#I just felt like drawing folks dancing haha

[clockwork-phantasm]

Something something, insert joke about fish and rave parties here.

[the-letterbox-archives]

is there a muse or inspiration you draw from when it comes to your stories? you just have so many and i’m wondering what fountain of immortal writing youth you drank from, dawg LMAO

last ask before signing off! but this is such a fun one to think about!

i don't have one surefire source of inspiration (other than my chronically silly brain), each story has a different landing pad that usually consists of a random thing that i've taken inspiration from, and a question to drive the work (some are very edgy or philosophical haha). they come from incredibly random sources, but i can list the ones i remember!

tales from a dying heart

where it came from: i wanted to write an anthology as a break from my old novella structure, and i was thinking about love. obviously i had to fuck it up because god forbid anything on the archives is happy. fun fact: that was originally the only story the archives was meant to hold! it was the first and only story, and the blog used to be themed after tales from a dying heart entirely (that's why my current pfp is still the heart itself)!

driving question: "why does love hurt people?"

the rockdove promise

where it came from: originally a group project that i had the idea for (i was itching to write something with mythology and more classic fantasy if that makes sense). when the others couldn't continue it, i had already fallen in love with the world and gods, so i added more to the worldbuilding, and added characters i was passionate about (and found my first ever character punching bag, laszlo).

driving question: "how can we save what we care about from oppressive control?"

insincere.

where it came from: i had one of my worst days where i couldn't get out of bed. i had the idea to channel the feelings into a story, so i got out of bed, and wrote insincere., then decided i wanted to keep it going after my initial bad day.

driving question: "how can we feel happy?"

on kingston alley

where it came from: someone, i think it was @noxxytocin, added me in a tag game that involved writing a scene with the provided line. i was a young, growing archivist back then and didn't understand the concept, so i wrote a short screenplay, giving it a fun mystery hook (because i felt like it) and some repressed sapphics, then decided to continue it because the format was so freeing!

driving question: "why do we forget the victims?"

school rules

where it came from: a novel i abandoned because the format wasn't clicking. i axed the mc, replaced them with sunny and remade the old mc to be what is now darcy spencer, and changed the format to my first ever first person story since my first novella!

driving question: "how does academic pressure hurt us?"

the dumaresq poems

where it came from: i was getting overwhelmed with my own expectations for uploads from the rest of volume 1, so i dug up some old poems of mine, rewrote them a bit, and put a cute woodsy aesthetic over it!

driving question: "how can poetry tell us emotional stories?"

the hunt is a dance

where it came from: another project with a friend that fell through, it didn't change much from then. i took the friends desired ideals of religious and folk horror and intertwined it with my own narratives of power, hatred, and misguided justice.

driving question: "why do we bend to corruption, and how can we stop?"

TITANSPINE

where it came from: @ominous-feychild and i were discussing some of her lore, and we both bonded over our love of telepaths/prophets in stories. i had always been fascinated by urban fantasy and had a vague desire to make it, but magic systems are so hard for me. that conversation sparked a drive to actually make it. i named it red velvet, then barlowe told me to change the it (thanks for that btw), and i created the protagonist that shaped the whole story and it's themes.

driving question: "how can we fight social and police corruption?"

n3xt y3ar

where it came from: scandal after scandal, feud after feud about the existence of generative ai and it snubbing real creatives tipped me over the edge, so i wrote n3xt y3ar out of spite, imbuing it with a main character near and dear to my heart due to our similarities, and a world i both loathe and fear. let's see a robot make a story with that motivation. fuckers.

driving question: "how do us creatives find hope in a world of generative ai?"

soleil éteint

where it came from: i wanted to write another fiction podcast style story (school rules technically being the first), and i was on a magnus archives high. i'm fascinated by fear in the real world, and dreams in writing, so with the motivation of some great fiction podcasts, i began writing soleil éteint, which flowed very quickly since screenplays and podcasts are quite easy for me to write as it turns out!

driving question: "how can we stop running away from fear?"

shatter the shield

where it came from: i realised i was long overdue for some tragic gays, and i wanted to experiment with a more distinct narrator without writing a fully discursive piece like a podcast or screenplay. as i was writing the prologue, i knew the narrator, kåre, wasn't the main character. but the love i gave him for the main character, roshan, was so palpable, it made me want to continue the story. i knew by how i wrote it that kåre was going to die, and soon, but i think that added an extra level to the themes of the story.

driving question: "why can't we accept love, and why can't we process grief?"

and of course, volumes 3 and 4 come from even more random places lmao- hope this explained my random writing process!

[nightswithkookmin]

G I R L

I just saw y the HYBE x Ithaca Holdings video and it really hit me with some realisations. HYBE partnering with them is bound to change some things in a huge way. Collabs and economics notwithstanding, Ithaca is home to NUMEROUS big name artists. I want to focus on the fact that: (1) Beiber is a heavily tattooed dude, I wonder if this fact will give some leeway for Kook to be a bit more free with his existing tatts or allow him to continue getting more. (2) Demi is an openly queer woman. This, along with how open Ithaca’s artists are with their support for the LGBTQ+ community, makes me wonder how it will influence HYBE artists who might be queer themselves (looking at Jikook 👀). I fully know that culturally Korea is its own thing and HYBE its own entity, but I think this might open up some doors for our boys both musically speaking as well as regarding their own selves. Dearest Goldy of mine, what do you think?

Hmmmmmmm

That's an interesting question.

I do agree that this provides a huge economic opportunity for BTS as a group and as investors in Hybe and for frankly anyone within Hybe labels- there's a lot of talents who would kill to be part of this company now. I just know it.

Hell I wanna be part of Hybe and I can't even sang. Lmho.

Cute, if you think I can dance. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

BigHit just got cooler you know.

But I think you are basically asking if this new acquisition will in effect impact the lifestyle of BTS, specifically Jikook as queer people in any way?

I'd say no- especially on the issue of tattoos. But I might be wrong. I just think it takes more than a business merger to undo a person's lifestlye and or socialization or even influence it.

Unless of course, this merger guarantees them certain universal rights and protections outside their culture and political system I don't see how it's to profit them as queer people in any major way.

Whatever impact I'd say is rather intangible.

If you know what I mean.

I've said a few times now how BTS by virtue of their presence in the international community, in my opinion, are socialized and are expected to be socialized a tad differently from the average regular conservative or even liberal S. Korean person with no external influences whatsoever on their socializations.

Your socialization informs your lifestyle.

Justin, Troye, RM and other artists have undoubtedly had and perhaps continue to have an influence on Jk musically and lifestyle wise, to some extent, but he has his own unique values and beliefs and morals that has been acquired and instilled in him through the years independent of these influences.

He is his own person afterall.

Plus did you see the arm sleeve on the director of the MV for Home? He is surrounded at the work place with people that are tatted too. It can't be just Justin B.

He saw a girl with tattoos and said that was something he'd love to have one day when he got of age and he got it- in spite of Suga's objection. He's always expressed interests in tattoos and wanting to become a tattoo artist.

He got these tattoos in spite of the inconveniences they pose to his expressions of self within his career and society- as tattoos are still pretty much stigmatized in S.K and aren't legally allowed on certain broadcasts within S. Korea. And he continues to add on them, draw over them etc way before this merger came into existence.

If he decides that's what he wants he will get them but it wouldn't be because Justin Bieber is heavily tatted or because his company expanded.

I'm not sure what you mean by leeway, but in a recent Run episode (the one with the famous chef) we saw his full arm out and I think that was the first time we had seen his tats on full display on run.

Contrastingly, he had his whole arm bandaged in the Let's BTS interview on KBS.

He covers his tattoos most times because of broadcast rules that prohibits (regulates) not just tattoos but alcohol consumption, cussing, nudity etc on public television that require specific ratings.

Merger or not he will still have to adhere to the laws of South Korea, including entertainment and media broadcasting laws and hide his tattoos as and where.

On the topic of queerness, I think now more than ever BTS would have to become socially, racially and culturally conscious and aware the instant this deal is concluded in May.

Ithaca has one of the most diversified group of artists under its belt- from Quavo who is black to Demi who is queer like you pointed out.

Now more than ever they are at the center of the global conversations we are having in our generation- from racism, to LBGTQ plus marginalizations, to all oppressions of minorities and minority groups.

And with that proximity comes a need to keep themselves in check now more so than ever- which include a check on the cultural appropriation bit, the queer baiting, drawing on queer aesthetics in their 'fan service' culture and other problematic issues that is characteristic of KPop.

What they do now matters more than ever- socially speaking of course.

When Jin started eating a lollipop JM gave him provocatively, JM asked him not to do that on camera but to reserve things like that for the group off camera.

If 'gay' is not gay but their 'culture' I think they know better to keep it to themselves off camera and act 'right' on camera- especially now.

I'm not about to stan a group that capitalizes on the trauma and oppression of me and my people in the name of entertainment. That's just tacky.

On the plus, I think it's great that they be surrounded by other queer folks in the business and be part of a community that welcomes and support queerness so they don't feel like they are the only ones.

That's not to say they aren't surrounded by queer people in their dialy lives.

I mean they have a large staff and I know damn well some of those staffers are queer as well- why wouldn't they be. Lol.

They've always had that 'supportive' environment to foster their relationship- well except for that one time a manager tried to bitch slap JK. Lol. Sorry.

It's not funny at all. Serious face.

They've always been free and loose in places outside Korea- Japan for one, to be themselves in certain 'controlled" areas of their lives.

I think if anything there's gonna be a focus on creating conducive and inclusive work environments and ethics for everyone not just queer people within the company at large.

I think Jikook can relate more, have certain essential conversations in the group, be exposed to and be part of the 'community' in a way that just felt so distant to them prior to the acquisition- in my opinion.

There is strength in numbers after all. Other than that those two companies might operate like night and day with a few eclipses in between.

The bigger question for me is how SK is going to react to Hybe as an international company from now on. No elite Korean company has openly admitted queer artists within their label. Such revelations presumably is bound to impact their social and economic standing...

Seems in acquiring Ithaca though Hybe have circumvented the conservative problem within Kpop and their culture as they have acquired openly queer artists.

Not that they care about an artist's sexuality. Bang have made it perfectly clear he prioritizes a person's talent over their sexual preference and thus hire artists based on their skills regardless of their sexuality.

But that is also not to say that the company wouldn't be met with harsh criticisms and suffer economic loss should they openly admit the sexuality of certain artists they work with.

I mean he did advise Jo Kwan on the risks he would be taking in going in the direction he wanted to go in with his heels schtick. So he is aware of the risks involved in going public with an artist's sexual orientation.

He talked about Korean companies playing it safe and not taking certain risks especially when it comes to deeds that are deemed 'rebellious' against the Korean conservative way.

-Watch and learn people, if you can't hire openly gay talents acquire their company. Problem solved. Lol.

From May, Hybe will technically officially become the first elite Korean company with openly queer artists under its labels that openly touches on and advocates for LGBTQ plus rights.

I'm waiting for Pride month with a cup of tea. Mu haha ha.

BTS has performed with queer artists in the past, dabbled in LGBTQ plus conversations which was mostly met with mixed reactions from the general public- some oblivious to who these artists were much less that they were queer. (Sis laugh with me. Hehe. If you know you know)

BigHit is gradually evolving the status quo.

It's an interesting development I must say, one I'm very much invested in at this point.

BigHit has always aimed beyond the borders of Korean commercial verse often straddling the line of conservatism, literally just became an international company within South Korea governed by both Korean and American laws that in all essence conflict with eachother morally and constitutionally.

Bang has some heavy balls I'll give him that.

Also, since this is an acquisition and not a merger I doubt if much will change in the structures of either company- the family photoshoots would be interesting to watch.

Imagine trying to get Arianna, Justin, BTS, TXT in one large studio for a photoshoot. I'm literally cackling. Lmho.

Scooter Braun will become part of the board of Hybe to manage the company and he is part owner of Hybe along with Justin, Ariana and BTS who also have shares in the company- until they decide to sell their shares that is.

That's about it.

I'm not sure how these Asian haters are gonna respond to an Asian company taking over 'America.' That's something to watch out for.

Then there's this whole issue of 'scandals' and both campanies view on it.

Western companies feed off chaos and drama and scandals, Kpop is the exact opposite.

Most of these Artists under Ithaca have had some pretty bad records and are prone to scandals and stuff like that. In case of an inevitable future scandal, the news would read 'BTS's so so and so.'

They are gonna make it all about BTS.

I mean when BigHit went public with their IPO and it went south it was all about BTS' 'failed IPO' in the news rather than the company it's self.

I have mixed feelings about this acquisition.

It's obvious BigHit is saving Justin Bieber's label. You don't sell unless you are in some huge financial decline blah blah.

Hybe is keeping them in business while building their own portfolio in the industry. BTS may not have a Grammy but Hybe has several artists with Grammys under it's belt now. Smirk.

The success of Justin, Ariana and all these artists are the success of Hybe which together with the powerhouse that is BTS gives Hybe more prestige- it's like watching the game of thrones but this time it's a bunch of nerds with chapsticks and Prada. Lmho.

At least now people will think twice before they peddle the 'they are not gay, it's their culture' nonsense.

Not sure if this answers your question?

I purple you💜💜💜💜💜

Signed,

GOLDY

[neonponders]

I FINALLY uploaded again to my first Harringrove fic ever, so here’s an easy way to read ch. 1 since a lot of people here don’t know me from Dracula Has a Mullet haha

Read on ao3 here ~

💋 💋 💋 💋 💋 💋

The discovery that Billy Hargrove is a vampire came at a weird time in a weird way. It’s just not everyday that you walk in on someone fingering Alexandra O’Neil with their teeth—fangs—in her tit.

There were stranger things in Hawkins, unfortunately. Unfortunately? How fortunate is a vampire?

“For fuck’s sake. Really?”

Billy has the grace to extract his freaking teeth with a semblance of being surprised. “I didn’t know you had that kind of mouth, Harrington.”

Steve waves a scolding finger at him with all the gusto of a drunk, and he has the solo cup to justify it. “Put those away! She was homecoming queen last year. Jesus, have some class.”

“You serious?”

Steve downed the last of his beer and Jäger with a grimace, his voice going raspy. “Look, I’m not one to judge a lady’s standards, but really, Alex…Alex?”

The lady in question was so blissed out she looked like one of those unnaturally stupid women in every Dracula movie. Billy actually moved aside as Steve pulled her away from the wall—away from Billy—to try and talk to her. Righting her dress with quick yanks, he covered her gorgeous, if small, breasts and gave her a shake. “Alex! Hey!”

He could hear—could feel it, more like—Billy moving behind him in the dark room. Steve had come up here hoping to claim the guest room before someone used it to hookup from the party downstairs. It wouldn’t be the first time he woke up from a mid-party nap to someone being blown, but sometimes it’s the price one pays for free liquor and an ounce of decent sleep.

“What’s wrong with her standards? Huh, King Steve?”

The voice is right behind him, so close that the damn vampire has to rear backwards when Steve whirls around. “What kind of vamp name is Billy? Wait, that’s short for something—”

“If you call me by anything else, I’ll hang you from the ceiling by your teeth.”

“You’re not charming like vampires,” Steve practically complained. “Gotta work on that. Everyone gossips here. Folks will know you’re toothy like…” He fumbled a clumsy but sharp snap of his fingers.

Billy made a derisive sound before his voice crooned, “Seems like I’m flying just fine under the vampire radar, then.”

He was heaving Alex back up from where she had slumped against the dresser when Steve released her. Steve raked a hand through his hair, thinking. It was a slog through the alcohol, but he surmised that he could not take her away from this guy. Case being: Steve was far too drunk to logically drive, and to where? It was her house.

“You. You gotta go.”

Billy huffed one of his low, mirthless laughs. Instead of setting Alex nicely on the bed, he just kind of dumped her there. She let out a sort of dumb-giddy moan as she face planted a pillow and he faced Steve. “Excuse me?”

“You’re, like, biting people at a party!” Steve realized somewhere between his tone and his slight—or perhaps exaggerated, it was hard to tell at this point—sway, that Billy was far more sober than he felt.

Not the time to play hero but whatever.

Billy slowly stepped toward him. “There’s plenty worse at this shit house than me, Harrington. Worst weed I’ve ever had. And that shit whiskey’s been so watered down, it’s nothing but wheat water.”

“Hey!” Steve was poking two fingers at him before he meant to. “They just renovated the place and I got well paid for the tiling and paint!”

“So you’re the reason everyone’s been tripping over the same spot in the kitchen?” Billy huffed.

“And the whiskey’s not so bad if you chase it with grape juice. It’s like toast and jam water. Whatever, no one’s here for your holier-than-thou, California bullshit!”

Billy was caught by surprise that time. His whole expression lifted, brows and eyes widening as he repeated, “Holier. Than. Thou. That’s the kind of shit you pick up from books. I didn’t know the king could read.”

“Fuck off,” Steve grimaced, really just wanting to get Alex tucked into bed and maybe join her. “You’ve been riding me ever since you got here.”

“I definitely have not been doing that,” Billy retorted and then smiled. “What, you offering?”

“Was she?” Steve cornered, drawing himself up to his full height. Admittedly, not much taller than Billy, but small victories lead to great heights or something.

Billy wiped his mouth and Steve’s eyes plummeted to those lips. “Yeah, she was. She pulled me upstairs, or is that so hard to believe, blue balls?”

“It kind of is, yeah,” Steve said with his hands on his hips. “Alex has asthma. Like, inhaler tucked in her bra at prom in case the slow dance was too much. She’d never get with a chain smoker like you.”

“She would if her high school sweetheart cheated on her with the first college bitch he found.” One of Billy’s eyebrows perked up with his shrug. “I’m a favorite for ladies looking for a rebound.”

Steve grimaced. “Derek cheated? How do you know that?”

“That’s between her and me,” Billy said, stepping forward again. “But I hear you’ve been due for a rebound for a while, Harrington.”

He didn’t want to talk about Nancy. It wasn’t even Nancy, really, but he didn’t want to talk about anything regarding his sex life or lack thereof. Steve diverted, “I want you to leave. Go find someone else to—whatever the hell this is.”

“Well. You’re right here.”

“Not me, dumbass. I told you to leave the house.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Billy smiled. “What? You’ll let me beat the shit out of you again? We had an audience last time too.”

“I wouldn’t be too cocky about last time,” Steve groaned, beginning to take a step back. “The way I hear it, Jonathan had to mop you off the floor after—”

Billy wasn’t listening. His eyes were on Steve’s neck and the only gut wrenching, instinctive thought Steve had was weapon. It came in the form of a glass lamp, which he wrenched out of the wall to break over Billy’s head.

