#13: Not So Unlucky Anymore

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

I was in a Baxter mood today so I went swimming in GB Patch's blog for all the Baxter facts:

General

His personality, at least defined by GB Patch, is that he's sheltered and out-of-touch without being elitist or self-centered. He's preppy/posh, quite sociable, and hates conflict, but likes to go against what's expected of him. He grows out of being such a rich kid trust fund baby by Step 4.

His parents are bigots. He's the unlucky one in a sea of characters with supportive parents.

He has a distant French origin.

His birthday is the day his DLC came out, meaning May 19th.

He's 5'11" (180cm) in Step 4 (this was apparently reconfirmed on the Our Life Discord as well).

His natural hair color - a dark dusty gray that he hates - is uncommon to be born with (as opposed to aged into) in the Our Life universe.

He's right-handed.

Childhood

His dream job as a child was to get into investments, having a strong portfolio with diverse assets (he does not fully know what that means at the time).

He's a late bloomer.

Baxter's crush on Qiu from Our Life 2 is at its peak when he's 12 and 13 (13 being his age in Our Life 2's Step 1), but he's moving on by 14 (when he can potentially meet the MC in Soiree).

He met Qiu at their local dance hall (as they both took lessons there, just in different forms of dance) and also met Ren/Renee (Darren in Our Life 2's Step 1) through Qiu, as the two had known each other since they were very young.

He wasn't thrown off by his crush on Qiu despite Qiu being a boy, as Qiu was popular and it seemed "unfair" to Baxter not to be able to like him. He puts more thought into it as he grows older and what it means, deciding that he'll feel however he'll feel and not worry about what's expected of him. In Soiree, the MC can notice this if they're male or non-binary, as Baxter isn't bothered by dancing with someone who isn't female.

Abilities (or Lack Thereof)

He's a weak swimmer. He can swim fine in pools but would probably struggle in the ocean.

He can sing.

He's experienced in multiple types of dance (though his favorite is the waltz).

Step 3 Baxter is a lazy, bad cook who doesn't even want to bother with cooking, but Step 4 Baxter takes an interest in trying more fancy/restaurant-style food and is able to do so.

Likes/Dislikes

He likes things being clean, but isn't always motivated enough to maintain that.

He liked video games when he was a kid, leaning towards action/adventure ones, though doesn't anymore in his late teens and beyond. He would play life-based games (such as the Sims series) with the MC if asked, however, either playing innocent like he didn't know what he was doing while messing around with the characters or being blatantly obvious about it.

He doesn't like dancing in clubs/discos. He would try it once because he enjoys trying different types of dance, but would only go regularly if he had a friend/partner who liked going to such places.

He would absolutely approve of an MC who chooses to only wear black and white.

Romantic Inclinations

Beyond his crush on Qiu (who he never confessed to), Baxter dates people, but never for long or seriously.

The reason he backs out of asking out the MC if they say that he's their first crush (unless the MC is referring to his Soiree self) is that he feels they have idealized feelings for him and he'd disappoint them. He essentially panics, not wanting to get the MC's hopes up and especially on their very first feelings of romance.

The best way to romance him is to Not Let Him Escape.

In terms of how Baxter will/won't date in the future between Step 3 and 4 if he had a fling with the MC, answers range from him not dating anyone if the player intent was that they were both genuinely in love, but would otherwise to him trying to move on with others but the flings become even more surface level than before to the point where he's simply going through the motions. He ultimately hits a breaking point (whether he dated the MC or not) and ends up improving due to the MC's return in his life and/or support from other people such as Xavier.

When it comes to what he's attracted to in another person, he likes seeing nail polish, false lashes/heavy mascara/naturally long eyelashes, and full suits (especially if they're expertly tailored).

His love language in terms of receiving is Quality Time, but in terms of giving, he will happily adapt to whatever the MC wants.

Clothing Choices

When it comes to Step 4 Baxter's personal dress code, he's always meeting/formal ready (even when not working) unless he's doing anything athletic, in which case the button-downs get a break.

- Likewise, his closet is basically all button-downs and fancy suits with a few exceptions including clothes suited for the cold.

Assorted

Him skinny-dipping didn't happen in Golden Grove, and the Now & Forever main cast are not his friends by then.

He immediately finds the MC and Cove appealing (not necessarily crushing on them) at the start of Step 3 as "beautiful beach strangers."

He'd be flattered to hear from an MC that they love his laugh/find it charming.

He says "hallelujah" because he's pretentious.

He doesn't know French, but does occasionally drop a French word he knows during Step 3 to "add to his formal flair." His Step 4 self considers it embarrassing in hindsight.

While he started dyeing his hair black at 14, he didn't start adding white into the mix until he was 18. His Step 3 hair was likely something he only had for a year, at which point he changed it up with different attempts at black and white. He switched back to plain black after graduating college, feeling like he had to be "a serious grown up."

During the wedding in Baxter's Step 4, he will have Jude send along a vegan cupcake to the MC if they're vegan.

Semi-revealed during one of his mornings with the MC in Step 4, he has a multi-step daily skincare routine.

His Future

He has no preference over who he'd prefer to be the one to propose to the other in his relationship with the MC.

He would absolutely want to plan his own wedding (whether for or with the MC, depending on whether they want to be involved). He would not want another planner included.

He would forbid his parents from attending his wedding, but invite his childhood friends. Cove, Terry, and Miranda would also go.

He doesn't have a preference when it comes to last names during a wedding. He's just in awe that he's marrying someone at all.

He might consider having facial hair at some point in his life.

When it comes to having kids, he doesn't have any particular age he'd prefer to have them and is more of a "when it feels right" kind of guy. In terms of the number of kids, none is his default but he'd prefer to have two if the MC wants them, as he finds the relationship between the MC and Liz to be lovely and was personally lonely as an only child.

🍋 (below are asks that might be considered risqué - especially going to the posts themselves on some - but I wanted to include them for the sake of having all the information in one place; know that me and my prudish nature pushed through this for the people who want it and I hope you appreciate it! >:o) 🍋

This one definitely goes without saying due to being a love interest in a game where the MC can be she/they/he even down to being intersex, but Baxter is pansexual.

Baxter isn't good at being sexually active beyond being with an MC who wants that. He tries to bond with others but either fails to have his interest reciprocated due to being too forward or backtracks if he senses that someone is actually into him. His relationships are short/inconsistent for that reason.

He would never sleep with the MC during Step 3. He's already planning on leaving and wouldn't risk souring the relationship at any point even if the MC would want it. He wants company more than he wants sex and would not want to be remembered as the guy who slept with the MC and then just left without contacting them again.

Between chests and backsides, Baxter prefers the latter.

Baxter is a top (though is flexible on the matter), is into BDSM, and "kind of" has a sir kink.

[stovetoast]

pillow tpot headcanons (long ramble expanding on the ocd part under the cut)

ok so first warning: i am not a psychiatrist. this isnt a super educated essay on ocd, just me projecting my lived experience onto an object show character. this is just an observation. if i get something wrong feel free to correct me, ill add it here. (its also worth noting i am self diagnosed. not "quick google search" self dx though, ive gone over it with a therapist and everything)

and that leads into the second warning: this ramble will get a tad bit personal sorryyyy

and finally the third warning: i put she/it on the ref but im just using she/her for simplicity (+ i forgot LOL(

anyway so yeah i think that pillow has ocd and is basically the embodiment of "letting intrusive thoughts win" except like. actually. this headcanon didnt stem from the killing or the strange impulses though, i think she has it because of her fixation on good and bad luck in tpot 10.

for me it manifests in a few different ways. my main one is counting—i have good luck numbers and bad luck numbers. i need to take a specific number of snacks every time i have a bowl of them. i have to shake medicine bottles a certain amount of times before taking them. i am always counting the "syllables" of whatever im doing, and it always has to land on a multiple/factor of my lucky number. and if i break any of this, i (generally, if i cant convince myself its fine or if i dont notice) have to count to my lucky number otherwise something bad will happen. hell, i added more flags to this ref because the number of them was my unlucky number.

i have a few other things that affect it that are completely unrelated to counting, though. like a particularly bad one is that i straight up cant wear certain articles or clothing anymore because theyre bad luck. or my ungodly long night routine (which is probably more of an autism thing tbh. but certain parts of it are absolutely influenced by the ocd, like having to say goodnight to my dog).

that ^^ is what i saw in pillow. she was distraught that her team lost in 9, because not only did she think she was doing the challenge right, but killing people (bringing death) was good luck for her.

i think her killing people was a compulsion, and her whole thing in 10 was her scrambling to find a new one after that stopped working.

and before anyone tries to be all like "oh thats fucked up why would they portray ocd like that," one: i dont think this was on purpose this was just an observation, two: i mean..... fuck dude if i lived in a world where revival was incredibly accessible and one of my compulsions were to kill people, id do the same thing. death is fairly normal in bfdi, to the point everyone literally has a kill count on the fandom wiki (hers is 13 as of tpot 11 btw, a commonly unlucky number ironically enough. if she gets eliminated in 12 with an unlucky kill count thatd be so funny). once they get past the pain, its. really just an inconvenience to them.

when it comes to ocd, you. HAVE to do these things. its not a choice until you can get some outside help with it, and oftentimes its an inconvenience to those around you. i dont think its right for her to be going around killing her team, but when i get past the fact that is literally what made her my favorite, i get where shes coming from. shes trying to help in a way she "knows" will work.

or maybe shes just silly idk

[2xlee]

So... one of the reasons why they wanted to recruit a burglar for their company was that they were 13, which is the unlucky number. So Bilbo became their "lucky charm" by being the 14th member (this is repeatedly brought up in the book). After the whole Arkenstone thing where Thorin kicked him out of the company – and they were 13 again – things went south; the war (that was inevitable at that point tho, at leats against the Orks), Fili, Kili and Thorin dying... Bilbo however still had his luck (surviving the battle) but the company crumbled once he wasn't officially a part of them anymore...

I just wonder if Tolkien intended for it to be linked or if it was just a coincidence...

[echoing-gravity]

MLB X MCU AU in which Marinette gets revealed as Multimouse to the entire world

Because Alya cant be trusted to be responsible with a camera.

Every-fucking-one knows now. hawkmoth. her PARENTS. Hell even TONY fucking STARK knows she was a hero.

and then her parents make/force her to take Style queens offer to intern in NYC, because, from their perspective she is not safe in paris. and like- the AVENGERS are in new york so surely it must be safe there. so they pack up and move their entire bakery business.

and she ends up going to midtown high-school, where not to her knowledge, fellow teenage superhero Peter parker aka "Your friendly neighborhood SPIDER-MAN" goes to school.

Cute adorable shipping commences.

peter is all like "omg another teenage super hero???!!! like me???? i thought i was the only one???? transferring to MY school?!!! SO COOL!!"

"marinette is super smart, marinette is pretty, she was one of THE Miraculous Ladybug's sidekicks how cool is that??!, marinette is COOL!! maybe we can be friends? how am i gonna talk to someone that cool though?? i cant tell her my secret identity!!!"

insta-crush. peter is a marinette SIMP

(and yo, dont get on my case about marinette being super fucking smart, this is the girl who figured out she was getting a birthday party from just seeing one of her friends holding a bike pump. that girl is a tactical genius! she just has self esteem issues. they are both nerd, their just nerds about differnt things, let the nerds date!!!!)

of course Marinette still has the ladybug miraculous -even tho everyone thinks she doesn't have the rat miraculous anymore- and the miracle box. so she can still fight hawkmoth because the horse is basically fast travel irl, Space miraculous super conveintent.

(also concerning the mirsacle box, im going with my headcanon/Unlucky 13 AU on what that looks like post "ladybug becomes guardain" because that egg thing from canon? fucking lame

These ones^^^)

It would be canon compliant till season 2 and most? of season 3? but like fuck miracle queen, season3 finale + truth made me stop watching the show. so like in this au, lets just assume Fu is dead, and ladybug has had the miracle box for some time now. and that they got the miraculous when they were 13, and are currently 15? yeah? okay.

