#(i have played up to fall year 2 in two other farms but then i took a long break and wanted to start over LOL this is my third farm)

[dandyshucks]

failwife.....

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Dressing for revenge [K. B]

Kaz Brekker x fem!reader

word count: 7k

summary: when Kaz and his crows return from Ravka they run into trouble, and to solve it, he looks for a childhood friend who is too resentful and too in love with him

warnings: trauma, PTSD, spoilers for S&B season 2, no physical contact, here Kaz has no romantic feelings for Inej

A/N: I LOVE Kanej, but I wanted to write something with Kazzle Dazzle because I love him too, lol. I hope you like it!

taglist (who I thought might be interested): @rustyyyyspoonz

The rumor had already spread throughout the Barrel: “Kaz Brekker and his crows are back” How long had it been since they had embarked into the Fold? Just a couple of months? They had felt like years, if you were being honest.

If it was true that they were back, you felt sorry for the trouble they were going to run into. The change of ownership of their club, the strengthening of the other gangs, and mainly the fact that they were being tried for murder thanks to the fact that Pekka Rollins had awarded it to them... all these problems were going to fall on them like a bucket of water cold. It had already fallen on them, in fact, since the rumor was accompanied that they had escaped from the stadwatch once they were captured.

You didn't know how much of what everyone was saying was true and how much was false, trying to stay as calm as possible when the name Kaz came from someone's lips for fear that Pekka had some magical ability and could read your mind or sense the fear in your eyes every time you met him. Afraid of him and afraid of what he might do to you if he knew you knew the black-haired man.

Things had changed a lot since the last time you saw the boy and that was more than noticeable. Your story goes back long before he made his reputation when you were just a couple of neighbor kids playing on the farms. You two arrived in Ketterdam together, with nothing but hopes for a better future and Jordie as your protector (or an attempt at that, at least), after your father and Mr. Rietveld died in the same accident, reuniting with Kaz’s mother and later to be matched by your mother, who had died of sadness, if that was possible. Three helpless children thrown into the cruel world were what came of that and the rest is history.

Crime, robbery, gangs, and a life of hardship were what you had to adjust to as a child, but you doubted very much that a single person living in The Barrel would be in a different situation. You weren't fully involved in the disgraced jobs of the majority, but if there was one true thing, it was that when it came to obtaining information you were, to say the least, excellent. You and Kaz had to fend for yourselves, and you learned what you could from the streets. In this way he and you became a team, so to speak, for a few teenage years, and for that period of your lives having each other was the only thing in the world. Over time he became ruthless, rude, a great fighter and earned the nickname 'dirtyhands' thanks to his gambling skills, from which he obtained most of the things you had. You learned to move quickly, to go unnoticed, and to defend yourself from those who tried to harm you, always supporting the boy’s plans.

Less than a year was enough for his name to become known and he began to think big. Sometimes he would tell you about the plans he had: to run Fifth Harbor, to establish the crow club, to become the best of The Barrel. All of that sounded like crazy ideas at first, but looking back you realized that he had accomplished too much in that pit for your relatively young age.

You never knew what made you and Kaz go their separate ways, but somehow it had happened. It was gradual, maybe that's why it was hard for you to notice, but one day you woke up and realized the distance that existed between him, who previously was practically the only family you knew, and you. It didn't take much for him to decide to break the bond that had held you together from a very early age; he never gave reasons for this and you never asked him.

You lived under some protection from the leader of The Crows, of course, but very few people could link you to The Bastard of the Barrel. Sometimes you still provided him with information, but when he found someone else, the inquiries became less and less frequent until one day they turned into none. You managed to eat and have a roof over your head pretty well (and mostly honestly) and you tried to stay out of trouble for a long time.

Until one day he flew away from Ketterdam without warning and order in the Barrel was disturbed in every possible way. With his team gone, it didn't take long for Pekka to seize control and anyone who didn't work for him was inevitably against him. It was only a matter of time before he found out the talent you had tried to hide and forced you to carry his lion shield... figuratively speaking.

If he ever knew that you used to work with Kaz he never mentioned it or maybe your relationship with him had been severed so long that no one remembered it anymore. Now you were just a little girl, as he used to call you, slippery enough that she seemed so harmless that, in his eyes, that became a benefit. You were never one to look rude, unfortunately for you, and that allowed men like him to feel entitled to take advantage of you. You thanked the saints that Rollins didn't find you attractive or who knows what other services he would have requested from you. It was always better to provide him with the information he needed than for him to force you to be his lover.

You weren't a part of the meetings that the Dime Lions had and you weren't considered a member either, which kept you calm every night. You were just another piece in the enormous chess game that Pekka moved at his convenience, the same game that was threatened by the mere existence of Kaz Brekker and much more so now that he had returned.

In the middle of the night it was logical to ask yourself, what kind of strange plans would he have in mind now?

One, two, and three knocks surprised you at the rickety wooden door and made you jump out of your chair, where you were already asleep. An old lamp was on the even older table and it illuminated the little space that your provisional home had so you took it to approach to open the door. It was raining outside (quite unusual for that time of year) and by the time it was you figured it was one of Rollins' idiots coming to do a job for you. What would he want now? Harbor information? Talk to a policeman? He was supposed to control everything, sometimes you kept wondering why he asked for your help.

When you opened the door, the air slipped in and almost extinguished the flame of the fire, but the temperature of the night wasn’t what left you freezing, but the presence that was in front of you. With his hat, a completely black outfit, and his cane in hand, but above all soaked from head to toe, there was him; Kaz. You almost feared you were imagining it, but you knew it was him by the clear, penetrating eyes that were watching you, even though you admitted that he had changed so much that in other circumstances you would have had trouble recognizing him.

“Did I arrive at a bad time?” he asked. No warm greetings, no smiles, no explanations. Just a cold, serious question, just the way he was.

“Someone followed you? If this place is horrible by itself, I don't want blood staining the floor” you replied with the same tone. You wanted to tell him that you had missed him, ask him if he was okay, and give him a huge hug, but those actions should be reserved for your nocturnal fantasies, because as soon as you took a step forward he would be able to hit you with his cane. Or at least that's what the Kaz you knew would do, but you doubted very much that the passing of the years would have softened his heart.

"Nobody followed me" was all he said and you stepped aside at the door so he could go inside. Even with his words, you felt the need to look out on both sides of the street in search of someone, but with the level of rain, you doubted very much that someone would want to stay and spy because he would probably die of pneumonia.

When you closed the door and turned around he didn't say anything, he just stood in front of you while the water drained from his coat. During that moment of silence, you allowed yourself to admire it under the warm light of the candle; his eyes definitely hadn't changed one bit, but now there was a tinge of contempt more noticeable than before. His features had hardened and he was thinner, barely resembling the boy you remembered, perhaps as a reminder of just that... that he was now a man.

“So the rumors are true…” you started to say “You are back”

"I think that's more than obvious," he exclaimed. For a second you forgot that it was he who had knocked on your door and you felt uncomfortable as if you were an intruder who had to get out of there.

There was silence again and you two just looked at each other. Kaz had made his own mental list of changes he noticed in you and was reflecting on when was the last time he had looked at you in such detail. You were wearing light clothes, because before he arrived you were about to go to sleep, and your face, although as childish as always, looked more tired than before. You had also cut your hair, which was messy around your shoulders and a bit darker in tone.

“And may I know to what I owe your visit? I guess you don't want to have tea” you said to break the silence. The dryness of your words in a certain way was to protect yourself because you never knew how much a sharp tongue like his could hurt you.

"I'm in a job and I need people"

Of course it was going to be due to a job, and of course that was why he had sought you out after so many years. A part of you, tremendously stupid, to tell you the truth, was hoping that during the time your friend was away from Ketterdam some divine clarity would have illuminated him so that he would realize that he had to look for you to repair your relationship and offer at least apologies. But you would have to pay him every kruge in the country for him to do something like that.

"I'm glad you considered me, but I'm sorry I have to decline."

"Why?" he asked immediately, his raspy voice showing annoyance at the refusal.

“Because it happens that you can’t work for opposing sides. At least not at the same time” you replied. Maybe it was due to fatigue, but you swore you saw a slight look of surprise on the man's face when you answered that. Most likely, he had assumed that you would be one of the few people who wouldn’t be on Pekka’s side and therefore a safe option.

“Do you work for Pekka?” he muttered. You knew him well enough to know that he was hurt, you could see it in his posture, in his voice, and especially in his look “After all he did to us?”

"And what did you want him to do?" you said, trying to ignore the fact that he had spoken in the plural. Us “You practically handed us over to him. My options were that or receive a bullet in the forehead."

"I didn’t hand you over to anyone"

"You abandoned us and left us in his hands, it's the same thing" you replied, shrugging. There was so much resentment and pain from never-closed wounds floating in the air that it was hard for him and you to think clearly. “Your vacation in Ravka may have been nice, but things only just went to hell here. So don't you dare judge me by the choices I made” you exclaimed defensively.

You didn't imagine that your first conversation with him after so long would be like this, but unfortunately, things never turned out the way you expected. After all, they were a crook and a spy talking in the dead of night.

"You could get information from him more easily," Kaz concluded, shrugging the same way you did. "And so we sink him from the inside."

"And risk him finding out and killing me?"

“You know that would never happen,” he said firmly “The thing about killing you. I wouldn't allow him” his eyes stared at you almost offended by the lack of trust you had towards him. There was silence for the third time and this time your gaze moved away to focus on anything but him.

"Plus you have this girl you took out of The Menagerie, don't you?" you said in your defense. The one you replaced me with, you wanted to add, but held back "So I don't know what you might need me for" 

"With so many problems going on, I thought it would be better to have as many alliances as possible," he explained to you. You continued without looking at him, with your head still full of worries and sorrows, and when he didn’t receive an answer, he spoke again "You know that it is your best option"

"I don't know that, but I do know that I would have liked you to at least ask how I am before asking me to join the team you never wanted me in and from which you separated me as soon as you had the chance" you exhaled, in an attempt to lighten the weight on your chest. 

It was no secret that you had always felt betrayed by Kaz’s treatment of you, even though he treated dozens of others the same way, because you somehow thought that your backstory was enough to deserve at least the sympathy or some consideration on the part of the crow. And of course you wanted to run from Pekka's clutches and plunge him into the deepest muck, but the resentment for what you considered your friend’s abandonment was stronger. You didn't even know if it was correct to call him ‘friend’.

"You would be a good ace up my sleeve" was all he replied, in an attempt to convince you. Kaz begged absolutely no one, but if there was one thing he had decided before coming to find you, it was that he wouldn't leave until you agreed to help him. Although the nature of your current job made things a bit difficult for him, "Pekka never knew you worked for me, did he?"

"With you" you corrected him "I didn't work for you but with you. We got to The Barrel at the same time”

"Y/N" he murmured. Your name sounded strange coming from his lips after so long without hearing it and that caught you off guard “I'm trying to help you so you don't end up hurt or dead. If you work for… with me, I can tell you where not to be. Otherwise I could find you in the rubble of some confrontation or with a knife from Inej or a bullet from Jesper through your chest”

"Always so thoughtful," you replied with a smirk, but as much as it pained you to admit it, he had a point. You knew what he was capable of and what Pekka was capable of… which side was more convenient to be on? "How much are you going to pay me?" you asked and Kaz smiled, but it wasn't a sign of happiness but mockery “You've always said that's what's really important, haven't you?”

He took something out of his coat and tossed it on the table. They were bills. 

"An advance, when I recover the crow club, I will pay you the rest"

“So my pay depends on whether we win or not. That doesn't sound so convenient to me,” you muttered, clicking your tongue, as you fought the urge to say yes just to be near him. It was cold outside, the rain was making a lot of noise and you just wanted to sleep at once, but you knew that you could have been arguing with him all night and neither of you would back down. Kaz was stubborn, one way or another he would get what he wanted. "This isn't just about the club, is it?" you said, with your voice noticeably lower and you would even say with a touch of softness. You and Kaz never talked about what had happened, but each of you was dealing with the weight of the trauma in your own way. He didn't say anything and this time you saw something in him that was different from his usual behavior, knowing that it was those ghosts from the past tormenting him.

"If someone should make him pay, it's us"

Us, again. 

"I'll think about it" was what you answered, after reflecting on what would be the appropriate response. The speechless moment gave you something else to think about, and you knew that a huge flaw of yours was how easily you let your heart take over. Because even with all the other feelings on top, you still worried about him "Now that the crow club isn't yours..." you started to say, afraid of what he might say "do you have a place to stay?"

You would have offered to sleep there if he said no, but instead he said he’d manage. That didn't completely reassure you, but you decided not to insist.

“First thing tomorrow, send a reply to this address,” he asked you, holding out a piece of paper that had a few drops on it “Don't go there personally or you'll screw everything up, just send me a note. A yes or a no will suffice”

“What if someone tracks down the note?” you asked, which was a totally valid concern.

Kaz was silent while he thought of an alternative, and then spoke again.

“Just write crows of a feather, murder together. I'll understand” he murmured and you nodded. You knew the poem he was quoting from, had read it many times from the worn-out book he had gotten for you. Kaz didn't wait for anything else and took long steps to the door, which he opened as soon as he could. "Good night, Y/N."

And then he left.

That night you thought a lot about the solution you would give him in the morning, thinking about the pros and cons of each possible answer, until you decided that it was best to say yes. You needed to do it if you wanted to live peacefully (as much as the place allowed) but the main reason was to support him. If he had been about any stupid dispute you would have said no, but you knew this was something else. Kaz missed Jordie every day of his life and his way of honoring him was by planning revenge against the one who led him to that fate, so it was kind of an obligation for you to help him with that too.

You wrote the note on a piece of paper and carefully folded it to put it in an envelope. You signed the outside with his name, written in the best handwriting you had, and although you were hesitant to do so, at the end you wrote a little ‘from a friend’ in the hope of making it clear to him, and perhaps even encouraging him that, if he was willing, you could recover a little of what you had lost. And you weren’t referring to physical things, but to what existed between you.

All your life you had lived with almost opposite feelings when it came to Kaz. Somehow you were upset with him for only seeing you as an instrument that he could dispose of for his interests, but this was linked to the feeling of affection that you wanted him to experience for you and that apparently didn’t exist. It was difficult to decipher anything he was thinking, not just about you, since he had taken it upon himself to build such a convincing facade that it made it complicated to see beyond. Added to that was his aversion to touch of any kind, which, while quite understandable and justified, still made you feel sad. More than once you tried, in vain, to be able to touch him in some way, even if it was something tiny, but he always pushed you away. He pushed you away physically and eventually emotionally, and yet with all this background you wanted to help him.

You knew you couldn't expect a reply to your note, but you were confident that he had received it, and your suspicions were confirmed when another letter came back a couple of days later. It contained a day, a time, and a place, which you assumed was a meeting with him.

You were very careful when you headed there, because you thought that the fewer people saw you together, the better, or else Pekka might suspect something. You covered yourself with a long black cloak for this task and when you arrived you noticed that it wasn't Kaz who was there, but a couple of boys.

"Who are you?"

"And you?" you asked, with the same defensive tone. The place seemed to be an experiment workshop and looking at it in more detail you noticed that there was a bed, so it could even be some kind of apartment. The two men, one brown-skinned and the other pale as snow, wore simple brown suits and were looking at you warily.

“She is Y/N,” said a voice behind you. By the sound of the cane accompanied by the footsteps you knew it was Kaz, “she will work with us”

"Oh," said the dark-haired boy, looking happier with the answer, as he walked in your direction "Welcome, in that case" he muttered flirtatiously, as he held out his hand for you to greet him "Jesper Fahey, at your service”

"I am Wylan" intervened the other, from his place, timidly and quickly.

"You arrived" Kaz spoke again. You turned and a couple of women appeared, you guessed that the shorter one with Suli features was the famous wraith of Kaz. And she was beautiful, you couldn't help but notice.

