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i-can-read-to-him · 4 months ago

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The Wesper Fic Club's Author Spotlight is a post series that aims to feature two to three fic authors a month, randomly selected from a pool of names put forth on our server. The authors are then asked to answer three interview questions, select up to five of their fics for us to feature, and finally, recommend three fics by others in the fandom.

(Note: Our spotlighted fics are not limited to Wesper, though they tend to be a central pairing in most of our authors' featured works.)

This week, we are putting a spotlight on Ashlynn's writing!

Socials: @oneofthewednesdays (Tumblr) | oneofthewednesdays (AO3)

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Part One: Author Interview

Q: What’s something you haven’t written yet, but want to write in the future?

A: So, one of my favorite series when I was in high school was The Mediator series by Meg Cabot. I was absolutely obsessed with the budding romance between Jesse and Suze. In fact, I used to write for the fandom back in my fanfiction.net days. Those early fics have been purged from the Internet as far as I can tell. Anyway, I want to write a Mediator AU for the Six of Crows fandom. Instead of zowa powers, Jesper can see dead people. These dead people may or may not include the ghost of his mother. In his first year at university, he ends up moving into a room in a building that used to be an inn back in the 1800s. Wylan is haunting his bedroom. (He was murdered en route to a music conservatory back in the day). Jesper decides to solve the mystery of Wylan’s murder, at first because he is annoyed by his ghostly roommate. He wants to force Wylan to move on so he can have his room to himself. But later Jesper begins to care about Wylan, even falling in love with him. If you have read The Mediator series, you already know how it is going to end…. Also, Paul Slater will be played by Kuwei Yul-Bo. If you know, you know.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the Grishaverse, where would you go?

A: I would travel to Ketterdam to study at the university. I absolutely fell in love with the description in the book, with its crooked little alleyways filled with bookbinders and apothecaries. It reminds me so much of Oxford University in real life. I had the opportunity to conduct archival research at Oxford as a visiting scholar when I was in graduate school. During my two summers in England, I spent hours nestled in the Bodleian Library, surrounded by stacks of books. The design of the Boeksplein is basically the same, but with more interesting gargoyles. I am also about to begin my career as a university professor, so the University of Ketterdam just seems like a good fit… as long as gunfights don’t break out in the reading room.

Q: Apart from sight, what is your favourite of the senses to describe when writing?

A: I absolutely love writing with sound, especially words with subtle onomatopoeia. I love the rustle of leaves on a crisp autumn morning, and the murmur of the wind through the branches of a willow tree. I draw quite a bit of inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe here. When I was young, I fell in love with his description of a heartbeat in “The Tell-Tale Heart.” His poem “The Bells” is absolutely mesmerizing to me, and I borrow sounds from it all the time. Indeed, Poe talks quite a bit about the importance of sound in creating mood in one of his essays—“The Philosophy of Composition”—and it is something I think about quite a bit when I write. I love to use the ticking of clocks and the dripping of water to stretch silences. Finally, I absolutely love movies like the Quiet Place franchise because they are a study in soundscapes. In another life, I think it would have been really cool to become a foley artist in the film industry.

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Part Two: Selected Works

Sleep No More

Teen | 51.1K | Wesper Modern AU, NYC, Homelessness, Angst with a Happy Ending

Sleep No More is my love letter to New York City. In the opening scene, Wylan wakes up on the 7-train as it leaves the tunnel at Hunters Point Avenue. The glare flickers beneath his eyelids, making it impossible to sleep. I took the same commute on the 7-train for several years when I was working out at a school in Queens. I would spend over an hour on the train, listening to Crooked Kingdom and other audiobooks on my commute. On one of those commutes, I started to consider the challenges Wylan would face as an unhoused teenager in the city. The story evolved from there to include alternating point-of-view chapters between Wylan and Jesper, and of course, some guest appearances from other crows, as they work together to outwit Jan Van Eck.

Musée des Beaux Arts

Teen | 24.6K | Gen with background Wesper, Kanej Friendship, Pre-Canon, Post-Canon, Ableism, Happy Ending

I wrote Musée des Beaux Arts during the Six of Crows Big Bang event back in 2022. I wanted to explore how Wylan and Kaz complement each other as character foils throughout the series. Therefore, the story includes alternating point-of-view chapters, starting with the Queen’s Lady Plague. The title comes from a poem of the same name by W.H. Auden, and I tried to incorporate themes from that poem throughout the story. The poem, in particular, discusses a Pieter Bruegel painting called Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. Therefore, artwork plays a central role throughout the narrative. Each chapter shares a title with a famous painting from the Dutch Golden Age. My favorite chapter is probably the third because I had so much fun writing Jesper.

Sankta Margaretha and Other Tales Of Sorrow

Teen | 18.4K | Kanej Hurt/Comfort, Family, Angst, Implied/Referenced Non-con

This was the first story that I ever wrote for the Six of Crows fandom, and it is easily my most popular fic. It follows Mama and Papa Ghafa on their journey to Ketterdam to reunite with their daughter. I had so much fun developing the unique narrative voices for both Mama Ghafa and Papa Ghafa. The Lives of the Saints features heavily in this fic as well. I fell in love with the story of Sankta Margaretha when I first read it, and I wanted to infuse as much of that mythos into the story as possible. It is, at its core, a story about faith and forgiveness. Plus, I got to write one of my favorite interactions between Papa Ghafa and Kaz Brekker.

Escapology

Teen | 2.2K | Gen Modern AU, Escape Rooms, Friendship, Humor

Escapology is such a self-indulgent little fic. I am an escape room enthusiast in real life. I have traveled to multiple cities with my friends to complete escape rooms. We have, to date, done thirty-nine rooms together as a team. I wanted to explore the chaotic energy of a Modern AU where the Crows work together to escape an Ice Court-themed escape room. Kuwei is their poor, exhausted gamemaster. If we ever get our Six of Crows spin-off, I need Netflix to create an exclusive Ice Court escape room in real life. Can you imagine how fun it would be?

Pas De Deaux

Teen | 9.7K | Wesper Holidays, Healing, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Post-Canon

I am so fond of this little fic, and not very many people have read it compared to some of the others, but I am not surprised because it was a winter fic that was published well after the winter holidays. It is heavily inspired by the Soldier Prince story in The Language of Thorns, which was in turn heavily inspired by The Nutcracker Suite. Wylan is struggling with less-than-happy memories during Nachtspel, and Jesper helps him make new memories. I started this story writing the kiss at the end, and then had to write nine thousand words to actually get to the kiss.

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Part Three: Author's Recs

Bright Morning Stars by endoftheworld

Mature | 163.5K | Wesper Hunger Games Crossover, Canon Typical Violence, Rebellion

This is the second story in Now We Are All Chosen Ones. While I would encourage you to read the opening story in the series first, it can absolutely stand on its own as a self-contained story. Jesper has always known that he would be reaped for the Hunger Games. It was only a matter of time. Meanwhile, Wylan is the son of the president, and he begins to realize that he is being watched. Bright Morning Stars keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, and I absolutely love how the author wove together Six of Crows and the Hunger Games.

hybrid signal by pyrrhlc

Mature | 110K | Kanej with background Wesper, Helnik Fairy Tale Curses, Haunted House, Monster Kaz, Hurt/Comfort

Written through the lens of a Beauty and the Beast AU, this is an absolutely gorgeous exploration of not only the love between Kaz and Inej, but also the meaning of forgiveness in all its forms. The worldbuilding is stunning, and I loved how the enchantment transformed each of the crows. There are tragic notes to it, of course, there is an eventual happy ending.

crystal cut by twosoulsinonehome

Mature | 107K | Wesper Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Figure Skating, Hurt/Comfort

I have reread this fic at least three times since the final chapter was posted in February. It is a figure skating AU. I know nothing about figure skating. However, I was absolutely entranced by the annoyances-to-lovers dynamic throughout the fic. Wylan is a figure skater. Jesper is his coach. Will they kill each other before the end of the season? Or will they kiss each other senseless instead? (Who am I kidding? You already know the answer to that question.)

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Please support our authors by commenting and leaving kudos on any stories of theirs you read and enjoy! Don't forget to also reblog this post and check back soon for our next author spotlight to come.

Interested in joining our server and getting to know our community? Feel free to request an invite via the @i-can-read-to-him ask box.

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delopsia · 1 year ago

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what remains of wabang | Rhett Abbott x Reader

Word Count: 6,900 Cross Posted on AO3 Warnings & Notes: 18+, AFAB Reader, the plot is inspired by a bizarre nightmare I had. A fumbled proposal. This could count as a dystopian AU, depending on how you interpret it (it wasn't intended). Unprotected sex (with lots of feelings!), reader comes untouched, cunnilingus. One (1) mention of the reader owning/wearing a babydoll. Royal has passed a 'gift' on to his sons. Brief Summary: Two months after Rhett mysteriously went missing, he appears from nowhere to ask you to run away with him. You don't expect to see what havoc BY9 has wreaked upon Wabang. Nor do you expect to learn new things about your cowboy.

This old trashcan couldn't be any louder.

Plastic wheels grind against the pavement, the echoes of it bouncing off the walls of identical homes. Alerting everyone on this street of the fact that you're once again taking the trash out at eleven o'clock at night. It's strange, being this close to other houses; you've grown so accustomed to your rental home in the outskirts of Wabang that you now struggle to adjust to the customs of neighborhood life. All of you packed into the same microscopic homes, like a bunch of sardines.

Temporary homes, they'd said, in the emergency evacuation notice. Meant to last no longer than a week, just long enough for them to clean up the nondescript biohazard spilled into Wabang.

But the trash runs bi-weekly, and this is the third time you've brought the can out to the curb.

Yet, when you let go of the container, ready to walk back into the shoddily constructed building you're supposed to call home, there's a rumbling that doesn't quite stop. A distant sound that seems to grow louder the longer you stand here. Sounds like a truck, but the street suffers a significant lack of headlights. You squint. Fighting to see what lurks down the dark street, unlit and empty.

It's a truck.

Too small to be anything modern, its headlights shut off as it slowly creeps down the street. Intent on not being seen, like the driver is afraid of drawing even the slightest bit of attention to themselves. And so far, they seem to be doing a great job of it. If anyone had noticed, BY9 trucks would be swarming the area by now.

Your shoes scrape against the concrete driveway as you stumble away from the road, ready to get inside before the truck crawls past your home but unable to look away from it for even a second.

It stops just short of your mailbox. Engine dying as the door opens.

A figure steps out. Dark. Still.

You bolt at the same time it does.

Racing for your half-open front door. Feet pounding against the ground as you all but tear past the crudely placed bushes by your sidewalk. Throat tight. Mouth open but can't make a single noise. Who is this? Who is this? Who is this?

"Wait!"

You know that voice.

That figure doesn't slow down as he all but hurtles toward you. Shoes skid against the dirt as frenzied feet try to stop. His body slamming into yours. A runaway train that's gone off the rails. The arms that wrap around you are the only reason you don't fall.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," words frantically uttered into the crook of your neck. Words spoken by a voice you thought you'd never hear again.

"Rhett?" Asking it feels like a dream. A sick fantasy played upon you by your own imagination. But your arms are wrapping around a firm torso, just as warm and alive as you remember. The labored breath tickling your skin feels too real to be a trick.

Your tongue is heavy in your mouth as you try to speak again, struggling to so much as lift it. "Rhett, where have you been?" And even though you're asking it, you're not sure if it's really him. "It's been two..." He smells exactly how you remember, something airy and crisp, maybe a little bit sweet, like the autumn breeze. "You've been missing."

"I know, I'm so sorry," Rhett's pulling away, and you're already clinging to him. Unwilling to let more than an inch of space between your bodies. Nose to nose. So close that maybe you'll be able to keep him from disappearing again. God, those eyes. You've missed those eyes. "Please just, please, I don't—please, I don't have time to explain."

He's so worked up and all over the place that you can't follow. Palms trembling against your cheeks. Eyes so wide that you almost see nothing but the whites of them. Where has he been? Why is he so nervous?

You've never��seen him like this.

"I have an apartment, and I have a job at a ranch, and I want, I want," voice wavering as he pauses to push your foreheads together, "I want you to come with me."

"Rhett, what are you—"

"I never meant to leave you behind," he's still talking. Speaking so quickly, you can't keep up. Body shuddering against yours. "I promise I was comin' to get you the night I left, but then those people started followin' me and, and, and, I'll explain it all if you come with me."

You don't...

You don't understand. People chasing him? A job? An apartment? Why didn't he come back sooner? What people is he talking about? You don't even know if you're hearing him correctly. If this is even real. There's no way this is real.

Headlights pierce through the dark. Attached to the front of a white Chevy Tahoe, bearing a familiar triangular logo on its side. BY9. Belongs to the mining group that put you all here in the first place.

Rhett's tugging on your arms. Downright drags you down behind the bushes. Crouching. Barely concealed from the view of the officer driving the vehicle as it rolls past. Eerily slow. Looking for something.

Or someone.

"Please. I can't...I can't leave you here," Rhett whispers, and you don't know if that's his heart pounding like a drum or if it's yours. A loud thump, thump, thump in your ears. So loud you're surprised the patrol officer doesn't hear it. "You're not safe here."

You don't know where he's been for the past two months. Don't know what triggered him to leave in the first place. Or why he's come back now, in the dead of the night, without warning or notice. Does this have something to do with the interview BY9 had with you right as you were moved into this temporary residence? All those questions about Rhett...were they ever meant to help you find your missing cowboy?

So many thoughts fluttering about your head. But as you watch that cruiser stalk past your driveway, and you feel Rhett tremble against you, something clicks. Your confused mind made up in an instant.

"Alright," and as soon as that vehicle is out of sight, you're rushing toward your front door.

The hinges squeal as you rush past. Snatching your blanket from the couch, on your way to the tiny excuse of a bedroom you've been given. Rhett's boots thump behind you. Spurs chiming with every step.

"You're already packed?" He's hardly stumbled into your bedroom before you're shoving one of your two suitcases toward him. The wheels rumbling across the cheap linoleum, catching on the planks that are already beginning to curl up from the ground.

"Correction, I never unpacked," you're scrambling, shoving your few belongings back into your open bag; a toothbrush, blanket, a stuffed cow Rhett bought you for your first anniversary, "We were only supposed to be here for a week."