(also prolly chat salt, it doesn't HAVE to be chat salt, but like- He. Keeps. Trying. To. Quit. And leave all the work to marinette!!!! its happened like 3?? times now? Marinette CANT quit!!! its literally "do this or lose all your memories!!!" she is being held hostage by a fucking magic box full of responsibilities no 15 year old should have to deal with.)

I headcanon that marinette stress-bakes, so like cute scene number #1 after peter and marinette become friends, could be something like "marientte stresses for a test, and then bakes to much food so her parents make her take it to school to share with her peers, and she ends up giving like- 1/2 of them to parker, becuz of his super high metabolism.

and how marinettes got her whole "i'm RESPONISBLE!!! for the whole fucking universe now, omfg i'm the reason fu is basically dead" angsty shit going on which kinda parallels peters whole "i have super powers, and if i dont do something to help then its my fault if someone gets hurt, like how my uncle died. With great power, comes great RESPONSIBLITY!!!" angst. maybe they could trauma bond. who doesn't like a good hurt comfort trauma bond fic?

marinette likes designing fashionable but also functional clothes.

peter likes designing gadgets and techy things. let them be nerds together!!! in love!!

i feel like they would be the kind of couple/friends to just ramble on about their passions and they would listen to each other even tho they dont know much about each others interests yet. (also hey what if marinette and peter co designed one of peters early suits pre-stark suit??? the fucking writing potential this ship has omfg c'mon ppl!!! why are we sleeping on this??)

oh! and maybe peter figures out that marinette is also ladybug -but later on- cuz like, he has superhearing? and tikki isn't as subtle as she thinks she is.

and then he's all in awe like "Wow holy shit!!! she made her ladybug secret identity FOOLPROOF!!!! no one would ever fucking suspect!! maybe she can help me with mine???"

Fox miraculous shenanaigans insue????? The daily Bugles next headline be like: "SPIDER-MAN SAVES SI INTERN PETER PARKER FROM ETC ETC"

( the media thinks Ladybug and Chat are 1000+ years old due to that thing alya found in that museum that one time. and the fact that people know that Thor and Loki are super old.

Ladybug's excuse to the public for letting a teenager, Nay! for letting a THIRTEEN YEAR OLD CHILD use an extremly dangerous magical artifact for a little over 2 years, goes something like this: "Marinette was the ONLY person in france- maybe in the whole world! that was compatible with the Rat miraculous, it takes a very smart person to be able to multitask like that, and marinette has a photographic/phonetic memory."

i headcannon that marinette photographic/phonetic memory, and that the Rat Miraculous is the math miraculous that was mentioned in the comics that one time, and that if an incompatible person were to try and use it they would at BEST develop a severe case of split personality disorder/ or schizophrenia, and at WORST their brain would- just- melt out of their ears. )

Also he calls her "Spots" or "LuckyBug" when shes in hero mode.

(i cant think of cute nicknames for peter, ugh "web head" is just something i cant picture marinette saying. what's the french word for spider? what's the french word for cobwebs??)

She prolly just calls him "Webs" or "Spidey"

[sixminutestoriesblog]

Friday the 13th

I wouldn't be much of a blog about folklore and superstition if I didn't take Friday the 13th into account, now would I? I also wouldn't be much of a tumblr blog if I didn't acknowledge one of tumblr's mini-holidays. So what makes Friday, especially the 13th one, so special and just how did it all get started?

Let's start with the number 13 since that's fish in a barrel. Or is it? For instance a lot of us were always taught that the number thirteen was considered unlucky because that's the number of disciples that sat down with Jesus for his Last Supper and obviously that didn't end well. In fact, in Victorian times, having thirteen dinner guests was believed to be courting death for you or someone else at the table.

On an interesting aside note, there was apparently a club in the late 1800s, started by a man named William Fowler that used to meet for dinner on the 13th night of every month to sit down to a thirteen course meal in room number 13 of the club Fowler owned. After they walked underneath a ladder to get to the table of course. Four US presidents, including our hearty Teddy R, were members at one time or another. The club was simply called, what else? The Thirteen Club.

There might be more to the number thirteen's public image than just a divine dinner gone horribly wrong however. Or - more than one divine dinner gone horribly wrong. Tradition has it that in Norse mythology, Loki became the thirteenth dinner guest to show up at the feast where he would then go on to trick Baldr's blind brother Hodr into killing him. Baldr's death was seen as the beginning of the end for the Norse gods.

Thirteen is also the victim of being the sibling immediately following the 'golden child' of numbers, 12. In some circles, the number 12 is considered the perfect number. There were 12 loyal disciples of Jesus, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules and 12 months in a year. What can you be after following such sheer popularity but unpopular?

The Code of Hammurabi, the oldest recorded set of laws, skips law number 13. Most historians chalk that up to clerical error but its enough to make others speculate.

Friday though is usually seen as a good thing, at least in our modern world where it marks the last day of work before a weekend of freedom for both workers and school children. There's even a chain restaurant named TGIF, the positivity associated with Friday is so ingrained. Friday, going back to our Norse myths, was also considered 'Frigga's day', an extremely lucky day to get married on since it was the day dedicated to the goddess of homes and families. By itself, Friday seems a perfectly fine day, even one with good associations.

Slip it back just a bit however and we're right back to the Last Supper and the subsequent 'Good Friday' and a crucifixion. Friday's bad timing doesn't stop there either. In some Christian traditions, Friday is also the day that Adam and Eve ate the fruit that got them booted from Eden; its the day that Cain killed Abel; its the first day of Noah's flood and its also the day the Temple of Solomon fell. None of those have actual dates in the Bible, much less weekdays assigned to them, but the tradition persists. By itself, Friday might squeak by but when you add a 13 on the end, suddenly its not getting off so easily anymore.

What might have helped seal the deal about Friday the 13th, in at least the European conscious , happened in 1307, when King Philip IV of France had the Knights Templar, one of the most powerful, wide-spread and well-known military organizations of the time, rounded up, tortured and put to death. The date? October the 13th.

It was a Friday.

[frostbitebakery]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

I got tagged by the lovely @thejediandthemandalorian thank you 💜💜💜

1.) How many works do you have on ao3

15

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

147,444 words

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

"Writing" is such a strong word. Codywan is the one that inspires me the most at the moment to the point I want to add little backstories.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

I Got My Head Checked

Outtakes of IGMHC

Art for IGMHC

black

Codywan Art and Hubris

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to!! When someone is kind enough to leave a reaction, I should thank them at the very least! Excuse Number 1: I get overwhelmed easily. Excuse Number 2: Especially with long or thoughtful comments, when I answer those I feel like that's the end of that interaction and I don't want that to end

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

It's gotta be one of the Mood Color Panties that ended with an emotional cliffhanger...

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uhhhhh in terms of happy ending to fic setting ratio? Probably the MCU/Snowpiercer crossover that ends somewhat like the movie wherein they discover that not everything on the outside world is dead and gone.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet? *crosses fingers*

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I have written smut. With BDSM and lingerie. But I don't feel the smut groove anymore. Once in a while I do like to dabble in erotica when drawing though

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've officially written one (1) crossover of MCU/Snowpiercer. Unofficially, I've chucked words at friends about The Covenant/Fantastic Four where Johnny Storm and Chase Collins are roommates for whatever reason and Chase is trying to close a portal to Hell and fighting off demons while Johnny is oblivious to it all until his Lucky Charms are gone.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. Plenty of art got stolen though.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yus! A smutty stucky one-shot got translated into Russian

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Does The Unlucky Ones count??? I just wanted spoopy Cody but I can't not do backstory for AUs, so my mind is churning out the lore. Then @adiduck was like, “hey, I have some ideas for TUO, how about--“ and then I buried her in the sandbox. The only bits I wrote (with Adi's blessing) are the snippets on the artworks. She is writing the fic while we both excitedly yell at each other.

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

Just one???? All of them have a special place

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I don't have any fic WIPs atm

16.) What are your writing strengths?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh quite a lot of people pointed out that my pacing is good, and some people like my humor! Thank you <3

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm too rushed. And like, a whole lot of technical stuff I don't know.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I like it. It can add a lot of things to the characters, plot, or setting. What I personally don't like if the words in another language are in italics.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Weiß Kreuz. It's in German and the forum it was posted on is long gone. There's an FMA fic on ff.net still. You won't find that one either.

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I Got My Head Checked :D It started as a naive "lolol what would I want Sithywan to look like? just the once", grew to "But listen, Glimmer, it would be so funny if Sithywan is like "I need a week" as his estimation for how long he needs for Cody to spill every secret ever to him, and it ends with Sithywan just getting up in the cell like he's never been injured/tortured at all and going like "Thank you, that's all I need" like some method acting Black Widow type, but internally starting his journey of “omfg I want him carnally and emotionally””, and then it spiraled into 75k words with more catharsis for me as a person than should be possible. And a greenhouse. More IGMHC trivia!!

Oban Ouaine, Qui-Gon's Cody's Venator, is Gaelic for little green bay. I wanted a connection of Qui-Gon and his fandom plants. And I thought Oban Ouaine sounds a little bit like Obi-Wan

the original plan was that the whole Venator is like a jungle with plants everywhere. @elwenyere brought up "they have a greenhouse?" and I ran with that instead, not knowing it would turn into a central stage for hope and healing for the characters

TAG YOU'RE IT: @adiduck @elwenyere @ifonlyweknewwhatiwasdoing @meebles @merlyn-bane @wrennette @lttrsfrmlnrrgby and anyone who wants to bc this was fun!

[trafficlife]

Time Sure Feels Like It's Running Out

Jimmy only had seven minutes left and he was waiting for Scott. Whether or not he was even coming was the last thing on Jimmy's mind, because he trusted Scott. That had always been Jimmy's fatal flaw. And Joel was going to put an end to it.

word count: 2016

AO3 Link

(inspired by this comic)

7 minutes and 14 seconds.

Jimmy frantically looked at the clock in his hand, blinking away the lights that dotted and obscured his vision. He muttered a curse under his breath, the yellow feathers on his forearms bristling. Scar was too insistent on shooting and he could hear Joel shouting at him for killing the canary.

Immediately, Jimmy pulled out his communicator and sent out a frantic message to the main chat. Now he needed Scott more than anything. He barely had any time. Jimmy was heading back to the bridge when he collided with Joel.

"Joel! I have seven minutes left!" Jimmy blurted out, going straight to the chase.

"Seven minutes?" Joel grimaced. Those words left a bad taste in his mouth.

Jimmy nodded, his heart sinking at the fact. "I need Scott now."

Joel shook his head, grabbing Jimmy and pulling him back into the remains of their base. "Scott's on the other side of the map, he's not going to get here in time."

"He isn't that far, Joel. I have seven minutes, and Scott's giving me his time. He's the only one doing that for me!"

"Not anymore he's not." Joel's voice suddenly became deep and almost menacing, which made Jimmy's feathers fluff in anticipation. "Tim, I'm gonna need you to kill me."

Jimmy's eyes widened behind his shades. He quickly shook his head. "No. No, I can't. I can't do that, I-I won't kill a fellow bad boy!"

"Tim, I'm letting you do this. Why on Earth would you pass up this opportunity?"

"I..." Jimmy hesitated. He wasn't exactly comfortable with killing his teammate, even though Joel was consenting to it. It didn't feel right to him, which was pretty stupid. There were a lot of unfair and unlucky things that happened to Jimmy in these games. So why would he pass this up? "I just—"

"Timmy, bloody hell, just kill me!" Joel hissed, grabbing the end of Jimmy's crossbow and pointing it toward his chest.