There was a brief conversation with the six of you there and then Kaz asked you to walk him up to the roof of the place. Once there you instinctively stood next to the only one you knew and he just looked at you out of the corner of his eye while he adopted the typical position of him leaning on the cane.

“Brick by brick” whispered the man’s raspy voice and you were about to ask what you were supposed to do there when an explosion went off in the distance so impressively that you stepped back a bit. It didn't take you more than a few seconds to locate the space and realize the place it was.

"The crow club" you said in a low voice, only for the black-haired man to hear you, while you watched him in profile. But he didn't look at you, just exchanged words with the others and talked about how Pekka's apparent reign was coming to an end.

You'd always known that Kaz Brekker was a little unhinged, and that night you proved it for sure, but you weren't even the least bit afraid. Rather, it was some strange hope that this madness would allow you to go far. Even freedom, perhaps.

After that clear declaration of war, things got considerably complicated, especially when you were summoned before Pekka and he asked you to investigate someone in particular and it turned out to be none other than the man you were now secretly working with. You assumed it was something logical, but even so you feared that Rollins had noticed the slight tremor in your hands when he asked you to complete the task.

You summoned Kaz to Black Veil Cemetery, late at night, and there you confessed to him everything that had happened. He of course found something good in this and devised a way to use it to your advantage, which put you at ease. It still amazed you a little at how nervous you became around him as if you knew nothing of what you were doing, but when you regained your composure you thought it was an excellent plan.

Meetings with Kaz were regular, but always in secret and alone, and they worked to exchange information that you considered useful for him with what he would allow Pekka to know.

You didn't know the full plans and you weren't part of them in any way, or you would be found out, but you knew about almost everything that was going on. The attacks, the fights, the traps, the injuries... you had to look at everything from the outside without being able to intervene. It was frustrating for you, more than anything in the world, and you had to admit that you had taken a liking to crows, even if you had seen them only a couple of times, so you also looked after their safety.

One day you received a note and went to a meeting with all the members of his group present, to finally hear the full version of what Kaz intended to do to finish off your boss. It was a brilliant idea, but you were a little worried about your position in all of this.

“You mean I'm going to be there watching everything Pekka and his thugs do?”

"It will be the best" he answered you. His face still had a bruise on his cheek, a memory from the last fight he had, and he looked exhausted "Jesper and Nina will be there, plus you'll be in disguise" he added and you nodded at that.

When the moment came you thought it would be an easy task, but when Kaz started to get brutally beaten you had to muster all your willpower not to throw yourself into trying to face Pekka, even with your zero skill. He sounded so convincing when he said about Alby that even you believed it, feeling suddenly awed by the cynical smile on Kaz's blood-smeared face. And he also mentioned you in the story, although not directly, saying that it was all about revenge for having abandoned you two when you were children.

You were able to breathe again until Pekka and his entire gang left the place in search of a son who wasn't really buried and you four were left alone. Under other circumstances you would have run to Kaz, cupped his face in your hands, sobbed, and told him it was over. But instead, you just stood in front of him and watched him; his eyes were wild with fury and a thirst for revenge that had already been quenched, but you sensed a hint of calm when he became aware of your presence.

"Breathe," you said in a whisper. Jesper and Nina were dismayed by the closeness with which you spoke to him, as they knew little of your history together “You're fine. We all are,” you assured him. That situation took you back to multiple panic attacks in the past where, given the impossibility of physical contact, all you could do for him was talk to calm him down. It always worked and Kaz had forgotten how soft your voice was and the way you brought him back to the real world. You decided to risk trying to do something else to comfort him and cautiously stretched out your hand towards him, instantly seeing his eyes widen in terror. But your hand ended up landing, more like a touch than a squeeze, on the man's bicep, which was covered by his coat; it wasn't intrusive, or abrupt, and Kaz was surprised that he didn't feel anything negative about it. He looked at your hand and then he looked at you with that usual serious expression, but he didn't push you away and allowed you to stay that way for just a few seconds, after which you decided to move your limb back.

You didn’t receive a verbal response at any time, but you did see him exhale shakily (so softly that you barely noticed) and nod his head while still looking at you, as if he were letting go of a huge weight that was stuck in his chest and at the same time assure you that it felt like a victory. Victory for beating Pekka, victory because he wasn't engulfed by an attack when you touched him, and victory because somehow you were there. You were with him, again.

“Now can we go back to normal?” Jesper asked, to break the silence, and you felt like laughing. Have they ever had a normal life? you asked yourself, but you didn't say.

"Yes" was all Kaz said and taking one last look at you he began to walk in the direction of the exit.

Both of them were curious about the type of relationship you had with Kaz but neither thought it wise to ask at the time, although Nina was getting an idea of things thanks to your racing heartbeat and his that it was impossible not to hear a moment ago. You stayed there just long enough to have a drink with Jesper and then you left the Emerald Palace. You didn't want to go back home, but going with one of them didn't seem like an option either, and once you were on the street you felt worried about remembering the state the black-haired man had left. You trusted that by that time he would be calmer and as if they thought for themselves your legs began to walk to look for him.

It was cold again and you feared you would meet someone dangerous on the road, but you only saw a couple of drunks and a girl looking for clients. Until you were in front of the door, you wondered if it was a good idea to go in, thinking that you would probably be crossing a line that Kaz was not going to allow you to, and wondering if you were going to put up with his refusal, which was a pretty good chance.

With trembling hands you opened the door, which luckily was unlocked, and as if some unknown instinct were guiding you, you found Kaz's room; it was the only one from which light came out through the crack in the door and something told you that he was there. You knocked twice, fearing you had knocked so low that he hadn't heard, and even considered walking back the way you came, but didn't have time to as the door opened a few seconds later. He had already taken off his coat and vest, probably because they were stained with blood, and his black shirt was open at the top buttons, with the suspenders that held up his pants hanging on his thighs. But what caught your attention the most were his pale, gloveless hands.

"What do you need?" he asked you directly. His face looked worse now that the bruises had swollen and the blood was dry. He'd probably have them for a couple of days, and he was definitely going to have a scar over his eyebrow.

"I wanted to see you" you replied, instantly regretting not having considered your sincere words better "I mean... to see how you were" you tried to correct. You thought he would slam the door in your face, but instead he scooted to the side to let you in, then closed the door behind you with a soft click.

Again you felt alien to the place for a moment, thanks to the fact that he looked at you from head to toe as if your presence bothered him. You had to mentally remind yourself that he saw most of them that way.

“Your pay will be ready soon”

"That doesn't matter," you said softly. Several things had changed since the first conversation you had with him, because now that you knew why Kaz had done everything he had done and the traumatic memories returned to both of you, the money had taken a backseat.

You didn't say anything for a moment and you looked for a place where you could sit later. Kaz’s room, once painted green but now just damp walls, had a small bed by the window, a desk littered with papers and a lamp facing another window, with a simple bookcase placed on the top of the side wall; a nightstand, a place to wash your hands with a mirror above it, a circular table in the middle of the free space, and a single armchair that at least looked comfortable. It wasn't the prettiest place, but at least it was cozy.

"Your girl, did she leave?"

“Inej is not my girl. Or from anyone, she is free now” he answered you. He still wasn't looking at you and you noticed that he was having a hard time staying on his feet.

"I'm glad to hear it. She deserves it” you murmured sincerely. You thought that she would be important to Kaz, like all his partners, and you decided to venture out to see if he revealed something else to you. "She's very smart."

"She is"

"And she's pretty too" you added and without moving his head he looked out at yours. You felt as if he was reading your intentions through your eyes, a quality he had always had.

"I think so," he said without much interest.

"Are you very hurt?" you asked, changing the subject, as you took a step towards him. By inertia he took the same step, in the opposite direction, and that made you stop abruptly.

"Nothing to worry about" he exclaimed and though he thought, you couldn't have known, of course, get close to you, you decided to take that step back before he did anything else. 

"Can I ask you something?"

"Mhm"

"What did I do to make you walk away?" you exclaimed, finally expressing a question that had been eating away at your chest and tormenting you for many nights in a row. And since there was silence, you spoke again: “Not like right now, but a long time ago. It's just… I never understood it. Before we were friends and for me… you were even like a family. I loved your brother too and I know losing him never affected us the same, but I was glad you were there for me after that. Then we got older and things got more difficult, but I still had you and that calmed me down. And then… we just drifted apart,” you muttered, shrugging, as you avoided his gaze. Kaz still didn't answer anything and you felt the obligation to fill the silence “Sometimes I remember the things we went through when we were young. The good ones, of course. Like that time we stole a cake to celebrate your birthday and it was probably the best sweet I've ever eaten” you commented, smiling at the memory "And when I made you laugh with my bad jokes, no matter how angry or sad you were... I haven't seen you smile for a long time and I don't know if you celebrate your birthday anymore” you reflected wistfully, almost as if you were talking to yourself. And well, in the face of Kaz's inexpressiveness, that's practically what you were doing.

He hadn't said anything yet and you concluded that all your effort was useless. It had been a mistake to go looking for him, as well as trying to get even the slightest proof that he had ever missed you and you wished you had never opened your mouth. You sighed to contain the urge to cry and without saying anything else you turned towards the exit, intending to leave and return only for your money, but Kaz's voice echoed. 

"Do you remember what I told Pekka?"

You stopped.

“You told him many things, you will have to be more specific”

"About not loving anything" he replied. Your hand trembled on the doorknob at the mere thought of what he was implying and I was able to hear your racing heart pounding in your chest. You heard footsteps and, still without moving, you heard him speak again "That's why I drifted apart”

You never, even in your wildest dreams, imagined that he would say something like that to you and perhaps you were just deluding yourself with the implication of the words, but it was enough to make you freeze in place.

"I still don't understand how that relates to me” you expressed in a low voice. Kaz took a few more steps towards you until you could see his shadow mingling with yours and you felt it was time to turn. He was watching you from above, seriously.

"I didn't want…" he trailed off. You would almost say he was nervous “I didn't want you to be…”

"A weak spot," you said without thinking, followed by a sigh that sounded almost amused "That's your problem, Kaz," you continued, your gaze far across the room, "You think love is a person's greatest weakness, when it's not like that"

"It is not?"

"No" you exclaimed with determination "I believe that... many times love is what keeps us alive. Struggling"

You were speaking for yourself when you said this. What was your motivation every day? In the past, the love for Kaz. Now, it was love for yourself and the hope that one day someone could love you with the intensity with which you loved others.

“I had already lost Jordie. I didn't want to lose you too,” he finally said and that's when your eyes locked with his. You never thought he would verbally express something like that.

“And did you prefer that I lose you?" you whispered in pain. You wanted him to be aware of things, because it seemed like it had never crossed his mind to stop thinking about your well-being and start thinking about your feelings. “You don't just lose someone when they die, Kaz. You can also lose those who are fully alive”

He didn't say anything, because he clearly didn't know what to answer to that, and while he reflected on your words, you caught a glimpse of a certain vulnerability in his blue eyes that you had rarely seen. I couldn't say that you knew the man in front of you better than anyone, but you had a considerable advantage thanks to the years you had lived with him.

“Okay, just… listen” you started to say, knowing he most likely wouldn't give you an answer “I know it's hard to live as we do— as all of us at The Barrel live, but the risks I decide or don't take. They are my decision, not yours. These years you have sought to keep me out of danger and I appreciate it, but you have to learn to trust me”

"I do. I trust you"

"Then show me," you replied. You couldn't help noticing that, even with his stained face, Kaz was still the most handsome man you'd ever seen “Friends do not avoid each other, nor do they move away and despite that, during all these years I have trusted you as from the first moment we were left alone”

You didn't know if you were saying the right thing, but at least you were saying something.

"And if it's too late?"

It was too late? Kaz wondered. He wondered if it was too late to open up to someone, to try to get over his trauma, to let go and finally love you the way he wanted to.

But all this remained as a thought, phrases that couldn’t leave his throat.

“It's not for me,” you assured him. “But my patience won't last forever. I think you should know that”

You couldn't even imagine how many emotions Kaz was trying to process at that moment, but even he himself didn't understand what a mess you'd made of him with that conversation. From his perception, he had admitted that he loved you, but from his eyes, you didn't seem affected by it. And you, contrary to what he thought, felt like you were going to faint.

You were about to leave, for the second time, but he spoke:

“Stay,” he said, sounding more desperate than he would have liked. “I don't know what to say, but… just stay here. I don't want us to be alone tonight”

Us. That fucking habit of Kaz's to speak in the plural and make you a nervous wreck.

You looked at the bed and found that it was too small for both of you, to which we had to add his refusal to be close to others. Proof of this was the unconscious movement of sticking your hands as close as possible to his body during the entire time you were talking.

"Use the bed, obviously you need it more than me" you muttered and went directly to the armchair. Fortunately your first impression wasn’t wrong, it was very comfortable.

The room was so small that the apparent distance between the pieces of furniture didn't mean much, so when he sat on the bed you could see him perfectly.

The memory of one of the times when both of you were in similar situations came to your mind. That night you had been woken by frightened screams from the next room, in that abandoned house where you and Kaz found shelter, forcing you out of bed to investigate.

It was hard to comfort a person without physically touching them, especially when he had nightmares, and over the months you'd had to get used to it. The boy hated waking you up, it made him feel guilty and stupid, but you always kept him company. You never spoke, never asked questions, you just stayed there so he knew he wasn't alone.

Maybe something like that was what Kaz needed tonight. 

"Rest" you exclaimed. His head turned to look at you and you detected a different and special glow in his eyes; as if it were a mixture of fear, softness, and gentleness. You appreciated that look for a few more seconds, which you feared you would never see again in your life, and then you reached out your hand to turn off the light on the desk.

Silence reigned in the darkness.

You settled in the chair, trying to figure out what would be the best sleeping position, and at the same time you heard Kaz slide between the sheets on the bed. After a while, your eyelids felt heavy, a consequence of the fatigue that the hustle and bustle of the day had left you, and when you were about to fall asleep, a voice pulled you out of your reverie.

"Thank you. For everything”

The phrase was a whisper, a delicate caress in your ear, but you understood it clearly. And you decided to think that when Kaz said 'for everything' he meant literally everything you had selflessly done for him during his life; like he just realized you were important. But it's not that he had just noticed it, but that he had just accepted it.

You wanted to stretch out the moment as long as you could because, even if you weren't looking at him, you knew he was awake thanks to the sound of his breathing, but at some point sleep overcame you and you fell fast asleep.

Kaz had nightmares that night, like always, but the difference was that when he woke up in shock in the morning, you were in the same room. So seeing you there, keeping him company, was reason enough to calm him down.

And like every time this had happened, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

[mcyt-trios]

PROPAGANDA:

Schlatt & Co.:

literally two guys running a business and their intern (aka Son). the worst father figures ever and a little guy. cryptocurrency scammers. they've been my lockscreen wallpaper for like a year

Capitalist family that's pathetic

they are the ultimates Guys with their Son. the Original Schlatt and Co. people always forget ty. he was crucial and i’m tired of people forgetting him. he is their son who tries his best but of course is a rebellious teen yknow. he don’t care (he does). and schlonnor are gay lol

They're so so silly and so so stupid. 2 gay business men and their weird kid/unpaid intern

iamty is a child of marriage fraud (fraud conducted by antvenom)

Please

3 Heart Trio:

theyre soo silly theyre just silly little guys who do things like mining an entire chunk in the center of the server's spawn for their own entertainment and to annoy everyone else

They are PATHETIC. They are ANNOYING. They are PERFECT. They are playing on three hearts and they die so much. They have a specialized raid platform that is NOT a raid farm. They are a team against exploits! Their base has 3 hearts above it representing them

these guys decided to put love and fun above all on the killing-lying server. while watching other teams betray and fall apart they have stuck with each other till the very last day of the server and never doubted one another. they worked like a clockwork, they knew they could only rely on themselves and at the end of the day, they didnt mind that it was that way

these guys got the short end of the stick time and time again throughout all of lifesteal s4, they were the targets of so many traps and attacks for no reason other than they were weak and always around. and despite it all they never wanted revenge and never held grudges! they cared about fun and friendship more than anything else, and while all the other teams ended up falling apart or betraying each other, these three stuck together from start to end. they didn't care about how many hearts they had, how much gear they had, or how powerful they were, because in the end all they needed was each other <3 i miss them so bad btw

[dallasgallant]

Christmas headcanons-

I’m so behind, I was on time and early for the other holidays, and I’m technically still early now but when it comes to Christmas content usually you want it super early as everyone’s busy the week of. Anyways—

Time period 1. Time period 2

Two-bits house has its Christmas lights up year round, soon after their dad left they stopped taking them down. They also don’t really trust two on the roof not to hurt himself so it’s the safest bet

On years it’s not donated by Mr. Curtis’s work, the Curtis men set out to the tree lot, go to the back and start haggling for a decent enough cheap tree. They’re usually scrawny but affordable.

