#I actually had all the words this time! XP

[gamebunny-advance]

Thanks for voting everybody~

I guess y'all are fiending for that melon soda character as much as I am, so that's one I'll def work on (though, tbh that's the one I had the least clear vision for XP). As for the rest, I'll also do the Pirate/Sea Captain since that one technically has a second vote which puts it in second place, and the third... I'll do a coin flip since I have solid-ish ideas for both.

And the coin said... Mime/Clown. But, I'll probs work in the alien idea eventually~

Hwah...

I'm not gonna finish these before Art Fight starts, but I still wanted to do this as a personal project.

So, after getting prompted by my buddy @gingerweed-man (thanks for the suggestion ^o^), I feel like designing some more seals for "Animal Crossing: Open Seas", my fantasy AC sequel. I posted a sketch of the base model and a potential villager already, but I wrote down some ideas for a few more. Too many ideas.

So, I want y'all to vote on which concept you'd like to see most. I'll try to do the top 3, but eventually I would like to draw all of them~ If you have more than one favorite, feel free to reply with your second and/or third runner's up.

*If you don't know these personalities, click the link to my original post about AC: Open Seas.

[cosmicbucky]

A chubby reader who's super self conscious of her belly and bust? Like she's strong and stuff, comes with the higher weight, but just....

Cant really wear anything unless it's sweats and a sweater, or a t-shirt. Almost never goes out.

And one day Bucky comes to the compound. Reader immediately gets a crush, and has major anxiety over it, like "leaving the room when he comes near" anxiety. Bucky thinks it's his fault, that he's done something wrong and talks to you about it.

He decides to talk to you about it, crying ensues because insecurities, and then the fluff.

Sorry this ask is so long, I'm kinda scrambled XP

hi, lovely! 💫

first of all, don't apologize for bringing this beautiful request into my world! i was beyond excited to have the chance to bring this idea to life, and i hope the direction i took with it does justice to what you had in mind!

second of all, i am so sorry this took me so long to put out, this request is so lovely and i really wanted to make it the best i could.

i hope you enjoy!

matches

pairing: bucky barnes x midsize!reader

word count: 3974

warnings: insecurities and self consciousness, mild body image issues, brief self depreciating thoughts, angst, mutual pining, fluff, swearing, allusions to mature themes, let me know if i missed anything!

please do not read this if you're not comfortable with any of the above topics. while they are not heavily focused on, they are the main theme of this fic

a/n: big thanks to @buckylattes for reading this and catching some of the dumb ass mistakes i made lmao

《《《《 ♡ 》》》》

Being part of the Rescue and Reconnaissance division of Stark Industries wasn't the most glamorous job, but you loved it. You got to work nearly hand in hand with field agents every day, formulating plans for raids, rescues, infiltrations, or general takedown missions to make sure all those involved worked as safely and efficiently as possible. 

You were the one they turned to when a new plan was needed; when they were at risk. There were a few agents who refused to listen to anyone other than you when it came to these times - specifically asking for you to help them through. 

Agent Barnes was one of these people, and though you could never voice it, he was your favourite to deal with. He was always kind and courteous, understanding in the fact that despite not being in the same rankings as him, you damn well knew what you were doing. And, well, it didn't hurt that he always found a moment to be a charming little flirt. 

You have no idea why he had such faith in you. Maybe it was because you always took what he suggested into consideration when calculating next steps. Maybe it was because your ideas were as crazy as his sometimes. Maybe it was simply because he liked the sound of your voice. 

You never knew. 

You never actually met him.

All your dealings with field agents were done from the safety of your control room. You never minded it, though. It was nice, in a way. You absolutely loved doing what you do, but you would never be able to handle being around field agents all the time. Not when they look the way they do, and you…. well, you're you. 

Your thighs touch when you walk, your belly shakes when you laugh, your arms jiggle when you move. You have to painstakingly pick out the right kinds of shirts, otherwise your chest will make it seem like you're three times as big as you really are. 

You were the chubby girl who always hid in the shadows, too afraid to let the world see how bright you truly shine - you were a flame ready to ignite, but no one around you ever offered you a match. 

You were used to it. You made peace with it a long time ago, finding solace in your own company instead of relying on other people to enjoy your time with. It still bothered you from time to time, and you let yourself have days where you wallowed in it, wishing things were different, wishing you looked different. Though, for the most part, it stopped bothering you so much the older you got. 

Until the day you finally met Bucky. 

It was a strange day, being sent to the compound. You've never been sent anywhere before, always planted in your seat while talking to field agents across the world. Yet here you were, being requested by Tony Stark himself. 

You must have spent hours trying to find the right outfit. One that showed off your curves without accentuating the extra pudge around your middle. One that complimented your chest without highlighting the size. One that showed off your ass without making it look massive. One that carefully hid your arms. One that you felt comfortable in. 

It felt like your heart was in your throat the whole time. The butterflies in your stomach turned into a full on frenzy, and you had to take deep breaths every few seconds to stay calm; and to not throw up. 

You barely heard it when Tony said he wanted you working under him. You could hardly process it when he said he created a job just for you. You didn't quite understand it when he told you there was space for you at the compound, and he wanted you here full time. 

All you could do was dumbly nod your head, trying to focus on what he was saying instead of the fact that Bucky Barnes was just outside the conference room. 

By the time the meeting was over, you felt lightheaded. You clutched the contract you were given against your chest and took a final deep breath before leaving the room, hoping to get by unnoticed. It's not like he even knew who you really were, right? 

A gentle calling of your name told you that you were very, very wrong. 

Your feet became rooted in place as you squeezed your eyes shut, focusing all you could on calming your nerves before turning around. And jesus christ, nothing could have prepared you for how beautiful this man actually was in person. 

"Hi," you breathed out, a tiny shy smile gracing your lips. 

"Hi," he said, unintentionally mimicking you. 

His eyes travelled over your face before taking their time roaming your body; you shifted uncomfortably and clutched the contract a little tighter as he stayed fixed on you. A smirk graced his lips, but it was gone before you could really focus on it. 

"It's, uh-... it's nice to finally meet you, Agent Barnes," you muttered sheepishly, hesitantly offering him your hand. 

"You can call me Bucky," he said, smiling warmly as he took your hand in his, sending fire throughout your whole body. "I'd like to say thank you for saving my ass as often as you do, but thank you doesn't seem like enough."

You chuckled, feeling your face flush under his gaze. "'Thank you' suffices just fine, Bucky. I've only been doing my job."

"Speaking of," he started, tilting his head a little as he eyed the contract you held. "You gonna take it?" he asked curiously, his eyes snapping back to yours. 

"What?" you asked, caught off guard by his question.

"The job," he said, gesturing between the contract in your hands and the conference room you just occupied. "You gonna say yes?" 

"How do you know about that?" you asked curiously.

"I know things," he said passively, shrugging his shoulders. "How 'bout I show you around? You can see the place before you decide anything."

You wanted to say no. You wanted to run away and retreat into yourself once more. Though something about the way he was looking at you made it hard to do so. 

So, you agreed. 

And that's how everything started. 

You took the job, moving into the compound a few days after that. You quickly made friends with the girls, and they became your support group; they would help you when it came to shopping for clothes or finding the right outfit for events. They offered to go for walks with you or do yoga - anything you felt like doing, really. You still felt inferior to them from time to time, but not because they made you feel that way; no one at the compound did. 

Only yourself. 

When it came to the boys, it was more or less the same thing. You felt comfortable around them, and you never minded close contact or them seeing you in tighter fitting clothes. 

Everyone was family, and it never felt awkward or uncomfortable around them. 

Except for when it came to Bucky. 

You still grew closer to him over the months of you living at the compound so far, but it hasn't been easy. It was a constant challenge, and it grew harder for you day after day.

When it came to you working alongside him on his missions, everything was great. Nothing with him changed, aside from him throwing out a few more flirty comments. And, since you still had the safety net of being behind comms, you threw some right back at him. 

Once the missions were over, though, it was hard to be around him. You wanted to be around him, but it was nearly impossible. Your feelings for him grew, and the stronger your feelings were, the more distant you became. 

You were careful to only wear sweaters or loose tees paired with sweatpants around him, making sure he would never catch sight of the extra weight you carried around. You quit eating around him; it's not like you had bad eating habits, but you couldn't shake the panic that he would somehow be disgusted, that he would think the reason you're so chubby was because of your diet. You stopped sitting near him during movie nights, and you never hugged him. No matter how much you itched to wrap your arms around him when he came home safe from missions, you couldn't risk him feeling the rolls your body carried, or how soft and pudgy you were. 

It was driving Bucky crazy.

From the minute he finally set his eyes on you, he couldn't get you out of his head. He was beyond thrilled when you agreed to Stark's offer, and he couldn't wait to take the opportunity to get to know you - which was a massive step for him. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling he did something to upset you. 

He grew more confused every day. When it came to conversing over the comms during missions, you two were like a well oiled machine; giggles and flirting and jokes of previous missions. No one would ever know something was amiss. 

Yet when everyone would return home, it was like a switch was flipped. You greeted everyone with hugs and smiles and affection, and Bucky always waited patiently for his turn: but it never came. Instead, you turned to him with an awkward smile and shining eyes and gave him the traditional "welcome home, soldier" that, despite everything, always pulled a smile from his lips. 

He racked his brain every night trying to figure out if he did something, if he said something, but he could never come up with anything. He could never find a reason for the way you would some days leave the room as soon as he entered, for why you always hid away from him when he would catch you off guard in workout clothes or formal attire. He could never come up with an explanation and it was eating him alive. 

The final straw came for him on the night of Pepper’s birthday party. 

He didn’t want to go, he never wanted to go to these things, but ever since you came around he found himself more willing to at least make an appearance; if only to see you. However, he wasn’t even positive if you were going to show up this time, given the way you’ve been so distant lately - and that made him not want to go at all. So he was biding his time, sitting in the kitchen and emptying a bottle of whiskey, trying to not make it obvious that he was waiting to see if you’d wander out of your room before he slipped away to the party.

You stood in front of your mirror for what felt like hours, never before feeling more diffident as you assessed your reflection. You’ve been to some of Tony’s parties before, but this was for Pepper - it was the most grandiose one you’ve attended to date. You weren’t left much choice but to dress your fanciest, and you felt so unfamiliar with your own body as your hands trailed down the fabric of your dress. It was form fitting, hugging every curve you had and accentuating your figure in a way you weren’t used to seeing. The straps were small and the cut was low, it travelled midcalf and had a small slit up the side, showing way more of your leg than you wanted. You had a burning desire to change, but Nat insisted you looked incredible, and Wanda already applied a touch of makeup to match the dress - not to mention you were already running late as it was. 

With one last heavy sigh, you steeled yourself before slipping on your heels and marching out of your room. You thought of anything and everything you could as you marched down the hall, doing your best to pay no mind to the way you felt the fabric clinging to your body with every move you made. God, you really should have put on shapewear. 

Bucky heard you before he saw you, your footfalls echoing through the floor in the same pattern he came to memorize in the months you’ve been here. He took a deep breath, prepared for the fact that you would most likely brush him off once more. He was not prepared, though, for the sight of you as you rounded the corner. 

You were not prepared to see him sitting there, clad in a pressed suit, or for him to quite literally choke on the drink he was nursing as he took in your presence. 

“Jesus, Bucky. Are you alright?” you inquired, conflicted between staying where you stood and approaching him. 

A dismissive wave of his hand had you staying in place, your arms wrapping around your middle as you began to feel exposed to him. 

“I’m fine, I’m good,” he coughed out, refilling his glass as if nothing happened. 

You stood there quietly, completely unsure of what to do next. The silence was becoming louder and louder but you didn’t want to draw his attention to you. Not when you were looking like this. Not when he’d be able to see every curve and divot of your body, the protrusion of your stomach, the ample raise of your chest. You were really starting to regret not changing. 

“Are you gonna stand there and stare all night or head to the party?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the glass before him. His tone was playful, but his voice had a rasp to it that sent a shiver down your spine. 

“Oh, uh - sorry,” you muttered, clearing your throat as you slowly advanced in his direction. “Are, um-… are you gonna join the party?” 

He huffed a small laugh, his eyes finally raising to meet yours only to find that you were looking almost everywhere but at him, effectively wiping the small smile from his face. 

“I’m not so sure,” he said lowly, downing the contents of his glass as he kept his eyes on you. 

You hummed, looking down at your hands before chancing a glance at him; his gaze on you so intense that you immediately looked away again. 

“Well, I- I hope to see you there,” you said sincerely, wringing your fingers together. “You look really nice, Buck” you added quietly, looking up at him just long enough to flash him a warm smile before continuing through the kitchen. 

“Did I do something wrong?” he called after you, the hurt in his voice impossible to miss. 

“What?” you asked in confusion, turning to glance in his direction. 

“Did I do something wrong?” he repeated, leaning back in his chair. “Because ever since you moved in here, it’s like you can’t stand the sight of me.” 

You couldn’t help the nervous chuckle that left you, shaking your head in disbelief. “That’s not true.” 

“No?” he asked, his tone taking on a new edge. “Are you sure? ‘Cause you can’t even fucking look at me right now. You practically run from me when I enter the same room, you do everything you can to avoid me, and let’s not forget the fact that I’m the only one around here who you don’t hug after getting back from missions.”

“Bucky-” you tried to explain, but the lump forming in your throat stopped you short. 

“I just wanna know what I did,” he carried on, voice softer this time. “I don’t know if you’re angry with me or- or if you’re scared of me-” 

“I am not scared of you,” you interrupted, finally meeting his gaze. “Please don’t think that.”

“What else am I supposed to think?” he asked quietly. “Everything is fine when I’m out on the field, we- I get along with you better than anyone. But then I come home, and it’s not the same.”

“It’s not-... it’s not like that, Bucky,” you whispered sadly, unintentionally looking away from him again. 

“Yeah, if you say so,” he said curtly, sighing in defeat as he filled his glass again. “Just enjoy the party, okay?”

“You’re not coming?” you asked, unable to keep the disappointment from your voice. 

“Well, you’re just gonna avoid me anyway. Might as well make it easier for you and stay here,” he replied, keeping his eyes on the twirling glass in his hands. 

“I don’t want you to think like that,” you admitted softly. “I- I don’t mean to do the things I do.”

“Then why do they happen?” he inquired, his eyes meeting yours and displaying a painful mix of hurt and confusion. 

“Because,” you started, feeling your bottom lip quiver. “I mean, look at me, Buck,” you finished, as if that was explanation enough. 

“Believe me, I’m looking,” he said gently. “And you look-... well, I wanna say you look beautiful, but that implies you don’t always look beautiful, so, I- I don’t know what I’m supposed to say,” he added, his voice so low he may as well have been speaking to himself, but you heard every word he muttered. 

“...What?” you breathed out, staring over at him. 

“What?” he questioned, glancing up to catch your eye.

You tried to swallow the lump in your throat but it just kept on growing, forcing you to choke on your words. 

“Hey, wait, don’t-... okay, now I really said something wrong, right?” he asked quickly, starting to panic as he watched your eyes fill with tears. 

Shaking your head vehemently, you delicately wiped your eyes, hoping not to smudge the work that Wanda did for you. “No, you- I just didn’t expect you to say that. I-... I'm not used to hearing that." 

"You're not?" he asked, genuinely surprised. 

You almost laughed, and you probably would have if it wasn't such an embarrassing thing to admit. "No. I'm… guys don't really call girls who look like me beautiful." 

He fell silent for a minute, eyeing you carefully before shifting in his seat, resting his arms on the table.

"You know, I've been alive for a pretty long time now," he said conversationally, as if you weren't on the cusp of a breakdown. "And I've also been quite literally around the whole world in that time. Some of it I remember, some of it… not so much. But even so, do you know what the one thing I can say with complete certainty is?" 

You waited for him to go on for a moment before realizing he was actually looking for an answer. "No, what?" you manage to croak out. 

He smiled softly, relaxing in his seat again. "I have, quite literally, never met anyone as beautiful as you. And I mean in both appearance and personality." 

"But I- I'm not… I don't have the kind of body like the other women around here," you murmured, casting your gaze downwards as if you were ashamed of your words. 

"So?" he asked incredulously. "Do you seriously think that you're automatically not beautiful just because you aren't the same size as them?" 

"No, it- you can't- I'm not-" you tried to argue, but all you could get out were a few utterances before you had to choke back a sob, completely lost on how to express yourself. 

"Is this why you've been avoiding me? Have I done something to make you uncomfortable?" he asked anxiously, fighting the urge to approach you. 

"Yes. I mean no, I-" you cut yourself off with a sigh, taking a moment to consider your answer. "I've been too embarrassed to be around you. I-... I was afraid you'd be repulsed by me and that I'd lose you." 