Jimmy shook his head, eyes wide behind his sunglasses. "I can't just kill you, you know! Scott already promised he'd come—"

"And what if Scott doesn't show up in time? What if he changed his mind last minute? Now, I'm not going to let you sit here for"—he looked down at Jimmy's clock— "6 minutes, 13 seconds, and counting, without being sure that Scott's even going to come." His red eyes pierced through Jimmy's, over the rim of his sunglasses. Joel was always a force to be reckoned with while red. His gaze was menacing and violent, striking fear into everyone he made eye contact with. It made Jimmy very lucky to be allied with Joel. But now, there was a gentleness in his gaze. A gentleness that didn't appear very often.

"Jimmy," Joel continued, voice a low whisper. Jimmy's eyes widened. He was so used to being called 'Timmy' in these games. If he was referred to as Jimmy, it wasn't a joke. "Just do it. I have plenty of time left. It's not like you're the boogeyman, I can get another hour in no time!" He smirked a bit. "It'd be pretty fun for me as well. You know how much I enjoy a good fight!"

Jimmy chuckled softly, glancing down at the crossbow. Joel's clock was dangling off his belt, swinging a bit on his side. Joel seldom told Jimmy or Grian how much time he had left. Usually, he managed to get his time back one way or another. Though it didn't help that most of his deaths were rather stupid—Skynet was Joel's Achilles' Heel now—which made Jimmy more hesitant. "How much time do you have left, Joel?"

''2 hours," Joel responded quickly. "Plus some time."

"2 hours? But—"

"Didn't you hear me? I'll have more than enough time to kill people and get myself back up! Now..." Joel backed away and removed his armor, standing in front of the canary with a small smile. "Stop wasting time, Tim, and get yourself those 30 minutes!"

Jimmy felt his mouth go dry, eyes shifting from the crossbow to Joel. He looked so relaxed, so confident. The moonlight shone through the broken windows, casting a slight halo behind Joel and making the studs on his jacket glow. He raised the crossbow and drew back the arrow, about to fire until Joel spoke again.

"Oh, and Jimmy?"

"Yeah?"

"I won't let you be the first out again."

Jimmy chuckled a bit, his heart suddenly feeling heavy. A lot of people told him that throughout these games. But it still ended the same way. After all, he was "gifted" these canary wings for a reason. He would always die to the smoke in the mines. It was his destiny at this point. And what a cruel destiny it was.

But the confidence in Joel's voice made him feel a little more secure, a little more convinced that things would be different this time around.

He closed his eyes and fired the crossbow twice. Right afterward, he heard the sound of thunder. Startled, Jimmy opened his eyes and spread his wings. But when he looked outside, there wasn't any rain. The sky was still clear, the moon and the stars visible, and looking down at Jimmy. He turned towards the bed, only to find that Joel hadn't respawned.

"That's odd..." He murmured under his breath. He probably set up his spawn somewhere else and was on the other side of the map. "I should keep his stuff safe for now." Jimmy kneeled to pick up Joel's armor, when his communicator buzzed in his pocket, multiple times in a row. Confused, he pulled it out to read the messages in the chat.

SmallishBeans was shot by SolidarityGaming.  <BDoubleO100> ?????? <Smajor1995> omg... <PearlescentMoon> He survived! <TangoTek> OOOOOOOOOOO <ZombieCleo> this is history guys <InTheLittleWood> curse broken??? <Grian> TIM <Grian> JIMMY <Grian> WHAT DID YOU DO

Jimmy was very confused. More messages were flooding the chat but Jimmy didn't know why there was so much commotion.

<SolidarityGaming> joel had me kill him <SolidarityGaming> so i could get more time <SolidarityGaming> he didnt respawn at the bridge. is he at someone else's base?

He put the armor in a chest, glancing over at his communicator again.

<Grian> oh jim... <Grian> look at the player list

Jimmy picked up the communicator to look at the player list.

And part of him wished he hadn't.

His wings felt heavy on his back, and the communicator was slowly slipping out of his fingers. He abruptly sat down on a chest, a wave of nausea rushing over him. His heart pounded in his chest and ears, blocking out any other sounds.

Well, it certainly explained the sudden thunder.

And it explained why Jimmy was confused at first. He never lived long enough to hear the thunder rumble or see the lightning strike at the spot where the person died.

Joel wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't let Jimmy die first.

Joel was out of the game. For good.

And, for the very first time, Jimmy wasn't out of the series first.

So why did he feel so dejected?

Isn't this what he wanted?

If Joel didn't insist on this sacrifice, Jimmy would have been happier. He should have been happier. It was what Joel wanted, wasn't it? And it was good to know that his "canary curse" could be broken.

But it's not like Jimmy was on-board with killing Joel. He only did it because Joel insisted it was going to work out in the end.

"Jimmy!"

He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his name. Jimmy lifted his head to see Grian, slowly approaching him. There was a small frown on his face, and his wings were folded behind his back. "Jim... I am so sorry."

Jimmy chuckled weakly. "Hey, Grian. No need to apologize! It's just the way things go, right?"

Grian nodded slowly, fidgeting with his jacket cuffs. "I just... Didn't think it would happen so soon," he murmured. "Before either of us knew it, Scar killed you, and—"

"Wait... Did you know Joel would do this?" Jimmy asked. "It sounds like you two had this sort of plan, to keep me alive."

He watched Grian lick his lips nervously before going on. "Well... Yes," he confessed. "Joel was hoping that he could die before you. Which was why he insisted on us getting kills, instead of him. You- You must've noticed that, right?" Jimmy nodded slowly. He always thought it was weird, considering how much Joel thrived on the battlefield. Hell, he was even disappointed to not be the boogeyman.

"About half of the self-deaths, where he fell off the ladders or fell from sky-net, were intentional," Grian continued. "Some of them were complete accidents though... Like when I responded 'yes' without knowing that I was throwing you two off of a ledge."

Jimmy nodded slowly at the recollection. He did notice that Joel was somewhat protective of him. Despite the teasing and the daredevil stunts they pulled, it was obvious that Joel cared for him.

Joel was dubbed the "lone wolf" after 3rd Life but Jimmy didn't think that was entirely true. Yes, he was alone in 3rd Life and he did only have a pack of wolves as company. But in Last Life, he was pretty loyal to Scar (though he did team up with Grian later). And last season, Double Life, his commitment to Etho was commendable. He went as far as wearing an Etho shirt for him and building the Relation Ship for him.

Joel was incredibly loyal when he chose to be. He stayed with Jimmy since day one, despite his curse and his bad luck. They recruited Grian and became the Bad Boys, where Joel's loyalty truly shined. When Grian went AFK, Joel and Jimmy did all they could to protect Grian from the rest of the server. And they put up a good fight, despite being outnumbered.

Jimmy's wings wrapped around himself subconsciously as he thought back to the previous sessions. Joel really didn't want Jimmy to die, did he? No wonder he was so pushy. And with how devoted Joel was to Jimmy, to Grian, everything the Bad Boys built...

Jimmy couldn't begin to imagine what would happen to Joel, if the canary curse struck again.

Joel hated losing the things he cared deeply about. For instance, when the Relation Ship was burned to the ground, Joel picked up the ashes and darkly declared "If the ship burns, everything burns."

(How ironic, that Joel and Etho later burst into flames much like the ship they called their home.)

"Jimmy?" Grian's gentle voice brought Jimmy back to reality. The unfortunate reality was that Joel was gone, and now it was just the two of them. "Are you okay?"

Jimmy smiled fondly at his avian partner, before looking up towards the sky, hoping that Joel was spectating them now. "Well, there's no reason for me to be sad, boys! I'm still alive! That makes me pretty glad, boys. And even though now..." He took a deep breath. "Now we're just a pair of bad boys, we haven't been had, boys—"

Grian chuckled and rolled his eyes, interrupting Jimmy's stream of puns. "Okay, I can see Joel's influence rubbing off of you. But couldn't you at least come up with some more creative jokes?"

"I could. But I don't want to waste any time looking up words that rhyme with bad. Time is precious, after all..." He pulled out his clock to look at it. 30 minutes, 29 seconds. "Do you know where Scott is?"

Grian nodded. "He's on the bridge right now, waiting for you. Even though you got 30 minutes from Joel, he still wants to bring you up to an hour."

Jimmy nodded. "This game won't get rid of me that easily! ... And I know they've tried. And succeeded... But it's different this time! I'll live, for the bad boys!"

"Especially Joel," Grian chimed in.

"Yeah... Especially for Joel."

At least for now, time isn't running out.

[jorisjurgen]

13?

Worst blorbofication:

Chara Undertale because they make fandom actively insufferable. I don't even know where to begin, from the fact that I've received death threats for not liking the popular headcanon that Chara and Asriel were siblings, to acknowledging what Asriel said at the end of the game about them mistreating him and that it was really unlucky that he met them, how he wished he met Frisk instead, even if he still loves Chara despite that. (I've seen people claim that it's "insane" to imply a child could abuse another child, and like... I was NOT beaten violently every single day for eight years by other kids at school and developed CPTSD about it just to hear this opinion.)

Chara, a bitter child who, like many children in real life, acts violently and cruelly due to their life dealing them a bad hand. Who acts that way towards their only friend, who loved them unconditionally in his innocence. And being blinded to it by their hatred for humanity, hatred that is more powerful than desire their desire to live, they squandered it for a revenge plot of killing all humans. Then, them having to see what happened after they died by tagging along with Frisk as a ghost, how wrong they were about killing all of humanity because Frisk is nice, and what their ideas did to Asriel, and changing their mind, but it being far too late to change anything and redeem themself, because they're dead, and Asriel is changed beyond recognition, trapped in a body he hates, is far better storytelling than the popular headcanon, and at the very least, much closer to what happens in-game, with their presence largely being an implication. (And cough cough. Flowey is Asriel. Asriel is Flowey. And he was beaten to death and his body and mind were ruined by the trauma, physical and mental. He's physically disabled by his physical trauma, and he hates being disabled and having PTSD. I am tired of pretending otherwise or that "oogh flowey turns back into asriel and gets a happy ending and he's good, and can walk, and isn't mentally ill and evil anymore!" fanfiction don't annoy me.)

Or, like, that people saying they were "suicidal" when they fell, on accident, into a fucking hole, doesn't make me insane. When it's the first thing the player ever sees.

Unlike Frisk, who is implied to have come on purpose, either to actually end their life or because of something else, in their heart-to-heart with Asriel at the end of the game. Not that anyone cares.

I LOVE CHARA, WITH ALL MY HEART, but GOD I wish people loved them like I do. They're interesting, they're tragic, they fucked up so bad at such a young age, because of their skewed worldview and cruelty, and they will never get to apologize to Asriel or get better beyond whatever development might have happened in the pacifist route. Because they're dead.

And it makes me so sad that other people reduce them like that.

[asexual-spongebob]

Ao3 link if u prefer reading on there What Lurks Beneath the Surface - Chapter 1 - Unlucky 13.

What Lurks Beneath the Surface: Chapter 1: Unlucky 13.

It was early in the morning, Dib sat on the dock with his legs crossed, watching the blue jay’s glide by.

The dew still lingered in on the bare tree branches , the snow had melted away, turning to slush. Making way for the spring flowers.

Dib had a smile on his face as he glanced down at the salty, blue water, sipping some apple juice.

Zim was taking a morning walk, Gir and Minimoose beside him, he was going to go get something to drink from the convince store.

Skoodge was one his way to Keef’s house to go get him.

Zim walked inside, grabbing his new favorite drink. Strawberry juice.

Ever since it’d first tried strawberries about a year ago, it became obsessed. 

Zim payed for its drink and headed to the dock’s, sometimes Dib was there around this time. 

Zim made xyr way to the docks, xe noticed Dib sitting on the edge.

Zim walked up to him, “Hey Dibby.” Xe purred, sitting beside him. “Hi Spaceboy” Dib smiled, “how are you feeling?” Zim asked, placing an arm on Dib’s shoulder.

“Good! I feel a lot better after getting that off my chest! I’m also not in as much pain anymore so that’s good!” Dib answered with a smile, taking a sip of his juice.

“I’m glad, Dib fish.” Zim grinned, giving Dib a smooch on the cheek. 

“It was a great early birthday present!” Dib said, Zim just smiled in response.