Dally hates when it ices on top of snow, he can aim a snowball well but if it’s frozen he turns into Bambi on ice - Two and Steve are relentless when this happens as he just keeps slipping and can’t catch them.

Johnny stays with two-bit the most around the holidays. He bounced between there and his own home, sometimes the Curtis house but mainly if they’re having everyone over.

The amount of chocolate just out for the taking in the Curtis home is unfathomable.

Soda has 100% eaten the foil before.

Pony used to play with the nativity like a farm set when he was really little, there’s a few photos of this.

Pony’s favorite Christmas songs are all the hymns and gospel songs, real old stuff. Guys call him boring for it but Johnny will sit and listen with him sometimes, even if he would take chuck berry over o’ holy night most of the time.

All of the gangs winter coats have about a million patches in them but still work well, Johnny’s has slightly less holes than his usual jacket.

All of the gang have tried to convince Pony that yellow snow was lemon flavored, unfortunately he’s a bit too observant to fall for it. - that being said they all have attempted to write their name before to varying success lol

Mrs. Curtis was the one to teach Darry and Dally how to mend/patch clothes (older headcanon of mine)

An annual professional photo around Christmas of her sons is Mrs. Curtis’s splurge of the season, the amount of awkward photos is unfathomable. The year she got a camera for herself was her favorite.

The guys will have some small stuff for the others but nothing major, most are reserved for getting something for family(if at all) most of two’s are swiped.

Think this was from a SE fic but Steve runs gifts for his ma, small stuff like fudge across the neighborhood. Then he started giving his services out to others— he and soda have a little enterprise going.

Like Thanksgiving, the curtis home is the preferred viewing space for Tv specials and Christmas episodes of shows because of their color television.

[whysoblue2]

Alright here is a bunch of info for Webber that you could use and might be a bit rambley and don't worry this isn't meant to be a 3-course dinner at a 5 star restaurant where you have to eat everything, this is meant to be a buffet table at a mid-to-low quality Chinese restaurant you can take what you want and ignore what you don't

Overview

Webber is a boy I would put his pronouns here but they're mildly complicated Webber uses I/My/Me as well as We/Us/Our when describing himself this is due to the fact his character is "Two minds One body" but other than that there's nothing outright proving or disproving that He/Him is right or wrong so I am just gonna be using that

Backstory

Webber is a human boy who was raised on a farm with his mom and (probably) scientist dad, one day his dad was given a gift from one of his friends that demanded all of his attention and this annoyed Webber who was pretty fond of his dad. so to get back at him and to get his attention back he went into his dad's study and pushed it over to break it. Turns out there was spider from the constant inside it and it immediately tried to eat Webber it failed to do so and they became one turning Webber into a spider boy and earning him the nickname "The Indigestible" when Webber's parents got up to hear what broke they only saw a monster and immediately threw it outside leaving Webber with the want to fix the mistake he caused which led to him ending up in the constant.

The Constant

Yeah I'm going say everything relevant to Webber sorry about that

The Constant is a place that sucks to be in. Time seems to be in a constant state of indifference with faster day and night cycles creatures that spawn out of nowhere to keep the victim from being complacent with the seasons being actively hostile with Summer literally burning trees, Winter being unbearably cold, Spring raining frogs (that also want to kill you), And Fall being pretty fine (there had to be a tutorial season).

Most of the wildlife in The Constant do not like the player. There is a easily countable number of friendly wildlife, many more that are neutral, with the majority being downright hostile with most of the creatures you have to fight just to stay alive being downright inedible.

Benefits Webber Has

There's a few things that Webber has going for him

1. He is part spider so the spider species that would usually be hostile to him is now neutral and can be turned into friends and fight alongside him

2. He is part spider so he is able to eat the usually inedible monster meat (could be translated to follower meat)

3. He is part spider so he makes spider silk he grows it as a beard it usually takes 9 days to get to it's max size (but there is the weird time stuff in The Constant)

4. He has slightly higher than average health (normal health is 150 Webber has 175)

Cons Webber Has

1. He is part spider so any neutral creatures that hate spiders also hate him this the 3 different races the Pigs the Bunnymen and the Catcoon with the pigs and the Bunnymen being roughly the size of the usual big and dumb evil henchmen and the catcoon being a raccoon but with cat tendencies

2. He has a lower than most sanity and is easier to start suffering from low sanity

Random facts about Webber

1. Webber doesn't have a listed age but using his (canon confirmed) friend his age would be around 8-10 years old

2. Webber says his spider side is better

3. Webber's dad is a scientist but also worked on a farm and kept goats as well as grew crops and he taught Webber to care for both of those

4. Webber's grandfather taught him how to play chess and was probably Scottish or at the very least British

5. Webber genuinely has 2 souls in him

6. His birthday is April 30th

7. Webber can talk normally if you wanna make him mute that's your choice

Alright that is all the info that I thought could be relevant that I could explain but there is more if you want to find it in the wiki the official unofficial wiki is dontstarve.wiki.gg

Here is the last 2 things I'll talk about before stopping the first is 2 items from dont starve together and the last is a head cannon I got from reading the wiki page

First is the Telltale Heart and the Booster Shot

the Telltale Heart is an item you can easily craft in don't starve together that can be crafted with 3 cut grass a spider gland (the low tech option for healing due to the glands poison being used to burn away any infection) and 40 health (which assuming 3 hearts is equivalent to 150 health points means it would take like a single point and a half out of a heart) so you could then use it on a ghost to revive the player back to life with the only downsides being that their health is to 50 (which once again using the same metric as before sets the health to 1 full heart) they become mildly hungry and setting their sanity to half and losing 25% of their max (same as before means that they lose a half a heart) with the only thing they can do to bring that back is to use the Booster Shot. The way you can create that is with 8 rotten food 2 pieces of nitre (no equivalent in cotl but can be said to be random useless rocks found in the quarry) and a bee stinger with a bit of advance science (that Webber knows how to make cause his dad made it back then) and you can restore 25% of their max health (half a heart)

And finally a headcannon I got about Webber

So basically the main way you get Webber in DT is the same as COTL where you bury his skull he pulls himself out the ground and now he's alive again. The thing I noticed is that if this is something that Webber can just do that means he is technically sudo immortal where all you need to do is to bury his skull and he is back to being alive whether that means hes back to being a child again or to the age he died at has interesting implications for both

I don't know how to end this

Ok, this was actually very interesting! Thank you for taking the time to put this all together for me!!! Thanks to this info I popped down a couple of notes that could help me insert them into a possible story.

Needs a new, improved family. He could probably not like, or be intimidated by Kall for being deep into science like his father? The father that neglected him for a spider etc. *says in cinemasins voice*: Kids. Speaks with himself because of his two souls problem (that in Cotl could be translated into a 2 personality issue). Shamura and Sozo can help with that. Then we lock up him and Sozo in a room and it becomes a dinner party with all those personalities. It would be hilarious if Sozo and Spider-Webber bonded. Probably is seen eating some nasty things, something the cult might frown upon, except Heket. The suckers don't know what it means to starve. So she might teach him how to feed properly with the time and care of the big sister she is. He plays knucklebones (instead of chess). Ratau, sorry. I am still unsure how to fit the whole skull in the ground thing, but yeah the more I think about it, the less I see him as a narilamb adoption. Thanks so much again!💙

[princeloww]

The Real St. Judes: Gartloch Hospital - History (abridged)

The Scottish Lunacy Act of 1857 saw the creation of the Glasgow District Lunacy Board. The act, through these boards, aimed to establish and operate "district asylums", which would house patients unable to pay for the already existing "Royal Asylums".

In 1889, the Gartloch Estate was purchased by the City of Glasgow for approximately £8600 (~1 million today). The Glasgow District Lunacy Board were to turn it into an asylum for the mentally ill, and Gartloch Hospital would open in 1896.

In the early 1900s, a tuberculosis sanitorium was opened.

During World War II, Gartloch was temporarily transformed into an Emergency Medical Services Hospital; the psychiatric patients were transferred and housed in other hospitals. After the war, the tuberculosis sanitorium was shut.

Gartloch would fall into the hands of a different board (Board of Management for Glasgow North-Eastern Mental Hospitals), after joining the NHS in 1948.

Although there were 830 beds in 1904, by 1990 there were apparently only 530 - this being just under the amount available when it first opened.

In its last few years, Gartloch would fall under the Greater Glasgow Community and Mental Health Services NHS Trust. In 1996, the hospital officially closed, and was essentially abandoned, until 2003, when plans to turn Gartloch into a village began.

Now, there is a village, "Gartloch Village", surrounding the hospital. The main body, the iconic front we see in Donna Franceschild's TOTA, standing derelict and with boarded windows.

Oh, it's also apparently haunted, according to two nurses.

What was the hospital like?

I've nabbed these (like most of the other information - although I cross-referenced the rest (such as the years) from wikipedia and some other archives) from this article on hiddenglasgow.com.

I was born and lived at 2280 Gartloch Rd (East Cottages) of Gartloch Hospital. My Father, Bill Milne was the Bacteriologist at Gartloch Hospital Laboratory. My Mother was Helen and was the hospital hairdresser. My memories of Gartloch are the most wonderful memories ever. We had the most perfect childhood. The children of employees were involved in lots of differant ways. I remember especially the farm. Our house looked onto the busy fields and the Bishop Loch. We spent many happy summers pickinf tatties with the patients. And in the long cold winters, skating on the Bishop Loch. Christmad parties in the hospital involved all the staff, their children and patients. We got to know many of the patients who had been there most of their lives. Some had been admitted the the unit because of ''having a child out of wedlock'' I have so many stories to tell this page is not big enough! I would love to hear from anyone who remembers Gartloch or who lived/worked there.

Pattie Milne [04/02/2004]

I was talking with my gran t'other night about Gartloch (her maw died in there!) and she remembers these two women that used to walk about when she went visiting. One of them was about 4 foot nothing and the other about 6 foot. They walked up and down the hall, not saying a word to each other, but every now and then the taller one would repeatedly slap the little one on the head (that story seemed funnier when my gran told it!).

Crusty [30/01/2004]

There are a few more interesting stories on the linked article, so if you're interested, I recommend you check them out.

Finally: Takin' Over the Asylum (and other pop culture)

Takin' Over the Asylum aired on the 27th of September, 1994. The six-part drama was filmed in a disused wing of Gartloch, while the hospital was still open and functional. The hospital would close only 2 years after the airing of the show.

Gartloch's iconic, gothic towers would play a key role in the show, and be instantly recognisable to any viewer of TOTA.

Although it shut down in 1996, TOTA would not be the only media produced about the hospital. Wikipedia states that a film was produced in 2005, named (appropriately) "Gartloch Hospital", that covered the history of the hospital. This film went on to win an award in 2007, at the Scottish Mental Health Art and Film Festival, for "Best Factual Film".

Although hidden away, Gartloch hospital has an undeniably interesting history. Personal accounts from the hospital seem to paint it as a fun place, where patients and staff seemed to get along. Knowing the horrors of early mental health treatment, and the abuse many would suffer in these sort of places, we can only hope that these accounts are true and create an accurate image of life surrounding the hospital.

And I wrote all this because I really like David Tennant. Good night

Note the decorative peaks on the towers - they are absent from the rest of the photos. They were reportedly removed in the late 1930's.

SOURCES

Very interesting archive that goes into the history of Gartloch: (link) (source of above images)

Timeline and personal memories: (link)

Overview: Wikipedia (gartloch, Takin' Over the Asylum)

[pennysperfectpolls]

Penny poll Bracket 2 Finals

Penny Lamb/Jane Doe (Legoland / Ride the Cyclone) vs

Penelope (The Odyssey)

Propaganda under the cut

Penny Lamb/Jane Doe (Legoland / Ride the Cyclone)

• Okay I am not the person to be propaganda making for her but she's so cool she died once and then came back she's also a bit uhh deranged is a good word

• Penny Lamb (and her younger brother Ezra) lived in a hippie weed growing commune until she was thirteen and snuck out to a walmart, eventually leading to the entire thing burning to the ground. Then they lived in a tiny town named Uranium City and she got relentlessly bullied and even set on fire until she was given a cd by another girl from a band called Seven Up. She formed a parasocial relationship with the singer, who then turned into a misogynistic rapper. She travelled from northern Saskatchewan to Florida to meet him and thank him for basically making her life tolerable and enjoyable, and then ended up tearing a chunk of flesh out of his face with her teeth all at the age of 15 years old. Two years later after a concert with her school choir, she was beheaded on a fair rollercoaster called the Cyclone, becoming a Jane Doe until she was voted back to life. While she was Jane Doe, she wore the head of a porcelain doll as to not freak the other kids out!

• she was born a hippie, she bites and maims a famous rapper with hot coffee, she has a little brother obsessed with german philosophy, she plays the ukulele, she has a fuck ass bob. she gets fucking DECAPITATED by a roller coaster but survives because she is so offputting. what else do you need in a woman

• Where do I START with Penny. Basically she grew up socially isolated on a community pot farm until the age of 13, where she and her brother ran away to Walmart and started pretending to revive him from seizures because of how much attention she got. She was eventually driven back home where the entire community was drug busted burned to the ground, their parents being arrested, friends taken away, entire home destroyed. Instead of being sent to foster care, she’s and her brother are sent to a catholic boarding school, where they live mostly unsupervised. Penny is relentlessly bullied for supposedly being a lesbian, and diagnosed as bipolar and manic depressive while her brother (three years younger than her) sells his adhd medication to college kids to make ends meet. Soon after having her backpack lit on fire by bullies, she starts to fall into a deep depressive episode, not coming out of her room for days, until a catholic girl takes pity on her, and gives her a hiphop/boyband CD for her to listen to called 7-up (important later). Penny obsessed on the lead singer Johnny moon to an unhealthy degree until the band breaks up and Johnny rebrands to JK47, a misogynist gangster rapper who penny can’t stand. Penny and her brother run away from middle of knowwhere Canada to Florida to meet him so penny can win him back and remind him of how much she loves him and how cool he used to be. This doesn’t go well, as he doesn’t drop his gangster persona, calling her the same insult all her previous bullies did, leading to her throwing hot coffee on him, tearing a chunk off flesh out of his face with her teeth, and subsequently being arrested and later out on probation. Penny ALSO gets her own movie (in the play) and tells the audience this very story in a presentation with goofy puppets. Penny’s story is funny and absurd but at the same time incredibly tragic and heartbreaking. She also appears in ride the cyclone where she’s revealed to be the identity of Jane Doe (who had her head cut off before she was found dead in the rollercoaster accident with the other choir kids and was therefor never identified)

• she is a femamist lesbian and I am in love with her

• She's known as Jane Doe throughout the musical because she doesn't know who she is in death, her head is a doll's head because she lost her real one in the rollercoaster disaster that killed all the characters, she's the one who wins the prize of coming back from death which is when we learn her true name Penny. Her song is absolutely *beautiful* (The Ballad of Jane Doe) and she is the Penny of all time because I love her

• Girlie already lost her head we can’t take her victory too :(

Penelope (The Odyssey)

• She waited about 20 years for her husband to come home she used her huge brain to keep the suitors away for ages I just think she's neat

• She is LOYAL. She is SMART. She is HARDWORKING. She waited for TWENTY YEARS. Penelope is a QUEEN (literally). PENELOPE SWEEP

[stemmmm]

Stem's Thoughts on Harvest Moon 64

(that other title's too long so i'm cutting it down now)

Harvest Moon 64 opens on a scene of your character walking around the street, speaking to everyone in the village who’s come to the event. You quickly piece together that this event in question is actually your grandfather’s funeral, the same grandfather who’s farm you’re about to take over. This little scene beautifully sets up both the tone of the game, and immediately shows the player that this iteration is far more focused on the story and characters. HM64 tells a story about the lives of many people in a small, dying town. It is a story about life, and it is a story about death.