Never did you expect him to sling that heavy suitcase over his shoulder. Bicep bulging under the weight. Knuckles white as his fingers cling to the handle. "You let 'em move y'here?" Hearing that low drawl doesn't feel real.

Reaching out and squeezing his wrist doesn't feel real, either.

"We had no choice," you mutter under your breath, almost mindless as you let him take you by the hand, guiding you back to the front door. Through an unfamiliar hallway and past a bathroom you know you've spent time inside but have little recollection of. "They issued an evacuation order and sent us all here."

Evacuation for what you're not quite sure. The paper had claimed it was a biohazard, but if it was so serious, then how did they have the time to build these miniature homes? An answer doesn't come, too distracted by Rhett leading you through the yard, shoving your suitcases into the bed of his truck.

At the end of the street, a pair of blinding headlights flicker on. Siren wailing to life.

"Shit." And Rhett doesn't need to say anything further.

You don't understand why you're scrambling for the passenger door. Hands missing the handle on the first try. Barely clawing it open on the second. All but falling into the truck, door slamming behind you. The engine roars to life. A deep rumbling that you can hardly hear over the squealing siren. Red and blue flashing from the roof of a BY9 SUV.

Rhett's hat flies off the dash as the truck lurches forward. His hands flying across the steering wheel. Rolling up into the neighbor's yard as he turns. Front bumper slamming into the corner of a mailbox.

A second pair of lights appear on your right. A sleeping car awakening. Another on the left. Then another. And another. The street alight with white, red, and blue. Sirens screaming. A sea of color that chase you down. Hot on Rhett's squealing tires as he veers to the right. Barely clinging to the pavement.

"Rhett, what's going on?" You squeak. Bouncing in the passenger seat. Scrambling for purchase on something. Anything. Your suitcases audibly slam into the side of his truck bed as he swings to the left. Narrowly avoids hitting the front end of a Wabang police cruiser. "Rhett?"

"I don't know," his voice shivers through clenched teeth. Frantic eyes bouncing between the road and the mirrors. Back and forth. Up and down. Never still for more than a second at a time. "All I know is that they ain't gettin' you and me."

Your seat belt tightens as he hits the brakes. Tires smoking as the old GMC careens to the left. Barreling down a one-way street. In the wrong direction. Blowing past the barrier arm that tries to block your path. Wood splintering. Too flimsy to stop Rhett from tearing out of this copy-paste neighborhood. Fleeing back to the safety of familiar Wabang streets.

Streets that you don't recognize.

You know there should be a little white farmhouse off to your right. Nestled next to a towering Oak tree that serves as home to a small wooden swing, and the lawn littered with children's toys. But now, all you find is a parking lot. Opening up to a sea of drill rigs. Swinging up and down.

God, they're everywhere.

"They found somethin' on our land," Rhett's saying. As if he can see the questions fluttering through your head. "Whatever it is, they're rippin' the whole town apart to drill for it."

Wabang isn't your hometown. Not by a long shot. But the sight before you has your heart twisting in your chest. That old, fairytale small town no longer exists. Those old family ranches were bulldozed weeks ago. Historical buildings and small mom-and-pop shops reduced to empty land, fodder for newly built drill rigs.

All that remains of Wabang are the streets.

Light appears in the distance. A tiny speck that splits into two. Three. Four. Five. Until all you see is blinding white. An army of vehicles speeding toward you. A flurry of red and blue flickering. A clash of voices echoes over PA systems. Orderings to stop the truck. Pull over. Surrender. We mean you no harm.

Rhett jerks the wheel to the right. Jumping the ditch and tearing straight into an open field. A small farm once stood here, but not anymore. Nothing but flat land that this old truck tears through like it's nothing. Bouncing you in your seat. Luggage slamming into the sides of his truck bed, leaving a myriad of dents in their wake.

"I hope you planned for this," yelping as you cling to the seat. Fighting to stay put.

Rhett's right-hand rises up from the wheel. Making a fist. You can almost swear that you see something move in the distance.

The truck hits a bump. Wheel jerking out from his grip. Forcing him to scramble with both hands. Forearms flexing as he forces the truck back in the right direction. "I did."

But you're running out of drivable land. A thick collection of trees drawing closer and closer. Too closely packed for his truck to fit between. He makes a fist again. So tight his hand turns white.

The trees warp.

Twisting in a circle, like a cloth spun from the center. Wrinkling and blending into a plume of blackened dust, sparkling as it dances past the truck. A bunch of tiny stars that lead to a deep, dark abyss. Towering before you, circular, like a tear in the seams of your reality.

Rhett drives straight through it.

Like a door, the hole spits you out into another field. Empty and dark. Devoid of any other vehicle but your own. The only light coming from Rhett's busted headlights and a lone street lamp, not too far away.

As you look over your shoulder, the hole closes. That cloth untwisting, returning the land to its former, peaceful glory. In an instant, those daunting lights are gone. Whisked away by the black smoke that twirls up into the night sky.

Maybe now is a good time to take a drug test because there is no way that just happened.

But the squeal of Rhett's brakes sound real, the vehicle slowing to a complete stop. Rhett's chest heaving is heaving, sweat rolling down his forehead and past reddened cheeks, as if he's just run a marathon. And that looks pretty real, too.

"I ain't pinchin' ya," he breathes, the corner of his lip quirking upward as he says it.

And that's exactly what he would say after such an event.

It takes you a moment to find your voice. "What the hell just happened?" Comes out as nothing but a croak, your throat far too dry to produce anything more.

Rhett's head shakes back and forth. Like he doesn't have an answer himself, "the folks chasin' us or the whole...hole thing?"

"Is both an option?"

That gets a smile out of him, lazily sprawling across his scruffy face. The first one you've seen in months. Hand leaving the steering wheel, reaching out to squeeze your knee. You reach down, curling your hand overtop of his, fingers slotting together.

"I think it's 'cause of somethin' related to my family," he says, after a moment, his gaze locked on your hands, "After them BY9 folks took the land, they came knockin' at our door. Took Dad...came back for Ma 'n Perry a couple hours later, sayin' somethin' 'bout how we all had a gift."

You suppose you can infer what that gift could be. "They didn't come for you?"

The hand on your knee squeezes a little tighter, making sure you're still here, "Ma told 'em I wasn't home, 'n one of 'em said they'd come back for me later." His tongue pokes against the inside of his cheek. Pushing back and forth, thinking. "I grabbed a bag 'n went lookin' for you...figured I'd ask to hide with you for a bit."

In the back of your head, you can't help but wonder what would have happened if he'd gotten the chance to hide in your home. Would they have taken you too? Would they have even known Rhett would be hiding from you?

"But then they started trailin' me," his index finger twitches against yours as he continues, "I got frustrated 'cause they wouldn't let me on your street...next thing I know, I'm goin' through a hole."

You catch yourself glancing up at the rearview mirror. Searching for any instance of the hole you just drove through, almost expecting it to still be there. But all you find is an unfamiliar pasture and a lamp post. "Where did it take you?"

"South fuckin' Dakota."

Your eyes might pop out of your head. "We're in South Dakota?"

His sheepish grin is the biggest 'yes' you've ever received in your life.

Rhett's definition of an apartment is very different from your definition of one.

When he'd said it, you pictured a small place, one bedroom, one bath, tucked into a housing complex that served as home to more people than you could ever count. A laundromat in the basement and a slightly too big parking lot with more spaces than there are tenants.

But this isn't that at all.

No, it's a bite-sized cabin tucked away in the forest. A little worse for wear, part of the railing on the porch could use replacing, and the door doesn't want to shut at first, but it's more than you could have imagined. With a tiny kitchen and an even tinier living space attached, nothing but a thrifted couch, a plaid blanket, and a television, he found on clearance.

"You got this all together in two months?" You ask, reaching out to brush your fingers against brown plaid curtains, unsurprised to find them here. You've yet to see his bedroom, but you can already imagine his comforter must bear a similar pattern and color.

"Yeah," Rhett's scratching the back of his neck. "I know it ain't much, but..."

"It's perfect," words delivered a little too quickly, not letting him finish that sentence.

His eyelashes flutter; surprised. "Yeah?" Smiling as he speaks, big and dopey, the corners of his eyes wrinkling with it. A touch proud of what he's built here. His socked feet thump across the floor, eager to minimize the space between the two of you. Big palms settling on your hips, smoothing up your sides, drawing you in.

When you daydreamed about him coming home, you'd always imagined that you'd throw yourself into his arms. Cling to him and never, ever let go again. But it's been well over an hour and a half since he raced down your driveway, and you're terrified to lift your arms and wrap them around his waist.

Because maybe this is just that. A daydream. A trick of the mind that will end when you pull him close to you, disappearing into a misty dreaminess that throws rocks at your glass heart.

"I'm so sorry I left you," he whispers into your ear with the faintest shiver in his voice.

On its own, one of your arms begins to move. Wrapping around him, weakly squeezing that big, warm body against yours. Feeling his chest rise and fall, warm and full of life. The same old cowboy that you remember from two months ago.

He doesn't disappear.

Rather than vanishing from your arms and floating away, he pulls you a little closer, arms a little tighter. Scruffy cheek scratching against your softer one as he buries his face into your neck. His breath tickles your skin, fingertips drawing invisible shapes into your clothed back.

"Just a one-arm hug?" His voice rumbles down your spine like thunder; can never stop himself from teasing, even in times like these.

Blindly, you reach up with your other arm, no longer allowing it to dangle limply at your side. Hoping to find purchase between those perfectly strong shoulders.

Your knuckles catch on the edge of something hard.

It falls, hitting the floor with an explosive, metal clatter. Silver bursts out of the tiny wooden box. Rolling in all directions. Heading into the living area, some even stretching to the kitchen, others race to the bathroom, a few strays wander between your legs, and two let themselves right into the bedroom.

"Are these...rings?" You chirp, watching one as it spirals, circles growing tighter and tighter until it falls on its side with a soft sound. They certainly look like rings, but there's such an obscene amount of them that you're unsure.

Rhett's quiet as you step away from him, crouching to pick up one of the little things. Doesn't make a sound when you roll it between your fingers, feeling the way the uneven metal rubs against your skin. This one is far too big for any of your fingers, and so are the next two you scoop up. Another is too tiny, and the one that seems the right size suffers a big crack in the side.

"I..." he starts, twisting at the hair resting on his nape, "they're...yeah. They're rings."

But that doesn't make any sense. Why would he have so many? From what you can gather, they're all similar. Made of the same silvery material, visibly handcrafted; some with etchings of letters inside, others bear empty brackets meant to hold a stone.

Rhett hardly moves as you reach for the one next to his foot. Just as identical as the rest, plain and with rough lettering on the inside of the band.

'Marry me?'

You nearly drop it. Caught off-guard by the sudden text.

"That's not..." Rhett's crouching next to you, teeth worrying his bottom lip, staring down at the engraving like it owes him money. "I...I was tryin' to make you an engagement ring."

He reaches over, scooping up a handful of rings that have collected against the wall. Moves them in such a way that you can see his attempts at asking you to marry him within the ring itself. Along with all of his deviations from the concept and the failures that came along the way. One has your name on it, the letters overlapping with the edge. Another has 'marry' written as 'mary.'

"Couldn't get it right, so I figured I'd..." One of them falls from his hand, bouncing across the floor and rolling into the bedroom. He doesn't speak again until it falls. "You know...wait 'till I could afford a proper ring."

You hum, tracing your nail against the rugged markings. Messy yet lovingly crafted. "Did you still want an answer?"

That gets him. Head snapping up to look at you, then jerking his attention back to the floor. Unable to take in your expression, fearing what he could find hidden there. "It ain't...it doesn't have to be right now. If you don't want to..."

You twist this little ring down your finger. It's uneven, not perfectly round, but it fits near perfectly, only the slightest bit loose. Made just for you.

His eyelashes flutter. Jaw slackening.

Your answer never leaves your tongue, but it's the loudest thing you've ever said.

Gradually, the corner of his lip wavers upward, "yeah?"

"Yeah," the ring feels foreign around your finger; you can't wait for the day that it feels naked without that little bundle of metal.

It glints in the light when Rhett takes your hand in his, smiling giddily to himself as he runs his finger over the ring. And it probably isn't the one he would have picked for you; there are likely nicer ones in this scattered mess of silver, but it's the only ring you want.

He presses a kiss to the back of your hand, avoiding your eye as he does so. Like the slightest eye contact will cause him to crumble into nothing. The presses another to the inside of your wrist, then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth. Slowly crawling up your arm until he's close enough for the tip of his nose to bump into yours.

Kissing him while crouching isn't easy; the gentle press of his lips against yours is enough to have you worrying about losing your balance. But then he's rising to his feet, drawing you up with him, and it's so, so easy to stumble forward and close that gap once more. Hearing him grunt against you, warm arms coiling around you in the same fashion they always have.

Oh, how could you have forgotten that he tastes like honey? Warm with a hint of butterscotch, can never seem to keep himself out of those darned little candies. Sliding your arms around those broad shoulders, fingers winding into his hair, listening to his breath catch in his throat.

It's been two months since you've last felt him part your trembling lips with his own.

Two months too fucking long.

"Rhett," you don't mean for it to come out as a whimper, but it does, and you can hardly stop yourself from hiding your face behind your hands. A little too needy, a little too fast.

But Rhett's rumbling your name in return; doesn't seem to notice your embarrassment, only pulls you closer to him. Hands roaming, soothing up and down your sides, as he pushes you backward, doesn't stop until you're right up against the wall. No way to escape from the rough hand that curls around your cheek, bringing you in to meet his burning mouth again and again and again.

Rings chime against the floor as he steps forward, jean-clad knee sliding between your legs, fits like it belongs there. Muscled thigh pressing against you, grinding up into your heat.

You don't realize you've made another noise until he grins into your mouth. Proud. A little too eager to repeat the motion, rolling upward in loose circles. Your hand falls from his hair. Nails biting into his shoulder. Panting against his lips.

"Fuck, I missed you," he's whispering as he breaks away, pressing wet kisses down your jaw, working toward your neck, "so, so much."

Words are hard to come by. Don't know what you want to say; all you know is that this shirt of his needs to come off. Tugging on the thin material, fumbling with tiny buttons that you can't seem to get ahold of.