The hard thud of thick glass hitting before the shatter and glass raining over the floor had Steve gaping at him. Billy stood very still. Way too still. Steve wondered if he had knocked him out, but his legs hadn’t unbuckled yet.

Then Billy lifted dark eyes beneath his mess of a fringe, pupils blown wide. Steve continued to stare at him with the mechanical parts of the lamp still in his hand. “Holy shit, you didn’t even flinch! You’re supposed to dodge when furniture’s coming at you—”

Billy gripped the wrist holding the parts and wrenched him so far that Steve couldn’t react to Billy’s other hand on his pants. Heaving him up by his belt, he slammed Steve onto the table from which the lamp had originated. Music thrummed around them, the very beams in the walls vibrating. Steve defied the laws of his denim pants by folding his leg against his side to kick Billy in the gut. Ragged sounds from both of them went unheard by the party below. Steve slid like a heavy tablecloth to the floor with Billy likewise winded and crouched in front of him.

“Why…” Steve tried, rubbing his chest and hoping his talking lasted long enough for him to decide whether running or trying to pin Billy down was the best decision. “…can’t you just…not do this? Whatever alpha bullshit game you think life is.”

“Some of us don’t want to go through life with your dashing prince crap,” Billy spat.

“You think I’m dashing? I couldn’t tell, I passed out the last time you punched me in the face.”

Billy laughed. “Yeah. You’re just as soft as I remember.”

He was moving again and Steve felt a wild, foolish—downright stupid—thrill to try something else. “You need to leave, man. Really. I know a party of blackout graduates might seem like easy pickings, but Hawkins is different.”

“You don’t know shit about different,” Billy growled. “You’ve never seen grass outside this bum fuck of a town.”

“I’ve been to Disney World. And New York City. There’s gotta be some hospital nurse you can swoon into letting you raid their blood bank?”

He couldn’t tell if Billy was getting angrier or not. The man was always angry, seemed like. “I’m not drinking from a freezer. Now shut the hell up. You’ll enjoy this like your homecoming queen.”

A last ditch effort, diving in the direction of the door, but it wasn’t the first time Billy had been on top of him with murder in his eyes. Steve’s hands fumbled at Billy’s face, but then his wrists were pinned above his head and a panicked whine escaped as Billy’s hot, humid breath found him.

Steve went slack. They always do. Billy had figured out that something in his teeth or saliva sedated those he bit, and more. A whole lot more. It made a good flirt into a hell of a time. Alexandra of the Hawkins Homecoming Court had already come on his finger when Steve, of all people, waltzed right in.

It made hunting annoying. It made hunting fun. He had to be picky; didn’t want anyone he couldn’t look at for longer than three minutes moaning all over him while he tried to feed. His looks did most of the work. The right dash of charm here, a nice compliment there, and then his fangs did the rest.

Steve was hard under him. Billy felt the distinct push of his jeans against his own ass while he slid his fingers under Steve’s nape. Lifting his neck, he made sure the moron’s windpipe stayed open, as well as lifted his meal closer to his mouth—

A strange sound came from Steve. Billy’s eyes flicked to his face, but when that labored breathing sound happened again, he sat up and stared. Steve was crying.

This had never happened before. Those doe eyes that all the girls had ranted about when he first drove into Hawkins were red and squinted as moisture slid over his temples. Billy even checked to make sure he wasn’t sitting too heavily on his dick or something, but the gears of his brain slid into place.

Steve usually wore sunglasses at parties. Billy couldn’t help but huff a laugh. “Are you a drunk crier, Harrington? Hey, I’m talking to you.”

He gripped Steve’s jaw, but his whole head lolled, those eyes barely finding him through the daze. “I just wanna sleep,” he said quietly. Fresh tears raced into his hair as he passed out.

[fishylife]

Street Dance of China S4 Ep 3

(I’m having problems with Tumblr not saving my posts...)

- Oh no people are going to start getting eliminated! :o Well, I’m still really glad that we had two whole episodes of people just dancing and having fun and getting the opportunity to showcase who they are and how they dance.

- This question just occurred to me, but where do people look when they watch dance performances? As I watched the Go Go Brothers, I was thinking to myself, “Where do I look? If I look at one of them, I might miss what the other Brother is doing!” Just my musings lol.

- I am super shallow but people tripping makes me laugh, so yes, Nelson accidentally tripping did make me chuckle. (+ Rochka’s reaction)

- Yibo and Yixing discussing the SDOC theme song. It made me laugh because the lyrics are kind of hype but Yibo and Yixing aren’t exactly the most facially expressive people lol.

- After every performance Henry’d be like “let’s collaborate!!!!!!” Han Geng finally stepped in being like aight Henry you gotta take it easy on the recruitment because we’ve literally only seen three performances. I’m still not really sure of the format of the show from now on, so I’m not sure if they form new teams afterwards.

- Yixing was so guilty about not giving Bouboo a vote.

- Rochka’s shock @ Boubou not getting four votes.

- He’s ashamed.

- I think if a dancer gets less than 4 votes, then other dancers are allowed to challenge them for a spot to advance, but whoever loses is eliminated out of the tournament, so you have to be super confident to challenge. And if a dancer only gets 1 or 2 votes, they are eliminated.

- Yibo asked Rochka why he wouldn’t challenge Bouboo and Rochka said he’d never go against his teacher/big brother v.v They exchanged hearts but then Rochka pretended to throw the heart away and crush it lol.

- While I was expecting a bit more from Bouboo, I don’t think his challenger JC Jun was better than him. JC Jun was kind of wobbly, and I think his dance didn’t match the music as well as Bouboo’s did.

- Yixing had his head down when he voted for Ibuki too, so I think he just gets nervous about voting.

- Henry wanted to say that Ibuki was like lightning but he said the word for a flashing light/disco light and Han Geng wanted to give him shit for it.

- Yixing said that he thought AC’s waacking almost felt like krump.Yixing said that if he was to collaborate with AC, AC should do the arm swing, and Yixing would do the waacking lol. I am all for seeing Yixing doing more dance styles! Not gonna lie, I think he’d look cute doing waacking.

- Ye Yin’s performance was really nice! The music was unique and the way he danced, with the tap dance and folk-like elements really suited it.

- Rochka said he wants to know Ye Yin more and said they also have the same smile.

- Xiao Jie said he’d never battle Ye Yin but he got peer pressured by the captains into freestyling to Ye Yin’s self-produced song lol.

- To show face, you know? The entire time he was like “but this doesn’t count, okay?!!!!” since he wasn’t actually challenging Ye Yin, and it was just for funsies.

- The judges were a bit troubled by Xiaoming’s performance because at the end, he was supposed to fall but his fall wasn’t coordinated with the sound effect in the music. Xiaoming was like yeah, it’s pretty difficult but I’m hoping that my challenger wouldn’t be able to get it too and Yixing was laughing his goose laugh. But Xiaoming was eliminated with zero votes in the end.

- Kelo and Uwa had a horror mental hospital-themed dance which was interesting. Kelo said it was based on a nightmare he had as a child.

- Yang Kai wasn’t impressed though. He said he’d performed something similar with Liangliang before. He felt that Kelo and Uwa were performing but not really dancing. I can see where he’s coming from. Kelo and Uwa got three votes.

- Xiaohai ended up challenging them. He used the wheelchair too but like...somehow his expression just makes us unable to not laugh.

- I think he did really well considering he’d only heard the music once. And he returned to the wheelchair at the end of the performance lmfao

- Apparently when Xiaohai was looking up at the beginning, he was asking Li Yulong (who I assume is the person in charge of the music) for music cues but Li Yulong just laughed at him lol.

- Yibo basically said that Kelo and Uwa’s performance felt a bit abrupt in the story telling side, and that there weren’t really highs and lows to their performance.

- Rochka was talking crap about Bouboo behind his back and Yibo tattled which resulted in Rochka getting whacked in the face.

- Zyko taught Yibo and Rochka how to do his fancy leg moves.

- Yixing talking krump with Auju. Auju was like you’re really good for someone who’s only been learning for a year, but then Yixing was like, I practise 6 hours a day and Auju was like ?!?!

- Zyko + Henry (with Henry’s infamous “getting down while playing violin” move)

- Poppin’C introduced himself, saying he was from Italy and Switzerland, and Yibo and Yixing were thinking of all the things from Italy they knew. Yibo was like “...Valentino Rossi...” and Yixing was like “....pizza.....” These two spacey twinks istg.

- Anyway, Poppin’C’s performance was nice. Not only were his moves clean and impressive, but he also expressed the lyrics through his dance.

- Rochka fanboying over Poppin’C’s dance :P At one point, the lyrics were about hearts, and Poppin’C did some moves where he made a heart and Rochka here is saying how cute it was.

- Poppin’C said he missed his daughter and everybody’s like ?? a baby??? :3 :3 :3

- Also, I saw Uwa in the audience, so I think that the eliminated contestants get to continue watching.

- Poppin’C said that before, he was more fierce, but now that he has a daughter, he’s a little smoother and sweeter :3 Also he was describing that the singer’s voice in the song made his skin feel like chicken and everybody was like ??? Luckily Yixing saved the day lol. In Chinese, goose bumps are called “chicken pimples” or something like that.

- Bozi was next. In his introduction, Bozi said he was from Guangzhou, and maybe that’s why it sounded like so many people in the audience were pronouncing 波子 in Cantonese.

- Eleven said something very interesting about B-boys. He said that in their profession of dance, they don’t fear b-boys who can do tricks, but they fear b-boys who can listen to music. I think it’s a reference to the fact that b-boys are often doing their own thing and disregard the music, which makes sense. Sometimes b-boys are closer to gymnasts because they are so focused on the spins and other really athletic moves they do. But because their moves are so difficult, they sometimes don’t move to the music which is supposed to be the point of dancing.

- Bozi passed with 4 votes. And he did a bit of krump at the beginning, which Yixing admitted he fell for haha. Bozi said that Eleven helped him choreograph that part, so it’s Eleven who knows Yixing well >3

- The director asked Bozi who he thought his biggest b-boy rival on the show was. Of course, we all thought he was going to say Lil Kev, but he ended up saying Xiaoji and Xiaoji was like ?? me?? Bozi’s reasoning was that he’s more troubled by dancers with a different style from him because he doesn’t know how to beat them. From the small clips they showed, I think Xiaoji has a more animated style, whereas Bozi is more serious and reserved.

- Acky-san cheering on MT Pop lol. (”Embarrassing dad at baseball game” mode activate)

- MT Pop has really impressed me in the competition so far though. The way he moves is so cool and creative. I think he purposely goes for a kind of...monster vibe? Like he often has this creepy smile on his face lol. He’s not only dancing, but he’s using popping techniques to change how he moves entirely, including simple things like walking or how he turns his head. I think MT Pop is my favourite contestant.

- He said the monster from Pan’s Labrynth inspired this dance. So I guess I was kind of right that he does draw inspiration from monsters and other creatures.

- Low key mad at Han Geng for not giving MT Pop his vote lol. Geng-ge said he wanted to give someone a chance to challenge. Of all people, why MT Pop?? I don’t want him to goooo.

- Henry wanted to try doing the voiceover for the challenger and Han Geng indulged his overdramatic ass.

- Baby Dolphin challenged. He had some cool moves at the beginning, but I think he fell apart a bit towards the end, based on the judges’ reactions (as we didn’t see the full performance). Plus, I think MT Pop’s approach to dancing is just too unique and interesting to eliminate at this point.

- Kabamba had an interesting performance that had African and Latin influences, with big and energetic movements. Tianci challenged but he went with a general hip hop approach which did not suit the music at all. (I looked up Kabamba. Her name is Latrice Kabamba, but she also goes by 林珊娜 on her social media, which is why she’s sometimes called Nana on the show).

- Acky-san was repeating everything that people were saying around him. Stuff like jiayou!! and other words of encouragement. Dianmen who was sitting next to him was just lol’ing.

- Ma Xiaolong was performing to a song called 棋 and this word usually refers to any kind of board game. Ma Xiaolong’s first moves looked like he was putting pieces on a board and you just know that kind of stuff draws Yixing’s attention right away.

- I think Kenken’s style of dance is the kind of dance that the general public would really enjoy. Whereas some kinds of dance don’t really appeal to people who aren’t into dance, I think Kenken’s kind of dance will attract both the dance-conscious people as well as those who aren’t. I definitely got that vibe from him in the dance that he choreographed, and also his individual performance.

- Not even gonna question this. Perfection. Rochka catboy here we go.

- Okay, I agree with Colin’s performance not making the cut. Based on his introduction, he was supposed to be a popping expert, but his dance didn’t showcase that. His dance was more of a contemporary dance piece, but while we’ve had performances similar to that, his choreography didn’t stand out in comparison. After his performance he had a bit of a cry. Yixing mentioned that it was hard to judge because of the emotional aspect. But admittedly, this emotional stuff is usually the reason why I don’t like competition shows. It was revealed that Colin had lost his grandfather. Now, I’m going to sound cold, but I don’t like it when sob stories are brought in, because it makes us feel bad when we don’t like a piece of art that comes from very pure intentions. Yixing’s reasoning for not giving a vote was that he felt that the emotions overshadowed the dance, which is a problem because this is a show about dance. Han Geng’s reasoning was that he felt that the skill level could have been better. Yibo was quite moved by the performance, and I think that’s why he gave his vote to Colin.

- We got a preview for this week’s hotpot show.

- Yixing and his emotional support giant cup

- Lots of laughing (including Yixing laughing) which is good for the soul

[trashyswitch]

Roman's Spa Day

Roman has been overworking Thomas lately. So, the main sides decide to give Roman a spa day to relax him. But, THIS spa day has a secret twist mixed in...

I'm on time again! And I'm mostly caught up on my college courses! *Snoopy dances* Look at me go!

Here's Tickletober Day 16: Massage

Roman has been overworking himself ever since Thomas voiced the Throat-Lobster in Phineas & Ferb: Candace Against The Universe. Roman had been making Thomas work his butt off for the audition and the voice recording, and was so proud when Thomas took his improv advice! Even though meeting the voice of Dr. Doofenshmirtz was an amazing experience, Roman had been overwhelming Thomas as of late.

Finally, enough was enough. Patton, Logan and Virgil were all very annoyed, yet very worried about him. So, the sides had a quick meeting to determine how to help the poor creative side simmer down and take a break. By the time the meeting was over, all 3 sides knew exactly what to do: they were going to set up a spa day for him. Only this time, there was going to be a little twist added to it...

Patton offered to be the blind-folder and the usher for Roman. So, that meant he needed to guide the blind Roman along to every single room that was needed for the spa day. Roman was sitting at a desk, writing down something in a bright red journal. At first glance, it didn’t even look like Roman at all! It looked like Logan, if he chose to wear red that day! Patton walked into the room, and frowned upon seeing the state Roman was in. His posture was off, he had bags under his eyes, his hair was a filthy mess, and his desk was covered with props and scripts. Patton sighed and pulled out the blindfold he was gonna use. Nervous he was gonna make Roman angry for doing this, Patton gave himself a Hunger Games good luck salute before taking on the actor.

Patton wrapped the blindfold around his head super quickly and tied it into a knot. “WHAT THE- HEY! INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER- HAHA! HEHEHEHEY!” Roman shouted. Patton had quickly started tickling him to get him kneeling on the ground and double-checked his blindfold knot. “WHOHohoho...Who’s there? Who DARE FIGHT THE GREAT ROMAN?!” Roman shouted, reaching for his sword. But...his sword wasn’t in its usual spot! Not only that, but the entire belt was missing! “Hey! My sword! Give me back my be-”

Patton quickly covered up his mouth with his hand, and curved it so Roman couldn’t bite his hand. “Shhhh...Calm down Ro.” Patton ordered. “It’s just me: Patton.” he told him.

“How do I know it’s you, and not Janus faking it?” Roman asked.

Patton smirked. “Would Janus know that THIS tickle spot exists?” Patton asked as he lightly tickled his chin.

Roman snorted and squealed in surprise, before kitty fighting the fingers in front of him. “Ohokay. Good point.” Roman mentioned, before reaching out for his hand. Patton brought his hand to Roman’s so he could grab it, and lifted him up. “You ready for the time of your life?” Patton asked.

Roman’s giddy smile dropped slightly. “For what? Why did you blindfold me? What’s going on?” Roman asked. Patton only led him through Roman’s door frame and out to the hallway. “And where are you taking me?” Roman asked.

Patton smiled. “To the living room!” Patton replied.

“That’s it?” Roman asked as he pulled the blindfold off. “Why did you blindfold me just fo-” Patton took the blindfold from Roman’s hand and tied it back on. “It’s a surprise.” Patton replied as he tightened the knot on the back.

“Oooh.” Roman reacted. “Is there a pinata?” Roman asked eagerly.

Patton giggled. “Nope.” he replied.

“Oh. A sword fight?” Roman asked.

Patton smiled. “You’ll see…” he replied.

“Oooooh!” Roman reacted, clapping his hands as he was pushed into a tent entrance by Patton. Roman threw his arms up in front of him, and seemed to relax when Patton gave him his arm to hold onto again.

“Here you go.” Patton offered, pulling a chair out and gently sitting the man down. “There.” Patton muttered as he removed Roman’s blindfold.

“Well...I will admit that I never imagined Patton to go for the blindfolding method.” Logan told Roman.

Roman took one look at Logan and bursted out laughing. Logan was dressed as a cross between a wizard and a fortune teller. “Hello Roman. I am going to be your fortune teller.” Logan said calmly, despite being laughed at by his customer. “And despite what you may believe, I have had plenty of practice on multiple other folks. So as long as you stay still, I will be able to read your palm.” Logan explained.

Roman finally managed to stop laughing and calm himself down. “May I have your right hand please?” Logan ordered politely. Roman nodded and gave him his right palm. Logan read the palm carefully and started to focus on the 3 lines on the hand palm. ���Hmm...Artistic and adventurous.” Logan told him. Logan smiled as he read the second palm line. “A sensitive soul with an appreciation for literature and fantasy.” Logan explained.

Roman chuckled. “Well, of course you said that. You’ve known me for years.” Roman mentioned, not really believing in the art of palm reading.

Logan continued to read his plan despite the judgements from Roman and read the third line. “Wow! A positive person!” Logan told him. Roman smiled and placed his left hand on his chest.

“Awww! Thank you!” Roman replied.

Logan smiled and looked closer as he slowly drew the line of fate out with his pencil. “A successful life up ahead.” Logan told him.

Roman snorted. “I wish…” Roman reacted.