A short disclaimer before we dig in: I played this game before the idea to write these essays cropped up, and have not replayed it since then, so this will be mostly vibes. I will try to do my research to make sure I’m not straight up lying though. (Also all of the images in this one are from google because I don't have a means of getting images from my N64 other than photographing the tv screen and I'm not doing that.)

What’s new!

HM64, also called Harvest Moon 2 by HMGB2 and nothing else I’ve ever seen, is the direct sequel to HM SNES. It’s not a sequel in the usual way sequels are, where you’re continuing where you left off with the same character, but in that every main character is the descendant of their equivalent in the previous game. It’s not important to the story, in fact if you don’t already know this, you probably wouldn’t notice anything past some similarities. I played this game before I tried out SNES and it still took me a minute, plus having it directly pointed out to me to get it. Maybe I’m oblivious, who knows. 

Gameplay-wise, this iteration is home of a few series firsts: For one, your house can be upgraded to have a kitchen! You can't cook though, only collect recipes. You can also get a greenhouse where you can grow crops year-round. Sheep are introduced as barn animals that produce wool. You receive a fishing rod you can use whenever you want, but as far as I understand, the timing is nigh impossible unless you’re playing on a CRT (I am not, and never managed to catch a single fish). There’s a mine you can access in winter for something to do while you can’t grow crops (there are fall crops, but not winter) where you can find about two key items and garbage otherwise. Tool upgrades are no longer done by magic, but by leveling them up through use! Which I think is very neat and feels very natural, like you’ve just become more proficient with them as a farmer through practice. Characters can now come to visit you on the farm at random times, for either special story events or just to say hi! Your farmer can get sick from working too hard in bad weather, just like your animals, and there’s now medicine for that, just like your animals. And there’s inventory menus that I'll discuss at better length later.

What’s the same is… Most things in a basic sense. You’re on a farm with a dog, planting crops, raising livestock. You can make friends with folks in town by talking to them and giving them gifts. The livestock mechanics, as far as I could see and as far as I’ve been able to understand from online forums, are exactly the same as they were in SNES, the exception being there’s no wild beasts that can kill your animals but they’ll still get sick if they aren’t fenced overnight– and they’re not going to eat any grass unless they’re out overnight anyways.

As for your farm, you’re set up with the usual: a small house, a barn, coop, and fodder silo, a wood bin to store debris cleared off your farm, and a big messy field that you have to clean up before you can properly use it. It starts with three new additions though; a doghouse, a bowl that you can feed your dog with by putting edible items in there, and a mailbox that you’ll occasionally receive letters and notices in! They’re small additions, but very, very charming. The one thing that’s been removed is the toolshed, now replaced by a tiny toolbox by your house.

The world outside your farm is like an enhanced version of the SNES map. Imagine the town and forest now have one or two extra sections tacked onto them, one in the town for some extra housing, and a couple in the forest to let you explore the mountain more and get you deeper into the woods. The mountain still has a cave in it (this time with Harvest Sprites, who have been removed from your farm) and a summit you can climb to for certain events, but it has been upgraded with little wild animals that wander around and can be picked up and shown to people for a few friendship points, if they like the animal. (This applies to your dog too, there’s a well known exploit to max out Karen’s friendship in one day by repeatedly showing it to her in the bar where time is stopped.) The crossroads zone is also expanded by having three new areas you can travel to– the ranch that you buy animals at, a vineyard that’s more of a story-area, and a beach that mostly comes into play for a couple of summer festivals! 

On the visual side, this game is the series’ first venture into the new frontier of 3d graphics… kind of. The artstyle is made of isometric 3D models that are rendered into flat sprites and then projected onto the TV as if that’s not what’s happening. The game even lets you turn your farm around in 3D to face different directions, but it’s locked to only let you play in specific angles. Changing the direction made me forget where everything was and get lost on my own tiny farm, so I never touched that mechanic.

Due to the dramatic artstyle shift– not only being in 3D but also presented at a 45 degree angle, the game becomes a fair bit harder to play than either of its 2D predecessors. The controls are just a little clunky, and the bizarre shape of the N64 controller really doesn’t help. This makes the tedium of farming a little irritating to do, since it requires pretty precise inputs done over and over for every extra thing you’re trying to grow. Fortunately, you're not on the hook to ship everything before 5PM comes around like in SNES, so you get to move a little bit slower. The fickle farming experience also gets a little help from the new inventory menu that can be accessed anywhere and any time. It has multiple inventory slots for both tools and items, each type having a dedicated section so there’s no need to prioritize carrying tools versus turnips. Unfortunately, this actually ends up being a little more cumbersome than useful, as the menu takes a little longer than is comfortable to open and is pretty clunky to use. I mostly avoided it unless I was bringing gifts to people. But the addition of an inventory opens up the opportunity for something else which defines this entire game...

Key items– a set of unique, unsellable items –are most frequently found in random, secret places around the farm and town, and they give you a reason to scour every inch of the place. They can also be given to you by NPCs when you gain relationships with them, which is convenient because their entire purpose is to help you get even better relationships with each of them, and maybe even unlock little stories with characters. For example, there’s a music box you can dig up in your field that can be given to any of the girls for a decently sized relationship bump. There’s also an old weathervane in the shape of a chicken that you can find in the little mine. If you give it to Rick, he’ll tell you that it was a precious thing that belonged to his grandmother as a cute scene to deepen the town’s lore and connect it to the first game. Key items quickly become the most important and sought after things in the game because they act as a vessel to deliver that which the game is all about: stories.

Lots of people in a little town

The narrative premise is exceedingly simple: you need to fix up your grandfather’s ruined farm and make a new life for yourself in this town within a certain amount of time, just like its predecessors. Except, this game is a lot bigger than either of them, and it didn’t fill all the extra space with new things to grow on your farm. In my entry on the SNES game, I mentioned that the introspective style of writing turned the repetitive farming gameplay into something more like meditation on things going on in the town. This game takes that idea and runs with it! The town in this game may only be slightly bigger than it was before, but it has a lot more people in it, and every single one of them has a lot more to say, more to do, more festivals to go to, and more story events to take part in. There's even a new photo album that fills in with images for reaching special events or succeeding at certain festivals! Your given goal may be to successfully revitalize your farm, but that rapidly stops being the reason why you want to play. Farming is only a means to further the narrative of the town.

Story events are no longer a reward for reaching the highest heart level with a girl, but instead something that happens naturally in the world as you make better friends with people, or if you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. The world doesn’t only consist of you living it and things happening to you. Instead, you end up being a fly on the wall to other people’s conversations and life events, and you get to see how those events change the people around you. People will begin to say different things, go different places, live different lives without your input at all– often much better lives, as everyone in the town is pretty deeply troubled, whether they seem like it or not.

There’s an added depth, too. While the characters in this series have always been defined by their conflicts (in the first game, every big cutscene with each girl was exclusively about their major life conflicts), this game takes it further in multiple ways. Characters have conflicts with their families: you as the player have a conflict with your parents who can take you home if you fail to farm well, Lillia and Basil have conflict over their marriage and the fact that Basil leaves for half the year, and Karen’s family situation is…. A lot. Then, there are characters at conflict with things much more nebulous, like the Mayor who tells you that the town is going to die out but he can’t find any way to save it, or like the young boy Kent who wants to be a farmer just like you, but through a series of events is forced to learn that life isn’t so simple, people can’t just do whatever they would like, and it takes very hard work to get to do the things you dream of. And then there are conflicts that aren’t even necessarily conflicts unless they run into your long-term plans.

Instead of only having a bunch of girls in town who exist only as your prospective marriage candidates, there are also five boys in the town who will marry those girls instead of you, if given the chance. Like in SNES, there are 5 levels of hearts that the girls can have for you. Unlike SNES, each one of these hearts has a corresponding event you can have with the girl where there’s a chance of her liking you more afterwards, if you say the right things. In addition to that though, there are just as many events coming from the other side of the story, rival events that trigger if you happen to be good friends with the boys.

My favorite story by far is that of Harris the mailman who falls in love with the librarian, Maria, from just seeing her handwriting on the outside of all the letters that she would write. I frequently saw him in the bar at the end of the day and he would tell me the woes of his love, saying that he just needed to work up the courage to finally speak to her. Then one day, I happened to be outside of the library when he and Maria met face to face and she handed over a letter addressed to him. No longer did he sit in the bar forlorn every night, instead all he would do was excitedly tell me about Maria, and then when I visited the library, Maria would tell me about Harris!

While I’m on the subject of these characters, I think it’s worth going in a little more depth on who these people are past the grandchildren of the characters from the last game. See, you may be familiar with names like Karen and Kai and Gray, etc., etc. from a little recently remade game called Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, which is a modern version of Friends of Mineral Town on the GameBoy Advance, which is a port of Back to Nature on the PlayStation. These are not those characters. At all. While the basic elements of these characters are intact– Popuri is cute and childish, Ann is a workaholic, Maria is shy and a little oblivious –nothing else is the same. They all work different jobs and marry different people than they are paired with in later entries, and in my humble opinion, it all works WAY better in this game, probably because of the fact that these characters were designed for this specific context!

As an example, Popuri’s exasperated mother, Lillia, runs the flower shop and Popuri was named by her father, Basil, who loves plants. She’s childish and sweet and loves flowers, but can also be a complete brat. She eventually marries Gray, Ann’s brother, who lives on the ranch run by his father, Doug, who struggles to understand his children. Gray is an angry young man who seems to have a particular dislike for you, but you don’t learn why until you discover he was a promising young jockey until he got a bad injury and had to give up the sport.

Am I gushing a bit and letting the game design part fall to the wayside? Sure probably, but I can only gush because the game does a brilliant job of making a cast of characters who, while simple on their own, have interconnected lives that come together to give every one of them so much more depth than they would have otherwise. It all builds a narrative, and while narrative design is definitely something different than game design on its own, this game is far more about the narrative so it’s impossible to not focus on.

The problems

The trouble with these events is that I nearly missed the chance to see that letter be exchanged. You have some control over the progression of the events, because you have to be decent friends with the boys in order for them to trigger at all, but unlike the girls who have a handy visual signal of how much they like you, the boys have no such thing, so you can’t really know if a new event is ready to fire off. There’s no way of knowing where or when they’ll happen either unless you look it up, and even then you have to get lucky because sometimes they just don’t trigger when you want them to. I had a lovely moment in my game where I managed to accidentally catch a cold from working too hard in the snow and lost a day to being bedridden, followed by the New Years celebration which takes a day away from you, then followed by Kai and Karen’s wedding– something that I had missed multiple events for and therefore had no idea was coming, which also took a day from me. After that three day chain of no work, I think I was extremely lucky my animals didn’t get sick and die. 

This chain of events led directly to me never speaking to Gray again, even though he was the boy I was most interested in, because I wanted to marry Popuri and there was too much risk of him getting to her before I could. The reason why I didn’t go into more detail about the relationship between those two when I was talking about them earlier is because I straight up don’t know it, I couldn’t risk giving them a chance to get together.

The thing is, even if I hadn’t forced Gray and Popuri’s cutscenes to stop, I still wouldn’t actually know what their relationship is like, because I have not beaten this game. I know what the ending entails and I can reasonably expect I probably would not have gotten an excellent one, but I’m sure it still would have been fine. I stopped playing the game entirely before I even managed to get married. Why? Because I couldn’t get any of Popuri’s heart events to trigger. I had her hearts maxed out and had a blue feather ready to go in my pocket, so I could turn on the game and marry her right away anytime I wanted to. But I wanted to trigger the little events, even if they’re just a couple seconds of some pixels talking to me on a screen. They’re cute. And it made me sad that I couldn’t see them for some imperceptible reason. So I stopped playing and didn’t pick the game back up.

I don’t remember how close I was to the end of the game, I know I was at least in year 2, but I don’t even remember how much longer the game is after that. Probably a good amount. I had definitely gotten most of the events you could get at this point, since multiple other characters had gotten married, and the farming wasn’t something I really enjoyed so I can’t say I wasn’t at least a little bored by this point, but I wasn’t frustrated with the general mechanics of the game. The days were long enough, but not too long, that I had just enough time to go anywhere I wanted and do what I needed before night came. I could still talk to characters and go to festivals and play minigames. But I didn’t want to, because the game wasn’t doing what it seemed like it was supposed to for some arbitrary reason and that frustrated me enough to make me stop. When the fun of a game is found more in experiencing special events rather than anything else, the player feels cheated out of their good time when those events are too hard to find or can be missed outright, and that’s exactly what I experienced.

Parting Thoughts

The ending, according to what I've read, is very similar to the SNES endings, in that you’ll get different results based on all of the different things you’ve done. Whether you’re married, how many crops you shipped, how many animals you have, how well liked you are by the town… I imagine it’s not quite the victory lap that SNES’s ending was with its little cutscenes, since apparently all you get are comments on how well you performed by various people in the town, but it still seems nice and rewarding! At least like more of a reward than whatever the hell GB1 was trying to do. It seems like a perfectly good ending that it would be nice to see myself someday.

Despite all my troubles with this game, I believe HM64 is still the best one out there– at least that I’ve played yet. The events are plentiful and the content is meaty. The repetitive day to day dialogue still has the simple breath of life that SNES did, that manages to make the most out of a small amount. Don’t get me wrong, this game came out in 1999, I’m giving it a lot of praise but the characters still repeat the same line to you every day, and they still freeze in place until you leave the room. It’s revolutionary, but this is comparing it to a game on the literal Super Nintendo. Absolutely pick up this game to try it out, but keep those expectations tempered. That said, I never picked up this game nor knew a thing about it until I was well into my 20’s, but the moment I started playing, it hit me with a wave of nostalgia as if I’d known this game my whole life. At least to me, the look and feel of the game were like coming home to a childhood I never had.

 Will I pick up this game again with the intent to beat it? Maybe! Hard to say for sure when I’m trying to play decades worth of games and write about them at a comprehensive level. What I do know is that this is exactly what I want more farming games to be. It’s a game that has thoughts about life, and about death, both good and bad. And I think this is the perfect context to share those thoughts.

[justjams2003]

Between Two Gods: 2-Caving in

I’m on a roll;)

Paring: Alpha!Thor Odinson x Omega!Reader x Alpha!Clark Kent

Summary: You finally cave in and decide to have pups

Warnings: Mostly just fluff, a very small bit of angst and talk about sexual themes. A/B/O

Word Count: 1,3k

You grunt, annoyed with the lack of pillows you seem to normally have on your bed. You came home after a long hard day, everything you’d been working on at work seemed to just be falling apart. You placed one simple task in the arms of a new intern and somehow, he managed to fuck it up entirely.  