"Repulsed by you? A woman who puts fucking goddesses to shame?" he asked in disbelief. "Did me choking on my drink earlier not prove how taken by you I am?" 

"Is that what that was?" you wondered, letting out a watery laugh. 

"Yeah, that's what that was," he confirmed with a soft chuckle. "A guy does a real life spit take when he sees the girl of his dreams looking like the focus of a goddamn renaissance painting and she doesn't even realize it," he mumbled in exasperation, yet his eyes carried a playful sparkle. 

"The girl of your dreams?" you repeated in shock, your voice a nervous whisper. 

"Was that too cliché?" he questioned, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

"Maybe a little," you said playfully, sniffling quietly. 

"I know how it feels, you know," he said softly. "To feel uncomfortable in your own body. But if you'd let me, I'll spend every day proving to you that I see you as nothing short of perfect." 

You could only nod, giving him a weak smile as you fought back a wave of tears. "Yeah, I-... I could do that, too," you agreed quietly. 

He grinned softly, greedily taking in your appearance once more before tearing his eyes away. "Come on," he urged, downing his drink before standing up. "You owe me about seven dances." 

"Where does that number come from?" you asked with a laugh, watching as he approached you. 

"For how many parties you snubbed me at so far," he replied casually, stopping as he stood before you. 

"I never snubbed you," you grumbled, peering up at him. 

"Sure you didn't," he teased, carefully wiping the tears from your face. 

"Do I still look okay?" you asked nervously, fidgiting slightly under his touch. 

"Gorgeous as ever," he replied sincerely. 

You couldn't help but grin, laughing a little anxiously. "Okay. Come on, or else we won't have enough time for all those dances." 

Bucky laughed happily, taking your hand and rushing to join the party, having you giggling in his wake as you did your best to keep up. 

You let him whisk you away for the rest of the night, leading you through all the dances you owed him; and a few more, for good measure, as Bucky put it. 

He stayed true to his word, and there wasn't a second that you spent with him where you didn't feel like the most ravishing woman to walk the earth.

Especially when he took his precious time in the dark of the night to memorize and worship every inch of your body over and over again.

So as you sat here now, watching from across the room as he danced with the crowd, you couldn't help but feel foolish. Foolish for letting your thoughts take away the extra time you could have had with him, foolish for ever thinking this incredible man would ever judge you for something so trivial. Foolish, foolish, foolish. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" you heard from beside you, ripping you from your reverie.  

You turned your head, grinning as you saw the very man himself had taken up the seat to your left. "What, get tired of dancing already, old man?" 

He gasped, feigning offense as he took in your words. "I'd watch who you're calling old, sweetheart," he warned playfully. 

"I'd watch who you're calling sweetheart. I happen to be a married woman now, you know," you replied jovially.

"Married, huh? Should've known I didn't stand a chance," he lamented, shaking his head. "How about a pity dance?" he suggested with a grin, holding his hand out to you. 

You giggled softly, taking his hand with a grin of your own. "Lead the way, Mr. Barnes." 

"Anything for you, Mrs. Barnes," he replied with a wink, leading you to the dance floor. 

And just like he did three years ago, he whisked you away and led you through a whole seven dances; and a few more, for good measure. 

You were a flame, finally ignited, and Bucky was your match.

[kyri45]

ISAT Sky:Cotl!AU Part 1: The Dock

AKA: How I think a possible sequel could be stroctured, using Sky: Cotl as a base for this AU)

SO! We know that Something happened after Siffrin almost destroyed the world. Something broke in a way, by the presence of Red. And also by the fact that the Daydreaming one can remember more clearly about their sister (they remember her appearance and that she had a bag, all things that are more visual than the abstrac fact that she liked to sing, etc… all this while she didn’t struggle to remember)

So the island is so forgotten, you can barely see it anymore (you CAN, briefly, see it by the end of the game)

… but that doesn’t mean is not there physically, right? Wouldn’t that mean you could theoretically still go there? It would probably kill someone from the amount of headace they would have probably. But something happened, and remembering some of the stuff isn’t as painful anymore.

The story could begin with the gang going to Bambouche, maybe to go see Bonnie’s village. The are rumors about people starting to see the island again, But it seems clouds and fog are in the way most of the time. Siffrin could finally start talking slowly to their family about what he could remember from his home.

This could lead them to try and physically go there to the Island by boat (Shiffrin used to have one, and could properly use it even at a young age, so they maybe they know the basics of navigation?) If you can see the island from Bamb0uche it means it can’t be more than a day on a boat away.

What they land on is something similar to the Isle of Dawn, and as they explore, Siffrin unintentionally activates one of the first murals of the game. (I’m using Sky's old beginning for this, not the one after the Aviary update).

“All are given breath by starlight…”  “The first of us lived in the joy that we would one day return to the stars”

The murals could be written in Siffrin language, and being that Siffrin DOES have Memory of Memories even after the loops ended, he CAN read without pain his language again.

As they venture further, they explore the only things left which are the boats and the remaining dock.

The Spirits

The spirits could be either actual people who are in an unconscious state from being part of the Wish or reflections of them (almost like the Sadness is the equivalent of becoming lightless in Sky) and their memories can help you remember how to say specific words in your language that will help you later unlock doors or simply slowly breaking the Wish.

Winged Lights as Wish/Star levels

As for all the stuff about winged lights, I would like for Siffrin to gain his first “star” here, but in any case, I don’t think they would be able to fight until the end. But each “star” or “winged light” could be used as a way to gain more Wish Craft or XP in a way.

In any case, the Family could reach the main entrance of the Kingdom (the Temple of Dawn), and more star-based riddles are solved to enter the temple. A vision of the future gives them a flash of the Wish and lowers their HP aggressively, but then, they see one constellation and Siffrin realize that he can finally recognize it. The first constellation he can recognize after years...

A short note about the colors

The first hints of the history of The Country could lead them to see specks of one of the colors.

Now, my main theory about colors is that whoever made the Wish for the country to disappear could have made it in a way phrased so that they also took its “Light” away, and being colors a variance of light refracted, that could have caused them from being taken away.

(also because I like how in Sky the following mural says “But then the sky went dark, and our kingdom shattered”)

What it would be REALLY cool to see in a sequel, is how shades of colors are slowly coming back the more you uncover about The Country (kind of like Gris in a way)

From darkness, one color at a time, they could light up the memory of the Country again!

And that’s all for part one! If you like where this is going, please let me know!

[jq37]

FH Junior Year Post-Season Thoughts

With another season of Fantasy High in the books and my recaps all finished, I wanted to do an overview of my thoughts on the season as a whole. Even though I feel generally positive about my experience with the season, there are a few things I think maybe could have been done differently narratively or mechanically. This isn't to criticize the way the season went down or to backseat DM/Play. More my combined ten years of college for textual analysis and storytelling bleeding through, haha. 

I first want to start with the things I thought worked really well.

Fantasy High has "High" right in its title but, in past seasons (and especially Sophomore Year), not as much time as you'd think was spent actually at school and even if it was spent at school, there wasn't much time spent in class or engaging with the realities of being a student. This season really dug into the academic consequences of skipping your classes all the time and the realities of needing to do a ton of extra stuff to try for a scholarship and I think that was a refreshing thing to highlight for a change. Being more scared at flunking out than the dragon that's trying to eat you feels very emotionally resonant. Real "High School Is Killing Me" vibes for anyone who's a fan of NPMD. 

Even though Fantasy High is a show that has some deep emotional beats and strong character arcs, it's first and foremost a comedy show. From the jump, everyone was generating bit after bit that had me cracking up as usual. "Little girly dog collar" is one of the funniest combinations of words I can think of. I think it was Siobhan who said that this was the goofy season and, having seen it, I'd have to agree with her. It never failed to make me laugh and it was always a highlight of my week.  The cast just has great table chemistry that I love to watch no matter what they're doing. 

Watching some of these high level combat encounters is as close as I'll get to understanding people watching sports. Even though combat is generally my least fave part of D&D, I think the cast really killed it this season with how cleverly they played and Brennan came up with some really great combat encounters. Special shout outs to Baron's Game and The Last Stand for their unique mechanics.  

This is going to be one that's on the other list as well because my feelings are mixed, but I genuinely do like the downtime mechanic and how it forces hard choices. I think it's an interesting way to connect a mechanic to the story and cultivate stressful atmosphere for the season.

I have problems with the execution but I love the Rat Grinders in concept. I think as early as season 1 I was hoping that we'd meet a party that was like the Bizarro Bad Kids and the idea of a party that's farming XP instead of going on crazy adventures is a strong concept. Likewise, I think a character that's jealous because of your "cool" (read: tragic) backstory is also a fun trait for an unhinged antagonist in this kind of setting.

This is me absolutely showing my bias but I adored the Abernant Sisters content this season. I dunno if Siobhan specifically asked Brennan to not put her on a bus with the other beloved NPCs or what but I'm so glad she stuck around and we got the development we did. It was almost entirely ancillary to the plot but there was this clear pattern of Aelwyn getting softer and sweeter towards Adaine over the course of the season, from the guarded, "Enjoy the nemesis ward," to, full I love you's and, "I'd take them to get you." It was way more focus than I expected considering that Aelwyn completed the bulk of her arc last season and a lot of the time, a redemption arc basically ends after the big gesture (in this case, Aelwyn taking a magic blast for Adaine in Sophomore Year). So the fact that we got to see all of these sweet moments of them reestablishing their relationship outside of do or die moments was such a pleasant surprise. Again, I fully admit I am extremely biased, but this was my top wishlist item and the season overdelivered so there's a baseline happy I'm always gonna be with Junior Year. 

OK, so moving on to things I things I think could have been tweaked.

Even though I liked the downtime system and the pressures it created, it also squeezed out the chance for more casual PC to NPC interactions that would usually be more common because they were semi-locked behind the relationship track and there wasn't an obvious benefit to roll for Relationships (as opposed to something like Academics which was crucial for not flunking out). Making the mechanical benefit more clear would have helped that (even if it meant Brennan didn't get his reveal--which he ended up just telling them anyway so might as well do it early). The other thing is that the consequence of a rage token was so bad that of course they spent all season avoiding getting one. Things might have gone differently if the consequences had been a bit more obscured, like in Neverafter. And it could have been a nice parallel to the Rat Grinders to take this unknown resource that makes things easier for you but is also having this negative effect. Then it could be like dang we did the same thing they did unknowingly. 

I mentioned this in my recap but I'll talk about it again. It is a little confusing to me that we did the Ankarna subplot right after we did the very similar Cassandra subplot. It took up so much time this season which I don't think is an issue in and of itself, it's just that we literally just went through some extremely similar beats last season. Why double up on this same storyline when there's so much new ground to cover? Or if we're going to raise a god, why not make it a different kind of god? One theory I had early on was that the Rat Grinders were trying to raise their own god to one-up the Bad Kids but instead of raising a chill, misunderstood Cass type, they accidentally raised a god who was erased for a good reason and got in over their heads. 

It's fun for there to be connections between seasons but sometimes it's like, OK that's a *lot* of coincidences. Like the god who your rivals is trying to raise *happens* to be the wife of your cleric's god and also *happens* to be the god of the fiend trapped in your friend's mom's chest and that fiend *happens* to be the relative on your bard's dad's side which is *also* the reason she is randomly cursed? That's a LOT of red string connecting plot points. As unhinged as Kipperlilly is about coveting Riz's backstory if I saw that go down I'd be like you have *got* to be kidding me.  

The mystery elements didn't feel like they clicked as well as they did in other seasons. I think that's partially because Porter's plan was so convoluted (seriously, I made another post about how haphazard his plan was) and had all these moving parts and we didn't get clear answers for a lot of mechanical things like how the rage crystals actually work and when they were implanted and stuff. You had stuff like Devil's Honey which I think is super cool as a thing that exists in the world but ended up being an element that just led the players down the wrong path and had a relatively small payoff (that Porter was using it to lie to Ankarna). I think it's plausible that a forgotten god would be willing to listen to anyone saying the right things without introducing this element. (As opposed to, for instance, Ambrosia which has a very clear connection to what's going on and is a solid clue that someone is flirting with aspirations of godhood.) 

The Porter reveal came so late in the season that even though it was a fun/challenging fight, there wasn't a lot of emotional weight behind killing him. It was basically just dunking on a teacher Fig has always hated who was also mean to Gorgug so screw him. Which, valid of course. But the Bad Kids were never going to react as strongly to Porter as they were to the Rat Grinders so putting Porter in the prime villain spot isn't necessarily what I would have done if I wanted the fight to be more than just a brawl--especially since we've done "School admin with student minions" already in S1. I don't mind the full circle callback but it would have been nice to pick something else for the sake of variety. We haven't had a child mastermind yet and I think Kipperlilly could have been a great candidate for that. My friend suggested that it would have been fun if Kipperlilly was trying to become a god instead of just being Porter's underling and I agree. "I'm not anyone's chosen one so I'll choose myself," is still within her established jealousy and Type A tendencies. If we want to keep Porter involved since that was Brennan's gift to Emily, maybe have it be that instead of Kipperlilly working for him, he's working for her. Like Artemis Fowl vibes! And the Rat Grinders can be varying levels of on board--from true believe to redeemable. I don't think Brennan planned for the Bad Kids to ever redeem her so might as well go full megalomaniacal mastermind with her and make her The Villain if she's not gonna be nuanced anyway. If My Little Pony can do it and send a literal child to Tartarus for pony treason (or whatever Cozy Glow did), Fantasy High can too. 

Continuing from the above, if we have the Porter fight in place of the Grix fight (a la Daybreak) and don't use Ankarna, that gives way more time for the Bad Kids to investigate the Rat Grinders throughout the season and it would mean that they would have their personalities developed a lot more. With the limited downtime, they Bad Kids didn't have a lot of time to spend on these kids who were just hating on them for no good reason (valid). But if you cleared their plate of the god hunt stuff, they'd have more time for this. And if they weren't all rage zombies to varying degrees, it would be easier to see them as characters. Besides Kipperlilly (and, funnily enough, Mary Ann) we don't really have a good read on what these kids are actually like. The little time we spent with them all season was kind of a wash if them breaking out of rage means their personalities got laundered too. Anyway, regardless of how their loyalties ended up shaking out, it would have been fun for them to be more than the minions that they were in canon. As funny as it is for them to just kinda be XP farming losers, they did have the potential to be more interesting in their own right if they weren't just Porter's minions. And again, we've done adults forcing or coercing children into being minions in Freshman and Sophomore Year already. Lemme see some self-created child maniacs! (Or, peer pressured child maniacs. That's cool too. The Lucy/Kipperlilly dynamic is way more interesting to me if it's like girl, I would take a bullet for you but I CANNOT walk this path with you any further in response to *I* will be a god and you can be *MY* champion.)

Anyway, those are my thoughts! Like I said, I have my points that I think could have been tightened, but overall an enjoyable season and I will be glued to my screen if they decide to close out with Senior Year! 

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Silver Lining 7

Warnings: non/dubcon, speech impediment, bullying and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: silverfox!Bucky Barnes

Summary: You have an unpleasant encounter with an older man.

Part of the Silverfox AU

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

The library casts a wave of deja vu over you. The smell, the shelves, the soft rustle of patrons trying not to make a noise in the deathly din. You feel like the lost college student, once more trapped in the stacks, trying to eke out a final draft.

Since the calamitous destruction of your laptop, you’d been paralysed to do anything more than sulk. It took a few days to get the energy up to make a choice; buy a new one or find an alternative. The former option isn’t affordable but once you get this script down, you could splurge for at least a chromebook.

Negotiations with your sister were less than successful. She claimed the innocence of children as her shield. She couldn’t control their curiosity. It’s unfortunate that it happened but she’s a mother of two and can’t afford to pay for your expensive toys… Right, but she has a macbook in her luggage.

To no one’s surprise, and to your sister’s expectation, your parents agreed. It’s hard to pay for two kids in this world, your laptop isn’t a necessity. You can dig out the old Windows XP tower from the basement…

It’s futile. You love your family but they leave you feeling that the sentiment isn’t mutual. You can’t blame them. You're thirty, you’re living at home, and you have a job that isn’t really a job.

You settle in at a computer, your newly registered library card in hand. You paid the two dollars for an hour. You hope it’s enough to retrieve your work from the cloud and finish up the last edits. It’s only an hour per hour for additional time.

After getting used to the clacking keyboard and the worn ball of the old mouse, you start to whittle away. You’re immensely thankful for the omnipotent powers of OneDrive. Everything is still there.

You check the time. Ten minutes left. You’ll have to go top up, at least for another hour. You sit back and grab your phone from beside the mousepad. You had it face down on silent so you could focus. It’s only then you see the slew of notifications.