Logan frowned slightly as he read the palm. He wasn’t believing much of what he was saying. So, he decided to start purposefully poking and drawing out the palm lines to create feeling. “Patient, hard-working and practical, I see…” Logan added, focusing on the Mount of Saturn. “You’re also energetic, creative, and passionate! A good set of traits.” Logan added, drawing circles around the Apollo mount on his hand. Roman started to cover his mouth a little as the need to giggle and smile awkwardly, started to take over. The movements Logan was doing, were starting to tickle him and make him all giggly.

Logan noticed this, and continued his actions. “And...Wow! You have the water hand! Oval palms,” Logan started drawing his finger on the outside of his palm. “And long flexible fingers!” Logan drew down his fingers with his index finger one by one. Roman finally let out an uncontrollable, small giggle.

Logan smirked. “And of course:” Logan lightly grabbed his wrist with his non-dominant hand and started skittering his index and middle finger on the palm of Roman’s hand. “Sensitive palms!” Logan teased as he tickled his palms.

Roman giggled at the teases and rested his forehead on his arm as he giggled and snorted. Sensitive? More like a giggle spot. “Ohohokahay. Thahahank yohohou Lohohogan.” Roman attempted to tug his hand back. But of course, Logan had Roman’s ticklish palm right in his own and was taking advantage of the cute ticklish spot. “Lohohogahahahan! Lehehet gohohohohoho!” Roman begged through his giggles and snorts. Logan smiled, fluttered his fingers one more time and let go of his wrist. Roman brought his palm against his chest and scratched it to get the ticklish sensations to leave him. “Ehevil. Evil fortune man!” Roman accused, sticking his tongue out.

Logan smirked and stuck his tongue out right back at him.

“Enjoy your appointment.” Logan said with a smile.

“Appointment?!” Roman reacted, before his eyes were blindfolded again. “HEy! What’s up with all the blindfolding?!” Roman asked.

Patton giggled. “It’s to keep you on your ‘toes’, silly!” Patton said with a wink towards Logan. Logan gagged, but sent him the thumbs up back. “Don’t you trust me?” Patton asked.

Roman guffawed. “With how you blindfolded me earlier, not really.” Roman replied. Patton did the puppy eyes at Roman and stuck his bottom lip out in mock sadness. “Awww…Patty is sad now, UwU.” Patton whined in a high-pitched furry voice. Roman giggled and felt around for Patton’s side, before squeezing his side in revenge. Patton squeaked and pushed his shoulder, causing Roman to laugh out loud.

With that, Patton and Roman were off to the next room! Patton led Roman down a few hallways, and into a bedroom ready all ready for him! “We’re here!” Patton greeted as he entered. Patton sat Roman down, turned his chair around a little and removed the blindfold. Roman took a moment to look around and smiled as he realized this was Virgil’s room! Only this time, there was a table with multiple tools and items on it.

“Hi Roman.” Virgil greeted on the other side of the table. Roman giggled and clapped his hands. “Sweet! I’ve been eager for a manicure!” Roman reacted as he placed his hands on the table, separated and ready.

Virgil started off by examining his nails and clipping them into shape. He clipped them in a curved motion, and carefully filed them into the curvy shaped they were gonna be. Virgil aimed for oval-shaped nails for this part, and took a bit of extra time to make sure they were as identical as he could make them. Next, Virgil grabbed two big bowls from underneath the table and put a bit of gentle shampoo into the bottom of the empty bowls. Next, Virgil grabbed a kettle off the heating item and poured the water into both bowls, allowing the soap to bubble up a bit. With one quick temperature test, Virgil placed the bowls into the correct spots and signalled for Roman to insert his nails and his feet into the bowls.

Roman slowly put his hands in, but quickly put the rest of his hands in the water. With his feet, he put them in almost right away. Roman let out a full sigh of relief upon feeling the warm temperature of the water. “Feeling relaxed, Princey?” Virgil asked.

Roman nodded. “Mm hmm…” Roman replied.

When the water time on the fingers were done, Virgil let Roman remove his hands before gently patting them with a towel. While Virgil did this, Patton moved the table away and started working on Roman’s feet. Roman rested his dried hands onto the armrests that were beside him and let Virgil work on his manicure, while Patton removed one foot at a time, placed the exfoliating cream onto his feet and started rubbing and exfoliating his foot.

While the manicure was amazing and very relaxing, the pedicure was a bit...ticklish... -Okay, a lot ticklish. Roman was biting his lip through the whole exfoliating process due to the crystals in the formula tickling and lightly scratching his entire foot wherever Patton’s palms massaged. It tickled a lot, and made him giggle a little despite his attempts to keep it in.

Patton couldn’t help but giggle at this as well. “Ticklish?” Patton asked. Roman bit his lip harder and nodded his head. “Y-Yeah...a bihit.” Roman replied.

Patton finally placed his exfoliated feet back into the water and washed his feet off. Roman finally took the moment to relax while the exfoliating crystals slid off his ankles and disintegrated into the water. Roman’s foot was soon removed and patted down with a towel. After placing it down, Roman’s other foot was removed, patted down with a towel and placed aside. After that, Patton put some cream onto his hands and started massaging his foot. With the feeling of Patton’s massaging palm, Roman started to relax more and more. Patton brought the cream up his ankles as well, and up the lower calf. As Patton started to gently massage the top of Roman’s foot with his fingers, he smirked as he heard slight giggles form Roman again.

Patton looked up at Roman with a starry glint in his eyes, and snuck a couple tickles under his foot. Roman’s foot twitched and he let out a titter. “Pahahat, cahaharefuhuhul!” Roman ordered.

“Awww! The poor prince is too ticklish for massages! It would be rude if I were to…” Patton started skittering his fingers under his toes.

Roman snorted and threw his head back with newfound laughter. “NAHAHAHA! PAHAHAHAT! CAHAHAHAREFUHUHUHUL!” Roman begged. Virgil smiled and nodded for Patton to keep going. Patton’s smirk grew wider as he flattened Roman’s foot and scratched on Roman’s inner arch. “NohoHOHOHOHO! NAHAHAT THEHEHERE! GAAHAHAHAHAHA!” Roman laughed helplessly.

Patton smiled innocently. “Your laugh is so cute, Ro-Ro!” Patton complimented as he moved to the ball of Roman’s foot.

Roman squeaked as his laughter went up about 3 octaves into high-pitched giggles. “Ihihihihi’m toohohoho tihihihicklihihihish thehehehere!” Roman told him.

“Oh, you think this is bad? I haven’t even started massaging the middle of your foot!” Patton reacted.

Suddenly, Patton pushed his flattened thumbs into the middle of Roman’s inner and outer arch.

Roman wheezed and threw his head back as fits of cackles left his throat. Roman took in a big breath and- “OHOHO GAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHEEL! NOHOHO HEEEEEHEHEHEHEEL!” Roman shrieked and laughed himself silly.

Patton giggled and laughed along with him as he enjoyed the sound of Roman’s contagious laughter. Despite the ticklish feeling and wiggly reactions, Virgil was still capable of painting all 10 of Roman’s nails almost perfectly! As Patton slowed his tickling down and gave Roman some time to breath, Virgil let the right nails dry and started putting pretty silver jewels on Roman’s left hand’s nails as decoration.

Patton’s ticklish endeavor soon returned to actual foot grooming. To finish it all off, Patton put some clear polish onto his nails and put tiny little glitter dots onto Roman’s toes to replicate the design Virgil created on Roman’s fingernails. When those were done, Patton gently started clearing the polish and bowls off the table while Virgil put his own polish, cream and tweezers away. As Roman gained his breath back, he looked at Virgil and Patton’s handiwork:

Virgil had given him oval, bright red nails with silver sticky gems curving the side of his nails! It was so pretty!

And Patton had gotten a bit more natural, and simply did more of a massage then a pedicure. He had put finishing polish on his toenails, and placed sparkly dots on the side of his nails, similarly to his fingernails!

“Wow! I am impressed, you two! Thank you!” Roman reacted happily.

“No problem.” Virgil replied.

“You’re welcome, Ro!” Patton replied happily. “And now, one more thing!” Patton declared. Roman beamed in excitement and got up off the chair.

Surprisingly, Patton didn’t put a blindfold on him this time! He just grabbed Roman’s soft wrist and led him to his own room. Patton’s room had a massage bed in it, with blankets, creams and heating pads. “Okay. I’d like you to take your shirt off, show off those abs of yours!” Patton said, pausing to poke one of Roman’s abs. Roman doubled over and giggled in surprise before he removed his shirt. “Now please lay down, and relax.” Patton told him politely as he started up some piano music from a radio. Roman laid down on the massage bed like he was told and let out a big breath of relief, while Patton got started almost right away:

Patton started off with some simple back rubs to loosen him up and keep him relaxed. Patton started rubbing his back muscles somewhat quickly, but softly. He moved up the back, down the back, and out to the sides. He did practically every hand movement possible, right onto Roman’s back. But whether it was actually a back technique or an improvised session from Patton, Roman couldn’t tell you. What he could admit however, was just how nice it felt.

...And then Patton started tapping his fingers lightly on his upper back.

“Hehe...Hehehehehe! Pahahat, thahahat tihihicklehes!” Roman reacted.

He should’ve known this was gonna happen! Considering how often tickling showed up in the entire experience, he should’ve been able to predict Patton’s movements from calming to ticklish. But, here he was: giggling under the fingers of Patton again.

“I call these...the sprinkle fingers. Doesn’t it feel like hundreds and hundreds of sprinkles are falling on your back?” Patton asked as he continued the 4-finger tapping.

Roman’s giggles got more and more frequent the lower Patton went. “Ihihihit feheheels like- TihihickLISH RAHAhahaindrohohohops!” Roman replied.

“Oooooh...that’s a good idea.” Patton replied.

Then, Patton started swaying his hands back and forth across his back. “This movement reminds me of fluffy icing being lathered and smoothed onto the top of a cake.” Patton told him softly as he continued the back and forth hand movements. He was moving both his hands around like a pair of icing spatulas. It felt amazing, and a lot more relaxing than the ‘sprinkle fingers’.

Patton smiled and continued the technique, before moving onto something new: Patton started walking his index and middle finger backwards from the top right side of the back, to the bottom. “I call this...the tiny moonwalk.” Patton told him.

Roman snickered at both the ticklish feeling from his fingers, and at the name of the silly technique. It tickled a lot, and made him shiver and giggle. “Nohohoho mohohoonwahalks plehehehease. Tohoho tihihicklihihish.” Roman ordered. Patton slightly frowned in disappointment, but dropped the negative attitude as he came up with a new technique:

Patton started rubbing and smoothening the top of Roman’s back with his fingers alone. He lifted his fingers off the skin, moved his hands down, lowered his fingers and started massaging again. He repeated this rubbing process all the way down his back, and even continued it up his back. Roman seemed to enjoy the feeling at first. But the piano silence quickly filled with giggles and laughter as the technique reached Roman’s lower back. Roman’s back was the most ticklish part on his body, that not even massouses can continue massaging him without causing some ticklish laughter.

Patton smiled at this adorable fact. “Say...How would you feel about a mini massager?” Patton asked.

Despite being tired, Roman’s eyes widened in horror as his imagination overwhelmed him with how ticklish that would be!

Suddenly, a vibrating sound could be heard, which only worsened his imaginative thoughts! “This mini massager is shaped like a turtle!” Patton reacted before placing the mini massager’s legs onto the small of Roman’s back.

Roman let out a surprised squeal! “aaAAAAHAHAHAHA! PAHAHAHAT NOOOOHOHOHOHO!” Roman begged.

Patton let out an almost evil giggle as he moved the massager around. “Patton YES!” he replied as he moved the massager up and down his lower back.

Roman wiggled around and laughed hysterically at the super ticklish massages! Oh gosh! It was so ticklish! He couldn’t believe just how ticklish a simple battery-charged mini massager could be! It was nuts! Roman laughed and snorted into his arms in ticklish excitement. This was both torturous, yet unbelievably fun! If there’s one thing Patton nailed, it was the inability to get bored during the massage! Who in the world could get bored when your back was being tickled to pieces by a turtle designed mini massager?!

Patton continued this ticklish technique for a good 10 more minutes before turning the massager off and rubbing away the ghost tickles. Patton softly resumed the icing-spreading technique he used earlier, to calm Roman down and let him breath.

The rest of the massage was a mix of feather light tickling, careful rubbing, and even massaging of the back ribs. Roman’s reactions often went from relaxed, to laughing, back to relaxed. There was no in between for Roman! It either tickled, or it felt good! That was the spectrum.

After the entire spa day, Roman could proudly say he feels a lot more at ease and relaxed. He could even say he feels an extra hint of giddy and giggly! Thomas could not believe the difference the sides were capable of creating on Roman. A spa day was exactly what Roman needed to relax and reward himself for the creativity he’s come up with.

[monstersandmaw]

Embers - male dragon shifter x reader, Part Thirteen (sfw)

Hey folks - sorry I didn’t post it yesterday. Here it is, at 6.30am on a Saturday for you instead! And we finally get a glimpse of Mikaeïl in his... bigger form too...

Next week is our final chapter! I can’t believe it! Thank you so much to those of you who’ve let me know you’re enjoying it, and to those of you who have reminded me (on more than one occasion!!) that Friday means Embers day, and where the hell is the story, Ghosti!! haha.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve

Mikaeïl’s request that you ‘bring something warm to wear’ for your weekend with him confused and mystified the hell out of you. Added to that, he absolutely refused to give you any more information about it, so you found yourself driving over to his house with a number of different jumpers and coats packed, and a knot of anxious tension in your stomach.

It didn’t help that he’d texted you before you’d set off to say, ‘When you get here, come round the side of the house to the back terrace.’ And that had been it.

So, dutifully, you followed the gravel path around the side of his huge, sandstone, ancestral mansion, and emerged onto the upper lawns.

At the sight that greeted you, your fingers lost their strength and you dropped your weekend-bag to the ground.

Standing on the lawn, resting his huge, coppery wing on the thumb joint like a bat, was a gleaming wyvern. Large, perhaps thirty foot tall when he drew his head up to its full height, with metallic scales the same colour as those you’d seen on his human body, ranging from bright copper to tarnished bronze and even gold along the crest of his back, Mikaeïl was stunning.

Drawn by the movement of your arrival, he watched you fall still and stare openly at him, though a soft, familiar, low-frequency rumbling pervaded the whole garden, and the sound of it stirred you back to life.

Leaving your bag where it lay abandoned on the sunny gravel path, you walked over to him with awe etched onto your face, and breathed, “Mikaeïl?”

The wyvern nodded once, slowly, golden eyes glinting.

“Can you talk when you’re like this?” you asked as you continued to approach him.

“I can talk,” he said, though his voice was different. It still had all the delicate enunciation of the Mikaeïl you knew, but it was richer, far more sonorous, and much deeper.

When you were standing beside him, you raised your palm, barely noticing the trembling excitement in your fingers, and pressed it gently against his cool scales.

He lowered his head and sank his body to the ground, lying down for you like a colossal dog while you just explored the miraculous strangeness of his incredible body. “You’re so beautiful…” you whispered. Two horns curved back over his head, the same ruby-red, flecked with gold, that you knew from his other form, only they were so much larger like this.

“God, Mikaeïl,” you chuckled in wonderment. “You are just so beautiful…” He was; fabergé looked like they could have taken inspiration from him for one of their unbelievable creations.

If wyverns could blush, you suspected Mikaeïl might well have done. As it was, his nostrils flared, and his head shied away slightly, showing off the beautiful array of spikes at the edges of his jaw and head, and he rumbled something again more deeply. In response, you put your palm on his deep chest and felt the vibrations of it shiver through you.

Suddenly, the penny dropped about the clothing, and your eyes went wide. “Mikaeïl… when you said to bring warm stuff to wear… You’re not… We’re… We’re not going to…”

A slow, deep laugh rolled out of him and he shifted his weight slightly, drawing your eye from his glimmering scales - each one like hand-hammered bronze - down to his clawed hind feet and the tip of his wing which rested on a single, massive, taloned thumb. While you waited for his reply, your fingers wandered to the leathery, sunset-yellow membrane of his wing, right near the knuckle which propped him up, and a shudder ran through him, all the way to his barbed tail.

“Sensitive?” you murmured with a wry smile.

“Mmm,” he rumbled, lowering his head and slowly, luxuriantly, inhaling the scent of your skin right by your neck. “How do you feel about going for a short flight?” he asked softly.

“Honestly…?” you said breathlessly, “I have no idea. I’ve never, uh… flown before. I mean, not like that…”

“Test flight?” he asked.

“Please tell me that you don’t have spines on your back because I’m not sitting on that and trying to cling on…”

Mikaeïl laughed his rich, deep laugh and said, “Take a closer look at the junction of my neck and shoulders…”

He rolled slightly towards you but still you couldn’t see the top of his back properly, so in the end he had to help you up with his wing like a leg-up onto a horse. His back was smooth for perhaps a foot and a half between the end of his sinuous neck and the start of his back - the perfect space for someone to sit. You ran your hand over the space and he shivered again.  

“It’s like it was made for someone to sit here,” you commented.

“Not quite,” he said dryly, “But my family were royal guards, a thousand years ago - which is why we have three forms: human, half human, and this. We have been known to carry royalty into battle or over long distances…”

“Royalty,” you cooed as he lowered you back to the ground. “Nice… You sure I’m worthy? I’ve never even sat on a motorbike, let alone a wyvern…”

Again, Mikaeïl laughed at your sense of humour, and nuzzled his nose affectionately against your stomach while you rubbed his forehead. His head was as big as a small couch and it was going to take some getting used to, but he was so damned gorgeous that you could hardly process the fact that this magnificent creature was the Mikaeïl you’d come to know.

“Put on a coat to keep warm while we fly, and I’ll take you for a little trial run… if you like. You don’t have to though…”

“You’ve got something else planned though, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “But it’s alright if you don’t want to fly there.”

“No, let’s try it,” you said, as you scuttled back to your bag and dug out the warmest coat you had. You imagined that with the wind rushing past you, even on such a sunny day, it would be cold.

And you were right.

You clambered warily onto his back, settling yourself in the smooth crook of his shoulders, nestled at the base of his neck and the start of his hugely muscular wings. Conveniently, he had two large horn-like spikes at the base of his neck, to which you clung for dear life as he began to flap his wings, trying to get some lift. You clamped your thighs around him as tightly as you could and leaned forward, honestly terrified.

“I won’t let you hurt yourself,” he promised and then you lurched upwards into the sky.

The ground rushed away beneath you and he continued to rise in jerky movements that made your stomach churn and drop each time. Eventually he had climbed as high as the roof of the mansion, and began to glide, the canvas of his great wings spread to catch the air, and you tried hard not to lose your breakfast all over his beautiful scales.