He deleted one of your most important files on your computer, ‘by accident’ he claimed. You have the suspicion that he was a bit salty about working for a girl, or rather a girl omega. Wanting you to get fired so that he can take your job. To be honest you are thinking about it.  

Yes, you’ve always been hardworking and independent. You didn’t come from much and didn’t mind it either. Though you worked yourself to the bone, who said you enjoyed it? No, you did this all to ensure a good future for yourself. That was of course, assuming you would never find your mate.  

But you did, you found not one but two mates. Not any two mates either, two gods. One, a prince of not only the realm you live in but eight others. The second, a worldwide known journalist. Both superheroes with billionaires behind them, money was no problem.  

They made that quite well-known too.  One of them would leave their card at home, usually Thor since he’s not usually on earth during the day. Clark’s been ready for pups since the day he met you, even more so when you two met Thor. His presence made Clark itch to impregnate you with his Alpha. To raise pups with his Alpha and his Omega. It wasn’t much different for Thor.  

You, however, stayed strong that you love your job. That it is your life, that you couldn’t possibly just give everything up for pups. That you’ve work so hard to get where you are now and aren’t ready to be a mom yet. But to be honest, you’re lying to yourself. They’ve been trying to convince you of pups and you’ve kept on refusing.  

Now, though, you’re caving. And there not even here to see it! You stand up, grabbing all the pillows Clark had bought, for your heat, and throw it all on the bed. You’re not in your heat, it ended more than a week ago. They tend to be short due to the fact of the pure strength of your Alpha’s.

No, you need to nest. No, you need Clark and Thor to be here and surround you with their smell. To hold you and swear that they’ll make that stupid Beta pay. But you came home early after that experience, and they tend to work late. All you have is their clothes and their pillows, even their spare capes surround you in the bed.  

You’re bundled up and just sigh. Your walls are falling, and you miss your roots. The small, secluded town where everyone knows everyone. They were all rooting for you, and it broke your heart when your only parent passed. You haven’t seen your brothers in years, and you miss it. This big city isn’t for you.  

Clark would talk all the time of his childhood on the farm, the woods nearby his house and the community he was raised in. Thor too would tell of his glorious tales of playing in the woods by his castle, with his brother. You want that, you want many pups with a huge yard and woods and farms to play on and grow up in.  

You’re so engrossed in these fantasies of far away and being in and out of sleep that you don’t even hear Superman enter your apartment. You do notice when you feel his weight on you. When he you feel him wrap his heavy arms and legs around your body. He lays in silence, feeling the wave of confusing emotions coming from you.  

And when Thor comes home, he does the same as his Alpha. Finally, you’re surrounded by them and only them. “My princes, what’s the matter?” He asks, his voice much softer than usual. His nose buried deep in your neck with Clark on the other side.  

You fight against the sobs. “I want to move.” Your words lack to hold the pure number of emotions or true intentions. Clark and Thor give each other a look, both of their brows furrowed. “Of course, my love. Where to?” Clark replies, wanting to do anything to keep your tears from falling. It fails, dramatically, you’re not even sure why you’re so emotional.  

The lie you’ve been telling yourself is finally caving in. The boys, however, just didn’t know it would lead to such tears. “No, you don’t get it!” You bite your lip, trying to get to hold back your cries. Thor’s omega is breaking down and he decides to take over.  

He sits up straight and pulls you into his lap. “We can tell our princess is upset but we can’t do anything about us until you tell us what’s wrong. That means no yelling, omega.” There is the slightest tone of his Alpha voice, and it has you calmed down just as quick.  

Clark wipes off your tears and peppers kisses all over. “I want pups.” The words spew from your mouth and just as quick you’re surrounded by them again. They’re both ecstatic, a shit-eating grin on both of their faces. Their lips meet your body everywhere, but you’re quick to stop it.  

“But, I’m so scared,” again the tears form in your eyes. Clark wraps his arms around your waist and you lean your back into him. “Whatever for?” The Kryptonian questions, his neck deep into his mark on your neck. “We promise to be careful~” Thor finishes his mate’s sentence. Again, you shake your head, your omega instincts taking over and wanting to get to knotting as soon as possible.

“Everything is going to change. I don’t know where were going to raise them, because they might just be the new generation of Kryptonians but they might also be the new royalty of Asgard. I haven’t even met Odin. Not to mention, you both are huge! Clark, your mother told me you were 10 pounds when they found you, how is that going to fit out of me? And you Thor, I can only imagine!”  

They can tell the anxiety is flowing out of you. Thor lets out one of his iconic laughs, which forces you to freeze. “This is no laughing matter.” You cross your arms and pout. “We will have the best healers in Asgard. The pups will spend their vacations on Asgard, and they can choose who they want to be. Of course, we will have to have pups until one of them wants to be heir.” Thor mutters the last bit to himself.  

“Our Alpha is right; we will do everything to make sure you are safe.” Clark clarifies Thor’s rambles a bit easier for your tired brain to understand. A sigh of relief comes over you, and you nod. Realising that you don’t need to worry about yourself anymore. That your mates will take care of you.  

“Do you feel better?” Clark asks, hearing your heartbeat calm down. “Much. I don’t want to work anymore, I’m sick of it.” You sigh, placing your head on Thor’s shoulder. “Good, why don’t we get to work then.” He winks to Clark while placing you down on your back on the bed.  

You giggle at his words. “Thor, I need to be in heat for it to work.” He chuckles at your reply. “You’re stuck between two gods, my love. I’m sure something will stick.”  

[anonymooseforever007]

Behind on that Cute Date

(Michael Gray x Reader)

Summary: Wanting to give her busy friend some time to herself, Y/N had offered to watch her friend’s son Karl for a few hours to go to movie and ice cream. But upon returning to the house, Y/N offers to keep the boy longer if Ada wants to spend some more time with her “cute date”. It is a date right? 

A/N: Hi y'all! No TW's I think? I thought of the worst way to meet someone's mom and wrote it? I guess this could also be considered an Ada x Reader Platonic story too considering Michael isn't in the first part too much, but he is defiantly the focus of it...or parts of him are.. Also Michael is probably OC a bit here as I wrote it more with early S2 Michael (farm boy Michael:) ) in mind than the other seasons. enjoy❤️

WC- 5.4k

Part 2- Chocolate Pie

Main Masterlist

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

Small and sticky fingers closed around the collar of Y/N’s dress as Karl began to softly snore into the woman’s shoulder. The energy of the day’s excitement finally beginning to fade (at least until nap time was over) as the two figures quietly walked back down the street to Ada’s house.

Y/N wouldn’t openly admit it, but she was slightly relieved that Karl had fallen asleep. It wasn’t that she didn’t adore the boy, but after almost nine hours of his endless questions (often which had be answered five minutes earlier) and constant need to be running in a different direction (often the opposite one than they needed to go in) the quiet was nice. 

Even if she truly did enjoy about coming up with all the different answers for questions such as, “Why don’t ducks have scales,” or, “How many jumps would it take to get across the park,” and even her (least) favourites, “What if I put this rock in my nose,” or “What if I took off my pants?” 

It would be later that Y/N realised the pattern where many of the questions Karl asked starting with the words, “What if I…” would typically result in a similar answer from herself ending in the words, “…and we don’t want to make mummy sad do we?” 

Maybe it was cheap manipulation, the “let’s not hurt mummy’s feelings” tactic, but Y/N had to admit it was extremely effective. It was right up there next to the , “we gotta be good or mummy may not let me watch you anymore” tactic, she often heard from her own babysitters when younger. Of course, she would explain why the question or action would make “mummy” sad and give Karl reasoning behind not doing it. But in a quick pinch telling him that “Mummy would be sad because he kicked the light post and his leg may fall off,” worked great. 

So aside from a few incidents involving light posts and small rocks, the day had gone great. Having picked Karl up right before lunch Y/N had taken him to run around the park for a bit before treating him to a small picnic shoved in her pack.

Then, being ready to get out of the heat for a bit, the pair went to see the film Peter Pan in the nearby theatre. Technically the movie had been released in the previous year, but the theatre was running a special that week and was playing select children’s films at a discounted price. Despite having purchased two tickets, Karl remained on Y/N’s lap for most of the film. Within the first few minutes he had been terrified by the film’s portrayal of “Nana, the Darling’s family dog,” and sought refuge with the women. Which seeing as it was a rather unnerving puppet Y/N didn’t blame him.

Finally, on the way back the two had passed an ice cream shop and Y/N decided to get them both a cone. Admittedly, she had already planned on doing so, but it certainly did help that while Karl was eating, he wasn’t able to continue pestering her on why she wouldn’t tell him how baby mermaids were made.

Yes, while Y/N certainly didn’t regret offering to take her friend’s son for the day, she could also see why Ada may have wanted (needed) the break. So when Karl began to walk slower and slower, dragging his feet just a bit more, until the only thing keeping him up was Y/N’s hand over his, she was a bit relieved. Even if she did have to keep readjusting his small body in her arms every few minutes, as his head switch between different sides of her shoulders to watch the people passing by. 

The time was getting close to dinner now and Y/N had promised Ada she’d get Karl home by dark. And even if it was still light outside, Y/N didn’t think Ada would mind the two returning a bit earlier than expected, especially if Karl was already tried out for the night.

 If anything it meant that Y/N would be able to take one more task off her friend’s list and get the boy washed and in bed early, leaving time for the two to catch up on the last chapter of their newest book. 

That was how the two met of course, with Y/N, who just started working at the same library, asking for a good book to read. And Ada, having found a thrilling new cover of her own, decided to share her find with the young woman who couldn’t have been older than her own cousin. And thus a new friendship was born, with both women reading the same book and later gushing over the new twist and turns of the plot over lunch each day.

Now here Y/N was almost a year later, walking back to Ada’s house, a trip she now knew by heart, with Ada’s little boy asleep on her shoulder, and hopes that Ada herself was actually able to take that long nap. Y/N knew her friend had been busy with work and Karl and even extended family too. It seemed every day Ada had a new rant about the stupidity of her older brothers’ even more stupid plan. It was why Y/N had offered to take Karl in the first place, remembering how tired her own mother often got trying to take care of the house and her siblings in those long years her father was fighting.

However, as the Y/N got closer to the house she became more and more unsure that Ada actually did spend the day alone as expected…

Sitting outside Ada’s house was a car that Y/N hadn’t seen before. It was a Black Bentley of the nicer model and judging by the shine of the metal it was obviously new. This was the first hint in Y/N’s mind that Ada wasn’t alone. She knew her older friend didn’t own a car, preferring to walk the short distance between work, home, or any other place she needed to get to. On the rare occasion that the women did need to travel further than they could walk, they could easily have called a cab or even taken the car Y/N “shared” with her older brother during the times he’s was in town. 

Stopping at the foot of Ada’s steps, between the front door and the car itself Y/N stared for a moment. A conversation she had with Ada earlier that week came to mind. 

In between their usually chatter during lunch, Ada had mentioned that she might have needed Y/N to watch Karl one night soon. Apparently, the one night Y/N went home early from the bar, was the night Ada had met a handsome man who’s interest was requited. After Y/N had left, they had met and got talking for a while and the mysterious suitor had even paid for Ada’s cab home later wishing her a good night with a kiss on the hand. It was during the lunch, that Ada let it slip the man had eagerly asked her on a date, but being unsure of how it would affect Karl, she asked to think about it for a few days.

Upon seeing the car outside and remembering their discussion, Y/N felt a smile begin to grow on her face. Obviously Ada had finally decided to call the man back and accept his offer, and Y/N was excited for her friend. 

Currently having no boyfriend or romantic interest herself (not for lack of trying), Y/N sometimes found herself highly invested in the love lives of her friends. She enjoyed listening about their newest attractions and helping them find new clothes to wear for dinners and even planning romantic picnics that could rival those in the books she read. Plus, when the relationship was a good one, she got excited seeing how happy her friends were when they had someone they could spend part of their life with. Even if Y/N hadn’t found that person of her own yet. 

Of the few dates Y/N had been on, she often found the men either nice but without connection, or worse, charming but far too handsey for someone who was a stranger only the hour before. Besides, along with the romantic encounters many of her friends had came the inevitable heartbreaks. And while she never minded being the shoulder to lean on, Y/N didn’t look forward to the feeling herself. So she had decided to let life run its course and if she were fated to find someone one, found they would be...one day... hopefully. If not she could always buy more dogs.

“Are you Ada’s friend?”

A small yell left Y/N’s mouth as she jumped slightly, hearing the voice that had spoken, startling her out of her thoughts. Karl made a small noise of protest but quickly fell back asleep as Y/N’s hand went to his hair, brushing it soothingly.

Taking a few seconds to regain her breath, Y/N turned from the car she had been staring at and towards the steps of the house. Towards where she assumed Ada’s mystery date stood. 

Upon seeing his face for a brief second Y/N wished Ada had left the bar that night early instead of her. Maybe then this man would have started talking to her. Maybe then he could have been her date.

He was dressed in a well tailored suit complete with a beige overcoat and matching hat in hand. His hair was a pretty brown color and had obviously taken some time to style it as neat as it was. In the back of her mind, Y/N wondered if his hair still looked as neat when he woke up the morning seeing how much product there appeared to be. His hair still looked soft though. His shoes were so polished Y/N had no doubt she would see a perfect reflection if she was looking down. And then there was his face…. He had a pretty jawline and even prettier green eyes. And slightly above his left eyebrow was a small mole on his otherwise almost flawless skin. Y/N decided at the moment that there were few faces she liked as much as his. Even if it did seem to be covered in an expression of confusion.... wait what?

"I asked if you were Ada's friend?" the man spoke again, once more breaking Y/N out of her thoughts. 

"Yeah, yes! I am totally Ada's friend. I'm not just walking around with this one for no reason," she spoke quickly, motioning to Karl as she did so. The man's eyes moved over to the boy resting on her hip as one corner of his mouth pulled up slightly. 

"I suppose that makes sense. Ada's not one to let just anyone watch Karl. I don't think her brothers are allowed to watch him half the time," the handsome stranger chuckled turning back to glance at the house quickly. Y/N smiled as well. She hadn't met Ada's brothers but had heard more than one story about them to know the stranger's comment may not have been wrong. 

"I'm Y/N by the way, really sorry for staring earlier. I've been chasing Karl here all day and zoned out a bit." Doing her best to shift Karl to one arm, Y/N was able to stick part of her right arm forwards hoping she hadn't offended him by not introducing herself sooner. Though it may have sound silly, and truthfully it was silly, Y/N had more than one of her friend's dates who got pissy if she didn't introduce herself "properly". And while those men, thankfully, never lasted to long, Y/N didn't want to risk pushing away first man she'd ever seen come out of her friend's house. Especially if this was the one Ada had seemed so enamored with just the other day. 

Looking back over at her, the man gave another half smile and stuck his hand out. Just as he was about to open his mouth to introduce himself, the exhaust of passing car released a loud bang. 

The standing pair both jumped at the sudden sound and Karl's head shot up. The little boy, now fully alert held on tightly to his sitter, moving his head around anxiously to find the thing that scared him awake. Seeing nothing his grip relaxed slightly and his head laid back down on Y/N's shoulder content to listen to her soothing words as she told him it was alright. Only a few seconds later, Karl's head shots up again and a grin spread across his face as he recognized the man before him.

"MEL!"

"Karlie!" The man, Mel, replied with a full smile and wave of his own, obviously familiar with the young boy. "How are you today? Your mum mentioned that you were spending the day with a friend when we got here. Did you go to a movie?"

Nodding his head Karl gave a toothy grin, before motioning to be put down. Happy to have her arms to herself once again, Y/N did so, unable to keep the smile from growing on her own face as she watch the two interact. 

