing at him, Adrien quickly plastered his old smile back on. “That doesn’t really matter. Now I’ve got you!”

Kagami hesitated. One of the instincts her memory’d held onto was avoiding people, but Adrien seemed different. He in the same situation she was in, and he’d shown her kindness. Besides, it’d be nice to have a companion, and Adrien’s diary probably contained scores of valuable information to help the duo survive. 

Even if not for all those reasons, there was something else, though Kagami wasn’t sure what it was yet. For whatever reason, Adrien made her feel relaxed, happy even. She didn’t know why, but he did.

“Okay, Adrien,” she said resignedly. “You can stick with me.”

Adrien’s face lit up with gratitude, and before she knew it, Kagami found herself buried in a hug. It was warm and comforting.

“Thank you so much!” Adrien said happily. 

“No problem, Adrien,” sighed Kagami, already having her doubts.

Adrien released her and scooped up his backpack. They both stood up.

“Where are we headed?” he asked.

“West,” responded Kagami mechanically. “It won’t make too much of a difference, but we need all the sunlight we can get.”

The two started to walk. After trekking for about a minute, Adrien spoke again.

“You never did tell me what your name is.”

Kagami smiled softly and rolled her eyes. “It’s Kagami.”

“Kagami,” repeated Adrien thoughtfully. “I like that name.”

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@adrigamiweek

[we-dragons]

I'm from a different dimension actually Chapter 7 Damian x reader

"Ira! I need my emergency kit!" Molly is pulling at my hair with a brush, I grimace at my reflection, she had put pearls and violet gems in my hair. Seeing as it already wasn't long bearly pushing past my ears, even though there aren't many of them in there it ways down in some places. I had already allowed her to put me in a ball gown, which I'm sure costs much more than my apartment building. It reminds me of peacock feathers, purples, greens, blues fill the cloth they blend seamlessly dark purple at the top and ending with blue at the bottom. I look at the matching marbled shoes and guilt climbs through me.

"Molly I don't need makeup, I'm already in a peacock dress, and there are gems in my hair. Besides the mascara is enough I don't want to spend an hour rubbing anything else off." Molly gasps, a hand gripping at her heart.

"Why-how could you say such a thing!" Ira hands Molly her phone, she screams. "We're going to be late! Ira put the bag back!" I'm yanked from my chair and raced down the hall within minutes I'm thrown into a limo with Molly's parents. Molly jumps in starting to yell at the driver shocking her parents who kept telling her to calm down. It doesn't take long to get to Wayne Manor, the courtyard is crowded filled with flashing lights from cameras reporters, and newscasts. They surrounded every inch with an exception of a semi-circle right at the front of the building where the car pulled up. Once more I'm pulled roughly out of the vehicle by molly, I nearly trip going up the stairs.

"Molly dear, we need to go in together!" My friend's mother pants from behind her husband seems to be in a similar position as me. Like mother like daughter.

I pull my arm away from Molly gently and smooth out my peacock dress, I sigh internally finding relief that I had personally told Molly to make the dress so it covered without it being tight. If I didn't then I would be pulling up the fabric like Molly who went not so modest. Not only had she blinged out she full-on black and high heels that pushed out her height. She looked good, and she made her parents match. When her mother finally catches up she puts a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

What happens after the incident leaves me at a table sitting behind a card with my name on it. Molly was seated somewhere else because I had used my own invitation instead of being a plus one. My eyes cast over the room soaking in again the decor of the newly decorated main floor. My energy seems to drain while I watch the people chat dance and laugh. No one was seated at my table and I was slightly relieved but I still felt odd. I had gone to parties with my mom in the past, ones that were held in her honor about her findings. I feel myself relishing in those memories I had looking back at the times she would pull a silly face at me while I was bored at said parties, or told a joke in some of her speeches. My mother was the expert in The Islamic Golden Era, despite not being a Muslim herself. She prided herself on giving credit to those who deserved more but had their work stolen by Europeans. But then, when she went on that Egypt and Greece dig she had found something that unnerved her. I knew what it was, and I wish I hadn't either. My happy thoughts turn sour, and I can feel myself grimace. I am tired...so tired.

"You made it, It's good to see you here." my head whips around falling on emerald eyes.

"Yeah, I had already told Molly that she could take me to the next party she goes to. However, I didn't know that if you came with an invite and not a plus one that you had to sit at a separate table." He snorts and sits down to my right.

"You were originally sat by her but father assumed I needed a friend," He shows me a card with his name on it. "so he changed Grayson out for you."

"Do you not have friends?"

"None close by."

"When have I accepted you as a friend?" He smiles

"That is a good question, but the same goes for me, you more someone I tolerate."

"Same here, Besides your a bad influence."

"tsk,...touche." his gaze looks me up and down and I have the sudden urge to say 'eyes up here'.

"You look tired, would you like to go to the library?"

"Usually libraries and tired people don't mix."

"How about a tour then, we have several artifacts my father has purchased that you might find interesting." He pushes harder.

"You want an excuse to leave, don't you? I thought my main purpose for being here was to talk to Mr.Wayne, not venture into the mansion." He sighs with his own body, visibly exaggerating the movements.