Mikaeïl did one lap of the parkland of his property and then began to descend gradually, spiralling down until the ground rushed up to meet you and he landed with a jolt that his body absorbed before it could throw you from your tenuous position atop his back.

“Alright?” he asked nervously, tilting his head to one side to see you out of the corner of his golden eye.

Taking a moment to catch your breath, with your heart still pounding in your ears, you nodded and swallowed. “Yeah,” you croaked. It had felt like a rollercoaster ride, only much, much wilder. “That was… amazing…!”

His laugh rippled through you and he said, “Why don’t you stow your bag in the conservatory, and if you could lock up, that would be amazing. Then if you’re alright with it, I want to take you somewhere a little further away.”

You nodded, slithering and landing weak-kneed on the grass beside him.  “Come here first,” you said, crooking your finger and beckoning his head closer.

He obliged, curious and amusedly wary, and when his muzzle was level with your face, you took his smooth, leathery head in your hands and kissed him squarely on the tip of his nose. His laugh came out as a warm blast of air through his nostrils, ruffling your hair, and you laughed too as he closed his eyes for a moment, clearly enjoying the closeness and the contact.

Nudging you playfully away after a minute or so, he rumbled happily, the sound halfway between an alligator and an elephant, only much deeper and louder, and you trotted off to do as he requested.

Once back, you ran your hands over his shoulder and chest again, letting the deep, appreciative sounds thrum through you, and watching as he closed his eyes again in pleasure. “You’re going to cause trouble if you keep touching me like that,” he said eventually. “And then I won’t be able to fly.”

“Not decently, anyway,” you grinned and he shook his head, laughter dancing in his yellow eyes.

“Get back on board and we’ll go before you render me incapable of flight altogether.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” you asked coyly and were met with a snarl that held no danger.

“Get. On.” he said but the fierceness of his tone was ruined by the laugh that bubbled out of him immediately afterwards.

“Fine,” you pouted, and clambered back on his back the same way you’d done before.  

With a final glance up at you, those eyes turned serious and he said, “Are you ready? Comfortable?”

“Yeah. How long will we be in the air?”

“About twenty minutes,” he said. “You let me know if you need me to land though, alright?”

You nodded, and he turned his attention away from you, hind claws gripping the earth as his great leathery wings, the colour of saffron, began to beat again, and he lifted skywards once again.

To be concluded next week...

—

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[elusive---ivory]

Circus Act - 2

Woop woop, part 2. I've been extremely exhausted but here we are.

Part 1

Part 2

Ps: Shout out to my girl, @gloomyladyy for drawing Sandy for me. She looks stunning 💕💕

Soon, it was Monday. Arthur had spent most of the weekend, hanging out with his mother, and writing subtle notes in his journal.

As Arthur got to work, he was greeted with those kind eyes he met last Thursday.

Sandy was setting up her locker, which just so happened to be right next to Arthur's.

"Hey Art, how are you?" Sandy greeted Arthur with a smile. She seemed to have lots of makeup on, and judging by her right eyelid, it was to hide something.

Arthur smiled back, opening his locker. "Good morning, Sandy."

"Morning, Artie. Ms. Cheekbones." Randall walked into the room, making an annoying appearance.

Sandy ignored Randall, pushing past him before walking into a changing room of some sort.

Randall scoffed. "What's her deal?"

Arthur shrugged.

Randall walked over to Arthur, opening up his locker.

"I heard about the other day. Kids are fucking savages." Randall commented.

Arthur sighed, fidgeting with his shoes. "They were just kids. Just leave it be."

"That kind of thinking, they'll just walk all over ya." Randall handed Arthur a brown paper bag.

"What is it?" Arthur asked, opening the bag.

Inside the bag was a gun and about 19 bullets.

Arthur scoffed, thinking it was some sort of prank. When he looked up at Randall, he could see that he was serious.

"Randall, I'm not supposed to have a gun." Arthur hushed, gritting his teeth.

"Relax, Art. You can pay me back. You're my boy. Besides chicks love guns." Randall walked away, pointing at the changing room.

Arthur hid the gun in his bag, and went back to lacing his enormous clown shoes, and promptly placing the shoes directly on his feet. Afterward, Arthur sat at the vanity, painting his face, putting on the mask of his clown persona, Carnival.

Sandy walked out of the changing room, decked in clown gear. Her dress seemed to consist of a red, white, and black color scheme, topped with a silly little hat on her black hair. The makeup she had on seemed to go with her own scheme.

Arthur's jaw laid slightly adjacent as he locked eyes on Sandy's outfit. He was barely finished with his makeup, and she was already dressed.

Sandy walked over to the vanity. "I love your makeup, Arthur. The shades of blue really contrasts with the red."

Arthur blinked for a second. "Thank you. I like your makeup, too."

Those emerald eyes hit her again. Despite feeling anxious from being around all sorts if guys, Sandy felt some comfort around Arthur. He was charming and during. Almost like Dennis, when she first met him. She smile faded.

Sandy cleared her throat. "Anyway, Hoyt wanted to tell you that you should come with me to that old folks home. He says that you could show me the ropes."

Arthur nodded. "Yeah. I could do that."

The old folks home was just down a few blocks from the studio.

"Good afternoon, elders. We have some exciting company today. Meet Ms. Cello, and Carnival." The director of the home introduced Sandy and Arthur, as they got into place.

Sandy got into center. She walked over to what looked to be a very old looking gramophone, and placed a record. The record played Somewhere Over The Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz. The old people in the lounge room seemed to smile as Sandy began to dance around them. She did magic tricks, and pulled a handkerchief out of her tiny hat.

Arthur stood in the back, amazed. Sandy was fantastic, wowing the crowd with her tricks. Arthur couldn't compete with that. When it was his turn, Arthur froze up.

He felt a repressed laugh crawled up in the back of his throat. Suddenly, the laughter erupted from Arthur.

The elderly didn't seem amused. Some of the elders were confused or concerned about the man laughing in front of them.

Sandy was also concerned. She had never heard this kind of laughter come from Arthur before. Sandy grabbed Arthur to the side.

Arthur was hunched over, trying to repress his laughter with his hand.

"Arthur? Are you ok?" Sandy asked, placing a hand on his head.

Arthur looked away from her. He was already embarrassed enough.

"Arthur, it's ok. What's wrong?" Sandy tried comforting Arthur, but the home director had kicked them out.

Afterwards, Arthur's laughter subsided and seemed to be more calm. The walk back to Haha's was quiet.

"I have a condition." Arthur broke the silence after a while.

Sandy looked over at him. "Oh, what kind of condition?"

"It's called the pseudobulbar affect. I was diagnosed with it when I was young." Arthur sighed, looking at the ground.

"That's some heavy stuff, Arthur." Sandy walked back over to Arthur.

"You probably don't want to be around me anymore." Arthur's thick eyebrows furrowed. He looked up at Sandy like a hurt puppy.

"Are you joking? Of course, I want to be around you. You're the only guy I can actually talk to." Sandy smiled.

Arthur's face lit up. He seemed surprised at her answer. Arthur was so used to rejection, and Sandy didn't seem to mind him at all. It was such a relief to meet someone kind and considerate.

"Hey, how about, after work, I treat you to a drink or something?" Sandy asked.

Arthur nodded. "Yeah, that would be great."

His usual coworkers never invited him to anything. He was always casted out of their social group. Even with people like Randall and Gary, he felt invisible. It wasn't until Sandy came that someone actually saw him.

Sandy smiled, grabbing onto his arm. "Well, then come on, silly."

An old joint called Martha's was a place where Sandy's cousin, Deliah, worked. Sandy would go every Monday to get discounted drinks from her cousin.

"Sandy!" Dee exclaimed, giving her a tight hug. "Ooh, and who's this?"

Sandy laughed at Dee's suggestive comment. It was nice seeing her out of rehab. Dee had a long history with ketamine. Sandy was proud to see her every Monday working to better herself.

"This is Arthur. My coworker. Arthur, this is my cousin, Dee." Sandy said.

Arthur hesitantly shook Dee's hand.

Arthur looked around at all the people in the bar. Everyone in the bar made him incredibly nervous. He clinged onto Sandy's arm as they walked over towards a booth.

"So, how long have you been working for Hoyt?" Sandy asked, sitting next to Arthur on the velvet booth.

Arthur thought for a second. "A few months. My social worker recommended me the job."

"That's good. You know, my boyfriend tried to convince me not to get the job. He said 'think about how it'd look on him.'" Sandy sneered.

Arthur raised his eyebrow. "Boyfriend? You've never mentioned him before."

"There's a reason for that. He's a dick." Sandy rolled her eyes thinking about Dennis.

Arthur looked down at his drink, barely even taking a sip.

Sandy opened up a pack of cigarettes, and placed one to her lips.

Arthur studied the cigarette pressed against her lips. How she inhaled the smoke, and then letting it out in the air. Sandy seemed peaceful and content. Arthur noticed in the strobe lights of the bar that Sandy had a nasty bruise on her face. From her cheek, all the way up to her eyelid.

Sandy felt Arthur staring at her.

"What happened to your face?" Arthur asked.

Sandy gulped. "I ran into a door." She lied.

Arthur glared. He didn't like liars. Just before Arthur said anything else. Dee walked up to the booth with Dennis.

"Sandy, I'm so sorry. I tried to stop him. I told him that you weren't here." Dee apologized, profusely.

"It's fine, Dee." Sandy distinguished her cigarette, throwing it on the ground. "I have to go, Arthur. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Arthur could tell that she didn't want to leave. Dennis walked up to the booth, grabbing Sandy's arm.

"Go wait in the car, kitten." Dennis growled.

Sandy nodded, turning her head away from Arthur.

"Listen here, buddy. If I ever see you hanging around my girlfriend, again. I'll fucking kill you." Dennis grabbed Arthur by the shirt and threw him on the table. "Understand?"

Arthur nodded. As Dennis walked off, Arthur had the urge to grab the gun from out of his bag.

'She deserves better.' Arthur thought. 'Who does he think he is?'

Taglist: @gloomyladyy @memory-mortis @jokerflecker @joker-flecked-me @princessgeekface

(If you'd like to be tagged, message me/send an ask!! I'm always happy to add people)

The Woman In Velvet Series

[szivtalan]

A, I, J, L, M, P, R, S, T, V, X, Y for the Honesty Hour ask!!! :D

A - If I’m in love

I suuuuck at reading my own emotions,  especially when it comes to feelings of romantic attraction. But yeah I  guess there’s someone I could imagine a future with.

I - The last time I felt jealous and why

I’m  not terribly jealous tbf. But I did feel some weird stuff when the   person mentioned above said something about their current partner. It   did...not sit well with me, which is why I think I might have some   feelings for them after all.

J - Are you insecure. What about?

I’m  insecure about how I present, my looks, the way I come off on the   internet, my writing, basically every aspect of my life, I’ve been   insecure about at one point. I’m learning to gradually get over them.

L - If I have siblings.

I  have a brother (4 yrs older) and a stepbrother that I haven’t seen in years. He was already a married man with a family when I was around 13.

M - If I forgive betrayal.

I’m  a “forgive but don’t forget” kind of person. At one point I found that  it’s petty to hold a grudge when someone genuinely wants to make up, but  there’s a good chance that I won’t let them as close and will always be  distrustful to them in the future.

P - What kind of music I like.

My  musical taste is all over the place tho. I usually describe it as   “something that moves me” since I’m into catchy rhythms/beats and   soulful lyrics but it can be just as much of Billy Raffoul than say,   Watsky or The Bloodhound Gang.

R - For me to tell 10 of my curiosities.

I had no idea what this actually meant but my last interpretation is something akin to a few fun facts so here’s ten fun facts about me (I tried to pick things I haven’t yet told you haha):

I’m a child of divorce.

I’ve been exposed to/learning English since I was 6 years old.

I used to be more interested in drawing than writing.

I think of myself as someone who’s relatively unfit, but for an unfit person I did quite a lot of sports growing up. I did martial arts (aikido briefly, and taekwon-do for a year or so), volleyball and handball, each for a year; gymnastics as a kid, soccer as a hobby, basketball, folk dance and running.

I’m not at all a picky eater, but I don’t eat fruits or most veggies. This broke some people’s brain who wanted to eat out with me.

My humor is surprisingly grim and/or filthy.

Up until the age of like sixteen I always had one or two dogs around the house. The last two were both rottweilers.

I’m the rudest polite person I know. Like I have a temper and I swear all the time at people, but I will say “please”, “thank you” and “good morning” and I even get overly apologetic while inconveniencing people (kinda like Sakurai from Touou, I’m not joking when I say I see myself in his behavior).

The furthest I ever got from Hungary is some of the few bordering countries (Slovakia, Croatia, Romania and Austria).

I pretty much discovered I was bisexual at age 10-12 and then went “oh well, it’s a problem for future me to deal with!” and practically forgot about it until I was old enough to really start liking people.

S - 2 habits.

1) I pick at my hangnails and my skin a lot

2) I observe people when they think no one is looking and smile at their endeavors.

T - 5 things I love unconditionally.

My friend, Dee

Music

Being around natural bodies of water, apparently

Dogs (and cats, altho I keep my distance whenever its needed)

Bear with me for a moment: I love love. I think people are destined for it, and I don't just mean romantic love. You need love to survive and to have a purpose. I love loving my friends, as much as I love portrayals and expressions of romantic love. I love the seconds that I get to love a stranger bc they do something endearing that I can't help momentarily falling for and I also love the kind of love that's more like a habit, like loving your parents or best friends and not even really noticing it, because it just comes so naturally.

V - 3 big dreams

I did this already but if we’re talking “I don’t think this will happen anyway” kinda big dreams, I’d like to perform as a singer, I want to be able to get into acting again, and I’d like move out of my country. Which is probably the most plausible one.

X - If I’ve done something I regret very much.

I do regret a few things in my life, but ultimately I feel like I wouldn't be where I am now without making the mistakes I've made, so let's just say that I should've applied for psychology much, much earlier.

Y - If I like my town and why.

It sucks less and less every year tbh. It's very pretty with some amazing views at high vantage points, and people are relatively nicer than they used to be, but I still remember the drunkards who used to stumble on the sidewalk right outside my window and I just can't really seem to fully assimilate into the community. I guess it's been changing for the better in the 16 years I've been living here, but I rather go anywhere else if I can.

[always-against-the-grain]

Showers

Summary: You head to showers after a rugby scrimmage at the Sanctuary and run into Negan.

Pairing: Negan x reader (female, named Eddie)

Tags: Negan smut, Negan x reader

PS: wrote this for shits. quality not gaurenteed.

There’s wasn’t much pass time at the sanctuary but when there was, you and other saviors played rugby. You played in high school and college and a few of the others did too or at least knew about the game, and you all decided to start organizing games whenever you could.

There was an unforgiving heat today but that didn’t stop you all from continuing play.

You were on offense down a couple try’s - though no one kept real count.

You ran at pace, hands out, with the full intention of a quick pass to the player next to you. As soon as the ball got into your hands you gracefully chucked it to your right, your teammate taking the hole.

“Whoo!” You thought to yourself for a fraction of a second before ricocheting off a man’s built torso and landing your side with a grunt.

You rolled onto your back, “Jesus fuck, Ron”

“Sorry kid, you alright?” He asked with a laugh, though he genuinely cared.

“Yeah, I’m good” you reassured him, reaching out to his stretched out hand.

“Good, thought you were gonna be a pussy about it”

“Haha, I mean I am what I eat but not today!” You joked as you back-peddled into position.

“Damn kid! Alright!” He laughed

It was just touch rugby, but Negan watching from atop the rails, couldn’t help but notice that you played with a higher intensity. He saw you tumble and roll a couple times and push folks a little too hard considering it was non-contact. He was impressed with the grit that accompanied your petite size.

After a couple games, the sun was beginning to set and everyone called it and headed for dinner. The ruggers tended to congregate at a table and highlight the game with a splash of shit talking.

After dinner, you headed for the showers to get cleaned up. Midway through your shower, you heard someone walk in and hop in one of the other showers. After a couple minutes, you recognized the whistling. It was Negan.

You heard the water shut off and you listened to his wet feet patter away. You were thankful he finished earlier, talking to your boss outside work wasn’t exactly comfortable in any situation, not then and not now.

A couple minutes later, you stepped out, wrapped a towel around yourself and headed to sinks to floss and brush your teeth. As you turned the corner, there was Negan, shaving. You briefly admired the back of his long torso and slender legs - whatever the towel around his hips allowed you to see. Fuck, you were attracted to him, but you made sure he never knew it. You were nervous but acted natural and approached the mirror to continue your hygiene routine.

“Hey, Eddie,” Negan said after dragging the underside of his chin with his razor and banging the residue against the ridge of the sink.

“What’s up” you responded pulling the mint string out of its container.

“Good work today” he complimented your game, wiping his face with a small towel.

“Thanks” you said, trying to cut the conversation.

Negan turned around and leaned back against the counter. The corner of your eyes were drawn to his natural bulge, but you quickly looked before he noticed your line of focus.

“Hey, so are you gay?”

“What?” You stopped flossing, confused why he would ask that

“Sorry, doll, Ron mentioned something you said on the field and I was mildly curious”

‘Not mildly enough’ you thought to yourself as your spread toothpaste over your brush.

“Oh haha, I was joking but nah I’m not.” You began brushing.

“I mean not really, I don’t know —“ you stopped and continued as the foam built up in your mouth “— I just like people—“

“—Men, women, it doesn’t matter.” You added.

“So you’ve had your share of pussy” Negan crudely asked.

“Yeah...” you mumbled, before sucking the running water to swish.

“And dick?” He stepped a little closer to you.

“That too you” you spit and cleared your throat.

Negan noticed the hesitation in your voice.

“My bad Eddie, am I my making you uncomfortable?” His question was genuine.

“Nah, takes a lot to do that” you looked up at him, then down to his crotch making sure he noticed this time.

You both barely made eye contact again before you were attacking each other’s mouths. Negans tongue was something else, dominate yet playful. You bit his lower lip, and he moaned into your mouth.

“Fuck, doll. You like it rough huh. I can tell”

You didn’t answer, you just kept kissing him. Gripping his hips into your body, feeling his erection. He dropped your towel. His hands going to your breasts. He began rolling and pinching your nipples between his rough fingers.

“Harder,” you said softly as your lips worked around his neck.

He did as he was told. Pinching your nipples significantly harder, drawing a louder moan out of you.

Your hands dragged down his back, snuck under his towel and pulled it down. Your lips slowly kissed their way down, over the middle of his chest, down his abdomen. You slowly got down to your knees. You teased him by rerouting your mouth to his hips, licking and sucking his protruding bones.