“Do you wanna go somewhere? Like the bakery or something? My aunt sent me some birthday money.” Dib asked, “Sure!” Zim replied, the two getting up and heading to the local bakery, holding hands.

Zim and Dib walked through the streets until they reached the bakery.

The two walked inside, “What can I get for you to lovebirds today?” The baker asked, they were wearing a white shirt and a red tie, they also were wearing shiny black shoes and brown khakis. 

“We’ll get two croissants” Dib said, “with extra chocolate!” Zim chimed in.

The baker handed the croissants to them, Dib payed afterwards and them and Zim headed to Skool, munching on their croissants. 

Dib and Zim walked inside, the two shoving their belongings in their lockers.

Keef and Skoodge stood nearby, “Hey guys!” Keef greeted, he glanced at Dib, “How did your surgery go?” He asked, “Great!” Dib answered with a smile.

“What surgery?” Ms Bitters questioned, “I got top surgery!” Dib smiled, “Oh uh. Good for you I guess.” Ms Bitters grumbled, heading to class. 

No wonder they were absent for so long. Ms Bitters thought to herself as she made her way inside the class room. 

Dib and others went to class to, sitting down at their desks.

Tak and Tenn walked inside. Tenn walked up to Dib, “Hey Dib! How did your surgery go?” They asked, “Great!” Dib answered. “That’s good, I’m glad you recovered just fine!” She adds, “Me too, and you have Zim to thank.” Dib smiled,  glancing at Zim, who was sitting on the other side of the room, “Get yourselves in a room.” Ms Bitters remarked, writing something on the chalkboard.

Soon, class began after the other students arrived.

Dib stared at the chalkboard as Ms Bitters lectured them about salmon, Zim was also glancing at the chalkboard too, with his feet propped up on the desk.

Ms Bitters noticed, “Zim, get your disgusting ass feet off the desk, NOW.” She demanded, Zim flinched, taking his feet off the desk and sitting like a “normal human worm-baby” would. 

After some hours of Ms Bitters lecturing the class, the lunch bell rang.

Zim and Dib sprang up from their seats, running to the Cafeteria.

The two sat down at their usual table, Keef, Skoodge, Gaz, Tak and Tenn joining them.

Tak and Gaz held hands as they proofread Tak’s poetry, making sure to fix any grammar errors. Dib and Zim sat there, staring lovingly into each other’s eyes, while Keef, Tenn and Skoodge sat there chatting.

“Hey Dib, is there anything you want for your birthday?” Keef asked, “Oh um.. maybe a Mother Mother cd or something like that?” Dib replied, glancing at Keef. “Gotcha!” Keef replied back, sipping their grape juice. 

Dib directed their attention back to Zim, hugging him tight, Zim let out a purr, wrapping his arms around Dib, placing its chin on top of Dib’s head.

Zim sniffed Dib’s hair. “Ew Dib-thing! You should really wash that hair of yours! It’s greasy!” Zim spat. “Yeah I should- I just keep forgetting.” Dib sighed.

“Make sure to use shampoo.” Tak chimed in, glancing up from her notebook, looking at the two directly in the eyes.

“I would. But Zim keeps drinking it!” Dib jeered, “It tastes so good though!” Zim replied, “It tastes like fruit!” Xe adds. 

“Then get your own shampoo Zim!” Dib proposed, “where does Zim find this “shampoo” stuff?” Zim asked, “uh… Ugly Mart sells it I think.” Skoodge answered.

“Okay fine! Zim will go there and get some. And stop drinking the Dib-fish’s shampoo.” Zim  sighed. “There, problem solved!” Skoodge smiled.

Zim and Dib then began to bicker about who was cuter like an old married couple, Gaz and Tak started paying in their Gameslave’s with Tenn, and Keef and Skoodge started chatting about musicals and marine biology. 

•••

The next day.

Dib awoke to the sound of Touch Tone Telephone by Lemon Demon blaring from his alarm.

He sat up and slammed his hand against to top to make it shut up,  rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and letting out a yawn.

He grabbed his glasses off the nightstand. 

It was a warm day in mid April, they glanced up at the calendar. 

April 15th. 

Oh! It’s my birthday! Dib thought excitedly, springing out of bed, trying to find something to wear.

Dib chose a Cavetown shirt with Lemon Boy’s album cover and some denim pants, slapping on some alien socks.

They went downstairs, greeted by their father.

“Happy birthday son! You can now officially sing “Teenage Dirtbag” without feeling stupid!” He smiled, “Thanks Dad.” Dib smiled, “Happy birthday Dib.” Gaz said, giving Dib a fist bump.

Dib thanked her before sitting down at the breakfast table, however he was alarmed by  the sound of the window opening, only to realize it was Zim. 

“Happy birthday Dib-fish!” He smiled, he was holding something in his hands, but it then fell on the floor.

Dib sprang up from his seat and rushed over to Zim. “Are you okay?” He questioned, “yeah I’m fine.” Zim grumbled as Dib helped it up.

“Wanna eat with us?” Dib questioned, Zim nodded, joining them at the table.

Dib ate their chocolate muffin as Zim munched on some strawberries. “How are you feeling?” Zim asked, “Great!” Dib answered “I got you something!!” Zim smiled “Awe.. You didn’t have to do that! The top surgery was already a great gift!” Dib assured, “Well I wanted to get you something other then that… I hope you like it.” Zim replied.

Dib ripped the wrapping paper off of the box, then opening it, removing the tissue paper.

A very cute mothman plushie with button eyes laid inside, it looked much like a rosy maple moth. 

A large grin appeared on Dib’s face, “I made it myself.” Zim said. “Aww! It’s so cute and  soft! Thank you!” Dib smiled, “I’m glad you like it. I did research on moths for it.” Zim smiled back. 

Dib pulled Zim into a hug, giving him a kiss on the cheek, “Is there any where you’d like to go for your birthday dinner son?” Professor Membrane questioned, “Yeah. How about Grape Garden.” Dib said, “alright, sounds good!” Professor Membrane smiled.

Professor Membrane went to go grab something, “I got you these. I hope you like them.” He said, handing Dib two Lemon Demon cds, one of them was  View Monster, the other was Damn Skippy. 

A huge grin appeared on Dib’s face at the sight. 

“Thanks Dad!” Dib smiled, hugging their dad, “You’re welcome kiddo!” Professor Membrane replied, patting Dib’s head.

Dib then took a seat on couch, Zim cuddled up beside them, purring like a lawn mower. Dib placed their arm on Zim’s shoulder, then kissing his cheek. 

The two watched some Rocko’s Modern Life, a show Gaz had introduced to Dib, Dib was laughing his ass off, Zim glanced at Dib in confusion.

“How is that funny?” He questioned, “It’s human humor Zim- Human adult humor to be specific.” Dib clarified. “Wait is this for adult humans?” Zim questioned, “No, it’s not specifically for adults, it’s actually a kids show but people of all ages enjoy it because of it’s adult jokes and how it discusses mature themes. Like getting your appendix removed.” Dib answered.

“What’s an “appendix?” Zim asked, “It’s a human organ. I’m not sure if Irkens have them-“ Dib answered.

“Oh. Okay.” Zim replied, then paying attention to the tv.

“You’re watching Rocko’s Modern Life without me!” Gaz frowned, “Sorry-“ Dib apologized, “You can join us.” Dib adds.

Gaz took a seat on the couch, her and Dib wheezing at a  scene in the episode, Rocko was on the phone repeating “Oh Baby, oh baby, oh baby.”

Zim glanced the two in confusion, “I- I don’t get it?” It remarked.

Clembrane zoomed  by, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON!” He grinned, “Thanks Dad.” Dib smiled, “IM MAKIN’ YOU SOME CAKE!” Clembrane proclaimed, “AND PUDDIN’!” He adds.

Dib thanked Clembrane as he headed to the kitchen.

Soon. The door bell rang, Professor Membrane walked to the door and opened it. Keef, Tenn, Skoodge, and Tak stood there.

“We came here to wish Dib a happy birthday!” Keef grinned, Professor Membrane welcomed them in.

“Hi Keef!” Dib greeted, “I got this for you! I hope you like it!” Keef said, handing Dib a small box, Dib ripped off the wrapping paper, scraps of it falling onto the floor.

He then carefully opened the box, it had sparkly red tissue paper inside, he tossed the tissue paper onto the floor, underneath it was a Mother Mother cd.

“Thanks Keef!” Dib beamed, “Your welcome!” Keef replied, giving Dib a hug.

Tak handed Dib a book, “I got you this. I know that you like the Loch Ness Monster and I spotted this at a bookstore when me and Gaz went there on a date. I thought you’d like it.” She said.

It was a book about a person who befriended the Loch Ness Monster. 

“Thank you so much! I’ll have a blast reading this!” Dib smiled.

“And we got you this!” Skoodge and Tenn said in unison, handing Dib a very cute and silly looking Chupacabra plushie.

“Aww thanks!” Dib smiled, hugging the two.

“Thanks everyone! I really appreciate it!” Dib said, “You’re welcome!” Everyone said in unison. 

Soon, Clembrane pulled out the cake from the fridge. 

“Happy birthday son!” He smiled as he placed it on the table, “It’s your favorite! Confetti cake!” He adds.

Dib thanked Clembrane as he light the candles.

Gaz started playing the melody on her guitar. 

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Dib! Happy birthday to you!” Everyone sang in unison, 

Dib then blew out the candles and everyone started to dig in. 

 Once everyone finished they placed their dishes in the sink, and they headed to the living room. “Well son, we’re not going to be going anywhere for a few more hours, is there anything you’d like to do in the meantime?” Professor Membrane asked, “Yeah. How about we watch a movie or something?” Dib answered, Professor Membrane nodded in approval.

Dib crawled towards the tv stand and rummaged through the dvd’s, trying to find the perfect movie.

Dib eventually found one about the Loch Ness Monster, “Aha!” He exclaimed, grabbing the dvd, “Found one!” They proclaimed, holding the dvd in their hand.

“Oh god…” Professor Membrane remarked as Dib insert the dvd into the dvd player, Dib sat down on the couch, Zim resting xyr head on their shoulder, munching on some popcorn with white chocolate drizzle.

••• 

Later that evening 

Professor Membrane, Dib, Gaz, Zim and Tak arrived home from the Italian restaurant, Grape Garden.

“I should be going, Mimi is probably worried..” Tak sighed with a frown. “Alright then, bye love.” Gaz said, giving Tak a kiss on the cheek, Tak giving her a kiss on the cheek back.

Tak then went back to mew’s base, meanwhile Zim was rambling about the minestrone, “Zim loves that “minestrone” thingy!” Zim beamed, Dib didn’t say anything, he just smiled in response.

“I’m glad you had a good time Zim.” He said, “Zim is glad to!” Zim replied with a grin.

“You should probably be getting home Zim. I wouldn’t want to leave Gir unattended for to long.” Dib advised, Zim then hugged Dib tight, “But I don’t want to leave you Fishboy!” Zim cried out dramatically, “it’s okay Zim, we’ll see each other again tomorrow!” Dib assured, stroking Zim’s back, giving xe a kiss on the forehead.

“Okay then, see you tomorrow, Fishboy~” Zim winked, “Oh shut it you!” Dib replied, affectionately, pretending to be annoyed, then giving Zim a kiss before he left.

•••

Later that night

Mimi snoozed on the carpet, Tak was downstairs in the laboratory, fixing a broken part on mew’s ship, Tenn was downstairs helping mew.

Mimi twitched in her sleep. 

Mimi felt like something bad was going on, it could just feel its senses tingling.

“NOOOO!!” Mimi exclaimed as she watched the mysterious figure dragged Gaz out to their car. “You stop that!” She spat as she watched the ordeal, “YOU LET GO OF MY MASTER’S GIRLFRIEND! NOW!” She yowled, unsheathing her holographic claws, arching its spine.