Your mother wants you to grab coffee cream on your way home and your next payment on your still standing student loan is coming due. Under all that, there’s a message from Bucky. You figured he’d be checking in. You are cutting it close to his deadline.

‘How’s it going? Was hoping to have the final draft today.’

Your stomach boils. You can get it done and he’s being less than pushy. Not demanding by any means but you’re taken back to your last job. To the constant pressure of expectation and the oppressive workload that never slowed down. All that and the closed door dealings that left you sleepless and quaky after midnight.

‘Will send over soon.’

The response should be good enough. A promise you can keep. You place the phone down and lean forward, cradling your head as you tell the memories to leave you alone. This is different. This isn’t that office, this is something you can walk away from at any time.

You close your eyes as the world narrows between your ringing ears. The silence of the library is replaced with the muffled ringing of office phones and the smothered voices of employees conferring between cubicles. You see the door, closed again, you feel the edge of the desk digging into your stomach, you hear his raspy words, your insides splinter.

Your eyes snap open as you sit up. No, you’re not going back there again. The computer’s lock screen shines blue at you. Time’s up. You dig around in your purse as you stand. It’s over so let it go.

As you stand at the counter, waiting for the librarian, your phone lights up. You tap your card on the desk before stepping away. You should answer it.

You quickly march across the lobby and into the vestibule between the inner and outer doors. You shouldn’t disturb anyone here. You check the ID again, it’s him.

“Hi,” you answer.

“Hey, I hope I’m not interrupting. I’m just a bit restless since I got back in town,” Bucky plunges right in without small talk.

“N-no, j-just wrapping up.”

“Great. Did you want to meet up tonight? I am working on the recording space and I thought you might like to check it out?”

“Ch-check it o-out?” You wonder. You imagined yourself just handing off the script and bouncing. Get paid and go home.

“Uh, yeah,” you hear him fumbling on the other end, “I was thinking… well, maybe it’s better if I talk to you in person–”

His voice is completely drowned out at the outer doors open and a group of rowdy students enter, completely ignorant to the atmosphere. You expect they’ll get a warranted shush from the staff so you don’t bother. You just turn your back to them and plug your ear.

“A lot going on?” Bucky asks.

“N-no, just… library’s b-busier than I th-thought.”

“Library? Oh, you doing more research?” He wonders. You hesitate again. You’re used to his bluntness. To him not caring about anything but what he wants. That’s an easier dynamic then all these questions.

“L-long st-ory,” your words creak out.

“I’ll come meet you,” he offers, “I got a few books to bring back. Which location are you at?”

Again, you're reluctant. His eagerness surprises you but you assume it’s more impatience. It'll be good to just get this over with.

“O-Oxblood,” you answer.

“Hm, never been to that one,” he comments, “when's good? Like an hour or something?”

“S-sure,” you shrug.

You give up. People don't really ask when they ask. They tell. Your mother, your sister, him.

“Sounds like a plan. I'll just finish up what I'm doing and head over,” he voice catches at the end, “shit, got another call. Talk later.”

Before you can respond the line is dead. You're almost grateful for the abrupt end. You're expecting this writing gig might just be a one-off situation.

[amf-studios]

The spooky month is upon us!

But before I begin my plans for Halloween festivities, I'd like to introduce you all to last year's Halloween yokai! These are some the first fankai I ever made and post(so go easy on them. XP)

First up, the vampire nemesis, Dracula and Desperatu!

These boys are my interpretations of characters from Bram stokers world famous Gothic horror novel, Dracula!

The titular character has already been name dropped in yokai watch before, however he has not made an on-screen appearance. So I corrected that~!

Dracula is an S rank, drain attribute of the shady tribe, with the soultimate "blood moon blitz" where he transforms into a swarm of bats to drain his opponents vitality!

Now the other guy is a bit more inspired! Desperatu is a portmanteau of Desperado(a term often used in wild west stories) and Nosfuratu(another word for Vampire). This Gothic cowboy is the spirit of Quincy P. Morris, which if you've actually read Dracula, you'd know as the man who got the killing blow on old drac!

Being a walking representation of the state of Texas, I played up his already present cowboy influence, and made him a vampire-hunting, cowboy vampire!

Desperatu is an S rank yokai of the brave tribe. He's a Merican yokai, a fire attribute, and has the soultimate "high moon showdown!" Where he fires of six shots from each of his silver-bullet-loaded guns.

If I were to ever make a game, these guys would be the Kyubi/venoct, Arachnus/toadel dude equivalents.

With the vamps out of the way, here's a werewolf! Or should I say, Blairwolf!

By day a young girl named Blair akafudo is a sporty outdoorsman with some mild canine quirks. But by night she's the fierce and a strong Blairwolf!

Like Dracula, we know werewolves exist in yokai watch, we've just never seen them. Though there was an academy Y episode that had weredog/jinmenkin hybrids. Speaking of hybrids, Blair also has some inspiration from the Okuri Inu, a ghostly black dog with piercing red eyes.

But despite her fierce inspiration, she's more like a were-puppy than anything. She's loyal, fun-loving and very affectionate toward her friends!

Blairwolf is D rank, earth attribute of the charming tribe. Her soultimate is called "Lycan-throw" where she digs up a Boulder to throw at her unsuspecting opponents!

Moving on to the next of the big three monsters, time for Frankenstein!

Say hello to Adam Frankenstein, the famous monster from Mary Shelly's sci-fi horror novel! Along with his shadowside form, Krankenstein!

The two forms represent the juxtaposition between the Monster in the book, who was an intelligent, tragic figure abandoned by his creator for his imperfect eyes, from the monster in the movie, which was a hulking, mindless brute.

Adam is normally intelligent and reasonable, but... he has quite the explosive temper if you can get him angry.

In both forms, he is an A rank, lightning attribute of the Eerie tribe. In his lightside, his soultimate is "Charged Adam" which boosts his stats. While his shadowside's is called "ITS ALIVE!" which boosts the entire parties stats!

Next are a more generic monster, a redesign I made of yokai watch style Zombies!

While I love yokai watch 3 and think zombie night was a brilliant idea, I can't say I've always liked their basic Zombie designs. The core part of a Zombie that makes them scary is they still resemble a human, and the yokai watch ones do, just not enough.

So, I ended up making more humanish Zombie designs. You could interpret these ones as more recently deceased then the ones in Canon. Haven't had as much time to rot just yet!

Next up, the spirit of Halloween himself, Stingy Jack/Jack O'Lantern!

The spirit of the man who managed to trick the devil herself, now forced to wonder the earth by lanterns light. Everyone's heard of this pumpkin headed freak in some way or other, even if they don't know his story.

Jack here is a C rank of the shady tribe. A fire attribute with the soultimate "lose your head!" Where he used the alcohol swishing around in his pumpkin head to make it into a molotov cocktail, and throws it at the enemy!

This of course also acts as a self destruct soultimate, because he doesn't have a head after using it. XP

And finally, a yokai late to the batch, but still fitting the Halloween vibes! Here's Potianna!

Ending things off with a wicked witch, Potianna (potion+anna) was one of the best potion brewers of her time, before the witch hunts finally caught up with her.

Now as yokai, she's fused to her beloved cauldron and keeps up her prized work~!

Potianna is a C rank, water attribute of the charming tribe. Her soultimate is called "Brutal Brew" where she dumps her cauldron onto the enemy team, both dealing damage and giving them a random debuff.

She also has a unique skill, "Alchemy" which heals her up every time she's hit with her own element!

I hope you enjoy these Halloween yokai of yesteryear, and look forward to this year's festivities~!

[hannahbarberra162]

Struck Twice By Lightning, Chapter 7

18+ MDNI

On Ao3

I feel like stepping foot on the Red Force gives you +100 drinking XP.

Since the Red Force had only left your island a day ago, you knew the approximate location of the surrounding islands. You spoke with Building Snake and told him that if they wanted you to make sake on board, the best island for supplies would be nearby that day. Given the enthusiasm of the crew for alcohol, it wasn’t surprising that the ship was immediately re-routed to the island you mentioned. 

In the late afternoon, you were walking the streets of the familiar island with Hongo. You had been to this island many times before to market and sell your sake. You purchased the items you needed for the sake making process and Hongo carried them for you, like the gentleman he was. You wanted to speak with one of your best customers, so the two of you made your way to Friendly’s Tavern. The tavern was run by one of the most curmudgeonly and cantankerous old men you’d ever met, and today was no different. You tried your best to put on a pleasant face, since he bought a lot of your stock. The tavern had some customers drinking already, since it was a little after dinner time. The low murmur of chatter continued while you and Hongo walked up to the counter. 

“Hi Archie! Long time no see!” you smiled broadly.

Archie looked up from wiping his counter with a rag. He looked at you like you’d presented him with a dead rat.

“Girl.”

You kept trying to make headway. “I was on the island and thought I’d stop by to say hello. How are you doing?”

“Hello.” Archie did not answer your question, but this was actually an animated conversation between the two of you. You were doing well.

You didn’t hear the talking behind you quiet down, as you were trying to get Archie to say more than one word at a time. Otherwise, you would have dodged the arm that was slung around your waist.

“Archie! How are ya, old man?” Of course, as if right on cue to irritate you, was Shanks.

“Emperor Shanks! So glad to see you again!” The old man said with a bow. He was happy. No, he was practically radiating joy. Whatever magnetism Shanks produced was working in spades on this old codger.

“I see you already know my wife, are you trying to steal her away from me?” Shanks gave you a squish and gave Archie a charming smile. You scowled.

“Girl, that true? You his wife?”

“Technically yes but-”

“Why didn’t you ever say so? I’ll buy every drop of sake you make!” 

 “It must have slipped my mind,” you said with saccharine sweetness. Shanks leaned his head against yours in what would be seen as a sweet gesture.

“See?” he murmured to you, “I’m good for business.” You weren’t looking at him but you knew - you knew - he was smirking.

“I don’t need your help,” you hissed at him. “I get plenty of business on my own.” 

“Once I tell customers it’s Red Haired Shanks’s sake, they’ll buy it for any price.” You nodded at the idiotic bar owner with a smile. Inside, you were furious. You had worked hard to make a name for yourself - without him. Now it was going to be known as Shanks’s sake once the word got out. And there was no putting that cat back in the bag. 

Still, you didn’t want to contradict or diminish Shanks in front of others - that wasn’t the kind of person you were. Sure, you’d give him hell in private or just in front of the crew, but you’d never say a word against him in public. He was an Emperor, after all, and his reputation was important. 

You were tired of talking to this old goose and left the counter to go sit at a table. Whatever Shanks said to the owner made him laugh and give out bottles - of your brew - for the crew. Now felt like a great time to start drinking.

~~~~~

You were right, drinking was a great choice. Your sake was phenomenal, of course, and you were enjoying quite a lot of it. Evidently, the crew had been well received by the islanders previously because a crowd came to party with the Red Haired pirates. Some of the men were flirting with locals, some arm wrestling, and some just chatting casually. Shanks was off…doing whatever …you had lost sight of him, and didn’t care to find him. You were sitting next to Yasopp, Gab, and Monster, exchanging jokes and stories. You had relaxed a little and were feeling a pleasant buzz. You heard a distant din getting louder and louder.

“...just to exclude me!” A female voice was raging at Benn. You didn’t look over but you and your friends exchanged looks and started to listen in. Everyone liked a bit of drama now and again, especially when it was happening to Benn. For some reason, when he was involved, it was always amusing.

“We aren’t taking new crewmates.” Benn said to a young woman. 

“Is it because I’m a woman? Or that you think I’m weak because I’m a woman?” Ha! Benn was going to have to talk his way out of that one. This was getting good. You had a satisfied grin on your face.

“No, that’s not -”

“Because I see you have a new female crew member. She wasn’t here the last time with you guys.” Wait, why was she getting you involved? You didn’t do anything. You weren’t even actually a member of this stupid crew! Your smile started to falter.

“In fact, I bet I can beat her in a duel.” Oh no. No no no no. You tried to duck behind a laughing Yasopp, who was enjoying the escalating situation. Beckman was trying to calm the irate young woman, who just shouted louder. 

“If I beat her in a duel, I get to take her spot on the crew. Hey! Old lady! I challenge you - 

Don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it - hey I’m not old - don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it

“- to a duel, pirate’s rules!”

FuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuck. Why couldn’t you just have one nice night?

You had to accept. Pirate’s rules meant that if you rejected her challenge, it would be a loss of reputation for the whole crew. You were annoyed at the situation and very annoyed at the woman. The bar was silent, waiting for your answer. You stood up, gave a scathing look to the young woman, and said “I accept.” The bar broke into a raucous cheer. You held up your pointer finger and the crowd hushed immediately.

“As you know, under Pirate’s rules, I as the challenged get to choose the method.”

The woman grinned wildly and laughed. “That’s no matter, I am as good with a sword as I am with a pistol.”

“I choose drinking contest” you said flatly. The crowd cheered even louder than before.

“Wh-what?” The girl looked around at the roaring crowd, unsure of what to do. “That’s not - that’s not something you can-”

“I can and I did. I can choose any method. If I wanted to, we could be having a spelling bee. Let’s get this over with.” 

A small table had been cleared and two chairs sat opposing one another. You sat down with a thud in one, arms crossed. This was such a waste of your time - and booze too. You glowered at Benn, even though it wasn’t his fault she had challenged you. He shrugged his shoulders, happy he didn’t have to deal with the lady anymore. While others were getting the glasses and alcohol, you spoke to the woman quickly. 

“Listen girl -”

“I am no girl, I am Tiffany of the  -”

“Ok, then shut up and listen, Tiffany. I’m gonna say this now before you get too drunk to remember. If you’re gonna make it as a sea-faring woman, you need to know the code.”

“I know the Pirate’s Code -”

“Shut. Up. Not the stupid fucking Pirate’s Code. The Code of the Daughters of the Seas. Rules for she-pirates.”

“Daughters of the seas is a myth. Captain Niamh is just a fairy tale for little girls.” Tiffany tossed her head back.

You grinned wolfishly. “I hope you say that to her face. Now, drink up Tiff.” You handed her the first shot, and took yours in hand. “Here’s to a massive hangover,” you said and downed yours. 

~~~

A few hours and many shots later, Tiffany was face down on the table. You took your last shot with ease, slammed the glass upside down on the table, and stood up. You raised your arms in triumph, and your crew applauded and whooped for you. Rockstar lifted you up on his shoulders as you took your victory lap around the bar, laughing and shaking patron’s hands. You were the winner, but you were also pretty drunk. OK, very drunk. You patted Rockstar’s head and asked for him to put you down. You ambled outside to get a breath of fresh air after all the heavy drinking. You were leaning against a brick wall, watching the moon, when someone joined in next to you.

“Hi Sh-Shanks. Come to congratulate me for saving the honor of your cr-crew?” You were slurring - not a good sign of things to come.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

“I d-did. It was pirate’s ru-rules.” 

Shanks hummed in response. “How are you feeling?”

“Great. Never felt b-better.” Why was he being serious now, of all times? 

He stayed next to you, not speaking. You were in fact, not feeling great. Your head was starting to spin, and you wanted to lay down. You sank down onto your heels, using the wall as back support. You put your head in your hands, which only made things worse.

“Shanks? Sh-shanks?” You wondered if he had left.

‘I’m here.” 

“I th-think I n-need to leave.”

“Figured. C’mere.” He scooped you up to hold you, and you put your head in the crook of his neck. He was warm and smelled like pine sap, and you just wanted to roll up into him. He started walking towards the wharf with you in his arm.

“Shanks?... Thanks for carrying me.”

“You’re welcome.” You were quiet for a few minutes until you couldn’t keep your thoughts to yourself any longer.

“Shanks? I missed you s-so mu-much. I cried for-forever .”

“Is that so? We can talk more later.”

“OK.” A few more minutes passed in silence.

“Shanks? Are you m-mad at m-me?” You felt your eyes filling with tears.

“No, not at all. I just don’t… want to have this conversation now. I think you’ll regret it.”

“S-sometimes I regret le-leaving.”

“Mmm.”

“W-why are y-you being so nice to m-me?”

“Well, you’re my wife, after all.”

“Then may-maybe you can be my hus-husband again, after all.” You snuggled closer into Shanks's neck and closed your eyes, feeling more content than you had in years. You had a distant thought that this was a bad idea, but you couldn’t remember why. 

[factual-fantasy]

22 ASKS!! :DD THANK YOU!! :} 🎉🎂🎉

GASPPP!! :DDD I'D LOVE TO!! :}} 💖💖

I've actually been thinking a lot about Louis and his story lately! Though, since drawing is rather taxing on me atm I haven't gotten around to making him a character study post.. Like I did for Cuttlefish.. BUT!! I have still made some story bits for him anyways! :DD 👇👇

I had this idea that he used to be an ordinary flavored cookie of some kind. And he used to live on land as this washed up fisherman that was really down on his luck.. he had lost his job, his home, his arm.. he had no friends.. no family.. nothing. He was really lost and alone..