“Fuck” he groaned, “get to it before I get real rough with you”

You looked up from him with a daring look. The defiance oozing out of you.

“Alright,” he warned.

He grabbed his thick cock and shoved between your lips.

After a couple of thrusts of his member hitting the back of your throat, you got your gag reflex under control.

“That’s it babe, feels so fucking good. Oh fuck”

Your hands wrapped around to grope his glutes and dig your dull nails into his skin, down his hamstrings. Negan was not expecting to enjoy that but it brought him close to the edge.

He harshly pulled your hair to you off him.

“Don’t wanna blow before I get to be inside you, now stand up”

You had a weird relationship with his authority. You simultaneously hated being told what to do but also enjoyed when he ordered you around.

You stood up and he turned you around so you both could face the mirror. He gave you a moderate spank on your cheek, and your hips flinched forward.

“Don’t run away from me. You hear me?” he whispered sinisterly in your ear, pulling your hair, arching you back. He sucked on your neck while making eye contact through your reflections.

“You hear me?” He repeated, pulling on your hair harder, forcing your neck curve more.

You groaned before responding, “Yes, sir”

“Good” he let go of your hair.

He hooked his calloused hand behind your knee and laid it atop the counter. He began rubbing his bulbous head over your folds, causing your hips to rock back and forth, gaining more friction.

“Oh fuck” you moan out, desperate to have him inside you already.

He knew you were fit, but now standing this close behind you he noticed your muscle definition. You weren't cut, but the curves of your muscle groups weren't necessarily nuanced.

He slowly slipped inside you grabbing onto your hips. You felt your walls stretch to accommodate his girth. You didn’t know if it was painful or pleasurable. Dancing on that line is what you liked, sports and sex.

He pulled out all the way and calmly entered you again, pushing deeper this time.

You tried to restrain your ungodly moan, but couldn’t.

“I got you,” he said gently, as he wrapped his lanky arms around your torso, continuing his insanely deep maneuvers. You felt his balls push against your vulva.

With one arm snaked around you, his other hand moved your wet hair away from the back of your neck and he began nibbling at your skin.

“Negan” you whimpered

God, that felt different. You felt his freshly shaven skin against yours, you wished there was some scruff but damn, that spot between sent electricity down your spine.

He was aware of your positive response and sucked at the sweet spot harder, his eyes looking up to make eye contact through the mirror. You stared at each other briefly, before his thrusts increased in speed, but maintained the depth.

His hands eventually came around your waist and he began fucking you silly. Both of you grunting and moaning and throwing around “oh fucks”

Each time he pushed back in you could feel his tip hit your cervix. It wasn’t too much, just right on that line.

“Can I come inside you?” He asked between his thrusts

“I prefer you didn’t” you managed to get out.

His grip tightened around you, there would for sure be finger bruises tomorrow. His pace increased slightly and became erratic. You told him not to come inside you and you weren’t sure if he was going to comply, but the way he was fucking you, you suddenly didn’t care.

But you felt Negan pull out with enough time to work himself, finishing with a loud grunt, spilling his seed over your ass.

You thought it was over but Negan turned you around, lifted you up onto the counter and spread you wide. He lowered himself to meet your silky center.

“That’s beautiful” he commented before bringing his mouth to your clit

He sucked at your clit, flicked his tongue across it. He brought two slender fingers into you, working you with them as his mouth continued to do wonders on you.

“Comm'n doll finish for me” he ordered, his fingers curving to hit that spot inside you.

“Oh fuck! Negan!” You were almost there.

Your hips began humping his face, meeting his rhythm. His free hand reached up and clamped your nipple and a few seconds later your hip collapsed and you convulsed around his fingers, sighing out.

“Fuck”

He helped you off the counter. Your legs a little wobbly

“Woah there Bambi” he joked

“That was something” Negan mentioned.

“Yeah, it was” you looked up at him.

He leaned down slightly to kiss you once more, his hands cupping your jaw. Negan saw this opportunity and returned the harsh bite you gave him.

“Fucker” you moaned.

“You asked for it” he reminded you

You grabbed your towel off the ground and organized your toiletries began to head out.

“So, when’s the next game?” He asked, wrapping his own towel around himself, hinting that he wanted to hit the showers again.

“Bye, Negan” you gave him a cocky smile.

[zoidham]

F!!RE - Devoted to Black Fashion & Lifestyle

ARTicle One:

Introduction. 

On Black Masculinity in Fashion

“Masculinity is not measured by your bicep size or sexual prowess but is a quality that is characterized by being affectionate, sincere, and responsible.” - Juwanza Kunjufu 

Hey Now kinfolk, I am Zoid Hæm, and in these personal letters I will be reflecting on the Black Lifestyle as it pertains to #Fashion, #Soul, and #Art. I have chosen the name F!!RE for this experience to pay homage to the young black artists of the Harlem Renaissance who shocked the world with a scathing peek into the mind of young and free black folks with their one issue magazine simply called Fire!!.(Source): https://bit.ly/2GwIIY0

Blackness, in its constant evolution is of my greatest interest, for as Arthur Jafa (@anamibia) said in his interview for I-D magazine with Virgil Abloh “…blackness isn’t just relevant to black people. It’s an ontological formation thats seeking to understand the world. It’s about the possibility for a different way to occupy earth, to exist in it. (Source): https://bit.ly/2m3ygzn

So here I sit at this cross section of fashion and soul, asking myself what does my external experience tell me about my inner world? And since the former spews out of the latter I see a fluid evolution spiraling up, beckoning at the fringe of our reality like an avant-garde symbol, hated and misunderstood like all mysteries shrouded in blackness. Excitement billows out of me, as my existence becomes a thorough definition of the contradictions in my black consciousness; like vines, unconfined by the square bricks of this society, I sprawl out, creating branches, bridges, and underground railroads, breaking out of learned labels and ushering a new wave. A wave filled with bubbles that when they touch, combine and crash on this countries shores of Thought, making us all the more unique and free.

“Cultivate your Uniqueness.” 

Free Hugs and Painted Nails:

Today's letter focuses in on black masculinity through the lens of fashion. It must have been the summer of 2011 when I sported boastful yet crude painted nails, and a small white button that said “Free Hugs". My body type was bulky, aggressive, and shouted, “Angry black man!" I had just finished my career in football, thankfully, and found myself hustling in the streets of New York City, as green as a rose stem among the grey concrete jungle, who's edifices and faces made me feel small, innocent, and utterly naive. 

Yet in this place I began to shift my image, first my thoughts, by asking any and all types why they are who they are. Mind you as the son of two preachers who never went to a house party or drank till college, even with my years at university there was still so much I didn’t know; but what I found is that when I approached folk they were always very guarded and unsure. I always blamed racist propaganda for their hesitancy but then I began to think more about what my image was saying to them. To them and this society my look gave off certain triggers in them, and by them I mean all types from old, young, white, black, brown, men, women, LGBTQ, CEO, or homeless. Few if any paid me any mind, or quickly gave glance and turned the other way. 

Haha a hilarious anecdote that actually made me change my entire “costume” was that one day, walking out by Central Park I saw the actor Michael Cera! Yep, Mr. Superbad himself, I was such a big fan I blurted out as we came close to each other “Holy crap! It’s Michael Cera!” Haha and true to form, with a hilarious face and mannerisms he looked up, eyes widened, and immediately turned around, and scampered the opposite direction down the street. I was a little hurt and shocked, but still laughed. It was at this point I was like YO! What do they see?

I went home, a 6 floor walk up in Chinatown, and looked in the mirror and began to take some notes. Broad chest, big beard, long locs, rather run-of-the-mill black man, how boring! I knew inside me was something that defied all definition, that I was a spirit teeming with affection and love for my fellow humans and wanted to be able to sit and express with them. But what I typically was receiving was the energy of dismissal and guardedness. I had known this well from black women at university who used me as a whipping boy to take their frustrations out on all black men, while I received, in screaming opposition from white women, so much attention it felt disingenuous, for them any n!gga would do; but now this was pervasive… I realized that my presence scared people, and that they weren’t actually seeing the REAL me.

I paced in my small apartment unit, thumbing a small button in the jacket I just bought, mentally drawing up how I wanted to present myself. “Alright first we need to lose this weight, so we can fit into all these cool clothes, but also fit better in these rooms of artists and intellects, and then lets keep the beard and hair nappy, edge is important, but lets dress in chic cheap fashion, cuz we are super broke and are only going to be able to afford the thrift store…” As I was thinking I pulled out the button from my pocket and read what it said “Free Hugs” almost unconsciously I pinned it to my jacket and didn’t think much of it.

The next day was Friday and I typically made my way to the museums since they were free. I bought a bottle of FireFly ice tea vodka and headed to my friends pad down by wall street so we all could get faded and go see some art. As I was walking down the street, I saw faces smiling at me, and so I smiled back, not used to New Yorkers showing any emotion besides anger I was a little surprised but kept pushing. After hopping off the train, I turned the corner and a short portly jewish women threw  her arms up and said “Yes I need one today!” And gave me a big long hug. I just stood there shocked by this stranger squeezing me, like I was her grandson, but before the hug was over I retuned the energy. She smiled and walked on by. As she left I looked at my reflection in one of the wall street buildings and saw that I still had the “Free Hugs” button on my jacket, and smiled thinking, how bout that! A free hug trumps propaganda, age, fear, race, etc.  all they needed was the permission to show affection. 

Fast foward to half the bottle gone, and a small loft full of young, gifted and black artist, all dancing and singing to a Stevie Wonder record. I had painted a haggard green sweat shirt with the word Free Hugs in big red letters and donned it as I joined the harmonious voices that filled the room with the joy of a Friday afternoon. I went over to the kitchen to fill my glass, when I realized I had gotten some paint on my nails, and began to peel it off when my crush at that time, a stunning orange afro having queen said, "Naw leave it! In fact here!” She came over with some nail polish and painted quick little designs on my nails in green, red, and yellow. My first reaction was wait I can’t wear nail polish, but when I looked at my hands I became enamored, my how strange and unique, these dainty hands on a Rasta brute! This was just the right amount of contradiction and juxtaposition of strength and vulnerability I was looking for. Leave it to black women to bring a dream to reality.

And thats exactly what happened, when we hit the streets in that Friday sunset, New York finally saw me, and opened like the flowers in sunlight on the corner of Strawberry Fields. Over the next few months, my body slimmed, my smile grew, my nails where chipped and covered with color haphazardly, and hugs clung to my body like the tight fitting cheap fashion I found. But most importantly my thoughts began to change, because I was engaging with more people from all walks of life. I ask myself to this day, did the fashion open them up or me up? 

Fashion is metaphor touted as a mask, there to conceal or reveal our inner truth, and for me I found a unique edge to walk, one where I hold space with masculinity that only knows mixtape lyrics and football, as well as a space that spoke of Basquiat’s and Warhol’s, the fickleness of love in any gender or sexuality and the need for soul and romance. I am still the minority in most rooms I walk into, typically they don't know what to think of me, I hear little conversations in the corner, ”He must be gay, or bi, no no look he’s with ball players and gangsters, naw naw he has lots of girlfriends, yes yes hunny he can get it, but he curbed all of us and I’m fine so wats the deal, oh he’s different.”

Different… little do they know I’m just like them, expressing all that I am. Removing the labels and images and thoughts that society has forced upon me, left me blank a slate to be creative. Still I have much more to remove and redefine in this ocean of blackness that is my being. One can be masculine in a dress, one can be feminine in baggy jeans, lessen we forget #STONEWALL and what those activists fought for, the freedom of image. Culturally and generational things shift, the meaning we put behind garments and fabric is all made up, just like us; and no one need be ridiculed or shamed for making their fit…fit. So what are you wearing today? In any way, you look good on you.

Posivibes,

hæm

Credits:

Image one by @johnyu.co 

for Westword Artopia 2019  

[foxrun-fluffery]

The Greatest Distance

My attempt entry into @sdavid09​‘s wild Plot Bunny Challenge! I adopted Plot Bunny #59!  

What happens when the company of Thorin Oakenshield ends up in our world? How will you cope?

Considering I can’t write first person to save my damn life, I’ve added an OC... who had a lot of inspiration based on a certain someone (and those who realize who can just shut up). 

Without further ado, here we go...

                                         CHAPTER ONE

NEXT CHAPTER

“How is it possible for people and places to change so entirely that they lose any connection with what they used to be? Can a man adapt to new things and new places without losing a part of himself?”

—Abdelrahman Munif

“Oi, Nori, put that down!” Dori barked at his brother, his hands still swatting Ori’s away from the stack of foreign books. He felt doubly frazzled, having to keep an eye on his troublesome brothers, on top of all that had happened.

While that was going on, Bombur had sneaked a peek into a cupboard in the adjacent room, and licked his lips when he spotted a box of brightly colored pastries.

“Uh-uh!” Bofur interjected, reaching past his brother to shut the cupboard door. “Ye were tol’ t’ leave tha’ alone!” He grumbled, shaking his head. “Ye jus’ ate!” And he waved his hand to the emptied boxes of food on the table. “Eh yeah, what was tha’ called again?” His eyes scanned the crowded room for their hostess, but she and their leader still hadn’t returned yet. Whatever it was, he sure wished he could get the recipe for his brother. Bombur was a master at recreating dishes.

Meanwhile Fíli and Kíli were pushing one another about beside the hallway mirror, trying on hats from the top of the coat rack. “Here, here, try this one! Haha!” They laughed over each oddly shaped and strangely colored headwear, modeling them in the mirror.

“No way! It makes my hair stick out weird! You try it!” Fíli pulled the hat his younger brother had crammed onto his head back off and returned the favor, shoving it on top of his brothers darker locks. “Aye, there.”

Oin was seated on the sofa, watching everything going on, only heading half of it. “Bats? Nah, lads no bats in here. Too bright!”

Hearing his brother, Gloin rolled his eyes and went on with his grumbling about their misfortune. “Who doesn’a use gold coin! It’s no’ natural!” Harrumphing again, he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Don’t trust folk who don’t use good coin!”

Bifur was, of course, the quietest of the bunch. He was sitting to the side of all the commotion, curiously inspecting a little toy, a bright red cart-like gizmo, with a ladder on the back. When he pressed a square button on it, the ladder would shoot out, telescoping out from the back of the cart. He could only see half of the mechanism, and was horribly curious about it. Maybe… maybe if he took it apart, he could see how it worked, and he would most definitely have it fixed up right proper before anyone was the wiser. With a light of glee in his eyes, he went off to fetch his tools from his pack.

Dwalin, ever the stoic, stood with a scowl on his face, watching all of their company and the antics they were getting up to. He rolled his eyes at more than a few, and kept a sharp watch on a few others. “Nori,” he growled after Dori had left the middle Ri brother to help the younger, “Put that back.”

Nori slipped a little figurine back onto the shelf beside him and ducked his head with a sheepish grin.

Then there was Bilbo. Poor, sweet, horribly discomfited Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire. He had seen this all before, back when he had been the unwitting victim of Dwarvish drop-ins. Of course that was all before, before they had left Middle Earth.

That very thought sent shivers down to his curly haired toes. They had left Middle Earth. He didn’t even know that was possible. He didn’t even know there were other worlds! Sure, some weird fantasy novels claimed such things, but that was fantasy, not reality! It simply wasn’t possible. No. Not at all. But, try as he might, sitting sullenly on the sofa near Oin, with his hands balled into fists on his lap, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular, he couldn’t deny where they were. Another world. A futuristic world. Everything was so strange, so surreal. Nothing made sense.

The entire room full jumped when a loud ringing noise sounded out, half of them drawing hidden weapons and looking for the cause.

Dwalin stared at a small rectangular device set upright on the counter, and the shrill ringing coming from it. He reached out cautiously, ignoring a few words of warning sent his way, and picked it up. Quietly, a voice spoke from it. “This is Generations Pediatrics calling, regarding your appointment for Monday, June 5th at. 4:30 pm. Please press one to confirm.” The balded dwarf looked up at the others, seeing a few guestures for him to do something although no one seemed to agree as to what. He recognized the numerical symbols as Westeron numbers, but wasn’t sure what he should do. Obviously the message was not for them, but their hostess. Don’t want to make her miss an appointment. Slowly he reached out and pressed one. The voice spoke again. “Thank you! Please be sure to have your insurance, ID, and medical cards with you. Have a great day.”

“Thanks?” He replied, “You as well…” then there was silence and, under the scrutinizing gaze of his companions, he set the strange device down again. It beeped as he returned it to the stand. Blinking at it, rather owlishly, the tough warrior felt uncertain. This whole place was strange.

There was a sound outside, a rumbling noise, and wheels crunching on the gravel. Every member of the company looked up, towards the door. Their leader and their hostess were finally returning.

Bofur piped up then, “I thought they were back an hour ago!”

“No, that was just another one of them machines goin’ by!” Nori corrected.

A murmuring ran through the group as the door opened, first admitting… a walking pile of bags? This was followed shortly by Thorin Oakenshield, with a small human boy on his hip. He had, in years past, carried both Fili and Kili that way. No longer wearing the regal clothing he had been, he was instead in a blue plaid shirt and a pair of denim trousers. His boots he’d had to keep, but he seemed to fit in much better with this new world. He set the child down, and the boy, a tall lad of four and a half, grabbed onto the back of his mother’s coat.

“Hey, it’s okay, wait love, lemme get this… stuff down…” The woman brought the bags over to the coffee table, setting them all down. “Okay, we got clothes for everyone!” She said, standing up straight and looking at her very unexpected houseguests. Slowly she exhaled, a strand of her hair dancing with her breath. “Right, now, Thorin help me get this sorted out, I’m forgetting who gets what… oh where’s.. Ah, Balin, here’s your coat.” She handed it to the dwarf who came into the room behind herself and Thorin. He was wearing something not dissimilar to Thorin, though his shirt was a deep maroon, not as deep as his own shirt had been, but it wasn’t too unlike it. There was thin stripes of gold colored thread running through it. It was a clean cut button up shirt, that their hostess had remarked to it being similar to what her own grandfather would wear. He had chosen to take that as a compliment, mostly because of her sweet smile as she had briely reminisced. She turned to face the dark haired dwarf again, “I think we got the tags off, but you might wanna check first.” The modern-dressed dwarf gave a nod, recalling how she had removed certain clipped on papers and adhesive strips from the clothing he now wore, and helped her sort through their purchases. While he did that, he thought back to what had brought them here, to this very strange land.

Gandalf. Of course.

                   “Gandalf!” Thorin’s deep rough voice called out to the wizard who stood some ways from their camp one night. “Where are you going?” “Hm?” The gray garbed man turned to look at Thorin, “Nowhere. I am… I am going nowhere.” His long wiry eyebrows knit together in consternation. “Which is exactly the problem.”