“There’s nothing you can do, you stupid cat!!” The mysterious figure sneered maliciously, Mimi flattered its ears, “I’ll rip your eyeballs out and hang them on a rotary phone wire!” It threatened, hissing.

“Ha! I’d like to see you try!” The mysterious figure challenged. 

Mimi shot up, exhaling deeply.

I need to go check on them! She decided, dashing towards the front door of the house and rushing outside, being sure to lock the front door before she left.

Mimi ran as fast as her legs could carry her, soon managing to reach the Membrane house. 

Mimi watched in horror as she witnessed the man take the Professor Membrane, Dib and Gaz and throw them into a sack. 

I need to do something! Mimi decided.

Mimi dashed over to Tak’s base, rushing inside and running down to the basement.

“Master! Tenn! I need to show you something!” Mimi urged, “It’s about Gaz!” she adds.

“Follow me!” She ordered, Tak and Tenn glanced at Mimi in confusion, but followed it anyway.

Mimi dashed over to the Membrane house, only to see the front door wide open, it flattened its ears as it stepped inside, Tak and Tenn following suit.

Tak glanced around, noticing the shattered window. 

“I- were too late!” Mimi panicked, “what happened?” Tenn questioned, “There was this figure! It must’ve broke in through that window, I saw him go into the house! He kidnapped Professor Membrane, Dib and Gaz!” Mimi explained in a panic.

Rage boiled inside of Tak, “NO ONE KIDNAPPS MY GIRLFRIEND!” she shouted, Tenn was beginning to also feel a rage boil inside of them, “Why would they kidnap the Membrane’s of all people?” she questioned.

“Well to be fair, Membrane is a famous scientist, maybe they want something from him. However, that doesn’t explain why he’d kidnap Dib and Gaz.” Mimi pointed out.

“Maybe he’s seeking revenge.” Tenn speculated, Tak nodded. “Well, we need to figure out where they are and bring them back home. And I’m also going to give that barf bag of a kidnapper a piece of my mind while I’m at it.” Tak said, Tenn and Mimi nodded in agreement.

“Zim’s going to be a sobbing mess when we break the news to him…” Mimi frowned, “Mhm… just like when Dib was swept away by that current…” Tenn interjected.

“Well. I guess I’m going to have to work with him. This is going to be pants.” Tak remarked, Tenn glanced at Tak in confusion, “It’s a slang term for bad, usually used in Britain.” Mimi clarified.

Mimi, Tak and Tenn went on their way to Zim’s house, dreading its reaction to the horrible news.

[phantom-kitten]

tagged by @bloody-fate to play! tagging @ahdor, @daenerys-targaryen, and @vitri0l if they’d like to join.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ <3 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Do you make your bed?

I do not make it per se, but I do tidy it up a bit.

Fave number?

since learning about lucky/unlucky things in childhood, my favorite number has been 13. I did adopt two other favorite numbers, my childhood friend Alex’s number is 19 and my brother-in-law’s is 22 and somehow those became equally as important to me.

What’s your job?

each day I take approximately 40 phone calls from grieving families seeking to claim the funds belonging to their deceased loved one. I work with executors, beneficiaries, widows, lawyers, trustees, and talk about death and forms and money all day. truly though, I love it.

Go back to school?

one day I will finally bite the bullet and go to mortuary school. there are so few around the country anymore which makes it difficult to just do it; it’ll involve a lot of logistical work and possibly a move to make it happen. I think about it all the time and it’s the only thing I want other than being a working musician.

Can you parallel park?

I’m so excellent at parallel parking that it’s a fault. on more than one occasion, I have gotten myself into a spot so snugly that I cannot get out.

Job you had that would surprise people?

I was the assistant manager of a gym and it was so blatantly out of character for me that even my coworkers were in on the joke. I didn’t know how to work any of the equipment and I’ve never worked out before, so I’d just mind my business and do my own thing and it was actually really fun until management changed.

Aliens real?

yes, of course, it’s not even a question for me. I’ve always believed in the unknown: aliens, ghosts, cryptids. there is so much more out there than we are readily aware of or have “proof” of.

Can you drive stick?

no, and I don’t particularly have an interest in learning.

Guilty pleasure?

no guilty, just pleasure.

Tattoos?

twenty! with appointments for more! started the day after my 18th birthday and I love all of them so much, even the damn infinity sign/anchor combo on my wrist.

Fave color?

my favorite color comes in eras. I loved the purple years, green was fun for a bit, but my favorite color right now is yellow. I looooooove yellow.

Fave type of music?

that is possibly one of the most difficult questions and I do not have an answer, whoops

Do you like puzzles?

I heart puzzles very much. my mother would put together 1,000 piece charles wysocki puzzles - always only charles wysocki - when I was a child and I started helping. as the puzzle of the moment sat completed on the coffee table for the next couple weeks, I’d disassemble and reassemble portions until I was putting full puzzles together myself. now I have my own collection of charles wysocki puzzles and my mom got me a wooden puzzle table for my apartment last christmas.

I also really love word puzzles of all kinds, as well as logic puzzles.

Phobias?

eep, I am scared of the dark and the deep ocean.

Favorite childhood sport?

childhood sport? you’ve got the wrong girl. aside from t-ball from ages 5-7 or so, I have never played a sport. No basketball, no baseball, no soccer, got Cs in gym class.

Talk to yourself?

I am my favorite friend, I stay talking to myself at all times.

Movies you adore?

I have! too many! to list! first to come to mind: like crazy, eternal sunshine, I used to go here, thoroughbreds, promising young woman, shiva baby, it follows, oculus, elizabethtown, garden state

Coffee or Tea?

I like green tea but I love a macchiato or latte more.

1st thing you wanted to be when grew up?

musician or actress, duh.

[punkalope]

One thing I don't see talked about often irt neurodivergency is like... Well, I see people talk about being left behind in terms of ADHD & Autism, & maybe I'm just not in the right circles, but I don't see much talk about it with undiagnosed learning disabilities

I'm very dyscalculic. Horribly so. I cannot do basic math for the life of me, I'm constantly tripped up by patterns, I can't tell left from right unless I have sticky notes in my vision to tell me because even doing the L finger thing gets me confused, I can't imagine how big things are or how they work in 3D etc etc... The whole package, except for maybe I have a pretty ok sense of direction at least. (As long as it doesn't follow a strict pattern...)

But growing up, no one ever believed me. I learned the word dyscalculia at 13, I tried to talk to adults about it, and no one believed me. They thought I was just lazy, trying to find an easy excuse, I was bad at math "on purpose". It got to a point where I became terrified of math classes or encountering it in daily life, I'd avoid it whenever I could. No one ever seemed patient enough to "deal with" me, and unfortunately I didn't have teachers who were kind, they'd let me get bullied and called the R word daily because they agreed I was a lost cause.

& having no one believe you makes you not wanna try anymore, but by the time I got to high school it was only becoming a worse and worse issue. Not only was I bad at math, but I was unlucky enough that my whole freshman year we went without a teacher because they all kept quitting. I was now extra behind.

Stories aside though. When you grow up with no one wanting to help you, no one believing you when you try to explain why, and the looming threat of being held back you kinda just... learn to get around it. You figure out how to navigate.

You learn to become really damn good at cheating.

Fake it till you make it, right? That's kinda how I ended up getting through my last few years of high school. There was no way I was going to pass on my own anymore, no one wanted or had time to help me, I kinda had no other choice. I cheated through all my homework, all my classwork. I never really could do most classwork anyways - it almost always brought me to tears with frustration, and I'd end up taking it home and looking up all the answers instead.

That's not to say I wasn't trying still. If I could learn how an answer was achieved while looking it up I would reverse engineer it. Often times when "show your work" was required this is what'd I'd do - I'd do it backwards. And on the rare moments I couldn't "just cheat", & I was allowed to do things my way (because the american education system sucks ass and teaches you how to test and memorize techniques, but the "proper way" to do things wasn't something I ever understood), I could actually do pretty okay. Give me a calculator and let me use colour pencils and don't time me and I might get pretty close or figure out some really ridiculous way to do algebra.

But that being said, being left behind by adults forces you to be real damn good at lying. & it fucking sucks, cause you don't really learn much and it WILL bite you in the ass - like, I'm 24, I never got a diagnosis, I have no idea how to approach math at a college level and how to get help when I have no insurance. & it sucks, cause I need to retake a lot to do a lot for college, and I don't have the money to try again if I were to fail. I get extremely nervous or embarrassed when math comes up around other people, and while my friends are patient and kind its a big trigger for me to mess up in front of others still, so I just avoid it as often as possible. Its worse now that I have chronic brain fog / long covid issues!

It just sucks all around, and I hope others with learning disabilities aren't alone. Being neurodivergent often means the adults in your life are going to fail you, and you'll learn weird ways to get around. That's okay. I dunno the solutions, but you'll be ok.

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond! Scripting: End of the Trail

In Tails of Trials's seventh section, OMT!Tails came to a stop after fighting the faceless Sonic at the top of the Green Mountain, noticing it not wanting to fight and trying to flee.

(Statue sprite by PicsAndPixels)

OMT!Tails: H-Hey. Are you alright?

It stopped pushing against the invisible border, walking back up to Tails and looking to the floor.

OMT!Tails: You don't want to fight anymore?

The faceless Sonic simply shook its head.

OMT!Tails: Gosh... To think someone as sad as you is guarding this last statue... What even happened to you?

Without words, the being did its best to gesture and explain it that way.

OMT!Tails: So you're one of many Sonic clones that have traversed this path, killed your old counterpart and then melted into this? And it's been going on for ages?

It sadly nodded.

OMT!Tails: I guess you really want it to come to an end, don't you?

It silently agreed to Tails.

OMT!Tails: So, if I end the cycle for you, does that mean that EggOmega's dimension will finally be opened?

It nodded.

OMT!Tails: Alright, then. Could I just ask what your name is, if you have any?

It used sign language to spell out "E-N-D".

OMT!Tails: "End"? Right, I see. Well, it's been nice to know you for this limited time, End, and I hope you can finally find peace.

OMT!Tails spin-dashed past End, knocking it over onto its back.

End: T H A N K . . . Y O U . . .

End fully melted away, the statue it was guarding shattering apart, as OMT!Tails looked down, shedding a tear.

OMT!Tails: Farewell, End.

OMT!Tails got a signal from his communicator.

Mr. Needlemouse: Hey, Tails! You pickin' up?

OMT!Tails: Yeah, I'm here.

OMT!Mina: Whatever you did over there, we've got a new signal for an uncharted dimension!

OMT!Tails: That must be EggOmega's dimension! We're almost there!

Nitro: Yep! You might want to hurry back so we can get over to that dimension.

Nine: And I really don't like this dimension's string. It's just... "UNK-0013".

OMT!Tails: Unlucky number 13, huh? That's definitely not good. I'll be back down as soon as possible.

OMT!Tails raced on to the other end of Green Mountain to head back to the Blur Gang.

(Okay, so to be clear, a lot of the mockups shown were, in part, taken from the Leaf Forest Zone website, and I feel they do a really good job of conveying the many present locations. There are a good handful that I still made entirely myself from the different assets available, of course.)

[wolfiemcwolferson]

12 & 24 for piarles pls ❤️

Roommate/Soulmate

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(Also, I'm preemptively tagging @river-ocean ((UNLESS THIS IS YOU BABY)) so that I can overload them with Soulmate content today)

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The thing about soul marks is that they aren't specific enough for most people and Pierre is one of those unlucky people who has a soul mark on his hand.

His parents had experienced the common mix-up of thinking someone else was their soulmate for so long until...well, until things happened.

So, yeah. Pierre is a little salty about having a blue palm. Because there are millions of people walking around with a blue soul mark on their body that could be the counterpart to Pierre's palm.

Pierre had thought he had met his soulmate at age 13. A girl from school with a blue mark on her thigh and when he had placed his hand there - shaking and unsure - in the movie theatre...well.

She met her real soulmate three years later - and not just a soulmate. A soul bond.

Pierre's fine. He'll meet his soulmate. Or he won't. He tries to not linger on it anymore. Not at 26.