Its around that time he was somehow welcomed aboard Seafoam's ship. It was just Seafoam, Octo and Ellie at the time. Louis found great comfort and security with this crew. He had never felt more welcome and wanted in his life.. This environment started to break down Louis' anxieties and depression overtime. Slowly turning him into the more jolly and boisterous Louis the crew knows him as today.

But things would take a seemingly bad turn when a curse befell Louis. Turning him into this half cookie, half crab beast. Louis' body had changed significantly, the biggest change being his huge crab arm. Now, most cookies would consider this ghastly new form to be what its intended to be. A curse.. But Louis.. actually didn't mind the changes. In fact, he liked his new body. Quite a lot! And though his new crab arm did cause him quite a bit of aches and pains.. and also took away his ability to swim.. he honestly considered it an upgrade!

Where before he had a missing arm and was completely useless in combat.. now he had this huge intimidating claw in its place! With his new found strength and power, he was a force to be reckoned with! Not only that, but he didn't see his new body as ugly, he thought he looked AWESOME! So he also got a major confidence boost too!

In present day, Louis is a confident, sociable, and all around happy person. And he gives all the credit to Seafoam and his crew for his new found zest for life! :}} ✨🦀💖✨

Anyways-- thank you for taking interest in Louis! :DD rn drawing is rather challenging for me, but I hope to draw him again someday soon! Maybe I can go back and make him his own character study post like I wanted to! 👀👀

I KNOWWW WAAAAAAA 😭😭😭💖💖💖💔💔💖

@pink088

XD Bibi would probably use it to make a cold glass or water for me🥺💖

And hey, thanks for the cake! :DD No doubt Cici will devour it XDD (Bibi allows it)

I suppose if I really wanted to I could learn how. But I don't want to turn my hobby into a job..

I made my first post on December 19th, 2018!! :00 That's roughly 4-5 years or so!

I use FireAlpaca! And I use a xp-pen 13.3 pro tablet ✨✨

As for that Undyne and Papyrus post.. The story behind it is, that Papyrus is from a different timeline. And in his original timeline.. Undyne is dead.. Now, this other Undyne knows that her Papyrus, the "real" Papyrus, is somewhere else in the underground. So this Papyrus is an imposter. She questions this imposter. "Who are you, and why do you look like Papyrus?" She waits for this imposter to answer.. But Papyrus has no words.. since his Undyne died, he hasn't heard her voice in a very long time... he's too shocked to speak..

I DO have a YouTube channel, and I was intending to make animations for it... but I lost my drive. Animations get stolen A LOT. And Animations take a ton of time to make. I was discouraged.. why would I spend so much time on something, if its more likely to be stolen?

Though I have been thinking about making sketch animatic memes... maybe once my health improves I could try to make one-

And hey! Don't worry about my arms, I can make several whether I'm feeling good or bad! :D

AND AAA THANK YOU!! :DD I'm glad you like him and noticed his eye details!! :}}}

(Post in question)

XDD Jangles is chaotic enough to sleep hanging upside down tho lets be real-

@yourstrulylightstar283 (In response to this post)

:DD Bibi gives his thanks!

@cudlycorncornsworthcoberson (In response to this post)

XDD I know right?? Another year has already come and gone, its crazy to think about! :00

And don't worry, I've been focusing all my energy on taking care of myself and drinking lots of water! 👍👍

Awe! Thank you so much!! :DD Right now the main thing I'm battling is my poor mental and physical health.. but I have high hopes that things will improve soon! :)))

@the-woomyverse (Post in question)

:DD Thank you! I'm glad you liked them!! :}}

As for Ludwig and Morton, unfortunately they don't have a lot of story built yet.. but I'm working on it! <:D

Ludwig is intended to be the eldest sibling, and heir to the throne. He's the "Prince of the Koopas". That post shows Ludwig seeming nervous.. and unsure. I'm experimenting with Ludwig taking his role as heir very seriously.. but its stressful. He feels like he's under a lot of pressure and has a loooot of responsibility to look forward to..

Though I'm kind'a going back on that a bit. The canon Ludwig seems pompous and a bit arrogant. Maybe I should keep some of that but in a positive way? I imagine that Bowser wouldn't force Ludwig to do this if he didn't want to. And I imagine that Kamek would have done very well to prepare Ludwig for his future kingly-hood.

What I mean by this is. I think a more.. confident, and level headed version of Ludwig would be appropriate. Rather than a pompous snob or a nervous wreck. He could be a young prince with a lot of wit and discipline. A price that is bound to make a fine king. 👑

For Morton I'm afraid there's even less story built for him 😭💔💔 Right now the main thing I'm experimenting with is Morton having some form of melanism. (Its a mutation where animals are born with excess pigment in their skin. Making their fur/hair/skin very dark/black when it otherwise would not have been.)

I could experiment with Morton not liking this aspect of himself..? Maybe it makes him feel out of place or insecure..? Though I doubt any of the individuals around him would have judged him or treated him differently at all for it.. even his siblings.

Idk, I just need some more time to think about him I suppose! <XDD Sorry!! 😭😭

Thank you!! :DD

@untitled-7613 (Post in question)

Thank you! :DD I'm glad you like them!! :}}

And Jimmy was a lovely gift, though I didn't create him! The factual fam is mostly intended to be made of characters that I can take credit for-

(Note- Jimmy was a nice gift, but please! I stand by only wanting comments <:} 💖💖)

@tallchest13-blog

Dawww, as far as I'm concerned, you've followed me twice! At least in spirit! XD

@couchwow

Hergn... but that takes efforttt... how about you tell me what you like about it first? :0

@neo-metalscottic

No problem!! :D And I wonder that about K Rool. I didn't actually realize that he would be very similar to Bowser.. hmm. Well, I'm thinking that even if he is close to Bowser in size, Bowser's got him beat by his fire breathing ability XDD And King/Big Koopa's overall could just be a tougher species-

As for the Super Stars, they have about the same status as the 1-Up Mushrooms. They are this extremely rare Power up that seems to only show up when its needed.

I've been experimenting with the toad people worshiping 1-Ups and the Delfino people worshiping Super Stars. These bizarre and wonderous powerups that are strongly tied to the prophecy and what not. They're also related to how Peach and Daisy became royalty..

Its a lot of complicated word spaghetti atm but the point I'm getting at- is that there is definitely more than one! And they are so powerful and so.. seemingly sentient, that they are seen as almost.. like.. these holy beings that bring about future events.

I haven't rambled about all that biz yet becuase I cant find proper words to figure out what I'm even thinking <XD Gonna need some more time on that one!--

And yes yes yes! The Commander is still around, and AWWW!! Is he really?? :DD That's so sweet! Thank you so much!! :}} I haven't thought much about what role he's played in raising the Koopalings, though I really should. While he isn't there to actually help raise them, he's always been around as they've grown up. Whether it be following Kamek around or doing some kind of work around the palace.

When it comes to Bowser returning injured.. I wonder. part of me thinks that he wouldn't return right away, so maybe his injury wasn't seen by the Commander. But the news of his defeat would certainly be bone chilling. Commander would be more tense around the palace. And probably extends his night watches a bit longer in an attempt to better protect the Koopalings..

On the last note, Yes! I do plan to redesign him once again XD or at least update him a little- Though drawing is very challenging for me atm.. so that'll have to wait a while!.. <XDD

@littlelightfish

WAAAA THIS ASK GAVE ME LIFFFEEEE!!😭😭💖💖💖 NO ITS NOT TOO INTENSE THE ONLY THING THAT IS INTENSE IS MY PURE JOY AT READING THIS OVER AND OVER WAAAHG THANK YOU SO MUVHCHH!!!💖💖💖💖😭😭💖💖

As for your questions! <XD --I've been thinking more about Tuna's character over the past few days and this got me thinking even more! :D

I imagined that when Tuna started out he was a real brat. Not super great to be around. He had some bottled up stuff for sure and was real rebellious and resistant to authority figures. Nobody was really willing to deal with his crap and always pushed back, which just made him more bratty.. for a while Seafoam wasn't sure what he was gonna do with this kid..

But then he reached some kind of middle ground with Ellie.

I have several ideas in mind for how this could go.. but I'll ramble about this one first- XDD

Ellie has thick skin and could tolerate the snarky remarks he made. She also didn't push back, even through she very easily could have. She knows that this kid has some serious inner battles and he doesn't need her snapping back at him.

And like some of the things you mentioned, it started out with Tuna just bumming around in the kitchen. Since Ellie could tolerate him she never kicked him out. Making the kitchen kind'a like a space where he could.. "get away" from the rest of the crew, in a sense..

Ellie was the first person to crack that outer shell of his. Providing him a consistent source of comfort, with her food and the quiet kitchen.

After some time the snarky remarks or comments would slow down.. over time he just resorts to standing around and watching her cook. Getting closer and closer.. eventually asking questions. "What are ye makin..?" "..what's that do..?" She would always reply genuinely. And as gently as she could considering her usual monotone voice <XD

Eventually it turns into "..where'd you learn to cook?" "..how long have you known Octo..?" "..do you trust Cuttlefish.?"

She could say kind things about the crew which gets Tuna to lighten up around them. "Octo seems mean but actually he's just blah blah blah..." Next time he interacts with Octo he's less tense. "Seafoam is genuinely as kind as he seems. If ye can trust anyone, its him." He starts listening to Seafoam more..

These interactions would continue to develop more and more. I don't know if he'd ever be able to help her cook anything- considering how strict she is about it <XDD But although I have several more ideas for this, I like this idea of Ellie really softening him up over time..

WAAHDH WALL OF TEXT--- Thank you again so much!!! :DD It makes my heart very happy to hear that you love Tuna and Ellie so much!! 🥰🥰

(Sorry for not being able to transfer your cookie gifs to this post! <:0)

Hmm.. that makes me wonder if the cookie run characters have.. cookies. Like, small cookies that THEY eat.

Something tells me they don't.. Which makes me think that seeing someone eat a normal cookie would still be horrifying! <XDD

@mrslilysnow

Awe! Thank you so much! :DD Such a pleasant and wholesome message to read, truly. :}}

I'm working out my feelings with the fandom.. tbh I think I'm just in a place where my emotions are all outa whack. And I'm just avoiding anything and everything that upsets me. 💔

I'm sure in a few weeks when I get my health back on track I'll feel better about the Octonauts fandom. Perhaps I'll even return with more updated designs! XD

@radicalrainbow

:DDD THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I'm so glad to hear that!! :}}}

And huh.. its been a while since I've drawn the FNAF string beans hasn't it? Once I can get my health back on track I should draw them again! <XDD

@lampylamperson

Blue!💙💙 :DD Specifically shades similar to what ever this one is XDD 👇👇

:000....... FISH! :DD

@canonickero

SLJFKSJF THAT DISCRIPTION OF THE PIC XDDD JHASKDEJHV

And thank you! This makes me feel a lot better XDD

@beryl-shade

I think the cookie run games have cake/dog things..? I'm assuming the crews pet would be one of those :00

As for the names you've suggested, I love Patty, Pretzel, Muffin and Cornbread XDD such great names! :DD

[keplercryptids]

I know this was posted like. a week ago. but as someone thinking of running a forged in the dark game I would love to see your homebrew xp mechanics

hell yeah! so let me start by saying, forged in the dark games (at least, the two i've played, blades in the dark and scum and villainy) are designed to be run either 1. in campaigns with a maximum of 12-20 sessions, OR 2. in campaigns where you're running through characters frequently and telling a story of the crew as a collective, rather than focused on a specific group of characters. so if you do either of those things, i don't think you actually need to tweak the xp.

i am a longwinded bitch lmao and i also prefer running campaigns that don't switch out PCs often. so the rapid xp acquisition of these games is. troublesome. i've actually very recently decided to simply hand out milestone xp (which is what i did when i ran d&d 5e). basically, every few jobs, when something narratively Big happens, i'll give the players [x] amount of xp. but! i did come up with these narrative xp rules, which i like and i'm having fun with, so for now, any xp the players accrue by making desperate rolls will be added to their narrative xp bank to spend in the following ways:

(under a readmore cuz it's long!)

Narrative XP

At the end of each job, the maximum amount of XP that can be used for character advancement is 50% of the XP gained that session, rounding up. This is called Advancement XP. The remaining XP is called Narrative XP.

When Narrative XP is spent to increase or reduce a clock, 1 XP = 1 tick. Personal Narrative XP can be spent on campaign clocks, personal clocks, connection clocks, long-term projects or resolving traumas, as described below. With the exception of campaign clocks, any given clock can only be affected by 1 Narrative XP, per player per session.

At a player’s discretion, Character Advancement XP may be spent as Narrative XP, with the same restrictions as above.

CAMPAIGN CLOCKS

Throughout the campaign, there will be clocks tracking organizations’ goals, external forces outside the scope of the PCs’ sphere of influence, or events looming on the horizon. During downtime, these clocks can be increased or reduced by the use of Narrative XP. This is almost always going to be a meta decision made by the players and GM, rather than anything the PCs are doing within the fiction (though there may be some exceptions - talk it out!). The progress of campaign clocks can also be leveraged as Devil’s Bargains during play. There is no limit to how much XP can be spent on a campaign clock per downtime.

PERSONAL CLOCKS

Each PC can accrue personal clocks, tracked on your character sheet, that reflect potential complications, goals, or outcomes affecting your character. During downtime, Narrative XP can be used to increase or reduce ticks on these clocks (maximum 1 XP per clock per downtime). To use Narrative XP this way, describe or roleplay a scene to illustrate what your character is doing to affect the clock in question.

CONNECTION CLOCKS

[note: this text is taken basically word-for-word from Beam Saber by austin ramsay - a really cool game i haven't gotten to run yet! check out beam saber if you're interested in sci-fi forged in the dark games!]

The crew sheet contains separate 4-tick Connection Clocks for each other member in your crew, representing your character’s relationship with that crewmate. Make a belief about that crewmate for each tick on that clock (checking in with that player when you do). When the Connection Clock fills, ask the target crewmate for a truth about one of the beliefs tied to them, then reset the clock to 1 tick as you see them in a new light. When a Connection Clock resets, erase all the previous beliefs you had about that crewmate and write a new one related to the truth you just learned—it’ll take time and effort to understand them again.

A belief is a brief statement about how a character feels about another crewmate. Beliefs are simple, quick, and influential in the rapport between the two crewmates. However, the players need to remember that their beliefs are not necessarily true as they are based on incomplete information and gut instinct. A good belief is:

Something a character might say about their crewmate to a confidante.

Easily summarized, so that it can be quickly remembered when relevant.

Potentially true.

Suitable for the game’s setting and tone.

Something the player is interested in exploring.

During downtime or free play, Narrative XP can be used to add a belief and tick a Connection Clock with another crewmate (maximum once per session). To use Narrative XP this way, your character must have a one-on-one scene with a crewmate, which challenges their perception of their crewmate, and/or shows a new side of them, and/or during which the characters bond in a significant way. After this, spend 1 XP to tick the Connection clock with that character, and gain a new belief (see above).

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

During downtime, you may spend 1 XP to add a tick to a long-term project clock (maximum 1 tick per clock).

RESOLVING TRAUMAS

[note: there isn't a way in the rules as written to resolve traumas, but being able to do so is important to me, so i included this as a way to use narrative xp.]

When you gain a trauma, start a 6-tick Trauma clock on your character sheet. During downtime or free play, Narrative XP can be used to tick a Trauma clock (maximum once per session). To use Narrative XP this way, describe or roleplay a scene to illustrate what your character is doing to work on resolving their trauma. Once a trauma clock has been filled, you may remove that trauma from your character sheet.

[muffinsin]

Hi muffin, I just had another chaotic thought that i needed to ask before i forgot again if thats ok.

So readers gone out into the village for something, weather that be for maid duties or getting something for the girls, and on her way back to the castle she sees a lycan stalking her or chasing her so she runs back to the castle.

Once readers back from her trip, one of the sisters ask how it was n reader mentions the lycan encounter. Naturally the sisters concerned, but reader just says ‘dw i pegged it’ but the sisters unfamiliar with the term and think readers like actual pegged a lycan instead of just running away from it. How do you think the sisters would react to reader saying this?

-Deluded anon

Also hows your day been so far? 😁

Absolutely XP some comical fluffiness again after the recent angst!🫶

My day’s been long, but all right! Thank you. How has yours been? :)

Let’s get into it!