Rhett lets go of you. Breath burning against your neck as he yanks the flannel open. Buttons flying, bouncing across the hardwood, quickly joined by his now ruined shirt.

"Need this yellow off you," grumbling directly into your ear, big hands returning to your sides, lifting the hem of your shirt. Your arms rise, and in one quick motion, he pulls it off. Dropping it to the floor, drawing you up against him, away from the wall.

Rings scatter beneath your feet as the two of you stumble into the bedroom, metal clinking and rolling with every uncertain step. Uncaring of paying attention to where you're going, distracted by wandering hands, breathy kisses, and noses bumping together.

Your back hits the mattress with an unceremonious thump, the springs squealing their dismay. That wild-eyed cowboy is on you in an instant, lithe hips slipping between your parted thighs, bare chest against yours, nipping at the shell of your ear. His forearms brace themselves on either side of your head, bracketing you in. Gives you an eyeful of the wicked veins that snake down them.

"Fuck, Rhett," sucking in a sharp breath of air. The layers of clothing between your bodies aren't enough to stop you from feeling that bulge grinding against you.

"'s it too much?" His lips brush against your ear, sends a shudder down your spine.

Your head shakes, rolling back and forth against the sheets, "not enough."

"Yeah?" Pressing his lips to the meet of your jaw, then again to your collar, "take it y'missed me, then."

He's skipping over the courtesy of more kisses, absolutely shameless, as he wraps his lips around your nipple. Big hand curling around your neglected breast, thumb working circles into it.

"Of course, I fucking missed you," it's hard to keep the bite in your tone, with that wet tongue laving over you like that, downright messy. "Idiot."

Just as quickly as he jumped to your breast, he's leaving it alone; your skin glistening with his saliva as he licks further down. Darkened eyes peer up at you all the while, once ocean blue, now dark as the night, eagerly drinking in your every reaction. Hungry for everything about you.

He doesn't need to ask you to lift your hips; they rise the moment his fingers curl beneath your waistband. Then he's pulling down those pastel yellow sweatpants, the soft ones that were in the gift BY9 left for you during the beginning of that so-called evacuation.

"Fuck, I was hopin' you were wearin' these," Rhett breathes, devious fingers skittering up the inside of your thigh, not stopping until they can slip beneath the edge of your underwear. Always so obsessed with these, despite being the simplest thing you own. Something about the dainty little bow at the top just does it for him.

"You should've warned me you were coming," you're trying to tease, but fuck is it hard to focus when he pulls your underwear to the side, exposing you to those hungry eyes of his. "I could have put on that matching babydoll."

A rough index finger strokes up between your folds, collecting your wetness. Rhett so mesmerized by the sight that he struggles to speak, "Baby, I don't think we'd even make it back t'the truck."

Historically, every time you've worn that soft lace garment around him, you've never even made it out of the room.

There are words sitting heavily in your mouth, already formulated and ready to go. But you don't get the chance to say them because Rhett's leaning down, pressing a kiss to your sex. His tongue pokes out of his lips, eagerly licking a fat stripe up your wetness.

"Can y'get the lube off the table, darlin'?" He's speaking right against your clit, lips tickling it.

The bottle is within reach, but it might as well be on the other side of the room. Rhett's lips are wrapping around that sensitive little button, makes it so, so hard to keep yourself from tangling both hands in his hair instead. Thighs fluttering around his head, hand shivering as it wraps around the small container.

It's new; the plastic still wrapped tightly around the cap. And though Rhett's short nail claws at the edge of it, the plastic refuses to tear off.

"Come on, you damn..." giving up on the correct way of removing it, he raises it to his mouth, biting at the material until it tears.

His nose wrinkles.

"Did you hurt your tooth?" Asking despite knowing the answer.

How dare he look so shy when he's coating two of his fingers with lube. Meekly grinning to himself, the tips of his ears flaming with crimson as he mutters a soft "maybe."

Dumb cowboy hasn't learned from the time he chipped his tooth while opening the last bottle.

Wet fingertips circle around your entrance, his mouth returning to your core, deviously lapping at you. Fuck, fuck, fuck that's a lot.

Sensitivity has jumped a couple of notches during his absence, squirming against the bed, unsure if you want more or if you want to run away from it. So distracting that you don't realize his fingers are pushing into you. Slow, letting you loosen for them on your own accord.

"That's it," he praises, peering up at you from beneath thick lashes, "take my fingers for me, baby."

They're impatient, curling up, massaging against your walls as he gingerly works them in and out to the tune of his lazy tongue. Drool sliding down, wetting his fingers even further. You whimper before you even realize he's found that little spot. The pad of his index finger rubbing against it. Has your hips lifting off the bed.

On their own, your hand wanders down, tangling in his messy hair. Rhett all but moans as you pull on it, wet tongue audibly working you over.

"Another," you whisper, can't get your voice any louder, "please."

That third finger isn't what you wanted. Isn't thick or long enough to give you that full feeling you've been so desperately craving. But it's a necessary evil that you've learned to put up with in exchange for no soreness the morning after.

Rhett groans, eyes falling shut as he works into a rhythm. Slow and sloppy, unconcerned with the intricacies of perfect movements, his hips grinding down against the bed. Massaging his neglected cock, still straining against his jeans.

Fuck, it's such a simple sight, but it has your head spinning. Heat burning between your legs, spreading up into your chest, heart jumping.

"St..." you can hardly speak, "stop."

Rhett freezes. Tongue halfway out of his mouth and all.

Your lungs ache for a breath that you can't quite catch, panting, fighting to form words, "close."

"Were you wantin' to cum 'round my cock instead?" He asks, lifting his head the slightest bit. His chin wet, shiny lips swollen.

You can't find the words you need to answer him, but something in your face must tell him all he needs to hear because he's moving again. Wet fingers slipping out of your pussy, reaching right for his belt buckle. It jingles as he opens it, the button hidden below damn near hanging on by a thread.

No matter how many times you've seen this exact scene, it never seems to get shorter. Time downright dragging by as Rhett tugs his jeans and boxers down his legs. Cock popping up, smacking against his left hip. The tip dripping and flushed red, angry, begging for attention. That should be all the waiting you need, but now he's reaching for your underwear, properly tugging them off, like the gentleman he just has to be.

You reach for the lube, pouring some into your palm, and admittedly, it's way more than you needed, but you just don't care. Reaching out to wrap your dripping hand around him, feeling him jump.

"Fuck," Rhett gasps, eyelashes fluttering like tiny butterflies, "didn't see you reachin' for...God, jus' like that."

It seems you're not the only one whose gotten sensitive during your time apart. Rhett's head tilts back, mouth agape as you loosely stroke him. Simple little ups and downs, with the slightest twist of your wrist.

Then you're impatiently guiding him to your entrance, already so wet with your own wetness, lube, and saliva, never mind the extra lubricant you've coated him with. His hips tilt forward, leaving no room for further teasing as he begins to push into you.

All that wetness, and he's still a stretch. The kind that has you biting your lip and your eyes screwing shut, feeling that fat head gradually open you up.

"Shit," Rhett's swearing, leaning back down, chests bumping together, pressing kisses to your quaking jaw, "forgot how tight this cute 'lil pussy of yours gets."

If you could speak, you'd remark that you forgot how obnoxiously thick he is.

But you can't. All you can do is curl your hands around his thick biceps and fight to relax. Feeling the tip of him fully slip inside. Just the tip. Fuck, there's still a whole six inches of him left, and you don't know how he's going to fit.

"Y'need me to stop?" He murmurs, scruffy chin bumping into yours. You think his voice has dropped a little.

Shaking your head, "Keep...keep going."

Looking between your parted legs is the biggest mistake you've ever made. Because the moment you make eye contact with the sight of Rhett's thick length slipping inside of your spasming cunt, you can't look away. Absolutely transfixed by the way he works his way into you, balls hanging low and heavy.

"There you go," Rhett's cooing, pressing kisses to your cheek, "takin' my cock so damn well for me, doll."

His pelvis comes flush with yours, and you think you may float right up into the clouds. Lightheaded, panting, can hardly keep your eyes open. Can't even look down again when he cautiously swivels his hips into you. Does nothing more than jostle his cock inside of you, yet it knocks the air from your lungs.

"Want me to move?" Yeah, his voice has definitely dropped a little. Rough and gravelly as he speaks.

Weakly, you hum. "Uhuh."

Oh, you've missed how his cock head drags against you, so thick that he's always massaging against that little spot. Drawing back a little under halfway, pushing back in just as slowly as he did the first time.

This is what you needed.

Your favorite cowboy on top of you, his face nuzzled against yours while he slowly fucks into you. Long, deep strokes that are so undeniably him, reaching deep into the farthest parts of you. The kind of thing you struggle to recreate with a toy. Isn't quite as thick and never brings the warmth that Rhett does. Toys don't come with a big, strong body and untamed hair that falls down to tickle your cheek. They don't give you kisses or pant against your lips with every thrust.

"Missed you so damn much," Rhett whispers against your lips like it's a secret meant to only be shared between the two of you. "Y'don't know how many times I've come back tryin' t'find you."

On its own accord, your hand reaches up to rest against his jaw. "I was so worried that you'd never come back," his hips twitch upward, cock driving directly into that little spot. It takes a second to unscramble your words. "Or that something happened—"

"No, no, hey," he's reaching for your hand, bringing it up to rest fully against his cheek. Presses a kiss to your wrist. "There ain't nothin' in this world that's gonna take me away from you, ya hear?"

Your eyes water.

So do his.

It's so much. So many feelings and emotions and thoughts floating through your foggy mind. And there's more you need to say, but you're pulling him into you. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, letting him bury his face in the crook of his neck. Hugging him tight as he gently thrusts into you.

Slow ins and outs that completely fill you with him. Kissing your sweetest spots, bringing you to flutter around him, spasming in the way he's always loved. The soft squelch of wetness, balls softly thumping against your ass each time he bottoms out. So much of this cowboy. So, so much.

The ring on your finger glints in the dull light. Imperfectly crafted but looks perfect around your finger. You don't want a new ring with a precious gem and a highly valued metal. You want this one.

"Rhett," you whimper, muffled by his broad shoulder. There's a warmth settling between your thighs. The soft kind that has your skin prickling and thighs quivering.

"I know," Rhett's groaning. Unable to keep himself quiet any longer, "I am too."

He's panting into your collar, thrusts growing uneven. A little shaky. Your legs are wrapping around his hips, squeezing tight, anchoring him to you. You could reach down, pay attention to your forgotten clit, and bring yourself to the edge faster, but all you want is this. Your cowboy in your arms, fucking you like you're made of glass, the most precious thing he's ever seen.

Your mouth falls open, whimpering into the open air, "Rhett, Rhett, Rhett." Over and over, like a mantra. Like it'll make up for all the time you've spent apart. And he's murmuring your name, whining high in his throat, your voices weaving together into a wistful melody.

One, two, three more drags of his cock against that sweet little spot, and you're gone. Head falling back against the bed, his name still shivering off your tongue as you spasm around him. Heat washing over your body, floating up into the heavens on a plush, cowboy-shaped cloud.

Distantly, you think you can feel Rhett shudder above you. Breath hot against your neck as he cums with the softest whine. You never, ever thought you'd feel this again. The involuntary jerk of his hips. The kisses he tries to press to your skin when he's too incoherent to move his mouth. The heaviness of his body as he settles against you.

It's hard to tell how long it takes you to find the strength to open your eyes. Feels like hours before you pry them open, but it's probably closer to a minute or two. The first thing your gaze drifts toward is the bed.

"Of course, you would have a brown plaid comforter."

Rhett sputters against your neck. God, you've missed that laugh. "That's what happens when 'm left by myself."

This room screams his name in every way it possibly can. Cowboy hats scattered in places they don't belong, blankets occupying every surface. There's a basket of dirty laundry in the corner, what you suppose is a bag of chips laying in the middle, and there is absolutely no reason for one of his socks to be on the ceiling fan.

You love it.

You love this.

And you don't need to say it out loud. Rhett already hears you, and your heart hears him in return.

"This place has a clawfoot bath," he says, after a moment, "d'you wanna...give it a shot?"

Why this old cabin has a clawfoot bath, you'll never understand. What other odd things have you to learn about this place? "Would this entail me having to use your three-in-one body wash?"

He's quiet at that. The biggest goddamn yes you've ever heard. "...I have bubbles?"

In the morning, the first thing you're going to do is haul his half-feral ass to the store to do some shopping. Get him away from whatever the hell monstrosity lies in that three-in-one bottle and replace the couple of items you've forgotten back in Wabang. Maybe you'll make him explain how the hell he took you to South fucking Dakota in the blink of an eye while you're at it.

But for now, you're happy to nod your head, "bubbles sound nice."

#rhett abbott smut #rhett abbott x y/n #rhett abbott x reader #rhett abbott #ao3 oneshot #oneshot #rhett abbott outer range #outer range fic #outer range #rhett abbott imagine #rhett abbott x you #reader self insert #self insert #x reader #reader insert

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doyouknowhowtowaltz · 21 days ago

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Hello, fellow pilgrim!! Two weeks ago I watched Over the Garden Wall for the first time, then went into the depths of the Internet for the content and accidentally flew straight into beastnoch! I swallowed a lot and am still digesting it; can u tell me where this came from? I am amazed and horrified at the same time!

Glad to welcome you into this lovely ship, though I would like to point out I am by no means the best source for the history of the ship since I've only been writing it for about 6 years, and the actual patron saints are right next door here on tumblr, but here's a breif history:

In december of 2014, @incurablenecromantic and @silkward are talking about potential ships in OTGW and Miss Inky jokingly suggests the Beast and Enoch, to which Mr. Silkward draws this. The endlessly creative @lacrimalis also makes a drawing, and in fact, has their own short-term history of the ship up to febuary 2015 that you can find here. Many of the tumblr links in this particular post are dead due to tumblr's horrible link system, though I could track down the images for you another day, as I think, even with very little context I can identify all but one of them just by the timeline. Shortly after Miss Inky writes Patient is the Night, and proceeds to cultivate this richly interesting ship over the next four years, and I could certainly talk about the early years of Beastnoch at great length, and the tropes, themes, and headcanons that were established during that time that have often worked their way into all subsequent works, and while I have a lot to say and I would love the excuse to talk about it some other time, the fact of the matter is that I was not there.