"My father is deeply preoccupied already in another engagement, he won't even be here for hours. Would you prefer to stay here doing nothing or would you like to leave?" He sounds rather annoyed while looking off to his left and scowling more. I follow my eyes to a group of three who I recognize from the cafe, all of them are pointing and smirking. I being to feel more drained at the thought of them coming here and stand. "Your home, where to first?" He shoots up, grabbing my hand dragging me through the dense crowd of people.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Amazing, this would date back to the early years of feudal Japan, this is Greek! Oh! There's a Khopesh and a Canaan Sickel sword on this wall!"

Damian scoffs sounding more like a laugh than a mocking tone. "You can tell the difference." I give him a look, feeling offended.

"Of course I can, you mostly can tell by the markings on the blade." I turn my head back to the wall slowly pointing to the distinguishable pieces of evidence. "This one is older Hebrew, and here you can see small hieroglyphics depicting the sun. Plus the metals on each blade are very different." I tilt my head back to him, his face stays indifferent. "You knew that already didn't you?" He nods and walks again.

"You must really like history, seems like you could talk about it none stop." He calls back.

"Did you forget who my mother was?"

"I thought she specialized in the Islamic golden era."

"It didn't mean she didn't know the history of other peoples. My mother developed research of anything she could get her hands on." I pause for a minute. "What about you, where did you learn."

"I was taught by some of the best in the world, my mother made sure of it."

"I see." We talk more while examining the objects displayed, I had fun just listening to him explain how his father got some of them. Though the collection wasn't huge it still made me a bit happy to see the objects. My phone buzzes, and I quickly take it out of my pocket.

Molly: Hey where are you we need to get going!

Molly: Dad got too drunk and now he's crying about the world.

Molly: We will be outside, Be there.

"Sorry, I have to get going, I'll see you at school later!" I run through the hall and snag as many macarons as I can on the way out. Molly waves from the car opening the door so I slide in faster.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Sorcerer found. Name: Doctor Fate, Subject: host"

"Anyone else?"

"Database shows,... John Constantine, and Zatanna. All other information is unavailable."

"Gather what they have on the crows send probes if you must."

"Proceeding."

Nightmare stands by the window waiting for his queue. I pull a scale out from the box and open the window. I hand him the scale and he chews effectively destroying the small miracle. "Remember stay out of sight if someone spots you wipe it from their memory and if you see a crow take the fight to the in-between and go for the kill. You have a little bit of my power with you only use it when needed." He purrs, rubbing his head on my hand, then jumps. He vanishes. I sigh putting the device in the box marked with an X just in case and push it under my bed. I head out into my living room putting some things away and cleaning here and there. Proud of my work I turn on the TV and sprawl on my sofa with a bowl of popcorn. Reruns of Highlander play on one of my favorite channels, I smile at my luck and sing to the theme song.

*Thunk thunk thunk*

I jump at the sound, I hear the noise again and follow it to my kitchen bat in hand. I flip on the light and smack my face, a very wet robin scowls at me through the glass. Only then did I notice the rain, and I pray that Nightmare is staying safe. I open the door and let him in, he mutters a thank you while walking in dipping water on my floor.

"Not to be rude, but is there something you need?" He ignores me and continues dragging water on the floor to the living room.

"Robin?" I catch up to him, he pulls something out from his ear and stuffs it in his pocket.

"I would like to stay here for a little while"

"How long is a little while, will I need to pull out the bed in the couch?" He gives me a look.

"There's a bed in your couch?"

"Sometimes I want to watch TV while I do my homework, laying down here makes it easier." I go to the bathroom to pull out some towels.

"Where was this when I was heavily injured?"

"I'm sorry, but the fact that you were bleeding was more concerning. I also put new sheets on the bed and you broke a perfectly good window. There is still blood on my cushions, and you wanted me to place you on the bed?" grabbing the biggest fluffiest towel in the bunch walking back out to the living room.

"You still on about that?"

"It was expensive!" I hold out the towel, he takes it and places his yellow cape in my hand. I frown but head to the coat rack hanging the heavy fabric on the highest rung. I feel short noticing its length, I turn back to Robin who's sat down on the couch the large towel engulfing him completely minus his hair. The black strands stuck oddly to his face and drooped sadly, I almost laugh because he looks like a sad cat. Like Nightmare whenever I give him a bath, I think I have a picture of that somewhere. "Did you want something to drink or eat?"

"Why is it that every time I come here you offer something?"

"It's a hospitality thing I got living in Minnesota, it's just being nice. Besides, you work to protect people, don't you? It only makes sense that I offer you something, I doubt you get paid to do your job. I bet you have countless scars from just doing so, I can do my part and help you feel comfortable. Call it a form of respect."

"Tsk."

I stroll into the kitchen, "Well, I suppose I could give some soda, tea, or water after all you left plenty on the floor."

"What happened to respect?"

"Well, I have feelings to sir! Tossing my words aside like that, I shouldn't even feed you." I poke my head back out, I smile at his scowl while he in turn glares at me. "Now for once, I am out of tea but I have several cans of cherry coke and some popcorn and macarons from a party I went to earlier. How about that?"