Masterlists

Bela

She doesn’t at all know the expression

Though, to be fair, until recently she didn’t even know what “pegging” was

She’s feeling quite disgusted when you say it

I mean, not only did you do such a vile thing with someone other than her, but a lycan?

A wild mutant?

A mutt??

At first, Bela doesn’t voice her question, though keeps shooting you odd looks

She can’t help but wonder- why? And how?

She knows how difficult it is to wrestle one, after all, from the few encounters she’s had with lycans in the past

And then, of course, there’s the question as to why, even after you manage to get one in such an…odd position

Did you negotiate?

And what did you use?

You frown as you notice Bela look you up and down multiple times throughout the day

Did you truly take it from behind? Or use your fingers?

Bela is too horrified at the thought of you with such a beast to ask

And how would you even come to such an understanding?

Did you find the damn thing? Have you done such a thing before?

She also feels a little hurt, though refuses for it to show

Why wouldn’t you pick her for such things?

Why choose a lycan when you have a beautiful, sensitive girlfriend that would, despite preferring it at the front, not at all be opposed to feeling you break in her ass?

Eventually though, with a frown and a small pout she tries to keep hidden, she asks

“Why would you peg a lycan?”

She frowns adorably when you begin laughing at her

This certainly is no laughing matter! She stomps her foot angrily, and it only makes you laugh harder

“What!”, she shrieks

Still, when she is guided on sit on the bed and feels your hands set on her shoulders, she relaxes again

“What gives you that idea, sweet girl?”, you can’t help but ask. Your words from hours ago are already long forgotten

“Well, you’ve said so. When you returned from the market”, she states sharply

Again, it brings a small chuckle from you

She raises an eyebrow, and you quickly cut it out when you realise she is starting to feel mocked and is beginning to lose her patience

As your fingers squeeze her shoulders though, she relaxes again and even sighs softly

“It’s just an expression, a term. I meant I ran for my life from the damn thing”, you explain with a small kiss pressed to the tip of her head

She’s blushing now, flustered at her own mistake

She…isn’t aware of such terms, or any slang from the outside, really

Never has she heard someone use it before

“Oh…!”, she hums

You can’t help but grin as her cheeks burn up again when you cup and smudge them

She watches you, slightly annoyed as you pinch her cheeks, then gasps at your words

“Don’t you worry, Bela, you’re the only good girl getting pegged around here”, you tease

She gasps loudly, and for a moment you laugh as she swarms away

You know, she’s going to return what that fierce blush is gone

Cassandra

Cassandra is immediately on you when you return to the castle and slam the heavy doors shut behind you

You’re panting, and laughing, and for a moment she thinks you’ve gone nuts when you throw yourself against her

She watches with wide eyes as you laugh and press a small blade to her hand

“For you! I got it as a present for you”, you say with a large grin

You’re still attempting to catch your breath as she inspects the beautiful blade

She grins too now

It’ll look beautiful as a part of her collection! It’s sharp, and has a black-greenish blade

It looks custom made, almost

The handle is beautiful

She already knows, she will use this weapon only on the soft flesh of maidens!

Only the finest for a weapon of this exquisite!

She is pulled out of her daydreaming, however, as she takes in your smell

You reek of sweat, and a lycan

Immediately, she cups your face to inspect you for injuries as you laugh

“Are you okay?! What happened?! I leave you alone for a damn hour!”, she curses

You only smile and shrug

“Don’t worry, I pegged it”

In an instant, Cassandra pulls back, a grimace of disgust on her face

You what?

Pegged. A lycan?

She resists the urge to make a gagging sound

Why on earth would you do such a thing?

Now, while Cassandra is aware that the beasts have a sex drive she wouldn’t have ever expected you to participate in such things with them!

Aside from this, she feels an emotion she is all too familiar with: Jealousy

How could you do such a thing with a beast when you’ve got her!

You’re all hers! And she’s all yours!

Now, of course you haven’t…asked her to take her like that yet

And naturally, she hasn’t offered

But this?! This is enraging!

“Why the fuck would you do that?!”, she asks angrily. You merely look confused

What? You’re no stranger to Cassandra’s temper, but even this seems uncalled for

“Why’d you do that! I’m here!” She can’t help but shriek. Her cheeks burn up at the last part of the sentence

With a stupid, happy smile on your face you cup her warm cheeks

“Cass, you realise I didn’t literally peg a lycan, do you?”

She looks confused at this

But- you said!

“It’s a term. I just ran away from the damn thing”, you laugh

“From the outside?”, she asks, and you hum to confirm this

Her cheeks only feel warmer underneath your fingertips

“Oh…”, she answers, her eyes not finding yours

You can’t help but smirk at the bit of information revealed to you

Cassandra gasps in shock when she suddenly feels your arm around her waist and your hand cup her thick ass cheek tightly

She shrieks when it’s groped and your warm breath hits her neck as you talk

“I had no idea you wanted me to peg you, Cassie. Well, turn around!”, you joke stupidly with another squeeze of her clothed ass

She rolls her eyes, a small growl passing her lips as she pushes her gloved hands against your front. You grin at the bright pink colour of her cheeks

“Stop that, you pest!”

Daniela

She’s so worried when she sees you return all sweaty and out of breath

“My love! Are you alright?!”

Immediately, you have a clingy bug mutant push up against you and inspect you for wounds

Luckily, there are none, even as your lungs burn with the need to breathe

Her cold skin feels wonderful against your warm one! She giggles when you wrap your arms around her and cuddle her close like a teddy bear

“Oh! That reminds me! I brought you something! I hope the lycan didn’t make me drop it…”, you hum

Immediately, she straightens up and looks at you

WHAT?!

“A lycan?!”, she shrieks

With a small, shy smile, you tell her of how you were chased back to the castle

As her eyes widen and she frowns with worry, you’re quick to assure her

“Don’t worry, my love. I pegged it”, you coo

This only has her golden eyes widen more, though. Then, she frowns

You tilt your head in confusion as she pouts. She looks almost…hurt

Daniela knows what pegging is. Just, not in this context

She assumes your words are to be understood quite literally, and it brings tears to her eyes

But…you’re her lover

And she’s yours

Why’d you cheat on her? With a lycan no less!

An animal!

A mutt!

An actual monster! With no personality whatsoever!

Why wouldn’t you come to her with such a thing!

You know, she’s allowing you to do such a thing to her!

Daniela doesn’t notice she is crying until you cup her cheeks and shush her lovingly

“What’s wrong, Dani?”

You sound so sweet, so concerned

It only makes her cry harder. She loves you!

Don’t you love her? Is she wrong yet again?

“W-Why?”, she chokes out between tears. It seems they don’t ever stop

You only look confused and hold up the necklace retrieved from your pocket

Daniela hasn’t even noticed it yet. It’s…beautiful, with a green, tiny gemstone attached to it

“I-don’t know I thought you’d like it! I can return it if you don’t like it!”, you’re quick to assure her

She only tilts her head in confusion

What?

She shakes her head, and despite the pain she feels, allows you to pull her in your arms

“Why’d you peg the lycan?”, she asks, her voice small

You force yourself not to laugh at your sweet, naive girlfriend

“Baby…”

She looks up at you, teary, golden eyes finding yours

“Yes?”

“I didn’t literally peg it. I just ran from it. It’s just something you say”, you explain as best as you can

She’s confused

“Why?”

“I’m not sure”, you shrug. “Some sayings don’t really make sense but we still use them. Like, bittersweet. How can it be both?”

She seems to think about this

“A sugar covered lemon is bittersweet”, she hums

Daniela giggles at your bewildered expression

“You’re right!”, you gasp, and she giggles, her worries already forgotten again

[ikamigami]

I believe what Dark Sun told Foxy is true.

Maybe it's because of what he said about our Sun not surviving..

This.. I think that this cements it for me that Dark Sun isn't actually that bad.

I mean I think that he's not telling the full truth when he says that he only cares about his own ass.

Cause I think that he cares about something here. In our dimension. Or maybe about someone?

It might be just my wishful thinking but what if Dark Sun feels some kind of sentiment towards our Sun?

Cause when he was watching a bits from the channel it seemed to me as if he saw there something that he maybe wanted to be with his Moon or maybe he just in our Sun something he lost after all these times Moon refused to cooperate..

We were wondering on Discord when I still was active there how Dark Sun would feel about our Sun if he met him.

We didn't have them meeting each other and while Dark Sun didn't state that he hates our Sun for being a punching bag or that he feels a bit sympathetic towards him or that he doesn't care about him at all.. I feel like those little bits show that Dark Sun might actually feel sorry for our Sun.

I mean cause look, he told Moon that he should be worried about Sun and let him know where Sun is.. even though he could just simply say for example "don't worry about your dear Sun, check the lighthouse".. but he didn't. He said "you should be worried about Sun.."

And when Dark Sun was counting people who could built Eclipse - people who knows how to copy paste a personality - and he made a weird pause when he said Sun's name.. people thought that Sun is actually the one who is working with Ruin and helped him bring Eclipse back. But I think that Dark Sun hesitated because of how much our Sun doesn't believe in his own smarts. Sun can copy paste a personality - he did that with Moon's computer.. but remember how he said that it was just dumb luck?

And Dark Sun also said that Sun won't survive the aftermath of Ruin's "thanos' snap thing"..

And him watching their channel - he only later went to the episode with Ruin's interrogation - he was watching one of the games at first..

Doesn't it all seems odd to you? Why Dark Sun would be like that towards our Sun who "failed" in every way Dark Sun didn't?

Shouldn't he be angry at our Sun for being a doormat to everyone? For not being able to stand up for himself? Not being able to speak his mind to Moon?

Does Dark Sun might actually feel sorry for our Sun?

Maybe, and it might be my wishful thinking once again, Dark Sun isn't angry at our Sun because he.. gaah I can't find the right word xp..

Maybe Dark Sun admires, is sentimental about Sun's kindness?

I can't word it out how I want for the love of all that exist QwQ

What I mean is that Sun has this kindness and lots of empathy which is what Dark Sun lost. And I think that maybe Dark Sun feels some sort of grief.. for lack of better word.. it's like he's grieving who he was.

Cause like many people speculated me included that Dark Sun just became so cold, distant and emotionally detached to be able to stay on his ground, to be able to cut off the toxic people from his life - Moon literally and creator and Stitchwraith got killed. He has his peace but at what cost?

I think that our Sun is for Dark Sun a bitter-sweet reminder of what he had to sacrifice in order to achieve his peaceful life. I think that our Sun reminds Dark Sun of how he used to be as if he was looking at his younger self.

You know what I mean? It's similar to when you see yourself in someone else and you see all those aspects of you that were sweet but they're gone and you're not like that anymore. And you can't help it but to feel sympathy towards that person.

I think that the same is with Dark Sun. I think that he feels a little bit of sympathy towards our Sun because of how Sun is still kind and compassionate and forgiving. And Dark Sun used to be like that as well. And now he looks at Sun and can't help but to feel sympathy towards him. And he can't help but to feel sorry for Sun because of how much Sun struggles all because of his kind heart.

And because Dark Sun has a star - and interdimensional star at that - he probably saw things from future and he saw that Sun will try to do something to himself. Or that's what I think is the case.

I might be wrong but for me it can't be a coincidence with the way Dark Sun is whenver he mentions our Sun.

And that's why I think that he might want to try to prevent this from happening. But will he be successfull? Will he be able to convince others to listen to him?

We shall see. I can't wait to see what showrunners have in store for us.

At the end I'll say that I'm really happy to see that Foxy tries to do better as a father of FC this time and that he took FC with him to try and if kid can help with anything awwwww 💗

Also I wonder what are they doing wrong with the way they're trying to bring Solar back.. maybe they need Eclipse's help? Hmmm..

Either way something interesting will happen on April 8th to say the least.. I can feel it.

[rosehawk-writings]

These are the original thoughts and rough concept that eventually became my Entrepreneurshipping fic. This isn't exactly how things ended up, but thought I would share them for the fun of it.

Siegfried and Leon are staying with the Kaibas while Seto is trying to work out the terms for buying SchroederCorp. They finally reach the point where everything is perfect except that Zieg wants Seto to sleep with him before he’ll sign the contract. That afternoon, they send the kids off to KaibaLand with Roland and the staff are all sent away. The boys get wine-drunk while “getting to know each other” and talking about Duel Monsters, and for a little bit, it almost feels like they’re just being friends. Then Seto tries to get Zieg to sign the contract again, and Zieg is like, “Look, I know your reputation. You’ve been making some pretty one-sided deals, and I’m not signing anything until I get what I want.” So they negotiate a little more, and then Seto sucks his dick with the agreement that they’ll fuck that night. They clean up and have a meeting with the attorneys to sign the contracts with proper witnesses and everything. Then that night they celebrate with a lot more wine in Zieg’s room, and Seto is an absolute DOM because he knows, from his own intuitions, Zieg’s confessions, and [redacted], that that’s absolutely what Zieg wants. They’re up fucking at least half the night, and by the end of it, Zieg is in love despite Seto telling him that this is purely business.

The next morning, Duke is hanging out with Seto’s assistant outside the KC building waiting for him to arrive. (He's running uncharacteristically late.) When he does finally show up with Zieg in his limo, Seto’s wearing dark sunglasses and doesn’t take them off when he goes inside. Those two are arguing in German, and Zieg gets a little touchy, so Duke is immediately like, “Why he touchin’ my man?” and goes up to him like, “Yeah, hi there, I have an important secret update on our project and we have to talk alone” and Seto tells his assistant to get Zieg set up in one of the smaller conference rooms and arrange a press conference for 3pm. Duke asks him if he’s hungover, and Kaiba’s like, “No, I’m not, shut up,” and Duke is all, “You made the mistake of drinking with a German. It’s not as bad as drinking with a Russian, but damn boy, I don’t think you know how to hold your liquor. You need more XP before you’re ready to go drinking against a German again.” And Seto’s all, “As fascinating as your knowledge of international stereotypes is, I thought you said you had something important to tell me, and that really doesn’t count.” By this point, they’ve made it to Seto’s office, and once inside he closes the door and starts closing the blinds. Duke’s all, “Oh yeah, the parts we needed for the next step have been delayed. It’ll be another two days before we can keep going.” Seto is annoyed and frustrated and sits down at his desk and puts his head in his hands. He’s still wearing the sunglasses. Duke asks about Zieg getting so handsy that morning, and what were they arguing about anyways, and Seto says that he needs Duke’s advice on how to get someone UNinterested in him. And Duke is like, “Oh, dude, no problem. But did you do anything that might have encouraged his affections? Cause I need to know that before I can say a word to him.” And Seto is like, “Well… you don’t need to know, actually.”

(following dialogue is the gist of what’s being said)

Duke: “You kissed him when you were drunk, didn’t you? I get it, he’s real pretty, but next time you get drunk, you should definitely invite me. I'm even prettier when you're drunk.”

Kaiba: “That’s not, ugh, you’re still flirting with me? Whatever, you’re hopeless. Is it really necessary for you to know what happened between us?”

Duke: “Yes, absolutely necessary.”

Kaiba gives him a thoughtful look and then Duke realizes.

“You slept with him while you were drunk, didn’t you? Now he thinks it means something?”

“That’s not… quite it either.”

“Okay dude, spill. You want help, and I can only do that if I have all the details.”

“I slept with him to close the deal.”

“Excuse me, you what?”

“He refused to sign the papers unless I slept with him, so” *casual shrug* “It was purely transactional sex, and he knew that, but by the end of it, he said he was falling for me, and I need him to get over himself.”

Duke is pretty shocked for a moment, and all he can manage is a quip. “I thought you didn’t date. But you’re good enough in bed that he fell in love with you after one night?”

“Shut the fuck up. I told you what happened. Are you going to help me or not?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll talk to him after the press conference and tell him you’re my boyfriend and that last night was strictly business, but he needs to back off now. Then you’re going to come home with me to make a point to him. Deal?”

“Fine, deal, whatever, just turn the light off when you leave”

[my-name-is-bunnyfoxy]

I CAME BACK FROM THE MOVIE LIKE AN HOUR OR SO AGO- AND HOLLY CRAP- Here is some stuff I will say and I'll give my review at the end.

I love how to movie doesn't waste time and immediately jumps straight into action and also the backstory of it's soon to be main villain.

The designs are really nice I like them a lot. They are nice to look at. Maybe for some it might take a while to get used to but their decent at best.

I enjoy that right when we are introduced to the turtles they don't waste time showing their personalities.

This movie's angst inspiration definetelly came from the fandom lmao

like bro they just threw a bunch of angst in there.

Speaking of angst, I like how they immediately establish how much the turtles genuinely wanna be accepted into humanity and how they don't hold back on making sad scenes.