I found Beastnoch in late 2017, about two months after watching OTGW, and one month after the latest update to Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out to Socialize. It was the last post to Ao3 for quite some time, and, not having a tumblr myself at the time, I didn't know that Beastnoch still had a community here on tumblr. I wrote my first Beastnoch fic roughly a year after under the assumption the ship's fans had passed on to greener fandoms. And the rest is rather easily traceable history.

If you're asking more in a broad sense "where did the idea to pair these two characters come from" Miss Inky would probably be the person to ask, though I could certainly speculate, the Beast and Enoch (and to a barely lesser extent the Queen of the Clouds) are these strangely explained psychopomps in their world, the Beast is closely assosiated with winter and Enoch with autumn, there's an interesting contrast and similarity in the fact that they both offer for Wirt (and greg) to stay with them, but in starkly different capacities, they've both got lovely singing voices, and there is the peculiar detail of the fact that the Beast's lantern is shown to be with Enoch at the end of OTGW.

Many a ship has been built on less and still been perfectly capable of floating on water, there's even another notable example in the otgw fandom itself, though admittedly, one can argue a precedent already existed for pinescone.

#I'm actualy not sure what Miss Silkward's proferred honorific is but I felt weird not to use one since I almost exclusively refer to #Miss Inky as Miss Inky.#With the exception of about twelve deleted fics and a couple deleted blogs #most of Dumb Gay Eldritch Psychopomps history is still in the places its always been

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viviennevermillion · 1 year ago

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melting the ice

✧ notes: work 3 of my "autumn remedies" event, admittedly a day late. if you liked this fic, consider reblogging and commenting! interactions are what keeps writers motivated. decided to go with headcanons for this because it worked better.👋🏻 i also decided i might post them out of order and post two in one day etc. so it's more flexible for me. everything that's listed for a specific week in october will be posted that week though!

✧ contains: march supports a reader who is dissociating, could be platonic too

✧ now playing: safe and sound — taylor swift

✧ warnings: dissociation

March doesn't really know about dissociation as it hasn't been that long since she was taken in by the Astral Express and freed from the six-phased ice and she has not encountered it noticeably during that time. So when it happens to you, she's at first at a loss of what to do. She doesn't really know how to describe what is happening to you, she just sees that you're spaced out and struggle to respond to her when she talks to you and don't really seem to realize everything that goes on around you

At first, she doesn't really do anything but try to reach you verbally multiple times and decide to give you your space when you dissociate.

She is worried about you and does use the opportunity to talk with you about it when you're doing better.

If you don't want to talk about it, she won't bother you about it.

But if you do decide to tell her what is happening to you, she listens attentively about how to support you.

It's Welt who gives her the most useful tips on how to support you.

She learns more about the topic from entries in the Astral Express Archives so that she can do her best to support you when you need it.

She even falls asleep over a book at Dan Heng's desk once and he has to shake her awake so he can go to bed.

The more she learns about it, the more she's reminded of how it felt to be within the six-phased ice. It felt like a long, endless dream and when the ice was finally melting, she snapped out of that dream to feel the warmth of the people she'd come to consider home within the coming months. She had felt safe and like she arrived where she was meant to be. March wants to give you that feeling as well.

So she talks to you about what is okay to do when you dissociate. Whether she can touch you or whether there's something she could get that might help you.

If you let her, she will sit down next to you and softly talk to you. "Hey...it's me, March", her tone will be a little awkward at first but there's so much care in it, "I'm here for you. I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder, okay?"

She tells you everything that she is going to do as to not frighten you. She'll wrap an arm around your shoulder and gently draws circles on your skin, telling you to focus on her touch.

She might cover her fingers with her ice abilities if the cold helps to ground you in reality.

March will talk to you, much slower and softer than you're used to from her usually so enthusiastic and energetic nature, even if you don't respond. Her presence and her voice calms you down and she doesn't mind being patient with you.

She'll gently wrap her arms around you and hugs you if she knows that's something you're okay with. She'll hold onto you for as long as you need her.

March remembers the feeling of waking up from the ice. Everything was cold and dark and the world outside seemed so different. And then the darkness faded more and more in the presence of her friends' voices. They were patient with her and so welcoming. March thinks she's only fair to give this same treatment back to the people she loves.

So even if you feel lost or distant from the world around you, March is ready to be your lighthouse, guiding you safely back to the shores where you feel at home. Even if you're scared and feel like you're losing your grip on your surroundings, her voice is the first thing you hear and you know in that moment that, even though you're afraid or feel numb, things are going to be okay.

#honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #march 7th x reader #march x reader #hsr march #march 7th #march 7th x you #march 7th headcanons

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evolutionsbedingt · 3 months ago

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WIP Wednesday

Having a very brain foggy week but I really wanted to post another snippet so here we are: Have an extra-long snippet! Please excuse any mistakes if you find them (◕‿◕✿)

★★★

After spending the afternoon sifting through paperwork and intermittently checking in on Xie Lian who was meditating on one of the lesser used bridges, He Xuan finally returned home to retrieve the dampening scabbard for his blade. Since the Mid Autumn banquet was attended in the form a god’s worshippers assigned to him, He Xuan also retrieved bandages to cover the weeping wounds that had appeared on his arms.

He wondered if Meiling had spread the story of bleeding He-dafang or if there was another reason altogether because the severity of the bleeding truly made him look more like a restless spirit than a heavenly official. Had Hua Cheng been around to see he’d be-

He Xuan drew up short, the end of the bandage he was attempting to secure slipping from his fingers. Between one breath and the next he was in a cat’s mind, running through Fu Gu and into his shrine.

There, behind the altar, sat a statue. It was exquisitely carved and bore the mark of Hua Cheng’s craftsmanship to He Xuan’s well-trained eye. The slope of his brows and the slight smile on his stylised lips spoke of the art of an era long passed, one that shaped Hua Cheng’s art so much that it reflected in every carving he ever made.

The statue was beautiful and forbidding all at once. It was painted in rich black and white and gold. And there, just past the edges of his sleeves, red blood trickling into his palms.

He Xuan nudged the cat to step closer, climbing onto the writing desk sitting on the statue’s lap. Inspecting it up close, he found cleverly hidden wounds all across the statue’s arms and torso and from this angle the smile looked more like a grimace of pain.

Switching through the minds of his cats, He Xuan found a few more statuettes, copies of the statue in Fu Gu, and many more drawings in his shrines across the plains. The only place he didn’t dare check was the half-abandoned shrine in Ghost City and even then he was almost certain that he’d find the same picture there.

Returning to his body in the heavens, He Xuan sat down on his bed heavily.

Why. Why would Hua Cheng do this? A parting gift? A warning? Or was this mockery, revealing his true form to his worshippers and, by extension, to the heavens? And when had he done this? After He Xuan fled? After he saw Hua Cheng in Xie Lian’s village? Or after the destruction they wrought rescuing Quan Yizhen?

For the first time since He Xuan had thrown Hua Cheng out of his home, he reached for the connection to the sole black butterfly he’d created. He didn’t even know what he was trying to do, perhaps only seeking a connection to Hua Cheng, however flimsy it may be, to explain this situation.

But while could feel the butterfly, safe and sound somewhere in Ghost City by the feel of it, he could neither hear nor see anything. It didn’t feel like the time Hua Cheng had trapped it after sending two hundred and fifty-eight lanterns though. He Xuan couldn’t put his finger on it, but something felt different about this and it bothered him more than he liked to admit.

Withdrawing, He Xuan once again returned his mind to the heavens and found Xie Lian meditating on the daybed on the other side of the room.

He took the chance to study him unobserved, the curve of his mouth, the slope of his nose and the delicate brows. He Xuan had no trouble understanding why Hua Cheng fell for this prince at first glance and he truly hoped that they would be happy with one another for twice as long as Hua Cheng had had to wait for his god.

When Xie Lian��s eyelids fluttered as if to open, He Xuan quickly looked down and finally secured the end of the bandage even though the blood was already soaking through.

“Why did A-Xuan choose this form?” Xie Lian asked, coming over and inspecting the bandage. “Aren’t you usually depicted without any wounds?”

He Xuan bit his lip as Xie Lian’s gentle fingers tugged the bandage to pull it more firmly around He Xuan’s arm. “There’s a statue now, in the temple in Fu Gu. Statuettes in a few other cities. The paintings were also amended.” He hissed when Xie Lian pressed down on the wound. “They all carry the signs of being made by Tanhua-jun.”

Xie Lian’s head snapped up. “What? Aren’t you-” he cut himself off and gestured vaguely.

“We are,” He Xuan whispered, staring down at the blood steadily seeping through the bandage. “He’s forcing me to walk into the Palace of Divine Might looking like the restless spirit of a murder victim.”

Xie Lian’s fingers smoothed over the tightly wrapped bandage. “I’m sorry, A-Xuan. I hope it won’t affect you too much.”

“Everyone knows about my ascension,” He Xuan said gently, catching Xie Lian’s hand in his. “But perhaps Xiong should keep his distance tonight and from now on. I’m sure Fengshi-xiong would happily host you as well and-”

Suddenly there was a slender finger resting on He Xuan’s lips and Xie Lian was staring at him with pursed lips. “I am not in the habit of abandoning my friends, A-Xuan. I will stand with you for as long as I can and I will be sure to speak in your favour when the truth about Shi Wudu’s crimes is revealed.”

Before he could stop himself, He Xuan’s eyes flickered down to Xie Lian’s lips and he wondered what it’d feel like to kiss them right now. He hungered to taste that earnest support for himself and only the distant awareness of the ashes resting against Xie Lian’s chest kept him from leaning in.

He would not give Hua Cheng more reasons to hate him.

But he was also acutely aware of the digit still resting against his lips and it took quite a bit of willpower to raise his hand and push it away. “Thank you, Xiong. Your support is more than appreciated. If I’m banished from the heavens, may I come to live with you as the keeper of your shrine? Perhaps Daoshi-xiong could even teach me proper cultivation.”

Xie Lian smiled, a hint of mischief in his eyes. “If A-Xuan is prepared to give up sex, alcohol and excessive consumption of food I’m sure he’d make an exemplary student.”

He Xuan shuddered involuntarily. “Never mind then. I think I’ll stick to being a simple shrine keeper and scholar then.”

Xie Lian laughed, squeezing his hands. “I’m sure fate has more in store for him than just such a simple life. Our A-Xuan is meant to be revered by those too poor for the bigger gods.”

#he xuan ascended after all fic #tgcf #hehualian #xuanlian #huaxuan divorce era my beloved <3 #my adventures in writing #*mine #he xuan #xie lian

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4th-make-quail · 25 days ago

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Big Bang anon here! I was just looking for some challenging event to participate this winter, and wanted to know your opinion because you have a lot of fandom experience! And YES I also noticed that a lot of Big Bang challenges currently are like "minimum word count is 5k words", and no shade to mods but that's not a challenge skdjdhdjl

Do you have a favorite fandom event type? Care to share your best fandom event experience?

Good morning nonny! Ahhh I see, okay I getcha!! There are quite a few longer word count fandom exchanges if you're into those, but the winter ones are already well in progress iirc!

One good place to check for events like this is fandom calendar on dreamwidth - people advertise their stuff on there regularly (no need to make a dw account to look at it either).

If you want a longer event, I have a few friends who do the three longer minimum word count exchanges and they have fun, so here they are;

- Fic in a Box (fiab): a fanwork exchange with a large minimum gifting requirement and several unique features - this one is complicated, so check out the comm link! Unfortunately this one is well and truly over now, but it's there for next year - schedule is around August to September!

- Five Figure Fandom Exchange (fffx or fandom 5k): a multifandom gift exchange for fanfic of 10,000+ words, and for comics of least 10 pages or at least 40 panels. Currently ongoing, but there are pinch hits in need of picking up! Deadline is January 18th, so if you can write a pinch hit fandom, you could try that!

- High Adrenaline (previously Heart Attack): two weeks to write 10k (or draw a 25-panel, 10-page comic) and one week to edit. Noms open in January!

Completing all three of these makes you eligible for Triple Crown, which is a prize raffle for all three of these 10k exchanges.

For the next few months, most people will be doing Yuletide which I've talked about a bit here before, but it has a 1000 word minimum so might be of less interest to you if you wanted a challenge. Pinch hits for yuletide are being posted here this year, but there aren't any available rn, and as yuletide is for rare fandoms, ymmv as to how possible this is for you anyway.

The next thing I will personally be participating in is Candy Hearts, which is a valentines day themed low word count (300 words) exchange, schedule usually starting with noms in December. This replaces chocolate box which used to run at the same time, and it's really fun!

Others I usually do regularly:

- Seasons of Drabbles: new to me but very fun, has a new round every season! For strict drabbles specifically, currently in its autumn round so there will be a winter one to come I imagine!

- Goreswap: an exchange for gore etc, with genre type tags to pick. Schedule starts with noms in January usually! Not one I've done, but I have friends who love it and do it every year.

- Phoenix Down Exchange: my own full Final Fantasy franchise exchange, set to start noms in Feb as last year

- Rarepair Exchange: as it sounds, for rarepairs! Check the comm for definition of minimum fics required to be eligible. Usually starts around April

- Rare Male Slash Exchange: as rarepair ex above, but for m/m ships only and again with specific minimum fic number eligibility. This is older than rpe, but as it tends to run on a similar schedule (noms in May last year) I've not done it for the last two years

- Relationshipping: for incest ships! The last round was July to August, but it conflicted with other fan stuff for me so I didn't do this for a bit as well. Run by some very good people

Some others I know about from my exchange crew participing but have never personally done: kids come first (underage themed), consent issues (dub/noncon themed), trauma exchange (as the name suggests), trick or treat (complicated, I think halloween theme?? Unsure), nonconathon (dub/noncon, but with very fun freeform tags to pick and nominate), and then there are usually a hell of a lot of flash exchanges around as well, which run on quick turnarounds - you could try joining the Exchanges After Dark discord server, which is an 18+ nsfw server for exchanges. It's very big and has a channel for every exchange, so the best thing to do is mute them all apart from what ur interested in ime! It also has a fandomcalendar rss feed channel which could be relevant if u wanna see what's coming up!