"That's fine." I hum grabbing what I needed and plopped back down in my seat handing him the coke. I place the brightly colored macarons and some chips I found between us along with the popcorn. I let myself get absorbed into the Highlander again just as MacLeod beheads another immortal and gains his Quickening.

"What is this?" My Jaw drops while I look at him concerned.

"Just how uncultured are you." His face flushes and his face twists he opens his mouth but i stop him. "Say no more, I will be right back." I come out with my computer and pull up VUDU opening season one of the show. "Sit back buckaroo, now your in for the long haul. Now right now all you need to know is 'There can only be one." His face contorts in confusion, but gives in and moves closer.

"I'm not going to get in trouble with Batman am I." He smirks.

"Most likely."

"Dammit."

[happyinjection]

♠️♥️High Card Short Story 5 “Poison Phenomenon” (2/3)♦️♣️

Enter Finn and Leo, who surprisingly gained mutual understanding through a favorite band. Work forgotten, thus the listening session began...

Original: https://twitter.com/highcard_pj/status/1539805709390344193

Author: https://twitter.com/poipheno

On Leo’s orders, the office had not the usual bland BGM, but Poipheno’s coolest FK rock playing.

I immersed myself in the sound, listening intently.

With his arms folded Leo closed his eyes, while Wendy, as she furrowed her brows, was listening with a difficult look on her face. Vijay, with an unwavering serene expression which I couldn’t really figure out, was keeping his eyes fixed on his houseplant.

The song that I picked from their second album, “Love Imitation”, was finally over.

“How was that!”

I quickly turned back to Wendy.

“Hm. Well, it’s cool, I guess...”

“I know right?? Let’s get to the next song, Leo!”

“Hit it.”

“Damn, I can’t hold back any longer!”

I took off my suit jacket and shirt. An orange t-shirt appeared.

“Oi, Finn. Pinochle employees shouldn’t wear t-shirts underneath their suits. It’s improper.”

Leo chided me.

“So what, this is my lucky item. Look!”

I turned my back. A Poison Phenomenon logo was conspicuously put there as a backprint.

Wendy could only stare at me with a questioning look on her face. “Is that what you call a band tee?”

“Exactly! Isn’t it cool!”

“Uh, yeah. Cool, it’s cool alright.”

Suddenly Vijay butted in.

“The rippling-like part of the P serves to show that the titular ‘poisonous effect’ as the band was named after is still going on.”

“Why are you even elaborating?”

After that, our Poipheno listening session continued for a while. At first we only played my top songs from their early days, but eventually we also began to play Leo’s Selections of the works from their middle and current era. While listening, my body naturally moved along.

“Enjoying yourself, aren’t you, Finn.”

“You bet I am. They became a hit ‘cause they shifted to a more danceable music since the middle era. Rock that you can dance to, isn’t it the best.”

“The fact that even a lowlife such as you can also enjoy it is the greatest thing about Poipheno.”

Only when Poipheno was the subject of matter I would overlook Leo’s needlessly snide remarks. All of a sudden, Vijay spoke up.

“Finn is quite talented, huh. It’s an honor, so please show me more.”

“Ah? What about?”

“Your dance, you can dance, can’t you? Please show me, Justin seems to be excited about it as well.”

Vijay nudged the pot of his houseplant toward me.

“Plants don’t dance.”

“Oi, don’t push your beliefs into the stuff Vijay says.”

There was a rare hint of confusion on Leo’s expression.

“The cells are moving due to sound waves. Come, Finn, take a look too.”

“Vijay, don’t be ridiculous. Do you think Finn can dance?”

Wendy might have meant to follow it up with something, but before she can say anything else, it passed my mind.

I immediately got to my feet.

Just like that, I rolled my way right to the center of the showroom, and then used the momentum to do a forward somersault. I heard Wendy let out a quiet scream. And then, with a few shakes of my body to the music, I dove shoulder-first into the floor. Spreading my thighs open to maintain the momentum I kept spinning round and round, before finally leaped back upright.

“Heh. I can at least do this much.”

It was break dance. Using my thumb, I brushed the tip of my nose.

Wendy cheered in a shrill voice.

“Amazing, Finn! That was cool!”

“Eh, for real? Hehehe. I learned it from a friend who did street dance. I can also do the head spinning thing, y’know.”

“If you tear your suit I’m going to cut it from your paycheck.”

Leo reminded me. Getting my salary deducted is a big problem. If I ruin my suit while on a mission the expenses would get covered, but if I ruin my suit over a stupid matter like this, Leo would really make me pay.

Right as I decided to stop doing acrobatic moves---

“Even so, you’re a well-trained monkey. Shall I give you a banana as a reward?”

There he went again.

“A~ah? Bastard, ain’t ya just chickening out ‘cause you can’t dance--?”

“Hold on, Finn, don’t easily take the bait. Leo, you should give an honest praise too, shouldn’t you.”

“Leo~ Ain’t ya the type to cry uncontrollably in school plays ‘cause you can’t dance, ya little shit?”