If this truly was the mystery data of Ada's she expected him to be, Y/N was already impressed. Not only was he good looking, but he also seemed polite and more importantly but excited to interact with Karl. Y/N knew that if Ada truly was going to start going steady with any man, it wouldn't be one who ignored her son. She had also noted that when the loud, gunshot like, noise suddenly happened Mel had stepped closer, almost protectively, towards the other two. Whether out out of  instinct or bravery, it certainly gained him another point in Y/N's growing list. 

After quietly watching the two interact for a bit longer from the front steps of, Karl came back over to his mother's friend and grabbed her left sleeve motioning for her to bend down, eager to share a new secret.

"I have to pee."

Stifled laughter was heard behind the boy at his not so quiet whisper, and Y/N bit back her own smile the words reached her ears. 

"Alright Karlie boy, why don't we say bye to Mel and you can go right ahead." The words barely leaving Y/N's mouth before the boy blurted out a quick parting to the man before shooting inside and disappearing within. Now left alone on the steps with "Mel" as Karl called him, Y/N took another moment to smile to herself, as well as to breath before she planned on heading in. Waiting outside also gave her short time to plan her now numerous questions for Ada. Not intending to take up more of his time before she had time to interrogate her friend, Y/N turned to the man about to say her own goodbye when this time it was him who spoke first.

"I guess he had fun today. Last time he was that excited was when John gave him a slingshot and Arthur taught him how to use it. Almost took out Finn twice that day, and Tommy three times" Mel spoke with a smile on his face, both at the story he told and the women he was speaking to, who was now failing to hide her smile at the images in her head.

"I'm glad I could bring him such joy then," she laughed as he admired the spark in her eye, "He really was great today. I don't have many children in my own family, so getting to spend time with one if always fun. Besides I don't mind giving Ada a break every now and then, I know she works hard. But I take it you two had fun today," the last sentence Y/N couldn't help but asking. Even if she did plan on getting the details from Ada later it never hurt to get another's point of view in these situations....

"It was nice yeah, we got here right after you picked him up I think, and then spent most of the day here. I got some work I need to pick up now but I believe later we agreed to meet back at one of the clubs...," hesitating slightly now with his head looking to his feet quickly before he continued," I don't suppose you're going to be watching Karl tonight too? Or just until now? Or did you have other plans tonight?"

"Oh no,I'm probably gonna read a book tonight. I think Ada only wanted me to watch him until about dinner. But I didn't realize she had others plans tonight. I might have to see if she needs that," the last bit was mumbled more to herself as the silence now grew between them. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, quite the opposite actually. Each wrapped up in their own head figuring out the details inside. 

Soon enough Mel looked back down at his watch noticing the time and a small cough and stretched out hand was all it took to break Y/N from her own reverie.

"It was nice to meet you but I really do need to get going on that work now. Don't want to get told off for being late," he said. And it was then as they both shook hands again that each took notice of how warm the other's hand was and how well it seemed wit fit with their own.

"Of course, go ahead! Don't let me keep you any longer. It was pleasure to meet you as well!" Y/N returned, removing her hand from his as she watched him move down the steps finally heading off in his car. But not before he glanced back to give her one more quick nod and half smile.

Fuck, Ada was lucky...

Standing on the steps a few moments more, Y/N waited until just after the shiny car had turned the corner out of sight before finally making her way inside. 

She made her way immediately to the kitchen where she heard Ada, giving Karl a quick wave as she passed him playing with his toys on the couch. Entering from the side Y/N immediately caught sight her friend washing a few plates in the sink and started to speak eagerly.

"Hello, alright so first I hope it's alright that I brought Karl home a bit earlier. He had fallen asleep and I figured it may be time to come back. I take it your day of rest went well. Also you know if you want I can take him for the night too? Leave you to have your fun..." She spoke wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at the last part.

Ada laughed before fully turning to her friend and responding, "My day was great, thanks again for taking him. And what do you mean by leaving me to have my fun? I don't have anything else to do tonight? Have you and Karl made plans to get rid of me?" 

"You have nothing else to do tonight?! Oh Ada but what about Mel! I thought you two were going to a club later? Are you really telling me you're gonna skip out on that? With him?!" Now both confused the two women stared at each other. Ada was confused because she couldn't think of any Mel's she knew, much less one she had plans with that night. And Y/N was confused because she was sure Mel had mentioned that he and Ada were going to a club later. Y/N hadn't spent long around him, but knew she'd enjoy having plans like that. Especially if they involved him. 

"Y/N who's Mel?"

"What do you mean who's Mel? It's Mel! Mystery man? You two met after I left the pub one night and hit it off? You said he asked you out and I thought you too had plans tonight? At least that's he made it seem like. He literally just left? Said he had some work to get before he came back?" Y/N moved her hands around in the air as she spoke now, as if that would make the picture of the man in her mind more clear to Ada.

"Oh do you mean Michael?" Ada said her smile beginning to grow as she began to realize what had happened. What Y/N still didn't realize.

"Michael? Karl called him Mel? He never corrected it but I'm not sure? Maybe? Anyway the guy who just left? Pretty hair, pretty clothes, pretty voice, and even prettier face? Oh come on Ada! How can you look at a man like that and say you don't remember him? He seemed perfectly polite too! Ohh Ada! Come on! Are you really not into to that?" Now bouncing on the heels of her feet as she began to describe the man. 

"Oh yes! Him! He got here a bit after you left. I remember now. But no, we don't actually have plans tonight I decided to stay in with Karl. Just out of curiosity... I take it you two talked for a bit? Did you like him?" Ada now stood looking at her friend with a grin matching Karl's. Now understanding who her "date"  was, she wanted to see how far this could go.

"Like him?! Ada he was brilliant!! You really caught a good one with him! Not only was he great with Karl, but he was also really nice about it all. He even moved a bit closer protectively when a car made a loud bang, he gets points for that I tell ya! And dear lord Ada he's gorgeous! Did you see his face? I know I keep saying it and the rest of him too! I tell you Ada if it ever get to where you meet his family you tell his mum I said 'thank you' because she really did great work! He's a real cute date! I hope he's treating you right! If not I'm sure we can get my brother to take care of him. We can have tea and biscuits while he hides the body!" 

Ada didn't hide her laughter any more and Y/N grinned back too. Though she had only met him a few times Ada was sure Y/N's large, but teddy bear like brother would have not problem hiding a body if needed. He reminded her of her own brothers... when they weren't pissing her off at least. However it was still one of these last sentences that make Ada pause and retrace her thoughts briefly.

"Wait, what do you mean thank his mother?"

"Well you know....Boys, they gets their balls from their daddy and their butt from their mama. At least that's what my grandma says. And I'm telling you Ada, ain't no tailor in the world can make an ass look that fine on skills alone. No Ada, that was pure genuine good ass genes."

As soon as Y/N finished speaking a loud laugh filled the air. A wonderful laugh like someone just heard the funniest joke on earth. It was the kind of laugh Y/N loved to hear from her friends. Only it wasn't her friend who laughed. 

Ada just stared, her mouth hung open but with the corners turned up. Shocked with both delight and confusion at the words. The laugh belonged to someone else. Someone who Y/N, in her haste to play detective, had accidentally missed. Someone who had overheard the conversation with just as much joy as Ada, but choose to remain silent until she couldn't hold her laughter in.

"Ada, I think that's the best thing I've heard in a while. You keep this one, she's fun."

An older woman, beautiful and with all-knowing eyes, met Y/N's glance and she finally turned to meet the "new" speaker. She had a look about her that said she could be just as cold as she was warm. She was a dangerous as she was smart. Luckily for Y/N the woman's face was warm indeed, though not as hot her own. Telling her friend how she felt about a strangers rear was one thing, but knowing another stranger heard it! Y/N didn't think it could be any worse.

"Already planned on it Pol."

Ada, finding her voice again, had finally spoke again. But she was still chuckling under her breath as she did so. It was as if both her and the older woman knew a joke Y/N didn't. But that was a thing for another time Y/N thought.

Pol, that sounded familiar to Y/N but she couldn't place where from. Instead she decided it would be best to stop gaping like a fish try to fix the small mess she just made. Because again it couldn't be any worse right. 

"Hi. Ada you have company, and you are Ada's company. Ohhhh noooo. I barged in on you two and  I'm interrupting and I just didn't know anyone else was here and you just heard all of that. I was just so excited because I thought Ada had date and like he didn't seem like a narcissistic asshole, and that was really good and and I'm rambling now so I'm gonna start over," Y/N paused, took a deep breath and stuck out her hand.

"Hi. I'm Y/N and I am sorry."

The woman, Pol, smirked at her and stuck out her own hand.

"Don't be sorry, Y/N, it's nice to know that at least someone's interested in furthering Ada's love life," Pol said, giving a quick side glance to the mentioned woman who gave a small huff and rolled her eyes. Obviously this type of conversation had come up before. And Polly continued turning to Ada, her tone now slightly sarcastic, "I'm just saying that your brothers do the same thing so it really shouldn't matter if you do either. You deserve to go out, find a good enough looking man and get laid? Isn't that was all the equality stuff is about anyway? Y/N what do you think of all that? Shouldn't our girl be just as able go out and have just as much fun as her brothers?"

The conversation have veered slightly from it's original course but none in the room seemed to mind. 

"Ohh I agree with you on that ma'am. Remember Ada. This is a time of equal rights! And equal rights means equal fights; and equal fights means equal fucks!" 

"Oh great, now there's two of you, if you keep this up you could give John and Arthur a run their money in the annoying awards," Ada groaned putting her head on the table in defeat briefly before it popped up again, "At least those two idiots I can hit. They won't hit back, but not you two. If I go after one of you I'm gonna have to get my nails done again. The brothers won't attack, but who's to say what would be done by the best friend and the aunt!" 

"Aunt?," Y/N repeated as she heard the last word, "OH AUNT, Pol, Aunt Polly, you're Ada's Aunt! Oh I remember now! Ada said you were going to come down this weekend." She turned towards the Shelby women who both perked up suddenly as if remembering their own idea from before.

"Yes, she's my aunt. She came down with my cousin for the weekend. I've told you about him right," Ada said, her grin beginning to grow again, while Polly sat back and smiled, just watching and waiting for what she knew was about to happen.

"Your cousin.... cousin," Y/N spoke aloud as she thought, "Oh yeah, you've mentioned him before. He's the one who let Karl go down the stairs in a bin! You tried to stab him! Isn't his name M...."

Y/N froze. 

Ada just stared at her friend with an innocent smile while Pol hid her smirk behind her cup of tea. 

Things were falling into place and Y/N realized it was worse... it was so so much worse. If a random stranger hearing your opinions on another stranger's ass was bad enough.... if the random stranger was actually the first one's .....

"Ahhhhhhh..... nooooo....no no no. No. No. No....No. Polly's your aunt.... and Polly has a son named Michael... And Michael is apparently Mel's real name.... which means that I .... you heard me.... thank you?.... great bullocks." Y/N spewed out her head shooting back and forth between the pair of Shelby's wearing matching grins. Her head hit the table with a thud, much like Ada's had earlier as she tried to block out the whole interaction that just happened. 

Maybe she should have just taken Karl to her house and let him play with her brother. They always had a riot of a time playing hide and seek, and making their own riots in the mini block town. That would have been a better option. 

"Great Bollocks? Who's mine or my son's?" 

Y/N laughed. She laughed and kept chuckling under her breath, it was all she could do. Of all the worst ways to meet someone's mom. Polly didn't even know Y/N's name before she knew all about Y/N thoughts on her son's rear end.... Releasing a deep sigh Y/N decided there was only one thing left to do in a situation like this. Standing up from her chair she looked at her companions.

"Right, I really just want to say... OH DEAR THE COOKIES ARE BURNING!!!!"

Alarmed, the Shelby women looked towards the oven to make sure the cookies were not in fact burning, and Y/N took her chance to make a break for the door. For someone who despised all things running, she was surprisingly fast.

"I'll just let you deal with that. I gotta get home to make sure my brother has stayed out of the dog food..yeah the dog food. Did I tell you he got dog? Yeah that happened. It was great talking with y'all!! Byeeeeeee!" 

Before the remaining two could even take two steps towards the fleeing girl, the door to the house shut firmly and she was gone. Ada was about to go after her and make sure she was alright. Even if it was funny to see her friend mistake her cousin for her lover, Ada still wanted to make sure she wasn't too embarrassed. Y/N liked to laugh a lot, but Ada was close enough to Y/N to know her laughs also hide her friend's anxiety at times. But Polly stopped her niece by grabbing her arm. 

"Oh don't worry about her."

"Pol you don't understand. I know her and even if she laughed she's dying inside. I need to let her know it's alright."

"No, let her go now. She'll be back," Polly spoke, pointing to the bag sitting by the door belonging to neither her nor her niece, "You and I need to get ready for a night out."

"But Pol. I sti..."

"No buts. You and I are dressing up and going out tonight. No men. Esme and Linda are on their way down too, if Lizzie can keep them from killing each other. So go upstairs and put on the dress you shove in the back of the closet when your brothers are here and get ready. I'll put Karl down and then change into my dress. Michael should be here any minute and we take his car."

"If it's no men then why are we taking Michael's car? And who's going to watch Karl while I'm out? James is gone for the weekend and I don't want to leave him alone if something happens. Besides if that is Y/N's pack she will be back tonight. It probably has her keys in it and she needs to get in. Someone should be here when she gets them."

Polly smirked a smirk only she could pull off.

"Ada dear I said WE'RE taking Michael's Car. I never said he was coming with us....

Part 2

[millylotus]

DeadLights [Danny x Duke | DP x DC] Masterpost

THE WINNER OF THE POLE IS DEADLIGHTS!!! FUCKING LOVE THAT!!! Here's the masterpost for all the contestants, all of them will be posted in due time :]

So this post is going to have all the AUs in a line, and if you don't wanna be jumping around on Tumblr, I'll be posting these on Ao3 and Wattpad soon.

Spotify Playlist

GENERAL NOTES

Just the things that are gonna be consistent across all the AUs unless I say so.

Pt.2 [Claim Sheets]

THE FICS | AO3 SERIES

I SEE ALL OF YOU & YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT - monster x monster :

Danny and Duke see each other for the first time and are absolutely mesmerized by how gorgeous the other is. They fail to realise that being around another monster has made them both more comfortable letting their glamours fall.

MEMES!!!

WRITTEN IN THE STARS, BEFORE WE WERE EVEN BORN - betrothal au :

Light and Time met at the beginning of existence and made a deal. To make sure the other wouldn't back out and take everything, they invested in a collateral. Two of their kin to be born, will be wed. Betrothal contracts were not what Duke or Danny wanted for breakfast.

MEMES!!!

"YOU TAUNT ME, I CHASE YOU" "YOU CATCH ME, THEN LET ME GO" THEY DO IT AGAIN THE NEXT DAY - bat x cat :

Catwoman has a Kitten following her around, and that Kitten just so happens to like messing around with Batman's Sunshine Birdy. No Duke isn't a furry, Tim shut the fuck up you still haven't confessed to Kon! He and Bruce don't have the same type! Besides, the new kid Danny is much prettier than Selina's nephew. Tucker and Sam say Danny has a "vigilantes who can beat his ass" thing, which is stupid cause it's more of a "people who can beat his ass" thing. Cause like Duke Thomas from Algebra is hot.

MEMES!!!

MESMERIZED BY A BANSHEE'S SCREAMS - rockstar au :

Ember, Johnny, and Danny decided to fuck off to Gotham and start a punk-rock band. The new band that Dax found is fucking amazing, but Duke's eyes keep drifting to the pretty bassist.

No Memes, but there's a Spotify playlist on the post!

RASBERRY & LEMON DELIGHTS - countryboy!danny x emopunk!duke :

Duke and Damian go to the Kents for the summer, just for fun. The cute boy from the farm on the edge of town is definitely making the summer less lonely and more fun, they get to make sweets together. Danny is taking a gap year and has been staying with his Aunt Alicia since last summer. Things are boring until their closets neighbors the Kents get visitors. Hanging out with the pretty punk boy is making farm life fun.