As for your second question, my favourite fandom event experience is probably Unconventional Fanworks Exchange, which is unfortunately didn't run last year and I'm not sure if it will again 😭😭 its an exchange for, well, unconventional fanwork mediums, and I've had so much fun challenging myself in the two rounds I've participated in! They had things like newspaper articles, in universe academic documents, blueprints, paper dolls, all sorts! I'm hoping someone might take it over tbh, if the mod can't run it again.

Also, this year I did Small Web September for the first time and had sooo much fun! It's for working on any smallweb projects you might have; personal sites, neocities, coding etc. and it had a really great vibe, plus it was super fun seeing everyone's smallweb projects! Very inspiring!!

This ended up very long, but as u can see I am very passionate about these things! I run my entire fannish calendar around exchanges mixed with event weeks and I find it very rewarding - I'm always happy to introduce anyone to exchanges and talk through how to participate etc. so anyone can ask me about this at any time!

#ask quail #nonnybirds #yet more bfe thots!!#this makes me miss unconventional fanworks exchange..... weh #Lo! Too much information be upon ye!!

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fogwitchoftheevermore · 9 months ago

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Assigning Every Fall Out Boy Song to The Life Series

because i'm a normal person with normal person feelings about fall out boy's discography and the life series. trust me.

“every” is a strong word here because fall out boy's discography is Literally Like 150+ Songs so i’m only doing the songs off their main 8 albums in this post. if enough people ask (which i seriously doubt will happen), i’ll do the eps+remixes as well.

sorry if there is an overabundance of certain characters/a lack of certain characters. i tried to include people are frequently as possible but a: i am inherently biased (though some of my faves are pretty underrepresented), b: not everyone has the same amount of content to draw from because they haven't all been in every season and c: some of these guys are simply not fall out boy characters to me. it's just how it is.

so, under the cut will be, in release order, every fall out boy song assigned to a life series character/event+the lyric that i think best represents why i assigned it.

TAKE THIS TO YOUR GRAVE

Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today: DL!Pearl

To my favorite liar, to my favorite scar (to my favorite scar!)/I could have died with you/I hope you choke on those words that kiss that bottle/Confess (so bury me in memory)

Dead on Arrival: SL!Gem and Pearl (Gem POV)

This is side one, flip me over/I know I'm not your favorite record/The songs you grow to like never stick at first/So I'm writing you a chorus, and here is your verse/No, it's not the last time, 'cause I'd never say no to you/This conversation's still dead on arrival/And there's no way to talk to you/When you're dead on

Grand Theft Autumn / Where Is Your Boy: DL!Etho (JUST TRUST ME. AND ALSO GO WATCH THE BIT WHERE FINDS OUT BDUBS+IMPULSE ARE SOULMATES)

When I wake up/I'm willing to take my chances on/The hope I'd forget that you hate him more than you notice/I wrote this for you (for you, so…)/You need him, I could be him/I could be an accident, but I'm still trying/And that's more than I can say for him/Where is your boy tonight?/I hope he is a gentleman

Saturday: SL!Gem

Pete and I attacked the laws of Astoria with promise and precision/And mess of youthful innocence/And I read about the afterlife, but I never really lived/More than an hour (More than an hour)/When I say/Two more weeks, my foot is in the door, yeah/I can't sleep, in the wake of Saturday

Homesick at Space Camp: Post 3L!Skizz

Tonight is all about "We miss you" now/These friends are, new friends are golden

Sending Postcards From a Plane Crash (Wish You Were Here): Post DL!Joel

Every friend we ever had in common/I will sever the tie, sever the tie with you/You can thank your lucky stars/Everything I wish for will never come true/When you go, I will forget everything about you

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago: LimL!Martyn

You want apologies, girl, you might hold your breath/Until your breathing stops forever, forever/The only thing you'll get is this curse on your lips/I hope they taste of me forever

The Pros and Cons of Breathing: DL!Pearl

Woah, I want to hate you half as much as I hate myself/You know that I could crush you with my voice/Stood on my roof and tried to see you/Forgetting about me/Hide the details/I don't want to know a thing

Grenade Jumper: The Heart Foundation

They'll say it's not worth it, so we'll leave this town in ruin/Living like life's going out of style, and you came to watch us play/Like a "big shot talent", but at the end of the day you know/Woah, those busted lips we take back home

Calm Before The Storm: DL!Ren

You said/Between your smiles and regrets/"Don't say it's over"/Dead and gone, dead and gone, yeah

Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over: DL!Jimmy and Tango

I can't wake up to these reminders of who I am/A failure at everything, 18 going on extinct/I know my place, it's nowhere you should roam

The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes: SL!Jimmy

I'm all ears and I'm all scars/To hear you tell me, "Boys like you, you try too hard/To look not quite as desperate," I'm hanging on/But I still know the way to make your makeup run/So, and when it all goes to Hell, will you be able to tell/Me "sorry" with a straight face?

FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE

Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued: 3L!Impulse

We're only liars but we're the best (We're the best)/We're only good for the latest trends/We're only good 'cause you can have almost famous friends/Besides, we've got such good fashion sense

Of All The Gin Joints In All The World: 3L!Ren and Martyn

You only hold me up like this/'Cause you don't know who I really am/Sometimes I just want to know what it's like to be you

Dance, Dance: DL!Bigb and Ren (Ren perspective, also this is specifically applicable most antagonistic moments of their relationship we get, to be clear. This is not the usual approach I take to them.)

You always fold just before you're found out/Drink up it's last call/Last resort, but only the first mistake, and I/I'm two quarters and a heart down/And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds/These words are all I have so I'll write them/So you need them just to get by/Why don't you show me a little bit of spine/You've been saving for his mattress, love

Sugar, We’re Goin Down: Martyn

We're going down, down in an earlier round (Take aim at myself)/And sugar, we're going down swingin' (Take back what you said)/I'll be your number one with a bullet (Take aim at myself)/A loaded God complex, cock it and pull it

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner: LL!Cleo

I keep my jealousy close/'Cause it's all mine/And if you say this makes you happy, then I'm not the only one/Lyin'

I’ve Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Songs): Joel

Joke me something awful just like kisses on the necks of "best friends"/We're the kids who feel like dead ends/And I want to be known for my hits, not just my misses/I took a shot and didn't even come close

7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen): LimL!Grian

Sitting out dances on the wall/Trying to forget everything that isn't you/I'm not going home alone/'Cause I don't do too well on my own

Sophomore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year: SL!Skizz

We're the therapists pumping through your speakers/Delivering just what you need/We're well-read and poised/We're the best boys/We're the chemists who've found the formula/To make your heart swell and burst/No matter what they say/Don't believe a word

Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends: DL!Joel and Etho

Strike us like matches, 'cause everyone deserves the flames/We only do it for the scars and stories, not the fame/At least everyone is trying, everyone is shining/Everyone deserves the flames but it's such a shame, such a shame

I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me: Scott

I'm the first kid to write of hearts, lies, and friends/And I am sorry my conscience called in sick again/And I've got arrogance down to a science/Oh, and I'm the first kid to write of hearts, lies, and friends, now

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More “Touch Me”: LL!BigB

I confess, I messed up/Dropping "I'm sorry" like you're still around/And I know you dressed up/"Hey, kid, you'll never live this down"/And you're just the girl all the boys wanna dance with/And I'm just the boy who's had too many chances/I'm sleepin' on your folks' porch again, dreamin'/She said, she said, she said, "Why don't you just drop dead?"

Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save The Scene And Stop Going To Shows): DL!Grian and Scar (Scar POV)

I know this hurts, it was meant to (it was meant to)/Your secret's out and the best part is it isn't even a good one/And it's mind over you don't, don't matter

XO: LL!Mumbo (Look, this is a stretch, I'll be real, but this song was giving me so much fucking trouble. Let me live.)

To the "love," I left my conscience/Pressed between the pages of/The Bible in the drawer, "What did it ever do for me"/I say/It never calls me when I'm down/Love never wanted me, but I took it anyway/Put your ear to the speaker and choose love or sympathy/But never both, love never wanted me

Snitches and Talkers Get Stitches And Walkers: SL!Tango

Here's a picture with a note, "No, don't turn out like me"/It's only for your own good/No-oh, oh, oh/And haven't you heard, the word on the street is/"I lost it, called it quits," get out into the sun

The Music Or The Misery: LL!Bdubs and Etho (Etho perspective)

I got your love letters, corrected the grammar and sent them back/It's true, romance is dead, I shot it in the chest then in the head/And if you wanna go down in history then I'm your friend/Because they've got me in a band where I've never seen a heart I couldn't break

INFINITY ON HIGH

Thriller: SL!Scar

Last summer, we took threes across the board/But by fall, we were a cover story, "Now in stores"/Make us poster boys for your scene/But we are not making an acceptance speech

“The Take Over, The Breaks Over”: LimL!Cleo

Wouldn't you rather be a widow than a divorcee?/Style your wake for fashion magazines, oh-oh-oh/Widow or a divorcee?/Don't pretend, d-d-d-don't pretend/We do it in the dark with smiles on our faces/We're trapped and well concealed in secret places/We don't fight fair

This Ain’t A Scene. It’s An Arms Race: SL!Scar

I am an arms dealer/Fitting you with weapons in the form of words/And don't really care which side wins/Long as the room keeps singing/That's just the business I'm in

I’m Like A Lawyer With The Way I’m Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You): SL!Jimmy and Martyn

We're the new face of failure/Prettier and younger, but not any better off/Bulletproof loneliness/At best, at best

Hum Hallelujah: LL!Cleo

I thought I loved you, it was just how you looked in the light/A teenage vow in a parking lot/'Til tonight do us part/I sing the blues and you swallow them too/My words are my faith, to hell with our good name

Golden: Joel (LimL especially, but also just in general)

How cruel is the golden rule/When the lives we lived are only golden-plated?/And I knew that the lights of the city were too heavy for me/Though I carried carats for everyone to see/And I saw God cry in the reflection of my enemies/And all the lovers with no time for me/And all of the mothers raise their babies/To stay away from me

Thnks fr th Mmrs: LimL!BigB and Pearl

Been looking forward to the future/But my eyesight is going bad/And this crystal ball…/It's always cloudy except for (Except for…)/When you look into the past (Look into the past…)/One night stand…/One night stand off!

Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am?: LimL!Skizz

They say quitters never win/But we walk the plank on a sinking ship/There's a world outside of my front door/That gets off on being down/Oh-oh, oh-oh/I could learn to pity fools as I'm the worst of all/And I can't stop feeling sorry for myself, whoa-oh

The (After) Life Of The Party: Scar, again. I don't know what to tell you, this is a very Scar album.

I'm a stitch away from making it/And a scar away from falling apart, apart/Blood cells pixelate and eyes dilate/And the full moon pills got me out on the street at night

The Carpal Tunnel Of Love: LL!Mumbo and Jimmy

Tired yawns for fawns on hunter's lawns/We're the has-beens of husbands/Sharpening the knives of young wives/Take two years and call me when you're better

Bang The Doldrums: DL+LimL!Jimmy and Tango

The tombstones were waiting, they were half-engraved/They knew it was over, they just didn't know the date…/And I cast a spell over the west to make you think of me/The same way I think of you/This is a love song in my own way/Happily ever after below the waist/Best friends, ex-friends 'til the end/Better off as lovers

Fame > Infamy: LL!Joel

I am God's gift, but why would he bless me with/Such wit without a conscience equipped/I'm addicted to the way I feel when I think of you, whoa/There's too much green to feel blue

You’re Crashing, But You’re No Wave: This is far from the only FOB song about a sensitive topic but it's one of the like... two that I don't feel comfortable assigning to something.

I’ve Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers: DL!BigB

You're a canary, I'm a coal mine/'Cause sorrow is just all the rage/Take one for the team/You all know what I mean/And I'm so sorry but not really/Tell the boys where to find my body

G.I.N.A.S.F.S.: DL!Impulse and Bdubs

Trade baby blues for wide eyed browns/I sleep with your old shirts and walk through this house in your shoes/You know, it's strange/It's a strange way of saying that I know I'm supposed to love you/I'm supposed to love you/I've already given up on myself twice/Third time is the charm, third time is the charm/Threw caution to the wind, but I've got a/Lousy arm

It’s Hard To Say “I Do”, When I Don’t: Am I allowed to say this is a Watchers song? I don't care I'm saying it.

I speak fast and I'm not gonna repeat myself, no/So listen carefully to every word I say/I'm the only one who's gonna get away/With making excuses today/You're appealing to emotions that I simply do not have

FOLIE A DEUX

Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes: Impulse

Oh, I'm a loose bolt of a complete machine/What a match, I'm half-doomed, and you're semi-sweet/So boycott love, detox just to retox/And I'd promise you anything for another shot at life

I Don’t Care: LL!Fairy Fort

Let the leaves fall off in the summer/And let December glow in flames (In flames; oh)/Erase myself and let go/Start it over again in Mexico/These friends, they don't love you/They just love the hotel suites now

She’s My Winona: SL!Martyn

We didn't come to compete, this is a demonstration/Even the young ones become irrelevant/They always bring up how you've changed

America’s Suitehearts: SL!Gem

Let's hear it for America's suitehearts, but I must confess/I'm in love with my own sins/You can bow and pretend that/You don't, don't know you're a legend, oh/Time, time, time hasn't told anyone else yet

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet: LimL+SL!Cleo, Bdubs, and Etho

Does your husband know the way that/The sunshine gleams from your wedding band?/Does he know the way, does he know the way/Of the crickets that would convince me to call it a night?/But I will never end up like him/Behind my back, I already am

The (Shipped) Gold Standard: LimL!Bdubs

All the yes-men said "No comment"/My mouth got going/The wrong way, and all the calls started snowing/The time my dad caught me a horseshoe crab/And I asked him if throwing it back into the sea would bring our luck back/I wanna scream "I love you" from the top of my lungs/But I'm afraid that someone else will hear me

(Coffee’s For Closers): LL!BigB

Though change will come, oh, change will come/I will never believe in anything again/We will never believe again/Kick drum beating in my chest again/No, we will never believe again/Preach electric to a microphone stand, oh

What A Catch, Donnie: This song is a compilation of different vocalists from bands associated with the band, a compilation of previous songs of theirs, and one of the only FOB ballads. I can't pull a specific lyric, but this one could be solidly used for a compilation/retrospective of every season so far.