As though on cue Leo walked up and stood in front of me.

From below, he shot me a glare. The glint in his eyes was not of a 14 years old.

“Oh, got something on your mind? Do you want a crash course in boxing?”

♠️♥️♦️♣️

TL notes: I’m in no way a professional translator so if you find any mistakes, please do not hesitate to inform me right away. I love the High Card gang and I found it very unfortunate that while it is meant to be a multimedia project, I can’t seem to find the translated versions of any materials (beside the anime) anywhere (if this is against copyright, I will take it down). Hopefully this small TL would help international viewers gain better understanding of HC universe and characters. The author of these SS himself said that he hoped fans would have their “so that’s what it is!” moments when they watch the anime after reading his short stories. So with that in mind, let’s enjoy High Card together~

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Main Story Chapter 2-5: 时间针脚 The Patchwork of Time Translation

“What are you standing around in a stupor for? See a ghost?”

*Light and Night Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Main story tag will be #For Light and Night

Behind the glass wall were several blurry figures busying around.

MC: This should be Team A's area.

Mya had suddenly called a few minutes ago to give me directions to the place I was supposed to report to.

I ran what I was going to say to everyone, in the form of an introduction, through my head once more before gently clearing my throat and opening the door.

❖☆———————————★❖

MC: Hello everyone, I'm—

Thunk!

The sound of metal heavily hitting the floor cut my words short as the handle of the door completely fell off.

MC: !?

Did I break it? No way! I broke the office's door on my first day here!?

I didn't quite know what to do for a while. One of the figures closest to the door turned slightly around at the noise.

He had a head full of spiky hair, like that of a hedgehog. He didn't spare even a glance at the door handle; instead, his gaze fell directly upon my person. He shot up from the seat of his workstation.

??: Yoooooou!!

MC: Sorry! It wasn't on purpose, I swear!

??: You're the newcomer that's supposed to be coming in today, right? Sister Zheng Lin, we've got an extra hand!

He excitedly yelled at the other end of the office.

This isn't quite turning out like how I imagined it to be...

Summoned by his yell, a plump woman speed-walked towards us. Her smile was friendly, but there was a sort of unconcealable exhaustion marring her features.

Zheng Lin: Hello. Welcome to Team A. I'm the leader, Zheng Lin.

MC: Hello. Um… I accidentally broke your door handle just now… Sorry…

??: Aw, that thing's been dead half a month ago. We just didn't have time to call someone down to fix it. Don't mind it, yeah?

??: C'mere. I'll bring you to your workstation. Your stuff looks pretty heavy. I'll take it for you, yeah?

He enthusiastically takes the office appliances I'd brought in from my hands and continues walking straight ahead.

Zheng Lin: That works too. I'll leave you to bring her around to meet the others then, Brother Mao. I'll come over once I'm finished up here.

I nodded, following after "Brother Mao".

Brother Mao: I'm Mao Ge, but you can call me Brother Mao! The best rock singer among all Designers here!

He grinned, pulling out a chair and gesturing for me to sit. He then magicked out a rag from god-knows-where and quickly gave the table a wipedown.

Brother Mao: You were 2nd place in the contest, right? We all watched the broadcast; it was absolutely brilliant.

Brother Mao: Especially when you chose Director Qi of all people. Boy, that was a killer! How did you dare to pick him?

Brother Mao: Forget his face, even his breath alone is an icy sub-zero.

Brother Mao: Ever seen an iron tree bloom? I'd say even that's slightly more common than seeing Director Qi smile.

Brother Mao: I'm not talking about his cold smiles, of course. We see that way too often.

MC: Eh? … I just thought getting him to review my work was a rare chance that I couldn't pass up on.

Brother Mao: You go, girl! Looks like we've finally got a competent person in Team A! Feel free to ask me anything if you face any problems in the future! I've gotcha covered!

He grinned, patting himself on the chest to further emphasize his point. He'd already assembled and laid out all of my office appliances on the table at some point in our conversation.

Brother Mao: Alright, everyone! Put everything down. Let me introduce to you our new buddy, (Y/n)!

All the people around me nodded in greeting as Brother Mao introduced them to me one-by-one.

Brother Mao: The one dressed in a Cheongsam is Li Man'man. She came here a minute earlier than you and braved through 3 interviews just to enter Warson.

Li Man'man: Hi, nice to meet you.

Brother Mao: And that's Chen Che, our team's tailoring genius. He's been here for nearly 4 years and has just been promoted to a Senior Designer.

The guy named Chen Che raised his head from the multitude of fabric surrounding him. He adjusted his glasses and gave me a wary look.

Chen Che: Hello.

It was at this moment in time that a guy sporting a quiff hairdo walked past us. His head was haughtily raised and his expression was one of utter disdain.

Man With Quiff Hairstyle: Hmph.

MC: And he is…?

Brother Mao: Don't mind him. He's an annoyance. He just failed the promotion test and is being the green-eyed monster to everyone right now.

I only nodded, not knowing what to say.

Brother Mao: That one over there's Hao Shuai, the trendsetter of Team A and also the King of Werewolf games.