.

Yuki finds the guy through some work friends and Pierre doesn't care because he has a decent enough job and Pierre is just happy that he and Yuki won't have to split the rent anymore.

He's cute though. Unfortunately for Pierre. He's really really cute and Pierre likes the way he blushes when his friend Alex teases him a little bit about having so many boxes labeled clothes.

Unfortunately, they don't have a chance to even get to know each other - Charles off on a two week work trip two days later - but Yuki promises that he will like him.

.

Pierre comes in from after work drinks one night and he finds Charles on top of the counter, rifling through a cabinet. Back in town apparently.

"You could have gotten a step stool." Pierre snorts and Charles must not have heard him come in because he startles and flails backwards and Pierre reaches out on instinct and catches him underneath the arm.

Charles shouts, pulling himself out of Pierre's grasp because...Pierre's palm is burning - turning gold - and Charles is ripping his shirt over his head and twisting around to look at the palm print in his armpit that is slowly fading from blue to gold.

Charles looks over at him with wide eyes and Pierre smiles at him. "Well, this just got -"

Charles laughs and then he says, "I don't even know your middle name."

Pierre holds his palm up to him. "I think we'll work it out."

A soul bond.

[pyropsychiccollector]

Class 80-A Bios

I did these up a while ago, too. Figured with Vergilsama92 properly introducing them, I should get around to posting these~

Ayumu Fujimori

The 80th year of Hope’s Peak Academy brings with it the winds of change. The “Izuru Kamukura Project” starts and stops with Hajime Hinata, and that means Jin Kirigiri has some wiggle room to make some reforms. The first of which is the abolishment of the “Ultimate Lucky Student” drawing. For the 80th Class of Hope’s Peak, there won’t be a Luckster. Not one that they handpicked from a lottery. … Enter Ayumu Fujimori. The Ultimate Unlucky Student. Her existence was uncovered through their own Nagito Komaeda, during his Graduation Exam. A girl that was the personification of bad luck, even moreso than their resident Makoto Naegi, who referred to himself as the “Unluckster”, and Nagito, who was known for both good AND bad luck. It had honestly been just a twist of fate that they discovered Ayumu Fujimori at all. But after Koichi Kizakura did some digging, they came to find out this girl was everything that the local tall tales and rumors claimed and more. By the time she was 5 years old, Ayumu had experienced 13 different accidents that almost brought about her death. Her baby stroller rolling into ongoing traffic, falling out the window of a seven-story building as a toddler, being taken hostage by a grocery store thief and ending up in a car crash with him… She survived all of this and so much more, but the bad luck just kept on coming. She could never catch a break with chores, or school tests, or even making friends… These were all “rumors” circulated by the community that Ayumu grew up in, but they proved to be very real. The worst part was that Ayumu’s father took advantage of his daughter once his wife passed away due to this same rotten luck. If Ayumu was going to make his life a living Hell, take away what he held dear, then the least she could do was make his political career take off by wreaking havoc on his rivals’ families – it wasn’t a rare occurrence for Ayumu’s father to send her away to “sleepovers” at “friends’” houses during campaign season. In fact, a system became established where Ayumu NEEDED to spend time with other families as much as possible; first it was just Ayumu’s father “getting over” the grief of losing his wife. But he soon enough spat out excuse after excuse after excuse, and the community just ate up the lies. As Ayumu’s bad luck became more widely known and recognized, there were rumors that her father was even just trying to save his own skin, considering the accidental nature of his wife’s death. His rivals never pieced it together he was using Ayumu to destroy their campaigns and lives; they simply tried to take Ayumu in as “Samaritans” and paint themselves in a good light.

… But the bad luck just kept on coming. The people that Ayumu stayed with often turned abusive once they figured out she was to blame for random incidents in their lives. In public, they would treat her decently – just so authorities wouldn’t be any the wiser. But it became accepted by the community that SOMEONE needed to pay for all their woes, and if Ayumu’s father couldn’t be bothered then they would take it out on his kid. The one responsible for all the bad luck in the first place. As such, Ayumu grew up to be very feeble and accepting of what others would do to her. She hated her rotten luck as much as everyone else did, but she was powerless to do anything on her own; no one stooped to help her – not without eventually venting on her for any inconvenience she caused them. And as long as her father “wanted” her to come back home someday, it’s not as if the community could let Ayumu commit suicide – so eventually they let up on the abuse and showered her with sporadic acts of charity and “kindness” that would keep Ayumu from considering such dark thoughts. If Ayumu died on them, then they couldn’t use her as a scapegoat anymore; so the community’s approach became very much “poisoned carrot and stick”. But it worked – Ayumu never considered suicide. She just lived a miserable, lonely existence where she was the butt of everyone’s joke. Once Koichi delivered his findings to Jin, they hatched a plan to recruit this girl to Hope’s Peak – not for the purpose of studying her bad luck, but for the purpose of trying to save her. Or at least giving her a better life than the Hell that she had. It’s not like the community Ayumu lived in could object once she accepted – as much as they wanted to interfere. Koichi personally delivered the acceptance letter so that she knew it was real, and that people couldn’t hide it from her. “Ultimate Unlucky Student” was also for the purpose of deceiving her politician father who had ties to the government, who in turn had ties to Hope’s Peak; he was the only one that could get in the way of Ayumu living a happy life, so they needed to make it seem like they were being clinical and detached about recruiting her, like all other students. … But this would be the start of a new life for Ayumu. They’d see to that.

Kazumi Izumo

The Ultimate Occult Enthusiast. Though… Don’t let her hear you call her that. She’s the “Ultimate Spirit Medium.” … Really. Her powers are real!!! In all seriousness, Kasumi Izumo has been fascinated by the supernatural ever since she was very young. She studied all there was to know about the occult until she became the leading, undisputed authority – even if she was just a kid. Though she has better presence online, because she never posts a profile picture, and most people just assume that she’s a woman well on in years. Kasumi has even written books on the supernatural – explaining where “rumors, legends, and heresy” start, and “more importantly” where they end. But she’s not just a prolific writer; Kasumi is gifted enough to argue effectively and make you at least concede the possibility that spirit mediums and the supernatural are, in fact, real. But why did Kasumi become interested in the occult in the first place? She won’t easily admit it, but it’s because her parents passed away. In the beginning, Kasumi just wanted a connection with them – and she will insist that she achieved that connection, being able to communicate with them as a spirit medium. But the more she studied the occult, the more fascinated and engrossed she became. The world was full of so many mysteries, and there was no way to explain them through natural causes. Despite her defensive attitude when others question her “abilities” and knowledge, Kasumi in fact has quite a few friends, both in Japan and around the world through her website and the blogs she frequents. She’s proven herself time and again to be knowledgeable at the very least, and people are interested enough to hear her stories. Some perhaps bonding with her over wanting to “connect” with loved ones they lost. Still, Kasumi’s personality takes some getting used to. She’s arrogant, prickly, and HATES nonbelievers, often threatening to kill people for questioning her. But even so, there’s been no precedents where she’s carried out such threats… A typical tsundere, in other words. Kasumi has a few choice words for Hope’s Peak because of the title they gave her – she keeps petitioning to have it changed to “Ultimate Spirit Medium”. … But no one’s listening.

Aruma Todoroki

The Ultimate Animal Tamer. With Gundham Tanaka’s graduation from Hope’s Peak, Kizakura found the perfect student to fill the void he left behind. Someone that could control animals… even “homo sapiens”. Oh yes, Aruma has quite the pedigree~ Aruma didn’t quite know what she wanted to be when she grew up. But she had a fondness for animals, and that’s why as a child she would become so enchanted by the circus whenever it was in town. It got to a point where Aruma’s parents wanted to spoil her “a little” – so they paid for her to study abroad, at a circus in France, the romantic capital of the world. Once Aruma traveled to France, there was no going back to how she used to be, a rather plain but loving girl… No. Now she had a powerful fire lit within her, and Aruma was determined to be the best Animal Tamer in the world~ No conquest was too great. Once she had a handle on circus animals in France, she felt that she could tame anything. ANYONE, as well. Of course, when Aruma returned to school in Japan, her former school’s staff and student body were terrified of the “wild beast” awoken within her, and they gave her a wide berth – but still applauded her ability. … To control animals. Not them. Are you crazy?! It became school policy to make Aruma leave her whip at the principal’s office at the start of every school day, and she could only pick it up after school; they wanted to take it away from her completely, but were too terrified to find out what the consequences of that might be. Aruma herself didn’t have a bad word to say about people, despite the wariness they gave her. Honestly, Aruma just wanted to make friends like she always used to; it’s just that her training from the circus had… turned her life upside down, in regards to how she took on “challenges”. Not to mention, France was a far more intimate place – Aruma rather liked how open and friendly everyone was with each other in that corner of the world. To go back to Japan where everyone was more formal and “awkward” (her word for it), it wasn’t an easy transition for her. Sure, okay, Aruma could be a LITTLE kinky and suggestive… But she was looking for a man, too, you know?!?!?! People that fell into line were nice, but she relished the orgasmic thought of one day running into a hotblooded man that would become her greatest challenge!!! Of course she’d be a little passionate about romance~ Hope’s Peak’s acceptance letter was like a godsend for Aruma. … And her previous school. They practically shooed her out the door as she eagerly accepted the invitation of the greatest academy in Japan, practically drooling and unable to sleep during her first night on-campus. Aruma was recognized as the “Ultimate” Animal Tamer, and she had no intention of relinquishing her title – she would only get better at her talent. That was a promise. But more than that… Surely she would find a worthy man here? One that would finally sate her romance-addled heart…?

Maiko Kagura

The Ultimate Dancer. Much like Aruma, Maiko arrived at just the right time, filling the void left behind by the Ultimate Traditional Dancer, Hiyoko Saionji. Only, Maiko is more well-rounded in her talent – she can perform any dance. She’s not the undisputed master at each of them, she would need time and practice to be “good” at all of them. Still, Maiko has had an interest in dancing since she was a child. … Just not in the way that you would expect. Her father abandoned her mother and Maiko when she was seven years old. This regrettably left Maiko’s mother in the position of raising a child on her own, Supporting the both of them on a single salary – and that was especially difficult in paying for school for Maiko. This left Maiko to unfortunately almost never see her mother because of the multiple jobs she needed to work to keep them fed and clothed. Not to mention, Maiko’s mother was bitter over her husband’s abandonment, and wished to avoid looking at Maiko for longer than she had to – after all, Maiko had her father’s eyes and face. If she was forced to take care of Maiko more than this, she might have taken her anger out on Maiko for making her remember who abandoned them. But the jobs kept Maiko’s mother busy, and away from such angry, resentful thoughts. Of course the downside was that Maiko had to raise herself for the most part; her mother would buy her clothes and food, but beyond that Maiko had to learn fast how to take care of herself. This left Maiko to be pretty lonely – soon enough however, it wasn’t enough that Maiko had to take care of herself, her mother wanted her to maintain their apartment while she was gone. And if Maiko wanted a pet or anything like that, she would have to handle everything with regards to raising and taking care of it. Maiko had considered getting a dog, anyway, but decided against it in favor of trying to make friends at school and maintaining the apartment, which went beyond cleaning, and involved keeping an eye on the plumbing, water, gas, heat, electricity, etc. If anything ever looked like it would malfunction, Maiko was supposed to leave a note for her mother, and she would leave money to call a plumber, electrician, or whatever Maiko needed.