27: This is the other one I don't feel comfortable assigning to anything. Moving on.

Tiffany Blews: SL!Lizzie

I'm not a crybaby/I'm the crybaby/A caterpillar that got stuck/Mr. Moth, come quick with any luck/A long walk to a dark house/A Roman candle heart, keep us far apart/I'm cocktail party doin' alright, hate me baby/Maybe I'm a piece of art/Oh, my friends all lie and say/They only want the best wishes for me

w. a. m. s.: LL!Mumbo

I'm a young one stuck in the thoughts/Of an old one's head/When all the others were just stirrin' awake/I'm tryin' to trick myself to fall asleep again, whoa

20 Dollar Nose Bleed: Dogwarts

When I look at the man who would be king, the man who would be king/Goes to the desert, the same war his dad rehearsed/Came back with flags on coffins and said, "We won, oh, we won"/Permanent jet lag, please take me back (Please take me back)/Please take me back, (ooh, ooh)/I'm a stray dog sick, please let me in

West Coast Smoker: SL!Joel

Wishes bounce me weightless/The infrared scope on pointlessness/The bulls are sedated/And this fight's fixed

Pavlove: SL!Tango

Something make my chest stir/Something make my head blur/Oh, oh, I'm not ready for a handshake with death, no/Oh, oh, I'm just such a happy mess, whoa

SAVE ROCK AND ROLL

The Phoenix: Team TIES

Bring home the boys in scraps, scrap metal the tanks/Get hitched, make a career out of robbing banks/Because the world is just a teller and we are wearing black masks/"You broke our spirit," says the note we pass

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up): LL!Cleo

I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see/That you're the antidote to everything except for me/Through a constellation of tears on your lashes/Burn everything you love then burn the ashes

Alone Together: The Roomies (Cleo, Etho, and Grian)

I don't know where you're going/But do you got room for one more troubled soul?/I don't know where I'm going/But I don't think I'm coming home/And I said, "I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead"/This is the road to ruin and we're starting at the end

Where Did The Party Go: LL!Tango

I'm here to collect your hearts/It's the only reason that I sing/I don't believe a word you say/But I can't stop listening

Just One Yesterday: LL!Bdubs and Etho

If heaven's grief brings hell's rain/Then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday/(I know I'm bad news)/For just one yesterday/(I saved it all for you)

The Mighty Fall: DL!Divorce Quartet

Your crooked love is just a pyramid scheme and I'm dizzy on dreams/(And I'm dizzy on dreams)/But if you ask me two's a whole lot lonelier than one/Baby, we should have left our love in the gutter where we found it/(Gutter where we found it)/'Cause you think, you think your only crime is that you got caught

Miss Missing You: Impulse and Bdubs (Impulse POV)

Baby, you were my picket fence, I miss missing you now and then/Chlorine kissed summer skin, I miss missing you now and then/Sometimes before it gets better, the darkness gets bigger/The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger/Oh, we're fading fast, I miss missing you now and then

Death Valley: This is the soundtrack to the LL Battle Royale Finale

We're going to die, it's just a matter of time/Hard times come, good times go/I'm either gone in an instant/Or here 'til the bitter end, I never know

Young Volcanoes: The Heart Foundation

C'mon, make it easy, say I never mattered/Run it up the flag pole/We will teach you how to make boys next door/Out of assholes (Hahaha!)/Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds/It's all over now

Rat A Tat: LL!Grian and Mumbo (mostly Grian POV)

But I'll take your heart served up two ways/I sing a bitter song/I'm the lonelier version of you/I just don't know where it went wrong

Save Rock And Roll: DL!Pearl

I cried tears you'll never see/So fuck you, you can go cry me an ocean, and leave me be/You are what you love, not who loves you/In a world full of the word 'yes', I'm here to scream/No, no (No, no)/Wherever I go, go (go, go)/Trouble seems to follow

AMERICAN BEAUTY/AMERICAN PSYCHO

Irresistible: SL!Gem and Pearl (Gem POV)

Count me in unannounced, drag my nails on the tile/I just follow your scent/You can't just follow my smile/All of your flaws are aligned with this mood of mine/Cutting me to the bone/Nothing left to leave behind/You ought to keep me concealed just like I was a weapon/I didn't come for a fight but I will fight till the end/This might be your battle, might not turn out okay/You know you look so Seattle, but you feel so LA

American Beauty/American Psycho: LL!Scott

I think I fell in love again/Maybe I just took too much cough medicine/I'm the best worst thing that hasn't happened to you yet/The best worst thing/You take the full, full truth, then you pour some out/You take the full, full truth, then you pour some out/And you can kill me, kill me or let God sort ‘em out

Centuries: LimL!Martyn

And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name/Cause I was only born inside my dreams/Until you die for me, as long as there's a light, my shadow's over you/Cause I am the opposite of amnesia

The Kids Aren’t Alright: The Mounders

It twists my head just a bit to think/All those people in those old photographs I've seen are dead/And in the end/I'd do it all again/I think you're my best friend

Uma Thurman: 3L!Cleo

You'll find your way/And may death find you alive/Take me down the line/In Gem City, we turn the tide

Jet Pack Blues: Impulse and Bdubs

Honey, don't you leave/Don't you remember how we used to split a drink?/It never mattered what it was, I think/Our heads were just that close/The sweetness never lasts, you know

Novocaine: Guess what, it's Joel again. I'm not even a Joel main why is this happening.

In the truly gruesome do we trust/I will always land on you like a sucker punch/Singing I am your worst, I am your worst nightmare

Fourth Of July: LL!Lizzie and Cleo (Lizzie POV)

I said I'd never miss you/But I guess you never know/May the bridges I have burned/Light my way back home on the fourth of July/I wish I'd known how much you loved me/I wish I cared enough to know

Favorite Record: Post DL!Jimmy

You were the song stuck in my head/Every song that I've ever loved/Play it again and again and again/And you can get what you want but it's never enough

Immortals: 3L!Grian and Scar

I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass, glass (Glass)/(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)/Oh, I try to picture me without you, but I can’t/'Cause we could be immortals/Immortals/Just not for long, for long/And live with me forever now/Mmm, pull the blackout curtains down/Just not for long, for long

Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel In NYC): SL!Martyn and Jimmy

I just need enough of you to dull the pain/Just to get me through the night 'till we're twins again/'Til we're stripped down to our skeletons again/'Til we're saints just swimming in our sins again/And there's a jet black crow droning on and on and on/Up above our heads droning on and on and on/Keep making trouble 'til you find what you love/I need a new partner in crime and you, you shrug that

MANIA

Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea: 3L!Ren

I'm 'bout to go Tonya Harding on the whole world's knee/And I'm stuck, night vision, so stuck, night vision/But I come to life, come to life/Some princes don't become kings/Even at the best of times, I'm out of my mind/You only get what you grieve

The Last Of The Real Ones: Bdubs

My head is stripped, just like a screw that's been tightened too many times/When I think of you, when I think of you/I will shield you from the waves if they find you/I will protect you, I will protect you/Just tell me, tell me, tell me I, I am the only one/Even if it's not true, even if it's not true, yeah

HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T: DL+LimL!Etho and Joel

I got too high again, realized I can't not be with you/Or be just your friend, I love you to death, but I just can't/I just can't pretend, we weren't lovers first/Confidants but never friends, were we ever friends?/But when your stitch comes loose, I wanna sleep on/Every piece of fuzz and stuffing that comes out of you/You, I took too many hits off this memory/I need to come down/An-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-nother day goes by/So hold me tight, hold me tight, or don't/Oh n-n-no, no, this isn't how our story ends

Wilson (Expensive Mistakes): LL!Bdubs

There's nothing more cruel than to be loved by everybody but you (but you)/Than to be loved by everybody but you, (but you) but you/If I could get my shit together/I'm gonna run away and never see any of you again/Never see any of you again/I hope the roof flies off and we get blown out into space/I-I always make such expensive mistakes

Church: SL!Lizzie

I love the world/But I just don't love the way it makes me feel/Got a few more fake friends/And it's getting hard to know what's real/And if death is the last appointment/Then we're all just sitting in the waiting room (Mr. Stump?)/I am just a human trying to avoid my certain doom

Heaven’s Gate: LimL!Skizz (right at the end)

I got dreams of my own, but I want to make yours come true/So please come through, honey please, please come through/Oh, go out in the world, start over again and again/As many times as you can

Champion: SL!Pearl

I got rage every day, on the inside/The only thing I do is sit around and kill the time/I'm trying to blow out the pilot light/I'm trying to blow out the light/I'm just young enough to still believe, still believe/But young enough not to know what to believe in/Young enough not to know what to believe/If I can live through this, if I can live through this/If I can live through this, I can do anything

Sunshine Riptide: LL!Scott

The world tried to burn all the mercy outta me/But you know I wouldn't let it/It tried to teach me the hard way, I can't forget it

Young And Menace: LimL!Martyn

We've gone way too fast for way too long/And we were never supposed to make it half this far/And I lived so much life, lived so much life/I think that God is gonna have to kill me twice

Bishops Knife Trick: Bad Boys

I got a feeling inside that I can't domesticate/It doesn't wanna live in a cage, a feeling that I can't housebreak/And I'm yours 'til the earth starts to crumble and the heavens roll/Away, I'm struggling to exist with you and without you, yeah

SO MUCH (FOR) STARDUST

Love From The Other Side: SL!Etho

I'd never go, I just want to be invited, oh, got to give up/Get the feeling, get the feeling, don't fight it, fight it/Sending my love from the other side of the apocalypse/And I just about snapped, don't look back/Every lover's got a little dagger in their hand

Heartbreak Feels So Good: 3L!Grian

Is there a word for bad miracle?/Nobody said the road was endless/Nobody said the climb was friendless/But could we please pretend this won't end?

Hold Me Like A Grudge: DL!Pearl

(You put the "fun" into dysfunction)/Hold me, hold me like a grudge/The world is always spinning, and I can't keep up, woah/Faster and faster, can't do it on my own/Part-time soulmate, full-time problem, yeah/So hold me like a grudge

Fake Out: SL!Lizzie

But I didn't take the love when I had the chance/But I swear I'm not sad anymore/So make no plans and none can be broken/No plans and none can be broken/Do you laugh about me whenever I leave?/Or do I still need more therapy?

Heaven, Iowa: 3L!Scar

And they don't know how much they’ll miss/At least until you're gone like this/Talking to the mirror, say, "Save your breath/Half your life you've been hooked on death"

So Good Right Now: DL!Bdubs

And I know, I know I've made mistakes, yeah/And I know, I know, but at least they were mine to make/They were mine to make/And all of our wildest dreams, they just end up with a-you and me/So, let's drive until the engine just gives out

The Pink Seashell: Ok, I cannot pull a lyric for this because it is the world’s most specific monologue, but the general message of it (“Life is a lottery and bad shit happens all the time, so might as well find happiness in the good things, even the small things.”) feels like it could be Skizz. Just trust me. This one is so fucking difficult.

I Am My Own Muse: LimL!Jimmy

Here I am, not sure you should take a chance/I like playin' dumb, lettin' you figure me out/But I was faded, in my own defense/So, drop a bomb on all the things we dreamed about

Flu Game: SL!Joel

Last night I dreamt I still knew you/You/I carved out a place in this world for two/But it's empty without you/I got all this love I've got to keep to myself/All this effort to make it look effortless

Baby Annihilation: Scott

The first time I took the mask off, just had another one on underneath

The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years): LimL+ SL!Martyn (but mostly LimL)

Passed my old street, the house I grew up in/It breaks your heart, but four of the Ramones are dead/I felt you at the beginning, but needed you at the end/We're goin' low, low, low, low

What A Time To Be Alive: SL!Bigb

When, when, when I said, "Leave me alone", this isn't quite what I meant/I got the quarantine blues, bad news, what's left?/So, it seems the vulture's gettin' too full to fly, oh/What a time to be alive

So Much (For) Stardust: Ren

I'm in a winter mood, dreamin' of spring now/Burnin' myself down, burnin' myself down, burnin'/I feel like something that's been stretched out over and over again/Until I'm creased, and I'm about to break down the middle/Split me right down the middle, right, right down the middle, yeah

#trafficshipping #trafficblr #life series #third life smp #last life smp #double life smp #limited life smp #secret life smp #fall out boy #ok youre getting all the series tags but not all the member tags. your welcome #anyways ITS DOOOOOOOONE #i love this post. this was so fun. and also took so fucking long #please look my work. and be so niceys to me about it. thank you #save tag

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the-void-writes · 4 months ago

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"Why wasn't I good enough for you?"

Hello and thank you!!! I am so sorry this took like a year to answer 😅 This was just going to be something small, but then I kept getting ideas, and now it’s getting way too long. So I figured I’d do what I did last time and post it all in segments. Again, thank you so much for this ask!

Freaks Of Preston - A Real Hero

Summary: Will is taking the subway to see a new doctor. Along for the ride is Jason, his godfather and guardian, and Isaiah, the birth father who hurt him. Tensions rise between the two dads, for everyone’s viewing.

WC: 1.1k

TW: Mentions of past child abuse (and maybe a brief present depiction because Isaiah shouts at and forcefully grabs his son). There’s also a quick description of a train crash.

———————————————

The subway ride was suffocating, for more reasons than just the size of the car. Will could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. He sat on the left-most part of the bench, with Jason placed firmly between him and Isaiah. Every half a minute, Jason would stare daggers into the larger man, hands twitching whenever Isaiah so much as scratched his neck.

They were heading into Hazelton for the day to meet with a new doctor. Will’s debilitating health was an absolute mystery to the physicians in Preston— they were likely covering up for Vesely, who seemed to have an extensive reach into many businesses’ wallets. If there was any hope for a cure, it would have to be from outside of town.

Will’s mother was stuck at work, and the doctor required at least one of Will’s legal parents, so they had begrudgingly called Isaiah. His charges had been dropped— again— though Will could sadly understand it this time, seeing as he had crushed Isaiah’s arm in an act of blind rage. An eye for an eye, Vesely had said, a necessary exchange, but Will couldn’t believe that. It was a miracle that the boy hadn’t been locked up, though Will suspected that Jason had something to do with that. Any time they passed an officer in Preston, they stiffened as though Jason was an army general, coming to chew them out for a mistake.