Hao Shuai: Wanna play Werewolf? I'll host one next time, but not now...

Hao Shuai buried his face with a sullen expression as Brother Mao quietly pulled me aside to a corner.

Brother Mao: He's not been in too jolly of a mood these few days. He didn't manage to get promoted to Senior Designer, so he's been pretty depressed about it.

MC: Sounds like it's very hard to get promoted up a rank...

Brother Mao: Precisely! Although Warson has a rank promotion system in place, the way things are being assessed in them makes it scarily hard! People normally have to do it five or six times before they manage to get themselves promoted.

Brother Mao: And, you might even get demoted a rank if the work you turn in doesn't make the cut!

MC: That strict!?

Brother Mao: I'm a Junior Designer like you. I've already taken the assessment around…

Zheng Lin: 10 times.

Brother Mao: You remember all so well, Sister Zheng Lin.

He gallantly retrieved another chair for Zheng Lin to sit on, seemingly paying no heed to the embarrassing number of tries he'd gone through.

Brother Mao: Don't they say that failure's the mother of success? I just have to get a couple more of those and it'll net me a great success!

I laughed at his joke along with Zheng Lin.

Zheng Lin: Our assessment system is just stricter than others.

Zheng Lin: Even though everyone is free to design whatever they like with their creativity as the limit, becoming an actual Fashion Designer is some serious business.

Zheng Lin: Those capable of joining us here in Warson are all talented individuals. Hence, what's really being tested in those assessments are your passion and perseverance.

Zheng Lin: I've welcomed hundreds upon hundreds of rookies during my 10 years here in Team A, but most of them drop out after failing the assessment 3-4 times.

MC: Eh?

Zheng Lin: Firstly, everyone who first comes here holds high self-esteem, so they're a bit more sensitive to criticism. And it is only natural for people to find it unbearable, especially after having been criticized a lot.

Zheng Lin: Secondly, there's a limit to the type of jobs that can be given to Assistants and Junior Designers, so things often end up being boring and repetitive

Zheng Lin: It's hard to go on like that if you don't have the right sort of determination.

MC: ……

Zheng Lin was about to say more when the door slammed open with a "bang!". Several people stood at the entrance, worry written all over their anxious faces.

Colleague A: Can someone consolidate all of Sliver's Autumn-Winter fabrics into a document?

Colleague A: I still have to go down to the mall and conduct surveys and research so I won't be able to do that in time!

Colleague B: Some trouble cropped up regarding the visas of the foreign models who're slated for a shoot next week, so we need another 18 new ones!

Colleague B: What should I do, Sister Zheng Lin!?

Zheng Lin gave a helpless sigh.

Zheng Lin: I'd originally wanted you to let you get used to things around here, but we have our hands full… Do you mind helping us?

MC: … Sure thing!

Zheng Lin: Then, could you first help us by going to the warehouse and picking up Silver's Autumn-Winter fabrics and consolidating them into a sample book after?

Zheng Lin: You can get Brother Mao to help you check it through once you're done.

I nodded and joined the fray.

Time went by. And finally, I finished my very first task after an hour. Brother Mao told me to take it up to the Team A representative who was in the meeting after checking through it.

❖☆———————————★❖

It was clearly noon soon, yet the doors of the meeting rooms on both sides of the corridor were still tightly shut, I could occasionally hear the sound of loud discussions coming from within.

❖☆———————————★❖

MC: Excuse me, I'm here to deliver the fabric samples.

Pushing the door open, I saw a Designer who was in the middle of loudly explaining his idea while Sariel held a pen, looking down at the document in his hand.

All the other Designers were either listening intently or hurriedly sketching out their new ideas, having been struck by a sudden wave of inspiration. It was almost as if the very air itself was crackling with ideas, going head to head with each other, gathering and merging into a brand new storm of ideas.

I’m going to be taking part in meetings with everyone in the future too… I couldn’t help but jump for joy at the exciting notion.

Placing the fabric catalogue book down, I couldn’t stop myself from taking one last glance at the meeting room before I left.

❖☆———————————★❖

Brother Mao: Oh, right. Don't forget to retrieve the catalogue book once the meeting upstairs is done.

MC: Okay.

❖☆———————————★❖

Everyone left after the meeting ended. I picked up the scattered pieces of fabric, stacking them neatly into a pile. It was only then that I noticed a pen lying on the ground.

The pitch-black pen was see-through, slender, and sturdy, with three gold-stamped petals at the very end.

MC: This is...

An image of Sariel wielding this pen with his head bowed in thought appeared in my mind.

MC: Is this pen his? It certainly suits that icy countenance of his...

❖☆———————————★❖

I bent down to pick it up, but the moment my fingers brushed against it… I suddenly felt an inexplicable sharp jolt of pain piercing my head.

My heart clenched violently, almost as if a nightmare that had been buried deep within its depths was about to be awakened. The stifling feeling of sadness and despair washed over me together with the odd feeling of my heart having been impaled by something.

What’s going on?

I pressed against my chest, trying to get through this sudden bout of pain that came out of seemingly nowhere.

Sariel: What's going on here?