I don't mind Leo's crush. It's cute and I like how it's depicted. It's not that focused on which I don't really mind. I don't know where I sit with MM Aprilnardo, I'll wait until the series drops or we get a sequel and see what happens. If nothing happens between the two then I guess I won't be too hard into it. Unless maybe we see April and Leo both sharing feelings or something. Though if April politely rejects him I'll leave it at that. Again I still don't know where to sit with this ship.

Splinter is cool and funny. Also- we don't talk about that scene with him and scumbug-

The backstory for the characters is sad and I like how you can genuinely sympathize with them and it's not forced or anything.

I-I-I-I-I-I had to look away at the Puke scenes and the make out scene- Yeah I did get second hand embarrassment with this movie-

I enjoy how cringey it is- Like I get second hand embarrassment and yet it's funny to me-

MondoMikey shippers DNI. They are cousins in Mutant Mayhem.

I love how the movie's style is that of 87 and take more inspiration from the 87 version though to me the personalities for the characters were a mixture of rise and 2012 with some inclusion of 87 as well.

I actually watched this movie in my language not the english one. Sadly I didn't record any of the scenes so I can't show it to ya'll. :( Mainly cause I assumed it wasn't allowed to be recorded.

Shocked I didn't cry at certain scenes-

I enjoy that each character shines in his own way and all of them manage to do so.

Don't lay a finger on Leo... I will bite your legs off...

Sadly me and my papa didn't stay until the cliffhanger but I watched it on YouTube though.

The animation kind of seems messy but I do feel like it's something a little kid would design and considering this is a kids movie and all it's understandable. Though it gives us a lot of funny expressions xp

Story is unique, fight scenes really fun and amazing, the ending felt deserved and overall I enjoyed it.

Now, I know Superfly is a villain and all but if I'm gonna be honest- He didn't deserve death. I wish he got a redemption arc. He's just a broken villain who I ended up sympathizing and understanding. Yeah he wasn't doing the right thing but can you blame him?

Off topic but what gender is Leatherhead-? I kind of got confused ngl lmao

So in my opinion, it's either 8.5 or a 9/10. Mainly because there are some cringey scenes that I did cringe at and ngl I feel like certain scenes's pace was kind of a bit too fast. I don't know really-

BONUS: My papa's thoughts on the movie:

Found it cringe and stupid

He prefers the old TMNT

Prefers it when they stick to the shadows rather then go to high school

He thought Splinter was stupid and how he said the old one was a 'badass mothefucka'. His words not mine.

He prefers when Leo is really serious and calm, Raph a hot head and constantly wanting to smash things, Donnie being calm and smart and Mikey- Mikey he didn't mind since he said he is always stupid and a dumbass- (not really his words but close enough-)

He found the story not to be that really consistent and also the animation to him wasn't fluid. He didn't think it was the best or that good.

The story is interesting to him and unique and all though.

Don't hate my papa pretty please-

He pretty much grew on the 87 and OG comics. He kind of also probably had to deal with watching with me and my bro the TMNTs we grew up with. If anyone's curious, my bro grew up on the 2003 and kind of also 2012 since we both binged watched it a lot every time we came back home from school meanwhile I grew up on the 2012 but also in a way with 2003. Mainly since I have a few memories of seeing some episodes of it so I know some stuff.

Anyway- his score is a 6/10 for the movie and he says that is a VERY generous score.

Extra add in:

I realized my outfit looked similar to April's- Just- it had different colors and- I'm white as fu- Loved April a lot in this movie by the way.

I watched it with 3D glasses.

They were also selling masks of the TMNT. I only saw Raph, Mikey and Donnie but not Leo. I didn't buy one by the way-

I annoyed my dad with how much I was jumping and kicking my feet around.

And yeah that's all-

Loved the movie, I enjoyed it, I hope ya'll have enjoyed it as well and yeah!

[torchship-rpg]

Dev Diary 8 - Identities: Terrans & Lunars

Happy International Moon Day! Torchship is set 200 years after Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, with history diverging when Alexei Leonov followed him a few days later, keeping the space race hot through moon bases, Mars, and beyond. A bit like For All Mankind, if everyone was a bit less of a complete drama queen.

In celebration of the incredibly cool feat of somehow putting boots on another world, we’re going to be focusing today’s Dev Diary on the two human Identities which descend directly from the event; the Terrans who went there and the Lunars who stayed.

Terrans

We touched on Terrans in Dev Diary 2, as an example for how even the most ‘standard’ of human identities still has a lot of interesting Traits to draw from. Still, Terrans are very much the ‘default’ human identity, being the most populous human group. They’re called Terrans because they got upset about everyone calling them Earthlings, and it had a nice symmetry with Lunars.

Even before we get into the specific sub-Identities, each Identity is divided into a bunch of subsections which dive into various details about the group; where they live, what the environment is like, and what specific biological or genetic details you might need to know. Any of these can come with Traits; the Biology one is where aliens get their signature features, and humans get the developmental and genetic distinctions that set them apart.

(As an aside, these Identity entries are big. They’re not just a couple of paragraphs, they’re thousands of words about history, culture, and biology. Sometimes I get distracted and go on for four paragraphs about the Zinovian biological and cultural concept of sex and gender. Sorry not sorry.)

For Terrans, our Biology section includes our first two Traits. As mentioned last time, 1g is unusually high for humanoid life in the setting; most other species evolved at around half to maybe three quarters of that, and the various spacers will have grown up under even less.

This means that Terrans are a great fit for the Heavyworlder trait, which is one of the Gravity traits. This gives you better tolerance for high Gs (important when you’ve got to work on your spacecraft while under thrust) in exchange for worse penalties in 0g. Compared to a spacer who could spacewalk before they could normal-walk, you’re going to come off clumsy in freefall. You also get a bonus to Physical Instrument, the cert used for basic physical strength and endurance, and do more damage in melee.

The other Terran biological Trait is Baseliner. An assumption underlying every biological Identity is that unless we say otherwise, there’s genetic engineering afoot, either ongoing or in the species' past. While some of this is awful Gattaca-style eugenics nonsense, for Torchship’s humanity this has mostly been just some tidying up. Evolution settles for a lot of ‘good-enough’ solutions, so with a little bit of targeted editing we can do stuff like prevent cells from hoarding molecules they’ll never use, or use a chemical that’s actually good at the job instead of one that the body just had lying around.

Baseliner is the Trait where we say otherwise. You pretty much can’t survive off Earth without some genetic engineering; turns out even a pretty small reduction in gravity long-term is going to be bad for your heart, nerves, muscles, bones… your everything, basically. But if you and your family have always lived on Earth, you could well have gone the last hundred years without genetic editing. 

The downside is that it costs more XP to upgrade Physical Instrument and you take extra consequences from different levels of gravity, but on the upside you have an extra ten minutes in low Oxygen before consequences start setting in, and you have a higher tolerance for drugs and poisons. You might not be peak human performance, but all those redundancies can come in handy.

Once we’re done with biology, we move into the sub-Identities, which are specific regions or subcultures. Right now Terrans only have two; rural and urban. (I’ve played around with some others but I haven’t been happy with anything yet, send in your suggestions!). Urban Terrans live in the dense, futuristic megacities that dot future Earth, in communal archeologies that are like self-contained villages. Theirs is a life of beautiful buildings, abundant greenery, a different kind of library for everything, and a joyous excess of monorails. It’s everything you could have wanted from Usborne’s Book of Future Cities (1979) come to life.

Urban Terrans get recommended the following Traits; Polyglot (to get across the cosmopolitan nature of the cities), Well-Connected (to show your closeness to the Star Union’s bureaucracy), Divergent (because urban Terrans are exactly the sort of people who do recreational genetic modifications), and Communal Spirit, a trait which boosts the effectiveness of working together. This is a common Trait for many Human identities; it’s pretty much the one that models prosocial production practices in action. 

The Rural Terran trait represents a much smaller proportion of the population. These are the mix of farmers, ecologists, and indigenous groups piecing the planet back together after a close brush with climate change. Outside of lithium, there’s not a lot of on-world mining anymore (space mining has made it uneconomical) so this is mostly agriculture. These communities are relatively isolated, bypassed by the high-speed trains connecting Earth’s cities; the saying goes that Mars is closer to the cities than the farms are.

Rural Terrans get these Traits suggested: Biome Specialist (representing a familiarity in whatever regional ecology you grew up in), Stiff Upper Lip (farm work tends to toughen you up), Natural Esper (a lot of psychics try to get away from the crowded cities), and Trusting, a trait that rewards you for helping others, but makes you more vulnerable to manipulation and makes it stressful to initiate violence.

Finally, at the end of each Identity is a section dedicated to how this group fits into Star Patrol, and how their presence can result in extra Traits through social interaction with other groups. Here, the privileged, ‘default’, often somewhat thoughtless Terrans are recommended the Imposing trait, which gives you some bonuses for being intimidating, but makes it a little harder to get people’s trust. It also does a decent job representing how Terrans are simply more heavily built than anyone else in the Sol system; when you’re comparing to tiny Martians and spindly Spacers, Terrans are collectively a bunch of Conans the Barbarian. 

You grew up somewhere where air is free and water falls from the sky, and people are understandably sometimes hesitant to correct your ignorance because you’re three times stronger than they are. Terrans often have some growing up to do as they realise how they come off to others.

Lunars

In Torchship’s world, there have been moon bases since the early 70s, and people have lived on the moon full-time since the early 2000s. The Soviet moon base program eventually withdrew due to budget problems, leaving the ever-increasing network of American bases the sole full-time real estate on the moon. In the 2040s, Armstrong City took one look at the unfolding disaster that was the collapse of American capitalism and seceded. Playing up its neutrality, it eventually became the de jure capital of the Solar Union and, now, the Star Union, though in actuality this is mostly symbolic.

This is because living on the moon is genuinely very difficult. The gravity is just 16% of what it is on Earth, it’s airless, and there’s no atmosphere to stop the radiation. When people started living there, its only selling point at all was being closer to Earth than Mars was.

Now that people do live there, though, in a vast underground city, there turns out to be a second advantage. The Moon is very rich in mineral resources and very poor in biospheres you might destroy by aggressively mining them, and it’s incredibly cheap to get things to lunar orbit. This has ended up making the moon the industrial powerhouse of the Star Union.

Lunars are living in the most extreme conditions of any of the human Identities, which is reflected in their Biology Traits. Like Spacers, they get Freefaller, a gravity trait that is in most ways an inverse of the Heavyworlder trait. They might not actually be living in freefall, but the gravity is so low it might not make a difference. The very low gravity also means they are recommended Medical Dependency; humans simply were not meant to grow up in these conditions. Even with genetic modifications, some ongoing medical treatment for bone density or nerve issues, arising from being seven feet tall and effectively 30 pounds, is to be expected. Finally, Lunars are recommended the Wireless Brain Uplink Trait, an extension of the implanted medical monitors which were once standard on US moon bases for long-term survival.

Lunars also only have two sub-identities. The first are the Mazedwellers, those who live in Armstrong City itself. Armstrong City is built out of the subterranean mines of Luna, using the thick crust of the planet to protect against solar radiation. This makes the city a twisting, sprawling web deep under the surface, where space is at an absolute premium even beyond what Spacers experience. To live in these conditions but still contribute your industrial might to the Union, your town doubles as a factory floor, converting back and forth every day.

This gives Lunars a distinct identity in their work ethic; while everyone else can be more content working at their own pace, on Luna the faster you get the job done the faster you get your living room back. Your recommended Traits are Claustrophile (giving you a bonus in a space suit but mild agoraphobia), Driven (representing this unusual work ethic), and Shifting Gears, a trait which lets you have two sets of Personality Impulses, in this case representing the strict work-life divide that is at the centre of Lunar culture.

The other Lunar sub-identity is being a Yardworker. The Lunar Yards are the reason that humanity won the big space war; turns out running a slower-than-light multiplanetary civilisation requires an absolutely ludicrous number of spacecraft, so Lunars built an absolutely enormous and ever-expanding space station to do that with, using a giant railgun to shoot raw materials up to it and commuting every day with short-hop shuttles. In the post-FTL era, the sheer scale of the Lunar Yards means humanity can produce an almost comedic surplus. During the war, Lunars couldn’t serve in Star Patrol (see the end of the dev diary for why), so people started living on the Yards to make as many rockets as possible instead as a way of contributing.

Being a Yardworker is a prestigious job for a Lunar, and also a competitive one. Work never slows down, six shifts twenty-four hours a day. For this reason, Yardworkers share the Driven and Claustrophile Traits with their Mazedweller counterparts, as they aren’t that divergent. They gain the Voidborn trait (which gives bonuses for making repairs, cheaper upgrades to the Cosmonaut cert, and stress when your rocket is experiencing shortages) and the Cultural Tool trait, which gives you a bonus 4d6-era item you can carry atop the normal inventory. For Lunars, that’s your Yarkworker’s Marker, the thick-nibbed, vacuum-writing pen workers carry to leave each other vital notes about problems that could potentially kill them and/or draw dicks on the spaceship. The Yardworker’s Marker and all the little notes that crews would find in their spacecraft developed a mythology, which is why now it’s as much a badge of honour as a practical tool.

Finally, the Lunars in Star Patrol section touches on an important consequence of Lunar biology; being a Lunar was for life up until shockingly recently. They couldn’t even survive something as tame as Martian gravity even a few decades ago, which meant they could never visit Earth and couldn’t serve in Solar Patrol because their hearts couldn’t take the acceleration. This only changed in the past few decades in the form of an intense, and often rather painful, two-year series of treatments and acclimation.

This comes with two suggested Traits. The first is Augment, the trait we use to represent attempts at genetic engineering that go above and beyond the normal evolutionary cleanup, which can represent some of the extreme intervention and above-average effects it might have had. The other is Stiff Upper Lip, as per Rural Terrans, representing the adjusted pain tolerances you’re going to develop after undergoing something like that.

As you can see, Trait overlap is pretty common in these things, and of course these are just suggested Traits. Despite all the differences, everyone is a lot alike in most ways.

[fizzingwizard]

Three: the one about the other friends

Too-ticky is the perfect neutral-tone master of understatement. Her part is small but memorable.

Snorkmaiden is done dirty tbh. Not only is she hardly in the game, her one role is to be sad about her missing anklet. She doesn't even mention Moomintroll is missing, and she isn't given an invite to the play either! Bizarre.

Snork has more to do. I honestly kinda felt like I was cheating by blocking his stick in the race. On the other hand... he kinda did make a "my johnson is bigger than yours" joke sooooo... *ahem* And gotta add Snufkin talking smack about Little My when she's not there to smack back haha

THIS GHOST WAS THE BEST THING EVER. Def my surprise VIP of the game hahaha. He's adorable, and he gives me an excuse to torture the police officers x'D At first I thought the willing victims were gonna be Snufkin's friends and I was like ???? TBH I was worried all the park mazes would get repetitive and dull, but because they changed up how you play every time, it didn't. And sneaking up on police to lead them to the ghost was my faaaaaavorite of all

Moominpappa and mamma don't have a big role either. But Pappa at least is involved by losing his manuscript, and organizing the play. Moominmamma is involved by worrying about Moomintroll, offering to bake cookies, and coddling her husband xP

Muskrat is... relatable, ngl

Back to what I said earlier about Snufkin's theme of learning to rely on others. Snufkin never says anything like "Moominvalley only needs me." And this reprimand is just rather rich coming from the muskrat. But I guess there is a message there, as with Little My, that what people say isn't always how they really feel, and actions speak louder than words. Basically - Muskrat and Little My are both tsunderes lmao. And these tsunderes are bothered by true loners. It's fine to insult people if you secretly really like them, but for heaven's sake don't be a loner! /sarcasm

Sniff: "SaVE mE SnUFKiN DO soMETHinG SNuFKIN YOU SEem lONelY SnUFkin"

Sniff's character design is adorable though. Super super super cute

the "lonely" thing wouldn't bother me if I just got where tf it's coming from. Of course Snufkin's lonely, his best friend is missing?? Of course he's not relying on his friends, all they do is ask him to help them and then berate him for not being more of a people person bahaha. Ehhh. As a theme it's fine, but it feels more like sprinkles on the cake than the cake's actual flavor if you get what I mean.

Also really appreciate that Cedric has this to say every time he "talks"

The Woodies are fantastic and I love how they proliferate. Really I was running for my life trying to shake them off. And what could be more fun than trapping a horde of children behind a rock... only to realize two seconds later that actually you need their help... and then immediately running away from them again what message about learning to appreciate others more Snufkin what what??