That natural intimidation was working on Isaiah, as well. He never laid his eyes on Will, out of fear of what Jason might do to him. Instead, he made a bigger mistake by trying to talk.

“You didn’t have to come, you know.”

Jason flicked his eyes towards Isaiah swiftly, like a sharp stab to the chest. His voice was smooth and cold.

“There’s no way I’ll ever leave Will alone with you again.”

Isaiah closed his eyes. “I know, but you’re putting yourself at risk. The two of you in the same area could draw more attention—”

“I don’t know if it’s come to your attention, but I don’t care if people know what I am. Gabe has hurt us more than your people ever could.”

He stared ahead at the brick walls flying past them through the window, gripping the bench tightly. Will knew that his stress came from more than just Isaiah— the subway itself was a nightmare for Jason. Ves Corp had a similar system for their monorail, and it broke down nearly every week. That was how Will discovered his godfather was claustrophobic. He gave Jason’s hand a gentle pat, getting him to slowly relax his grip.

As their uncomfortable journey continued, Will looked at the passengers around him. There was a young couple on the bench across from him, dressed like they were heading for church on Easter, even though it was autumn. On the bench next to them, there were three tall people in identical pinstripe jackets, with their lips pursed in unison as they looked over their planners. Further down past some older businessmen, there was a woman holding a young boy, who talked excitedly to the elderly couple across from them about his day at the park.

They were ordinary citizens, nothing particularly outstanding or noteworthy, but Will was so happy to see them, because they didn’t even look his way. The nicest part of going to a new city was that people didn’t immediately know he was a Freak. They didn’t stare at him, or call him names, or try to trip him on his way to his seat. He was just a normal kid on a subway— Well, a normal kid with a sickly appearance, a duffel bag full of medical devices, and what looked to be two fathers in a silent argument.

“So,” Isaiah said, lowering his voice, “it’s a parasite?”

A smile formed on Jason’s face, though it was anything but kind. His eyes held pure contempt for the man beside him.

“Bravo, Isaiah. You actually showed interest in your son’s condition.”

“I don’t need the sass.”

“And your son didn’t need his head split open.”

Isaiah rested his head against the window. “I get it, I’ve messed up, but—”

“Messed up? Is that what you call it?”

“I’ve made terrible mistakes.”

“You threw your fever-stricken son down a staircase. You’re past the point of ‘mistakes.’”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Let the whole car hear, for all I care! You’re a monster, Isaiah.”

“Which one of us trained children for war?”

Jason clenched his fists. “I already hate myself for that. I don’t hold myself on a pedestal the way that you do.”

Will tried to speak up, but Isaiah cut him off, gaining the attention of everyone nearby.

“I never asked for Preston to treat me like a hero! I wanted a normal fucking life with my family! William is the one who destroyed that for us.”

Finally, Will was able to get a word in. “How, damn it? How did I ruin your perfect life?”

“You exposed yourself to the public.”

“I did it to save Mom! Why don’t you realize that? Why is everything I do wrong in your eyes?”

In an instant, Isaiah grabbed the collar of his shirt with his one good hand. “You doomed us all, don’t you get it?!”

The other passengers stood up in alarm, some trying to push Isaiah away, while Jason tore Will from his grasp. The conductor even rushed down and pulled Isaiah away from the seat. Will gripped his sleeves as his power swelled in his wrists, overwhelmed by the chaos that surrounded him. His heart pounded in his ears like a symphony of drums.

“It was a mistake to bring you,” he heard Jason say somewhere over the noise. “You may share blood, but you’ve lost the right to be his father.”

“I’ve got news for you, Jay: He’s not your kid. You’re a backup choice, an afterthought. You’re not a real part of this family.”

“Sir,” the conductor yelled, “that’s enough!”

Isaiah struggled against him as he tried to pry him away from his son. Will felt too dizzy to speak, as though his brain was rattling around in his skull. As he rested his hands on the bench, he realized that it was the motion of the train throwing him back and forth.

A loud rumble and the screeching of metal caught everyone’s attention, followed by intense shaking as the subway jumped off of its track. Then, in the blink of an eye, the world began to spin. Passengers flew every which way, flailing and yelling as their car violently fell on its side. Finally, the shaking and sliding stopped, and everyone was still.

Will blinked rapidly, trying to make the world come back into focus. The window he had landed on was splintering under his weight. He couldn’t concentrate enough to push himself away. Both of his arms— which were already weakened from testing, disease, and past abuse— burned with pain. Eventually, Will had to give up on moving, and he closed his eyes.

#writeblr #original writing #wip: freaks of preston

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shadowredfeline · 7 days ago

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Four in One Post

For the Trade i ask.

It's really Sweet to see these OC Couples fighting off the dinosaurs. Since I have remembered my dad played the first and the second on the Nintendo 64, what i don't like was the Lefty controls in the Nintendo 64 version. But since i just ordered the Trilogy on the Switch, the controls are much since the controls are just right. But i'm sure both the other Multiplatform versions like Xbox and PC would be something for both you and our A-Pal to try. And ever since i saw Deev played the PC version during his live stream, and they're really funny. And i was lucky i did made a birthday drawing about that for him and include Sam, Jo and Luna to tag along with him. But i'm sure Luna might try it as well, but i don't think she might be into that, even if she's always into Magical Girl Anime and Nintendo and Sanrio as well as for Cartoon Stuff. But let's hope Shadow, Lisa, Spot and Vanilla will survive by hunting Dinosaurs as well as for Hunters that look similar to the Cartoon Network characters or even people in Bikini Bottom.

Shadow R 😺🗡️: Alright, we'll take out the dinosaurs and hunters whenever we see them!

Lisa 😺❤️⚡️: Right! I know this is my first time experience this game ever since you, your dad and Deev played this game.

Shadow R 😺🗡️: Yes, and Thanks to Spot and Vanilla helping us, we'll be sure to hunt anyone who gets in our way.

Lisa 😺❤️⚡️: Totally!

For Two Responses

First Response on our A-Pal's Pic.

I would ask the same thing because Sanzaru and Sucker Punch have not been doing anything Sly Cooper Related for so long. I mean i know Sly Cooper Thieves in Time was good, but it's been over like 11 years good, and it's time we could go for another one. And it's too bad they didn't release their movie after the Ratchet and Clank movie got terrible ratings, if Sony Pictures were to still produce the movie or show with PlayStation Productions, that would be really nice. I know they did well with the two PlayStation movies, Uncharted and Gran Turismo. And Last of Us which is just a TV Series which we're okay with. Also, i didn't know Sucker Punch worked on the Ghost Series. Not only they made that and Sly Cooper, but my brother and i also played another title called Infamous which the game is quite good. We've played the second and maybe the first one. But i would love to try Second Son even though it's just an okay game on the PlayStation 4. But i should give the Ghosts Series a shot if i have enough dough of me playing any of the PlayStation 5 title.

Second Response on Christmas and my trip with my Social Club.

It's kinda bizarre that a lot of people in my country have been setting up a lot of Christmas stuff this week. Since i know Thanksgiving is only about 6 days away, and afterwards, my family and i would put our autumn and Thanksgiving stuff away and get the Christmas stuff out. And while i start the Christmas exchange with you and our other friends, i have to focus on making a birthday drawing for Luna since her birthday is 10 days before Christmas. And yeah, we do have Whataburger in my state, AZ, I only have like 20 of them. And i'm not sure if other states have them. I know Texas does, but i would refer getting some in Arizona. They have the best ketchup, they have the best milkshakes, they have delicious food as well, and they have the best breakfast there is. And my mom loves having their food, their shakes and their breakfast, and i'm sure my mom enjoys having their pancakes even she got pregnant with me. Plus, i'm sure the Speedsters and the Rabbits would love to try some as well.

And Message from Debby and Paul.

Debby 😺📱🖥️: Mmmmm I just love their pancakes. They're so good. I hope you'll like some Rita. They taste good as well as for other breakfast food at Whataburger. Even Windy might love these too. My Husband had some as well as for other Breakfast options as well. But i hope you and Windy will both love it. Same with their fries and Ketchup.

Paul 😺⚔️⚒️: Well, i do like their breakfast too. Their Taquitos and Sandwiches are really good. Same with some of their lunch and dinner meals. And for Bonn and Scottie, i hope you both like the Taquitos, they got some in hash brown sticks, sausages, and Bacon too. And Scottie, if you and your wife are not into eating meat, there's always the Pancakes platters and Egg Sandwiches and Biscuits you both can have. Even Sam will love them too. Plus, the Cinnamonrolls are good too. I know Debby and i never had them, but i know they're really delicious alongside the Hash Brown sticks.

Debby 😺📱🖥️: And for Lunch and Dinner, there's always Burgers and Chicken tenders and Whatawings. Plus, their onion rings and fries are good too. But i hope you four will like them. As well as for their desserts and salads too.

Thank you, Debby and Paul. And now let's get onto our Filipino Friend's on This Day Post.

It looks nice seeing Murukir looking at the sunset. And yeah, i have used Microsoft Paint so many times from different Windows systems, until i got tired of using it. And lucky for me, i do have Medibang Paint as well as for Colors Live. But with Medibang Paint, i'm also going to test out some of the shapes as a test shot for one of my upcoming drawings. But it'll take a lot of practice getting use with Medibang Paint's shapes compared to using the shapes with Microsoft Paint. Maybe i might keep on with the improvements when drawing with Medibang Paint on my computer, IPad and Cellphone. But i hope with the sunset, let's hope the OC Couples would enjoy seeing the sunset. Even as themselves or as mermaids. Plus, i'm sure they could enjoy hula dancing while the sun is setting.

Also, i do like listening to Lo-Fi Music as well as for some ASMR and Calm Video Game Music anytime i want to relax. Same goes for listening to relaxing music on the beach.

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sansloii · 10 months ago

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[ smooch ] — our muses french kiss while naked (Autumn and Evan <3)

The come down after sex always varied from partner to partner. Sometimes, they craved the contact that came afterwards — riding out the bliss that just seemed to seep into one's bones with the heat. Other, on the other hand, tended not to waste any time grabbing their clothes and scurrying out the door to whatever hotel or temporary apartment he was staying in that week. He didn't really fault the latter for that ( as he was much of the same way ) and the former, he could understand ( though, he tended to be a little bit closed off in his own ways ). Sprinkled in between those two extremes were the partners that straddled the middle, wanting that contact… but only to a point.

Autumn, he's come to realize is among those middle partners… but only over time. Initially, he struck Evan as someone that maybe leaned more towards the more reserved extreme more oft than not and his hunch was not wrong. The man shirked all surface level affections outside of sex and didn't linger when he didn't need to. That isn't to say he was a bad lover… but he knew not to anticipate much in the way of typical post-sex activities ( snuggling and all that ) and he was perfectly fine with that. They saw each other often ( living in the same apartment complex will do that ) so the sex alone was enough… for a time.

He doesn't quite remember when Autumn had started opening up, but he did notice when the pink haired man started to linger longer than he usually does. It wasn't paired with any extra affection, no… but there was a comfort to that silent closeness and it easily filled the space between them. Before long, Autumn was sleeping at his place and leaving in the morning to amble back to his own apartment at his own pace. He wasn't a morning person… but, here and there, he'd crack an eye open to see the expanse of Autumn's back, lingering on the lines of his shoulder blades and whatever other muscles drew his eye.

Sometimes, he'd reach out to touch — to pull Autumn back beneath the sheets with him if for nothing else than to leave more permanent marks where no one else could see — but his hand would only come just shy of doing that. It'd casually drop down onto the mattress before long and he'd pretend that her hadn't just done that.

One such morning — a morning where Autumn seemed a little more reluctant to pull himself out of Evan's bed — the weapon's dealer allows himself to touch. He, slowly, brushes a knuckle against the base of a naked spine one morning slowly. Brown eyes drift up a little to watch Autumn's reaction, noting the slight change in posture with an accompanying shift that told him that the other man was going to turn his head to look at him.

…And in that moment, Evan sits up himself. Autumn's already turned to look at him, eyes down first ( as that's where the other expected him to be ) before they very quickly slide up. The raven leans forward with very little hesitation and even lifts a hand to grasp the other by his face to keep him from jerking his head back or something akin to that. He tilts his head and their lips meet soon after that--a slow, sleepy token meant to draw the other back into bed with him. It's followed by another and the man's eyelids droop to half mast as he now speaks against Autumn's lips between kisses that don't quite end.

“Five more minutes…” he murmurs, and the hand at Autumn's chin slides further to cup the back of his neck. “…I'm not done with you yet.”

oddly specfic sensual touches [ not accepting ] | @dasmondkuss

#dasmondkuss #🗪 ┊ ⧼ you all are some chatty cathys! ⧽ ⇹ ( asks. )#✖ ┊ ⧼ the guns aren’t just for show ⧽ ⇹ ( e. )#⚜ ┊ ⧼ it’s a wonderful cat’s life ⧽ ⇹ ( main verse. )#👿 ┊ ⧼ the most fun you can have without laughing ⧽ ⇹ ( usfw. )#usfw cw

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onedivinemisfit · 2 years ago

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2022 Creator’s Self-Love Extravaganza

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works (fics, art, edits, etc.) you’ve created this year and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2022. If you don’t have five published works, that’s fine! Include ideas/drafts/whatever you like that you’ve worked on/thought about, and talk a little about them instead! Remember, this is all about self-love and positive enthusiasm, so fuck the rules if you need to. Have fun, and tag as many fellow creators as you like so they can share the love!

Tagged by @bubblesthemonsterartist tho I daresay I am fashionably late at this point, more than two weeks into the new year. Did I forget? Maaaaybe. Which brings us right to the main problem;

I barely remember. Like. 2022. At all. Things happened, I’m sure, but it’s as if there’s a fine layer of mist atop my memories, stopping me from really seeing them. Last year wasn’t really very kind to me. For every up, three downs followed, and between two failed surgeries, a bout of covid, and then whatever the hell kind of flare happened in the autumn… yeah. Idek. It is what it is.

As such, I can’t really comment on my art as like, a whole process, this year. It just existed in the ‘now’, which is presently the ‘then’. I know I beat my submission record from last year, but it felt like a meaningless victory. Despite everything, I can feel it in my hand now, when I draw, that some progress has been made. Subconsciously perhaps, but it’s there.