Frowning at the cryptic words, Thorin approached him. “Is there something wrong?” He kept his piercing blue gaze on the tall man’s face, though he had quickly learned his stare did little to break through to the wizard, as it did on most other people. Most. “Oh, there is something very, very wrong, Master Dwarf, very wrong indeed.” The wizard huffed, tamping his knuckles against his beard, then stroking it as though to calm himself. “This isn’t right… not at all. It doesn’t feel right…” “If you’re having second thoughts about this quest, it’s perhaps too late now.” Thorin grumbled, crossing his arms and raising a brow as he wondered what in Mahal’s name the strange man could mean.

“Gandalf?” Another voice piped up from towards the camp. Bilbo was making his way over. “Is everything alright?” “I’m afraid not, my dear Bilbo. Something has gone terribly wrong, things are not as they should be suddenly. In a way I cannot explain.” He fretted a bit more before he turned to face them. “I need some time to gather my thoughts and sort this out… get some rest, all of you.” Wizards, Thought Thorin, I wonder if the world isn’t better off without their kind. He did give the source of this new headache a nod, then turned back to camp. “Bofur, you’re on watch. Let’s turn in.” He cast one last glance at Gandalf, watching him pace a bit to and fro, before he returned to his bedroll, patting Fili’s shoulder as he passed the brothers. “Fili, you can relieve Bofur for second watch. Dwalin will take third.” Everyone agreed, and aside from Bofur, they all laid down to get some rest, eager to sleep after a very long day on their ponies.

One of the number, however, could not get to sleep. Even after the dwarves around him were snoring peacefully, or as peaceful as dwarves could snore, for he determined that more than a few of them sounded fierce even in their sleep, Bilbo lay wide awake, until the second night watch was near over. He turned this way and that, but it was to no avail. Sleep simply would not come to him. He rose, silent in the way of hobbits, and walked over to Gandalf, lighting his pipe once he was there beside his friend. “Have you sorted anything out yet?” Gandalf hummed before answering, “Yes… but I do not like the look of it.”

“Can you tell me?” Turning to look down at the hobbit, the wizard pondered briefly if it would do any good. “I suppose I may.” He glanced up, aware that Bofur was near enough to hear them, but he relented that it did not matter. They would all know soon enough. “Some fell magic has changed the flow of time.” “Uhm.. what?” Bilbo asked in utter confusion. “That… that can’t happen… can it?” Mirthlessly the wizard laughed quietly, “There is much that can happen that you do not know about, Bilbo Baggins.” He huffed through his beard, shaking his head. “I cannot address this with all of you in tow, however it seems to have fixed itself upon this company.” His lips pressed into a thin line for a moment. “Yes, I know what I must do. However, I think none of you shall like it very much at all. No you shan’t.”

“Oy wha’s this now?” Bofur had made his way over. “Seems you ought t’ be tellin’ the lads all, hm? Somethin’ comin’ after us, we should know!” He protested, though kept his voice hushed. If it wasn’t something worth waking the others just yet, he didn’t want to be in trouble with everyone. But he was ready to give a good shout, just the same.

Turning to look at the hatted dwarf, Gandalf arched a brow at his bold statements. “It will become all too clear in short order, however you are right, I should address this issue immediately. Rouse the others!” Waving the dwarf off, he looked at Bilbo, brows slowly lifting, “It seems you are going on a grander adventure than I first believed.” “I’m what now?” Bilbo sputtered, but the dwarves were waking at Bofur’s calls, and he could only watch in unsettled dismay as Gandalf left him to return to the camp. He huffed and stomped his foot in vain, missing his armchair and books very much in that moment. He just wanted to sit down on a soft cushion with a good book, and forget this nonsense! Too late for that. He hurried back when he heard Thorin begin to shout. “What is the meaning of this!?” The dwarven king rose, still gripping his weapon. “Why do you wake us, Bofur? There is no attack!” “Because I told him to.” Gandalf said, in his loudest shout, full of exasperation, sparing Bofur from the short tempered Oakenshield’s anger. He stood fast as those sharp blue eyes turned upon him instead. “You must all be prepared, immediately!” “Prepared for what?” Ori asked, still half asleep and confused. Dori shushed him, setting a hand on Ori’s shoulder, “Quiet now!” His attention, like that of all the others, was fully on Gandalf then.

Gandalf sighed, wishing he could explain this better, but with little knowledge to the workings of things beyond their world, it would take much more time than he felt they had. “There has been a shift in the flow of time. Someone does not want this quest to succeed, I fear. Someone beyond my knowledge.” He noted how Thorin’s expression darkened, but continued anyway. Stubborn fool of a dwarf! “It has happened before, though I daresay not for some time, not as you see it anyway. There is no other recourse but to remove you, the lot of you, until it is straightened out.”

“Remove us!?” A number of dwarves shouted in aghast or angry voices.

“Listen!” Gandalf cried, though it went unheard as all of the company began in uproar. His grip on his staff tightened as he tried to hold his own temper.

“Shazara!” Thorin bellowed, looking at his gathered company as they fell silent around him. “Explain yourself, wizard,” he nearly spat.

Still so very tired of dealing with this temperamental dwarf, Gandalf steadied himself with a sigh, and both hands on his staff. “There is much that I cannot tell you, even more yet that you would not understand, and I fear I have little time to tell you what I may. You will all be removed from this world,” He quickly held up a hand to forestall any interruptions. “Temporarily. Temporarily removed from this world and this timeline. Then you will return here, not mere seconds past the time you depart. How long you will spend in this other realm, I do not know, time does not flow equally. But you will return. So long as you do not die there.” “Die?” Bilbo qualied.

Casting him a sympathetic glance, Gandalf continued. “I will send you somewhere safe. Or rather, relatively safe, so long as you obey the laws of the land, and do not cause a stir.”

Nori suspiciously eyed everyone around him. Them, not cause a stir? They were doomed… He looked across and saw his friend, Bofur, who, judging by his expression, was thinking the same thing.

“It is a place I have been to before,” Gandalf attempted to assure them. “It is a safe place. Though, I cannot guess where exactly you will arrive, or who you shall meet there. But if you keep your heads down and do not draw attention to yourselves, you will be fine.” He told them, mumbling softly under his breath, “I hope.” He knew Bilbo heard him at the concerned look he received. “It is a land very unlike this one, they have progressed to a point such as we would think of a distant future, and it is a land in which combat is not treated the same as here. They are more peaceful and less violent. And there are no dwarves!” Not in the way that would make any sense to the company. “Sounds like yer sending us to the elves!” Dwalin growled.

“No, there will be no elves there. Nor any other non-human race.” Gandalf assured him, though he saw the discomfort in all of them and heard their murmured dismay. In a moment he was reminded of the behaviors of toddlers and small children. This brought a quirk to the corner of his mouth. That at least gave him a vague guide.

“No elves… no dwarves!” Ori gasped, sending a ripple through the little crowd.

“Only humans, how miserable!” Gandalf couldn’t quite tell who had said that, but he suspected it was either Oin or Gloin, and the quietness of the rumbled opinion gave him the belief it was Gloin.

“Those poor people!” Bofur muttered in pitying dismay.

“Will… will you be coming?” Bilbo asked, his softer voice managing to be heard through the others talking amongst themselves now.

Looking down at Bilbo, rue in his gaze, he shook his head. “I am afraid not. I must maintain the magic to the portal you will take from this end. The world you are going to has no magic left.” He wasn’t surprised by those gasps of shock. “There is not even memory of it. It is best not to discuss it too openly.” He looked to the others again, “I suggest you find yourselves an ally as quickly as you can, someone you feel you can trust.”

“How can we trust any of them?” Thorin snarled at the wizard.

“You will have little other choice if you wish to survive. And survive you must.” Gandalf looked up towards the sky, and his eyes moved, tracking things the others could not hope to see. “Ready yourselves. Leave but the barest necessities, they will be here when you return.”

“R-right, because time w-w-won’t pass here…” The voice of the hobbit was tremulous at best.

“Good fellow!” Gandalf smiled to him then. “Keep your wits about you. They are more peaceful, but less understanding, on a whole. A few bright souls still exist that would aid you. You will have to find one. When it is time for you to return, you will see the portal again. Walk through it.” “What if we’re asleep!?” Bofur objected, starting to sound panicked. Gandalf shook his head, “You will not sleep through it, that much I assure you.” His head snapped up and he nodded, “It is time. Come now, take only what you need.” And he fixed Fili with a stern look. “Only take a few daggers, if you please.” “I always do!” The older of the two princes grinned cheekily.

Bilbo started for his things and came to a stop, turning to face Gandalf, his curiosity giving him some semblance of confidence in his words. “Gandalf… surely if you have the power to do something like this… surely you could complete this journey without us.” Thorin seemed almost startled by the hobbit’s question, and he whirled to Gandalf then, his eyes expressing the same curiosity for the answer. “Yes, do tell us why you can do this, but not aid more than you have, or intend.”

Looking over at them and huffing, drawing his lips far up in a frown, Gandalf shook his head, “This is not my doing, nor my magic that can do this task. I am merely marking the target, as it were. Now, hurry and prepare!”

Soon the company stood, huddled together in unease, each carrying one pack, wearing their warmest cloak, and holding one blanket. A few carried visible weapons, against Gandalf’s recommendation, and the wizard and hobbit both were certain more than a few, if not all, carried numerous hidden weapons.

Gandalf looked them over. “Remember what I said, cause no trouble, and stay alive!” With one last uncertain glance at the company, he turned away, to face the dawning light. Raising his staff, he brought it down to the earth, aligning it just so for a second, and in a moment the rays of the dawn sunlight gleamed through the tangled wooden roots of the tip of the tall shaft. The end of the staff began to glow, and it grew brighter, and brighter, and brighter still.

It was blinding by the time the dwarves and hobbit realized that not only could they hardly see each other, they felt as nearly sickening pull on their whole bodies, seeming to stretch them beyond themselves. It didn’t hurt, but it gave every one of them a sense of terror that, could they have but moved in that instant, would have sent even the bravest of them fleeing. Just when it seemed they could no longer stand it… it got worse.

Reality folded upon itself, creating a wrinkle in the fabric of space and time, connecting two very distant points. What this felt like to the dwarves cannot be truly put into the words of any mortal creature, for the words do not yet exist. Though as the rare travelers such as these go, upon his arrival at their destination, Bilbo put it in the best yet description.

“Nope.”

NEXT CHAPTER

[lunawings]

AZALEA in Nagoya, Live and Fan Meeting 2018 event report

So, yesterday I went to the Love Live event.... Unit Battle National Tour Aqours Club Activity Love and Fan Meeting 2018, AZALEA in Nagoya Day 1 afternoon performance. 

So if anyone was wondering why I was just referring to it as an AZALEA event, that’s why. The name is so long haha. 

So this tour is actually a several month long competition between the three sub units of Aqours. The bulk of the event time is spent on several games, some are up to the girls, some require audience participation, and the points are totaled overall. 

I actually got to go to the first performance in the country OVERALL, so we started with a blank scoreboard and left off with AZALEA obviously in the lead. (It wasn’t supposed to be the first performance. It was supposed to start from Guilty Kiss in Sapproro, but that event was cancelled due to the earthquake tragedy which shut down power and transportation a few days before.) 

So, the first game was a quiz which was completely up to the audience. We answered by choosing different colors on our lightsticks and then the girls chose the most popular answer. The questions ranged from a question about Nagoya Japanese that I didn’t understand, to minuscule details about the anime. Such as, who was the first character who appeared in the first season. Answer... Riko! She walks into the classroom, then it pans to Chika’s reaction. 

The second game was a typical school sports festival game of throwing beanbags in a basket.

The third game was like.... blind charades. One of the girls had to strike a pose, and the other two would feel her and try to copy the pose and guess. (Really not as risque as it sounds I swear ahah.)  The first two were police and basketball, then Arisha just got “Dia Kurosawa” so she held up her hands in the “BU-BUU” stance. 

This was proceeded by a talk section where they answered questions from fans and such. There was a lot of direct interaction with fans. Like, they had the folks who sent in the questions stand up to be recognized and such. There was a big flag we could draw them messages on before the show, and then they looked over it and called out to people who wrote certain things. Like, there was this really cute Dia drawing and when they said it was cute the girl who drew it was so happy!!! Aaaah! I just wrote a heart that said “HUG” in it. I wish I had done something more creative. I may go again to one of these for CYaRon so if anyone can think of something creative I could do to the flag lemme know ahaha. 

Then finally there was a performance of course. They did their AZALEA songs, Galaxy Hide and Seek, Inocent Bird, and Torikoriko Please! But they also had us vote for a new AZALEA version of another song:  Todokanai Hoshi da to Shitemo, Pops heart de Odorunn da mon!, or Sora mo Kokoro mo Hareru kara. I voted for  Todokanai Hoshi da to Shitemo and was ecstatic when it won because yelling “ONE TWO SUNSHINE!!!” was every bit as fun as I hoped. They ended  Yume Kataru yori Yume Utaou and an singalong/dance-along encore of Hop Step Waai, the theme song of the event. 

It always takes them like 10 minutes to get to the encore. Which is understandable as the girls deserve a break. But when I am at a live viewing, I usually take a break from cheering for them just because they can’t hear me anyway. But at the actual event I was like... must keep... going... ahaha...

At Aqours concerts people usually cheer “Aqours” instead of “encore.” We started off cheering “encore” but then a couple people started cheering “AZALEA” and then we were all cheering “AZALEA”! They said it was the first time they ever got an AZALEA call. 

So, this was actually my first ever legit Love Live event. I have been to theater live viewings, and watched plenty of concerts, but this was my first time actually being THERE and responding to calls and that was so big. Love Live concerts have so much audience participation and it just felt SO DIFFERENT so amazing to actually be there and really responding and ahhh... I got so emotional. 

I expected to be all about Suwawa since I enjoyed watching her in past events, but Kin-chan and Arisa (her nickname is Arisha? I didn’t hear it at the actual event) were amazing too. 

At one point they were saying AZALEA battle cries in the poses of their characters, and Hanamaru is like... I can’t find the full body art online, but she’s like jumping up on one leg with her arms out. So Kin-chan was trying to jump into that pose and say “I won’t lose!!!” before she fell. I also just love how happy she is when she’s voicing Hanamaru and she goes full zuRAAAA! I never paid much attention to her before, but I’m a fan now!

Arisha was beautiful and a class act. They actually started playing the wrong song at one point (Innocent Bird instead of Galaxy Hide and Seek) and she was on the stage by herself to start Galaxy Hide and Seek. And I forget exactly what she said (no it wasn’t bu-buuu haha) but she reacted in character as Dia and it was so good it took me a couple minutes to realize it was even a mistake. 

To be honest, AZALEA wouldn’t have been my first choice of the sub units to see. I would have gladly seen ANY of the units coming to Nagoya, it just happened to be AZALEA. But I really loved seeing them. They were amazing. And I am now all like GO AZALEAAAaaaA! (...It will probably only last until I get to see CYaRon though ahah...) I am really interested to see how the competition progresses. The winning group will get some special merch and stuff, and we won’t know who wins until March 2019!

I was a bit worried about going to this event initially, because some of the live viewings I have been to were pretty wild (what with the crazy male Love Liver crowd and all) so I figured the real thing would be even crazier but... no, actually people were pretty cool. Maybe because there were only three of them, and there is a special kind of magic when all 9 are together. I did feel a little less tension myself for that reason. I quite don’t know but, I do think I am interested in trying to go to more events from now on!!

[mini-pretzel]

alright dude yea EVERY NUMBER FOR SWEETHEART ASKS

… what have i signed up for?

//cracks knuckles

grab a juice box, grab a snack.

we’ll be here for a while. what have i gotten myself into

1. Talk about your first love. 

oh jesus. i actually recently found my old journal lol

from way back when. 2009 i think? i was 13 or some shit. jesus. ok. so my first love was actually over the internet.

yeah, i know. nowadays we’re spoiled with tinder n shit, but back in 2009, all we had was myspace and msn and i met this fucker on skype.

i was so ahead of my time.

anyway, it was october 25, 2009.

here’s a snippet from my journal entry:

well i met a guy on skype. he’s a month younger cause my b-day is on oct 14 and his is on nov 18. but i don’t mind it.

yoooo i was into younger guys even at 13, jfc hahhaa //kill me jk hmu

and then on the next page hahahhaa omg

december 2, 2009

well me and ___ are no longer together. well we never began. he broke my heart two times already. going in depression. please don’t bother. first love, ha!

omfg damn, two months. yeah, that lasted long. also old me: ur so dramatic lol

also i was a feisty lil fella, jeez.

2. What’s the most beautiful songs you’ve ever heard in your opinion? 

this one

3. How’s your heart feeling right now?

a lil stressed. im like, hoping i can get through all of these questions without my computer crashing. pray 4 me.

4. What kind of self care is your favorite to do? 

ok, first thing to note, i fucking love self care. like, too much if im honest.

baths with bubbles and nice smelling scents, lotions, a face mask, taking my time with washing my face and hair and putting on the cutest clothes after. also snacks, always snacks.

when im feeling like spending money: massage. full body. best thing ever. i treat myself to it at least once a year for my b-day.

5. What’s your skincare routine? 

ok so i just got a new skincare line. it’s from nature republic. i have a cleanser, a toner and a moisturizer. it’s fairly simple (unlike 9 steps in korean ahhahha, but like i’ll probably get there in time) also i have a peel mask that smells like bananas that i put on twice a week to get rid of dead skin cells. oh and sometimes i do korean face masks, too.

6. How did you get to be so beautiful?

answered that q here

7. Do you have any stuffed animals?

NO! //hides them all away

8. Best trip you’ve ever been on?

thailand. my parents took me w/ them on their honeymoon.

lol idek why either. trust me.

i was just there for the swimming, riding elephants, getting food poisoning and downing two banana splits in one afternoon. good times.

9. Favorite thing about your room? 

i live in a jungle. but also in an art gallery cause my mom buys paintings online and resells them, but it’s become such a habit for her they are literally EVERYWHEREE I CANNOT.

also sorry mom i keep forgetting to water the GAZILLION plants THAT YOU HAVE MOVED INTO MY ROOM FOR SOME REASON. they’ll be dead by the time ur home. srry ilyyyyy.

also tae hmu if u want some paintings. i got way too many.

10. Opinion on love? 

dude. idk. i mean. it’s definitely not something one can describe easily or fully grasp.

im still waiting for my big love to come along, so like, we can talk about that when we get there.

otherwise, i’ll say this quote that i heard in a song:

give your heart, but keep your head.