And special runners up: Edward the Booble was all kinds of awesome. And I just wish we got more of Ninny! I think she should have had a more substantial sidequest that ended with her becoming visible. Maybe there is and I missed that one too lol

[neobubz]

PREVIEW - full story coming soon! ★ The Tutor (SFW version XP) ★

this is the first 7k of an over 23k story. i'm finishing this up but wanted to give everyone interested a preview. this is the sfw (safe for work) version of the story. nothing too scandalous going on... yet : ) so i hope you enjoy this and come back for the full release <3333

Word Count: approx. 7.1k

Pairing(s): fem reader x johnny (dad and high school math teacher) feat. jaehyun (as her math teacher)

Warnings: explicit language

Note: in this story Johnny and Jaehyun are the same age ^^

It wasn’t as if you didn’t try. You did everything humanly possible to turn your grades around. Studying to all hours of the night; going to the tutors on campus for help — all of which ran for the hills when they saw you coming. Even asking your bestie, Doyoung, for help, knowing full well what a pickle you were in he ‘volunteered as tribute.’ However, when he saw how truly helpless you were he forfeited and told you to change career paths.

Currently in your second year at Neo University, you were acing every class except one. One single class in which you were warned about. No one passed with flying colors, even Doyoung struggled. Doyoung, the Valedictorian when the two of you were in High School — acing his classes with flying colors in Elementary and Middle school, but when it came to this class — barely passing with a D+. This class was a different beast all together. Some girls in your dormitory actually cried when their final grades came in. Only sending shivers down your spine for the following semester where you too would find yourself in tears time and time again. 

Sadly, all of your feeble attempts only resounded in a giant letter in blood red ink, F. Again! This has been your fifth F of the semester. Thankfully completing all of the homework assignments, even the extra problems was keeping your head above water. But still, an F was not what you wanted to see. Not only that, your teacher decided to emphasize the triumph with a thick red circle. And to top it off he scribbled underneath, ‘stay after class,’ written in beautiful cursive. This was it. The talk. You were dreading this moment. Every year, every teacher from primary school to secondary has given you the talk. 

‘What is wrong?’ ‘What aren’t you understanding?’ ‘If you were struggling this much you should have asked for help!’ ‘Have you tried a private tutor?’ Groaning you let your head fall flat onto your desk. Mr. Jeong wasn’t going to be any different. He was going to say the same things you’ve heard all your life. 

At this point you were sure that Math was just a big douche who loved to shit on you time and time again – your personal kryptonite in the world. All of the functions, equations, a million fucking ways to do one single problem because some sick twisted asshole came around and said ‘hey, I’ve discovered a new method,’ only adding to everyone’s frustrations! Yeah, Math hated you and you hated it. Case closed.

When the bell rang and everyone scattered out of the classroom all too eager to leave, you stayed back, as instructed. Raising his arm and slicking back his dark brown hair — a habit Mr. Jeong had that made all the girls swoon, yourself included, he made his approach. Eyes dead set on you. Lips in a hard line, he pulled out the chair in front of you sitting down. 

“I’m guessing you know why I’ve asked you to stay back,” he starts a long tired sigh leaving him.

“I swear I’m trying!” You rush to get everything out before he even has a chance to ask you the same questions every other teacher has asked you. “I went down to the tutoring classroom. They all have decided I’m a lost cause. I even asked my friend who took your class last semester! He only looked at me like I’m stupid. I’m not stupid by the way,” you hiss surprising Mr. Jeong. A tiny smile creeping at the corners of his mouth. “I’ve struggled with Math my whole life. No matter how hard I try to study I just can’t seem to grasp any of the concepts. At this point I’m pretty sure it’s my arch nemesis!”

“Why didn’t you seek my help from the very beginning?” He asks calmly.

“I don’t want to look like an idiot right off the bat! I hate being peoples’ ‘little project.’” You roll your eyes at the label you’ve been placed with since childhood.

Turning his head away Mr. Jeong covers his growing smile with the back of his hand disguising it as a cough. “Well, I for one don’t think you’re stupid.” 

“Eh?!”

“I just think you need some guidance. May I see your test?” Nodding you grab the paper from your folder sliding it to him. “Right here, you used the right equation, but made the tiniest error here,” he points with a blue pen circling the area of your mistake. Thank heavens it wasn’t a red pen. By the end of your college days red is going to be a color you would never want to see again.

Looking up at Mr. Jeong stunned you shake your head in disbelief. “S-So I just goofed?”

“Well, yes and no. Do you go over your work and double…triple check your answers?”

“I never know if I’m right or wrong and I get freaked out and second guess myself. So I just think it is what it is and hand in my paper. I promise I’ll triple, no! Quadruple check my work next time!”

“Checking your work is only half the problem. You still aren’t understanding all the equations.” He points to the problems on the second page. “These equations are all wrong. You mixed the second page equation setup with the third page. So, ultimately, they’re wrong.”

Groaning you slam your head on your desk. Mr. Jeong moving his hands away just in time before you made another blunder and crushed his fingers. “Maybe I am stupid. I’m sorry, Mr. Jeong.” 

“You’re not stupid. Please don’t call yourself that and please don’t slam your head down that hard. You’ll hurt yourself. Now, sadly, I myself am booked up solid with tutoring some of my other students. But, I do have a friend who I know can help you.”

“Really?!” You practically spring up from your seat.

“Y-Yes,” he moves away from you. “His name is Johnny Suh. He teaches Mathematics at a high school not far from here. If you don’t mind I can give him a call and see if he’s available to help you.”

“Yes! Please, Mr. Jeong! My mom is going to kill me if my grades don’t start taking a turn for the better.”

And with that you stand outside of Mr. Suh’s house, or mansion? Your head tilts to the side wondering how in the hell a high school teacher is able to live in a home that can be used in itself as a small school for kids. Checking down at the address Mr. Jeong gave you, you check to make sure you’re in the right spot. 7716 Zennie Drive. 

Shrugging you ring the doorbell and place a gentle knock on the door. After your talk with Mr. Jeong, the next day you had his class he pulled you to the side when you walked in. Having said he talked to Mr. Suh, and he was more than willing to help. 

Apparently the two went way back to their early high school days as best friends. You were told you’d be well taken care of but the only time Mr. Suh’s schedule was free was Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 4PM to 7PM. Thankfully, you scheduled all your classes in the morning hours — your last class ending around 12PM each time, giving you ample time to eat and rest up before going to hopefully your saving grace. 

But the door remains closed. No movement. No sounds coming from inside. Checking your phone you make sure that today was in fact, Wednesday. Yep. And it is 4:14PM. Having trouble locating the home at first put you behind schedule. Yet, you’re still standing outside the massive door. 

“Mr. Suh!” You knock on the door calling his name this time. 

Stepping back you wait. Shuffling back and forth you try to focus on any signs of life coming from behind the door when a blood curdling scream comes from the other side of the house.

Jumping at the sound your hand goes to your heart. “What the —” Looking around hoping you weren’t the only one who heard the scream you find yourself alone. Great…

Reaching into your pocket you grab your keys which hold not only a rape whistle – provided so kindly of the females on campus, but a fresh new canister of pepper spray. Gripping the spray tightly in your hand you slowly make your way around the side of the house. 

“M-Mr. Suh…” you whisper. No answer. Sticking yourself to the wall of the home you make your way around the first corner only to see something you didn’t expect.

“No!” Another high-pitched scream pierces your ears.

“I’m going to get you!” An older gentleman chases after a small girl in a tutu around a massive backyard.

“No! The evil troll king!” The little girl wails. 

“Get back here with my gold!”

Blinking a few times you hope your mind is making up the scene in front of you. This is Mr. Suh?! The man in front of you appears to be around the same age as Mr. Jeong, but he is much more…he lets out such a light hearted laugh that you step away from the scene before you… handsome. 

“Fuck…” you whisper to yourself.

Mr. Jeong was already the hottest teacher on campus. Granted, not exactly your type. He held some kind of mystery behind his eyes that unsettled you the numerous times you’ve made eye contact with him. Perhaps it was a look of pity he had knowing you were bombing his class, but there was something darker and mysterious. Something in his gaze that made your stomach twist and turn. 

Many girls would gawk and stare when he’d walk across campus after his classes ended before his break. Admittedly so have you. Every time he walked it seemed as if there was a red carpet or some type of runway he was strutting down. The man was a living breathing luxury brand model! Definitely up there with the Versace or Prada models. 

Mr. Suh, gulping the saliva that was threatening to pour from your parted lips — he was a different type of handsome, and absolutely your type. Short jet black hair sticks to his forehead the longer he plays with the little girl. A loose fitted white button down shirt, with three buttons undone revealing a glimpse of his chest. Despite the loose shirt, he definitely has a broad chest and just the thought of what he looks like shirtless has your heart beating faster. You were entering dangerous waters with your gawking but you continued. Loose fitted trousers that didn’t give way to the shape of his legs but with the overall size of Mr. Suh, his physique overall just screams toned.

“U-Uh,” you try to find your voice holding up your hand. “E-Excuse me,” you manage to squeak out.

Freezing, the little girl and who you assume is Mr. Suh turn in your direction. 

“Daddy!” The little girl clings to him, her gaze peeking out from behind his long legs.

Daddy? You stare wide-eyed. He’s a father, already?!

“I’m sorry,” you start to back away. “I don’t mean to intrude. I heard a scream and —”

“It’s fine,” a chuckle comes from the man. “You’re the student Jaehyun sent over, right?”

“Jaehyun?” Your head tilts. “M-Mr. Jeong?” 

Nodding, Mr. Suh walks forward, his daughter clinging to him for dear life. “Sorry, yes. Mr. Jeong,” Johnny towers over you. “I’m Johnny Suh, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He reaches out his hand.

Saying your name quickly, you enclose your hand around his only to gasp at the size difference. “N-Nice to meet you too…” you say in awe.

“I hope you weren’t waiting long. I lost track of time. This is my daughter, Lily.” He gestures to the girl glaring at you from behind him.

Bending down to her level you try to give her your sweetest smile. “Hi, Lily. It’s nice to meet you.”

“No!” She shouts running away from you and into the house.

“U-Uhhh…” a sliver of sweat rolls down the side of your face. 

“Lily!” Mr. Suh shouts. “I’m sorry, for her behavior. I think she’s a little shy.” He brushes his hair out of his face. “Please, come inside. So, Jaehyun told me you’re having trouble in his class,” he starts off the conversation.

“Y-Yes,” you follow behind him. “No matter how hard I try I can’t seem to understand a single thing he’s teaching. I’ve tried asking for help on campus but no one seems to want to deal with me. It’s sad to say that you too may fall prey to my idiocy and drop me as well.”

Chuckling Mr. Suh slides open the glass door leading straight into the kitchen. “I’m sure we can figure out what the problem is.”

“I hope so. My mom’s going to kill me if my grades don’t improve soon.”

Taking off your shoes at the door you’re led to a small table in front of a window. “Please, have a seat and I’ll be right back. Would you like anything to drink while you wait?”

“A glass of water would be lovely.”

Heading over to his cupboard he grabs down a glass, goes to the fridge and pours you some water. Thinking he would do what your father always does when you ask for a glass of water and get it from the tap — this was definitely an act of kindness. 

“I’m just going to go check on Lily, and then I’ll be right back.”

“I can leave and come back some other time if this is an inconvenience for you. I don’t want to take your time away from your daughter.”

“Nonsense. She’s just a little crabby today,” he rests a reassuring hand on your shoulder. “Why don’t you get your book out and start on your assignment and I’ll be right back.”

“Yes, sir,” you scramble to take out your book and binder.

When Mr. Suh was out of earshot you exhale a long deep breath that you didn’t know you were holding in. This is terrible. Absolutely terrible! Taking out your phone you shoot a round of texts to your best friend Jennifer.

I’m in deep shit!  My tutor is soooo hot! Like fucking hot!  And he’s sooo tall! What do I do Jen?!!!!

Hiding your phone under your leg you wait for her reply. Having seen the time she should be getting out of soccer practice soon and heading for the lockers. Twiddling your pencil in your hand you try to focus on the problem staring back at you.

This was going to be grueling. How is it that for the last year and a half you haven’t stepped foot in front of a man you thought was handsome — but when you need help because you’re a dumbass, the Universe places a walking Greek God before you? 

Then again, you scoff. “He’s married, you idiot. And he’s a dad! Focus!!”

Finding a smidge of peace from your rampant thoughts you get to work. The homework seemed easy when Mr. Jeong was explaining it. All you had to do was follow the equation that you just learned. Simple enough.

Or so you thought... An eon went by and you were still staring at the first problem. Pencil snagged between your teeth, bite marks up and down the piece of wood. A personal habit you picked up specifically from Mr. Jeong’s class.

“You use this, to solve this.” You start talking to yourself quietly. “Then why is it so damn hard to solve this problem?!” 

“Stuck already?” A voice whispers next to your ear.

Jumping back, your phone crashing to the floor you stare wide-eyed at Mr. Suh. With a small cat-like grin he takes a seat next to you, picking up your phone in the process.

“Didn’t mean to startle you. You were just hyper focused and I couldn’t resist.”

“Uh, y-yeah,” you reach for your phone only for it to slip out of your hands. “Shit,” you curse.

“About the language,” Mr. Suh clears his throat.

“Oh no!” You pop your head up from under the table. “Yes. No. I’m sorry. I know you have a child. I’m just nervous I guess. Please forgive me. It won’t happen again.”

Nodding he leans back in his chair. “Why are you nervous? Is Jaehyun stressing you out with all the work?”

“No!” You shout. “I mean,” you try to speak calmly. “I’m just nervous that you’ll find out I’m unteachable.”

“No one is unteachable. I’m sure Jaehyun will tell you the same thing. He’s given me a heads up on what you’re having trouble with, but if you don’t mind me asking, may I see your tests?”

Horror befalls you. He can’t be serious. He doesn’t actually want to see that travesty. Surely Mr. Jeong told him how much of a dumbass you are. He has to know that you’re in desperate need of help.

“My-My tests?” 

“Yes. I want to see exactly where you’re struggling. This tutoring is going to be in regards to your Final. For the next two and a half months I’m going to try my best to bring your grade up so you can pass and put this class and Jaehyun behind you. In order to do that, I need to see everything that you’re struggling with.”

Begrudgingly you sigh opening up your binder. “Fine…” Fishing out all of your tests and quizzes, every proof of your failure – you hand them to Mr. Suh one by one. “I’ll understand if you want to quit while you’re ahead.”

“Oh stop it can’t be —” he pauses mid-sentence his mouth falling open. “Oh, wow…” he mumbles.

“Yep. Told you. I’m stupid. Still want to take on this walking nightmare?”

“I mean he told me you were really struggling but I didn’t think this badly.” He glances up at you for a second to see the pout on your lips and in your eyes. “I’m not going to run away. I’m just shocked he waited until you were this deep in the hole to do something.” 

“Maybe he thought I would magically get better.”

“He said his schedule is booked solid with tutoring other students?” 

“Yep.”

“He’s so blind,” Mr. Suh shakes his head. “Okay, how about today I help you with your homework for Monday, and by tomorrow I’ll have a study plan and a guide all made up for you!” 

“Eh?! You still want to help me? Are you sure? I won’t be upset if you say no. Even my best friend abandoned me.”

Laughing he waves a dismissive hand. “Believe it or not, Jaehyun wasn’t the Math genius he is today. Even when he was back in college he struggled a little. Everyone needs help every now and then.”

“Thank you, Mr. Suh! I won’t let you down!”

Just like he promised, he helped you with your homework. Shockingly only looking at you incredulously a few times when he needed to dumb everything down for you to the point his daughter would be able to understand. Feeling a little better after your first tutoring session, you head back to your dorm with your head held high. Maybe this is going to be your second wind. A power up to keep you in the game!

You were sure of one thing. You would not let Mr. Suh down. 

When you got to your dorm room your best friend, Jennifer taps her foot impatiently outside your door, her fingers being gnawed by her teeth. “Where the hell have you been? I was worried about you. I tried calling and texting back.”

“Eh?” You grab your phone. “My phone was on the whole —” you press the home button but it doesn’t turn on. “This can’t be. I charged it before I left. I had a full battery.”

Pressing the small button on the side you find your phone had been turned off completely. A cold shiver rakes over you. Did Mr. Suh turn off your phone when he picked it up? Your Lock Screen appearing, a text from your friend the only thing displayed.

A hot tutor?! How hot is he? A scale of 0-10? Take a picture I want to see!

Gulping you show her your phone. “I-I think Mr. Suh turned off my phone. Jen! What do I do? What if he saw your message?! How can I show my face around him again? He probably thinks I’m disgusting! He’s a married man with a child! What do I do?!” You stomp around like a kid as you open your door.

“Don’t freak. Maybe he just turned it off. He could have a no phone policy.”

“You think?”