MEMES!!!

THE CORPSE GROOM - corpse bride au :

Duke makes the mistake of playfully preforming wedding vows while playing pretend, and just so happens to put one of his rings on a branch that is not a branch. Now he's stuck in the underworld with a clingy new husband who insists that they're made for each other. TW: KIDNAPPING, NON-CON TOUCHING, OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR, THREATS ON ONES LIFE - when you think about it the Corpse Bride is a fucked up story, this Au doesn't get anywhere near the topic of sex or anything sexual, but Danny is mentioned and stated to be overly touchy with Duke when he doesn't want it

MEMES!!!

What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas - drunk vegas wedding :

It's completely on accident when they wake up in each other's arms thinking they're married. Danny was just so nice to get that creep away from Duke. Duke was happy to have a new friend to hang out with. Neither where all there during the wedding. The dress and suit are very pretty though. TW: DUBIOUS-CONSENT - both Duke & Danny where kinda drunk when they have sex, even though I didn't right the scene it's literally stated as INSERT SEX SCENE

MEMES!!!

"LOVE ME, LOVE ME, LOVE ME, LOV~" - love pollen :

The Everlasting Trio is visiting Gotham for a nature convention/meet up thing. A villain just so happens to attack and Poison Ivy takes great offense to them attack the few humans who care. During the scuffle Danny gets hit with a boat load of experimental pollen Ivy was making. Signal just so happens to be the hero who finds him among the rumble. Also being the first person Danny lays eyes on.

DANI DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY BUT ACCIDENTLY CALLING MR.THOMAS DAD ANYMORE - teacher x single parent :

When Danny & Ellie where traveling around the world, Dani makes the mistake of accidently drinking some Lazarus water. With his daughter rapidly de-aging to a six-year old, Danny runs and finds his sister. Jazz suggests getting Ellie enrolled in a night school, and for Danny to get a job gooning for a bit. It's a plus that Mr.Thomas isn't all that hard on the eyes.

MINI FICS

I WANNA BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, NEVER FEELS LIKE I AM - popular boy!duke x loner new kid!danny :

The portal to the Ghost Zone has finally closed and The Fenton's decided that it's better for them to just start anew and move to Gotham. Danny's never been the new kid, but he can be the weird loner. People have always adored Duke because of the way he shine like no other, and Gothamites had never experienced that before. Duke never got a big head about it, his mother never let that happen. But that doesn't mean he didn't become the most popular boy where ever he went.

MEMES!!!

MESMERIZED BY A BANSHEE'S SCREAMS - rockstar au :

Ember, Johnny, and Danny decided to fuck off to Gotham and start a punk-rock band. The new band that Dax found is fucking amazing, but Duke's eyes keep drifting to the pretty bassist.

No Memes, but there's a Spotify playlist on the post!

GHOSTLIGHTS EVENT FICS - @dcxdp-ghostlights

To See Your Face Again, is to remember you're not really there - 'I thought I knew you' :

Join Me, he beckoned. Stay With Me, he cooed. Love Me, he demanded.

He didn’t need to ask for the last one.

PENDING FICS THAT MIGHT HAPPEN

Myths

Hades x Persephone : Either or really

Eros!Danny x Psyche!Duke

Atalanta!Danny x Meleager!Duke

Noble Boy!Duke x Kitsune Servant!Danny

Dynamics

Rivals to Lovers

Guardian Angel!Duke x Demon!Danny

Bodyguard!Danny x Famous!Duke

Actor!Duke x Techie!Danny

General

Secret Identity Shenanigans

Royalty

Hanahaki Disease

Dancing

Roommates

Neighbors

Coffee Shop

Fairies

Space Things

Fake Relationship

Swapped Phones

Haunted Houese

POV Outsider : Who's your boyfriend? | Those two are so weird | Accused of cheating with your partner's secret identity

Messy Relationship [I like Drama] : Stalking | Kidnapping | Break Ups | Cheating on each other | Cheating on their partners with each other

Soulmates : Timer to meeting | Timer to Death | Death Marks | First Scars | Soul Marks | Red String | Body Swap | Body Doodles | Black & White then Color | Soulmate Goose of Enforcement [I said what I said]

ngl I am so fucking proud of this banner, worked so fucking hard on this bitch MM!

They're free to use with credit btw [with like a few minor nonos]

[frenchhoneybee]

I’ve always wanted to do this huehuehue. All odd numbers from the get to know me asks :3

omgggggg - first thought is you hate me for having to answer all these questions but i know you don’t 😘💛 ahhhh okay!

1. selfie (hoping y’all focus more on the beautiful Cali rather than me in this pic)

3. do you miss anyone? yes. i miss my friends, especially the ones i haven’t seen in a while

5. is there anyone who can always make you smile? my childhood and high school friends

7. what was your life like last year? the first half of the year i couldn’t drive bc my epilepsy meds were not controlling my seizures BUT i got a clean EEG in april so i was able to start driving in june which helped SO much. i had a great spring semester with my cohort in grad school and a good fall semester with a new cohort. i spent my free time doing theatre stuff, spending time with friends, bingeing tv shows, and doing school stuff.

9. who did you last see in person? my mom

11. are you listening to music right now? yes! haze by tessa violet just came on

13. how do you feel right now? tired and a bit anxious bc school starts next week

15. personality description: like if a cat were a human and swore a lot but also super empathetic and thoughtful

17. opinion on insecurities. everyone has them, therapy can help with them, and you’re your own worst critic

19. have you ever been to New York? apparently when i was like 2, my mom and dad took me to Cooperstown, but bc i don’t remember it, i feel like it shouldn’t count

21. age and birthday? hahahahaha you’re not gonna get me that easy. what - do you want my SSN next??

23. fear(s) - abandonment and cockroaches

25. role model - probably my theater friend/colleague (who is actually younger than me 😅)? they’re super cool and weird and kind and emotionally intelligent and i strive to be like that in my life

27. things i hate: idiotic logic (MAGA, terfs, etc.), ham (but especially if it’s heated in some capacity bc the smell makes me nauseous), the american healthcare system, capitalism, and Arizona drivers

29. favourite film(s): the princess bride, hush, scream franchise (minus 4), the suicide squad, everything everywhere all at once, barbie

31. 3 random facts: a. if public housing tenants, any members of their household, or guests engages in any drug related or other criminal activity on or off the premises, the tenancy will be terminated. b. “the Navajo apply the same word to the color of a robin’s egg and to that of grass. a psychologist once assumed that this meant the Navajo people didn’t have the physiological equipment to distinguish “green” from “blue”. when he showed them objects of the two colors and asked them if they were the same colors, they looked at him with astonishment” - Clyde Kluckholm (i hope that psychologist felt appropriately stupid). c. Cesar Chavez spoke to nearly half a million queer people at the 1987 March on Washington, acknowledging the impact gay support had had on United Farm Workers’ boycotts and pledging ongoing labor support for gay and lesbian rights.

33. something you want to learn. i want to learn spanish (i know a little but i want to learn more)

35. favourite subject. history

37. favourite actor/actress: uhhhh Daniel Craig is pretty top tier and Lucy Liu is also one of my faves. don’t have specific absolute favorites though

39. favourite sport(s)

fuck all sports except for football in ted lasso specifically

41. relationship status - single pringle

43. favourite song ever - OOF yeah no this is an impossible question can’t answer it

45. how you found out about your idol - i don’t think i have an idol? like i have various ppl i look up to but i learned early on in my life that idolizing ppl doesn’t end well for me bc we’re all deeply flawed individuals - we’re all human.

47. turn ons - sexual: confidence, communication, foreplay; romantic: confident sense of self, good scent, passion; platonic: sense of humor, parallel play, communication

49. where i want to be right now - in a cabin with rain falling, curled up on a couch with a mug of tea and a book

51. starsign - cancer ♋️

53. 5 things that make me happy: a. rain b. chocolate c. my cat d. spending time with my friends e. singing along to my favorite songs

55. tumblr friends - okay so i know that i have moots that i’m friendly with but idk if that counts as friends??? like if i regularly reblog and like their stuff and they regularly reblog and like my stuff that’s probably friends? i still don’t know how internet friendship works and i’ve lived on this earth for over a quarter of a century.

57. favourite animal: house cat. sounds basic but i’ve had so many of them over the years that i know they’re my favorite 😽

59. why i joined tumblr: in high school my friends were on tumblr and i wanted to connect with them better and then i never left (even tho they all did)

thank you @tearlessbbshampoo for the ask! ily for connecting on this supposed “social media” webbed site 🫶💛

[puphoods]

OC masterpost :)

egressregress- a short story centering three people in a post-apocalyptic society trying to survive the world and each other. cooper, dahlia, and elliot are three people largely isolated from any other survivors because of their own choices and are stuck relying on each other, despite the distrust and hatred they hold for each other

ITAFD (short for "is that a fucking dog?")- zoey is working the graveyard shift one day when she witnesses the fall of an angel. after finding out that this angel is tied to the recent death of her twin brother the two, along with a demon who claims to have the answers they are looking for and a terrified pizza boy, set out to find the cause of her brothers death and to try and restore the angels place in heaven

unnamed story 1- claire foster has spent years on his own after his actions lead to the death of his father. after meeting a young woman named amber, the two and their group of friends get caught up in a turf war between a local vampire coven and a mysterious, underground group rumored to be seeking immortality

unnamed story 2- an elite team of scientists and soldiers is sent to investigate a newly discovered and rapidly spreading disease that is rumored to cause rapid physical mutations to the host. the story follows leah, scientist on the team, as she tries to conduct her research while hiding powers that seem to have ties to the disease

unnamed story 3- a game where you help rebuild a mostly abandoned town, meeting, befriending, and maybe even learning to love the variety of monster people who live in and come to town. with a large list of possible residents you can choose from you will design your own unuque town as you farm, cook, trade, build, and design homes for your new friends

[placeholder name] the party- a point-and-click style game where you play as a university student named katherin who is stressed out at a house party and trying to find her ride so she can go home. explore the house and have conversations with people from her life from both the past and present, helping other partygoers on the way

misc other- [this list will once i finish ideally have links to separate posts with more in-depth summaries and descriptions of characters. this section will contain other ocs without their own contained universe or ones without much worldbuilding to it just yet]

[itsatigersharkidiot]

Youngblood

“The fire, the ice, the fight to be the best.”

Ship: Roland x Layton

Based on: The hockey romance movie Youngblood (1986)

Hey, Happy Valentine’s Day! I figured I’d celebrate today by posting part one of a new fic! And it’s RolLay so if you absolutely adore them, then here you go! <3

This fic will be about Roland Youngblood who is a hockey player trying to get into the big leagues, he makes a team and falls in love with the coach’s step-daughter. Can his team win the championship? What obstacles will stand in the way? And will he be allowed to be with his lover?

TW’s: Underaged drinking, Sexual Content (there’s a sex scene near the end…sorry.)

One: Departure

“I’ve been offered to try out for the Hamilton Mustangs. They’ve got a spot open on their team.” Roland was eating dinner with his father, mother and sister. “There's too much work that needs to be done here.” his father shook his head. His sister picked at the food on her plate, a shark plushie in her other arm. Roland kept on trying to talk to his dad but everytime it would be the same answer as before.

Roland frowned “But dad, I dont wanna live my life and work on a fucking farm.”

Roland had been playing for years, he needed this opportunity. As he stood up to grab a refill of his drink, his mother and father were having a talk. He managed to hear his mother helping to convince his father into letting him and though it was hesitant, his father eventually agreed.

The next day, he was driven all the way up to Canada, where his tryouts would take place.

Two: Tryouts

The coach of the Mustangs, James Wach watched over the players on the rink as they tripped and slid across the ice “Where the hell did you get these guys?!” It was quite hilarious how badly they were doing. However, two players in particular caught James’ eye.

“Xavier Ferguson, 6.4, 210 pounds. Tier 2 in the Western league last year. 15 goals, 17 assists and a whopping 316 minutes in penalties!” James shook his head, watching as Xavier proceeded to knock out yet another player. Finally the whistle blew and Roland was now on the ice. He was known for being quite fast when it came to skating, managing to beat kids in 2 grades above him when he was only in 4th grade.

James observed Roland from the stands “Roland Taggart, 17 years old, 6’3, 201 pounds. Scored 73 goals last year in the junior league, 45 assists and 17 minutes in penalties…not bad.”

Players who were already on the Mustangs also watched from the stands, yelling at the players on the rink to hit the puck and just tease them in general.

Roland found himself facing Xavier, who was clearly trying to intimidate him. As soon as the whistle blew, Xavier shoved Roland hard to the ground. Roland hit the ice with a quiet “oof’, glaring at Xavier as he skated away with the puck. He got up quickly and began skating after the puck. In fact, he managed to score a goal, which wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be.

Xavier frowned at Roland “Watch where you’re going shithead.”

Roland scowled “Who shoved a stick up your ass this morning?!”

Moments later, Roland was facing off Xavier again, who once again shoved him, not as hard this time. But he wasn’t gonna let that slide. So he immediately got up and began skating towards him, not even bothering about the puck at this point. Xavier noticed this and turned around

“what? You wanna go, shark boy?”

Roland dropped his stick and threw a punch right at Xavier’s jaw, causing him to stumble back slightly. Xavier dropped his stick and threw a right hook at Roland’s face. The two of them were throwing punches like maniacs, the referee blowing the whistle as the other players observed from afar, not interfering otherwise they’d be dead.

The Mustangs were all in the change room, blasting music on speakers, lifting weights, preparing to head out onto the rink. Roland was getting one of his injuries dealt with, a cut on his forehead. The coach’s assistant began carefully sewing up the cut. Roland sat still, hissing slightly at the pain.

The cut was perfectly sewn up, the coach’s assistant high fiving James “In record time too! Soon you’ll be stitching up kids and their new unwind parts!”

Roland stood up, holding his towel secure around his waist. As he walked around, he overheard James talking to Xavier.

“I know you’re upset, but that Youngblood kid is faster and more skilled. At this point you should be doin’ a more physical sport! Well, I’m sure another team’ll accept ya at some point.”

Xavier scowled “You’ll be seeing me around, that’s for sure…” He then began storming out of the locker room, knocking over things on purpose as the team mocked him. Roland however had the urge to go after him, to confront him. So he left the locker room too, forgetting to put his clothes on.

Roland went to go after Xavier but he had already stormed out of one of the doors while muttering curses to himself. Roland stood in the hallway, his towel on the ground whilst wearing nothing but a jockstrap.

“New uniforms for the playoffs?”

He turned around to find the coach's step-daughter, Layton Wach, standing there. Her gaze roamed down his body, eventually landing on his bare ass.

“Nice.” She said, picking up his towel, her cheeks tinged with pink.

Roland turned around and tried covering his front with his hockey stick since he wasn't being covered much. Layton pointed in the other direction and smiled “the locker rooms are…that way.”

He nodded and began walking in that direction, grabbing his towel from Layton and not even bothering to cover up again since Layton was probably enjoying the view. And he was right about that. Layton had turned around to sneak one more glance before walking away, still flustered.

3: Settling In

Roland looked at the price of paper in his hand, at the address of the house and back at the paper again. This was the right place. Where he was staying was a boarding house, which seemed quite nice from the outside. He rang the doorbell and a sweet old lady, Mrs. Merideth answered the door.

“Why hello! Who must you be?”

“Uh, Roland. Roland Youngblood.”

“Come on in! Your room is on the second story, the first door to the right. I’ll make you some tea while you unpack.”

Roland nodded and made his way to his room. Once he opened the door, he was met with the sight of a medium sized room. There was a bed, dresser, a couch and a tv and enough space for his gear. He set his stuff down and sat on the bed, which groaned and squeaked under his weight.