11. Are you affectionate? 

with certain people. im weird.

with some people im like no, don’t touch me pls. i bite and scratch.

and with others you cannot get them out of my death love grip.

12. Who do you look up to? 

i look up to bts a lot. they’re doing a lot of good and they’re very respectable artists.

but i also look up to a lot of writers on here because i want to create worlds and writings like them. i won’t tag them cause rip them trying to find why i tagged them in this long ass post haha.

13. Favorite poet? 

@psycho-slytherin

lol sorry bae

ur gonna have to scroll to find out why i tagged u. and then go red and yell at me. hahah.

i also like silentium! by Fyodor Tyutchev

also everything by pushkin (esp ‘i loved you’ fuck that one gets me every time). seriously. that man isn’t called the golden poet in our country for nothing.

i actually don’t read a lot of poetry nowadays unless its my own or my friends’

but im open to recommendations

14. Song that makes you happy? How about one that calms you down when you’re in a bad place?

answered here!

15. Do you play an instrument?

lol no. i was almost taught the piano (lol rip me, i wanna kill my younger lazy ass self) and i dabbled into learning the violin. but that’s like a whole story and a half hahahaha.

16. Do you do art? Using what (pencil, watercolor, etc)?

i used to pencil draw, nothing special tho. a lot of naked ppl lol. butts n boobs were my fave. also pecks whoo.

17. Do you dance? What style of dance? 

i don’t! but i want to. i’ve been looking into dancing schools. i might do hip hop n stuff. see if i have the rhythm, i can’t tell from just jumping around my room lol

18. What’s your zodiac sign? Do you believe in astrology? 

im a libra yo. diplomatic and indecisive af.

i kinda do? there’s some sense there, but it’s too vague. i think ppl need to look into their charts to really grasp their character.

and for some it may not be true at all, so like. idk. we’re all just doing our best here.

19. Favorite old film? 

a russian film that i always watch over the new year. my mom would always joke that the new year doesn’t start till we watch it lol

the irony of fate

20. What’s your hairstyle? 

idk

u

tell

me

21. What weather is the most beautiful, in your opinion?

cloudy but warm. so there’s not too much sun but u can enjoy a nice walk outside without getting rained on.

22. What upsets you most about the world? 

i only have two hands but there are so many cats and dogs. i cannot pet all of them.

23. Are you in love right now?

answered ;)

24. Do you have a crush? If so, talk about them!

here u go

25. Do you have pets? Talk about something sweet about them! 

i don’t! but i wish i did i would shower them with my love.

but @the-trth-untold dogs are the cutest and @psycho-slytherin cats make my day. pls spam meeeee. also i love @paristae cat too.

26. Do you have a lucky number? 

yup. 22.

27. Have you ever wished on a star? What about on a fallen eyelash? 

i’ve never seen a fallen star, so no.

but i’ve wished on a fallen eyelash, always.

28. Do you believe emoji spells to work? 

emoji spells??

bruh i’ve never even heard of it till this ask wtf is that shit

bruh i mean if it works for ppl all power to them??? idk i never tried it

29. Do you believe in magic in general? 

i believe in magic tricks. but magic died for me when santa stopped existing.

30. What’s the most beautiful thing in life, In your opinion?

here

31. Opinion on the color pink? What about baby blue? 

gorgeous colors. i quite like mauve pink and deep dark blue tho.

but baby blue looks amazing on some folks. oof.

32. What instrumental sound is your favorite? 

piano. always.

33. Do you like the sound of wind? What about the sound of rain? 

answered :)

34. Who makes you happy? 

bts and all of my mutuals

35. What makes you happy? 

sleep, food, music, writing, cuddles. and forehead kisses.

also more listed here

36. Imagine your ideal life, the life you wish to make, what will that look like? 

i live in a nice apartment. doesn’t have to be expensive, just nice and clean with wooden floors and spacious windows.

i have all the necessities that i need and im never lonely.

i have also touched countless hearts by my books and am able to live comfortably just from my works.

haha. you said ideal, right?

also have someone to spend it with. someone i’d write poetry about daily. a bestfriend first and foremost before a lover.

37. Do you wear makeup? If so what’s your favorite type of makeup or specific makeup product? Favorite store to buy makeup?

answered this fella here

38. Do you wear dresses? If so what’s your favorite dress you own? 

i used to have dresses. but not anymore.

i liked the long sleeve sweater black one i had with a low cut. it was gorgeous. i dont have much of boobage but i always felt like i was sexy in it.

39. Ever been heartbroken? How do you deal with it? 

yep. you just kind of take it one day at a time. some days will be better than the last. some days you’ll cry a little harder and some days you move on a little further. it takes time. make sure you have good people around you so you don’t fall into depression.

40. Who’s your closest friend? What do you love about them? 

ah, to be honest i don’t have a closest friend. i’ve always been the kind of person that always had friends around her but never anyone too deep. and i kinda wish i did. i just don’t know who would come to fill that spot. people always leave, so i kind of gave up assigning that spot. i think the people that want to be in that spot will show themselves and tell me. otherwise i will not assume or assign.

41. Introvert or extrovert? 

introvert. but i have my moments. i can be charming and friendly when i want to.

42. Do you like MBTI? What’s your MBTI? 

i had to look it up cause i forgot what it was lol

i took the test a while back: im infp.

there’s not a lot of us, apparently. which is cool. shout out to all infps out there!

43. Would you be a fairy, a mermaid, a vampire, a siren, or an angel? 

hmmm. what kind of fairy tho? lol

maybe vampire? idk i’d be a sexy immortal lady that’d bite innocent boys and girls that just want to have a good time lol

44. What’s the best song a friend has ever introduced to you? 

this oneee

45. Parlez-vous français? 

no~

46. Most beautiful place you’ve been to? 

butchart gardens

47. Where/when do you truly feel at home? 

here

48. Does smiling put you in a better mood? Try it right now, you’re smile is gorgeous! 

kdjfalkfjdlkdsaf //hides

this ask is flirting with me…

well that’s as much action as im going to get this new years eve lol

49. Favorite shoe you own?

my sweet rose gold kicks, yo.

50. Can you walk in stilettos? Do you like them? 

lol no. i cannot. and i do not. im not made for heels. im tall enough as it is.

51. Do you feel loved? 

every time i talk to my mutuals yes //cry

52. How do you express love to those you care about? 

by saying cute words and by clinging to them like a koala.

53. Favorite term(s) of endearment? 

sweetheart, dear, idk im just like anything honestly. love, baby. go crazy.

i also love mean terms like idiot and stuff. or nicknames that hold inside jokes, something between the two of you only.

54. Most romantic thing someone’s ever done for you? 

hasn’t happened yet. so yeah. any takers? lol

55. When is the happiest you’ve ever been? 

reading a good book for the first time. or just experiencing something new that i end up loving for the first time. nothing can replace that first feeling.

56. Are you happy right now? 

happy im almost done hahhahahahaa. ha.

no but srsly i am

57. What makes you smile? 

stupid jokes. puns. someone laughing and showing themselves fully.

58. Do you laugh a lot? 

i mean. i think so? i try. i make jokes a lot and laugh at myself if that counts?

59. What’s your favorite kind of aesthetic? 

ughhhh comfy bf aestheticcc

60. Do you want to marry for love or for some other reason (like money)? 

i have a sour view on marriage. so only if i love someone hard enough. but even then i don’t know if i’ll do it. it hurts too much to think about marriage and wedding rings for me.

61. What would your dream wedding look like? Do you want to get married? 

see above.

62. Favorite flower?

orchid.

63. Favorite artist?

claude monet.

64. Favorite music artist?

bts lol

no surprises there.

65. How kind do you think you are? Is kindness important to you? 

its not something for me to decide. i try to be kind to everyone, but how it is interpreted is different for everyone. i’d like to think i’m kind.

and yes, very important. especially being kind to yourself.

66. Ever made a playlist for someone? 

yes i have. i love making playlists for people. i don’t get asked that enough.

67. Do you have anything you do to physically comfort you when your sad? Such as a favorite blanket? Or a relaxing bath? 

music. music always helps. and tea.

ideally i’d love for someone to massage my scalp, but hahah no one’s been able to do it the right way. when it’s done right i melt and forget about everything.

68. Early bird or night owl? 

night owl.

moonchild, lol

69. Morning routine? 

wake up, look in the mirror, look away from the mirror, go back to bed.

70. Night routine? 

SHOWER N NICE SMELLING LOTIONS. AND SKINCAREEEEEE OOOOF.

also fresh sheets.

71. What is the most lovely quality a person could have in your opinion? 

answered here

72. Do you cry often? Does crying help you get the emotions out? Do you feel better after? 

i only cry when i watch or read something. and it does help. i always feel better after. but i tend to keep my emotions hidden away, the negative ones at least.

73. Do you like hugs? 

i love hugs. come hug me, bro.

u must smell nice tho.

74. When was the last time you kissed someone?

august.

75. Are you small or tall? 

tall. 175cm.

76. Do you like wholesome memes? 

answered

77. Favorite thing about the past? 

cd players. chia pet commercials. flip phones. mom jeans.

78. Do you ever wonder about the future? 

all the time. esp mine. i have no idea what the fuck im doing.

79. Have you ever lived in a different country than you currently live in? 

yep. i’ve lived in america and canada before. and traveled a lot.

80. Do you like plane flights? Airports? 

i don’t mind flying. and depends on the airport. some are better than others.

81. Sunrises or sunsets? 

sunrises. every day is a new day~

82. The beach or a forest? 

bitch- i mean beach. :)

83. What time of day do you tend to be in the best mood? 

any time i am eating. or sleeping. or reading.

im so close to being done omg. this is fun tho.

84. Do you push yourself to act together and in a good mood even when you aren’t? 

always. ain’t nobody gonna deal with that baggage lol

85. Favorite kind of tree? 

japanese maple tree

86. Do you care about the health of the Earth? 

i mean i don’t even care about my health that much tbh, i need to work on that.

87. What did you like most about your childhood, if anything? 

that i got to travel and learned english very young.

88. Do you read a lot? What’s your favorite book? 

answered here

89. What are you most nostalgic for at the moment? 

old school disney

90. What’s your favorite personality trait you have? 

answered this bad boi here

91. List at least ONE thing you love about your appearance. 

eyes. have to work on my ass tho. squats baby.

92. When was the last time you truly felt calm, without much of anything to worry about? 

after a massage.

93. Do you worry a lot? 

eh, i worry enough, i suppose. there’s just some stuff you can’t control.

94. The dazzling lights of the city or the relaxing countryside?

dazzling lights of the city. especially in the evening. and in the winter. ahhhhh. someone hold my hand and walk with meeeeee.

95. Ever changed the shoelaces on one of your shoes? For what reason? 

no i haven’t had that pleasure, lol

maybe next year

96. Favorite pastry? 

BUTTER. CROISSANT.

97. Do you like doing little acts of kindness? 

yes. uwu

98. How’s your day/night going? 

well im finally done with this ask holy shit, and i need to resume writing my namjoon fic so… fantastic. i also have noodles. whoooo.

thank you for reading this whole damn mess of an ask.

ily

[cantolopejeevas]

Aftermath

This is something that I just felt compelled to write, haha. I like Nito a lot, so!

The door swung open, revealing two surprised faces that Nito was very familiar with. They grinned sheepishly, tail swishing behind them as they half-whispered, “Hi, mom. Dad. What’s up?”

For a split second, their mom looked past them. “Who’s…?”

“Oh!” They perked up and gestured to David, who waved with a nervous smile. “This is my buddy. His name is David and if it weren’t for him, I…” Memories flashed through their head. Memories they wouldn’t let themself forget, no matter how much they hurt. “Well, I would’ve gotten into a lot more trouble…”

Their dad sized David up, eyes narrowed. “A human?”

“A kind human,” they reassured. “I promise. I mean, he still likes me, so… You know.”

Sure, maybe he liked them just because of a little white lie they told. But, well, thanks to that lie, they got a lot of good favor. Which reminded them of the task they’d have to do at some point.

“Hey, do you have any new books?” they asked, rather abruptly. “Like, ones on temples or architecture?”

“Why in the heavens would you want books like that?” their mom asked, nose scrunched up.

“Oh, never mind that,” their father cut in, cupping their face and pressing a kiss to their forehead. “We’re just happy to have you home, little one. dinner will be ready soon, and your little human friend is more than welcome to stay with us until you take off again.”

“Nito!”

As soon as their dad pulled away, Nito got pulled into a tight hug by their younger sister, Mina. She lifted them up and practically squeezed the air out of them, and they just barely managed to breathe out, “You’re gonna kill me…”

She immediately dropped them, a big grin on her face. “Okay, I have gifts for you, just let me go get them, I’ll be right back!”

As soon as she took off, David put a hand on their back and asked softly, “Are you alright?”

Nito wheezed, but gave him a smile. “Yeah. She’s just excited. But I’m sure she’ll start pestering you in no time.”

The way his eyes widened made them burst out into uproarious laughter.

Dinner weighed heavily on their stomach as they stared out into the night sky. It had been a while since they were able to do this. Just sit on the roof, look at the moon and the stars, breathe in the cool air and let their thoughts wander. It was almost like things were still the same.

But they weren’t. They knew that.

They glanced down at their hands. Invisible blood stained them. Blood of innocent people. But they didn’t know. How could they have? They thought the cultists were bad. Even after meeting David, they thought that those people were evil, that they’d have to keep fighting back to survive. But there was another way.

It felt terrible.

“Are you doing alright?”

David’s voice made them jump. “How’d you get up here?”

He blinked, and rubbed his arm while glancing away. “Um… I asked your parents for their ladder.”

“Oh.”

A brief moment passed, then David sat next to them and mumbled, “You never answered my question.”

“That’s ‘cause I can’t,” they answered honestly, drawing their knees up to their chest. “I feel okay, but… Not.”

David remained quiet. That was okay. They knew him decently at this point. He was a bit awkward. But good.

“So, um,” he finally said after a long moment, “your parents don’t seem to like humans very much. But… Aren’t they…?”

“No,” they answered, resting their chin on their knees as they stretched their wings out. “We’re all tieflings. I’m just the only one who really looks it. Bad luck, I guess.”

“Bad?”

They nodded. “You wouldn’t believe how many times the other villagers have told my parents to take me out into the woods and leave me there. ‘A good human family don’t need no infernals tainting the bloodline. That thing’ll just grow up to slaughter us good folk!’” They’d heard it many times before, but only when it left their own mouth, at that exact moment, did they feel the most awful pang in their chest. “Guess they were right…”

David’s voice grew concerned. “What do you mean?”

“The people in the cave. I killed so many of them. Mercilessly.”

“They were attacking us…” He said softly, hands laced together on his lap. “And… You were pretty adamant about protecting me. I’m grateful for that. Even if it meant others had to die.”

“They didn’t have to,” they argued, voice low as they curled in on themself. “If I had known, I could’ve saved them. I could’ve saved Doria’s parents and… And…”

“You can’t save everyone,” he said, repeating the same words the Doria had said to them not too long ago. “Trying to do so is… Foolish.”

“But I can try, can’t I?”

Those words felt hollow. There wasn’t any way they could keep themselves from making the same mistake. There were too many chances to mess up. Too many mistakes they could make. If they knew what consequences their actions had, then…

David put and arm around their shoulders. And it was only then that they realized how much they were shaking, trying to hold back the tears. The burn in their eyes had been sneaking up on them the whole evening. But they couldn’t break down in front of their parents. Couldn’t admit that they were a murderer.

But at least he understood.

That night, strange dreams plagues them. Visions, glimpses of faces, of all different sorts. Some familiar, like David. Others not so much, like a tabaxi they’d never seen before in their life. The scenes were a blur, mixing together into a faint memory that they tried their best to grasp at when they sat upright in their bed, panting.

That couldn’t have been a normal dream. The unmistakable tingle of magic danced along their skin, along with a very familiar presence that lingered in the mind for a brief moment, giving only a few departing words.

You owe me, kid. I want my temple soon…

Another flash, and this time, they could see a village- not too far from here- clear as day. Something was waiting for them there.

And they were going to find it.

[blujaydoodles]

SO! At the request of @songbased and seconded by @talceles, I’ve answered all fifty of these OC questions :O A small handful also have doodles in the answers, which is part of what took me so long!

1. Your first OC ever?

The first OC I can still remember really well, the first OC that was really close to my heart and ended up with a bit of a story, was Sanju, my shapeshifter boyo. And you can tell I really love you because I went to my old DA and dug up the oldest drawing I could find of him just for you:

He was a darkling, a species I invented that could only shapeshift under the cover of darkness; he was always pale with gold eyes and black [hair, fur, feathers, scales, etc], and he kept his piercings in every form that had ears-- although, he doesn’t have them in this drawing! So maybe that was a later idea? He’s an easy-going fellow, mischievous and sticky-fingered but good hearted. He’s sort of Idri’s spiritual ancestor in a lot of personality ways. Actually, I’ve thought he’d be really fun to play as a DnD character, if I could figure out a balanced way to do Darklings for 5e

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?

Listen. For the longest time, I really didn’t. Once I had a few DnD campaigns going I loved them all more or less equally, in different ways, but……… listen. It’s Elyss, of course it is, you know this. I mean it’s close, but still. I love all my kids very much but Elyss has ended up very near and dear to me.

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?

My gut instinct was to rattle off all the characters I’ve described very genuinely as “my child” but then I realized that’s not what this is asking, haha. Nope!

4. A character you rarely talk about?

I was going to say my sweet and very neglected baby Milo, but I actually end up talking about him a lot in other questions, so let me tell you about Melliwyk, who I’ve talked about almost none on here apparently??

Mel is a gnome arcanist (and archaeologist and historian because of the nature of her research) who has dedicated her life to rediscovering or reinventing the lost art of item enchantment in a world that is missing a huge chunk of its own history. Very much a mad scientist, she’s known for pushing the limits of her surroundings, her tools, and her own body in calculated risks taken while performing her experiments. The problem with her calculations is that she’s willing to risk a lot more than the people around her are entirely comfortable with. She has permanent lichtenberg-figure-scars running up her left (dominant) arm, apparently incurable magical narcolepsy, and shortly before the campaign began she blew something up and lost her entire spellbook in the fire-- all results of backfired experiments, but she only regrets that last one.

She spent a number of years holed up alone to focus all of her time and energy into conducting research and designing experiments-- so, she still has a habit of “rubber duck coding” by going through all her thought processes aloud to her familiar, Baxter, even when he’s not actually around. 

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be?

You know, I approached this from a lot of different angles and genuinely couldn’t decide for a long time, and then I had the thought ‘if I had a Popular Character I would get fan art of them’ and as much as art of any of my characters makes me cry, art of Elyss would make me cry the most, so,

6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related?