Onto the ranking then! (I just had to pull up the archive cuz fuck if I remember what I posted, and when)

*deep sigh* we all saw this coming, didn’t we? As much as I love, I curse this image, for in hindsight it felt as if all my creative energy for the entire damned year went into this one piece! Like how dare! But yes it is one of my best redraws ever, and more so than the characters, I feel like I added to the background something even better than the original. There, I said it.

Omigod this entire thiiiiiing. Were it not for the redraw, this would be the top spot. I can’t explain, so many ideas are left in the brain for countless hours, days, months, YEARS. This was two years in the making, and never before did I manage to recreate something that had the exact same vibe as it looked in my imagination. Especially because I’m not a comic creator, hashtag compulsive disclaimer lol. Also while I was drawing it, seeing people go from “hmmm what’s this?” to “wait is that-?” and then “ooooooh it is the lead-up to The Thing” was priceless.

A last-second outlier comes in third. I admit to making this in a hurry, just to have something really nice to show for december (a month which is usually a highly productive month to me, but 2022 didn’t let me have that either) and as such, since I was struggling, both with a deadline, and a lack of real inspiration, I feel like. I managed to improve, somehow. Call it magic, but this looks noticeably different to many of my other colored pieces.

To be perfectly honest, this was a sketch. People might not think it one, for it has details, a color scheme, and even effects - but at the time I posted it, this was just a colorized sketch in my mind. Tumblr disagreed. And I was left in awe watching this first get reblogged within the fandom, then beyond, then go through a hanfu appreciation blog, and finally reblogged with a truly tender chinese poem attached that said person felt gave them the same vibe as what I had drawn. The people spoke, and I was both awed and humbled, and I learned a valuable lesson in humanity relating to art.

Unlike the others, this was a conscious attempt at something different. I can’t really say why it should go in the fifth spot, but it does; i spent a lot more time than usual on composition, colors, and most importantly, mood setting. And putting characters so solidly into the middleground can be a challenge in itself for me, as I run the risk of getting storybook-ish. Which would’ve been disastrous for a scene like this.

Honorable mention;

Coping through art. @bubblesthemonsterartist has the honor of inspiring this, or like, being the one to “give me” the go-ahead to channel some of my experiences through the characters and story-telling in general. Back pain is something I know all too well, and it was well and truly therapeutic. I also got to do another test of “can I retell this scene, even if I switch part of the cast and premise?” And it seems I did. I will always remember @what-plant-metaphor-am-i ‘s tag; ‘# I feel like I just watched an entire episode XD’ <- never has my inner storyteller been more validated.

There, that wasn’t so hard! Sometimes I’m really thankful for the internet, and timestamps, and kicking my memory back into gear etc… anyway, since I am so woefully late to the party, I’m not tagging anyone specifically; if you wanna be fashionably late too, you know who tagged you~

#2022 self love extravaganza #art meme #self love meme #2022 summary #myart #about the artiste

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elstreem · 15 days ago

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Progress post for this BediGuda illustration I made so I don't have to yap on the proper post for this one.

Basically the inspiration for this was the association of apple and pies with autumn (which I picked up from Animal Crossing) so I thought to draw Bedi and Ritsuka in outfits based off the idea of apples, baking, and pies.

I'm not sure it comes across, but I was aiming for the look of the the crisscross pie top thingy on Bedi's sleeve, and Ritsuka wears a cutesy baking-y outfit, and I just gave them all sorts of apple accessories. Originally, Ritsuka's outfit is red, but I just have this thing where I like the Gudas wearing green or white while Bedi wears something blue or orange, basically wearing each others' colors. It's the same idea as to why Ritsuka's hair pin is the silver apple while Bedi's is gold (to represent Gudako's eyes).

I had finished this around two weeks ago, I think? And I did post it and then realized I absolutely massively fukk'd up Bedi's arms. His left is natural, and Airgetlam is on the right and for some reason, it totally failed to register even while I finished the line art, colors and rendering. (and it's even worse when the piece I drew before this was another hug BediGuda thing and I drew that correctly. wtf) I fixed it within the same day but, well - it didn't really feel like the right time to post something cutesy and sweet and making that mistake on top of it all made me hate this so much I deleted the post.

I'm in a better place now mentally, enough to start liking this again, but if I'll be honest I still feel like I need to sort some stuff out with my relationship with posting art. I had this feeling building up of hating everything I've ever done and deleting all my online accounts. Taking a break curbed that impulse and I feel like I can think about this somewhat better now.

I just feel like sometimes I think of posting art in a way that asks so much out of it, when really, just making it is something I couldn't stop doing. Mistakes and all, I enjoy doing it. It wouldn't be a way to achieve worldly success, but doing it helps me a lot and focuses my energy into something I like.

So that being said - to all the people who've liked my stuff, or said nice things - thank you so much. I'm sorry I nearly never express that gratitude, but please know I am so grateful.

#i forgot my tag for these things #eh nvm it's so much yapping anyway

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awiola · 2 months ago

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Normal update, autumn summer XXIV

Imagine being about two weeks late, tsk tsk. But the previous one was too early so now it's perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Current game stuff

Unsurprisingly, not a lot to say here. Due to a tiny lil irl fuckup I'm gonna be moderately hella busy for half a year or so which means - exactly - even less devving from me than before! Soon we'll get below zero!

But, so it's not yet another non update - Impostor Syndrome is still in the works. Rn I'm pretending to be a programmer and trying to learn a whole new engine to make the game less heavy, laggy and all that stuff. Optimisation is hard and I have no idea what I'm doing, wish me luck 💪

I'm participating in Yuri jam with shino with an ABO mecha story. I'm the only artist so we'll see how many assets I'm actually able to produce but it's supposed to be a short game so it should be doable. Think I'll post about it here after it's done. It's my first time drawing mecha and I was given free rein so yeah, be scared. I tried to go for both old SF and retrofuturism with some modern elements. Not promising anything but it's not the worst thing I've drawn so that's something? Despite the premise, there won't actually be a whole lot of zerg fighting action since programming fight scenes is a pain. Sry. But it's a jam so you gotta scope knife sometimes.

"24 >:C" stuff is not really progressing but like a day before Argousze's release anniversary, I remembered I was suposed to work on it before it's 5 years old so I checked the date and it was actually from 2020 so I still have a year :D Would probably work on the other stuff but again, I'm busier than expected and gotta have priorities and all that.

Pariiish noootiiiceees

Insect (adjacent) jam is still ongoing for around a month so if you suddenly got a great game idea, there's still time to make it! Goodspeed, soldier. I don't wanna call it a complete flop but ig that's what I get for doing absolutely no marketing. I'll reflect on that for the next time. Maybe.

Next year we're cooking. It's come to my attention that people would like to participate in Object Head jam yet again so Miss Mermelada might be back in 2025. I've got thug's blessing already. [Go play Object Ward, btw]. I have to plan everything properly since there's a lot of major jams all year round and I wanted to host Underwater jam next year. It's exactly what it sounds like - as long as it's happening underwater, it's cool. Same rules as before, though I might add a FAQ or something as I remember getting a question I wrote down somewhere... And I'll try to be a better moderator than during Bird jam orz Actually, I should still check it and get rid of spam entries... But that's for later.

Over.

#vndev #awi update #devstuff

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yuzu-all-the-way · 2 years ago

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Yuzuru Hanyu's senior SP costumes

3. Otonal

Otonal is the short program which Yuzu used during the 2018-2019 season and partly during the 2019-2020 season (he switched back to Ballade No. 1 & Seimei for 2020 4CC - for more info about the change, watch this). This program is a tribute to Johnny Weir, one of the skaters which inspired Yuzu.

In 2018, the rules of figure skating changed and the +/-5 GOE system was introduced.

With Otonal, Yuzu broke two world records. The first, at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki with a score of 106.69 points (at this GP, Yuzu also broke the world record for the FS and for the total score).

Yuzuru became the first skater to score above 110 points at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup in the new system (110.53 points, to be exact), thus breaking a second world record within a couple of weeks.

Chronologically, these are Yuzu's 13th and 14th world records. The first 12 are now considered historical.

For more information about Otonal as a program check this post. For a shorter breakdown of the StSq, here.

As it generally happens when Yuzu recycles programs, his costume underwent quite a change from 2018-2019 to 2019-2020. The two versions are generally referred to as Otonal 1.0 and Otonal 2.0.

Once again, blue Yuzu costumes. It could be that the colour for Otonal is chosen to correspond to JW's own Otonal costume.

[Such a long post. Read more under the cut.]

Otonal 1.0

For the making of the costume - here

The design of Otonal 1.0 struck me as unique the first time I saw it. The short hem of the top is quite unusual, however, I like how it draws attention to Yuzu's waist. The sequins added to the high waist of the lower part of the costume contribute to this effect as well.

This is the first costume of Yuzu's which has a deep V-neck and a high collar in the back (Origin 2.0 has a similar design). I prefer this gradient to the ones the Chopin costumes had. It's a soft transition from an extremely light shade of blue (Geyser) to a darker shade of blue (Matisse). It contrasts beautifully with Yuzu's skin tone and it's easy to follow on the ice, too.

The cleavage is covered with skin-coloured mesh-cloth. The ruffles on the sides of it are interwoven with sequin strips that crisscross and small rhinestones. There's also a subtle color difference between the ruffles and the cloth underneath them.

The sequin-pattern travels down the front and nicely wraps around the back alongside the hem of the top.

The vertical back pattern also consists of crisscrossed sequin strips with simple sequins scattered around, a beautiful center piece of the costume. Personally, I see within this back pattern a resemblance to the traces left by blades on ice.

The upper arms and the wrists together with the back of the hands don the same crisscrossed pattern with sequins around them. The details and the way everything flows together for this costume make it one of my favorite Yuzuru Hanyu costumes ever. The blue theme is also a plus for me.

At 2018 Autumn Classic, Yuzu wore skin-colored gloves. In later competitions, Yuzu chose dark colored ones as they contrast with the ice and the hand-movements, all the way to the fingertips, are easier to see. It's well-known how much attention Yuzu pays to the choreography of his programs - even his fingers have their own choreography, so it's important for us, the public, to be able to see the movements clearly.

Plus, the gloves emphasize the elegance of Yuzu's hands and gestures.

Otonal 1.0 is genuinely one of Satomi Ito's best creations for Yuzu, in my opinion. It can be argued that compared to other costumes (such as Phantom of the Opera, Seimei or Otonal 2.0) the design is simpler. Nevertheless, the beauty lies in how all the elements come together and when Yuzu skates, this costume is magical.

Otonal 2.0

Ice Emperor - this is the first thing that comes to mind when I see Yuzu wearing this costume. The pose, the eyes, the spirit of this athlete, all create a stoic and confident image.

This time, the costume is a very light shade of blue - it definitely reminds me of how ice is usually shown in drawings hence my instant connection to the term "Ice Emperor".

I admit that the first photo is not perfectly showing off the colors of Otonal 2.0 nor is it too helpful for distinguishing the details. Yet, I chose this photo specifically because of the pose since I wanted to present a direct contrast between Otonal 1.0 and Otonal 2.0.

This costume is much more complex than the first version, in my eyes. There are multiple shades of blue used, the gradient still being present, although, it is a subtle gradient. At a first glance and seen from afar, the costume seems to get darker from top to bottom. While this is technically true, the gradient is not uniform. The strips of material that create the 'shredded' hem can be seen to have different shades of blue. This detail enhances the beauty and uniqueness of this costume as well as allows the costume to flow naturally.

The high neckline enriches the elegance of the costume as a hint of the ruffles from Otonal 1.0 remains. The folded material on the torso seems to be a bit bulky, yet the sequins and few rhinestones manage to soften the look. I truly like the way the top has an overlapping effect based on how the material is sewed and on the angle of the folds. On Yuzu's right, they are angled to flow downwards, while the ones on his left are oriented towards the center. The effect is further supported by the sequins placement - running along the folds.

While Otonal 1.0 mostly has silver sequins and sequin strips (detail which I've just noticed), Otonal 2.0 combines more sequin colors - gold, silver, dark and light blue. In the above close-up photo, the visual is stunning. What can't be seen in this photo but is noticeable in the first and last Otonal 2.0 photos are the sequins on the front that run down the 'overlap' stitch creating a beautiful more prominent strip.

The back of the costume maintains the folded fabric style with the zipper running down the middle of the back, becoming the line where the folds meet. In contrast with the front of the costume, the back pattern is formed of multiple Vs alternating from light to dark blue. Moreover, the Vs are accentuated by the sequins. The 'shredded' hem is a gentle transition between the sharp pattern and the plain black pants. The colors of the sequins used are the same as the ones on the front as expected in order to maintain the symmetry of the costume.

The sleeves are another beautiful feature of the costume. While the front and back are loaded with fabric, sequins and various gradient stages, the sleeves are light and nearly empty. This gives a balance to the costume. Also, I can't quite tell from these photos if the sleeves are almost see-through or simply very lightly colored.

Nevertheless, the details, such as the faded dark blue lines together with the sequins and the dark blue cuffs, complete Otonal 2.0's look. As pointed out for Otonal 1.0, Yuzu prefers gloves that contrast with his costumes for the gestures to be seen more clearly. This version doesn't lack the gloves either and they blend in well with the cuffs.

Overall, Otonal 2.0 is far more elegant than 1.0, in my opinion. Both are incredible costumes and fit the music very well (not to mention the choreography).

There's been a debate going on through my mind about which Otonal version I prefer. I'd have thought once I wrote this post (I refrain from calling it an 'analysis' since I'm simply describing the things I'm seeing) I would know.

Not a chance. I was once an Otonal 1.0 lover then Otonal 2.0 sneaked in , so now I'm indecisive. Since there's no competition needed, though, I can safely conclude that both costumes have their own vibe and create different atmospheres for the program while in motion. Otonal 1.0 is more relaxed, dare I say, playful, while Otonal 2.0 is serious and commanding all the attention.

This is a post-series that’s meant to complement the ranking of Yuzu’s senior SPs in order of personal preference

Note: The costumes are in the order I ranked Yuzu’s SPs, not in order of least favourite to favourite costume

#yuzuru hanyu #otonal #otonal 1.0 #otonal 2.0 #2018 ACI #2018 rostelecom cup #2018 cor #sp yuzu costumes #figure skating #2019 gpf #2019 nhk

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