There seems to be a faint voice ringing through my ears. The pen was taken away from me the next moment. Gone with it were the odd sensations.

I blearily looked at Sariel who had suddenly popped up from nowhere, still slightly woozy in the head.

Sariel: What are you standing around in a stupor for? See a ghost?

MC: I don't know what happened to me earlier…

Sariel: That's what I'd like to ask you.

☆Light Choice: Explain what you felt earlier

I shook my head, trying to recall that odd sensation you felt earlier.

MC: I… My chest and head just suddenly started hurting.

MC: I know I’m in the meeting room right now, but it kind of felt as if I wasn’t here at the same time…

MC: Like a nightmare, you can never wake up from…

Sariel’s expression changed minuscule bit upon hearing the word “nightmare”.

Sariel: How about now?

MC: I'm fine now, and the uncomfortable feeling's also gone.

Sariel: Has this happened before?

MC: Once…?

★Night Choice: Conceal what you felt earlier

MC: I just felt a little light-headed… I'm okay now.

MC: Oh, right. I picked up your pen.

I pointed towards the pen that he'd already reclaimed, which was now in his hand. Sariel only frowned.

Sariel: You felt light-headed after picking up this pen?

It was only when he mentioned it that I realized that that seemed to be the case. But what would a pen have anything to do with a bout of dizziness?

Sariel coldly grabs my hand, making my heart stop cold in my chest. However, all he did was stare at it in silence for a few seconds before releasing me just as quickly.

MC: What are you looking at? Is there something wrong with my hand?

Sariel: Nothing. It's well and fine.

What's up with Sariel? Grabbing my hand out of nowhere like that and not even telling me the reason why...

So, I ended up giving my hand a thorough check as well. There was nothing off about it, but I couldn't help feeling a little worried.

I'd also experienced some "auditory hallucinations" back then at the rooftop…

MC: Maybe I should go get myself a check-up at the hospital just in case…

Sariel: You look pretty peppy on your feet to me. Doesn't seem like there's anything physically wrong about you.

His gaze smoothly slides up from my face to the top of my head as he spoke.

Sariel: Though, I can't say the same about the other parts of you.

MC: ……!

I was fuming, yet I didn't dare to express it with a vehement glare. Seeing how riled up I was at it, yet unable to do anything about it, a flicker of a smirk made its way up to a corner of his mouth.

This was my second time seeing him smile today… The iron tree has bloomed…

Sariel: Are there flowers growing on my face?

I shook my head.

Sariel: A ghost then?

I shook my head again.

Sariel: Then why are you looking at me as if you've just seen a monster?

MC: You just smiled. It's too rare of a sight.

Sariel: … How stupid.

He put on a straight face as he pocketed his pen and turned to head out.

Suddenly remembering something, I hurriedly pushed the door open and ran after him.

MC: Wait a minute, Director Qi! Are you free right now?

❖☆————— ⊹ For Light & Night⊹ —————★❖

Previous Part: (Chapter 2-3) | Next Part: (Chapter 2-8)

[desertdollranch]

The Little Red Tree House

This adorable playhouse belongs to my mother and her dolls. It was a gift from her sister and nephew, who are both talented woodworkers. 

This is based on Kit’s tree house from her retired collection. 

This was released in 2008 as a tie-in product to Kit’s movie, and so bears more resemblance to the treehouse featured there. It was first introduced in the short story “Kit’s Tree House”. In the story, Kit is longing for a tree house, after her plans for one were derailed when the wood was needed instead to build an addition onto the house to hold more boarders. But Stirling gets some free wood scraps from a boarded-up store, and he and Kit’s dad build her a tree house. It’s nothing near as fancy as Kit had hoped for, but in the end she makes it work. 

My mom liked the concept of a doll-sized treehouse, but didn’t want to pay scalper prices for it, which is common for items that had a limited run and were retired years ago. American Girl’s version is also a little smaller than she’d like; she wanted something that would hold more than just two dolls. 

This is what it looked like until I arrived for a visit with my parents. My mom wasn’t sure how she wanted to paint or decorate it, so she asked for my input. I suggested red with white trim, to make it look like it might have come from weathered scrap wood used to build a barn, sort of like it was in Kit’s story.

Jojo and Sierra pitched in to help paint! What we did was paint it a bright red color, then very lightly go over it with a big brush dipped in white paint, to give it that weathered antique look. 

Then we painted the trim white, left the roof unpainted, then stained and varnished the two pieces of wood that make the balcony. 

Here it is all finished! 

While this was originally supposed to be Kit’s tree house, my mom isn’t quite sure yet how she wants to incorporate Kit’s furniture or decorate it like Kit and Ruthie might like. By the time I go back in a few months to visit again, she’ll probably have it decorated for them.

So in the meantime, this will be Rachelle’s cool little hangout! 

Rachelle is Sierra’s cousin who is the same age as her. She was thrilled to have her cousins come from New Mexico to Arizona and visit her during spring break. They had tons of fun playing in the house and getting it looking just right. (Rachelle is a Truly Me #56 customized with a #32 wig). 

Keep reading to see the interior lights and decor! 