“Hm. Squeaky…”

The lady came into his room, carrying a tray of hot tea for him. “Here you go dear, make yourself comfortable, I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

Roland nodded and the lady closed his door and walked downstairs. This place wasn’t too bad, he could get used to it.

The whole team had decided to go to a local bar to celebrate the recruitment of Roland. The first set of shots were being poured as the team laughed and made sexual jokes. Roland looked around the place, occasionally laughing at whatever the other guys were talking about. The guys all grabbed their shots and held them up, making a toast that made no sense and downing the shots. Roland immediately spat his out, causing some of the guys to laugh.

Soon enough they were drinking more, one of the guys; Connor Lassiter, had brought his girlfriend, Risa with him. Drink after drink led to them going from tipsy to completely drunk. They began tossing around their drinks, messing with waiters and bartenders and making a huge commotion. Roland himself was having a good time. Shot glasses piled up everywhere. The hangover couldn’t be that bad, right?

Roland lay in bed the next morning, feeling like garbage. His head was still spinning. He couldn’t remember what happened last night but he knew it was extreme. Not even the hot tea would help with him. He knew it was a bad idea, he was underage anyways. But he clearly wasn’t thinking straight last night.

“Damn it, past Roland…” He groaned to himself.

Coach James’ training for the Mustangs was brutal. If you skated too slow you were pathetic and needed to keep trying to go faster. If you lost track of the puck, you’d be told to focus and pay better attention, even if you were already doing so. He needed the team to be the best of the best in order to win. Roland wasn’t used to it, but he managed to get through it (with a couple lectures from coach James…)

Roland spent the evening after practice walking around town. He peered in store windows and explored other places. As he was walking past the movie theatre, he ran into a girl who was very familiar.

“Roland?”

It was the coach’s step-daughter, Layton, the one who saw his bare ass the other night. She seemed to have just finished a movie, a box of popcorn and a soda were in her hands.

“Oh, Layton. Fancy seeing you around here.”

Layton laughed “Just got done watching this generic romance film. It was kinda boring but oh well.” She held out her box of popcorn “want some?”

Roland took the box from her, his hand brushing against hers for a moment. He admired her appearance, her hair was styled nicely, her skin clear, her hazel eyes were something you can get lost in and her body, Roland could say so many things about her body.

Layton looked up at him “It was nice running into you.” Roland snapped out of it for a moment. “Yeah, you too.”

She turned and walked down the street again, however, Roland wanted to be with her for longer. So he decided to follow her. She had walked into a store and so he did the same. He tried not to make it obvious he was following her, walking at different paces and desperate aisles from her. He browsed through a shelf with books, flipping through random pages. Layton suddenly appeared behind him.

“Didn’t take you as the type to read books.”

Roland turned around and set the book he had in hand back down “Yeah, no. I was just taking a quick look.” Layton picked up the book again “hey, I’ll buy this for you. Something you can read while on the road for tournaments and stuff.” Roland nodded and walked with her to the counter where she paid for the book and a couple things she needed.

“Thanks.” Roland said as they walked down the sidewalk. Suddenly he noticed someone familiar, Layton also noticed too “shit…it’s coach James.”

James noticed the both of them walking together and approached them, eying them suspiciously “No funny business going on right now?” Roland frowned “No. We just got back from the store and she bought me a book.” He held up the book she got him, James shook his head “Layton, you’ve gotta be home soon. It’s getting late.” Layton groaned in annoyance “Come on! It's not like anything bad is gonna happen to me!”

James kept trying to convince her, but she kept standing her ground. She was stubborn. Roland found this kinda hot in a way. Finally, James gave up.

“Home by 10:30.”

Layton sighed and nodded in agreement. James got into his car that was parked nearby and started it. Roland and Layton began walking the other way. However, he suddenly stopped and faced Layton “I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

Roland took a breath “I find you really attractive and you seem like a nice person so, you maybe wanna go out sometime?”

Layton froze, her cheeks ringing with pink again “I’d love to…” Roland smiled “…but my step-dad won’t allow it. Especially since you’re on the team. Look, I like you and all, you have a nice ass, but he doesn’t want anything going on between his step-daughter and one of his best players.”

Roland’s smile immediately fell “What? Who cares about what he thinks! I don’t care if he decides to kick me off the team because of it! I just wanna be with you!” Roland shook his head, his breathing shaky “What if we just keep it a secret. He won’t know.”

Layton thought for a moment, the gears turning in her head. This was a risky decision but at the same time, it would be so pleasant. She grabbed Roland’s hand “Yeah, okay. I can’t deny that I’d love that too.”

Roland squeezed her hand “We’ve just gotta keep it lowkey and it won’t be a problem.” Layton released his hand from his grasp “Yeah, I’m gonna go now. I’ll see you sometime later.”

Roland wanted her to stay for a bit longer but he decided against it, watching as she walked away.

“Love you, Lay.”

“Love you too, Youngblood.”

4: First Game

The bus had left early that morning as the Mustangs headed to another town for their next game, Roland’s first one. He read the book that Layton had bought him, it wasn’t too interesting but it passed the time.

The Mustang’s change room was loud and full of excitement. Music blasting from speakers as the team got their gear on and their sticks ready. Excitement and anticipation ran through Roland’s veins, finally playing for a more serious team was a goal of his. That goal was gonna be reached soon and he knew it.

They began skating onto the ice, the crowd in the stands cheering on their teams. Roland was sitting on the bench, watching as the puck was dropped and the game started. The first period was fast paced, the puck going back and forth. After a while of back and forth, Connor Lassiter had managed to score a goal for the Mustangs with no assists. He watched as his team huddled up and celebrated, him and the others who were on the bench cheering as well.

Second period. Roland was on. He got into position, his gaze on the puck was sharp and fierce. The whistle blew and he immediately went for it. Back and forth, he kept trying to get at the puck and pass it to his teammates. Unfortunately, the opposing team had scored a goal.

“Shit!” He exclaimed, watching as the other team celebrated.

Meanwhile, Layton was secretly tuning into the game while in class, she had a small mp3 player with headphones so she could listen to the broadcast “cmon Roland…”

Back to the centre of the rink for another puck drop. Roland gripped his stick hard, he wanted, no NEEDED to score a goal. He’ll do it for her.

“Layton..”

The puck was dropped and he went after the puck again with a higher intensity than last time. He put all his effort into it, using his speed as an advantage. One of his teammates had passed him the puck, this was his opportunity! He skated around the net and with his strength, he hit the puck past the goalie and into the net. He scored! He cheered and raised his stick up, his teammates skating over to him.

Layton heard Roland’s goal being announced causing her to get too excited and cheer in the middle of a test.

“Yeah! Way to go Youngblood!!”

She suddenly realized her mistake and looked down at her lap, feeling embarrassed at all the stares.

The Mustangs rode the bus home that night feeling victorious, they had won that game 4-2. Roland stared out of the window, watching as they were nearing town.

5: Something about Us?

Roland had wandered to the rink one day because he was feeling quite bored. He walked into where the actual rink was and found Layton clearing the ice with a Zamboni. He tried getting her attention by shouting but she couldn’t hear him due to the noise canceling headphones. He then had an idea that might not be the best one but it will get her attention. He walked onto the ice and stood in front of the Zamboni, pretending like she hit him. She noticed this and stopped the machine, throwing her headphones off and going down to check “Roland!!” She yelled, only finding his boot. “Oh god…where did he go?! Did I hurt him?!”

“Is there any blood? Hockey players love a little blood.” He had suddenly snuck up behind her, causing her to jump.

“Dammit Roland!”

He laughed and put his boot back on “I was wondering if you wanted to come to my place later?” She immediately nodded, “Gladly. But, do you also wanna go skating later too? I heard they’re hosting an event here. Like a couples skating thing.” Roland shrugged “Sounds a little boring but it still kinda sounds like fun.”

Later they met up at the rink again, making sure they had their skates with them too. Layton got on the ice first, Roland going on it and pretending like he was only a beginner. He immediately tumbled and brought Layton down with him. She fell on top of him. “Well, looks like you’ll need to learn a bit.” She said teasingly. Roland stood up straight again “Nah, I’m fine.”

“You’re it!”

She then tapped his shoulder and skated away as fast as she could, Roland took this as a challenge. He skated as fast as he could, knocking over other people. One of the employees there tried stopping them, but they kept skating like nothing was happening. He finally caught up to her and they skated around together, the employee still chasing after them.

“Roland! Looks like we’re in trouble!”

Roland looked behind him, “Nah, I’ve got an idea.” And so he slowed down, turned around and shoved the employee right into a table with fools and drinks that was in the middle of the rink. Roland laughed hard at this and pulled Layton with him “Let’s get outta here!”

They eventually made it back to his boarding home, sneaking up the stairs to not alert Mrs. Merideth downstairs.

“So this is my room.” He said, showing her around it. Layton looked around the place, eyeing up the furniture. “Hm, not too shabby.” Both of them sat down on the bed, causing it to squeak and creak underneath them “Woah, that’s definitely quite noisy.”

They both made eye contact for a moment “Yeah it creaks a lot. Especially when I…sleep.”

They tossed the mattress onto the floor and stood in front of each other. His hands began roaming her body and he pulled her close for a kiss. He pressed his lips against her softer ones, her hands running up to hold his face. The kiss lasted a while, their bodies pressed against each other. Roland pulled away for a moment and began unbuttoning his flannel, Layton doing the same. Once they were off each other, they began kissing again, Layton’s hands slid down and began pulling Roland’s shirt off. He allowed her to do so, his tanned, muscular torso being revealed. They continued to kiss as Roland began working with Layton’s pants, sliding them down and leaving her in her white, lacy panties. She gasped at the feeling of the cold air on her bare legs, the muscles flexing and unflexing. Layton then began working on Roland’s pants, slowly unbuttoning them and…

Mrs. Merideth was downstairs making tea. She boiled the kettle and prepared the kind of tea she was going to make, humming a tune. The noise downstairs was loud enough to cancel out the noises from upstairs.

Roland and Layton fell onto the mattress, both panting heavily in arousement. Roland began kissing and nipping at her neck, causing her to shiver and gasp. He trailed kisses from her cheeks down to her neck, her collarbone, shoulders and breasts, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. He moved back up to her mouth, kissing her deeply and plunging his tongue into her mouth. Once he pulled away, he shifted and positioned himself at her entrance. Then once he knew for sure that this was what they both wanted, he slowly thrusted in, groaning at the feeling of her warmth around him.

He began moving in and out at a steady pace, noises of pleasure filling the room. Layton’s soft moans filled his ears and he knew he had to keep going. He began thrusting faster, trying to pleasure them both even more. Layton gasped out the words “harder” and “faster” which drove Roland even crazier. He progressively moved harder and faster, precisely hitting Layton’s G-spot and making her moan even louder.

Roland felt himself getting close, his breaths getting shorter and faster. But he wanted to make Layton release first. So he snaked his hand down and began rubbing her clit with his finger, stimulating her even more. Her noises of pleasure got even louder. Finally she couldn’t take much more and released with a loud moan. This also helped drive Roland to the edge as well and not long after, he came deep inside her.

They both panted and Roland got off of her, pulling her close. He grabbed his nearby water bottle and took a swig

“damn…that was amazing…”

Layton cuddled up closer to him “mhm…it really was…you’re quite rough…”

They both basked in the peaceful afterglow, feeling a deep sense of love towards each other. Layton suddenly broke the silence

“Your big game is soon….”

“I know…I’m feeling quite anxious, but I’m also fuckin’ pumped about it too.”

“hah…I’m sure you’ll do amazing…”

“Thanks…Love you.”

“Love you too, Youngblood.”

[crybaby-tami]

Because i just deleted some farms and I am putting off asking random people to play with me

I wanted to show my farm saves!

Tami is the newest one, I am married to the Wizard in this one. (only girl) Thomas (year 4) is the duplicate save of the OG farm Thomas (year 3) is the OG farm, the one i started with no mods (hints the duplicate) idk if I'm married in this one but I'm dating a lot of people? and Crybaby is the farm I'm married to Shane in. when i first found out what the appeal of him was...

I have 17 "mods" however some are needed to make the things i actually wanted run. (before anyone said I only listed 15, idk what the other two are... its not shown in my folder)

three content patchers (and content patcher as its own thing)

cannon friendly dialogue

momo's portrates

Vanilla tweaks

birthday mod

stardust core (needed to make it run)

spacecore (also needed to make it run)

happy birthday (the mod i wanted)

happy birthday en english (idek)

things to make it easier on my forgetful ass / things idk what they do anymore

UI information Suite 2

gen mod config

console commands

look up anything

farm type manager

idk if it falls under the catagory above

save backup

and the mod that started it all

SDV expanded

Because i wanted to marry the wizard.

anyways, i'm go start a new farm and be sad that i'm playing alone lmao

[enchantedsword]

decided to go a bit more in depth bout the bfs and give them names and yes both are taller and broader then warriors, its what he deserves, no i dont have exact heights other then that

soldier bf

Micah, the taller of the two, red hair, green eyes. from a noble family of lower standing then warriors, youngest child with an older brother and sister who was recently engaged before the start of the war, about 2 years older then warriors, met when they were about 10-12 at some party thrown by the royal family, became fast friends, Micah fell first warriors fell harder, loves his family but knows their roles as nobles, ie. his brother is heir, his sister is set to be married and hes the youngest, which is why hes sent as the mandatory army recruit, is the only one that sees that warriors uncle and cousins dont treat him properly and actively dislikes all three of them, bit of a temper, regularly gets into verbal arguments with warriors cousins at formal functions. not hyper per say as he is excitable, does have a lot of energy to spend, can be found in a tree on occasion, can and will convince warriors to join him in said tree. Micah absolutely loves to hear warriors speak and on the rare occasions he does asks him to read whatever book to him, they both join the military at the same time, also started courting around the same time. almost killed the superior officer that took advantage of warriors, the only reason he didnt is because warriors didnt want him to get in trouble for his sake and that the princess had already taken care of it. warriors uncle does not like him and hes very proud of that and plans on marrying warriors anyway even without his uncles approval. unfortunately dies in the battle that warriors is captured in, tried to take on more then he could handle in a desperate attempt to get to warriors.

stable/ranch hand bf

Cael, the broader of the two, brown eyes, brown hair freckles. one of the two middle children of 4 sons from a small ranch in the country, has a twin brother, protective of his family, is a calm person most of the time, if a little snarky and sarcastic, actually takes quite a bit to truly anger him, unless you threaten his family then its game over youre getting your ass beat, is scrappy in a fight(was raised on a farm with 3 brothers he had to be). is roughly the same age as warriors give or take a few months, is a "secret" gremlin, plays harmless but embarrassing pranks on people who annoy him but arent on ass beating level yet. his twin was the one that went to the military for mandatory recruitment as he wanted to be a knight, unfortunately he died in the beginning of the war. half way through the war a draft was put into effect and Cael decided he was going as his younger brother was only 12 and his older brother was to busy helping their mother run the farm. once the war ends he immediately retires but decides to stay in castle town to work as the stable hand for the castle/military, regularly visits his family but doesnt really feel like he fits there anymore after all the fighting and losing his twin. becomes one of eponas main caretakers, which is how he met warriors, could see past his arrogant and confident persona since the first meeting, they did get off on the wrong foot a bit though as Cael didnt hide the fact he could see behind that mask and called warriors out on it, it took a few more meetings to see eye to eye with each other and from Cael to really see the real warriors behind the mask. they slowly become friends after that, talking while caring for epona eventually turns into meeting up outside of the stables. they both eventually confide in each other all thats led them to were they are. is the first one that warriors speaks out loud to in years. warriors falls first Cael falls harder. is in complete denial of his feelings thinks warriors deserves someone better then just a farm hand. does actually become very protective of warriors, and is just as panicked as the princess and impa when warriors goes missing. not entirely trusting of the chain when they show up until he sees how happy warriors is to just be around them