Things took a turn for the worse, of course. Stress got to Maiko’s mother, and she lost most of her jobs, and it was tough finding new work. Even though her mother was home more often, she was still expected to maintain the apartment, and Maiko would get verbally abused if she “whined” too much about things getting too tough. Despite it all, Maiko loved her mother enough to look into ways that she could help cover the rent, groceries, and her school tuition. The solution she eventually found was… dancing. She started off teaching herself from online videos, and loved managing to get better and better – Maiko ended up having a knack for dance. It was the one bright spot in her life, and she became good enough that she became both a dance performer online as well as in-person. … But despite chipping in like Maiko was, Maiko’s mother grew angrier and angrier as the days and years passed. She was living on her daughter’s efforts, and not her own anymore – and Maiko was essentially a celebrity. It hardly seemed fair, and one day Maiko’s mother just wanted to take her daughter down a peg… But she did it without stopping Maiko’s career in dancing. That’s why one day, Maiko’s mother found her work in the red light district. She thought for sure that Maiko would be too uncomfortable to work a job like that, and would see even a tiny bit of the struggle her mother was going through… But despite her mother’s intentions, Maiko learned pole dancing, lap dancing, and belly dancing from the red light district and managed to somehow NOT get molested from the experiences. It probably helped that some of the people Maiko worked for in that district were fans of her work, keeping people off of her and keeping her from doing anything truly perverted. But that was the last straw for Maiko’s mother. Her last ditch effort to “teach Maiko a lesson” failed, and her daughter would just keep making the most of her life. So Maiko’s mother abandoned her without warning, leaving the apartment entirely in Maiko’s hands. Maiko was heartbroken and crushed by being left all alone – for a time, her career in dancing suffered because she was miserable and alone. She picked herself back up and relied on her fanbase as her only remaining friends – but of course, fans can be cruel and fickle. Some would inevitably lose interest in her online channel, or verbally abuse her on stage. Nevertheless, Hope’s Peak scouted her at about this time, and Maiko took it for the golden ticket that it was. She wouldn’t have to pay for tuition or living at the dorms. A load would be taken off her shoulders, and she could continue to dance to her heart’s content. … But Maiko still had abandonment issues. And those would never truly go away…

Marin Mizuta

The Ultimate Weather Forecaster. The girl that people tuned into nationwide for both morning and evening news. The girl whose weather predictions are always accurate. Always. Even Kizakura was shocked to see from the start of her career, Marin had never failed to predict how a day would turn out; like everyone else, he’d always just taken Marin to be a “more accurate than most forecasters” kind of girl. If this wasn’t a talent worthy of Hope’s Peak Academy, what was? Marin Mizuta was a nationwide celebrity that enjoyed fame without any of the drawbacks or pitfalls that regular showbusiness personalities went through. After all, she didn’t have to cheat to get ahead, or really “compete” at all. When it comes to forecasting, you’re either correct, partially wrong, or totally wrong. Marin always makes her own predictions, using her own personal data, and people just eat her up for the weather girl being her adorable, sleepy, loveable self that she is~ But how did Marin start out? What’s her “origin story”? Well, ironically enough, she shares some parallels with Chihiro Fujisaki. Her father was a weatherman, and when Marin was really young she idolized her Papa. Every time he came on the air, it was a magical time for Marin. He was like most weathermen in that he wasn’t always right, but that was okay! Nobody was perfect, and Marin and her little sister were so proud to have him as a father. … Yeah, Marin has a little sister. That’s where she gets her verbal tic from. It wasn’t long before Marin was calling herself EVERYONE’S Big Sis – even if they were older than her. Marin was just responsible like that. Still, as her childhood progressed, Marin became enthralled with learning about her father’s job. She wanted to be just like him, but more than that she wanted to help her dad get more accurate results so that everyone could see him the same way that she saw him. By the age of eight, she was learning about equipment that gathered weather data, and she started to read the patterns in said data to make predictions. Marin pointed out to her dad that the problem with the data lied in the equipment itself; a machine is only as smart as the people who made them. Her dad just tussled her hair and admitted that yes, the machines they had probably weren’t the best in the world, but it’s what the weather station could afford. And the results they got managed to match up with other weather stations across the country. What they had was good enough.

Marin wasn’t satisfied with that answer. Her dad was the best weatherman, and he should have the best equipment to sort and properly analyze the data. So by age ten, she’d researched enough about equipment from around the world to figure out what worked, and what didn’t. Of course she couldn’t just go out and buy the “good stuff” that was already in existence… If her dad’s weather station couldn’t afford it, then a ten year old certainly couldn’t. Instead, Marin innovated. She build homemade antennas and computer programs that would refine and organize the data so her father could interpret them more easily. He would get the BEST data, and there’d be room for weather fluctuations. And… when her dad found out what she’d been working on after school… He was astonished. Marin had spent ludicrous amounts of time and her allowance money to build this equipment, and amazingly enough it WORKED. Marin had needed to learn some pretty high level math and science to understand any of this; yet she’d managed to do so. By age twelve Marin was allowed to appear on the air and announce the results that she worked her butt off for. Unfortunately, she did develop a habit of falling asleep at the drop of a hat; but honestly, just building the equipment was half the battle – she kept refining it, and all that effort made her rather exhausted. … Still, it gave her an adorable quirk, don’t you think? Audiences sure seemed to think so. A kid that woke up early to give the morning news, and stayed up late to give the evening news, is it any wonder she was so tired? Of course many thought that her father and the news station was being modest and letting a kid take the credit for the accurate predictions… But no, the station was quite open about Marin being a child genius. And so for the past four years, Marin has been gaining popularity, her forecasts going nationwide pretty quickly. She was happy enough to accept coming to Hope’s Peak; if only so that she could develop her talent further and help her father. Because for her, that was still her dream. To show the world how great he is. Not that the world could love a man as much as his daughter does… But still, it’s the thought that counts, yeah?

Mikoto Ikutsuki

The Ultimate Spy. It shouldn’t be hard to imagine that there would be a family with secrets out there as big as the Kirigiri lineage of detectives. But, here we are. There is another family of skilled people that go as far back as the Kirigiri line, and Koichi Kizakura had no idea they existed. Not even Jin or Kyoko knew. Interesting story about the Itsuki family. Turns out they have a long, bitter history with the Kirigiri line. Mikoto is tight-lipped on where the feud began, but she admits that for generations the Itsuki family has clashed with the Kirigiri’s on how investigations should be conducted and carried out. Their rivalry is… cold. Clinical. Professional. Each family seeking to close a case the fastest and with absolute finality, no loose ends to tie up. Of course… spies and detectives are very different professions to begin with. But generations ago, it seemed like they could have worked out an alliance between the two families. … It never did work out. There was harsh disagreements on policy and lengths the families would go to complete investigations, lines that one family would never cross but the other absolutely would. In short… Mikoto came to Hope’s Peak of her own accord. She baited Kizakura into discovering her, essentially taking a page out of Kyoko’s book and swallowing her pride as a spy to become “known”. But it was for the sake of an investigation, and Mikoto did not intend to stay longer than necessary. The only reason she revealed so much of her family’s history to Kyoko and Jin was to see if they knew about the Kirigiri-Itsuki feud – their ignorance only cemented the suspicions that Mikoto had. Jin’s father was as set in his ways as he always was, never revealing information unless he had to. Mikoto was honestly sickened to be in proximity to such woeful ignorance. … But she will stop at nothing to complete her investigation. Mikoto has no intention of seeking help from a generation of the Kirigiri line that chooses to “forget” the past; she doesn’t care how talented the students of this academy are, they’re all a joke to Mikoto. The sooner she can complete her investigation, the better. … Now, if certain “unlucky” individuals would stop “checking up on her”… making her think about unnecessary feelings.

Misuzu Aisaka

The Ultimate Shrine Maiden. Misuzu comes from a long line of shrine maidens that are well-known in her home village in northern Japan. Seeing Angie Yonaga and Kinji Uehara adapt to life at Hope’s Peak well enough, Kizakura thought to keep the diversity going and looked into Shinto shrines to see if any maidens spoke out to him as “gifted”. Misuzu was certainly the most maiden dedicated that he came across. Her family raised her well – she was heavily traditional, disciplined, and devout. Misuzu was also hard-working, to the point that he’d heard about her all the way in Tokyo despite how small and out of the way her village was. Misuzu was doing everything that she could to keep the Shinto religion alive even in the modern day, and Kizakura had to respect that. Which is why he offered her the chance to attend Hope’s Peak. It might be unorthodox, removing herself from her shrine – but Kizakura argued that this was Misuzu’s chance for some exposure, to have others “remember” the “old ways” with her becoming even more famous and for her to learn about other shrines. Misuzu didn’t care so much about the opportunity for fame for her own sake. But if it would help her village and family to thrive, if she could open up others’ hearts to Shinto… She accepted Kizakura’s invitation. She wasn’t necessarily concerned about her own advancement and “talent”, but she was peripherally aware of dedicated students at Hope’s Peak, so she knew that it wouldn’t be a complete waste of time if she learned alongside them. … Of course, Hope’s Peak was in the heart of Tokyo, and there was a variety of people who lived in the modern day and didn’t care one bit about the spiritual. She knew it would be a challenge to attend this school. But Misuzu was up for the challenge.

Narumi Osone

The Ultimate Gourmet. One could say that she was made to fill the void left behind by Teruteru Hanamura and Ruruka Ando, but… She doesn’t cook. Narumi reviews food and tastes it. She’s a very discerning, picky, and judgmental girl at that. From food to fashion to people… Narumi will speak her mind, whether you like it or not. As you might imagine, Narumi is the daughter of a multi-millionaire. She hasn’t had to worry about a lack of creature comforts; and whatever Narumi wanted, her parents would get for her, no qualms or conditions. This has led to Narumi being an absolute disaster when she goes out to shop or eat… But especially eating. If your restaurant isn’t up to her refined palette, she has absolutely no problem in calling Daddy and shutting your business down. That’s not to say Narumi doesn’t give you a chance; as long as you hit a 7 out of 10 with her, Narumi will leave you alone. And it’s not like she goes around with malicious intent… Narumi’s just starving for good food. And she wants to try loads of different things. You just need to impress her enough, even if your establishment isn’t rated 5-stars. … Of course, Narumi does have a petty side to her, as well. If any of her friends want to get into cooking, Narumi makes sure to list out all their faults and weaknesses before calling in personal tutors to train said friends. And even if those friends change their minds midway through training… Narumi doesn’t let them back out. They wanted to learn cooking. They’re going to be first-rate, damnit. Narumi wants good food. And she says that’s harder to find than you might think. Narumi doesn’t take well to people criticizing her, of course. Or be stuck in a place or with people she doesn’t like. Her abrasive and whimsical personality is off-putting for many people, and naturally that makes her circle of friends… small. Narumi doesn’t care so much, because she wants only the very best. And even if people have a lot of choice words for Narumi, her judgments of food are second to none – she IS fair, and she can get the maximum discernment of flavors, textures, and smells out of any meal to render that fair, impartial verdict. … She just might not come across that way. When Narumi got scouted for Hope’s Peak as the Ultimate Gourmet, her parents were over the moon. They knew she was special and should be recognized as such. … Byakuya and Shinobu Togami, however… could be less than thrilled with Narumi’s arrival. Daughter that comes from wealth she may be, but compared to them, Narumi is practically lazy. And bratty. … So bratty.