The nice thing about this tree house is that it’s open in the back.

This makes decorating and posing dolls inside very easy. 

Rachelle let Jo bring the furniture in and get it all set up (she’s athletic and so is pretty strong!). 

The table in the corner is an off brand that came from the thrift store. The little bureau is another thrifted find. The lantern on top is a WellieWisher accessory and the cactus is a candle. The hobby horse in the corner is homemade, and so are the posters. On the left is a constellation map and on the right is a vintage Saguaro National Park poster. The park is pretty close to where Rachelle and her family live, so she’s been there lots of times! 

And Licorice the cat likes to visit and nap in the tree house too. 

On this wall is an easel from Taryn’s (Maplelea brand) collection. The shelves are a thrift store find, and on top are Rachelle’s dolls Addy and Luciana. To the left is an art print I found on Pinterest. And the rug is I think a woven placemat. 

For lighting, right now the tree house has a string of blue fairy lights. 

At night, they moved all the stuff to the balcony and set up their sleeping bags!

The nice thing about sleeping out here is that they can be as loud and boisterous as they want!

[dancingazaleas]

jean kirstein | supportive

so this was completely self indulgent. i also wrote this because i’m tired of reading really unrealistic writings of what having a depressed lover is like and how you should take care of them. i’ve been diagnosed with MDD, so i’m just getting tired of seeing misrepresentation for it. i tried to make the reader as neutral as i could, i apologize if i couldn’t. also i don’t feel like using capital letters, i apologize. also sorry the spacing is weird, i originally wrote this when i was half asleep on my notes and just copied and pasted. i have a lot to apologize for.

notes/warnings: depressed reader, mentions of s3lf harm, cursing, reader & jean are 18, slight angst, pure fluff

“(name)... (name).... babe? c’mon, i need ya to wake up for me,” a voice you recognize says as they knock on your bedroom door.

you stumble over the clothes in your room and over to your bedroom door, struggling to open it. despite said struggles, you do manage to open the door. and you end up scurrying back to your messy, and comfortable bed.

jean walks in, one hand holding onto the strap of his backpack and the other holding onto a plastic bag with stuff that smells like snacks. he’s got a soft smile that instantly shifts into shock, disgust, and then into a frown.

your room was a mess. you hadn’t cleaned it since the start of your depressive episode, the same for yourself. you left the trash of fast food bags, unfinished sodas, and crumbled up bags of cheese-it’s. the fact you had been farting in your room and wouldn’t leave the door open to air it out made the smell worse.

he opens his arms, giving you the decision of if you wanted a hug or not, to which you accept. you’re cuddling your face into his chest, and you’re absolutely positive that you rank of BO and greasy hair. he doesn’t joke about anything yet though, he knows not to.

“you okay,” he’s so quiet, you barely hear him.

you respond with a shaky mumble, “no. sorry if i worried you.”

he pulls away and shakes his head at the claim you’ve just made.

“you didn’t mean to. it’s okay,” he kisses your forehead.

“have you eaten today?”

you think a little before you answer, “not much... haven’t eaten since lunch.”

“okay, i got us some snacks if you feel up to it. do you want to start cleaning your room before or after you eat,” he kicks off his shoes—he always waits until he’s in your room since he spends most of his time there.

“after, my stomach might feel fucked if i eat before. even though i’m not really the one cleaning,” you groan, going back under your covers.

“wanna talk about why you’re upset before or after we eat?” he’s tugging the covers off of your body, he knows you’ll try going back to bed.

“before. i’ll get hungry after crying.”

“okay,” it goes silent for a moment, and then, “i love you.”

“i love you too. thank you, and... sorry if i don’t seem appreciative of this, i don’t know what to say other than thank you.”

“i know you appreciate it. anyways, i’m gonna start picking up some of your clothes and maybe some of the sodas. wanna get in the shower while i do that?”

“yea. if you need to air out my room, open the window. close the door while you clean, don’t like my mom knowing you’re cleaning for me,” you sigh, getting out of bed and walking to your dresser to get underwear, a shirt, and shorts.

“okay. don’t miss me too much,” he’s suddenly hugging you from behind, and it makes you think he’s the one who will miss you. his stubble is tickling you a little as he rests his head on your shoulder, he just started growing it out.

you turn your head a little to look at him, taking notice of how long his hair was starting to get. he’d be turning 19 next year and would soon be getting an apartment with you.

and dear god, you were so ready for that to happen. you hate living with your mother.

“i love you,” you whisper to him once again, and for once your mind feels at peace for just a moment.

“i love you more,” he kisses your clothed shoulder and smiles.

“let me go shower so i can stop smelling like shit,” you chortle a little, grabbing a ‘Queen’ shirt—which used to be jean’s but you’ve stolen it—and some shorts.

he rolls his eyes, but obliges and lets you walk out of your room into the bathroom. you try avoiding the mirror as you get naked but it proves to be pointless when you catch a glimpse of a pimple. you almost want to kill jean for not pointing it out, but you know it would only hurt your feelings. you’ll take care of that after you shower.

he’s putting your clothes in the laundry hamper when you’re coming back into the room with the ones you just had on. he takes them from you and you started putting on deodorant and do your hair routine. you’ve taken care of your skin in the bathroom.

jean’s turning on your TV and pulls out a can of cold (favorite soda), placing it next to your hand on your—now—clear vanity.