I apparently..... forgot how to draw Nyssa orz but curly gingerish hair, freckles galore, very green eyes, slightly goofy teeth (not pictured) ... basically Milo has a lot of features that are personally appealing to me and I went ahead and dumped all of them into Nyssa as well, ahaha

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?

Mmm, well, not really. I mean, DnD is a storytelling medium, of course, but outside of that context, no, not since the vague story ideas I had had for Sanju back in the day-- I’m not very good at story, to be honest :’D

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here!

All of my currently active OCs are DnD characters, so by definition, preeetty much all of them! Hahaha. So, how about Juniper?

Juniper was brought up in a small rural village by her grandmother and aunt, both venerable druids-- but left at a young age to pursue a cartography apprenticeship in the capital city. Now a journeyman cartographer, she’s traveling the world to personally survey the land for her planned masterwork: the world’s most complete, accurate, and beautiful atlas. Things became... complicated, to say the least, when she befriended some escaped slaves and a planar-displaced aarakocra, all of whom she wants dearly to help however she can. The problem is, her only real skill (as far as she’s concerned) is making maps.

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?

No ;A; I put too much into character creation and get Real Attached; my OCs feel pretty personal. Even having my characters’ family come up as NPCs in game has sometimes felt a little weird, even though that’s what they were actually designed for, lol.

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design?

As a lazy artist I tend to avoid super complicated designs lol, but I think Kiele is the most in terms of just things that make her Hard To Draw for me personally? Her skin glows like burning coals, which almost necessitates drawing her in full color any time I draw her and is not something I’m super great at coloring yet; Her hair needs to look like actual hair but at the same time be reminiscent of fire; how brightly she’s burning depends on a lot of factors; and I still haven’t figured out exactly how to make a scar look convincingly like a scar while being a completely different color than scars in real life :’D (the scar also glows more brightly when she’s doing magic... I guess it’s probably just a deep red otherwise? HMM)

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a "sunshine"

I was gonna do a new doodle for this q but then I remembered how happy this little drawing of Idri made me, my precious beeb c: She’s super energetic, outgoing, and upbeat; she just wants to explore the world and help people and make new friends and make people happy and have a Good Time 

Other candidates: Juniper, who is maybe a little too neurotic to get the top spot here but is Warm and Good and Just Wants To Help; Nyssa, who is always in a good mood and is kind of like the person version of napping in a nice sunny meadow after a delicious picnic; and Milo, who is cheerful and friendly and whom Idri takes after quite a bit

Funnily enough, Kiele has picked up the nickname ‘Sunshine’ from a fellow party member, but actually she’s honestly just an asshole, lmao

12. Name an OC that isn't yours but who you like a lot

OH JEEZ where to BEGIN! All my friends have such good characters you guys ;n;

But I’ve loved @miazaz‘s boy Zetsuri for, like, almost a decade (jesus). He’s a demonic trickster who is very, very beautiful and very, very Chaotic.

The most recent doodle of him I’ve done, lol. They could be talking about anyone, honestly.

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

Definitely Kiele. Aside from the volatile combo of fire powers and rage issues, she also A) is the kind of person to decide she hates you and use her considerable charisma (and/or fire) to ruin your life, and B) the kind of person who causes trouble if she’s bored or not getting enough attention...

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory

Actually, that would be Milo, my fallen angel. There are some details I never quite hammered out, and a lot of things I’d like to revisit now, but the gist of it was: Milo was an angel in the Holy Choir, but he wanted to be a Guardian. When he was finally given the opportunity, on one of his first assignments he made some bad calls that lead to not only the untimely death of his charge but also a couple of bystanders. It was an accident, but it was still serious enough that he was banished forever to the mortal world. He manages to hide it pretty well most of the time, but it left him with PTSD on top of a permanent feeling of being incomplete, having had his connection to the divine severed completely.

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?

*chinhands* Please talk to me about my OCs........

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)?

That would be Juniper! She was raised among traditional healers, so she already has a decent foundational knowledge of human anatomy, botany, ecology, etc. I think Elyss would also do quite well, and probably Melliwyk as well-- although, she’d be better at physics and chemistry.

17. Any OC OTPs?

........... don’t worry about it

18. Any OC crackships?

On a long car ride one time boyfriend and I were RPing random characters and Nyssa, who is very sweet and loving and gentle to everyone she meets, managed to coax/flirt Jermaine out of his shell a bit, and it was kind of silly but really fun ;D

I would ship/ crackship Nyssa with almost anyone, though, tbqh; she pairs like chocolate

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

Elyss is a water genasi in a land where genasi are all but unheard of; she grew up shunned and isolated, and when she was old enough she left home and spent the next decade or so alone in the woods, learning and honing hunting and survival skills that have made her an invaluable scout and deadly predator. When conflict in the continent drove her out of isolation, she joined The Darkwind Regiment in hopes of ending it to make the world safe again for her family, but integrating into society (and an adventuring party) has proven challenging after a lifetime of developing absolutely no social skills...

Elyss is my first DnD character, created for a campaign that’s coming up on its third anniversary. I think at least some of my fondness comes from just that: I’ve had her the longest, so I’ve gotten to know her the best. Aside from that, a lot of how she has developed as a person (or how the campaign has pushed her) I think just... triggers so much empathy in me that I feel particularly loving and protective in response? She’s terribly lonely. She gets deeply attached to people, but she’s spent all of her life being unwanted by almost everyone around her, so she mostly believes that the people she loves the most (aside from family) don’t feel the same way. She puts a lot of effort into being useful enough to keep around, so that she can continue to be in a position to protect and provide for her friends.

I built a lot of problems into her in a way that was, at the time, designed very hopefully-- problems that I thought would be addressed and challenged by Doing An Adventure in a way that would lead to positive growth (or things I just thought would be fun/ funny). Unfortunately, most of the Big Things that have happened and the way they’ve played out so far have only made her worse-- she’s now deeply paranoid, actively avoids opening up to new people, and desperately afraid of losing what little she has, to an unhealthy extent. On the positive side, though, she is at least finally coming around to believing some of her friends do actually like her... even though by all accounts her Issues are making her more and more unlikeable >__>;;

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

Actually! Elyss is a really good singer! Her mother is an excellent singer and storyteller, so she gets it from her. She has a very smooth, soft alto voice and prefers melodic and flowing folksongs, lullabies, songs with a lot of interweaving/ harmonizing parts, that sort of thing. However, she sings pretty rarely, and never intentionally within earshot of anyone else-- but, on the other hand, she has a very old habit of quietly singing or humming when it rains which is so much second-nature that she genuinely doesn’t notice she’s doing it anymore. If anyone ever pointed it out to her or asked about it she’d be very embarrassed.

Nyssa is a fair singer with a soft, effortless mezzo soprano voice; she sings very often, mostly just little snippets of this or that, but prefers playing her pipes and/or dancing if there’s actual music happening.

Milo is an almost supernaturally excellent singer with a clear, sweet tenor voice (mostly; he also has a startling breadth of range). He may be a fallen angel, but he was in THE choir. He sings karaoke every Tuesday and Thursday and does every kind of genre you can think of but mostly just fucks around-- people are always pretty shocked when he actually makes an effort.

Juniper knows a lot of very old Druidic folk songs, and is willing to sing along in a reedy mezzo soprano, but she gets nervous and wouldn’t want to be the only person singing. Aubree’s a rowdy, rough-cut contralto who loves a good drinking song, rebel song, or both. Kiele can carry a tune but isn’t really the singing type. Tsakesh only sings when he’s drinking, a slightly pitchy tenor. Idri is an awful singer but that sure as hell doesn’t stop her. Mel doesn’t sing.

21. Your most artistic OC

Juniper, although she doesn’t seem like it. She approaches mapmaking as an artistic as well as a scientific endeavor, and she takes it very seriously. However, she’s not really very good at drawing anything else.

On the other hand, both Idri and Melliwyk are excellent draftsmen, but only because I have headcanonned that gnomish culture treats drawing as a core skill, taught in school alongside handwriting and math-- neither of them considers herself an artist, it’s just a functional skill (very useful for scientist Mel, and almost worthless to Circus Rogue Idri)

Oh, I almost forgot! Besides music, Nyssa also likes to whittle! Mostly little animal figurines or, like, little boxes with flowers carved into them, things like that. She gets more joy out of making them than having them, so she likes to give them all away :)

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how?

Kiele, a fire genasi, has been repeatedly described as being literally on fire-- and, I mean, she is fairly regularly, but never when someone has described her as such, lol. Her hair is flamey colors, but it’s just hair! She’s also, I think, been mistaken for a good person by at least one other PC, and I’m both excited and sad for the day she realizes how incorrect that is

Elyss’s feelings and behaviors get misconstrued a lot, I think. Mostly that’s expected-- she’s got a lot of complicated feelings and a negative charisma modifier-- but a couple of times I’ve been genuinely surprised at how other people appeared to have read a situation with her based on how they talked about it out of character later

Honorable mention: one time in an rp board, I described Milo as having a ‘boyish face’-- another person then described him in their post as ‘the man child’. Yikes....

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

Juniper was designed to be Milo Thatch but with maps except aaay I rewatched Atlantis and he actually is a cartographer also, lol. Not that that’s not... necessarily still true, but it’s not as prominent as how much she turned out to be A Mom, which I had no idea about her at all until I started playing her? She’s very caring, sometimes to a fault; it’s become probably her most defining trait, but was never planned for originally. But the funniest change is that, before we started playing, I was convinced she and Justin’s aarakocra wouldn’t get along? But then in game she adopted him the instant he arrived and that’s her son now?? 

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?

*aggressively loves and supports my girl*

... although, to be honest, aside from the opportunity to heap her in blankets and hot drinks, Elyss is probably not really my best choice here; we don’t have much in common and as much I as love her I don’t imagine she’d like me very much, lol. So, probably Idri? She’d be a ball to hang out with. I feel like having Idri at one of my friends’ get togethers make it the best party ever, hahaha

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

Juniper and I both: 

* are outdoorsy, awkward nerds * are ravenpuffs * assume the best in everyone until proven otherwise * resolve conflict by avoiding it at any cost * want to adopt every stray and every orphaned wild animal in the world * have no idea how to dress ourselves * very emotional and anxious but Trying

26. Have you ever had to change your OC's design or something else about them against your will?

Ooohoho man, no but Melliwyk was this close to becoming a half dragon in the last session and she’s super pissed about all the missed opportunities surrounding that whole scenario (I, however, am mostly relieved)

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

Ah, no, not really!

28. Your most dangerous OC?

That....... depends a lot on how you look at what makes a person dangerous, but um. Kiele is violently temperamental, has wild magic, makes snap judgement calls, and likes to solve all her problems with arson, so. She’s the most dangerous to just be around in general, lol

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they're going?

Melliwyk, hands down. Ordinarily she’d want someone with her because of her narcolepsy, but recently she’s of the opinion that some people can’t be trusted not to impede her research, so she’s a lot more willing to just risk it

Tsakesh would also be inclined to do this-- as long as the house didn’t also have a reputation for being haunted

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection?

Oh, definitely Idri. We recently went to her hometown, and she for sure went in and kicked all her toys under the bed before showing anyone her room, but then went back by herself later to put them all back and apologize.

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

Aubree’s blog would consist mostly of cute animal and social justice reblogs-- the latter almost always with her own Very Strong Feelings added to the thread, with invitations to ‘fucking fight me’ wherever applicable. Ignores or mocks anon hate, but is embarrassingly easily baited into arguments. She has it connected to her Instagram, through which she posts a lot of photos of her boar, Truffles, pics of meals in progress/ plated meals she’s cooked, and the occasional drunk selfie (either group shots with friends or post-brawl with a black eye and split lip and a brief comment on what, exactly, the other party did to deserve it). She’s only vaguely aware that her blog exists off the dashboard; the theme is the tumblr default.

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why?

I gotta confess, I’m too much of a weenie to play horror games, so I’m not really sure what qualities would make a good horror protag >__> I feel like it also depends partly on what kind of horror game ? Is it Spooky? Is it Gorey? Is it Psychological Thriller? I don’t have a good answer for this one ^^;;

33. Your shyest OC?

Mmmmm, I mean, Juniper, probably? I wouldn’t necessarily describe any of my OCs as shy-- they’re mostly outgoing and personable, or at least unconcerned with others’ opinions of them.

I once had a very shy satyr boy named Ix, but even at the time I did almost nothing with him besides doodles, and he’s very much fallen to the wayside

34. Do you have any twin characters?

Waaaay back in the day, these were the other characters in the vague outline of a concept I had for Sanju’s story; the woman he loved, and her brother who despised him. Technically, Tsakesh also has a twin sister, but I haven’t.... given very much thought to her or the rest of his family, to be honest ^^;

35. Any sibling characters?

Both Elyss and Aubree have siblings, but they’re all NPCs-- Aubree’s family hasn’t even come up yet in game, but I have given them quite a lot of thought.

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)?

Well, aside from ‘they’re all in DnD campaigns where everyone belongs to other people’, ummm, Kiele has hooked up with both of that campaign’s guest characters so far, which probably counts? lol. I haven’t done sibling OCs or gotten an OC romance with anyone else yet, though.

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human

lol oh my god I mean, Juniper is my only human, so... I guess Nyssa counts the most in this context, though.

Nyssa is a satyr who, until very recently, lived in a small, tight knit community of satyrs in a deeply secluded area of woodland. She was sent out into the world at the behest of her patron, the archfey guardian of her flock; having never left the woodlands before, she’s joyously experiencing everything for the first time, but she’s also extremely naive as a result. At the advice of the wood elves who would occasionally visit the flock, she’s attempting to pass herself off as An Ordinary Person-- but her fey features are, perhaps, just a little too odd for a mortal human(oid). Maybe if she told people she was an elf she’d do better-- but even with the right height and a bit of a beard, she looks nothing like a dwarf, which is what she’s been claiming to be when people ask.

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer?

Definitely Kiele! Nyssa does bring up a very close second, but she only dances for the joy of it-- raw and wild. Kiele has practiced specifically to perform, and knows exactly how to use her body to its best potential.

39. Introduce any character you want!

I’ve said almost nothing about Tsakesh in this one! So let me tell you about my good sneaky boi :3

Tsakesh is a khajiiti eldritch knight-- a stealth archer, specifically, because this is skyrim goddamn it and I love myself. He loves exploring old ruins, specifically intrigued by magical items and traps-- he loves examining the mechanisms behind traps and has, just through this fascination, become an expert at finding and disarming them. He was drawn to Skyrim by stories of ancient ruins filled with still-functioning mechanical guardians, but has had little chance to explore as he’s found himself accidentally caught up in daedric schemes with the fate of the world in the balance. Very aware of how khajiit are viewed outside of Elsweyr, he makes a specific point of being as friendly, helpful, nonthreatening, and cooperative as possible everywhere he goes-- partly in a hopeful attempt to at least put some dent in the bad reputation his kind have found themselves stuck with, and partly just as a survival strategy.

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!

This is gonna sound like a big ol cop out but honestly, since almost all of them are DnD characters, there are too many fond memories for me to think of any really good specific examples. I’ve spent a lot of amazing time with my wonderful friends and gotten to do all kinds of fun, cool, silly, ridiculous things with and through my characters. Getting to play Aubree in person, linking hands and crying together with other players through some really emotional moments and coming through victorious... that’s one night that particularly stands out.

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!)

YES oh my god and I cry every single time!!! I wouldn’t call any of it ‘fan art’ per se I mean, it’s always just been my friends like ‘here I drew our characters’ but yeah I’ve had friends draw Juniper, Elyss, Aubree, Kiele, and Milo and I get.... so emotional... it’s the best thing in the world you guys ;~;

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods?

Probably Idri! She loves a good story, and good lord is Greek mythology full of em.

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It's time to confess

Literally all of my characters who don’t have freckles are a result of me consciously going ‘they can’t ALL have freckles....’ Ditto curly hair, ditto green eyes (Nyssa has all of these in spades, you’ll notice. She’s a very self indulgent character for me, haha). Either Very Tall or V Smol. Pointy ears gotta be Very Pierced.  High dex (even before DnD was in my life; I’d definitely describe Milo and Sanju as being dex-based, conceptually). Charismatic with a heart of gold. A lot of my characters are really outgoing and friendly, I think as a way for my introvert awkward anxious ass to be my best self vicariously I guess? haha. High levels of curiosity are pretty common, too (like, even Elyss has this trait actually, although this has been pretty severely suppressed by the fact that everything that happens to her makes her more paranoid and cautious >__>)

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

I’ve put a lot of charisma and self confidence into a lot of my characters, which has been super helpful and fun to rp for me, a shy awkward dorkass. Most of them are also really good people who are braver about it than I am. I love getting to play around in different headspaces and different personalities all the time, and most of my characters are Good Noodles so they’re generally good headspaces to be in. 

45. A character you no longer use?

I mean, Milo, about whom I’ve already talked quite a bit. I had also built a small cast of characters around him, most notably his best friend Javi (a demon with a mortal body). I never did much with Javi, but I thought about him a lot. He’s really interested in humanity and came to the mortal plane on a semipermanent basis specifically to get to know People, as a whole and individually, while they were still living. Tall, lanky, and extremely taciturn, he’s almost as opposite of the small and excitable Milo as possible-- the yin to his yang. He’s a Good Dude and I miss thinking and writing with him.

46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly?

I don’t think so? I think I trend rather nicer to my characters than most of my friends to be honest, haha. Very few Tragic Backstories here, and a lot of Hopeful Futures. Suffering can be fun, but only to sweeten the payoff of later happiness :) 

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child?

I don’t... really think so, actually? 

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure

Juniper, my sweet innocent bb

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes

Oh jesus, definitely Idri. She’d be a meme goblin. She’s always there right at the genesis of a new meme and she always keeps them going long after they’ve overstayed their welcome. She sends them to everybody. She particularly loves the really bizarre, like, surrealist ones and any kind of meme mashup. 

50. Give me the good ol' OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

Here are a few concepts I’ve thought about but haven’t done much with yet: a human rogue who is actually a cat that was True Polymorphed by a drunk wizard; an air genasi warlock who is a spoiled princess and whose patron is her djinni mother; a mild mannered bard historian who stumbles into a Great Old Ones warlock pact while researching an ancient civilization; an orphan who goes searching for the story of her past when the scales marking dragonblood sorcery begin to appear on her skin; a gnome ranger whose beast companion (and mount) is a giant wolf spider and whose society and economy are built around the giant spiders native to their homelands

WHEW. GOOD LORD. THERE YOU GO.

(thank you so much for asking these, I love filling out this kinda shit <3)