Nico Himuro

The Ultimate Poet. She’s written 14,794.837 poems. … Yes, she counts the poems that are works-in-progress, hence the decimal. Naturally, she fills the void left behind by Tsubasa Kamii, the last Ultimate Poet. Although… to be quite fair, Nico is a very different poet from her predecessor. In personality and nature, she’s similar to Touko Fukawa in being a pessimist who doesn’t think highly of herself at all. She frequently calls herself trash, and imagines that’s just what people think of her. But… Nico has good reason to think that others think little of her. The girl’s home life is far from wholesome; she’s the middle sibling of seven children, and their mother just keeps moving onto the next man when she grows tired of the next one. Consequentially, her siblings adopted a “look out for #1” mentality – frequently egging each other on and picking on Nico in particular because she doesn’t fight back against their bullying. Even at school, it’s not strange for the mean kids to home in on her, and for the teachers to “forget” if they ever received her schoolwork (as a favor to their more favorite students, who don’t like Nico that much for being the “quiet, weird kid”). There’s SOME nice teachers and friends that try to help Nico see the brighter side of life, but there’s enough of the rotten people to make Nico feel miserable and worthless. That’s why she took to poetry in private. She wanted to express herself in some way, but naturally she had no intention of sharing those poems with the rest of the world; this was just a release for herself. Her notebook was her “Fortress of Solitude”, as depressing as that sounds. And then one of her bullies stole that Fortress… He read her poems without her permission, and found them surprisingly well-written; he couldn’t help but share them with others, who also were shocked that THAT Nico Himuro was a gifted poet… It’s not surprising that after that, Nico’s life changed quite a lot. Her schoolmates and teachers were so much nicer. Her siblings stopped picking on her out of fear of what the neighborhood kids would do them for abusing their local celebrity. Her mother entered her into poetry competitions to win cash prizes and get higher accolades and fame… Nico was still miserable, though. She’d suffered abuse for years, and now that everyone was singing a different tune, Nico was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. They only cared about her because she was a “good poet”, but what happened once they lost interest or her “skills” dulled? Wasn’t the fact that they only liked her for being good at something pretty shallow? Nico just couldn’t help doubting everyone, even with her celebrity status… She remained passionate about poetry because that was the only way she could express herself. To be “truly happy”… at least until her abilities disappeared, and she was left with nothing. Nico really did think life was fleeting like that… And then Hope’s Peak scouted her. Nico still didn’t have high hopes for her life; Hope’s Peak was just an even bigger stage, and once she screwed up here, her life would be over. That’s what Nico keeps thinking… But she’s got some persistent friends that want to prove her otherwise…

[astoriadia]

Book #13/100: Angels Before Man, by rafael nicolás

Author: rafael nicolás Published: 2022 Genres: Fantasy, Queer, Romance Rating: 666/5 stars Ok.

This review is going to be a hot mess. I have so many feelings and thoughts, and thanks to this book I've decided to start doing reviews just to get the thoughts out about them because WOW.

When it comes to buying books, I often wait until I've finished reading a book checked out from a library before I buy it, likely off of Thriftbooks to save money; this is mainly because I want to be sure I'll enjoy the book I'm buying, and that I'll reread it. When it came to Angels Before Man, by rafael nicolás, I knew I wouldn't have read it before buying, because I was going to love this book. The premise is so simple: as eluded to in the title, Angels Before Man is a chronology of a time in Heaven before man. Of course, that scope is massive, and so it's narrowed down to (I believe) the span of a few million (or was it billion?) years. The story followers Lucifer, in a queer retelling of Satan's fall.

When I saw this off of TikTok looking for book recs, I was stunned. Gagged, one might say. The moment I could, I bought a copy. When it came, I was in my room, reading away. And before I even get too far in this review, let me just say it's incredibly ironic in my eyes that this was book number 13. While 13 is seen as an unlucky number, without a doubt, this is the single LUCKIEST book I will have a chance to read this year, no doubt, because of how incredible it is. Everything about ABM is polished and gorgeous. The first half stays relatively in frame with standard third-person but is just so wonderful to read I love it, and the second half has some of the most gorgeous prose I've ever read; I'm talking like To The Lighthouse levels of stunning with how it seemed to switch perspectives and every character's thoughts began bleeding into one another like some psychedelic fever dream. Of course, while this prose is fantastic, I had to pause at multiple points to take it in because of how dense (in a good way!) and layered it is. Speaking of the characters, they're fantastic. I loved all of them! Or rather all except one, which, IYKYK. If there's one thing I appreciated about the second half of the book (and I did not appreciate crying at 3 AM), I loved hearing from characters like Lucifer, Rosier, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, Asmodeus, Baal, Michael and Phanuel. So many distinct characters, and yet throughout, one of the things that unites each of the characters is the tragedy they undergo.

Lucifer, for instance, who the narration follows for the majority of the novel, is handled in such a delicate way that I was almost reminded of The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, with how carefully nicholás brings you into his breakdown, to the point where it feels (and in some ways, is) justifiable. Although Lucifer is a great character, Rosier was my personal favorite throughout the novel (though in the past few days I have been switching my favorite on a nearly hourly basis). Throughout the novel, Rosier acts as a guiding force for Lucifer as he gets introduced to heaven, yet by the end of the novel, he faces immense tragedy, and while I won't go into specific spoilers, I'll just say it had me bawling my eyes out. Perhaps one of the biggest themes besides tragedy throughout the book is love. This is alluded to on the back cover, where it states that Lucifer learns to love himself through a growing friendship with another angel, Michael. Of course, I don't trust any description for this book anymore, since the Goodreads one called it "part cozy coming-of-age story" (I WAS LIED TO /J). Throughout the novel, love is depicted in a plethora of ways; I found examples of it in almost every scene, and though some of these situations showed positive love, there was also a number of scenes where love was shown in negative ways. The relationship between Lucifer and Michael, for example, borders on mutual glorification by the end of the novel; God's relationship with Lucifer as well is also a twisted form of love, one that acts as a strong force pushing Lucifer towards his breakdown.

Before I wrap up this already-long rant about what might be my new favorite book, I have talk about the ending. Heart? Gone. Where it went, I don't know. I break in my books' spines when I first get them, and while that normally doesn't spoil my reading (since I've already read them), with ABM, I hadn't read it. I saw, accidentally, the four words that end the novel. At that time, I didn't think too much of it, but by the time I had finished the novel, at 3 AM because I had started the second half a few hours ago and HAD to finish it because it felt like I was watching the slow implosion of a planet, I was actually dying. I'm serious. When I saw those four words something happened and all of the sudden I was just. Dead. Deceased. Crying my eyes out. I woke my cat up and he gave me a look but I kept crying.

Lastly just because I can't listen to a bunch of songs since I wrapped up the book without tearing up, I am sharing them here because if I can't listen to them without crying anymore then you shouldn't be able to either.

A&W, by Lana del Rey

The Archer, by Taylor Swift

I Know The End, by Phoebe Bridgers

Kyoto, by Phoebe Bridgers

What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish

hoax, by Taylor Swift

Motion Sickness, by Phoebe Bridgers

Dear Reader, by Taylor Swift

You Missed My Heart, by Phoebe Bridgers

Love Is A Game, by Adele

Moon Song, by Phoebe Bridgers

Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, by Lana del Rey

False God, by Taylor Swift

P.S: ABM is apparently a part of a trilogy, and the second book, Angels & Man is set to release sometime this year??? i fear you will not hear from me ever again if this book comes out and is as devasting as the first. rafael nicolás please write something nice im begging you JUST LIKE SOMETHING SET BEFORE ACT 2 OF ABM WHERE EVERYONE'S HAPPY

TLDR: My heart hurts from what I read and my head hurts from trying to process what I was reading and I think I can't listen to Phoebe Bridgers anymore without sobbing violently.

[rockybloo]

Frequently Asked Questions!

Please give this a read, or at least a skim through, before sending in an inbox question!

Q. Why didn't you respond to the question/message I sent into you inbox?

Reasons vary but often it's a question I've already answered, the answer is a spoiler, or I don't have all the lore ready yet so to avoid flooding my blog with a bunch of "I dunno" responses I just don't respond. Other times it's personal reasons like I have no response to a comment, I don't think a joke made was funny, I feel uncomfortable, or I don't vibe with the message. Don't take it personally if I don't respond to you, I'm just a random person on the internet and I can be pretty picky occasionally.

Q. What programs do you use?

I use a lowkey glitchy Huion Kamvas 13 and Clip Studio Paint Ex (it lets me sort through comic pages way easier)

Q. Do you take commissions? Requests? Art Trades?

I don’t do commissions anymore, I do not take any requests (including people asking me to make a specific OC, draw more of a specific OC, or draw more of a specific story), and art trades are friends and mutuals only. 

Q. Do you have any boundaries?

I have a boundary list that you can read over here. Please respect them.

Q. Are you ok with fanart and if so, what kind?

I LOVE FANART! Fan art, fan songs, even inbox messages of people saying a specific thing reminds them of an OC of my makes me happy.

I’m also okay with people having their own OCs interact with my own (so long as it stays platonic tho Husky is an exception to this rule) . I only ask that you keep my OC couples (Red Beans, Licorice, Blackberries, etc.) together.

I used to be fine with fanfics but have since changed my mind on them due to personal reasons.

Q. Can we make fancharacters for your stories?

I am totally fine with fan characters, so long as no one pressures me into including them into my stories. 

When it comes to Glitter and Guilt, I ask that you do not make any fan characters if you aren't 18 or older due to the more mature content in the story.

Q. Do you have any Webcomics? 

I have TWO that I primarily update on Comicfury

Beanstalked , which follows a farm boy named Jack who lives on Lore, a world where a celestial centennial event assigns people with the roles of fairy tales from our world, and his life after discovering he is part of the newest generation.

A generation that is especially unlucky when a petty ink fairy decides to mess with the natural order of things.

During the struggle, characters run into the conflict of deciding if their happy endings are worth the sacrifice compared to the happy lives they’ve made for themselves while off the story paths assigned to them. In Jack’s case, he winds up falling in love with a lupine girl in red known as Nana who has been assigned Little Red Riding hood, actively going against the predetermined ending of his own story.

⚠️For the second, Glitter and Guilt, I preface that this story will touch on more mature themes such as violence, gore, and sex so keep that in mind before you continue reading.⚠️

Glitter and Guilt , which follows Sweetheart, a 20-something magical girl in college, who’s dealing with working solo as a hero while coping with the guilt of her team breaking apart during high school after the death of their team member, Angel.

Life has been super stressful as the landscape around being a hero has shifted until one day, her old arch nemesis and secret childhood friend and crush, Bitterbat, returns after years of being separated from her due to a barrier placed between their dimensions.

After a heartfelt reunion that escalates to a one night stand, the two wind up picking up their relationship and dating in secret.

Q. How many OCs do you really have in total?

TBH way more than toyhouse has listed but not all of them are super active. The ones that are the most active are the Beanstalked, Bondwidth, and Glitter and Guilt crew.

Q. How many stories do you have?

I have 3 that I really spend the most time on (which are the top 3 listed) with the others being stories I occasionally work on. I do just have little OC concepts floating around that have their own tags but are more for fun and less for story. 

Beanstalked

Glitter and Guilt

Bondwidth

Bride of Bats

Sharks and Kisses

Star-Crossed Lovers

Anvil Wings

Corroded Treasure

Q. Do you have any LGBTQ+ OCs

All my OCs are Bi or Pan as I am a Bi disaster that desires for my own food. 

I like writing them flexibly and from my own experiences so I myself can focus more on their adventures and dynamics

AND I struggle taking the unique experiences of every OC that live in a fictional and fantastical version of our universe and applying labels to them as someone who truly struggles with their own in OUR universe.

I just know for certain I am Bi and Nonbinary so I have a lotta both in my line-up as  prefer writing from experience. An experience where I tend to have to squint just to acknowledge gender because an enby be forgetting sometimes. 

If you want a more specific answer, ask me for a specific OC and I can give a run-down about them, their experiences, and their preferences.

Q. Do you have any Neurodivergent OCs?

Similar answer to the above question. Ask me for a specific OC and I will give a run-down. Chances are, many are open to interpretation as I just be writing them and giving them the same quirky behaviors as me…and lord knows whatever I am. 

Q. What stories take place where?

All my stories, main and minor ones, take place in a single universe I have dubbed “The Rockyverse”, meaning there are points characters make crossover and lore may over lap. They do take place on different worlds though. 

Stories taking place on Earth

All are located in fictional locations

Glitter and Guilt - Decking City

Star-Crossed Lovers - Safe Haven

Anvil Wings - Unnamed Town

Sharks and Kisses - Unnamed beachside town

Stories taking place on different planets

Beanstalked - Takes place on a planet called Lore parallel to ours

Bondwidth - Takes place on a manmade planet

Bride of Bats - Takes place on a Halloween-Based planet

Corroded Treasure - Takes place on a toybox-based planet

Q. Do you have any voice claims for your OCs?

I have a list of all voice claims right here.