“thank you,” you smile a little, wanting to laugh at how he’s standing behind you and watching intently.

“‘m almost done, jean.”

“did you brush your teeth? i don’t want to be in a comfortable snuggle position only for you to get up to brush your teeth,” he ignores the comment you’ve made.

“oh shit, no. thanks for reminding me. i haven’t brushed them in a couple days,” you sigh, scurrying off to the bathroom again and jean decides to pull out the vacuum he knows you keep in your closet.

he plugs it in and started vacuuming the best he can, and as he does so his mind shifts to levi. ‘i hang out with him too much...,’ he thinks to himself as he turns the vacuum off to see if the filter is clean.

you walk back in, “what the hell are you doing?”

“vacuuming,” he says nonchalantly, squatting a little to see if he got the floor under your vanity.

you laugh again, “i’m sorry. you don’t gotta do that.”

“i know. just wanted to,” he shrugs, unplugging it from the outlet and wrapping it back up.

you jump onto your bed, which now has clean sheets because of jean, and scoot toward the wall. jean closes your window and grabs your drink and scoots in behind you. he puts your drink onto the nightstand—his is already on it—and shuffles awkwardly to lay behind you.

“you wanna talk about it,” he asks, leaning on an elbow and looking at you.

“yeah...”

“whenever you’re ready, babe,” he takes ahold of your hand and kisses it.

“so, like, other than the shit about my mom i told you about, i don’t know. i don’t know what’s wrong, and i had that urge to just hurt myself. it scared me so bad. and what scares me is that i almost acted on it. like, am i okay? what the fuck is going on with me?? a-and i just kept pretending to be sick to my mom so i didn’t have to go to fucking school,” you start off slowly and start to cry as you think about what caused jean to come here, which was the abrupt disappearance of your presence at school.

“you’re okay. and i am so incredibly proud of you for not giving into the urge to harm yourself and for messaging me. unfortunately, you can’t avoid school until may. i need your dumbass to graduate,” you both giggle a little.

“i just.... i feel so bad about worrying everyone at school. like i didn’t mean to, but i fucking did. eren’s so fucking pissed at me right now, i just fucking know he is. god, i just want to be happy,” you sob and jean rubs your arm with his thumb to help soothe you a little.

“eren’s just pissed because he’s worried, but that doesn’t give him an excuse to be an ass towards you. you’ll be happy, my love, i know you will. you’ve just got to wait—let me finish—and i know you’ve been waiting for a long time, but it won’t just happen overnight y’know,” he smiles with an eyebrow raised at the end, nudging you with his elbow a little.

“maybe start being nicer to yourself, huh? you’re absolutely gorgeous, and i love you just the way you are, but my opinion shouldn’t matter. the only opinion on yourself that should matter is your own. and try speaking up more when floch and ymir hurt your feelings on accident,” jean tells you while he draws patterns into your skin with his fingers.

“it doesn’t feel like that, y’know? and like—i don’t want to be selfish or hurt anyone else or worry anyone else, cause what if that hurts them?”

he shakes his head, “babe, when it comes your own happiness, you’ve gotta be selfish sometimes. and calling floch and ymir out won’t hurt their feelings, sure, they’ll be a little pissy about it for a second but then apologize. it’s not like you’re telling them they’re cunts and to go fuck themselves. also, everyone will understand you being selfish in order to be happy. it might hurt or piss someone off in the moment when you make an action that’s selfish but in the long run, they’ll understand. and if they don’t, they’re a fucking doucher. answer this one question i’ve got for you.”

“okay...?”

“at the end of the day, who’re you gonna have?”

“myself...?”

jean starts nodding rapidly, reaching over to wipe snot off your face, “you’re going to have yourself at the end of the day. preferably, i’d like to say myself, but there are going to be times where i hurt your feelings unintentionally or where you’re pissed at me, and that’s okay. you’ve gotta start being selfish and i know it’s hard, but i promise you it’ll be so rewarding in the end.”

you sniffle a little and nod while you listen.

“and about being sad in general without provocation. it happens. it’s okay to be sad sometimes babe, it’s a normal human emotion and it just means you’re living correctly. but if you’re sad because of nothing for weeks on end, then maybe it’s time to try to do something. it’s okay to ask for help. maybe talk to your mom about increasing the dosage of your anti-depressants and going back to therapy?”

“i don’t know how.”

“you could write her a letter and tape it somewhere you know she’ll look. if you can’t talk about it face-to-face, write that in the letter,” you nod again at him, quietly asking for a hug.

he responds by just giving it, and hums happily.

“i love you so much,” he whispers, squeezing you tighter.

“i love you too,” you laugh and whisper at the same time.

jean knows this isn’t going to immediately make you happy, but sometimes what you need is to just be reminded that it’s okay to feel this way and that in the end it’ll all be okay. and for right now, that’s all you really need.