Nodding she ushers you to your bed where she plops down beside you. “So, tell me everything! Seriously! How hot is he?”

x - - - - - - - - - - - x

Giving his daughter one last kiss, Johnny wishes her a goodnight and sweet dreams. Today was a day like no other. Little did he know when he would take on the job of being your tutor would he find out you needed a savior. Sighing he reaches into his pocket for his phone. 

Jaehyun had a lot of explaining to do. Why didn’t he tell him you were so far behind in your studies? When he said one of his students needs help and he’s booked solid he assumed it was just a normal case of an over achieving student. Seeing your grades brought on a whole other problem. You would need to get at least a B+ on your final to even have a passing grade. Why would he let you get so far behind, and how does Jaehyun expect you to get your grades up in such a short period of time?

It didn’t make sense. Jaehyun has always been active in the Math Lab, as well as private tutoring jobs on the weekends. During his breaks he helps any student who can’t meet up with him after his usual working hours. Something had to be up. There is no way he would let you slip through the cracks like this.

Holding the phone to his ear, Johnny steps away from his daughters’ room.

“Hey!” Jaehyun says on the other end. “How did it go?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Johnny hisses quietly. “Why did you let her get to this point? When I saw her grades I thought I was seeing things! Seriously, Jaehyun…what the hell is going on?”

“I didn’t intend for this to happen.” Jaehyun snaps defensively. “I’ve been booked solid since the semester started. She was doing poor in the beginning but so were a lot of other students. This course is one of the hardest courses to teach and learn. I figured if she was really having trouble she would ask me for help or go to the Math Lab.”

“She’s in deep trouble, you know that, right?”

“Of course I know that! Which is why I sent her to you... Plus,” Jaehyun pauses alarming Johnny. “I wouldn’t have been a good tutor for her anyway.”

“Why not? You’re her teacher! You know all the answers. Everything! How would you not be a good tutor?” Johnny heads for his study.

Mumbling into the phone Jaehyun confesses. “A conflict of interest.”

Stopping dead in his tracks Johnny stares out into the empty hallway. Jaehyun had to be kidding. He couldn’t have possibly — “For fuck’s sake, man…”

“I know. I didn’t intend for this to happen. I don’t even know when it happened. But it did. That’s why I sent her to you. You are the only person who can help her. I talked to those in the Math Lab and they can barely help the students who understand the basic concepts of what I’m teaching. She was never going to get help from them. I would help her but I can’t.” 

“No shit!” Johnny rubs his forehead feeling a migraine slowly creeping up. “I’ll handle things here. She seems to need a lot of one-on-one guidance. What you’re teaching her isn’t hard but at the same time it is. Exactly what major is she in?”

“Well, this class is for those who are education majors. Primarily those who want to teach either Elementary or Middle School. Sorry for all this. I really wish I could help.”

“Yeah, I know. I may need to push some things around,” Johnny opens the door to his study. Off to the side a liquor cabinet rests with his favorite brands of wine, brandy and vodka. Putting his phone on speaker he pours himself a glass of vodka. The tension leaving his body. “If I’m to help her get a B, she’ll need help every day.” He chugs down the hard liquor wincing as it burns the back of his throat.

“What about Lily?”

Laughing, Johnny plops down into his chair. Your face when Lily ran away from you resurfacing. “Lily got scared of her and ran away. She asked me who she was and then asked if she would be around a lot more,” he smiles gently. “She had such a sour face it was hilarious.”

“So, Lily’s staying strong?” Jaehyun asks gently. 

Swirling the small amount of liquid left in his glass Johnny exhales. “As good as can be expected. She still doesn’t understand what’s going on. Hell, neither do I.”

“Have you heard from —”

Johnny quickly stops him. “No! And I don’t want to talk about her,” he glares at the snug silver ring wrapped around his finger. A daily reminder of the love of his life’s betrayal. “I’m done with her.” He touches the ring, fiddling with it. “I’ve given up. It’s been two years. I need to focus on Lily.” He slides the ring up his finger but pushes it back down. 

“I really am sorry man. I thought she was the one.”

“Me too…”

x - - - - - - - - - - - x

Looking at the problems you do exactly what Mr. Suh told you to do. Breathe. Take your time. Go through each step slowly. There is no need to rush when it comes to homework. It’s all about understanding the basic fundamentals and building confidence. Solve the problem and get an answer. Check so that you don’t miss anything and especially check to see if you made a mistake and got the answer wrong. Everything seemed to be going great. For once your confidence seemed like it was soaring. Then again…

“Only three right?!” You slam your pencil down onto your small desk in your room. This was useless. For the past two hours you worked hard to try to figure out the problems. Doing exactly as instructed only to end up with three out of seven answers right!

The worst part is that you don’t understand where you got the problems wrong. Which part did you hiccup on and why didn’t you see it and how you can avoid it for next time. You did everything right. Triple checked to see if you missed a step or did something wrong and yet, the same thing happens. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Closing your book for the night you trudge to your bed plopping down. Tomorrow you’ll ask Mr. Suh where you made a mistake and hopefully he can help you.

Mr. Suh, you try to hold back the smile creeping on your face. After having talked with Jennifer you were for sure going to love and dread spending time with him. Love, getting help and finally seeing your grades turn around for the better — at least that’s what you’re hoping, but also for the eye candy factor. His whole presence just made you feel weak in the knees. The dreadful part, actually having to learn all this bullshit your University was calling Math and the fact that Mr. Suh is a married man with a cute adorable little girl. 

“His wife,” you whisper. “Why wasn’t she home too?”

Shrugging, you tear your thoughts away from her unknown whereabouts. Whoever she is she’s most likely beautiful. To find a man as handsome as Mr. Suh, and have a cute daughter like Lily, she’s bound to be a gorgeous woman. Someone who works to help others just like Mr. Suh a power couple and their precious angel.

Rolling over onto your back aggressively, you kick your legs like a child. If only you could find your one true love too. To have what Mr. Suh has. Actually, first, you need to get through Mr. Jeong’s class, and then find yourself a job, and then you can worry about finding a man. Just as your eyes start to close your phone dings startling you. An unknown number and a message sits on your Lock Screen, making you spring up.

Next time the cellphone gets turned off when the lesson begins. No distractions while you’re under my tutelage. You can swing by tomorrow around 1PM. We’ll have more time to work. Sleep well. You’ll need it. J.Suh

And boy was he serious when he said you would need sleep. Actually, for the past three weeks he’s been working you like a dog. Having put together an entire binder of what to expect on the Final and of what you didn’t understand from all of your quizzes, tests, and the Midterm. A Bible of information completely personalized to suit your needs. Every day you went over to Mr. Suh’s house to get help. When you showed up on Saturday after your first study session, he stated he thinks you should come by every day. Monday through Friday your lessons were from 3PM- 7PM. On Saturday’s, secretly the worst day out of the week, you spent six grueling hours being tutored. 

Honestly, how a man who teaches all day can have the energy to help your dumbass self is beyond you. But, there was a silver lining. At the end of each day, Mr. Suh would create a tiny three question pop quiz talking about the main concepts he helped you with. And after the first week, a complete bombshell, you actually started to grow in confidence. The problems were making sense and with this last pop quiz, you got all the answers right! 

His method of madness was actually working. He taught you something! After that small victory you were positive you could end up learning what Mr. Jeong was teaching and you would find a way to turn your grades around. On the topic of grades, that is one thing Mr. Suh never talked to you about. On three separate occasions you asked him what grade you needed to get on your Final in order to pass. He would brush the question off by saying,

‘The final is a long ways from now. Let’s focus on your upcoming test.’ 

However, today is the day you’re getting back your first test since you started getting tutored. When you were taking it, you heart started to beat quickly. The numbers and questions becoming blurred and spiraling out of control but thinking about everything you’ve learned you took a deep breath and focused. The whole class was empty by the time you finished. Mr. Jeong waiting patiently as you took up until the bell to complete it. 

Now, you will see whether or not your efforts were in vain — that is as soon as Mr. Jeong shuts up and hands you back your damn test! 

“Okay, you can start packing up,” Mr. Jeong places the whiteboard marker down onto his desk. “I’ll be handing back your tests from last week. Please if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask me.”

Your leg starts to shake. Your pencil rammed into your mouth. This was it. He makes his way across the first row. One by one you see your classmate’s expressions. Some surprised, some angry, some…well; you know that look all too well. Defeated. As you stare at each of your classmates your nerves start to take over you. Your whole body tingling with anticipation. Mr. Suh would be in the middle of teaching his second class by now and told you to send him a message about how you did around lunchtime. 

Mr. Jeong stops in front of you, his eyes unreadable, lips in a hard line. He grabs the corner of your paper flipping it over onto the back before moving onto the next student. Saying a quick prayer you turn the paper over. 

Your whole body becomes numb. A cold sweat spreading over your skin like wildfire. This can’t be happening. Flipping through the pages of your test you go over everything with a fine tooth comb. But it was happening. In very bold and almost threatening letters, ‘stay after,’ was bleeding through the first page onto the second. 

The bell rings and everyone leaves except for you. Again. Not even bothering to pack up your belongings until after Mr. Jeong had a word with you, you wait until the last student leaves his classroom. He wishes them well and closes the door. Gulping you sit up straight. 

“I think we should talk about your test,” Mr. Jeong starts.

“Y-Yes, sir…”

He saunters up to you, once again seeming like the ground is his runway — pulls out the chair in front of you and sits down. Combing his fingers through his hair he shows you something you never expected to see. A huge smile with his dimples on display. 

“Congrats!” He leans back into the chair. “You did a wonderful job!”

“Wonderful?!” You scoff. “I got a C- practically a D! How is that wonderful?!” You point to the paper. “After all this work I thought I would for sure get an A this time.”

Laughing, Mr. Jeong turns his face to hide his beautiful smile. Wow. Something else you would have never expected to see from him. 

“Trust me. You did a wonderful job. You can’t expect in such a short time to see massive results. You should feel proud of yourself.” He rests his hands on your desk. “Seriously, this is making me feel that you won’t have to take this course again next semester.”

“That would be a gift from God himself,” you mumble only to realize what you said. “Ah! S-Sorry Mr. Jeong, it’s just —”

“I understand. When I had to learn how to teach this course I wanted to run away myself. It’s not easy and I know it’s hard to learn. I’m just glad you’re doing better.”

“Well, it’s thanks to you and Mr. Suh. I owe everything to the two of you.”

“Speaking of Mr. Suh, how is everything?”

“Great!” You beam. “Mr. Suh went through all of my old tests and quizzes and pointed out where I made mistakes. How to solve the problems and how to find my errors,” you bring out the binder he created for you. “He’s gone above and beyond anything I’ve ever experienced and I’m so grateful for that.”

Mr. Jeong takes a look at the binder his eyes widening. You were right. This was going above and beyond the call of duty. Scanning over the little quizzes he’s even given you, Mr. Jeong’s happy demeanor starts to fade. He was happy you were doing better, but at the same time he knows full well he would have never thought of doing this for you or any of his students. 

“Impressive,” he clears his throat. “I’ll have to treat Johnny to a beer or two for his help.” He hands you back the binder. “So, everything is okay? He’s treating you nicely?”

“Oh, yes! He’s very nice!”

Nodding Mr. Jeong leans forward. “I’m happy for you. I do want to apologize for not trying to do something to help you sooner.”

“No. It’s totally fine. It was my fault. I should have asked for help, or asked questions in class something so that my grades didn’t fall to this point. Oh! Mr. Jeong, I’ve been wondering, exactly what grade do I need to get on my Final in order to pass your class? Mr. Suh keeps avoiding the question which is making me a little nervous.”

“Oh, uh,” Mr. Jeong turns from you his eyes trembling. “I think if Mr. Suh wants you to focus on your studies that’s what you need to worry about. The Final is still some time away.”

Pouting you glare at him. “It’s going to be impossible for me to pass this class isn’t it?”

“No, it’s just going to take a lot of work,” he rubs the back of his neck. “If you want, we can get a better look at your grades and what you need to do in order to pass this class.”

“Yes, please!”

“Well, I’m free for this break period unless you have a class.”

“Nope. My next class doesn’t start until 11.” 

“Great, follow me.”

Quickly you pack your backpack and follow Mr. Jeong through the hallway where people were coming and going to their classes. As you make your way through the halls you notice that people are staring your way with strange gazes. They weren’t shocked, or angry, more like perplexed with a dash of spite. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. 

Jeong Jaehyun, Mr. Jeong, the campus hottie. The Professor every girl and woman wishes to have but only those in the Education department ever get. Walking beside him you glance up to see his side profile. He is extremely handsome. Eyes laser focused on the path he’s walking. Shoulders straight and broad, his body has a natural sway that shows nothing but confidence. Upon further inspection he dresses nicely as well. 

On most occasions he wears a button down white shirt, black slacks, with black shoes – a simple style but on him, luxurious. The only person you think that can compete with such a simple style is Mr. Suh. Laughing to yourself you see how they became friends. They have a similar aura about them but Mr. Suh is a lot easier to be around. Then again, it’s probably because he’s not your Professor and you’re not terrified of failing his class.

“Exactly how long are you going to stare at me?” Mr. Jeong asks you a playful tone in his voice. 

“E-Eh?! Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” 

Keeping your eyes down at your feet you walk a few steps behind him ashamed of your ogling. It wasn’t like you to stare at someone so shamelessly. Then to be caught red handed, the embarrassment sweeping over you is all consuming. 

“I don’t mind the staring,” Mr. Jeong continues. “I get stared at all the time.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I really didn’t mean to stare.”

“Please, class is over. You can call me Jaehyun.”

Stopping dead in your tracks you stare at your Professor. There is no way in hell you can call him, Jaehyun. You are his student and he the teacher. It would be improper. 

“I don’t think I can,” you chuckle nervously.

“When you’re with Johnny, what do you call him?”

“Mr. Suh.”

“All the time?”

Nodding you smile. “He is my tutor after all. He’s there to help me. Not to be my friend. Plus, he’s already taking a good chunk of his time to help me instead of spending it with his wife and daughter.”

“His wife?” Mr. Jeong walks up to you. “What do you mean his wife?” He grabs you by your shoulders.

Looking down at his hands you see them tighten onto you. “U-Uh, well I haven’t seen her at all, but he has a wedding band.”

Sighing in relief Mr. Jeong releases you. “Oh, okay. Sorry about that.” He scratches the back of his neck. “Has Johnny talked to you about his wife?”

“No, Mrs. Suh’s never come up in conversation. Actually, nothing personal has come up at all. It’s strictly school work and studying.”

Nodding Mr. Jeong starts walking again, heading down the stairs. The light atmosphere surrounding the two of you long gone the moment you mentioned Mr. Suh’s wife. Was she a sensitive topic? For the last three weeks you’ve wondered why each night you never saw her. Why she wasn’t in the kitchen getting dinner ready for Mr. Suh and Lily. By the time your tutoring sessions ended it was 7PM, she would have at least started cooking by then. 

A thought strikes across your mind. What if she’s sick? What if she can’t get out of bed and that’s the reason you’ve never seen her. Slowly your heart sinks to the pit of your stomach. Mr. Suh’s wife lying in bed ill. Not able to play with her precious daughter, or spend time with her husband in their beautiful home — at least what you’ve seen of it. Smiling brightly you plan out something just for her. A gift that will hopefully brighten her day. 

Holding open the door to the side of the building, Mr. Jeong allows you to walk outside first. “Mr. Jeong,” you keep up with his pace. “What type of woman is Mr. Suh’s wife?”

“She, uh,” he starts fumbling over his words. A strange sight for the suave Professor everyone adores. “Wh-Why do you want to know?”

“I want to get her something. I can only assume that since I’ve never seen her she must be sick, right? I can’t imagine what Mr. Suh must be going through having to juggle teaching, Lily, taking care of his wife, and now tutoring me. He truly is a saint.”

“No. You’ve got it all wrong,” he grabs your wrist stopping you. “Johnny, his wife, she’s not sick.”

Your heart that was wading in the dark depths of your stomach instantly bounces back to its proper place. “Well that’s wonderful news! I still want to thank her for sharing her husband. I know all this tutoring must be an inconvenience for her. I was thinking of getting her chocolates and flowers. Does that sound like a good idea?”

Shaking his head Mr. Jeong runs a stressful hand through his hair. “No. It doesn’t. She won’t get them.”

“Why won’t she?”

“She left. She’s gone. Don’t ever bring her up in front of Johnny or Lily.”

Gasping you cover your mouth with your hands. “Sh-She died?!”

And that is all for now XP I hope that you look forward to the full release of this story. With how long it’s turning out to be it may be broken down into a longer main portion and smaller continuous portion (so 2 posts) if you want to be notified of when the story is released let me know with a comment saying you want to be added to this stories tag list and I’ll put you in ^^ Hope you have a wonderful day/night and I hope to see you in the full release <3333